Why Is Crypto Up Today? – January 15, 2026

The crypto market is up today, with the cryptocurrency market capitalisation rising by 1.1% to $3.37 trillion. At the time of writing, 60 of the top 100 coins have seen increases over the past 24 hours. Also, the total crypto trading volume stands at $166 billion.

Crypto Winners & Losers

Eight of the top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen their prices appreciate over the past 24 hours, as of Thursday morning (UTC).

Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 2.2% since this time yesterday, currently trading at $97,053. This is the highest increase in the category today.

Ethereum (ETH) increased by 1.1%, now trading at $3,367. This is the category’s second-best performer.

The lowest increase was Solana (SOL)’s 0.1%, currently standing at $145.

On the other hand, Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP (XRP) recorded drops over the past day. DOGE is down 2.4% to the price of $0.1447, while XRP fell 1.6% to $2.11.

When it comes to the top 100 coins per market cap, 60 are up today, compared to 95 yesterday. Two of these posted double-digit increases.

Provenance Blockchain (HASH) is the category’s best performer. It’s up 20.5%, now trading at $0.02652.

The next on the list is Internet Computer (ICP), having appreciated 11.2% and now standing at $4.21.

While two more coins are up by around 6%-7% each, the rest increased by 2% and less per coin.

On the red side. Canton (CC) fell the most in the same timeframe. It’s down 8.3% to $0.1301.

Next up is Pepe (PEPE), recording an 8.1% drop to $0.000006108.

Meanwhile, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said that Bitcoin could climb to new all-time highs in 2026.

He argued that Bitcoin struggled in 2025 due to liquidity, while gold and the Nasdaq continued rising. “Dollar liquidity must expand” for BTC to outperform, Hayes said.

BTC Moves Back to Centre of Financial Attention

Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com, commented that Bitcoin posted a notable bullish move, climbing to the $97,800 area, its highest level in nearly two months.

“The rally revived positive sentiment among market participants at a time when risk assets show mixed performance, and investors are assessing opportunities with greater caution,” he wrote. “The cryptocurrency has once again moved to the centre of financial attention, consolidating its role as a barometer of appetite for innovation and alternative hedging.”

The primary catalyst, the analyst argues, was a 13,600 BTC purchase by Strategy, its largest since July 2025. The company reinforced its position as the world’s largest corporate BTC holder. “Beyond the volume, the implicit message to the market was clear: institutional conviction in the asset remains intact,” Giacomo said.

“However, the rally was not accompanied by uniform enthusiasm across all market segments. Despite price strength, signs have emerged that retail demand, particularly in the United States, remains relatively weak. This contrast suggests that the current move is driven more by technical and institutional factors than by emotional or speculative enthusiasm among the broader public.”

The analyst noted that the market is being increasingly dominated by institutional decision-making. The price movements are driven less by mass speculative impulse and more by medium- and long-term capital allocation strategies.

“If this balance holds, Bitcoin could remain resilient even during consolidation phases, as long as institutional flows continue to support the asset. However, to accelerate the bullish cycle further, many analysts believe a more substantial return of retail participation will be necessary, as it has historically fuelled the most explosive rallies.”

In conclusion, he says, BTC’s recent advance reflects a market increasingly sustained by institutional capital, with major corporate purchases and ETF inflows setting the tone. While retail demand still appears subdued, the current structure suggests a stronger and less speculative foundation than in previous cycles. If this institutional support persists and is eventually joined by renewed interest from the broader public, the outlook for the cryptocurrency could remain favourable in the coming months.

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Thursday morning, BTC stood at $97,053. It started the day with an intraday low of $94,736. It soon jumped to $97,704, trading on a similar level since, with a few minor dips.

Over the past week, BTC has appreciated 7.7%. In this period, it has been trading in the $89,799-$97,538 range.

If BTC manages to hold onto the $95,700–$95,200 demand zone, the bullish structure will remain intact. Moreover, surpassing $98,800 could potentially lead to the coin hitting the psychologically significant level of $100,000.

Moreover, Ethereum is currently changing hands at $3,367. Its trading day was choppier than BTC’s.

Following a fall to the day’s low of $3,281, it surged to the high of $3,386, but saw another dip to the $3,280 level again. It has recovered since.

Over the past week, ETH has appreciated by 8.4%, outperforming BTC. It has been trading in the $3,068-$3,379 range.

The price seems to be steadily moving towards $3,400. Holding this level may lead to a revisit of the $3,500 level on the path towards reclaiming the $4,000 mark.

Moreover, the crypto market sentiment is still increasing, moving deeper into the neutral zone and further away from the fear zone.

The crypto fear and greed index stands at 54 this morning, compared to 52 yesterday. It’s a small increase, but a notable one, given that the metric hovered on the brink of fear territory for days and has now moved towards the green zone.

Optimism and hope have been rising amongst market participants since the beginning of the year, following the relative increase in market prices. Still, analysts argue that we’re in a consolidation period, so caution is still notable.

ETFs Continue Green Streak

On Wednesday, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a thirds straight day of positive flows, adding $843.62 million in total, which is the highest level since early October. This is the second day in a row that they’re seeing October levels. With this, the total net inflow increased to $58.12 billion.

Notably, eight of the twelve ETFs posted inflows, and none saw outflows again. BlackRock took first place with $648.39 million in inflows.

Fidelity is next on this list, having taken in $125.39 million on the same day.

Furthermore, the US ETH ETFs posted inflows as well. On 14 January, these totalled $175 million. This is a level briefly seen in December and in October before that. With this latest amount, the total net inflow moved up to $12.74 billion.

Six of the nine funds saw inflows, one more than yesterday, and none saw outflows again. The highest amount among these is BlackRock’s total of $81.6 million.

Grayscale follows closely with inflows of $75.82 million in total posted on the same day.

Meanwhile, Vlad Tenev, head of Robinhood, called out the US lawmakers, as staking remains unavailable in four states. Staking is one of the most sought-after features among the platform’s users, he said, but it’s still inaccessible in these states “due to the current gridlock.”

“Stock Tokens are available to our customers in the EU, but not in our home market,” Tenev wrote. “We support Congress’s efforts to pass the market structure bill,” he added. “But we see a path and are here to help the US Senate Banking Committee GOP and the Senate Banking and Housing Democrats get it over the line.”

Quick FAQ

Did crypto move with stocks today?

The crypto market posted a slight increase over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the US stock market closed another session lower on Wednesday. By the closing time on 14 January, the S&P 500 was down 0.53%, the Nasdaq-100 decreased by 1.07%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.086%. Investors were still digesting fresh economic data and bank earnings reports.

Is this rally sustainable?

Today’s increase is not high compared to yesterday, for example. It’s a minor increase that can still either jump higher or turn red. A drop would not be surprising in the current consolidation period, with prices moving in a relatively tight range.

The post Why Is Crypto Up Today? – January 15, 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.