coindesk.com
By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
As bitcoin BTC$93,862.37 clings to recent gains above $93,000, capital shifts from memecoins to utility tokens, with assets supposedly linked to artificial intelligence (AI) leading the charge.
CoinDesk's Culture and Entertainment Select Index, Metaverse Select Index, 10 Capped ex-Bitcoin Index, and the DeFi Select Index have gained over 4% each over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk Meme Select Index was little-changed to negative, pausing its recent rally.
It shows capital rotating into substance, or established sub-sectors with utility, such as DeFi and metaverse, rather than speculative, jokey cryptocurrencies. That's a strong signal for the sustainability of crypto's recent bounce.
Among individual tokens, AI-linked coins have done well in the past 24 hours. For instance, Render Network's RENDER climbed 20%, becoming the best performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Render is a leading decentralized GPU compute platform for applications ranging from 3D rendering to machine learning and generative AI. Smaller AI tokens such as Virtuals Protocol's VIRTUAL token have risen over 6%
Layer-1 blockchain Sui's native coin, SUI$1.9748, has rallied over 15% on expectations of privacy tech, rivalling gains in Provenance Blockchain's HASH token. Payments-focused XRP jumped 10% to its highest in nearly two months, while Solana's sol SOL$137.66 remains locked in a multimonth range despite the recent bounce.
These moves are consistent with the renewed optimism for AI and high-beta tech stocks on Wall Street.
Antonio Di Giacomo, senior market analyst at XS.com, said that increased geopolitical tensions and impending economic data, particularly Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, warrant attention.
"Markets remain on alert amid rising geopolitical tensions following the U.S. offensive against Venezuela, a factor that has heightened perceptions of systemic risk and curbed enthusiasm for riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies," he noted, adding that a weak payrolls figure could influence the Fed's monetary policy and investor risk appetite.
Other analysts said that continued gains in the crypto market depend on bitcoin ETF inflows, which have begun 2026 on a positive note, accumulating over $1 billion in the first two trading days. These inflows need to continue to keep the market bid.
In traditional markets, futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 were little changed, suggesting a cautious open after Monday's gain. The Nasdaq index has been consolidating in a narrowing price range (see Technical Analysis section). The direction in which it is eventually resolves will likely determine the next move and influence the crypto market accordingly. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today
What to Watch
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
- Crypto
- Nothing scheduled.
- Macro
- Jan. 6, 7 a.m.: Mexico Dec. Consumer Confidence (Prev. 44.2).
- Jan. 6, 8 a.m.: Brazil Dec. S&P Global PMI. Services (Prev. 50.1); Composite (Prev. 49.6).
- Jan. 6, 9:30 a.m.: Canada Dec. S&P Global PMI. Services (Prev. 44.3); Composite (Prev. 44.9).
- Jan. 6, 9:45 a.m.: U.S. Dec. (Final) S&P Global PMI. Services Est. 52.9; Composite Est. 53.
-
Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
- Nothing scheduled.
Token Events
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
- Governance votes & calls
- SSV Network DAO is voting to expand its market-making program, increasing the total allocation to 300,000 SSV ($1.3 million) to secure a 12–18 month agreement with a top-tier market maker for improved liquidity. Voting ends Jan. 6.
- Compound DAO is voting to top up reward contracts on Arbitrum and Unichain to maintain user incentives, following a correction to a previous proposal. Voting ends Jan. 6.
- TrueFi DAO is voting to authorize a comprehensive protocol rebrand and mint the remaining TRU supply to recapitalize the treasury. Voting ends Jan. 6.
- Aave is voting on a proposal to onboard April 2026 maturity Principal Tokens for Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe to the V3 Plasma Instance. Voting ends Jan. 6.
- Unlocks
- No major unlocks.
- Token Launches
- Jan. 6: Brevis (BREV) to be listed on Binance, Bitget, OKX, MEXC, LBank, Gate, and others.
- Jan. 6: Rain (RAIN) to be listed on KuCoin.
Conferences
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
- Nothing scheduled.
