XRP has dropped 4% over the past week, with trading volumes spiking by 171% as the token broke below key support at $1.90.

This surge in activity signals growing uncertainty, adding doubt to the bullish XRP price prediction that has dominated recent sentiment.

Bearish pressure is intensifying after Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if the country strikes a trade deal with China.

While XRP briefly rebounded from $1.80 during the Asian session, broader market jitters continue to weigh heavily on price action.

The Fear and Greed Index shows that sentiment has soured in the past couple of weeks as this key metric dropped sharply from a 54 reading on January 14 to 29 at the time of writing.

Now, traders are wondering whether XRP is going to zero, so it’s time to take a look at the charts.

XRP Price Prediction: 11% Downside Risk Ahead If This Happens

XRP is currently retesting a key structural resistance at $1.90. This is the previous low of the dominant bearish structure, meaning that a bullish breakout will confirm a trend reversal.

If the price rejects a move above this mark, it could rapidly drop to $1.80 and increase the risk of a move to lower levels.

In that scenario, the most likely target, one that hasn’t been touched in months, would be the $1.60 area.

Hence, even though a move to zero is highly unlikely, the current setup does favor a bearish outlook.

Meanwhile, while major altcoins struggle to hold key levels, crypto presales like Maxi Doge ($MAXI) are heating up with strong momentum and early investor interest.

This Ethereum-based meme coin channels the same viral energy that sent Dogecoin soaring in 2021, and could deliver a similar breakout as soon as its presale closes.

Maxi Doge Presale Is Channeling the Early Dogecoin Energy That Once Drove 1000x Gains

Maxi Doge ($MAXI) is a fast-rising meme coin presale that’s flashing many of the same signals that powered Dogecoin’s breakout in 2021.

Instead of empty hype, the project is building a trader-first culture where momentum, community, and rewards come first.

At the center is an active group of like-minded traders sharing setups, early opportunities, and wins as the market heats up again.

Engagement is fueled through weekly competitions like Maxi Ripped and Maxi Gains, where traders showcase their biggest Ws and climb the leaderboard for rewards and bragging rights.

On top of that, $MAXI offers staking rewards of 69% per year for early participants who lock in during the presale phase.

For anyone who watched DOGE explode from the sidelines, Maxi Doge offers a second chance to get positioned early in a meme coin that’s gaining momentum by the week.

To buy $MAXI and join the pump, simply head to the official Maxi Doge website and connect your wallet (e.g. Best Wallet).

You can swap USDT, USDC, or ETH, or use a bank card to secure tokens in just a few clicks.

The post XRP Price Prediction: XRP Is Crashing Fast – Is This the Beginning of a Total Breakdown to Zero? appeared first on Cryptonews.

VanEck launches Avalanche ETF VAVX with AVAX staking exposure, zero fees till Feb 28, expanding crypto ETF options.

The post VanEck launches first ever AVAX ETF in the US appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Chris Burniske, cofounder of Placeholder VC and former crypto lead at Ark Invest, is mapping out where he would consider stepping back into Bitcoin if the market keeps sliding, after earning fresh credit on X for calling major turning points this cycle. His framework lands in the mid-$80,000s down to the low-$50,000s, while a separate technical view from analyst Aksel Kibar points to a broader “base building” process with support clustered in the mid-$70,000s.

Price Levels Where To Buy Bitcoin

Burniske wrote that he is “not a buyer yet,” but outlined several price areas he’s monitoring. In his view, roughly $80,000 matters as the November 2025 low and a local trough of the current downswing. Below that, he highlighted roughly $74,000, tying it to the April 2025 low and describing it as the “Tariff Tantrum” bottom; he also noted it sits just under Strategy’s (MSTR) stated Bitcoin cost basis of around $76,000.

He then pointed to around $70,000 as the top of the prior $50,000–$70,000 band near the 2021 high, before shifting to a more structural level near $58,000. That zone, he wrote, aligns with the 200-week simple moving average and an on-chain cost basis, with RV around $56,000. Finally, he flagged $50,000 and below as a psychological line, arguing that a break under it would likely revive “death of BTC” narratives.

I’m not a buyer yet, but if I were to be a buyer, imo the areas to watch for $BTC are:

~$80K: Nov ’25 low, local low of this “bear” ~$74K: April ’25 low, Tariff Tantrum low, just below $MSTR‘s cost basis (~$76K) ~$70K: Top of $50-70K range, near ’21 high ~$58K: 200W SMA &…

— Chris Burniske (@cburniske) January 25, 2026

Burniske’s posture is deliberately non-committal on timing. “Importantly, I don’t care what happens,” he wrote, adding that if Bitcoin rallies he will “ride what I have and diversify,” while a deeper unwind would have him buying more Bitcoin and “select crypto assets.”

