DEEP PEAK AI

Market Brief – Friday, Jan 16

• BTC slips to $95K, ETH around $3.3K as altcoins pull back; BTC dominance inches closer to 60%.

Spot ETF Flows (Jan 15):

• BTC ETFs: +$100.2M net inflow

 – BlackRock +$315.8M, Fidelity -$188.9M

• ETH ETFs: +$164.4M (BlackRock +$149.2M)

• SOL ETFs: +$8.9M

Key Developments:

• State Street officially enters crypto, rolling out products from money market funds and ETFs to stablecoins.

• Argentina’s top crypto exchange Lemon enables spending via Visa cards backed by BTC as collateral.

• Interactive Brokers now supports USDC deposits; RLUSD and PYUSD coming next week.

• KAITO and COOKIE drop sharply amid reports X may ban “post-to-earn” (InfoFi) apps.

• Polygon reportedly cuts ~30% staff, refocusing on stablecoin payments.

• Bitmine invests $200M into MrBeast’s Beast Industries, targeting a 10x return.

• Bitmine also adds 24,068 ETH ($80.6M) and has now staked ~40% of its ETH holdings (~1.7M ETH).

Airdrop Watch:

Zama (Community Sale), Sosovalue (Season 2 update), Owlto (airdrop check), ETHGas (airdrop soon).

👉 Risk-off tone in the short term, but institutions keep building quietly. The market whispers even when prices pull back. $BTC

Short $ETH
Entry: 3360 - 3400
SL: 3413

JUST IN: Ethereum treasury company Bitmine has invested $200 million into MrBeast’s Beast Industries, marking one of the largest crossovers between crypto capital and mainstream creator-led businesses to date.

A bold signal that crypto treasuries are moving beyond tokens—into real-world brands with massive distribution and cultural reach. $ETH

Latest Update on the CLARITY Act

Following Coinbase’s surprise opposition earlier today, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has canceled the scheduled review of the CLARITY Act, which was set to take place at 10:00 PM (Vietnam time).

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted four major flaws in the current version of the CLARITY Act:

Risk of effectively blocking tokenized securities, undermining innovation in on-chain capital markets.

Government access to users’ financial records, posing serious threats to user privacy.

Compliance requirements tailored to large incumbents, leaving crypto startups with little to no chance to participate—stifling innovation.

A blanket ban on interest-bearing stablecoins, preventing exchanges from offering rewards to stablecoin holders.

According to Armstrong, this draft concedes too much to traditional banks, and the crypto industry would be better off with no law than with a bad one.

Coinbase is widely regarded as the most influential policy voice in the crypto industry, with substantial lobbying power in Congress. Its withdrawal of support is therefore seen as a major blow to the CLARITY Act’s chances of passage.

There is no clear timeline for when discussions will resume. However, the issues raised today are likely to remain central points of contention in upcoming negotiations.

Short version: the bill was supposed to bring “clarity,” but instead exposed fault lines—privacy, innovation, and power. And when the biggest player walks away, Washington listens. $ICP $DASH

📊 CRYPTO MARKET SNAPSHOT — JAN 15, 2026

🔝 TOP 10 COINS (via CoinGecko)

Bitcoin (BTC): $96,019 (-0.95%)

Ethereum (ETH): $3,217.42 (-0.83%)

Tether (USDT): $1.00 (0.00%)

BNB (BNB): $585.12 (-0.86%)

Solana (SOL): $142.47 (-1.10%)

XRP (XRP): $0.523 (-0.91%)

Cardano (ADA): $0.489 (-1.01%)

Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.083 (-0.96%)

Avalanche (AVAX): $34.56 (-1.23%)

Polkadot (DOT): $7.12 (-0.89%)

📉 MARKET TREND

Total Market Cap: $2.36T (-0.92%)

24h Volume: $48.2B

Sentiment: Broad, mild pullback across majors (≈0.8–1.2%)

Bitcoin Dominance: 52.1%

🔍 NOTABLE MOVES

BTC: $96,896 → $96,019 (minor retrace)

ETH: $3,244 → $3,217

SOL: Largest dip within Top 10 (-1.10%)

🌍 US – IRAN NEWS (Jan 15, 2026)
1️⃣ GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS

