Daily Crypto Signals: Bitcoin Tests $97K, XRP Holds Above $2 Amid Regulatory Shifts and Institutional Demand
Bitcoin climbed to its highest level in over 60 days, reaching $97,000 following significant spot ETF inflows, though derivatives data
Quick overview
- Bitcoin reached $97,000, its highest level in over 60 days, driven by significant spot ETF inflows, although traders remain cautious about a sustained rally.
- XRP maintained stability above $2, supported by $45 million in institutional inflows, despite the broader market experiencing $454 million in outflows.
- The SEC concluded its investigation into Zcash, indicating a softer regulatory stance, while concerns arose over a proposed Senate bill that could increase government oversight of the crypto market.
- Corporate adoption of Bitcoin surged, with digital asset treasuries adding 260,000 BTC in six months, significantly outpacing mining supply.
Bitcoin BTC/USD climbed to its highest level in over 60 days, reaching $97,000 following significant spot ETF inflows, though derivatives data suggests traders remain cautious about a sustained rally toward $105,000. Meanwhile, XRP XRP/USD maintained stability above $2 supported by substantial institutional inflows of $45 million, even as the broader digital asset market experienced roughly $454 million in outflows, while regulatory developments saw the SEC close its investigation into Zcash’s privacy token.
Crypto Market Developments
This week, the cryptocurrency market saw some big changes as rules became clearer and more institutions got involved. The Zcash Foundation said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finished its examination of the privacy-focused coin and will not propose any enforcement proceedings. This is another sign of the SEC’s softer regulatory posture under the Trump administration. This is part of a pattern in which the agency has dropped a number of high-profile lawsuits and investigations against crypto businesses in the past year.
But additional regulatory worries came up when Galaxy Digital warned about a proposed Senate bill on the structure of the crypto market that might give the Treasury Department much more power to spy on people. The proposed law would give the Treasury the power to say that certain foreign jurisdictions or whole classes of digital asset transactions are money-laundering risks. This would be similar to powers given to the government under the Patriot Act. This plan goes a lot further than the CLARITY Act that the House passed, especially when it comes to clauses on illegal financing.
Companies are adopting Bitcoin at an unprecedented rate, with digital asset treasuries adding a net 260,000 BTC to their holdings in the last six months. During the same time, miners only made about 82,000 coins, therefore this corporate accumulation was three times faster than mining supply. The amount of Bitcoin held by both public and private companies grew from about 854,000 BTC to 1.11 million BTC. At current rates, this is about $25 billion in new corporate investment.
Bitcoin Crosses $97,000 on Wednesday
Bitcoin (BTC) rose beyond $97,000 on Wednesday, its highest price in more than 60 days, with a daily increase of 5.5 percent. This showed that it was getting stronger again. The rebound came when a lot of money—$840 million—came into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Monday and Tuesday. This showed that institutional investors were still interested, even though the market as a whole was unclear. The price rise caused $370 million in liquidations of leveraged short positions over two days. This was the largest total since October 2025, when bears were caught off guard by the unexpected rise.
However, data from the derivatives market show that professional traders are still not sure that Bitcoin can stay above $100,000. The delta skew for BTC options is at 4%, the same as it was last week. Put options are still trading at a higher price than call options. This means that smart investors haven’t yet become bullish, even though the price has gone up. Bitcoin’s performance is very different from that of traditional markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Index has failed to reach the 26,000 level it last saw in early November, while the cryptocurrency is still 23 percent behind its all-time high of $126,219. Gold and silver prices hit all-time highs in 2026, showing that investors are more interested in traditional safe-haven assets at times of heightened geopolitical tensions and economic concern.
XRP Holds Above Key $2 Level
XRP (XRP) has stayed above the $2 barrier, which is key for the market’s psychology. This is because there has been a lot of institutional demand that is very different from what is happening in the rest of the market. Last week, $45 million in investment products went into XRP. This was a more than 400% rise from the previous week, even though the broader digital asset market had one of its worst weeks since mid-2023, with $454 million in outflows. This support from institutions helped XRP get back above its 50-day simple moving average in early January. This is a technical sign that a trend is starting to change and that buyers are still in charge.
Analysts stress that XRP has not yet shown a clear bullish turn, even though it is stable. It needs better technical support at higher price levels. CryptoQuant’s trading volume data shows that Z-Scores on Binance are around 0.44, which means that activity is slightly over the 30-day average but still in a neutral area. This means that there is a balance between buyers and sellers, not too many of either. Market watchers say that XRP has been stuck at $2.10 for months, but for the price to really change, it would need to find acceptance way above $2.40, where the surge stopped on January 6 after being rejected and more than $100 million in net whale selling between January 4 and 7. Traders are now keeping an eye on XRP to see if it can hold its ground above $2 and go toward new highs around $3, or if it will fall back to $1.77 inside a bigger uptrend structure.
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