Why Is Crypto Up Today? – January 22, 2026
The crypto market is up today after several days of a downward trajectory. The cryptocurrency market capitalisation increased by 1.5% over the past 24 hours to $3.13 trillion. At the time of writing, 87 of the top 100 coins have appreciated. The total crypto trading volume stands at $149 billion.
- Crypto market cap is up 1.5% on Thursday morning (UTC);
- 87 of the top 100 coins and all top 10 coins are up;
- BTC and ETH increased by 0.7% each to $89,853 and $2,986, respectively;
- BTC’s price action remains fragile below $90,000
- Upside progress is likely to remain constrained;
- ‘Long-term holders remain a latent source of resistance’;
- BTC’s price action is driven ‘more by the absence of pressure than by active conviction’;
- Institutional and corporate demand is cautious;
- The US crypto market structure legislation is heading to a markup on 27 January;
- Ark Invest argues says digital assets could reach $28 trillion in market value by 2030;
- US BTC and ETH spot ETFs saw the highest pullback since November and December, respectively;
- Crypto market sentiment climbed very slightly up within the fear zone.
Crypto Winners & Losers
As of Thursday morning (UTC), all top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen a reversal, with their price rising over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated 0.7%, currently trading at $89,853.
Ethereum (ETH) increased by 0.7% as well, changing hands at $2,986. BTC’s and ETH’s are the lowest increases in this category.
The highest rise among the top 10 is XRP’s 2.3%, now standing at $1.95.
Solana (SOL)’s 1.7% is next, currently trading at $129.
Of the top 100 coins per market cap, 87 have seen their price rise today.
Canton (CC) is at the top, with a rise of 12.2% to $0.1492.
It’s followed by Rain (RAIN), which appreciated 9.5%, trading at $0.009421.
On the other side, at the top of the red coin list is Midnight (NIGHT), with a drop of 5.3% to the price of $0.05828.
MemeCore (M) posting a decrease of 3.5%, trading at $1.6.
Meanwhile, the US Senate Agriculture Committee released updated crypto market structure legislation and scheduled a markup for 27 January, but without Democratic support.
“Although it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t reach an agreement, I am grateful for the collaboration that has made this legislation better,” Chairman John Boozman said.
BTC’s Price Action Remains Fragile Below $90,000
According to Glassnode’s latest report, until there is new demand with sufficient strength to absorb overhead supply, long-term holders remain a latent source of resistance.
“As a result, upside progress is likely to remain constrained, with rallies vulnerable to renewed distribution unless this supply overhang is decisively resolved,” the analysts say.
The market, they add, is building a base, consolidating from a pause in conviction – as investors wait for the next catalyst to unlock broader engagement – and not from excess participation.
As for Bitcoin, it still stands in a low participation regime. Its price action is driven “more by the absence of pressure than by active conviction.” They write that,
Moreover, institutional and corporate demand is cautious. Treasury flows are stabilising near neutral, while activity stands concentrated in isolated transactions.
Derivatives participation is thin. Futures volume is compressed, and leverage deployment is subdued. This reinforces “a low-liquidity environment where price is increasingly sensitive to modest positioning shifts.”
Finally, “options markets echo this restraint” as well, the report says. “Volatility repricing has been confined to the front end, hedging demand has normalised, and elevated volatility risk premium continues to anchor implied volatility.”
Levels & Events to Watch Next
At the time of writing on Thursday morning, BTC was changing hands at $89,853. The coin briefly dipped to $87,304 earlier in the day. However, for the most part, it traded sideways, with the highest point being $90,295.
BTC is now down 7.3% over the past 7 days, moving in the $87,653–$96,937 range.
Looking ahead, we find the key support levels at $87,400 and $85,900. A drop below this level could lead to a dip below $80,000. Meanwhile, resistance currently stands at $90,400 and $92,300.
Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: TradingView
At the same time, Ethereum was trading at $2,986. Earlier in the day, the price fell from $3,014 to the intraday low of $2,872. It then jumped to the intraday high of $3,052 but was unable to hold this level. Nonetheless, it traded mostly sideways.
Over the past week, ETH has dropped 11.3%, moving between $2,898 and $3,374.
For now, its price is still at risk of falling towards the $2,500 level. However, analysts argue that it could reach $3,500 by Q2 and possibly $4,500 in H2.
