The price of Bitcoin dropped to $0 on perps decentralized exchange Paradex overnight, according to numerous users, after a database migration issue affected the Paradex blockchain, its block explorer, bridge, and API. An issue was first flagged on the Paradex status page at 12:36 a.m, ET on Monday, shortly after social media posts flagged a cascade of liquidations as the price of Bitcoin plunged to $0 on the exchange. “We have identified the issue and will be rolling back chain state to block 1604710,” the status update reads. Shortly thereafter, Paradex force-cancelled all remaining open orders, and around 5:00 a.m. ET it confirmed that all user funds were safe as its recovery process was ongoing. We can confirm that all user funds are SAFU,” a post on the status page at 5:16 a.m. It's still unclear how much the liquidations tallied up to, but data from DeFiLlama indicates that the perps protocol has around $641 million in open interest. All Paradex services are now operational, according to an update on the status page. Bitcoin Slips On Trade War Fears, Sparks $865M in Liquidations The exchange's price glitch followed a volatile period of trading for BTC, which dropped from more than $95,000 to $92,284 just after 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. The 2% drop in the last 24 hours has eaten into the top crypto asset's weekly gain, which now stands at 1.4% with BTC recently changing hands at $93,318. The slide triggered a growing number of liquidations, which have now extended to more than $875 million over the last 24 hours—$234 million of which can be attributed to Bitcoin, according to data from CoinGlass.

Our data solutions provide comprehensive intelligence across the global structured products industry. Actionable insight, commentary and analysis on the major trends shaping the structured products markets. Our conferences and awards are a valuable mix of networking opportunities, thought provoking discussions and recognising excellence. Information and guidance to better understand how structured products work, terminology and industry concepts. We are an industry-leading data and analysis hub on the pulse of the structured products industry. Digital assets move beyond speculation as institutions and technology reshape markets. Institutional adoption and innovative market infrastructure are set to redefine digital assets in 2026, according to Fidelity Digital Assets. Derivatives, ETPs, tokenization and emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing are shaping the next stage of crypto evolution. The integration of blockchain technology into capital markets may deepen with more investment vehicles - Martha Reyes, Fidelity Digital Assets Fidelity Digital Assets predicts that 2026 will mark a turning point for cr © 2026 Structured Retail Products (SRP), Derivia Intelligence Limited, company number 15235970, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX.

The Ethereum (ETH) 4-hour chart is flashing warning signs as price hovers around a critical support zone. After months of sideways trading, ETH remains trapped in a consolidation, signaling weakening momentum amid uncertain broader market conditions. According to a crypto analyst, ETH's 4-hour chart suggests that the cryptocurrency could be heading for a major price dump if buyers fail to regain control. A new market analysis by crypto expert Tyrex draws attention to a 4-hour chart, warning that ETH may be preparing for another price crash. Tyrex noted that Ethereum recently bottomed inside the purple rectangle on the lower timeframe, where price dipped below a key support around $3,260, briefly triggering a liquidity sweep. Notably, when price keeps revisiting the same lows, it often signals growing pressure, not strength. Instead of continuation, the market appears to be hesitating at a critical area. According to Tyrex, this hesitation could be a major risk. Notably, each retest makes it easier for sellers to break through support as buyers gradually lose control. The analyst's chart also outlines a potential path lower if support gives way. At the time of Tyrex's analysis, ETH was trading around $3,312, which means a move to this range would have represented a roughly 3% decline. However, as of writing, Ethereum has dropped to $3,200–which is already below the analyst's initial breakdown target. This suggests that upward momentum has weakened further, and the recent price drop could signal an even larger decline, according to Tyrex's analysis. While the Ethereum price navigates bearish trends, Tyrex has advised investors and targets to adopt a wait-and-see approach. He indicated that ETH's outlook is not entirely bearish. Maintaining that level suggests buyers are defending the range and preventing further downside. CUSIP Database provided by FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved. SEC fillings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2026 TradingView, Inc.