Strategy and BitMine Increase Holdings

Find out our latest reports, listed below:

• Bybit x Block Scholes: “2026: It's Different This Time?”

• Tokenised Markets on Bitget UEX: Unlocking Real-World Assets On-Chain for 24/7 Global Access

• DeepBook - “The Backbone of Sui DeFi Liquidity”

• Premia x Block Scholes: Introducing Kyan

Market Snapshot: Overnight Moves

Daily Updates:

• BTC is currently trading at the upper bound of the $89K-$92K corridor it has been stuck in, while ETH continues to move sideways at $3,100. 
• Across derivatives markets we see little appetite for new risk taking. Funding rates are only modestly positive for BTC and flat at 0% for ETH, short-dated ATM implied volatility has continued to linger around the low-to-mid 30s region for BTC and below 50% for ETH, while volatility smiles continue to price a small premium for OTM puts. 
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs did however reverse a four-day streak of outflows, and purchased $116.7M worth of bitcoins yesterday. 

• US equities and treasury bonds opened lower at the start of Monday’s session following escalations between President Trump’s administration and the Federal Reserve, though bounced from their session lows before the closing bell. 
• The S&P 500 rose modestly by 0.16%, enough to reach another record high and the Nasdaq-100 was flat at 0.08%. 

• Yesterday, New York Fed President John Williams said monetary policy is now well-positioned and closer to neutral, signalling he sees no near-term need for additional rate cuts after last year’s easing cycle.
• He stated an optimistic tone on the 2026 outlook, projecting 2.5%-2.75% GDP growth, unemployment stabilising, and inflation peaking around 2.75%–3.0% in the first half of the year before easing to roughly 2.5% for 2026 and returning to the Fed’s 2% target by 2027. 

• A number of banking / credit card related firms fell, with Capital One leading the decline. That came after a Truth Social post on Friday evening where President Trump called for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, in one of many efforts ahead of the US midterms to address American’s cost of living concerns. 
• Capital One shares closed 6.4% lower, American Express fell 4.3% while Citigroup dropped 3% and JPMorgan Chase fell 1.4%. 

• Central bank officials across the globe are currently working on a statement to express support for Chair Powell following the Justice Department’s issuing of subpoenas into the central bank. The joint statement will be open for all central banks to sign and is expected to be issued under the banner of the Bank ‌for International Settlements (BIS).
• A number of former Fed chairs have also expressed support for Powell, arguing that the case from the Department of Justice risks further undermining the Fed’s independence and the US economy. 
• A statement was posted on Substack — https://jointstatement.substack.com/p/statement-on-the-federal-reserve that read “The Federal Reserve’s independence and the public’s perception of that independence are critical for economic performance, including achieving the goals Congress has set for the Federal Reserve of stable prices, maximum employment, and moderate long-term interest rates”. 
• The statement was signed by former Fed Chairs Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan, as well as by former Treasury Secretaries Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew, Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin.

• Yesterday President Trump said that he is imposing a 25% tariff on goods from any countries that are “doing business” with Iran — on Truth Social he posted “Any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive”, while adding the new duty would be “effective immediately”. 
• The action from Trump may once more upset relations between the US and China after the two countries came to a one-year trade truce, given that China is the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil.
• According to Bloomberg Economics, following the US-China pact negotiated in October 2025 in South Korea, the average US tariff rate on Chinese goods dropped to 30.8% from 40.8%.

• Strategy purchased another 13,627 BTC for approximately $1.25B between 5–11 January at an average $91,519 per coin, according to an SEC 8-K.
• Total holdings now stand at 687,410 BTC, which is about $62.3B at current prices, acquired at an average $75,353 for an all-in cost of ~$51.8B, representing now over 3% of Bitcoin’s supply.
• The purchases were financed via at-the-market issuance of MSTR common stock and STRC perpetual preferred stock: $1.13B of MSTR and $119.1M of STRC were sold last week, leaving $10.26B and $3.92B of remaining capacity, respectively.

• BitMine Immersion, the Ethereum treasury company, has acquired another 24,266 ETH since 5 January, taking total holdings to 4,167,768 ETH - around $13B at current prices.
• Including crypto and cash, the firm says its balance-sheet resources now stand near $14B, with its ETH position equating to roughly 3.45% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.
• BitMine is also accelerating its yield strategy: staked ETH has risen to 1,256,083 ETH, up 596,864 ETH over the past week, as the company claims it now stakes more ETH than any other entity.

• Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act on Monday, a proposal designed to clarify that software developers and service providers who do not control user funds should not be treated as money transmitters.
• The legislation aligns with work already advanced in the House and is expected to be incorporated into the Senate Banking Committee’s broader crypto market structure package, as lawmakers move quickly toward a committee hearing to amend and vote on sweeping legislation.
• Negotiations are ongoing across key issues, including stablecoin yield, DeFi treatment, and political conflict-of-interest concerns.

• U.S. senators are sharpening the rules around stablecoin rewards in a draft market-structure bill, barring yield for simply holding stablecoin balances while still allowing incentives tied to user activity. 
• The latest text, released by Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, would prohibit service providers from paying interest-like returns on “payment stablecoins” held passively, but carve out exemptions for rewards linked to actions such as transactions, staking, liquidity provision, or posting collateral.
• The language reflects a compromise floated by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, aiming to preserve engagement-based programmes while closing what banks view as GENIUS Act-era loopholes that enabled rewards via third-party platforms.
• The draft also incorporates a separate provision to protect software developers and infrastructure providers from being treated as financial intermediaries solely for writing or maintaining code.
• The manager’s amendment constitutes a key procedural milestone, positioning the legislation for the Banking Committee’s scheduled consideration this Thursday.

• Grayscale has refreshed its pipeline of tokens under review for potential future products, expanding its “assets under consideration” list to 27 names spanning AI, DeFi, consumer, and infrastructure themes.
• The update, published yesterday, is part of the firm’s standard review cadence for its roughly $35B digital-asset platform and covers assets not currently held in Grayscale vehicles but flagged internally as possible product candidates.
• Notably, seven tokens are new additions for 2026, including MegaETH and Horizen (smart contract platforms), ARIA Protocol and Playtron (Consumer & Culture), plus Nous Research, Poseidon, and Geodnet (AI / Utilities & Services).
• The remaining 20 were already mapped within Grayscale’s sector framework by the end of 2025, including established names across smart contract platforms, DeFi, and AI-linked assets.
• The next routine update is expected around 15 April 2026.

This Week’s Calendar:

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Charts of the Day: