Crypto Market Update: Crypto Czar says Banks and Crypto Companies Will Merge

Bitcoin and Ether price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$90,066.08, up by 0.6 percent over 24 hours.

Bitcoin price performance, January 21, 2025.

Chart via TradingView

After yesterday’s sell-off, BTC’s price rose after US President Donald Trump’s speech at Davos, where he said he expects to sign the crypto market structure bill “very soon.”

During his address, Trump also said he supported the GENIUS Act, which he signed into July 2025 because it was “politically popular,” adding, “much more importantly, we have to make it so that China doesn’t get hold of it…once they have that hold, we’re not going to be able to get it back.”

BTC experienced a volatile trading day, coming close to US$90,300 before dropping to US$87,304, followed by another rise towards US$90K.

In an email, Samer Hasn, a senior market analyst at XS.com, maintains that the current BTC market correction is being driven by a combination of escalating geopolitical risks, including President Trump’s ultimatum regarding the annexation of Greenland and Middle East tensions, as well as tightening global liquidity, highlighted by record-high Japanese government bond yields.

‘The institutional appetite for digital assets is also showing signs of fatigue, with US spot Bitcoin ETFs reversing course to post nearly US$500 million in outflows over just two sessions,’ he wrote.

‘This erratic on-off flow suggests that the record inflows seen last week were driven by speculative hot money rather than the solid, long-term accumulation required to sustain a bull market.’

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$3,026.90, up by 0.9 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.97, up by 3.3 percent over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$130.88, up by 2.5 percent over 24 hours.

Today’s crypto news to know

Steak ‘n Shake announces BTC bonus for hourly employees

Steak ’n Shake is launching a BTC bonus program for all hourly employees, offering US$0.21 worth of BTC per hour.

Announced today via X, the rewards will be subject to a two-year vesting period. The initiative expands the chain’s partnership with Fold, following a 2025 pilot program. This move reinforces Steak ’n Shake’s aggressive BTC strategy, which includes accepting BTC payments and a recent US$10 million BTC purchase to be added to its corporate BTC reserve.

Galaxy to launch US$100 million crypto hedge fund

Cryptocurrency group Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ:GLXY) is reportedly planning to launch a US$100 million hedge fund, according to a report today from the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the matter and internal sources close to the firm.

The fund is set to launch in Q1 of this year, with up to 30 percent of its assets invested in crypto tokens and the rest in financial services stocks impacted by changes in digital asset technologies and laws.

Crypto czar says banks and crypto companies will merge

During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks, joined by Michael Kratsios, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, said that banks and crypto companies will eventually merge into one digital asset industry once the market structure bill passes through Congress.

‘After the bill passes, the banks are going to get fully into the crypto industry. So we’re not going to have a separate banking industry and crypto, it’s going to be one digital asset industry. Over time, the banks like the idea of paying yield because they’re going to be in the stablecoin business,’ he said from Davos.

Bitget: Macro reset reframes Bitcoin’s role as risk appetite cools

Crypto markets are entering 2026 under a markedly different macro backdrop, as geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and shifting rate expectations force investors to reassess risk.

According to Bitget CMO Ignacio Aguirre, capital is rotating back toward traditional safe havens, with gold reclaiming its defensive role while Bitcoin trades more like a risk asset amid tighter liquidity.

The roughly US$1.3 trillion erased from US equities underscores a broader repricing rather than a market anomaly, reflecting how policy uncertainty typically drives investors to pull back first before selectively re-entering.

Aguirre notes that similar patterns played out during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2022 crypto downturn, where sharp contractions ultimately set the stage for renewed growth.

In the near term, Bitcoin could face additional pressure and test lower support levels before finding stability.

Longer term, however, structural factors such as improving infrastructure and institutional participation continue to support a bullish thesis. The adjustment, Aguirre argues, is part of crypto’s maturation rather than a rejection of its long-term value.

DeFi groups push Back on FTC’s approach to non-custodial systems

Major crypto policy groups are urging the US Federal Trade Commission to rethink how it applies consumer protection rules to decentralized finance.

In a joint letter, industry organizations including the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association warned that enforcement models designed for custodial finance do not translate cleanly to non-custodial systems.

They argue that imposing centralized safeguards such as kill switches or circuit breakers could weaken, rather than enhance, security by undermining decentralization.

The groups further emphasized that developers who do not control user funds should not be treated as financial intermediaries. Overly prescriptive standards, they said, risk stifling innovation and driving responsible development outside the United States.

The appeal comes as Congress debates broader crypto legislation, raising concerns that regulatory overlap could create confusion.

Trump signals imminent signing of Crypto market structure bill

President Donald Trump said he expects to sign a long-awaited crypto market structure bill “very soon,” injecting fresh momentum into legislation that has faced recent turbulence in Congress.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump framed the bill as a step toward expanding financial access, explicitly referencing Bitcoin and digital assets more broadly.

His remarks followed a contentious week on Capitol Hill after a planned Senate Banking Committee vote was abruptly pulled. That setback was triggered when Coinbase withdrew its support over concerns about provisions affecting stablecoin yield products.

White House officials have since signaled impatience with industry infighting that could derail passage.