Crypto Market Slides as BTC, ETH Lead Declines; Meme Coins Hit Hard

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The US Senate Banking Committee advanced a digital asset market structure bill, signaling regulatory clarity and potential institutional inflows. The BRICS alliance is preparing a gold-backed currency, which could impact Bitcoin's digital gold narrative. Fed officials remain cautious on rate cuts, sustaining risk-off sentiment and limiting crypto's short-term upside.

Crypto Market

The crypto market saw broad declines over the past 24 hours, with BTC up 0.65% to $91,138.84 and ETH rising 0.58% to $3,139.00, as traders reacted to geopolitical volatility following the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Trump's subsequent pledge to oversee the country's oil reserves. Meme coins led losses: BONK dropped 11.14%, FLOKI fell 11.10%, and PIPPIN slid 8.67%, as speculative flows reversed amid sector-wide risk aversion.

Today's Outlook

Today, Sanity United SUT launches its Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on the Spores platform, drawing attention to new DeFi projects. Additionally, FOMC voter Kashkari is scheduled to speak at the American Economic Association, with potential implications for US monetary policy expectations.

Fear and Greed Index

16.00% Annual Percentile

38 Neutral

Total Crypto Market Cap

$3.12T

1.58%

Total Market Trading Volume

$75.97B

30.86%

Altcoin Season Index

75.00%

Quarterly Percentile

25 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

2.63B

1.38%

Futures

778.37B

10.01%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

On January 4, 2026, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced a market structure bill, clarifying digital asset classifications, which may boost institutional confidence and liquidity in crypto markets.

U.S. Congress is set to review early implementation of stablecoin frameworks in January, with federal agencies expected to outline supervision standards, potentially impacting stablecoin adoption and DeFi liquidity.

The BRICS alliance is preparing to launch a gold-backed currency unit, signaling a potential shift in global reserve dynamics that could influence Bitcoin's narrative as digital gold and affect cross-border crypto flows.

Recent U.S. labor market data, including the upcoming December unemployment rate and nonfarm payrolls, are expected to influence Federal Reserve monetary policy, impacting risk sentiment and crypto asset volatility.

Fed officials indicated a cautious approach to rate cuts, suggesting a delay in monetary easing; this stance may sustain current risk-off sentiment and limit short-term upside for major cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw resigned on January 2, leaving the agency with only Republican commissioners, signaling a likely shift toward more crypto-friendly regulation and reduced enforcement actions.

Tether blacklisted several USDT addresses in early 2026 linked to terrorism financing, highlighting increased regulatory collaboration between stablecoin issuers and global law enforcement.

US policymakers are moving from warnings to strict legislation on Bitcoin ATMs after $333 million in fraud losses in 2025, raising compliance risks and potentially impacting crypto ATM operations nationwide.

Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin has gained regulatory backing from both New York state and the US OCC, positioning it as a compliance-first product and setting a new standard for stablecoin oversight.

Congress is set to hold key hearings in January 2026 on crypto market structure and stablecoin regulation, with potential to accelerate the establishment of clear US digital asset rules.

BONK (BONK): BONK surged over 22% in 24h, driven by renewed Solana ecosystem momentum and increased meme coin trading volume, with price reaching $0.00001287 and $552M in daily volume.

FLOKI Inu (FLOKI): FLOKI gained 22.7% in 24h, fueled by strong meme coin sector rotation and high trading activity, with price at $0.00005859 and $206M in 24h volume.

PIPPIN (PIPPIN): PIPPIN rose 20.5% in 24h, supported by speculative buying and whale accumulation, with price at $0.501 and $45M in daily trading volume.

Smart Money Movements

A single entity acquired 272,979 Chainlink (LINK) tokens for $3.67 million via three wallets at $13.45 per token within the past hour, signaling strong interest in LINK.

An Ethereum whale swapped 7,828 ETH, valued at $24.6 million, for 269 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) in the last two hours, highlighting significant asset reallocation.

Over 100,000 new Bitcoin whales collectively amassed more than $120 billion in BTC assets, marking a historic high in accumulation speed according to CryptoQuant.

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust added 218,874 BTC in 2025, now holding 770,791.5 BTC worth $67.1 billion, representing 3.67% of total supply and underscoring institutional demand.

A whale deposited $2.5 million USDC into HyperLiquid, spending $1.73 million to acquire 69,975 $HYPE tokens, with $765,619 USDC remaining for further purchases.

Events to Watch

Jan 4 (Sun)

Sanity United SUT will hold its Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on the Spores platform; Kashkari, 2026 FOMC voter, to speak at the American Economic Association.

Jan 5 (Mon)

Theta Network launches TDROP 2.0 governance proposal; US ISM Manufacturing data for January to be released, offering key inflation and demand insights; ENA unlocks 171,875,000 tokens ($40.9M), XION unlocks 1,678,600 tokens ($344K).

Jan 6 (Tue)

Ave.ai and PayFi Protocol GANA $50,000 trading competition ends at 24:00 (UTC+8), with top traders sharing ranking bonuses.

Jan 7 (Wed)

US ADP Non-Farm Employment Report for December 2025 to be released, setting expectations for upcoming labor data.

Jan 8 (Thu)

US Initial Jobless Claims Report to be published, marking the final release impacted by seasonal distortions.

Jan 9 (Fri)

US Non-Farm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate data for December 2025 to be released; LAVA unlocks 145,200,000 tokens ($20.8M), AVNT unlocks 29,250,000 tokens ($10.2M).

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