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has argued that modern DAO design is “inefficient, vulnerable to capture, and fails utterly at the goal of mitigating the weaknesses of human politics.” The original drive to build Ethereum was heavily inspired by decentralized autonomous organizations: systems of code and rules that lived on decentralized networks that could manage resources and direct activity, more… However, he claimed that since Ethereum's founding, DAOs in practice have drifted toward “essentially referring to a treasury controlled by token-holder voting.” This, he argued, leaves them open to control by centralized actors and has made many observers cynical about DAOs as a concept. Buterin criticized both token-based oracles and human curation, calling the latter “not very decentralized.” Buterin identified two core problems that he thinks must be solved for DAOs to function effectively: privacy and decision fatigue. In cryptography, a zero-knowledge proof is a method used to prove that something is known without revealing the known information directly, which can be useful for privacy-centric applications. Buterin also highlighted the ability of AI to reduce decision fatigue, but warned against putting a mainstream large language model like OpenAI's GPT or China's DeepSeek in charge of a DAO. Zero-knowledge specialist Harry Halpin, CEO and co-founder of mix network Nym Technologies and a former research scientist at MIT, told Decrypt that the technology could help DAOs function more fairly. "DAOs are the future of democratic politics, and just as we don't want our votes for president in a national election to be public, we don't want our votes in token governance to be public either," Halpin said, adding that, "Zero-knowledge proofs are one way to achieve that." Halpin acknowledged that zero-knowledge DAOs are not yet “technically mature”, but said Nym would be happy to adopt them once the software is ready. Rachel Rose O'Leary, a founder and core developer at DarkFi, told Decrypt that “transparency forced us to hand control of the funds to an off-chain nonprofit foundation,” during her work on AssangeDAO. "DAOs cannot do real shit without anonymity," she told Decrypt. The latest news, articles, and resources, sent to your inbox weekly.

A sudden and violent sell-off of the crypto market occurred, destroying more than $100 billion of the total market value in half a day. The global crypto market cap dropped sharply over a 12-hour window, erasing roughly $100 billion as sellers took control across large-cap and mid-cap tokens. Data from heatmap indicated that there was a close-to-global sea of red with Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP and Solana recording significant losses. Ethereum was the next in line as it lost over 3%, whereas XRP and Solana had even greater losses within the day. Smaller-cap altcoins experienced greater declines with liquidity drying up and stop-losses being called. Read More: Eric Adams' NYC Token Explodes Into Crypto With $700M Frenzy, 80% Crash, and Rug Pull Fears When BTC fell under closely monitored amounts, the selling force escalated in both spot and derivatives markets. Any traders who had hedged a higher continuation were compelled to undo. A failed close can be viewed as an indicator by short-term traders to minimize exposure, particularly when the overall macro environment is in question. XRP has been dropping nearly 4% and Solana by more than 6%, which is not doing well compared with the majors. Correlations between crypto assets had gone up drastically during the sell-off. Read More: Bitcoin Turns 17 – A Hidden Genesis Block Message Still Moves Crypto Today Isabella specializes in tracking how blockchain technology is transforming industries worldwide. Her pieces explore the real-world applications of blockchain, from supply chain to healthcare. Isabella is passionate about highlighting underrepresented use cases in the crypto space. The latest news, articles, and resources, sent to your inbox weekly. The latest news, articles, and resources, sent to your inbox weekly.

