🔔 Argentina's New Congress and the Role of Stablecoins in Economic Stabilization

💬 Deputy Martin Yeza of Argentina's new Congress has emphasized the potential of stablecoins to play a crucial role in the country's payment system. He advocates for allowing the central bank to hold cryptocurrency and for state-owned companies to engage in crypto mining. This perspective aligns with local analysts who support the idea of “tetherization” of the economy.

🗣 In an interview with Iproup, Yeza mentioned that the government plans to reassess its approach to dollarization by considering stablecoins and cryptocurrencies as alternatives to the US dollar. He acknowledged the potential resistance to such reforms in Congress but expressed a desire to see stablecoins integrated as a payment method.

📉 One of President Milei's key campaign promises was to eliminate the central bank and fully dollarize the economy to reduce inflation. However, Rocelo Lopez, a local crypto entrepreneur, argued for a “tetherization” approach, which would not require U.S. approval and could offer advantages like traceable and low-cost transactions.

🏦 Recent reports suggest that Argentine banks are preparing to provide crypto services to customers, and the central bank is drafting measures to facilitate private banks' entry into the cryptocurrency market. This indicates a shifting landscape where cryptocurrencies may become more integrated into the financial system as the new Congress navigates these critical issues in 2026.

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💰 Peter Schiff Predicts Silver Will Surpass $100 Next Year Amidst Macroeconomic Challenges

📈 Economist Peter Schiff recently expressed a strongly bullish outlook on silver, suggesting that macroeconomic factors and market conditions are aligning for a potential rise above $100 next year. Despite acknowledging the possibility of temporary pullbacks, he believes that

this time it is different

when it comes to silver's price trajectory.

🔄 Responding to skepticism from a fellow user on social media, Schiff stated,

Silver can easily pull back, but it’s unlikely it gets near $50 again.

He emphasized that regardless of any potential corrections, the price should break above $100 next year.

📉 Schiff linked his optimistic view to deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, explaining that

recession is bullish for gold and silver as it results in larger federal budget deficits, interest rate cuts, expanded QE (meaning higher inflation), and a weaker dollar.

This perspective aligns with a broader bullish case for silver, which is supported by rising government debt, persistent fiscal shortfalls, and declining real interest rates.

⚖️ However, while supporters of this thesis point to chronic silver supply deficits and strong industrial demand from sectors like solar and electronics, skeptics highlight silver's extreme volatility and history of sharp corrections. They caution that while silver may present a compelling long-term investment case, it remains risky over shorter time frames.

🚀 Ripple's Optimistic Outlook on Institutional Crypto Adoption

📈 Ripple's Managing Director for APAC, Reece Merrick, recently expressed a positive outlook for the upcoming year, highlighting the rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies by institutions. He pointed to regulatory advancements and the growth of tokenization as key factors driving this momentum. Merrick stated,

We’ve never been in a better position heading into a new year.

🔍 He elaborated on the shift in regulatory perception, noting that clear frameworks are now enabling financial institutions to move from exploration to implementation. This change allows banks and asset managers to fully integrate blockchain-based payments and stablecoin operations into their core financial activities.

We have moved past the idea of regulation being a blocker,

he emphasized.

💰 Merrick highlighted the maturation of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization into a $30 billion industry dominated by major players like Blackrock and Franklin Templeton. He also pointed out the significant increase in stablecoin supply, which has surged by over 50% this year to approximately $310 billion in market capitalization.

Forecasted growth across RWAs and Stablecoins set to move into the trillions in the coming years!

📊 Addressing capital flows, Merrick noted that crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen steady accumulation with about $29.3 billion in net inflows this year. He described this shift as a validation of crypto's role in institutional portfolios, particularly with growing interest in XRP-linked products.

Multiple XRP ETFs launched, showing clear institutional interest, approaching $1B AUM in under a month,

he stated.

🔗 On the topic of enterprise adoption, Merrick explained that financial institutions are looking to incorporate blockchain technology to enhance their existing systems rather than replace them entirely. He concluded by emphasizing Ripple's strategic position at the intersection of crypto, traditional payments, and tokenization.

This current period is a strong moment to be building in the sector,

he said.

🔔 U.S. Military Operation Leads to Nicolás Maduro's Removal

🚨 On January 3, 2026, a U.S. military operation successfully removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power, resolving ongoing Polymarket prediction markets that had been tracking his potential exit. President Donald Trump announced that elite Delta Force units conducted an overnight raid near Caracas, capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a Venezuelan military complex.

