Cointelegraph.com
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Cointelegraph.com - 21:22 Jan 10, 2026
The Bitcoin mining difficulty continued to push through to new all-time highs in 2025 amid a turbulent year for the mining industry. The Bitcoin (BTC) network mining difficulty, the relative computing challenge of adding a new block to the decentralized blockchain ledger, fell slightly to 146.4 trillion on Thursday, in the first difficulty adjustment of 2026. “The next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is estimated to take place on Jan 22, 2026, 04:08:12 AM UTC, increasing the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 146.47 T to 148.20 T,” according to CoinWarz. Average block times are 9.88 minutes at the time of this writing, slightly below the 10-minute target, which means the next difficulty adjustment will increase slightly to align better with the target block time. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 20:06 Jan 10, 2026
The outage was the second major network disruption in 2025, with both incidents requiring a block reorganization that rolled back some activity. The team behind Starknet, an Ethereum layer‑2 (L2) scaling network, released a post-mortem report outlining the root cause of the temporary mainnet downtime on Monday. The root cause of the mainnet downtime was a discrepancy in the network state between the blockifier execution layer and the proving layer that checks that the execution layer is processing transactions correctly, according to the report. The Starknet team explained: This incorrect execution never saw L1 finality thanks to Starknet’s proving layer,” the StarkNet team said, highlighting how the proving layer functioned properly by flagging the error and not committing the faulty transactions to the ledger. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 18:37 Jan 10, 2026
Many in the Bitcoin community continue to speculate that cryptographer Hal Finney was Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The Bitcoin (BTC) community is celebrating the anniversary of cypherpunk and Bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney’s post on January 10, 2009, telling the world that he was running the Bitcoin node software “Running Bitcoin,” Finney said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Finney was the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction on the network. He was born on May 4, 1956, and pursued a career in computer science and cryptography, and was one of the first people to respond to Satoshi Nakamoto’s publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 17:13 Jan 10, 2026
Bitcoin whales began repeating a classic bull signal as they took BTC long positions off the table after a year of declining overall market exposure. Bitcoin (BTC) whales are “aggressively” reducing long exposure as a classic bull signal reappears. Key points: Bitfinex whales are rotating out of BTC long positions — something that preceded major price gains in the past. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 12:42 Jan 10, 2026
The message claimed Betterment would “triple” Bitcoin and Ether deposits sent within hours, urging users to transfer $10,000 to crypto wallets. Betterment has warned users to disregard a crypto promotion message that circulated on Friday, describing it as an unauthorized notification that was sent through a third-party system. The incident surfaced after multiple users reported receiving a message that appeared to promote a limited-time cryptocurrency offer. Screenshots shared on Reddit showed the notification urging recipients to send as much as $10,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) to specified wallet addresses, with a promise that the funds would be “tripled” and returned within hours. The message, framed as an official promotion celebrating Betterment’s “best-performing year,” closely mirrored common crypto scam tactics, including time pressure, unusually high guaranteed returns and direct wallet transfers. Some users said similar language also appeared in email messages. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 09:12 Jan 10, 2026
Spot Bitcoin ETFs reversed early inflows in 2026 and posted four straight days of outflows as fading rate-cut hopes and rising geopolitical risks pushed investors into risk-off positioning. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) started 2026 with sharp outflows, shedding a combined $681 million over the first full trading week of the year. According to data from SoSoValue, spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded four consecutive days of net outflows between Tuesday and Friday, outweighing inflows earlier in the week. The largest daily redemption occurred on Wednesday, when products shed $486 million, followed by $398.9 million on Thursday and $249.9 million on Friday. The reversal came after 2026 opened with brief strength. On Jan. 2, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $471.1 million, followed by another $697.2 million inflow on Jan. 5. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 07:05 Jan 10, 2026
Pump.fun is introducing a new creator fee sharing system that lets teams and CTO admins split fees across up to 10 wallets, transfer coin ownership and revoke update authority. Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen said the Solana-based memecoin launchpad is overhauling its creator fee system after concluding that the existing model may have skewed incentives. “Creator fees need change,” Cohen wrote in a Friday post on X, acknowledging that the Dynamic Fees V1 system, introduced several months ago, succeeded in driving activity but failed to produce sustainable market behavior. According to Cohen, the mechanism encouraged low-risk token creation at the expense of high-risk trading, which he described as “dangerous” because traders are the core source of liquidity and volume on the platform. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 05:27 Jan 10, 2026
