Crypto

Xapo Bank has been pushing a simple message to long-term Bitcoin holders: do not just park your coins, put them to work. From its base in Gibraltar, the Bitcoin-first bank has built a suite of “wealth” products that turn both USD and BTC balances into yield, with all returns paid out in Bitcoin. For Bitcoiners […] The post Xapo Bank’s Bitcoin Wealth Ecosystem, Explained appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The current tight consolidation closely mirrors the April 2025 range that set the stage for the record run above $126,000.

By the time most people finish their first coffee, the market will already have picked a direction for the day, and Bitcoin will have reacted, overreacted, and possibly reversed. Friday, January 9 has that familiar feeling traders dread and secretly crave, the kind of calendar where the headlines are close enough together that one story […] The post Today’s “perfect storm” for Bitcoin brings several critical macro tests that signal a volatility surge – what to watch appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Corporate crypto treasuries are increasingly turning to Ether staking, as companies like SharpLink generate recurring yield from onchain operations. Public companies and crypto-focused treasury firms are increasingly turning to staking as a source of passive income. Sharplink Gaming, the world’s second-largest corporate Ether (ETH) holder, generated 10,657 Ether ($33 million) in passive yield on its staking operations during the past seven months, according to the company’s dashboard. Staking allows investors to earn passive income through committing their tokens to secure proof-of-stake blockchain networks. Read more

The decline was accompanied by a spike in volume, suggesting large-holder or institutional activity, and analysts see a risk of continued pressure.

The raise values Rain at $1.95 billion after 30-fold card growth in 2025, with the Visa-linked platform planning expansion across multiple continents. Rain, a US stablecoin infrastructure provider and a principal member of the Visa payments network, has secured major funding to expand its global presence. The platform raised $250 million in a Series C funding round led by the global investment firm Iconiq, according to an announcement on Friday. The round values Rain at $1.95 billion, bringing the company’s total funding to $338 million, following a $58 million Series B round in August 2025 and another $24.5 million raise in March last year. Read more

Ripple has gained FCA registration through its U.K. subsidiary, marking a key regulatory milestone as Britain moves to bring crypto into its financial framework.

Here's everything most interesting surrounding PI, XRP, and ETH.

A crypto user who lost $5,000 from a hot wallet after a stay at a hotel said the real culprits were open WiFi, a casual lobby phone call and one careless wallet approval. A crypto user known as The Smart Ape said he lost about $5,000 from a hot wallet after spending three days in a hotel, not because he clicked a phishing link, but because he made a series of “stupid mistakes,” including using an open WiFi network, taking a phone call in the lobby and approving what looked like a routine wallet request.  The incident, analyzed by security firm Hacken for Cointelegraph, shows how attackers can combine network‑level tricks with social cues and wallet UX blind spots to drain funds days after a victim signs a seemingly benign message. According to the victim’s account, the attack began when he connected his laptop to the hotel’s open WiFi, a captive portal with no password, and started “working as usual, nothing risky, just scanning Discord and X, and checking balances.” Read more

Your day-ahead look for Jan. 9, 2026

This Friday, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid in greater detail. Ethereum (ETH) Ethereum started 2026 in the green, but buyers stopped it at the $3,340 resistance level. Despite this, as long as the price holds above the $3,000 support, buyers have the advantage. ЕТХ closed the second week in January with […]

Grayscale registered Delaware trusts linked to potential BNB and HYPE ETPs, an early step that often precedes but does not guarantee ETF filings. Asset manager Grayscale has taken an early step toward expanding its crypto investment lineup by forming new Delaware statutory trusts tied to potential products linked to BNB and HYPE, according to state records. According to Delaware records, the trusts were registered on Thursday. They list CSC Delaware Trust Company as their registered agent. Such trust formations are common preparatory steps for asset managers considering exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches before filing official applications at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but they do not indicate any regulatory approvals or confirm that filings have been submitted.  The inclusion of BNB (BNB) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) stands out, as most US-listed crypto ETFs tend to focus on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), with only a handful of altcoin-linked products gaining ground.  Read more

Bitcoin remained near $90,000 as trading volumes fell. Thin liquidity fueled choppy price action across major cryptocurrencies, while altcoins were mixed.

A new Digital Asset Act will regulate stablecoins, requiring 100% reserve backing and user redemption rights.

Optimism announced a 12-month token buyback program on Jan. 8, allocating 50% of Superchain revenue to monthly OP token purchases starting in February. The buyback pressure is estimated at roughly $9.1 million annually, based on the past year's 5,868 ETH in collected fees. The proposal frames the shift as a transition from pure governance token […] The post Token buybacks spent $880M+ last year, but prices stalled anyway – one number now decides if they work appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Zcash developer activity has fallen to its lowest level since 2021 as a governance dispute weighs on sentiment and ZEC extends a two-month decline. Developer activity linked to the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash has fallen to its lowest level in years, as a governance dispute and a prolonged price decline weigh on the project’s ecosystem. Data from market intelligence company Santiment shared in a Thursday X post showed that developer activity tied to Zcash dropped to its weakest level since November 2021. Over the same period, the Zcash (ZEC) token has fallen about 40% over the past two months. “Historically, rising development activity leads to standout altcoins being able to emerge above the pack. The opposite result holds true for those that ‘let off the gas’ and decline in their efforts to consistently innovate and improve,” said Santiment. Read more

Bitcoin falls below $90K as MACD hits record low, with analysts warning a break under $87,200 could lead to a drop toward $69,230.

A newly discovered vulnerability may enable malicious validators to omit the hash field when posting blocks, leading to validator crashes and slowing block production. A newly disclosed software flaw in the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon may allow malicious validators to disrupt parts of the network’s consensus process, potentially slowing block production during key periods, according to developers. The vulnerability affects Babylon’s block signature scheme, known as the BLS vote extension, which is used to prove that validators have agreed on a block. The bug enables malicious validators to intentionally omit the block hash field when sending their vote extension, which could lead to validator consensus issues during the epoch boundaries of the network, according to a GitHub post published on Thursday. Read more

Bitcoin (BTC) opened 2026 with the kind of price action that tests conviction, with the first five days taking BTC close to $95,000, only for it to test the $90,000 footing again. The movement follows weeks of choppy trading, failed breakout attempts, and a Fear & Greed Index reading of 28, firmly in “Fear” territory. […] The post Bitcoin is stalling, but this low-key “absorption signal” shows a violent supply shock could be inevitable appeared first on CryptoSlate.

After a brief January rebound, US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs saw heavy redemptions, extending a cautious trend that began after October’s market reset. United States spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have shed over $1 billion in combined outflows since Tuesday, marking an early-year pullback after a brief rebound to start 2026.  SoSoValue data shows spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded $1.13 billion in outflows between Tuesday and Thursday, offsetting $1.17 billion in inflows on Jan. 2 and Monday. Spot Ether (ETH) ETFs had a similar pattern, with about $258 million exiting since Wednesday, after posting modest inflows earlier in January.   The reversal erases gains accumulated in the opening days of the year and signals renewed caution among investors. It also suggests that early inflows were fragile, with investors trimming exposure as sentiment softened.  Read more