Bitcoin is consolidating near $96,600, with buyers defending the $95,700–$95,200 area. A push above $97,600 would expose $98,800 and put the psychological $100,000 level back on the radar. Policy and positioning shifted on January 14, 2026 as Wintermute outlined 2026 scenarios and Rhode Island advanced a small‑transaction tax exemption bill.

Bitcoin advanced above $95,000 after the December US CPI showed 2.7% headline inflation and 2.6% core, easing policy worries and aiding risk appetite. On January 13, 2026, Fitch highlighted risks in BTC‑backed debt, while 21Shares listed its Bitcoin Gold ETP on the London Stock Exchange. Short‑term charts flag resistance near $97,600 and $98,800–$99,000.

On January 11, 2026, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disclosed that the U.S. Department of Justice had issued grand jury subpoenas to the Fed and threatened criminal charges, which he characterized as politically motivated pressure linked to interest-rate decisions rather than a $2,500,000,000 building renovation. Following the news, Bitcoin traded around $90,822 (+0.1% 24h) on CoinGecko and $91,226 (+0.42% 24h) on CoinMarketCap, while analysts highlighted the implications for Fed independence, U.S. institutional credibility, and demand for non-sovereign assets like BTC. Market commentary pointed to a backdrop of heightened equity volatility, a weaker dollar, and record spot-gold prices as desks reassessed rule-of-law risk and future rate-cut timing into June and September 2026.

As of January 12, XRP, Ethereum and Shiba Inu are highlighted as leading cryptocurrency picks, with market data showing XRP around $2.03, ETH near $3,104.79 and SHIB at $0.0000083. These assets are trading with modest daily losses or slight gains, while Bitcoin holds close to $90,347.51 and broader market moves remain mixed.

Bitcoin’s first mining difficulty adjustment of 2026 reduced the metric to 146.4 trillion, offering miners a brief improvement in conditions after a challenging 2025. Average block times of about 9.88 minutes now point to a likely increase toward roughly 148.2 trillion at the next recalibration expected on January 22, while profitability remains under pressure amid elevated competition, weaker prices and rising costs.

On January 10, 2026, the Solana Foundation recommended Mainnet-Beta validators move to v3.0.14, citing critical patches. SOL is hovering around $136 support with compression suggesting a potential push toward $144–$146, while key resistance sits near $140.78 and secondary resistance at $143.46.

On January 8, 2026, Cyvers Alerts reported a suspected incident involving Truebit after its system detected a transaction tied to an estimated loss of 8,535 ETH, valued at about $26 million. Around the same time, on-chain data showed TRU's price collapsing by 99.95% in one day, a move more consistent with a DEX liquidity failure or pricing issue than normal selling. The situation has raised questions for trading desks about potential exposure to a labeled Truebit purchase contract and renewed concerns over ticker confusion between Truebit (TRU) and TrueFi (TRU).

XRP has climbed 14% in the last 7 days and recently broke above a key trend line and the $1.95 resistance area, signaling a potential shift to a bullish structure. Trading volume has risen 21% in the past 24 hours and XRP ETFs in the U.S. now hold $1.2 billion in assets, supporting expectations of a move toward $3 if the new support zone holds.

When Bitcoin makes a major move, a cluster of crypto-related equities, especially mining firms repositioning as AI and HPC infrastructure providers, often accelerates in the same direction. These stocks market themselves on megawatt capacity, long-term hosting contracts, and data-center style leases, yet they still tend to behave like leveraged Bitcoin proxies during sharp crypto volatility. NVIDIA, widely viewed as the core AI compute bellwether, and hybrid names such as MARA, RIOT, HUT, CIFR, CORZ, and IREN are central to this trade, where investors must scrutinize power commitments, counterparties, and contract terms rather than headlines alone.