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The concept of a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is now moving decisively from speculation to implementation following new confirmation from the Department of Justice (DOJ). Federal officials have verified that Bitcoin forfeited in the Samourai Wallet case has not been sold and will not be liquidated in the future.

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The cryptocurrency market experienced a notable pullback today, with major digital assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) trading in the red. Over the past 24 hours, the total crypto market declined by 1.72%, although it still maintains a weekly gain of 3.14%.

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Ethereum is increasingly positioning itself as the dominant blockchain for institutional finance, according to Etherealize co-founders Vivek Raman and Danny Ryan. Speaking on CoinDesks Markets Outlook, the pair argued that despite the rapid rise of alternative blockchains like Solana, Ethereum continues to be the preferred choice for the worlds largest financial institutions.

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Ethereums staking ecosystem is facing its longest validator activation backlog since mid-2023, as a massive influx of ether staking led by BitMine Immersion (BMNR) places fresh strain on the network. More than 2.55 million ETH, valued at approximately $8.3 billion, is currently waiting in the activation queue, pushing the estimated wait time for new validators beyond 44 days before they can begin earning staking rewards.

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Polygon Labs, the company behind the Ethereum scaling network Polygon, has laid off around 60 employees following its recent acquisitions of Coinme and Sequence, which together were valued at more than $250 million. According to a source familiar with the situation, the layoffs are part of a broader restructuring effort as Polygon pivots toward becoming a payment-focused blockchain platform.

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During his appearance on the What Bitcoin Did podcast, Michael Saylor strongly defended companies that utilize crypto-assets as a treasury reserve.

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Selling the Bitcoin would have violated President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14233, which mandates that any Bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture “shall not be sold.”

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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Marshals Service (USMS) clarified that they have not sold the 57.55 BTC seized from Samourai Wallet.

 

Ethereum is struggling to push above critical supply levels after a brief surge above $3,300, as the market attempts to stabilize following weeks of sustained selling pressure. While the rebound has sparked renewed optimism, price action remains fragile, with bulls still needing clear confirmation before a broader recovery can take hold.

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Riot Platforms has entered into a ten-year agreement with semiconductor company AMD. The deal, which may generate as much as $1 billion in revenue if extended, is aimed at bolstering Riot's capabilities in the competitive field of Bitcoin mining.

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A few days ago, the price of Bitcoin experienced a bounce after weeks of trading below the $91,000 mark. However, this renewed momentum appears to be gradually fading as the crypto market slowly shifts toward a bearish state, with large and retail BTC investors moving in a distinct direction.

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Ethereum finds itself in an unusual position where the fundamentals are strengthening, but capital flows remain hesitant. On-chain activity and the real-world tokenization of assets point to a network that is becoming increasingly useful and more deeply embedded in financial infrastructure.

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Bonk is showing striking similarities to the 2024 setup that sent Dogecoin parabolic – BONK price predictions could be eyeing a 250% run if history repeats.

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Ripple recently unveiled the results of its inaugural University Digital Asset Xcelerator (UDAX) program at UC Berkeley, where nine startups graduated after developing advanced applications on the XRP Ledger. This strategic initiative aims to bridge academic innovation with the institutional adoption of Ripple, enabling capital market and decentralized insurance projects to reach enterprise-grade standards.

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Money continues to flow toward XRP-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs) despite crypto's latest retreat. This favors a bullish XRP price prediction as it indicates that Wall Street is quietly accumulating the token.

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BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted that a BTC rally could be sustained as dollar liquidity rapidly increases. Other market observers are chiming in.

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XRP steadied after defending key support, signaling easing selling pressure as the token consolidates from recent highs, with technical momentum stabilizing and Ripple ecosystem developments offering a supportive backdrop. XRP Holds Key Support While Ripple Expands Real-World Use Cases At 5:35 p.m. on Jan. 16, XRP is trading at $2.

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Bitcoin is trading around $95,000 as traders remained cautious following the Senate's decision to postpone debate on a crypto market structure bill. Cryptocurrency Ticker Price Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $95,447 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $3,292 Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $144.87 XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $2.07 Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1365 Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.058292 Notable Statistics: Coinglass data shows 93,705 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $181.70 million.

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TL;DR Bitcoin trades near a critical convergence zone where on-chain data and technical levels meet, historically influencing short-term direction. The realized price of short-term holders sits close to current levels, signaling limited panic selling and controlled positioning.

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A Bitcoin user lost funds after sending cryptocurrency to a compromised wallet that used a transaction identifier from a coinbase block reward as its private key.

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Ethereum is showing bullish technical strength, with momentum indicators beginning to tilt back in favor of buyers. After weeks of uneven price action, the ETH/USD chart on the 3-day timeframe is now printing a MACD bullish crossover, a signal that has preceded some of Ethereum's rallies in the past.

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With BitMine investing $200 million in MrBeast, we explain why the Ethereum price prediction is about to become even more promising.

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Buterin said major improvements are underway to make it easier to run a full node, use dapps, and take control over personal data.

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A dormant Ethereum wallet reawakened to make a massive purchase of 472.3 billion SHIB tokens, valued at approximately $4 million. The Arkham platform reported that the transaction originated from the Coinhako exchange, instantly turning this address into one of the current major Shiba Inu whales.

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The Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets has confirmed on X that no government BTC was sold, despite recent reports. Patrick Witt posted an update on X regarding the sale of 57.55 BTC forfeited by Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and Will Lonergan Hill.