Sign up now for CryptoCodex—A free crypto newsletter that will get you ahead of the market Now, as Bank of America's chief executive issues a stark $6 trillion crypto warning, traders are braced for this week's inflation reading to be higher than previously expected—triggering warnings of "unprecedented stagflation." Economists at Barclays and Morgan Stanley have increased their December U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) forecasts to 2.8% or 2.9%, while BNP Paribas's Andy Schneider wrote in a note seen by Reuters that the reading will be "significantly" higher than last week's 2.7% consumer price index (CPI). The latest PCE data, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation that excludes volatile food and energy prices, will be released on Thursday, potentially reviving fears of so-called stagflation that sees sluggish economic growth combined with soaring prices. “A coming collapse in the dollar will send consumer prices soaring,” Peter Schiff, a gold investor who is typically bearish on the dollar and critical of bitcoin, posted to X. Sign up now for CryptoCodex—A free crypto newsletter that will get you ahead of the market "President Trump's fresh tariff threat to his trading partners and Nato allies over Greenland led to a U.S. dollar selloff," David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said in emailed comments. Gold and silver have both hit record highs as the U.S. dollar declined, with David Wilson, director of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas, telling Bloomberg that gold at $5,000 per ounce “looked like a big target” not that long ago, but is now within sight. Meanwhile, traders are betting bitcoin price weakness continues due to the geopolitical uncertainty weighing on risk appetite. “From here, it's likely we'll see further downside unless buyers step in, with strong support around $88,000,” Nic Puckrin, digital asset analyst and co-founder of the Coin Bureau, said in emailed comments, adding “the uncertainty and fears around Greenland are likely to get worse before they get better.”

The Reserve Bank of India has proposed a plan to interconnect the central bank digital currencies of all BRICS nations to streamline cross-border trade and tourism through direct digital settlement. The statement, reported in Reuters, states that India's central bank hopes to link other BRICS nations via a common digital currency. The proposal would mark the first coordinated effort to link sovereign digital currencies, including India's e-rupee and China's digital yuan, within a shared, multilateral framework, if adopted. By enabling direct payments in local CBDCs, BRICS members could settle trade and tourism flows without routing transactions through dollar-based correspondent banking systems. The central bank stated that such a system would improve efficiency by eliminating intermediaries, lowering settlement delays, and reducing transaction costs. Implementation would require consensus on technical interoperability standards and governance rules across the member countries. As of January 2026, India's e-rupee has reached approximately 7 million retail users, while China is actively promoting international use of its digital yuan, according to the report. Brazil, Russia, and South Africa are all operating advanced CBDC pilot programs. Web3 cannot deliver financial freedom with assets trapped on a single blockchain | Opinion Solo BTC miners score $300K blocks, hacker steals $282m in social engineering hack, Strategy buys $1.2b Bitcoin | Weekly Recap AI bots are betting billions on the future, but (no one knows if) they're cheating | Opinion DeFi's promised to replace TradFi, not sit on top of them | Opinion Get crypto market analysis and curated news delivered right to your inbox every week.

Along with this change, there has been a shift in the company's leadership. Gina Nelson has stepped up as the sole CEO after previously co-leading with fellow co-founder Ric Moore until July 2024. Nelson had been the Chief Operating Officer for over five years prior to this change. Ric Moore announced his departure from his role at the company via LinkedIn, explaining that he stepped down after Nelson expressed her desire to lead the company independently. Those who are passionate about cozy games seek enriching worlds and impactful progression, not NFTs. Therefore, we're fully committed to building Moonfrost in line with these beliefs.” The studio has also explored AI tools but is committed to emphasizing craftsmanship. Nelson stated, "Moonfrost is crafted by individuals down to the pixel and system, with an original soundtrack that immerses players in its world. Oxalis Games was established in August 2020 and initially raised $4.5 million in seed funding with support from investors such as Blocore, Supercell, Animoca Brands, Griffin Gaming Partners, Sir Ian Livingstone, and Phil Mansell, then CEO of Jagex. More recently, they secured an additional $2 million in late 2025, led by L1D and Arete Capital.

