If Ethereum drops below $3200, the mainstream CEX long liquidation pressure will reach $802 million.

January 16 — Per Bitcoin Magazine, Belgium’s second-largest bank KBC Group announced it will offer Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to retail customers via its online investment platform Bolero, making it the first bank in the country to provide such services. The service is set to launch the week of February 16 and will operate under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. KBC noted it has filed a full notification with regulators to act as a crypto asset service provider. The service will follow an “execution-only” model, meaning customers must make their own trading decisions and pass a risk knowledge and experience test prior to trading. To mitigate fraud and money laundering risks, the platform will use a closed-loop system: customers can only buy and sell crypto on Bolero, cannot transfer assets to external wallets or exchanges, and the bank will provide custody services for their holdings.

On January 16: Amid ongoing domestic protests and a deepening economic crisis in Iran, Iranian citizens are accelerating Bitcoin withdrawals from exchanges to personal wallets to hedge against inflation and financial censorship risks. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis notes that from December 28, 2025—when the protests erupted—to January 8 (during Iran’s internet shutdown), BTC outflows from Iranian domestic exchanges to unknown individual wallets surged significantly. This indicates people are more inclined to directly control their crypto assets amid turmoil. The analysis suggests this behavior is a rational response to the collapse of the Iranian Rial (IRR). Data shows the IRR-to-USD exchange rate has plummeted from around 42 at the end of last year to over 1,050 this week, nearly collapsing purchasing power. Bitcoin—with its decentralization, censorship resistance, and cross-border transferability—is seen as a key tool to combat currency devaluation and political uncert

**Berachain Community Proposes 8%→5% BGT Annual Inflation Cut (Jan 16)** The Berachain community has put forward a proposal to reduce the annual inflation rate of its BGT token from 8% to approximately 5%. The measure aims to boost the network’s long-term economic sustainability, improve emission efficiency, and align with inflation levels of mainstream Layer 1 (L1) blockchains. Notably, the proposal will not alter Berachain’s existing Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) reward mechanism, treasury allocation logic, or validator incentive functions—it only adjusts annual BGT issuance via a cut to the “reward rate” parameter. Proposal analysis notes lower inflation will reduce yields for BGT and BERA holders but enhance BERA’s relative scarcity. Total incentives for validators, decentralized applications (dApps), and liquidity providers will also decrease. Berachain’s team has set a long-term goal: to further trim inflation to levels closer to Ethereum’s between 2026 and 2027. The propo

As of January 16, the market has entered a new phase dominated by policy signals—weakening the four-year cycle long viewed as a core Bitcoin narrative. Analysis shows political and macro policy impacts on prices are increasingly outpacing on-chain factors like the halving. While U.S. stocks posted strong gains in 2025, Bitcoin has lagged relatively, reflecting a market now driven more by liquidity expectations and policy timing than broad risk appetite. Under the traditional model, early 2026 should mark the cycle’s end—but current trends suggest investors are pushing this timeline back, with policy factors leading the way. Institutional analysts note that pre-election fiscal stimulus and blurry lines between fiscal and monetary policy are creating conditions akin to "financial repression." Against a backdrop of high government spending and suppressed real interest rates, traditional bonds and credit are losing appeal, while digital assets’ allocation value is growing. Looking

On January 16, the Financial Times reported the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, triggering global central bank concerns over the Fed’s compromised independence. The development not only impacts the direction of U.S. monetary policy but also directly threatens a key crisis tool of the global financial system: currency swap agreements. Swap agreements are a core mechanism through which the Fed provides dollar liquidity to other central banks during crises, serving as a "financial lifeline" from the global financial crisis (GFC) to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, pressure from the Trump administration on the central bank has stoked fears the tool could become politicized. European officials discussed alternative arrangements last year, reflecting growing awareness among countries that their reliance on dollar liquidity could be weaponized. Analysts note that if the U.S. ties swap agreements to geopolitical intere