The thread also touched altcoins. Asked how he thinks about alts versus Bitcoin, Burniske said it’s “best imo to buy alts after you think btc is near bottom,” reinforcing that he’s treating BTC’s downside process as the key gating factor for broader risk-taking. On positioning, he said he is sitting “in treasuries, where yield > inflation,” and when asked about an upside level that would force him back in, he replied that he “wouldn’t chase,” preferring to hold existing exposure rather than re-risk at higher prices.

Burniske’s renewed attention followed praise from Anthony Pompliano, who told him: “You nailed the SOL bottom and the BTC top over this cycle.” Burniske’s reputation for calling tops is partly tied to an October 2025 post in which he argued the market had likely been structurally damaged after a sharp selloff.

“We can always get another weak bounce, but I’ve taken action accordingly,” he wrote at the time. “I’ll likely get interested in the market again when I see BTC $75K or lower.”

Breakdown Or Bottoming Phase?

Separately, veteran technician Aksel Kibar posted a BTCUSD daily chart on Sunday without additional commentary. When asked directly about a breakout or breakdown, Kibar cautioned against overweighting diagonal formations: “Not giving too much weight to diagonal short-term patterns breakout/breakdown. I think this is part of the base building, searching for a bottom.”

Kibar had previously framed “technical support” as being “lower between 73.7K and 76.5K,” suggesting that if Bitcoin is indeed in a basing phase, the market may need time and repeated tests of those lower bands before a more durable trend reasserts itself.

At press time, BTC traded at $87,812.

Reports say Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, will not return to the company he helped build even after his legal name was cleared.

US President Donald Trump issued a pardon late in 2025 that removed the criminal tag from his name. That move reopened doors that had been closed, but CZ says he prefers to stay out of day-to-day management.

Pardon And The Past

CZ pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges tied to weak anti-money-laundering controls at Binance. He accepted a deal that included large fines and operational changes for the exchange.

Binance paid roughly $4.3 billion in penalties as part of settlements with US regulators. After receiving a prison sentence, he served time in 2024 and later received clemency from Trump in October 2025.

A candid conversation from Davos – on prison, pardon, and what freedom means going forward.

Full interview on @CNBC with @andrewrsorkin. Focused on building what’s next. pic.twitter.com/x94llJFac2

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) January 25, 2026

A Former Exec Reflects

Zhao’s prison stay left a mark. In public talks and interviews, he described the experience as “difficult and personal.”

He has spoken about basic hardships inside and about the mental toll the period took on him. At Davos and in other forums he has been open about those days while also discussing what the future might hold for crypto.

Based on market chatter, Zhao said he does not plan to step back into a leadership role at Binance. He used phrases that made it clear he believes the exchange can run without him.

New leaders at the company are in place, and he said they should be allowed to lead. That position was repeated across several news outlets after his public appearances.

Binance management has pushed back on claims that politics or outside deals played any part in the pardon. Company reps denied there was a link between the Trump pardon and other crypto projects tied to political figures.

Those denials were offered to calm markets and to show the company remains officially detached from political moves.

Analysts and rivals reacted with a mix of relief, doubt, and curiosity. Some think the pardon could change how US regulators approach enforcement in the future.

Others worry about the message it sends, given the amount of the penalties already paid. Markets watched closely, and some investors adjusted their views on risk and leadership at major exchanges.

Zhao’s statement that he will not come back closes one chapter while opening another. He may act as an investor, advisor, or public voice for crypto ideas, but insisted he will not reclaim the top job.

Featured image from Leadership Circle, chart from TradingView

With the market flipping into a bearish state, XRP is experiencing conflicting signals in on-chain activity. While some metrics are showing bullish action, other key metrics are starting to demonstrate negative trends, which brings the leading altcoin to a crucial moment that could play a key role in shaping its next price direction.

Derivatives Activity Expands On XRP

Amid the ongoing pullback in the price of XRP, the altcoin is now showcasing a notable divergence in market signals. Specifically, XRP Open Interest (OI) appears to have transitioned into a bullish state while several other key metrics have flipped into bearish territory.

After analyzing multiple metrics, Cryptoinsightuk, a market expert and investor on the social media platform X, highlighted that open interest continues to rise significantly. The rise in derivatives positioning is a clear signal that traders are becoming more leveraged and engaged in the market.

Cryptoinsightuk stated that this significant open interest rise coincides with heavily negative performance in XRP’s Funding rates and Premium. This kind of setup often precedes heightened volatility, especially as on-chain data and broader momentum hint at weakening market conditions. According to the expert, the divergence indicates that the move down is being artificially created by leveraged players. 

