Flipster Crypto Weekly (January 9)

Crypto Pulls Back as Early-2026 Volatility Tests Positioning

January 9, 2026

Crypto markets entered the second week of 2026 under pressure, with prices retreating from early-year highs amid choppy sessions and uneven follow-through. Selling accelerated during Asia hours before finding partial relief during U.S. trading, leaving majors lower on the week but still within well-defined ranges.

BTC peaked near $94K earlier in the week before sliding steadily, last trading around $91,081. ETH followed a similar path, easing from recent highs to trade near $3,106. Bitcoin dominance edged lower early in the week before stabilizing near 59.1%, suggesting modest risk dispersion without a full rotation into smaller caps.

Price action remained reactive rather than directional. Intraday volatility increased, but conviction stayed limited as liquidity rebuilt unevenly across sessions.

Market Drivers: Headlines Over Flow

This week’s movement was driven less by macro repricing and more by discrete headlines and positioning adjustments.

Binance Futures expanded its derivatives suite with the launch of TradFi perpetual contracts, starting with XAUUSDT (gold). The contracts offer 24/7, USDT-settled exposure with no expiry, marking Binance’s entry into commodities-linked derivatives. The move broadens hedging and diversification tools for crypto-native traders beyond traditional market hours.

Regulatory and policy signals also remained active. Florida became the latest U.S. state to explore the creation of a Bitcoin reserve ahead of the 2026 legislative session, reinforcing the gradual normalization of BTC as a strategic asset at the state level. In contrast, former President Trump stated he has no plans to pardon former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, briefly resurfacing legacy counterparty and governance narratives.

Capital & Treasury Activity: Accumulation Continues

Despite price softness, treasury accumulation remained a defining theme.

Strategy disclosed the purchase of 1,287 BTC, bringing total holdings to 673,783 BTC, reinforcing its pattern of buying into consolidation rather than momentum. On the Ethereum side, Bitmine Immersion Technologies expanded its ETH position to approximately 4.14 million ETH, now representing about 3.43% of total ETH supply.

Institutional infrastructure activity also picked up. World Liberty Financial applied for a U.S. national trust bank charter, aiming to bring stablecoin issuance, custody, and conversion fully onshore under federal oversight. The proposed structure would focus on institutional stablecoin services and regulated on/off-ramps.

Fireblocks announced the acquisition of crypto accounting platform Tres Finance for $130M, signaling continued consolidation across compliance and financial tooling. Babylon Labs raised $15M from a16z crypto to advance Bitcoin collateral infrastructure, highlighting sustained venture interest in BTC-native financial primitives.

Protocol & Ecosystem Developments

Ecosystem headlines remained active even as prices softened.

Optimism proposed deploying 50% of Superchain revenue toward OP token buybacks, introducing a more direct capital return mechanism for the ecosystem. Nike exited its digital collectibles business, selling RTFKT to an undisclosed buyer, reflecting continued retrenchment by legacy brands in consumer-facing NFT initiatives.

MSCI added clarity around digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, confirming it will not immediately exclude them from equity indices while further consultation is underway. The decision eased uncertainty and sparked a sharp rebound in Strategy shares earlier in the week.

Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley filed for Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, CoinFund announced plans to spin out its liquid strategies business, and Polymarket confirmed most markets remain fee-free, with small taker-only fees introduced on select short-duration crypto contracts.

Market Structure: Pullback Without Breakdown

Structurally, the market remains intact but unsettled.

BTC continues to trade above key medium-term support despite the pullback, while ETH’s retracement below recent highs has yet to trigger broader deleveraging. Liquidity is improving incrementally, but depth remains insufficient to sustain trends without headline reinforcement.

For now, markets are trading tactically; responding to catalysts, fading extensions, and waiting for clearer signals from participation rather than price alone.

Outlook

The second week of 2026 reflects digestion rather than distribution.

Treasury accumulation persists, product expansion continues, and institutional infrastructure keeps advancing. But until liquidity deepens and positioning resets, price action is likely to remain volatile, reactive, and range-aware.

Markets are still searching for confirmation.

Trade accordingly.

Disclaimer: This material is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Flipster makes no recommendations or guarantees in respect of any digital asset, product, or service. Trading digital assets and digital asset derivatives comes with a significant risk of loss due to its high price volatility, and is not suitable for all investors. Please refer to our Terms.