Co-CEO and co-founder Ric Moore has stepped down, Gina Nelson is now the studio's sole chief executive Indie developer Oxalis Games is changing direction on upcoming cosy RPG, Moonfrost, ditching web3 and NFTs. This news also comes alongside a change in leadership at the company; Gina Nelson is now Oxalis Games' sole CEO, having previously shared the role with fellow co-founder Ric Moore as of July 2024. Before that, she spent five and a half years as COO. Moore announced his departure from the studio on LinkedIn, saying that he had stepped down after Nelson "expressed a desire to run the company on her own". Companies House has him being removed as a director as of December 31, 2025, but he has remained at Oxalis as an advisory board member, adding that he is still a "major stakeholder"; on Companies House, he is still a person with significant control, alongside Nelson. “We tried a path that didn't fit Moonfrost,” Nelson said. The communities that truly care about cozy games want rich worlds, meaningful progression, and a safe, welcoming place to escape into. So we're closing that chapter completely and building Moonfrost the way it should always have been." That isn't a foundation for the kind of game we're making. We've built Moonfrost with an enormous amount of care and passion, because it's meant to feel like a world players can truly come home to. We have no interest in replacing our team, and I believe the human touch is what will stand out in a sea of low-effort, automated content." Two years later, the company attracted $4.5 million in seed funding led by Blocore, but also including names including Supercell, Animoca Brands, Griffin Gaming Partners, and Sir Ian Livingstone and then-Jagex CEO Phil Mansell. The company has since attracted another $2 million in a late 2025 funding round led by L1D and Arete Capital. No part of this website or its content may be reproduced without the copyright owner's permission.

If accepted, it would mark the first formal attempt to link the central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) of BRICS members, a move that could reduce dependence on the US dollar at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions. Any initiative to operationalise digital settlements among these nations is likely to draw scrutiny from Washington, especially as US President Donald Trump has previously labelled BRICS “anti-American” and threatened tariffs on member countries. The proposal expands on a 2025 declaration at the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, which encouraged interoperability between members' payment systems to improve cross-border efficiency. India has repeatedly spoken of its interest in linking the digital rupee with other nations' CBDCs to speed up cross-border settlements and support greater use of the Indian currency globally. Although none of the BRICS members have fully launched their CBDCs, all five core economies are running pilots. India's e-rupee has gathered about seven million retail users since its introduction in December 2022, while China has been pushing for wider international use of its digital yuan. The RBI has also enabled offline payments, programmability for government subsidies and fintech wallet integration to encourage adoption. For BRICS currency linkages to work, a shared framework for technology, governance, and settlement of trade imbalances will be essential, one official told Reuters. One option being explored involves bilateral foreign exchange swap lines between central banks to settle transactions on a weekly or monthly basis. This may help avoid the kind of imbalance that emerged when Russia accumulated large amounts of rupees after India imported Russian goods but could not offer equivalent exports in return. The broader BRICS project has regained attention amid Trump's revived tariff threats and geopolitical realignments. However, the bloc's effort to create a common BRICS currency has been shelved, and global enthusiasm for CBDCs has been tempered by the rapid spread of stablecoins. Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar recently said CBDCs offer a safer alternative because they avoid risks associated with privately issued digital tokens.

Synergy Week 3 in Kaidro's play-to-acquire ecosystem is currently enticing players to strategically optimize their NFT lockups. This event, spanning from January 18 to January 24, 2026, leverages a detailed synergy system where players must configure their NFT sets to boost reward outcomes. 🐉The grind continues and the stakes are higher than ever. Participants in Kaidro's Synergy Week 3 can capitalize on the synergy system that calculates two main outputs: Rank Points and Kalodium ($KALO). Specifically, for every 5 Rank Points accumulated from these synergies, players are rewarded with 1 $KALO. To garner optimal benefits, players are prompted to keep their strategic NFT sets locked from the start of the week at midnight GMT on a Sunday to just before midnight on the following Saturday. The pricing for creating Synergy Slots in Kaidro employs a tiered model to encourage a broader investment in diverse NFT combinations. The cost for each additional slot decreases progressively; starting at 1 RON or 1 AKDR for the first slot, and going down to 0.1 RON or AKDR for the fifth slot onwards. Each assembled lockup must contain exactly three NFTs from the same clan, with daily scores derived from systematically calculating tier values and bonus multipliers, ensuring fairness in reward distribution. Besides the principal Synergy feature, Kaidro's ecosystem also integrates additional player engagement tools such as the Spin Wheel and Quests. These components aim to keep players actively involved and accumulating Rank Points consistently throughout the monthly cycle. Synergy Week 3 kicked off on January 18, 2026, capturing considerable interest in Kaidro's gaming community. The event signifies a pivotal period where players can delve into intensive strategic play, configuring and maintaining ideal NFT sets to optimize their rewards before the event concludes on January 24, 2026. We do not share any kind of investment advice. NFT Games are very risky and come with no guarantees. Our website uses cookies to improve your experience.

