Daily Crypto Briefing – January 18, 2026

The crypto market is showing signs of maturation as political hype fades and institutional infrastructure takes center stage. Here's what happened in the past 24 hours.

Top Stories

Post-Political Era Begins

Animoca's Yat Siu says crypto's Trump moment is over, according to CoinDesk. The gaming and Web3 executive argues that crypto's next phase will be shaped by infrastructure, regulation, and actual usage rather than political personalities and hype.

Institutional Accumulation Accelerates

Large bitcoin holders buy the most coins since the FTX collapse of 2022, reports CoinDesk. The Fish-to-Shark cohort added 110,000 BTC over the past 30 days according to Glassnode data, signaling strong institutional confidence.

Historical Pattern Points to Breakout

Bitcoin is lagging while metals soar, but this rare divergence preceded every major crypto breakout since 2019, according to CryptoSlate. Gold and copper gains amid Fed patience on rate cuts historically precede major Bitcoin rallies.

Regulatory Clarity Concerns

The CLARITY Act stalling is positive for the crypto industry, analyst Michaël van de Poppe tells Cointelegraph. He warns that overregulation would negatively impact markets and damage DeFi.

Markets & ETFs

• ETF Revival: Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.42 billion in fresh inflows this week after a quiet month
• Options Dominance: Bitcoin options open interest overtook futures for the first time, reaching $74.1 billion vs $65.22 billion
• Price Action: Bitcoin consolidates near $95K with analysts watching for either a rally to $100K or drop below $90K support
• Derivatives Sentiment: Bybit reports improved risk appetite as Bitcoin hit 2-month highs

Regulation & Policy

CLARITY Act Tensions

Stablecoin yield fight threatens to sink CLARITY Act as Coinbase and White House clash, reports The Block. CEO Brian Armstrong said the White House told him to work out a deal with banks or risk losing support.

Industry Pushback

Here's why Coinbase and other companies soured on the major crypto bill, explains CoinDesk. Provisions on DeFi, SEC jurisdiction, and stablecoin yield alarmed industry participants.

White House Relations

Coinbase refutes rumors of White House threat to pull crypto bill support, with Armstrong calling the administration "super constructive."

Ethereum & Layer 2s

Network Activity Surge

Ethereum network activity explodes with on-chain activity hitting record levels while maintaining structural strength above key support.

Staking Milestone

Ethereum staking hits $118B record at 30% of all coins, though one whale may be skewing the signal according to CryptoSlate.

Protocol Development

Vitalik calls for 'garbage collection' function to stop Ethereum bloat, warning about increasing protocol complexity.

Layer 2 Revenue

Base leads L2 fees with $147K daily as most chains earn under $5K, capturing nearly 70% of Ethereum L2 fee revenue.

Corporate Adoption

Restaurant Chain Entry

Steak 'n Shake adds $10 million to BTC treasury, eight months after Lightning Network rollout across all US locations.

Wall Street Integration

Wall Street integration will power crypto's next phase, says Fidelity Digital Assets, with infrastructure and institutions laying groundwork for structural finance shifts.

Technology & Security

Security Concerns

80% of hacked crypto projects never 'fully recover', expert warns Cointelegraph. Security failures destroy trust beyond just draining funds.

Interoperability Issues

Crypto's decentralization promise breaks at interoperability, revealing gaps between industry narrative and how value actually moves across blockchains.

Quick Hits

• China-led CBDC project mBridge tops $55B in cross-border payments
• Crypto scams and hacks drained over $4B in 2025 with scam losses jumping 64% year-over-year
• [Dan Tapiero predicts Bitcoin to $180,000](