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Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, launched the Bitcoin Yield Fund "BDYF" for institutional investors on the 22nd. In addition to the rise in Bitcoin prices, the fund aims to achieve excess returns of over 5% per annum by combining market-neutral strategies such as arbitrage and options trading. This is an evolved version of the "Bitcoin Adoption Fund" launched in 2023, with Nomura's custody service, Komainu, responsible for asset storage to ensure safety at the level required for institutional investors.

Bitcoin prices are stagnant. BTC has seen little change over the past 24 hours and has dropped about 6% over the past week. While there appears to be no significant movement on the surface, four dangerous signals have begun to light up simultaneously behind the scenes. A bearish pattern is forming on the charts. The selling pace of long-term holders is accelerating. Demand for ETFs has become the weakest in weeks since November. And instead of long-term holders selling, it is primarily short-term speculative participants who are buying.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are set to align their approach to cryptocurrency regulation together next week.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Mike Cera will serve as the main speakers at a very rare joint public event aimed at harmonizing the supervisory systems of both agencies and promoting the goal set by President Trump to make the U.S. the global center of cryptocurrency.

SEC and CFTC collaborate towards leading U.S. cryptocurrency

Today, approximately 2300 billion dollars worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are reaching their expiration. Traders are wary of a volatility reset, and the market is facing a significant inflection point.

With positions concentrated around key strike prices, price movements before and after expiration are likely to be influenced more by mechanical hedge flows than by fundamentals.

2300 billion dollars worth of options expiring, the price movements of Bitcoin and Ethereum are at a critical juncture

The meme coins Ralph Wiggum Price (RALPH) and Gas Town (GAS) recorded a double-digit drop in the last 24 hours, losing a significant portion of their market capitalization.

This decline has raised concerns about the sustainability of the emerging creator economy meta. It remains uncertain whether this new fundraising method can generate long-term value or if it is merely a repetition of the short-lived bubbles in the past cryptocurrency industry.

The Bank of Japan kept the policy interest rate at 0.75% on Friday. At the same time, it revised its outlook for economic growth and inflation upwards. This decision has long-term significance for the cryptocurrency market.

Japan is facing emergency elections amid a clash between monetary tightening and fiscal expansion. The cryptocurrency market is increasingly exposed to changes in yen-led liquidity and the risk of carry trade unwinding.

Internal conflicts have become apparent due to voting splits

With Telegram boasting 1 billion users and its TON cryptocurrency, it is no wonder that they could stand at the pinnacle of the world. However, like many cryptocurrencies, TON has faced strong headwinds from the 'crypto winter' over the past year and has not delivered remarkable results.

From the peak in 2024, the blockchain's TVL (total value locked) has decreased by about $70 billion. Will TON meet its end like this, or will it achieve an astonishing comeback?

The Tragedy of Toncoin

Cryptocurrency custody company BitGo went public on January 22 on the New York Stock Exchange. This marks the first major cryptocurrency IPO of 2026. The stock code is 'BTGO'.

This listing indicates a movement that opens the way for institutional investors to inject capital into the cryptocurrency market. For individual investors, it provides a new option to participate indirectly in the industry's growth without directly holding tokens.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to keep the policy interest rate at 0.75% after concluding a two-day monetary policy meeting on Friday.

The central bank implemented the highest interest rate hike in the past 30 years in December. The current hold is aimed at allowing policymakers to assess the impact and evaluate the economic effects before further tightening.

Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to reaffirm the BOJ's commitment to a gradual normalization of its policy. Investors are poised to watch for hints about the timing and pace of future rate hikes during the governor's press conference.

On January 22, several local media reported that the Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office in South Korea lost a considerable amount of Bitcoin that had been seized during a criminal investigation.

This incident highlights significant gaps in the digital asset management system by law enforcement agencies.

Suspicion of phishing attack

The prosecution recently noticed that the Bitcoin in their custody has disappeared. The loss is believed to have occurred around mid-2025. Investigators suspect that during a routine inspection of seized assets, someone accidentally accessed a fake site and may have fallen victim to phishing.