Currently, XRP seems to be at a crucial stage when positioning, rather than spot demand, may determine its next significant move as leverage builds against a more cautious environment. However, the expert noted that spot volume has also witnessed a spike. 

Interestingly, the rise in spot volume comes as the market saw a sweep of the recent wick into the year-long support, which led to the creation of a Bullish Divergence on the 4-hour time frame chart. 

Based on the hourly liquidity pools, the market might still have some room to grow. However, the expert is confident that a bounce from the current position is likely to take place. When the bounce occurs, it is expected to be quite violent and will spur a short squeeze back to the upside.

Investors Are Leaning More Towards Long Positions

Despite waning price action, investors seem to be eyeing a potential reversal toward the upside as they increase their bets. This bullish action is evidenced by a sharp uptick in the high-leverage long positions as reported by CW, a data analyst and crypto investor.

Positioning is getting more crowded as more money enters leveraged bets on the upside, increasing the stakes for the upcoming price surge. CW highlighted that high leverage XRP long positions are accumulating around the $1.85 mark, reflecting the significance of the level and the growing appetite for risk among investors. 

However, CW noted that whales are likely to liquidate these positions again. In another post, CW has confirmed that large orders from whales are already flooding the market. At the same time, these high-net-worth investors on the Coinbase platform have now formed a selling wall at $1.96.

The rollout comes as UK regulators reopen the retail market to crypto-related products and global issuers expand regulated offerings.

The newly launched fund offers exchange-traded exposure to AVAX as other proposed Avalanche ETFs remain under regulatory review.

Tether’s XAUt tokenized gold now accounts for more than half of the gold-backed stablecoin market as the US dollar weakens amid renewed safe-haven demand.

Gold climbed to a fresh all-time high, crossing $5,100 an ounce on Monday, extending its record-breaking run as investors seek shelter amid rising geopolitical tensions and global fiscal risks.
Spot gold prices gained 2.4%, trading at $5,102 an ounce, before paring gains to $5,086.

The surge comes days after President Donald Trump warned Canada that the U.S. would impose a 100% tariff on goods sold in the U.S. if the country strikes a trade deal with China. “If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

However, Ethereum is moving in the opposite direction, trading at $2,877.15 with a 24-hour trading volume of $24.69 billion. The token now sits 36% below its $4,953.73 peak.

The $5K Race Ends

The “Gold versus ETH: Which hits $5K first?” market on Myriad has reached a resolution, with gold hitting the $5k mark first. The precious metal jumped 7.28% on the week and was recently priced at $4,938 before Monday’s breakout.

While gold is typically compared to Bitcoin, predictors on Myriad favored ETH for months, betting on its volatile upward mobility, but they’ve become less confident as crypto markets slide. The prediction market opened in October 2025.

Institutional Flows Tell the Story

Western ETF holdings have climbed by about 500 tonnes since the start of 2025. Goldman Sachs lifted its December 2026 gold price forecast to $5,400 an ounce, up from $4,900, arguing that hedges against global macro and policy risks have become “sticky.”

Central bank purchases remain robust as Goldman estimates central-bank purchases are averaging around 60 tonnes a month, far above the pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes.

“While this rally in gold has not, and will not, be linear, we believe the trends driving this rebasing higher in gold prices are not exhausted,” Natasha Kaneva, head of Global Commodities Strategy at J.P. Morgan, stated. “The long-term trend of official reserve and investor diversification into gold has further to run.”

Ethereum saw $630 million in outflows last week, reflecting bearish sentiment as investors withdraw funds. A whale that had been dormant for nine years transferred 50,000 ETH, worth $145 million, to a Gemini wallet, a move often associated with liquidation intent.

Geopolitical Catalyst

The precious metal’s surge comes as flashpoints from Greenland and Venezuela to the Middle East reflect higher geopolitical risk. Trump’s tariff threat follows tensions that mounted after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos that was widely seen as a rebuke of the Trump administration’s policies.

Earlier this month, Carney announced that Canada and China reached a preliminary deal to remove trade barriers. Under the tentative agreement, Beijing cut tariffs on some Canadian agricultural products, while Ottawa increased quotas for imports of Chinese electric vehicles.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday that Ottawa has no plans to pursue a free trade deal with China, noting that the recent agreement only reduces tariffs on select sectors. Carney’s remarks came a day after President Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canadian goods.

What Desks Are Watching

The gold-crypto divergence indicates a broader risk recalibration. Following a record-breaking 2025, gold entered 2026 with momentum intact as geopolitical tensions, falling real interest rates, and efforts by investors and central banks to diversify away from the dollar reinforce its safe-haven role.

