BTC Holds Gains, ETH Slides as Regulatory Clarity and Macro Data Shape Crypto Market

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The SEC and CFTC relaunched Project Crypto to harmonize U.S. digital asset regulation, aiming to reduce fragmented oversight and boost investor confidence. The U.S. Senate advanced the CLARITY Act, but partisan divisions and DeFi definitions may delay final passage. EU MiCA implementation in 2025 led to 68 new crypto licenses, increasing regulatory clarity and enabling cross-border operations.

Crypto Market

The crypto market showed mixed performance over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) rose 0.41% to $84,054, while Ethereum (ETH) fell 3.11% to $2,707.56, with ETH underperforming amid risk-off sentiment. Notably, PI Network (PI) surged 5.54% on a technical upgrade, while LayerZero (ZRO) dropped 13.39% after a large FTX estate sale. Render Network (RNDR) declined 3.51%, and DoubleZero (2Z) slipped 1.57%.

Today's Outlook

Today, the U.S. releases Producer Price Index (PPI), Core PPI, and German HICP data, while the FOMC concludes its January meeting with no rate change. President Trump is set to announce the new Federal Reserve Chair, events that could drive volatility across crypto and global markets.

Fear and Greed Index

28.00% Annual Percentile

28 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$2.84T

0.92%

Total Market Trading Volume

$168.02B

7.85%

Altcoin Season Index

16.67%

Quarterly Percentile

28 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.42B

6.12%

Futures

605.94B

0.28%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

President Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair, signaling potential shifts in US monetary policy that could impact crypto market liquidity and risk sentiment.

The US Dollar Index surged 0.9% in a single day, its largest gain since July, as precious metals plunged; this dollar strength may pressure BTC prices and reduce DeFi inflows from non-USD regions.

The US Senate passed a bill to prevent a government shutdown, reducing near-term fiscal uncertainty and supporting market stability, which is positive for crypto market confidence and trading activity.

The White House will host a meeting with crypto and banking policy executives to discuss stablecoin yield, a topic that could influence stablecoin demand and on-chain liquidity in DeFi protocols.

Visa and Mastercard expressed caution on stablecoins for consumer payments, highlighting that current adoption is limited to settlement and trading, which may slow mainstream crypto payment integration.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The SEC and CFTC relaunched Project Crypto to harmonize U.S. digital asset regulation, aiming to reduce fragmented oversight and boost investor confidence.

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the CLARITY Act, a major crypto market structure bill, but partisan divisions and DeFi definitions may delay final passage.

EU MiCA implementation in 2025 led to 68 new crypto licenses across Europe, increasing regulatory clarity and enabling cross-border operations for major and niche providers.

Hong Kong began issuing stablecoin licenses under a new regulatory regime, with 36 firms applying, reinforcing its position as a global stablecoin hub and raising compliance standards.

U.S. and EU regulators are tightening rules on exchanges and custodians, while DeFi platforms remain largely unregulated, creating uncertainty for decentralized protocols.

PI Network (PI): PI Network price rose 5.4% in 24h to $0.1734, driven by a January 30 technical upgrade enabling millions of users to complete Mainnet migration and expanding app utilities, with 24h trading volume up 19.6% to $21.3M.

LayerZero (ZRO): LayerZero saw a 13.2% 24h price drop to $1.83, with $127.7M in trading volume. The decline followed a large FTX estate sale of ~11M ZRO (7.1% of supply) via Wintermute, increasing short-term sell pressure.

DoubleZero (2Z): DoubleZero recorded a 1.7% 24h price drop to $0.1190, with trading volume surging 40.3% to $24.7M. The protocol achieved record epoch revenue of 410,000 2Z (~395 SOL) in the past week, signaling strong network activity.

Smart Money Movements

A whale purchased 1,585 XAUT for $8.02 million USDT, raising total holdings to 2,563.77 XAUT valued at $13 million, with an average price of $5,069 per token.

Bitcoin long-term holders spent over 370,000 BTC in the past month, with daily gross spending exceeding 12,000 BTC, as market volatility increased and BTC dropped to $81,000.

Blackrock deposited 2,288 BTC worth $188.99 million and 19,644 ETH valued at $53.72 million into Coinbase, signaling continued institutional engagement.

A whale transferred 16,500 BNB, approximately $14.13 million, between anonymous wallets, following an earlier 2,633 BNB ($2.26 million) transfer, highlighting ongoing large-scale BNB movements.

A significant transfer of 2,440.67 PAXG, valued at $12.37 million, was made from an anonymous address to Paxos, with another 2,393.93 PAXG ($12.12 million) moved shortly before.

Events to Watch

Jan 31 (Sat)

US Producer Price Index (PPI), Core PPI, and German HICP data are released; FOMC concludes January meeting with no rate change; Trump to announce new Federal Reserve Chair.

Feb 2 (Mon)

Zama will hold its Token Generation Event, focusing on infrastructure and privacy in the crypto sector.

Feb 3 (Tue)

Ondo Summit in NYC features BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, The White House, and major institutions; N1 mainnet launches, targeting L1 infrastructure.

Feb 4 (Wed)

Rails Token Generation Event will take place, focusing on DeFi and DEX innovation.

Feb 5 (Thu)

US Non-Farm Payrolls data for January 2026 will be released; Digital Assets Forum opens in London with industry leaders; YO Protocol and Rainbow Token Generation Events occur.

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