A series of ads reportedly aired on Fox News, calling on the public to contact their senators to remove DeFi provisions from the CLARITY Act bill. An anti-decentralized finance group is reportedly running advertisements on Fox News encouraging the public to pressure their Senators into passing crypto market structure legislation that excludes DeFi provisions perceived to be threatening to the banking industry. According to two screenshots shared Friday on X by Crypto in America host Eleanor Terrett, the Investors For Transparency members wrote: "Tell Your Senator: Pass Crypto Legislation Without DeFi Provisions,” sharing a hotline number to contact their local Senators. “Don’t Let DeFi Stall Innovation,” another snippet of the ad said, which appears to echo concerns from banking lobbyists over the CLARITY Act permitting stablecoin issuers to offer interest-bearing products that could be disguised as bank-like deposits and potentially draw trillions of dollars from the traditional banking system. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 02:56 Jan 10, 2026
Crypto remains a key technology for maintaining America’s technological edge, according to a16z, which has raised another $15 billion to back American-aligned tech investments. Tech-focused venture capital firm Andreessen “a16z” Horowitz said it raised over $15 billion to invest in companies and technologies it sees as critical to secure America’s future and win the next century — and crypto remains a key part of that mission. In a post to X Friday, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz, acknowledged that China and other competitors have caught up to the US in recent decades and that America must continue to innovate to preserve its technological, economic, and military dominance: Horowitz said alignment between the US government and the private sector is crucial to defend American interests, warning that failure could cost the country its dominance: Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 00:46 Jan 10, 2026
Crypto venture capitalists have tipped stablecoin card adoption to take off in 2026 after fintech startup Rain secured $250 million in funding to push stablecoin payments. An industry leader said stablecoin-powered cards are shaping up to be one of the biggest crypto themes of 2026, which seek to provide the benefits of blockchain while keeping the payment experience familiar for consumers. “This is one of the big themes of 2026: crypto becomes enmeshed more deeply into how payments flow through the global economy,“ Haseeb Qureshi, a managing partner at crypto-focused venture capital firm Dragonfly, posted to X Friday. “Stablecoin cards are growing like crazy, everywhere in the world,” the VC added after stablecoin startup Rain raised $250 million in a funding round that pushed its valuation to nearly $2 billion. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 22:09 Jan 09, 2026
Bitcoin traders’ risk sentiment turned bullish, with the proof being in this week’s futures-led advance to $95,000. Will bulls make another attempt after retesting a key underlying support level? The start of 2026 saw Bitcoin and select altcoins rally back toward their weekly range highs, and the current situation across markets highlights improving investor sentiment and trading volumes. Since Jan. 1, Bitcoin continued to show improvement with tightening range consolidation clearly seen in its daily higher lows and higher highs, leading to the weekly high at $94,800. 7-day liquidation heatmap data from Hyblock shows long liquidation clusters between $89,000 to $87,000 and short positions sitting at the weekly range high near $95,000. From a technical trader’s point of view, the start of year rally pulled the price above the 20-day moving average, which is currently converging with the 50-day moving average. After BTC failed to hold $95,000 and liquidate the short positions in that zone, it appears that some... -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:40 Jan 09, 2026
Cryptocurrency index benchmarks and crypto index investment vehicles will grow in popularity as market complexity increases, analysts say. The Nasdaq Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group joined forces to unify their crypto indexes, rebranding the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI) as the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index. The NCI benchmark index includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK), Cardano (ADA) and Avalanche (AVAX), spokespersons for Nasdaq confirmed to Cointelegraph. Sean Wasserman, head of index product management at Nasdaq, said in Friday’s announcement: Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:35 Jan 09, 2026
New rules from Colombia’s tax authority require crypto service providers to collect and share user and transaction data. Colombia’s tax authority, DIAN, has introduced a mandatory reporting regime for crypto service providers, requiring exchanges and intermediaries to collect and submit user and transaction data as part of its oversight of the digital asset sector. The rules were set out in Resolution 000240, issued on Dec. 24, which adds a crypto reporting regime aligned with OECD-developed international standards, including the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). According to the new rules, crypto exchanges, custodians and other service providers must report identifying information and transaction data for “reportable” users, enabling the automatic exchange of that information with foreign tax authorities. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:04 Jan 09, 2026