ETH failed to reclaim its “digital gold” narrative during peak macro stress. Analysts note that if ETH maintains support around the $2,500 level, it could reach an all-time high of $6,000 by 2026, but that thesis requires risk appetite to return. In August 2025, Trump raised the tariff on Canadian goods to 35%. A 100% tariff threat marks a major escalation.

Markets are pricing in two interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year. Traders await this week’s FOMC meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady.

The post Gold Smashes $5,100 Record as Trump Tariff Threat Looms; ETH Slides Under $2,900 appeared first on Cryptonews.

• AXS price jumped more than 12% to above $2.50 on January 26, 2026.
• The gains saw Axie Infinity outpace the broader gaming sector.
• WEMIX and Ronin also rose, but top tokens like The Sandbox and Immutable were flat.

Axie Infinity’s native token, AXS, has surged by double digits in the past 24 hours, extending its recent gains.

The uptick also marked a notable rebound for the gaming token, after prices revisited support around $2.00 over the weekend. All this happens as investors weigh opportunities in a largely subdued cryptocurrency market.

Gold rocketed to record highs above $5,000 and silver rallied above $100, moves that have stolen the shine from crypto, with Bitcoin labouring under $90,000.

Axie Infinity price jumps 12%

The overall crypto picture portends caution, and capital flight shows this as seen in recent weeks. However, even as whales pile into precious metals, some altcoins like Axie Infinity are defying immediate sentiment.

On Monday, AXS climbed by more than 12% to hit highs of $2.54.

This double-digit spike over the past 24 hours allowed buyers to attempt a retest of $3.00, which also acted as a hurdle when Axie Infinity exploded last week.

However, while AXS delivered a strong double-digit performance, most gaming sector tokens exhibited minimal movement. Most remained flatlined or dipping slightly, including The Sandbox, Gala, Decentraland and Immutable.

Exceptions to this include WEMIX, which saw gains of around 5% in the same period, and Ronin (RON), which was posting modest gains of about 6% amid low overall activity.

The broader gaming category is still recovering from the last cycle’s challenges. Crypto analyst Zack shared reasons why the Axie Infinity price is surging in a post on X.

$AXS ripping higher feels ironic — it’s the exact ecosystem most people had already written off.
So what actually flipped the script?
– SLP inflation finally shut down
– bAXS introduced as the new reward layer (non-transferable, reputation-based, anti-bot by design)
– Atia’s… pic.twitter.com/qUjUTrlQBC

— Zack (@0xZackon) January 26, 2026

Can AXS hold onto gains?

Axie Infinity’s momentum stems from ongoing ecosystem updates and whale accumulation, positioning it ahead in the GameFi revival.

Yet, sustained holding depends on macroeconomic factors and sector-wide adoption. Investors will eye upcoming developments for confirmation of this rally’s longevity.

The technical outlook for AXS, therefore, remains cautiously optimistic in the short term, with resistance levels near the $2.90-$3.00 and at $5.10 levels.

AXS bulls may target these levels next, provided price holds above $2.00.

However, a downside flip looms if broader crypto sentiment sours further, potentially testing lower support zones. Key support levels lie at $1.86 and $1.20.

The bearish outlook strengthens with indicators such as the negative MACD and RSI. Currently, the momentum indicators signal sell-off pressure. Profit-taking by recent buyers also poses a risk.

AXS price reached highs of $10 in January 2025, before plummeting sharply. Meanwhile, the all-time high for the token is $165, which it reached in November 2021.

The post AXS price pumps 12% as Axie Infinity outpaces gaming sector tokens appeared first on CoinJournal.

Tether commands over half of the $4B gold backed stablecoin market, with XAU leading amid surging gold demand and onchain asset growth.

The post Tether dominates $4B gold-backed stablecoin market as gold tops $5100 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The recent market downturn has not deterred analysts from maintaining a bullish outlook on the Bitcoin price. New reports from these market watchers suggest Bitcoin may be entering a new parabolic phase, potentially signaling the end of its prolonged correction. While one analyst points to BTC’s correlation with gold as a signal of a possible ATH, another applies an Elliott Wave analysis to set a new price target for the leading cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin Price Prepares For $245,000 Parabolic Move

A recent technical analysis by Crypto Tice suggests that gold has taken the lead, while Bitcoin currently stands at a transition point. The analyst presented a weekly price chart tracking both assets, and showing how gold’s price movement could be used to determine Bitcoin’s next parabolic move to a $245,000 all-time high. 

