Autor: dot-traders

• Bitcoin climbed above $97k on a risk-on outlook
• Gains have also come as Bitcoin ETFs notch huge inflows.
• Risks include geopolitical escalations.

Bitcoin is surging once again after a slow start in 2026, with the latest spike sending BTC to highs of $97,360 amid renewed risk-on sentiment across global markets.

The cryptocurrency’s sharp surge in the past 24 hours has bulls excited for a potential breakout to the key psychological level of $100,000.

As the broader crypto market eyes more upside momentum, analysts see fresh rotation into digital assets, with fiat currency debasement and supportive institutional flows key to this.

But investors are also aware of the macroeconomic conditions, with US inflation data showing the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 3% in November – highest since July.

This could provide a mixed backdrop for price movements, but analysts say that Bitcoin breaking above $100k will be a critical move.

Bitcoin jumps to $97k

Stocks rose after the US consumer price index came out on Tuesday, and Bitcoin rode the risk-on sentiment to jump from $93,000 to highs of $97,360.

While Wall Street slipped afterwards amid losses for bank and tech stocks, BTC edged higher.

The more than 4% spike for BTC signalled a robust risk-on outlook that also lifted altcoins, including Ethereum, XRP and Solana.

A look at the charts shows Bitcoin is hovering at likely resistance around the $97,000-$97,500 zone.

However, the gains mark a significant recovery from earlier January levels in the low $90k region.

This advance has BTC above the $95,000 resistance level, a barrier that had capped upside momentum since November 2025,  analysts at QCP Group noted via X.

1/ QCP Asia Colour, 14 January 2026

We’re goin‘ up, up, up, it’s our moment

Goldilocks still holds: US jobs look steady and inflation remains stable. Risk is back across the board, from equities and precious metals to the dollar and crypto.

— QCP (@QCPgroup) January 14, 2026

QCP sees the potential for the bellwether to witness continued strength, noting that Bitcoin could attract investor rotation from traditional safe havens.

Recent US CPI data, which held steady and aligned with moderated inflation expectations, reinforced a supportive environment for risk assets.

Bulls eye $100k level amid ETFs flows

Despite the notable headwinds, the overall market structure suggests potential for continuation higher, with technical indicators showing bullish momentum and volume supporting the rally.

The recent gains have been bolstered by substantial inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs.

As senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted, the funds recorded over $760 million in flows on a single day.

Bitcoin ETFs had Big Day with $760m in flows. They needed it, started year real strong, dipped and now made it up, YTD above water. Check out the YTD flows every one is seeing action (this was like when 10 kids on my 8th grade bball team scored in game the other night, you love… pic.twitter.com/xeHw6EfBrS

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 14, 2026

A resurgence in demand follows major redemptions in late 2025 and earlier in the year.

Current momentum paints a different picture, signalling growing institutional conviction as BTC approaches the $100k level.

The post Bitcoin price reclaims $97K, bulls eye $100K milestone appeared first on CoinJournal.

• ENA price has surged 6% as bulls eye a breakout above $0.24.
• Upbit and Bithumb have listed Ethena USD (USDe).
• Arthur Hayes has shared a fresh prediction for the ENA price, noting a potential surge to $1.

Ethena (ENA) surged on Wednesday as cryptocurrencies bounced, and amid major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges’ listing of the synthetic stablecoin Ethena USD (USDe).

The fresh dose of optimism around Ethena’s governance token ENA saw prominent investor Arthur Hayes express a strong bullish conviction as he predicted a potential spike to $1.

Ethena price gains as Upbit and Bithumb list USDe

South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have both added support for Ethena’s USDe.

The platforms announced the listings on Wednesday, which means USDe is now supported on two of Asia’s most active trading markets.

Upbit now supports USDe pairs against KRW, BTC, and USDT, while Bithumb confirmed the listing of the USDe/KRW market.

These listings mean enhanced liquidity, accessibility, and adoption of USDe in a market where fiat-to-crypto trading volumes are often substantial.

