The cryptocurrency market is characterized by price consolidation and significant legislative shifts in the United States. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently holding steady above the $95,000 support level, while regulatory hurdles have introduced uncertainty for the broader industry.

1 BTC equals: Rs 26,641,467.18 (As of 17 Jan, 2:21 pm GMT+5)

CLARITY Act Stalled

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a landmark bill, was postponed by the Senate Banking Committee following opposition from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Armstrong argued the draft was “materially worse” than the status quo due to de facto bans on tokenized equities and strict DeFi restrictions.

White House Reaction

Reports indicate the White House may withdraw its support for the bill if a compromise on stablecoin yields—currently seen as favoring traditional banks—cannot be reached.

Pakistan Crypto Framework

The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) is drafting a legal framework to formalize digital assets, after Pakistan became the world’s third-largest crypto adopter in 2025.

Bitcoin Resilience

Despite legislative setbacks, Bitcoin maintained a bullish trend, recently touching $98,000. Analysts view $92,000 as critical support.

Ethereum 2026 Roadmap

Vitalik Buterin announced 2026 will focus on “self-sovereignty and trustlessness,” with ZK-EVM optimizations and Hegota upgrade to reduce node data pressure.

XRP Institutional Demand

XRP ETFs saw record inflows over $1.71B this month, though the price remains near $2.06, showing an “institutional disconnect” in valuation.

BitGo IPO

BitGo filed for an IPO on NYSE under ticker BTGO, targeting $1.96B valuation. Kraken and Consensys may follow later in 2026.

Massive Theft

A victim lost $282M in BTC and LTC via a social-engineering attack on a hardware wallet. Funds were laundered through Monero (XMR).

Mining “Jackpots”

Two independent Bitcoin miners solved blocks solo, earning ~$300,000 each—a rare feat in an industry dominated by large pools.