The chart tracks gold and Bitcoin’s price action from 2016 through projected moves into 2026, showing a repeating pattern where uncertainty peaks in gold first. After which, capital flows into the precious metal, its price then breaks out and ranges, and then money rotates into BTC. Crypto Tice has said that this rotation phase has repeated in every market cycle.  

In the first cycle, from July 2017 to Q4 2018, gold climbed to an all-time high before trading in a narrow range, signaling broader trend exhaustion rather than a breakdown. Shortly afterward, Bitcoin launched a strong rally, reflecting a rotation of capital from the precious metal into a higher-risk asset. 

The same pattern appeared during the 2020-2021 cycle. Gold reached a new peak and stalled in a tight range, while Bitcoin followed with a powerful breakout to the upside. That surge aligned with another green profit rotation zone on the analyst’s price chart. 

On the far right side of the chart, Crypto Tice has revealed that gold has once again reached a record high in the current cycle and is consolidating inside a red range. At the same time, Bitcoin has already moved sharply higher and is now experiencing a modest pullback. The analyst calls this overlap a “transfer window” between the two assets.

Crypto Tice noted that this recent pause mirrors the same pattern seen in past cycles before Bitcoin staged a major price rally. The analyst has predicted that if BTC continues to follow this historical trend, it could soon enter a new parabolic phase, potentially triggering a price surge above $245,000.  

Elliott Wave Analyst Shares Next BTC Price Target

In a separate analysis, crypto market expert Merlijn the Trader has shared a video chart analysis showing a repeating Elliott wave structure that could indicate Bitcoin’s next potential bullish target. From late 2024 to mid 2025, BTC formed a five-wave pattern, creating higher lows and building a base that led to a significant price rally. 

According to Merlijn the Trader, Bitcoin is repeating this five-wave pattern in the current cycle. Waves 1 through 3 are already complete, showing higher lows, while Waves 4 and 5 are forming a base following a massive price crash. Once this stage completes, the analyst predicts BTC could rally strongly from its current price above $87,900 toward $124,000.

Traders continue to defend the lowest support levels in Bitcoin and altcoins, but sellers at the range highs and declining sentiment across the market may complicate a quick recovery.

• Algorand price rose nearly 9% to above $0.12.
• The token posted a sharp rebound from weekly lows amid a fresh daily volume spike.
• Buyers could target $0.20 next, but profit-taking is likely.

Algorand is among the altcoins to post slight gains on Monday as top coins faced downward pressure.

The ALGO token, which touched lows of $.011 on Sunday, jumped to near $0.13 amid a notable volume-driven recovery.

Bulls are likely to fancy continuation from their weekly trough.

As data from CoinMarketCap shows, ALGO has climbed by over 9% in the past 24 hours, erasing much of the prior week’s losses. Daily volume was up 170% to over $69 million.

However, while buyers have pushed prices above $0.12, they remain well off monthly highs near $0.15.

Sentiment is capped within the confines of what is happening around the broader market.

Crypto analysts at QCP Group shared insights on how investors currently view the ecosystem.

“The pressure looks macro-led rather than crypto-native, with tariff rhetoric, US fiscal brinkmanship and renewed nerves around potential US-Japan action to steady the yen stacking into a familiar cocktail of uncertainty and de-risking,” the analysts noted.

According to the platform, the week is laden with key events to watch.

Apart from the looming US government shutdown, other factors are major tech earnings and the Fed decision expected this midweek.

They believe volatility will likely stay sticky and broader price action “choppy until macro clarity improves.”

Algorand price gains amid key developments

There’s no momentum building across the broader cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin’s struggle below $90,000 key to the downbeat sentiment.

But recent developments seem to have pointed buyers towards the layer-1 token ALGO.

Increased transaction throughput, developer adoption, and network activities, like Algorand’s Verifiable Random Function, all give bulls an upper hand.

VRF offers a cryptographic feature enabling secure, tamper-proof randomness for decentralized applications like gaming, lotteries, and NFTs.

The team recently announced a major impact of VRF in a post on X.

ALGO price forecast

Technical indicators, such as a Relative Strength Index (RSI) upsloping from oversold conditions, suggest a bullish rebound is likely.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator shows bears remain in sight.

However, the histogram is signalling weakening bearish momentum, and also shows a potential bullish crossover on the daily chart.

The 50-day exponential moving average sits at $0.129 and is the first resistance level.

If prices break above $0.15, continuation above $0.20 could open up a path to yearly highs of $0.40.

Short-term, the outlook might include pullbacks amid profit-taking. The zone around $0.11 to $0.10 is critical to the bulls’ ambition.

The post Algorand price bounces on 170% volume surge appeared first on CoinJournal.