📈 The raid took place during the late hours of January 2 and early January 3, neutralizing Venezuelan military defenses in what U.S. officials described as a rapid and decisive assault. Trump stated that Maduro would face trial in New York on longstanding U.S. charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, which date back to a 2020 indictment that carried a $50 million bounty.

🔗 Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that the operation followed repeated efforts to pressure Maduro to step aside voluntarily after Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election. He characterized the operation as the culmination of escalating diplomatic and military pressure.

⚠️ The event sent shockwaves through prediction markets, particularly on Polymarket, where traders had been betting on Maduro's potential departure. One flagship contract tied to his removal by January 31, 2026, resolved as “Yes” on January 3 following confirmation of his capture. This bet saw more than $56 million in volume. Prior to the raid, the contract had traded at roughly 5 to 7 cents, indicating skepticism about Maduro's imminent removal. However, the overnight resolution pushed the payout to the full $1 per share, generating significant gains for traders who had positioned themselves before the operation became public.

This account, Burdensome-Mix, has existed for only one week and quickly became the biggest ‘yes’ holder in the Maduro out market. Seems pretty suspicious,

one observer noted. Trading patterns have sparked debate about whether nonpublic information influenced activity on the platform. Sports business analyst Joe Pompliano pointed out a specific case:

A newly created Polymarket account invested over $30,000 yesterday in Maduro’s exit. The US then took Maduro into custody overnight, and the trader profited $400,000 in less than 24 hours.

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💰 Bitcoin Options Traders Eye $100,000 Amid Market Recovery

📈 Bitcoin options traders are increasingly optimistic about a potential rebound to the $100,000 mark following a significant selloff at the end of 2025. Improving flows into crypto investment products and a broader risk-on market environment are contributing to this renewed confidence.

According to Bloomberg, data shows that open interest in bitcoin options is heavily concentrated around contracts expiring on January 30 with a $100,000 strike price.

These call options carry more than twice the notional value of the next most popular position, which is put options at an $80,000 strike for the same expiry. This positioning suggests traders are looking past the fourth-quarter crash and toward a renewed upside move.

📉 This shift in sentiment marks a significant change from late 2025 when bitcoin experienced a 24% decline over the quarter. During that period, demand for downside protection surged, pushing put option premiums sharply higher. However, prices have since stabilized.

🚀 On January 5, bitcoin rose as much as 3.6% to trade near $94,800, its highest level in almost a month. This rebound has been supported by renewed inflows into crypto investment products. On January 5, bitcoin ETFs recorded $697 million in inflows, following a $471 million inflow on January 2. Similarly, ether ETFs saw inflows of $174 million and $168 million on January 2 and January 5 respectively.

📊 The improving tone in crypto mirrors strength across other asset classes. Gold has pushed to a record high, while equity markets have been lifted by gains in technology stocks, reinforcing a broader risk-on environment.

⚠️ However, analysts urge caution. Bitcoin has repeatedly failed to hold key technical levels in recent months, often triggering sharp pullbacks and liquidations. Options data suggests a relatively quick move through the $90,000 range, with the next potential consolidation zone around $105,000.

Whether the rally can extend further may depend on whether speculative capital fully returns to crypto derivatives markets.

📝 Colombia's New Reporting Requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers

📈 The National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN) in Colombia has introduced Resolution 000240, which establishes a new reporting regime for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Starting in 2026, VASPs will be required to act as informants for the agency, reporting on user transactions and related details.

📊 This resolution aligns with the Crypto Assets Reporting Framework (CARF) initiated by the OECD, aimed at promoting international data exchange to combat tax evasion associated with digital assets. Under the new rules, VASPs must report transactions involving cryptocurrency assets, particularly those exceeding $50,000. Even transactions below this threshold will be recorded in an electronic report for DIAN.

⏳ Although the resolution was issued in December 2025, VASPs have until May 2027 to comply with these reporting requirements. Failure to adhere to these measures could result in penalties of up to 1% of all non-reported payments. As a precaution, Colombian users are advised to maintain detailed records of their crypto transactions to explain the origin of their holdings if required by DIAN.

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🌐 Salad Partners with Golem Network for Decentralized Infrastructure Trial

📌 Salad, a GPU cloud platform, has teamed up with Golem Network to test if decentralized Web3 infrastructure can handle its large-scale commercial workloads. This partnership involves an engineering trial where Salad will replicate part of its cloud activity using Golem’s permissionless compute layer.