Profit-taking and macro uncertainty push Bitcoin into a narrow trading range. Bitcoin trades in a narrow range as investors await key macro cues 84.7 lakh) on Monday, as the cryptocurrency market remained range-bound amidst cautious investor sentiment. The world's largest cryptocurrency was priced around $93,200 (roughly Rs. Analysts said recent profit-taking and macro uncertainty are driving consolidation at lower levels. 2.9 lakh), holding steady alongside Bitcoin, signalling continued confidence in the broader digital asset ecosystem. 84.7 lakh in India, while Ethereum trades near Rs. According to market participants, Bitcoin is currently trading in the low-$90,000 range (about Rs. 81.86 lakh) as investors continue to exercise caution anticipating impending US inflation data and Federal Reserve remarks that may cause interest rate expectations to be reset. 179), and Dogecoin (DOGE) was trading close to $0.12 (roughly Rs. Highlighting near-term trading trends, Akshat Siddhant, Lead Quant Analyst at Mudrex, said, “The market is seeing a bout of near-term profit taking, with Bitcoin hovering around $92,500 (roughly Rs. Data shows a spike in short-term holder deposits, with roughly 41,800 BTC moving to exchanges in the last day, driving short-term swings. Despite this, the underlying trend remains healthy [...] Added confidence comes from Strategy indicating continued buying interest.” Sharing his outlook, Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO of Pi42, said, “Ethereum's steady participation alongside Bitcoin signals continued confidence in the broader digital asset ecosystem. For investors, this is a time to stay disciplined, focus on long-term conviction, stagger allocations rather than chase short-term moves, and align exposure with assets that have strong network activity and liquidity. Commenting on broader market conditions, Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.com, said, “On-chain data suggests this is a consolidation phase rather than one of panic selling. 81.86 lakh) support zone even as rallies face resistance near the $93,000–$95,000 (roughly Rs. For investors, this is a time to avoid chasing short-term moves. As long as key supports hold, staggered accumulation and disciplined position sizing make more sense than aggressive trading in a macro-driven market.” Overall, Bitcoin's ability to hold above the $90,000 (roughly Rs. 81.86 lakh) support zone and attempt a move toward the $96,100 (roughly Rs. 87.41 lakh) resistance will remain central to near-term direction. Rahul Dhingra is a crypto writer at Gadgets 360, where he covers the exciting world of Cryptocurrency, Blockch... more

Stablecoins are emerging as the practical bridge between crypto wallets and real-world commerce, especially when paired with instant settlement. The WalletConnect-Ingenico partnership extends crypto payments into physical retail without forcing merchants to hold digital assets. Cryptocurrency payments have spent years hovering at the edge of mainstream commerce. WalletConnect Pay CEO Jess Houlgrave said the long road to adoption reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what payments actually require. Houlgrave said those elements explain why crypto payments have struggled to move beyond experimentation. “A number of crypto wallets have now linked Visa and Mastercard to those wallets, and the transaction volumes have shot through the roof during 2025,” Houlgrave said. Card-based stablecoin volume reached roughly $500 million in December, growing rapidly month over month, even if still small in the context of global payments, she said. But those transactions still rely on Visa and Mastercard infrastructure. WalletConnect Pay is designed to move more of the transaction onto crypto rails. Users want choice, like the ability to pay with the wallet and assets they already trust, without worrying about chains, swaps or bridges, she said. Even stablecoins alone have been the top topic in crypto, and there are hundreds of different stablecoins and new ones launching every day.” WalletConnect Pay keeps choice with the consumer while standardizing areas regulators care about most, she said. “When we think about information capture, privacy, who has what kind of information and how we share that, of course, that needs to be standardized,” she said. A core objective is to shield merchants and payments companies from crypto complexity altogether. “They should just be able to serve this as an offering.” WalletConnect positions itself as an orchestration layer, handling compliance, sanctions screening and off-ramping. The integration enables stablecoin payments directly at physical checkout using Ingenico's Android payment terminals. Ingenico's global footprint gives WalletConnect access to millions of payment terminals across retail, hospitality, transportation and self-service environments. The partnership allows crypto payments to move beyond eCommerce and into everyday, in-store commerce. Most merchants do not want to hold stablecoins, a reality that WalletConnect's roadmap addresses. WalletConnect manages the conversion between crypto and fiat, enabling refunds that resemble card-based timing. “You can expect that to be very much in line with how a card refund timing works today,” Houlgrave said, adding that near-instant refunds are on the roadmap. Adoption will accelerate as banks and neobanks enable customers to hold stablecoins directly, she said. “Even some very established old banks are really getting their heads around this,” she said. The goal, she said, is simple: “If people are able to hold stablecoins, we need to give them ways of using that in-store as well as online.” We're always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors. Italian Competition Authority Investigates Activision Blizzard's Promotions and Parental Controls WEF Says AI Can Unlock $4.5 Trillion if CEOs Fix Execution

