Daily Crypto Briefing – January 5, 2026

Crypto markets kicked off 2026 with renewed momentum as Bitcoin pushed toward $94,000 and institutional investors returned with fresh capital. Here's what moved markets in the past 24 hours.

Top Stories

Bitcoin Breaks Above $93,000 Amid Venezuela Tensions

Multiple sources report Bitcoin surged to its highest level in nearly a month following U.S. operations in Venezuela. The geopolitical catalyst sparked risk-on sentiment across crypto markets, with traders monitoring potential strategic implications for the region's oil sector.

Suspicious Polymarket Account Profits $370k on Maduro Bet

CryptoSlate reports another potential insider trading incident on Polymarket, where a new account turned $30,000 into $400,000 by betting on Venezuela-related outcomes moments before the U.S. captured President Maduro. The incident has prompted calls for stricter regulation of prediction markets.

Goldman Sachs Upgrades Coinbase to Buy

The Block notes Goldman analysts upgraded Coinbase stock citing the exchange's growing non-trading revenue as a buffer against crypto market volatility. However, they flagged execution risks and increasing competition as potential headwinds.

Starknet Suffers Four-Hour Outage

The Defiant reports Ethereum layer-2 network Starknet experienced its second major disruption since the Grinta upgrade, with block production halted for over four hours before restoration.

Markets

ETF Inflows Resume as Institutional Demand Returns

• BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF saw its largest inflow in three months as crypto prices rallied
• The Block reports renewed institutional demand is stabilizing prices, though analysts warn of "internal fatigue"
• Bitcoin briefly topped $94,000 after $420 million in liquidations

Meme Coins Lead Market Recovery

• Decrypt highlights meme coins outperformed with double-digit gains, led by Pepe's 67% surge
• NewsBTC analysis suggests memecoin strength is returning after historic market decline in 2025

Technology

Vitalik Claims Ethereum Solved Blockchain Trilemma

Decrypt reports Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin declared the network has achieved decentralization, security, and scalability simultaneously through recent upgrades. The claim comes as CoinDesk notes new scaling tools like PeerDAS and zkEVMs mature.

Bitcoin Core Development Surges 60%

CryptoNews highlights Bitcoin Core development activity jumped 60% in 2025, with 135 developers contributing 285,000 lines of code, marking the protocol's most active development period in years.

Regulation

Japan Supports Crypto Trading on Stock Exchanges

CoinDesk reports Japan's finance minister expressed support for crypto trading at stock exchanges, signaling potential tax and regulatory changes to bring digital assets into the financial mainstream.

Torres Introduces Prediction Market Bill

The Block notes Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced legislation to restrict elected officials' use of prediction markets following the suspicious Maduro betting incident.

Crypto.com Gets Cayman Islands Approval

CryptoBriefing reports Crypto.com received conditional approval to operate as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in the Cayman Islands, potentially enhancing its regulatory credibility.

DeFi

Jupiter Launches JupUSD Stablecoin

The Block reports Jupiter rolled out JupUSD, a stablecoin backed 90% by BlackRock's tokenized fund and Ethena's USDtb, marking another major stablecoin launch.

Polymarket Expands to Real Estate

The Defiant notes Polymarket partnered with Parcl to launch real estate prediction markets, allowing users to bet on U.S. home prices through daily housing indices.

Corporate Moves

Strategy Adds $116M in Bitcoin

Decrypt reports Michael Saylor's Strategy purchased 1,287 BTC for $116 million while also boosting cash reserves to $2.25 billion, showing continued Bitcoin accumulation alongside diversification.

Tom Lee's BitMine Accumulates More ETH

The Block highlights BitMine added 32,977 ETH, bringing total holdings to over 4.14 million ETH plus $915 million in cash, making it the world's largest institutional Ethereum holder.

Quick Hits

• Grayscale began distributing first Ethereum staking rewards to ETF investors
• Ledger confirmed data breach through payment processor Global-e, though wallets remain secure
• [CME Group reported](https://cryptonews.com/