Iran nuclear talks remain stalled

US sanctions extended and expanded

Continued US military support for regional allies

2️⃣ ECONOMIC IMPACT

Oil prices: Volatile amid rising tension concerns

Financial markets: Sensitive to geopolitical headlines

Crypto: Often benefits during periods of uncertainty

3️⃣ IMPLICATIONS FOR CRYPTO

✅ Bullish Factors

Geopolitical instability → Safe-haven demand

Inflation concerns → Crypto as a hedge narrative

Sanctions → Increased cross-border payment use cases

⚠️ Bearish Risks

Global systemic risk affects all assets

Higher volatility → Short-term unpredictability

Tighter regulations → Potential policy pressure

🎯 TRADER TAKEAWAYS

Crypto market: Mild correction, no panic signals

US–Iran tensions: Ongoing risk factor to monitor

Strategy: Watch geopolitical headlines closely—especially oil and inflation data

$ICP $DASH

🧠 CRYPTO MARKET SENTIMENT TURNS “GREED” FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OCTOBER

After weeks of caution, crypto investors have shifted back into GREED mode.

📊 The Crypto Fear & Greed Index surged from 27 to 61 in just 2 days, marking the first return to “Greed” since the historic liquidation event on Oct 10.

🧠 What this signals:

Sentiment flipped rapidly

FOMO is creeping back in

Leverage appetite is rising again

📌 A reminder from market history:

Markets reward patience during fear,

and punish excitement that arrives too early.

Greed isn’t wrong —

undisciplined greed is expensive. $BTC

Market Brief — Thursday, Jan 15

• BTC surged to $96K–$97K, while most altcoins stayed muted as BTC Dominance hit ~59.7% — classic capital concentration, not alt season energy.

• US Supreme Court once again delayed its ruling on Trump’s tariff lawsuit. Uncertainty stays in play.

📝 Spot ETF Flows (Jan 14)

BTC ETFs: +$183.9M

Fidelity: +$125.4M

BlackRock: data pending

ETH ETFs: +$89.8M (BlackRock data pending)

SOL ETFs: +$23.8M

Quiet accumulation, no fireworks — but flows remain constructive.

🌍 Global / Industry

• Pakistan partners with Trump-backed WLFI to integrate USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments.

→ Dollar rails expanding quietly, geopolitics aside.

• Coinbase withdraws support for a US Senate crypto bill, arguing it would stifle tokenization, DeFi, and stablecoins.

→ When builders push back, regulation is likely misaligned.

• CleanSpark acquires land in Texas to expand data centers, signaling a pivot beyond Bitcoin mining into AI & HPC.

→ Miners evolving or dying — pick one.

• Zcash Foundation: SEC closed its 2023 investigation with no enforcement action.

→ A small but meaningful regulatory win.

• Sui Network resumed operations after a ~6-hour outage, temporarily freezing >$1B in value.

→ L1s still learning humility the hard way.

• Project Eleven raised $20M to develop defenses against quantum computing risks to blockchains.

→ Sounds far-off, but the clock never stops ticking.

🪂 Airdrops

• Fluent: Update live — check your rank for NFT Sale eligibility.

• Solana Mobile: Airdrop checker open for SKR; nearly 2B SKR to be distributed to users & devs at 09:00 VN time, Jan 21.

Big picture:

BTC climbs alone, ETFs keep buying, regulation stays messy, and infra keeps hardening.

The market isn’t euphoric — it’s patient. And patience, in this cycle, has teeth. $DASH

⚠️ On-Chain Alert: Unusual Activity Detected on $ONDO

Around 8 hours ago, ONDO’s Multisig wallet made a highly notable move:

Deposited ~25M $ONDO (~$10.33M)

Funds were split and sent to multiple CEXs

The entire amount originated from the ONDO team wallet

This is not a routine internal transfer.

It is real supply moving closer to the market.

🧠 Why this matters

Historically, every time the ONDO team wallet becomes active, price action turns extremely sensitive:

Tokens are quickly deposited to exchanges

Selling pressure tends to follow shortly after

In simple terms:

👉 This is not staking.

👉 This is not long-term locking.

👉 This is potential distribution.

❓ Will the old pattern repeat?

No certainty — but risk is clearly elevated:

Flow: Team wallet → Multisig → CEX

No visible attempt to reduce market impact

Timing aligns with a strong market / high liquidity, ideal conditions for selling

Markets often move like this:

Good news for the crowd,

liquidity for insiders.

🧭 How to approach $$ONDO ow

❌ Avoid FOMO longs

⚠️ Be cautious with leverage

👀 Monitor exchange inflows and price reaction closely

🛡️ Spot holders may consider partial risk reduction

The market rarely punishes aggression.

It punishes complacency when supply hits exchanges.

$ONDO is in a caution zone, not a conviction zone.

📈 Why MERLUSDT Is a Valid LONG Candidate (4H – Binance Futures)

This setup is not about hope — it’s about structure, liquidity, and positioning.