India's central bank has quietly floated a proposal that could carry far-reaching geopolitical consequences: linking the official digital currencies of BRICS countries to facilitate cross-border trade and tourism payments. India's central bank has quietly floated a proposal that could carry far-reaching geopolitical consequences: linking the official digital currencies of BRICS countries to facilitate cross-border trade and tourism payments. If accepted, it would mark the first formal attempt by the bloc to connect their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) into a shared framework. The proposal comes at a moment of heightened global tension. Trade wars have resurfaced, the U.S. dollar's political centrality is increasingly contested, and emerging economies are searching for ways to insulate themselves from financial coercion without openly declaring war on the dollar-based system. At its core, the plan aims to make payments between BRICS members faster, cheaper, and less dependent on existing dollar-centric channels. This would bypass correspondent banking bottlenecks and reduce exposure to sanctions or tariff-driven financial pressure. India has been careful to frame the proposal as technical rather than ideological. The RBI has repeatedly stressed that promoting the digital rupee internationally is not about de-dollarisation, but about efficiency, resilience, and modernising cross-border payments. BRICS has regained prominence amid President Donald Trump's renewed tariff threats and warnings against countries seeking alternatives to the dollar. Trump has previously labelled BRICS “anti-American” and openly threatened punitive trade measures against its members. Against this backdrop, a BRICS-linked CBDC system would not replace the dollar overnight, but it would represent a subtle shift: from dependence on U.S.-dominated financial plumbing to parallel infrastructure controlled by emerging economies themselves. Despite its ambition, the proposal faces a long and uncertain road. None of the major BRICS members has fully launched a CBDC, though all are running pilots. Questions around governance, data sharing, settlement of trade imbalances, and trust in each other's platforms are unresolved. Earlier efforts by India and Russia to expand local-currency trade ran into problems when Russia accumulated large rupee balances it could not easily deploy. To avoid similar pitfalls, the RBI is exploring mechanisms such as bilateral foreign exchange swaps and periodic settlements to manage imbalances more smoothly. Countries may be reluctant to rely on platforms designed or dominated by others, especially when strategic trust within BRICS remains uneven. India's persistence on CBDCs stands out at a time when global enthusiasm has shifted toward stablecoins. The RBI has taken a firm stance against that trend, arguing that privately issued stablecoins pose risks to monetary sovereignty, financial stability, and regulatory control. By contrast, linking CBDCs within BRICS would allow countries to experiment with innovation while retaining full state control an appealing compromise for governments wary of both dollar dominance and private digital currencies. If even partially realised, a BRICS CBDC linkage would strengthen financial ties within the bloc and deepen South–South economic integration. The dollar's dominance rests on deep capital markets, legal trust, and liquidity advantages no CBDC network can easily replicate. Over time, alternative systems can reduce the dollar's exclusivity, even if they do not dethrone it. India, in particular, is walking a careful line: seeking insulation from geopolitical shocks without provoking outright confrontation with the United States. By emphasising efficiency, tourism, and trade facilitation, New Delhi is framing a geopolitical move in technocratic language. In Washington, any effort that reduces dollar dependence especially within a bloc that includes China and Russia will be viewed through a strategic lens. That alone could raise the political cost of implementation. Instead of one dominant system, multiple overlapping payment networks are emerging, each reflecting different power centres. A linked BRICS CBDC system would not end dollar dominance but it would mark another step toward a more fragmented, multipolar financial order where states, not markets alone, decide how money moves across borders. MD does not stand behind any specific agenda, narrative, or school of thought.