Democratic leaders on key committees considering crypto market structure legislation are reportedly drawing a line in the sand over elected officials profiting off the industry. A number of Democratic lawmakers in the US Senate are reportedly pushing for conflict-of-interest guardrails in a crypto market structure bill under consideration. According to a Thursday report from Punchbowl News, Senate Democrats including Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego demanded safeguards in the Republican-led Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA) which would affect how US regulatory agencies and the government handles digital assets. The lawmakers reportedly pushed for provisions prohibiting public officials, including US President Donald Trump, from profiting from any connections to crypto companies. “It is a red line,” Gallego told Punchbowl on the ethics guardrails. “They need to get it right, or they’re not going to have enough votes to pass this.” Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:00 Jan 09, 2026
Big banks aren’t debating crypto anymore — they’re building it. From tokenized cash to ETFs, Wall Street is quietly going onchain. For years, major banks treated cryptocurrency primarily as a risk to be contained. That posture is now giving way to a more deliberate form of engagement. Rather than debating crypto’s legitimacy, banks are increasingly deciding how and where to integrate it, from regulated investment products to blockchain-based payment rails. This shift is on full display in this week’s Crypto Biz. JPMorgan is extending its US dollar deposit token onto new blockchain infrastructure, signaling that tokenized cash is moving closer to production use within global banking. Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, is positioning itself to offer exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), potentially bringing crypto investments to millions of wealth management clients. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 20:23 Jan 09, 2026
The crypto market structure bill is unlikely to come up for a second vote in 2026 if it fails to pass in a vote next week, analyst Alex Thorn said. The passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, also known as the CLARITY market structure bill, hinges on bipartisan support in the United States Senate Banking Committee, according to Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto investment firm Galaxy. Typically, the Senate needs at least 60 votes to advance legislation, and Republicans need seven to 10 Democrats to vote yes on the CLARITY Act, Thorn said on Friday. If Republicans can secure four votes from Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, it is “likely” that all 17 Democratic senators who voted for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulatory framework, will vote with Republicans to advance the market structure bill. Thorn added: The US Congress passing a crypto market structure framework would foster crypto adoption, especially among institutional investors, who may be hesitant to adopt digital as... -
Cointelegraph.com - 19:55 Jan 09, 2026
The bill came after a Polymarket user netted more than $400,000 on a contract related to the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, fueling concerns about insider trading. New York Representative Ritchie Torres, with the backing of more than 30 other Democrats in the House of Representatives, has introduced legislation following a Polymarket user netting $400,000 on a bet related to the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In a Friday notice, Torres said he had introduced the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026. According to the New York representative, the bill would prohibit “federal elected officials, political appointees, Executive Branch employees, and congressional staff from buying, selling, or exchanging prediction market contracts tied to government policy, government action, or political outcomes when they possess material nonpublic information or could reasonably obtain such information through their official duties.” Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 19:37 Jan 09, 2026
The cryptocurrency exchange reported sharp growth in automated trading as volatility narrowed across major crypto assets. Cryptocurrency traders increasingly leaned on automated strategies in 2025 as volatile but largely range-bound markets made directional bets harder to sustain, according to a year-end recap from HTX. The Seychelles-based exchange, formerly known as Huobi, said the trend was most visible in the growing use of grid-based trading bots on its spot platform. According to HTX, grid trading volume rose 97% year over year in 2025, while capital allocated to grid strategies doubled. The increase was especially pronounced in stablecoin pairs, where grid trading volume rose 352% year over year, compared with 122% growth in major cryptocurrencies. HTX said the bots were typically used to capture smaller, repeated price swings rather than to bet on sustained market moves. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 19:00 Jan 09, 2026
Bitcoin steadied near $90,000 as ETF flows turned negative, altcoins continued a valuation reset and DeFi markets showed pockets of renewed activity. Cryptocurrency markets experienced a limited recovery this week as investor liquidity gradually returned after the holidays. Bitcoin (BTC) topped a weekly high of $94,458 on Monday, before declining to about $90,937 at the time of writing on Friday. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) demand saw a sharp reversal after $1.1 billion in inflows on the first two trading days of the new year. The ETFs have since logged three consecutive days of outflows, with a cumulative $398 million sold on Thursday, according to Farside Investors data. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 18:30 Jan 09, 2026
Long-term Bitcoin holders sold nearly $300 billion worth of BTC in 2025, but as this sell pressure declines, a bullish outlook for 2026 has emerged. Bitcoin’s long-term holders (LTHs) went through one of the most aggressive distribution phases on record in 2025. While the scale of selling rattled the market, onchain data analysis suggests that this pressure may be fading, possibly outlining the next bullish period for BTC price. Key takeaways: Long-term holders distributed about $300 billion in BTC in 2025, marking a historic supply reset. Read more
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