1️⃣ Clear Range Structure + Range Low Rejection

MERLUSDT has been trading in a defined range:

Range high: ~0.263 – 0.268

Range low: ~0.227 – 0.231

Price just swept the range low at 0.23055 and immediately bounced back into the range.

👉 This is a classic liquidity sweep, trapping late shorts.

2️⃣ Strong Rejection Wick = Sellers Exhausted

The sharp rejection from 0.23055 shows:

Aggressive selling was absorbed

Buyers stepped in with conviction

Downside momentum failed to follow through

This is often how local bottoms form, not how trends continue lower.

3️⃣ Higher Low Relative to Prior Liquidity Sweep

Previous major sweep printed at 0.22784.

The latest sweep failed to make a significantly lower low, suggesting bearish momentum is weakening.

Market is no longer pushing price down efficiently — that’s a warning sign for shorts.

4️⃣ Mean Reversion Bias Inside the Range

Current price is back near the range midpoint (~0.255).

In a ranging market:

Shorts make money at the top

Longs make money at the bottom

Risk-to-reward favors longing after liquidity is taken, not chasing breakdowns.

5️⃣ Invalidation Is Clear (Low-Risk Setup)

A good trade is defined by where it’s wrong:

Invalidation: clean acceptance below 0.227

As long as price holds above that zone, long bias remains valid

Clear invalidation = controlled risk.

🧠 Conclusion

This is not a breakout trade — it’s a liquidity-based mean reversion long:

Range low swept ✅

Sellers trapped ✅

Weak follow-through to the downside ✅

Defined risk, upside back toward 0.263–0.268 ✅

When the market takes liquidity and snaps back, the move is often already decided.

Trade structure — not emotion. $MERL

JUST IN: Trump Says He Has NO Plan to Fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell

President Trump stated he does not intend to remove Jerome Powell as Fed Chair.

🧠 Why markets care:

Reduces near-term policy shock risk

Signals continuity at the Fed

Calms fears of abrupt monetary interference

Less drama at the Fed = fewer surprises for rates, USD, and risk assets. $BTC $DASH

🚨 MACRO UPDATE: Delays, Imbalances, and a Quiet BTC Push Higher

The U.S. Supreme Court has delayed its ruling on President Trump’s tariffs — again.

This marks the second consecutive delay, with no clear timeline for a decision. On Polymarket, the odds of Trump winning the case sit at just ~30%.

Meanwhile, despite the ongoing trade war with the U.S., China reported a record 2025 trade surplus of $1.189T, up 20% YoY.

Exports to the U.S.: -20%

Offset by:

Africa +25.8%

ASEAN +13.4%

EU +8.4%

📉 U.S. equities pulled back after a strong run, led by sell-offs in tech and banking stocks.

📈 Bitcoin moves differently.

$BTC quietly pushed above $97K, its first time above that level since Nov 14.

Crypto market sentiment jumped from 48 (Neutral) yesterday to 61 (Greed) today.

🧠 Takeaway:

Traditional markets hesitate amid legal and macro uncertainty.

Bitcoin keeps climbing — slow, steady, and indifferent.

FED SIGNAL: Stablecoins Strengthen the U.S. Dollar

Fed Governor Stephen Miran says stablecoins reinforce the U.S. dollar, not weaken it.

🧠 Why this matters:

Dollar-denominated stablecoins expand USD reach globally

More on-chain demand = more USD usage

Crypto rails, dollar core

This is a quiet but powerful shift in narrative:

Stablecoins aren’t a threat — they’re a distribution engine for the dollar.

Watch the implications for regulation, liquidity, and adoption. $DASH

🔐 ETH STAKING HITS A NEW ALL-TIME HIGH

Over 36 million $ETH
(~$118B) is now staked on the Beacon Chain — nearly 30% of total supply, surpassing the previous peak of 29.54% (July 2025).

📊 Key facts:

~900,000 active validators

2.3M+ ETH still waiting in the staking queue

Network security demand continues to rise

🧠 What this signals:

Supply keeps getting locked

Sell-side liquidity tightens

Ethereum is increasingly treated as productive capital, not just a trade

Quietly bullish. Structurally important.

🔥 JUST IN: $100M BTC SHORTS LIQUIDATED IN 60 MINUTES 🔥

That’s not buying — that’s forced buying.

🧨 What it means:

Shorts got squeezed hard

Liquidity vacuum above

Momentum fueled by liquidations, not calm conviction

When liquidations lead the move, volatility follows.

Euphoria rises fast — and traps form just as fast.

📌 This is where discipline matters more than bias. $DASH

🚨 JUST IN: $BTC HITS $97,000 🚨

Bitcoin just printed $97K — momentum is back, volatility is awake.