Market Movements
- BTC is down 0.71% from 4 p.m. ET Monday at $93,425.15 (24hrs: +0.61%)
- ETH is down 0.5% at $3,221.91 (24hrs: +1.79%)
- CoinDesk 20 is down 0.3% at 3,047.78 (24hrs: +3.34%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 2 bps at 2.85%
- BTC funding rate is at 0.0037% (4.0537% annualized) on Binance
- DXY is unchanged at 99.35
- Gold futures are up 0.44% at $4,456.40
- Silver futures are up 1.83% at $77.56
- Nikkei 225 closed up 1.32% at 52,518.08
- Hang Seng closed up 1.38% at 26,710.45
- FTSE 100 is up 0.58% at 10,062.63
- Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.24% at 5,909.44
- DJIA closed on Monday up 1.23% at 48,977.18
- S&P 500 closed up 0.64% at 6,902.05
- Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.69% at 23,395.82
- S&P/TSX Composite closed up 1.06% at 32,220.00
- S&P 40 Latin America closed up 2.07% at 3,222.70
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 2 bps at 4.16%
- E-mini S&P 500 futures are unchanged at 6,939.75
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are unchanged at 25,585.50
- E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.2% at 49,129.00
Bitcoin Stats
- BTC Dominance: 58.98% (-0.16%)
- Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.0345 (0.42%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,032 EH/s
- Hashprice (spot): $39.90
- Total fees: 2.79 BTC / $259,967
- CME Futures Open Interest: 111,130 BTC
- BTC priced in gold: 21 oz.
- BTC vs gold market cap: 6.25%
Technical Analysis
- The chart shows SOL's and Nasdaq's daily price swings in candlestick format.
- Despite the 11% gain since the start of the year, SOL remains trapped in a multiweek sideways channel. A potential breakout would confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change.
- The Nasdaq is consolidating in a contracting triangle — a tightening price range signaling indecision. Whichever way it breaks will likely dictate the index's next major move.
Crypto Equities
- Coinbase (COIN): closed on Monday at $254.92 (+7.77%), unchanged in pre-market
- Circle Internet (CRCL): closed at $84.80 (+1.59%), +0.51% at $85.23
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $26.30 (+6.26%), -0.53% at $26.16
- Bullish (BLSH): closed at $41.48 (+5.65%), unchanged in pre-market
- MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $10.59 (+6.86%), -0.76% at $10.51
- Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $14.79 (+4.45%), -0.27% at $14.75
- Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $16.73 (+4.63%)
- CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $12.30 (+6.49%), -0.81% at $12.20
- CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $45.96 (+9.30%), -1.11% at $45.45
- Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $15.67 (+3.09%)
Crypto Treasury Companies
- Strategy (MSTR): closed at $164.72 (+4.81%), -0.18% at $164.43
- Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $21.06 (+18.45%)
- SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $10.27 (+5.99%), -0.39% at $10.23
- Upexi (UPXI): closed at $2.27 (+18.85%)
- Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.53 (-0.65%)
ETF Flows
Spot BTC ETFs
- Daily net flows: $697.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $57.76 billion
- Total BTC holdings ~1.3 million
Spot ETH ETFs
- Daily net flows: $168 million
- Cumulative net flows: $12.69 billion
- Total ETH holdings ~6.11 million
Source: Farside Investors
While You Were Sleeping
- Here’s why bitcoin and major tokens are seeing a strong start to 2026 (CoinDesk): Fading tax-related selling, renewed ETF inflows and early-year repositioning have lifted crypto prices, though thin liquidity leaves the rally vulnerable to sharp swings.
- U.S. national debt reaches new high of $38.5 trillion (CoinDesk): The total U.S. national debt now exceeds GDP, pushing annual interest costs above $1 trillion and reinforcing expectations for looser monetary conditions that have historically benefited bitcoin and gold.
- Iran unrest deepens as U.S. attack in Venezuela sharpens Trump intervention threat (CNBC): Protests that began in Tehran’s central bazaar on Dec. 28 over economic hardship have spread to more than 250 locations, with at least 1,200 people arrested as Iran’s leadership responds.
- Copper, gold and bitcoin: A macro signal to watch (CoinDesk): A rising copper-to-gold ratio signals a shift toward risk-on conditions and has historically preceded major bitcoin rallies after prolonged downtrends; the ratio has now broken out from a yearslong decline.