🔍 The main objective is to see if Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs) can support Salad’s diverse workload profiles, including AI inference, 3D rendering, and drug-discovery simulations. Currently, Salad relies on traditional payment processors and billing systems. By incorporating crypto payments and decentralized execution, it aims to reduce operational costs and improve settlement efficiency.

💬 Bob Miles, CEO of Salad, emphasized the collaboration's potential:

By pairing Salad’s distributed infrastructure with Golem’s decentralized compute layer, we’re exploring how customer workloads, revenue, and rewards can flow through DePIN.

Kyle Dodson, Salad’s CTO, noted the technical compatibility:

Golem’s architecture overlaps significantly with how Salad operates today.

🚫 Salad began exploring DePIN protocols in Q3 2025 and identified Golem as a suitable partner. To address concerns about decentralized protocols handling enterprise-grade traffic, Miles stated that the trial will start by mapping a single customer's transactions before expanding.

💰 The shift to Golem’s native token (GLM) also presents economic benefits. Miles explained that using a decentralized settlement layer could eliminate middleman fees, potentially improving Salad’s margins or allowing for more competitive pricing in the GPU market.

📈 The progress of this engineering trial can be tracked in real-time at stats.salad.

🚀 The Rise of Crypto Cards: Bridging the Gap Between Digital Assets and Global Commerce

📈 According to Artemis' latest stablecoin report, crypto cards have evolved from a niche product to a significant player in the cryptocurrency payments market. The report highlights that crypto card payments now rival peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin payments in volume.

💳 Crypto cards, which link payments to stablecoins or other digital assets, have seen substantial growth. Artemis found that payments made with crypto cards increased from $100 million monthly in early 2023 to $1.5 billion by 2025, nearly matching the $1.6 billion in stablecoin P2P payments. This represents a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106% for crypto card payments, reaching over $18 billion annually, while stablecoin P2P payments grew only 5% to $19 billion during the same period.

🔗 The report suggests that this trend is likely to continue. Stablecoin payments face several challenges that hinder their adoption, such as infrastructure limitations, merchant integration issues, accounting complexities, and new compliance measures. In contrast, crypto cards can leverage an established payment system and use fiat-backed rails to facilitate seamless transactions with merchants.

Direct acceptance fully replacing card networks in the near term is unlikely, as seen by their slow relative growth in volume in comparison to cards

Artemis explained.

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📈 Bitcoin's Potential Decline: A Warning from Bloomberg's Mike McGlone

📉 Mike McGlone, a senior macro strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, recently cautioned that Bitcoin could face a significant decline towards $10,000 if it fails to maintain levels above $100,000. He suggests that this could indicate a late-cycle peak and a broader reversal in risk assets.

“$10,000 bitcoin path – 2025 fail may suggest prudent 2026 short,”

McGlone stated. He linked Bitcoin's long-term performance to broader liquidity and risk-asset cycles, noting its historical correlation with aggressive monetary stimulus and investor risk appetite. However, he warned that current technical conditions are markedly different from previous cycles.

🚨 He pointed out that staying below $100,000 could signal an end-game for Bitcoin, leading to a normal reversion towards $10,000. McGlone also highlighted the rolling over of long-term moving averages during 2025 and a rebound attempt in early 2026 as signs that Bitcoin has entered a "prove-strength" phase rather than a renewed bull market.

📊 He shared a chart comparing Bitcoin's yearly candles with the S&P 500 index and 120-day equity volatility. This chart shows declining volatility alongside elevated equity benchmarks, a combination McGlone views as historically unfavorable for sustained crypto upside.

“Bitcoin is a leading candidate to guide post-inflation deflation,”

he added, framing his discussion within a macroeconomic context. Despite the downside risks he outlines, Bitcoin continues to benefit from institutional participation, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and ongoing network security. Its fixed issuance schedule contrasts with concerns about unlimited supply, and past cycles have shown repeated recoveries following deep drawdowns.

📉 Crypto ETF Sell-Off Intensifies: Bitcoin and Ether Face Major Outflows

🚨 The midweek trading session saw a significant acceleration in the sell-off of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly affecting bitcoin and ether funds. Investors continued to withdraw from these assets, leading to aggressive exits while XRP and Solana experienced limited inflows amidst the broader market turmoil.