Home » News » Best Altcoins To Buy Now After Bitcoin Slides Below $93,000 as Trump's New Tariffs Cause Uncertainty Pradeep is a crypto enthusiast and fintech journalist with over six years of hands-on experience in the cryptocurrency space. Best altcoins to buy now are in focus again as Bitcoin dropped below $93,000 during the early Monday session after Donald Trump's new Greenland-related tariffs on eight European allies over the past weekend. The U.S. President announced a 10% tariff on European countries that are supporting Denmark against his bid for Greenland. Across 8 countries, he imposed a 10% tariff, effective from 1 February, warning that it could rise to 25% in June. This has triggered a sharp “risk-off” move in the global financial markets. Investors are reacting to the escalating trade tensions by liquidating speculative positions in favor of traditional safe havens like gold and reducing exposure to assets like cryptocurrencies. This led to a sharp sell-off in the broader crypto market. While this might seem like a cautious sign for early investors, veterans know that this lenvironment presents an ideal time to add potential tokens for the next leg up. While Bitcoin and Ethereum are still holding above the current support level, some altcoins are showing immense strength despite broader market weakness. Bitcoin has dominated the crypto landscape since its inception. Instead of processing every transaction directly on the main network, it uses zk-rollups to group thousands of transactions off-chain and then settle them together on Bitcoin. This approach eases network congestion and sharply lowers transaction costs, without compromising security. What truly sets Bitcoin Hyper apart is its integration of the Solana Virtual Machine. By tapping into a system capable of processing up to 65,000 transactions per second, Bitcoin Hyper opens the door to high-speed applications on the Bitcoin network. This makes advanced use cases such as DeFi platforms, blockchain games, and NFT trading possible at a scale that Bitcoin alone could not support. Currently, the project is in its presale phase with each HYPER token priced at just $0.013605. The move was triggered by investors shifting towards privacy tokens after a series of multi-million-dollar swaps to Monero following a social engineering attack. This increased the demand for privacy tokens like XMR. However, after the recent correction hit the market, it dropped to a low of $533, but as dip buyers stepped in, it has recovered above $620. Currently, XMR is trading at $624, up 6.8% over the past 24 hours. If another breakout occurs, Monero could target the $1,000 psychological mark, while in a bearish scenario, it could see a bearish move below the $500 support. Maxi Doge leans fully into chaos, and it does so on purpose. Instead of playing it safe, the project uses an over-the-top Shiba mascot and a tongue-in-cheek message that openly mocks reckless trading culture. MAXI is designed to plug into perpetual trading platforms, and the project runs regular trading contests where users can earn rewards in both MAXI and USDT. These mechanics turn the brand into something people actively interact with, not just scroll past. On the token side, Maxi Doge keeps things controlled. In the past seven days, TRON has surged by over 6.5% and is currently trading above $0.31. Since its December low, the altcoin has surged nearly 20%, an exceptional performance for a large-cap token amid these conditions. However, its strong performance in weak market conditions positions it as one of the best altcoins to buy now. XRP price prediction is back in focus after XRP traded near $1.97 on Tuesday after a sharp move lower broke the token out of its recent consolidation range, signaling a... Pradeep is a crypto enthusiast and fintech journalist with over six years of hands-on experience in the cryptocurrency space. He's written more than 4,000 articles, blending technical know-how with market insight to break down complex topics in a way that's easy to follow. With a strong focus on both analysis and industry trends, Pradeep's work aims to keep readers informed, engaged, and ahead of the curve in the fast-moving world of digital finance. Sport.Fun Launches FUN Token on Base With Major Exchange Listings Bitcoin Price Forecast: Institutional Buying Grows, But Retail Still Missing at $95K icobench.com is a cryptocurrency data website tracking 18896 cryptocurrencies trading on 402 exchanges. Investing in cryptocurrencies, tokens, or Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) carries significant risks, including the possible loss of your entire investment. Always conduct your own due diligence and consult with a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Solana