Upbit’s listing of tokens has historically coincided with a price surge for the respective cryptocurrencies.

ENA, the governance token of the Ethena protocol, could ride this bullish outlook to new highs.

As of writing, ENA traded around $0.24, up 7% in the past 24 hours. Trading volume jumped 160% to over $389 million while USDe saw a 48% increase in volume as  the listings went live.

ENA’s price reached intraday highs of $0.25 amid this volume surge.

Arthur Hayes sees ENA price rallying to $1

Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and an influential crypto investor, is optimistic that the ENA price will go parabolic in the short term.

The entrepreneur, who has previously backed Ethena to explode, shared his latest prediction in a post on X, noting “it’s time for $ENA = $1.”

This aligns with Hayes’ other bold market calls, having accumulated ENA during dips.

His latest commentary suggests that increased exchange support, particularly in high-volume markets like South Korea, could catalyze greater adoption. Upward price pressure on ENA may allow bulls to target the psychological $1 level.

ENA last traded around this level in January 2025, with the overall market downturn seeing prices touch lows of $0.22 in June.

A rebound allowed bulls to retest highs of $0.80, but the area marked a double top pattern and prices slumped to under $0.20 in early Jan. 2026.

Ethena’s ongoing efforts to integrate USDe across major platforms, potentially driving further protocol growth and revenue, could cascade upside momentum to ENA.

If the current levels mark a double bottom, a retest of $0.80 and then $1 is likely.

The post Arthur Hayes eyes Ethena price surge to $1 as major Korean exchanges list USDe appeared first on CoinJournal.

• MANTRA has announced major team reductions after a challenging 2025.
• The restructuring aims to enhance capital efficiency and focus more on core business operations.
• OM token was priced around $0.076 at the time of writing.

MANTRA, a layer-1 blockchain focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, has announced plans for a restructuring, with major layoffs impacting the team.

The decision comes as MANTRA looks to turn the corner following a challenging past year, said Mantra chief executive officer and founder John Patrick Mullin.

He described the move as one of the most difficult decisions in the company’s history, with this coming as the native token OM hovered around $0.076.

The cryptocurrency crashed from its highs of $8.5 in February 2025.

MANTRA eyes 2026 rebound with key restructuring

According to Mullin, the restructuring will primarily impact support functions such as business development, marketing, human resources, and other non-core roles. 

The layoffs are part of the organizational overhaul that also targets broader operations, resource utilization, and other moves. 

“As part of this strategic shift for MANTRA in 2026, we aim to be leaner overall, streamlining operations, focusing our resources, and committing to disciplined execution,” he added.

The company cites several factors for this difficult decision, including the “incredibly unfortunate and frankly unfair events” of April 2025. 

At the time, the OM token experienced a dramatic 90%+ price collapse in a flash crash that wiped out billions in market value, triggered by a combination of forced liquidations on centralized exchanges.

Manipulation issues rose and rapid sell-offs amid low liquidity hit the project. 

“The prolonged market downturn, increased competition, and shifting market dynamics have made our cost structure unsustainable relative to our near-term realities,” Mullin noted.

MANTRA’s potential

Despite the many setbacks and challenges, Mullin says the team is upbeat and is ready to build on prior achievements.

In the X post, he outlined a belief that the MANTRA Chain has the potential to drive innovation and adoption within the real-world assets market.

Streamlining operations, cutting non-essential spending, and redirecting resources toward core priorities will allow MANTRA to deliver disciplined execution.

The goal remains that the project should be able to relentlessly ship products as it curves a path towards profitability and sustainability. 

However, the announcement has elicited mixed reactions, with some community members praising the transparency while others have expressed outright concern.

Mullin says he does not plan to quit the project and that the team will share more details on its streamlined priorities and operating rhythm in the coming weeks. 

The native token, which hit an all-time high of $9.04 in February 2025, had hit intraday highs of $0.082 as of writing on Jan. 14, 2026.

The post MANTRA announces team layoffs amid company restructuring appeared first on CoinJournal.