What began as post-holiday caution quickly hardened into full-scale capitulation,

the report stated, highlighting the intensifying pressure on crypto ETFs as investors sought to reduce their risk exposure.

💔 Bitcoin ETFs were hit the hardest, suffering a net outflow of $708.71 million. Major contributors to this decline were Blackrock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, which lost $356.64 million and $287.67 million respectively. Other funds like ARKB and Bitwise’s BITB also reported significant losses.

Three days of successive outflows for Bitcoin ETFs worth $1.58 billion

emphasized the ongoing trend of withdrawals from these assets.

📉 Ether ETFs followed suit, with a net outflow of $297.51 million. The decline was led by Blackrock’s ETHA, which saw an exit of $250.27 million. Despite Grayscale’s Ether Mini Trust attracting $10.01 million in inflows, it was not enough to counteract the overall selling pressure.

💪 In contrast, XRP ETFs managed to post a net inflow of $7.16 million, driven primarily by Bitwise’s XRP which led with an addition of $5.26 million. Solana ETFs also reported positive performance, pulling in $2.92 million across various funds.

🔍 Overall, the day's trading reinforced a clear trend: bitcoin and ether ETFs are under sustained pressure as investors reduce their exposure. However, the modest inflows into XRP and Solana suggest a degree of selective positioning among investors rather than widespread confidence in the market.

📌 Brazil Eases Crypto Market Entry for Banks; Colombian Pension Fund Prepares Bitcoin Product; Revolut Seeks Banking License in Peru

🔔 Brazil is simplifying the entry process for banks and brokers into the cryptocurrency sector. The Central Bank of Brazil has issued IN 701/2026, which outlines new compliance requirements for these institutions. Before commencing operations, they must engage an independent, qualified company to verify their adherence to the bank's regulations for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

These independent companies must certify that the institutions segregate assets, meaning that user funds cannot mingle with the company’s own resources, and provide proof of reserves for all the digital assets owned by customers and the company.

❗️ In Colombia, pension fund manager Proteccion is set to launch a bitcoin investment product. This move aims to leverage the growing popularity of digital assets in the country. Proteccion’s President, Juan David Correa, stated that this product is part of a broader strategy for institutional diversification.

Beyond a particular product, our ongoing conversation is about having in our portfolio all the investment alternatives that are part of the local and international financial markets.

Customers with a risk profile adapted to bitcoin’s particularities will be able to take advantage of this instrument with a percentage of their portfolio,

Correa declared.

‼️ Meanwhile, Revolut, a London-based financial neobank with over 70 million customers, is expanding into Peru. The company has applied for a banking license to offer financial services in the country. This expansion targets a population with high smartphone usage but significant unbanked adults.

📈 Bitcoin Hashrate Declines Amid Arctic Storm in the U.S.

📉 As an Arctic storm impacts several U.S. states, bitcoin mining activity has significantly decreased. Operators are reducing their operations to alleviate pressure on the power grid, leading to a notable decline in Bitcoin's network hashrate, which now ranges between 800 and 875 exahash per second (EH/s).

🌪 The storm is particularly severe in the South and lower Ohio Valley, affecting states like Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and West Virginia. These states host large bitcoin mining facilities, with Texas being a major hub.

⏳ Three days prior, Foundry USA, the world's largest mining pool, reduced a significant portion of its hashrate in anticipation of the storm. Since then, the downward trend has continued. Over a one-year window, Bitcoin has lost 385 EH/s since October 15, 2025.

📊 The most significant decline occurred after January 22, 2026, when the total hashrate was 1,053 EH/s. Today, it stands at 805 EH/s using a three-day simple moving average (SMA). Of the total decline of 385 EH/s from the all-time high of 1,190 EH/s, approximately 248 EH/s were lost between January 22 and January 28.

⏱️ This slowdown in hashrate has resulted in longer block intervals, exceeding the usual 10-minute target. Average block times have surpassed 12 minutes and are currently around 12 minutes and 12 seconds. If this trend continues, the upcoming difficulty epoch around February 8, 2026 could see one of the largest adjustments in years.

📉 Recent projections indicate a potential difficulty reduction of more than 18% due to the ongoing Arctic storm. This adjustment could provide immediate relief for bitcoin miners facing lower BTC exchange rates and thin revenue margins. A significant decrease in difficulty would ease competitive pressure and improve the chances of earning block rewards with existing infrastructure.