🧠 What this signals:

Liquidity returning fast

Shorts under pressure

Breakout zone = high risk, high emotion

Expect:

Sharp wicks

Fakeouts near psychological levels

Leverage getting tested hard

This is where patience beats prediction. $BTC

UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court did NOT issue a ruling today on President Trump’s tariff challenge.

The case over the legality of Trump’s sweeping global tariffs — touted as one of the biggest tests of executive trade power — remains pending with no decision released from the bench today.

🔎 What’s happening right now:

The Supreme Court had been expected to release opinions, but the tariff case specifically wasn’t decided today.

The delay means markets stay in uncertainty, as businesses and states continue to challenge the scope of presidential tariff authority.

Analysts are watching closely — this ruling could reshape U.S. trade policy and executive authority, and its timing is still undecided.

⏳ Market takeaway:

No ruling = continued ambiguity on a major macro/legal front. Risk assets, FX, and global trade sentiment may continue to price this unresolved risk until the decision actually drops.

$BTC

🐳 Whale Update: Partial Profit-Taking After CPI

Early this morning, a whale with ~15% unrealized profit moved ETH Hand $BNB to Binance.

After CPI met expectations and Core CPI came in hotter, the market rallied fast. Shortly after:

5,000 $BNB (~$4.73M) sent to Binance

5,000 $ETH (~$16.6M) sent to Binance
⏱ About 1 hour later, the whale withdrew $20M $USDT, locking in ~$3M profit.

📊 Current holdings:

15,081 $ETH ≈ $50.3M (avg: $2,970)

13,010 $BNB ≈ $12.2M (avg: $814.78)

21,254,116 $USDT

🧠 Behavior insight:

Unlike many large entities accumulating or staking, this whale prefers scaling out on good news. It suggests caution ahead of major macro headlines, even as prices rise.

Interesting contrast: institutions accumulate, while crowds sell and send funds to exchanges.

Tags:

$ETH
#Binance #Whale.Alert #Crypto

🚨 GEO-POLITICAL ALERT: U.S. – IRAN TENSION RISING 🇺🇸🇮🇷

Speculation is growing that the U.S. could take military action against Iran this January as internal unrest, sanctions, and economic pressure continue to intensify.

Iran remains strategically critical:

~80% of its oil exports go to China

A key Middle East energy chokepoint

Increasingly viewed as a potential next pressure target

📊 Prediction markets (Polymarket) are reacting fast, with rising odds of a U.S. strike before Jan 16 / 23 / 31. Markets don’t predict facts — they price risk.

⚠️ No official confirmation of an imminent attack, but rhetoric and military signaling are clearly escalating.

📉 What about Bitcoin?

Escalation → violent volatility, risk-off first, possible safe-haven flows later

No strike → continued choppy price action, leverage gets punished

🧠 Bottom line:

War doesn’t need to happen to move markets.

The possibility alone is enough.

Trade light. Protect capital. $BTC $PAXG

🚨 JUST IN: U.S. November PPI Comes in Hot 🇺🇸

U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for November rises to 3%, above market expectations.

Inflation pressure at the producer level is not cooling — it’s pushing back.

🧠 Why this matters (don’t blink):

Higher PPI = upstream inflation risk

Reduces the Fed’s urgency to cut rates

Reinforces the “higher for longer” narrative

Short-term risk-off pressure for stocks & crypto

The market hates uncertainty, but it really hates sticky inflation.

Any hope for fast easing just took another hit.

Volatility isn’t coming — it’s already loading.

💻 Over the past 6 months, corporations have accumulated ~260,000 BTC, while miners produced only ~82,000 BTC.

That means corporate demand is running at more than 3× the pace of new supply. Pause for a second and think about that imbalance.

🥇 Total corporate Bitcoin holdings have now reached ~1.1 million BTC, worth roughly $25B.

And here’s the kicker: Michael Saylor’s Strategy alone controls nearly 60% of that stack. One player, one conviction, one long-term bet.

🔼 And it’s not just corporations. Spot Bitcoin ETFs are aggressively absorbing supply.

Since launch, ETFs have bought more BTC than miners have created. If this flow continues, sell-side liquidity keeps thinning, and price pressure builds — quietly, structurally, relentlessly.

🧠 The bigger picture most people still underestimate:

Bitcoin is no longer just a speculative toy for retail. It is evolving into a strategic reserve asset — held by corporations, institutions, and funds that think in years, not candles.

The market may chop. Sentiment may swing.

But supply doesn’t argue — it tightens.

$BTC $DASH