Good morning, Asia. Here’s what’s happening in the market:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, your daily digest of the top news from the U.S. and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of the U.S. market, see CoinDesk’s Americas Crypto Diary.
Cryptocurrency markets have started the year in recalibration mode rather than a retracement, with Bitcoin consolidating above $90,000 and Ethereum returning to relative strength as institutional positioning resets.
Bitcoin edged lower in the short-term framework as the Hong Kong trading day began on Wednesday, but remained range-bound after breaking above the psychologically important $90,000 mark.
“With stocks, gold and other precious metals at all-time highs, we believe the current scenario is for prices to correct back in line with all other assets, with prices falling over the next few months to follow the 4-year cycle,” George Mandres, a cryptocurrency analyst at trading firm XBTO, told CoinDesk in a note, adding that the latter “quickly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Neither force has dominated price action so far. Rather than seeing a major correction, Bitcoin is trading sideways, indicating digestion rather than distribution. Mandres pointed to calendar effects as a key difference from the end of 2025.
“What’s different now than a few weeks ago, except [btc] The fact that the price has exceeded $90,000 is a fact that the new year has begun, so P&L resets to 0 and investors need to allocate funds to attractive risk/reward opportunities,” he continued.
Ethereum tells a slightly different story. Although ETH has outperformed Bitcoin in the weekly and monthly windows, futures data suggests that positioning has cooled.
DNTV Research founder Bradley Park said CME Ethereum futures open interest provides useful context beyond spot charts.
“The increase in open interest increasingly reflects institutional participation through DAT-style ETF arbitrage trades, while the decline in open interest indicates unwinding,” Park said in a note to CoinDesk.
Now it seems that this relaxation has gone smoothly.
Park added: “The recent pullback looks less like a structural break and more like a loss of momentum, with positioning resetting to levels around July 2025.”
Importantly, this reset was not accompanied by a sharp sell-off in spot prices.
A recent report from Glassnode reinforced the same theme across assets. The options market has been significantly de-risked, with open interest contracting and volatility expectations rising, while U.S. spot ETF flows have turned back to net inflows, indicating renewed institutional demand but also heightened sensitivity to near-term profit-taking.
Taken together, these signals suggest consolidation and rotation rather than a broad risk-off move. Bitcoin is absorbing competing macro narratives but not breaking trends, while Ethereum looks less crowded and better positioned if institutional money re-engages.
market trend
Bitcoin: Bitcoin is trading sideways above $90,000, with price action reflecting consolidation following recent gains rather than fresh selling pressure, as macro support and cycle-driven caution continue to offset each other.
Ethereum: Ethereum is trading around $3,247, edging lower in the short term but still maintaining strong gains on both a weekly and monthly basis, underscoring its resilience despite the recent cooling of futures positions.
Gold: After rising nearly 65% in 2025, the bank expects gold prices to reach new highs in 2026 on falling interest rates, central bank buying and geopolitical risks.
Nikkei 225: JAsia-Pacific markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.45% on Wednesday and Australia’s ASX 200 rising 0.38% after inflation data came in below expectations.
Elsewhere in Cryptocurrency
- DeFi and ethics controversies remain in Senate cryptocurrency bill ahead of January 15 vote (CoinDesk)
- Rapper Drake Faces RICO Lawsuit for Promoting and Using Crypto Casino Stake (Decrypted)
