Bitcoin has returned to $95,000, the U.S. has postponed the consideration of the Clarity Act, the former mayor of New York launched a scam token, and Belarus has signed a law on crypto banks, among other events from the past week.

Bitcoin's Recovery

The past week has been quite favorable for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market overall.

The rally began on Monday when the digital gold bounced back from the $90,000 mark. On Tuesday, the coin surpassed the $95,000 level for the first time since November 2025.

By Wednesday, the rally reached a local peak, just shy of $98,000. In the latter half of the week, Bitcoin experienced a slight correction, retreating back to $95,000 (+5% over the week).

After several weeks of sideways movement, the leading cryptocurrency finally joined the rise of risk assets and precious metals. Analysts at QCP Capital noted that Bitcoin had long lagged behind gold and the stock market, but the breakout above $95,000 changed the game—this barrier had held prices back since November.

The current price reflects major macroeconomic risks, from events in Venezuela and Iran to U.S. tariff policy, according to experts. They suggest that capital may be flowing into digital assets amid the depreciation of fiat currencies.

The rest of the crypto market also kept pace with the leader. Ethereum surpassed $3,300 (+7% for the week).

Most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap were also in the "green zone." TRX gained 6%, while SOL rose by 4.5%.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency fear and greed index surged sharply. Over the week, the index climbed from 29 to 50 points, indicating "greed" for the first time since October.

Additionally, the dynamics of crypto ETFs stabilized. Bitcoin-based exchange funds attracted $1.42 billion, while Ethereum ETFs garnered $479 million.

The total market capitalization of the crypto market stands at $3.3 trillion. Bitcoin's dominance is at 57.4%, while Ethereum's is at 12.1%.

Clarity Act Postponed

On January 15, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee postponed the consideration of the Clarity Act, which addresses the structure of the crypto market. Officials stated that the document requires further consultation with industry representatives.

However, the latest version of the bill was not supported by Coinbase due to "too many issues." These include restrictions on operations with tokenized stocks and rewards for stablecoin holders by exchanges.

"I found it extremely unfair that one industry [banks] came in and got the opportunity to take control of regulators, banning competition," said CEO Brian Armstrong in an interview with FOX News.

Later, journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that the company's decision sparked "outrage" within the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. According to her, the White House threatened to withdraw its support for the document if Coinbase did not resume negotiations.

After rumors circulated, Armstrong published a post denying any conflict. He stated that the president's administration is not considering backing away from the Clarity Act.

"The White House has shown exceptional constructiveness here. They asked us to try to negotiate with the banks, which we are currently working on," added the executive.

Simultaneously, Trump's chief cryptocurrency advisor, David Sachs, urged the industry to use the delay to "settle any remaining disagreements." He added that "the passage of market structure legislation is closer than ever to completion."

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New York Scam Token

On January 12, during a conference in Times Square, former New York Mayor Eric Adams announced the launch of the NYC Token meme token on the Solana blockchain.

The token's stated goal was to combat "anti-Americanism" and anti-Semitism. The politician promised that all proceeds would go to a non-profit organization.

However, about 30 minutes after launch, the token's price plummeted from $0.47 to $0.10.

Analysts at Bubblemaps noted suspicious activity. A wallet associated with Adams made a profit of $1 million through manipulation of the meme coin's liquidity pool.

According to the study, an address affiliated with the token's creator sent 80 million NYC to an account that provided them as liquidity on the decentralized exchange Meteora. It then withdrew $2.5 million in USDC at the peak price, returning only $1.5 million after a 60% drop.

Bubblemaps also noted that the wallet linked to the token's deployment opened several one-sided liquidity pools on Meteora.

The scheme has already been compared to the launch of the LIBRA token, which was promoted on social media by Argentine President Javier Milei.

After the scandal, representatives of the former New York mayor stated that he did not profit from the asset. They claimed that NYC is not related to the city administration or other authorities. It remains unclear who is behind the launch.

"To be absolutely clear: Eric Adams did not move investors' funds. He also did not profit from the release of NYC Token," the statement said.

Belarusian Crypto Banking

On January 16, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law on "Crypto Banks and Certain Issues of Control in the Field of Digital Tokens."

According to the document, a crypto bank is recognized as a joint-stock company—resident of the High-Tech Park (HTP), which is included in a special register of the National Bank. Such organizations will be able to conduct operations with tokens alongside traditional banking and financial services.

Two agencies will regulate these structures: the central bank and the HTP.

"Dual regulation will allow the crypto bank to offer clients innovative financial products that combine the advantages of both traditional banking operations and the technological, rapid, and convenient operations with digital tokens," the Belarusian president's website stated.

Crypto banks must comply with the legal requirements applicable to non-bank credit and financial organizations. These include capital adequacy standards, risk management, compliance with AML/CFT, and consumer protection.

Also on ForkLog:

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Inflow of New Users to Ethereum

On January 15, the number of daily active addresses on the Ethereum network surpassed 1 million—more than double last year's figures (410,000).

At the same time, a new peak of daily transactions was recorded at 2.8 million. The year-on-year growth was 125%.

This positive trend is attributed to reduced transaction costs and increased use of stablecoins. Researchers at Glassnode also noted a doubling of the activity retention rate on the Ethereum network.

The number of addresses that interacted with the blockchain for the first time in the last 30 days surged from 4 million to 8 million.

Additionally, the amount of ETH locked in Ethereum staking reached record levels.

As of January 16, there were 35.8 million ETH in the Beacon Chain—29.57% of the market supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency. The number of active validators stood at 976,117.

Meanwhile, the queue for unstaking has nearly cleared. At the time of writing, only 128 ETH are awaiting withdrawal.

The main drivers of growth have been large players and issuers of exchange products:

  1. BitMine. The firm led by Tom Lee owns 4.07 million ETH (3.36% of the total supply). Over the past week, the company doubled its locked assets to 1.53 million ETH.
  2. ETF. Grayscale began distributing staking rewards to investors in its funds. Morgan Stanley filed for a spot Ethereum ETF with a staking option. This confirms asset managers' interest in passive income on the blockchain.

Further Reading

The fight for privacy is shifting from ideals to infrastructure, and Zero-Knowledge is one of the most powerful tools the industry has. We explored why 2026 will be the year of ZK.

In a new piece, we thoroughly analyze the protests in Uganda and assess the technical potential of mesh networks in real-world "silence" conditions.