The Bank of Japan is expected to hold a monetary policy meeting starting on January 22, 2026, and is likely to decide to keep the policy interest rate at 0.75% on the 23rd. Although a hold is anticipated in the market, investor interest is gathering regarding the impact on the cryptocurrency industry. As of January 22, the price of Bitcoin is hovering around $89,800 per BTC, while gold, considered a safe asset, is at an all-time high of around $4,676 per troy ounce. The effect of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy on the cryptocurrency market is drawing attention.

In the DeFi protocol "World Liberty Financial (WLFI)" related to the Trump family, Spacecoin, the latest infrastructure partner of the project, will launch the SPACE token on January 23.

This launch marks the project's first entry into the public market, aiming to build a decentralized satellite internet network. It seeks to combine blockchain payments with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The SPACE token is expected to be listed first on Binance Alpha.

On the 22nd, the Financial Services Agency started recruiting personnel from the private sector for seven job categories responsible for monitoring financial institutions. Utilizing the 'Social Impact Recruitment Project' provided by the staffing service company En, they will conduct interviews without the written examination traditionally required by the national civil service exam. Amid the increasingly complex financial environment, the aim is to strengthen the organization by actively appointing external personnel with specialized knowledge. The application period is until March 18.

Despite a year of deregulation in the United States, the value of major cryptocurrencies significantly dropped in the first year of President Trump's administration.

The long-awaited turnaround for cryptocurrencies resulted in greater losses than profits for investors. The biggest beneficiary of further integration with traditional finance was President Trump himself.

Rising expectations for cryptocurrencies in Washington

The cryptocurrency community had high hopes for Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.

Caroline Ellison was released from prison on Wednesday after serving 60% of her approximately two-year sentence. The former co-CEO of Alameda Research played a significant role in the events that led to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Ahead of Mr. Ellison's release, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has prohibited him from serving as an officer of any company for the next ten years.

Earlier than scheduled release

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the 31-year-old is currently in a rehabilitation facility in New York. He is expected to spend a transitional period here aimed at reintegration into society. Such facilities play a role in supporting employment for former inmates and reintegration into daily life.

XRP continues to trade under selling pressure. The overall weakness in the cryptocurrency market is dampening sentiment. The token is maintaining a short-term downward trend, influenced by the bearish mood of the macro environment and investors' persistent skeptical outlook.

Meanwhile, Ripple's business development is progressing. This may provide long-term support for the price stability and recovery of XRP.

RLUSD is listed on Binance

Ripple recently announced that the US dollar-backed stablecoin 'RLUSD' has been listed on Binance. The listing will increase the recognition and convenience of RLUSD. This is an important move as the adoption of stablecoins is accelerating worldwide. The expansion of usage tends to enhance the importance of the issuing ecosystem as a digital payment and payment infrastructure.

The price of Ethereum recently fell significantly, temporarily dropping below $3,000 amid increased market volatility. ETH stabilized after falling to a daily low of around $2,870.

This movement unsettled short-term traders, but BlackRock argues that the long-term value of Ethereum lies not in the price movements themselves but in its central role in tokenization.

Advancements in Ethereum's tokenization

Welcome to the U.S. Morning Digest. At the start of the day, we provide a helpful summary of the main trends in the cryptocurrency market for today.

Please enjoy with a cup of coffee. Although it's still the beginning of the year, the gold market is already suggesting that long-term outlooks are being rewritten sooner than expected.

Today's cryptocurrency news: Goldman Sachs raises its gold price target for 2026 to $5,400.

We've just passed the first month of 2026, but Goldman Sachs is strengthening its outlook for further increases in gold prices.

The HBAR price is attempting to stabilize but the momentum of the rebound is weakening. Since January 20, the token has risen about 7%, but it has fallen nearly 8% in the past 7 days. More importantly, the structure supporting the upward breakout has started to weaken beneath the surface.

Currently, the W-shaped recovery pattern is being maintained. However, the flow of funds, sentiment, and whale movements are in a situation that is insufficient for a clean continuation of the rise.

Artificial intelligence has restructured many industries. And every time AI advances, the question that inevitably arises is, 'Will it replace humans?' In the cryptocurrency industry as well, the impact is already visible, from AI-driven trading bots to agent-based trading systems.

However, Nansen's CEO and co-founder Alex Svanevik points out that AI is not a substitute for human judgment, but rather a reinforcement. In an exclusive interview with BeInCrypto, CEO Svanevik detailed this change and provided insights into the future of AI-driven analysis.