Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Bulls Lose Momentum Before Bessent Confirmation Hearing Your day-ahead look for Jan. 16, 2025

Upbit, South Korea’s Largest Crypto Exchange, May Face Sanctions in the Country: Report Crypto exchange Upbit could face sanctions from South Korean authorities for not complying with money laundering obligations.

Bitcoin Revisits $100K as Trump Inauguration May Spur a Breakout: Van Straten Wednesday’s price action for bitcoin was the fourth time it exceeded the key $100,000 price level.

Nomura-Backed Komainu Receives $75M Bitcoin Investment From Blockstream Capital Blockstream CEO and co-founder Adam Back is to join Komainu’s board of directors.

Malaysia Weighs Introduction of Crypto, Blockchain Legislation The country’s prime minister held discussions with Abu Dhabi’s government and crypto exchange Binance to formulate how to move forward.

Bitcoin Poised to Top Record as Trump Inauguration Nears, Major Coins Due for 10% Swings: Traders Wednesday’s soft U.S. core CPI has opened doors for traders to focus on Trump’s swearing in and the possibility of first-day pro-crypto announcement.

XRP’s Bullish Momentum Strongest Since January 2018 as Futures Open Interest Hits Record High XRP’s price rise is accompanied by record perpetual futures open interest and surge in trading volumes.

Indian Telecom Giant Jio Joins Hands With Polygon to Bring Web3 to Over 450M Users Polygon’s CEO hailed the partnership as a significant step forward for Web3 adoption in India.

XRP Hits 7-Year High Above $3 as Large Holders Accumulate $3.8B of Tokens Growing speculation of a potential spot XRP ETF is one of the factors driving the surge, one crypto analyst said.

The Protocol: Sony Launches Blockchain to Controversy Also: Bubblemaps roadmap; Babylon interoperability

Eight U.S. Blockchain Lobby Groups Unite Ahead of Trump’s Crypto Friendly Regime The Texas Blockchain Council is optimistic about Trump’s comeback — but miners may face new difficulties in Texas.

Germany’s Boerse Stuttgart Says Crypto Accounts for 25% of Its Revenue as Trading Volume Triples The exchange, which now boasts over one million crypto trading clients, has been expanding its cryptocurrency offerings since 2019.

Good Riddance to Gary Gensler Passing the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act into law would establish a responsible new regulatory framework that clearly defines the role of the SEC and the CFTC, says Rep. Mike Lawler, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Crypto’s U.S. Banking Problem Likely Among the First Things Tackled Under Trump From the debanking crisis to the SEC’s crypto accounting standards, the blockade between the digital assets sector and banks may be an easy target.

Corporate Bitcoin Adoption Forges Ahead as More Listed Firms Ride the Wave In the last few weeks, four firms have announced bitcoin purchases, while seven companies announced a strategy, but no acquisition.

Bitcoin Caught Up in a Macro-Driven Sell-Off, May Fall Further: Standard Chartered There is a danger that forced or panic selling could lead to further bitcoin weakness and a break below $90K could lead to a 10% retracement, the report said.

Stalled Stablecoin Supply Casts Doubt on BTC’s Bullish Recovery as U.S. Inflation Report Looms The combined supply of top four stablecoins has stabilized with barely any change over the 30-day period.

Deribit CEO Confirms Strategic Investment Inquiries, Rules Out Takeover Report The crypto options platform is reportedly working with FT Partners to assess takeover bids.

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: XLM Gains 9.8% as All Assets Trade Higher Hedera (HBAR) joined Stellar (XLM) as a top performer, gaining 7% from Tuesday.

ARC’s Elroy Cheo on How Asia Is Doing Web3 Differently The co-founder of the exclusive Web3 community argues that Asia is uniquely positioned to lead the next phase of NFT innovation.