Meanwhile, the crypto market sentiment posted a minor increase over the past day, not changing its position in the fear zone.
The crypto fear and greed index rose from 32 seen yesterday to 34 today. It would take a stronger push to lead it out of the fear and back into neutral territory.
As noted yesterday, caution, fear, and uncertainty among market participants have been increasing, fuelled by the macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. Constantly shifting news from the US is not helping. We may see the metric drop lower in the near-term.
Source: CoinMarketCap
ETFs See the Highest Drop in Two Months
On 21 January, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a significant amount of outflows of $708.71 million. This is the highest level since mid-November 2025. The total net inflow fell below $57 billion to $56.63 billion.
Of the twelve ETFs, six recorded outflows, and one saw inflows. This one is VanEck, taking in $6.35 million.
At the same time, the highest outflows were posted by BlackRock, letting go of $356.64 million. Fidelity follows with $287.67 million in outflows.
Source: SoSoValue
Moreover, the US ETH ETFs posted their second day of negative flow with $286.95 million. This is their highest amount since mid-December 2025. With this, the total net inflow pulled back to $12.4 billion.
Of the nine funds, four ETH ETFs posted outflows, and one saw inflows. Grayscale took in $10.01 million.
BlackRock is at the top again, accounting for the main chunk of the total outflows: $250.27 million. In second place, we find Fidelity, which posted $30.89 million in negative flows.
Source: SoSoValue
Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest argues that digital assets could reach $28 trillion in market value by 2030. That is up from about $3.13 trillion today, a jump of roughly 9x.
“We believe Bitcoin could account for 70% of the market,” it said, with the rest led by smart contract networks such as Ethereum and Solana.
Source: Ark Invest
Quick FAQ
- Did crypto move with stocks today?
The crypto market finally had a green day after days of overwhelming red. At the same time, the US stock market closed the Wednesday session sharply higher, following the biggest losses since October. By the closing time on 21 January, the S&P 500 was up 1.16%, the Nasdaq-100 increased by 1.36%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.21%. This comes as the US seems to have decided against using military force in Greenland and imposing tariffs on eight NATO allies.
- Is this rally sustainable?
There is still room for the crypto market to go down. It’s being squeezed by the overall geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Nonetheless, in the short-term, it may find a base for another leg up, even if it ends up being brief.
You May Also Like
The Role of Blockchain in Building Safer Web3 Gaming Ecosystems
- Immutable Ownership of Assets Blockchain records can be manipulated by anyone. If a player owns a sword, skin, or plot of land as an NFT, it is verifiably in their ownership, and it cannot be altered or deleted by the developer or even hacked. This has created a proven track record of ownership, providing control back to the players, unlike any centralised gaming platform where assets can be revoked.
- Decentralized Infrastructure Blockchain networks also have a distributed architecture where game data is stored in a worldwide network of nodes, making them much less susceptible to centralised points of failure and attacks. This decentralised approach makes it exponentially more difficult to hijack systems or even shut off the game’s economy.
- Secure Transactions with Cryptography Whether a player buys an NFT or trades their in-game tokens for other items or tokens, the transactions are enforced by cryptographic algorithms, ensuring secure, verifiable, and irreversible transactions and eliminating the risks of double-spending or fraudulent trades.
- Smart Contract Automation Smart contracts automate the enforcement of game rules and players’ economic exchanges for the developer, eliminating the need for intermediaries or middlemen, and trust for the developer. For example, if a player completes a quest that promises a reward, the smart contract will execute and distribute what was promised.
- Anti-Cheating and Fair Gameplay The naturally transparent nature of blockchain makes it extremely simple for anyone to examine a specific instance of gameplay and verify the economic outcomes from that play. Furthermore, multi-player games that enforce smart contracts on things like loot sharing or win sharing can automate and measure trustlessness and avoid cheating, manipulations, and fraud by developers.
- Cross-Platform Security Many Web3 games feature asset interoperability across platforms. This interoperability is made viable by blockchain, which guarantees ownership is maintained whenever assets transition from one game or marketplace to another, thereby offering protection to players who rely on transfers for security against fraud. Key Security Dangers in Web3 Gaming Although blockchain provides sound first principles of security, the Web3 gaming ecosystem is susceptible to threats. Some of the most serious threats include:
Vitalik Buterin Challenges Ethereum’s Layer 2 Paradigm