Labs CEO and co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko issued a defiant strategic directive on January 17, 2026, arguing that the Solana network must “never stop iterating” if it hopes to remain relevant in a rapidly maturing global financial system. He emphasized that for Solana to meet the diverse and shifting needs of its millions of users and developers, the network must maintain an aggressive, iterative development cycle, effectively adopting an “adapt or die” mentality that prioritizes real-world utility over theoretical purity. Yakovenko's vision for Solana is one of a “living ecosystem” that introduces new features, optimizes its validator stack, and updates its core codebase to fit the immediate demands of internet-scale financial activity. This stands in stark contrast to the “walkaway test” proposed for Ethereum, which focuses on maximizing decentralization and privacy even if it results in a slower pace of innovation. By rejecting the notion that a protocol can ever be “finished,” Solana is positioning itself as the primary venue for consumer-facing applications and high-frequency trading, where speed and reliability are predicated on continuous technical refinement rather than long-term ossification. Looking toward the remainder of 2026, Yakovenko even suggested a future where the Solana network could leverage artificial intelligence to assist in its own development. He envisioned a model where network fees could be used to fund AI-assisted tools that write and improve the chain's codebase, ensuring a diverse and decentralized pool of contributors rather than a single development team. This forward-thinking approach aligns with Yakovenko's recent prediction that the stablecoin market will surpass 1 trillion dollars by 2026, a milestone he believes will be reached through the constant improvement of high-throughput networks. As Solana continues to integrate institutional real-world assets and tokenized equities, the co-founder's push for “more iterations” serves as a reminder that the chain's long-term success is far from guaranteed and requires a relentless commitment to outcompeting legacy financial systems. By promising that there will “always be a next version” of the protocol, Yakovenko is signaling to developers that Solana is not a static platform to be built upon, but a dynamic partner that will evolve in tandem with the cutting edge of global finance and decentralized technology.

India has proposed that BRICS nations explore linking their official digital currencies to simplify cross-border trade and tourism payments, a move that could gradually reduce reliance on the US dollar as geopolitical tensions intensify. The BRICS grouping, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded in recent years to include countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Indonesia. The RBI's proposal is understood to focus on facilitating cross-border trade finance and tourism payments by making national digital currencies interoperable. Such an initiative could draw criticism from Washington, as US President Donald Trump has previously described BRICS as “anti-American” and warned that efforts to bypass the dollar could trigger retaliatory tariffs. The proposal builds on a declaration made at the 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, where members called for closer cooperation and interoperability between their payment systems to make cross-border transactions faster and cheaper. None of the major BRICS economies has fully launched a retail CBDC, but all are running pilot programmes. India's e-rupee, introduced in December 2022, has attracted about seven million retail users. China has also signalled plans to expand the international use of its digital yuan. To encourage adoption, the RBI has enabled offline payments, added programmability for government subsidy transfers, and allowed fintech firms to offer digital currency wallets. However, one of the sources cautioned that making BRICS CBDCs interoperable would require agreement on technology standards, governance rules, and mechanisms to settle trade imbalances. One option under discussion is bilateral foreign exchange swaps between central banks. These could allow weekly or monthly settlements while managing uneven trade flows. The renewed interest in CBDCs comes despite growing global enthusiasm for stablecoins. India has taken a sceptical stance, arguing that stablecoins pose risks to monetary stability. RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said recently that CBDCs “do not pose many of the risks associated with stablecoins”, citing concerns over monetary control and systemic resilience. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!