SnapShot 240

Hello SnapShotters,

The crypto market kicked off 2026 with life as BTC hiked above US$94,000 this week — its highest level since mid-November — defying expectations of a subdued start to the year. XRP posted a sharp 11% rally within 24 hours early in the week, while ETH climbed modestly to about $3,200. Crypto-linked equities mirrored the gains, posting double-digit percentages.

Concerns over potential oil supply disruptions and global tensions drove capital into commodities, equities, and digital assets simultaneously.

The rally's sustainability hinges on next week's U.S. CPI data release, which could either validate or deflate the nascent optimism. Traders are bracing for the print to determine whether the Fed's easing cycle continues or pauses, with December 2025's inflation reading critical to rate guidance for the year ahead.

U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $459 million in net inflows last week, a sharp contrast to the prior period's $782 million in outflows. The turnaround was led by BlackRock's IBIT, which pulled in $287.4 million on January 2 alone — its largest single-day haul since early October. Spot ETH ETFs followed suit with $161 million in inflows, compared to $102 million in outflows the week before.

Meme coins stole the spotlight with the most greens. PEPE surged 26% after New Year’s Day, leading the charge as meme coin market capitalization jumped above $45.3 billion. Over a seven-day period, SHIB climbed 28%, BONK added 11%, and DOGE rallied 20%. After weeks of sitting in “extreme fear,” the Fear & Greed Index edged into the “fear” zone to subtly lift sentiments as the calendar flipped.

Here are the week's top stories as crypto rolls into the second week of 2026.

Market Spotlight

Note: Market prices captured in USD at the time of sending. Explore more on Crypto‌.com/Price. 

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News Snaps

🏦 Morgan Stanley Moves Into Crypto ETFs
Morgan Stanley filed with the U.S. SEC to launch spot ETFs tied to bitcoin and Solana, moving deeper into crypto engagements. The filing stands out as a rare move by a major U.S. bank to pursue direct crypto ETF issuance, going beyond traditional custody and brokerage roles.

💳 Crypto.com and Stripe Team Up
Crypto.com and Stripe announced a new integration that lets millions of Stripe merchants accept crypto payments directly from users’ Crypto.com balances via Crypto.com Pay. Merchants receive payouts in local fiat, while customers can pay with cryptocurrencies or stablecoins at checkout.

🏢 PwC Leans Into Crypto as U.S. Rules Loosen
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is stepping up its crypto audit and advisory work, citing clearer U.S. regulation and growing institutional confidence around stablecoins and tokenization.

📢 Crypto ETP Flows Near Record in 2024
Global crypto ETPs pulled in $47.2 billion in 2025, snapping at the heels of 2024’s record at $48.7 billion, according to CoinShares. While BTC inflows cooled, capital rotated into ETH, XRP, and SOL products.

🧠 Vitalik: Ethereum Has Crossed the Trilemma Threshold
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the network has effectively moved past the blockchain “trilemma,” citing live upgrades such as PeerDAS and zkEVMs that target production-level performance. The aim is to deliver decentralization, security, and higher throughput at once, shifting Ethereum’s scaling path away from Bitcoin-style replication toward distributed verification.

What’s Ahead

🗓️ January 13: U.S. CPI Data
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish the December 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) on January 13, covering inflation for the year-end period. Following a government shutdown that delayed inflation data, this report will be closely watched for signs of whether price pressures will continue to cool.

Number of the Week

Source: CoinTelegraph

Chart of the Week

Bitcoin Plays Second Fiddle to Silver in Volatility

Bitcoin’s annualized 30-day volatility trended lower into year-end, settling in the 30% to 40% range as price action narrowed. Over the same period, silver’s volatility surged above 60%, briefly overtaking BTC — an uncommon reversal in short-term risk dynamics.

Gold volatility also picked up toward the end of the year, rising to around 20%, but remained well below BTC’s. Silver’s sharp volatility increase coincided with a price rally driven by industrial demand from sectors such as solar energy and electric vehicles, alongside expectations of tighter supply.

As of January 2, 2026

Sources: CoinGecko, Macrotrends, Crypto.com Research

Crypto Trivia

Which cryptocurrency was used in the first real-world insurance payout executed automatically via a smart contract?

A) Bitcoin
B) Ether
C) Litecoin

Find the correct answer at the end of this newsletter.

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Product Updates

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Byte Sized

Through this comparison, learn why BTC is potentially the mainstay and regarded as the “future of digital money.”

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Security Tips

Double-Hit Crypto Scam Costs Malaysian Doctor US$130,000

A Malaysian doctor lost US$130,000 in a crypto scam after falling victim to a two-stage fraud that combined a fake investment scheme with a follow-up “recovery” scam.

The victim was first lured into a fraudulent crypto investment promising attractive returns. After realizing the funds were gone, scammers struck again — this time posing as recovery agents who claimed they could help retrieve the lost crypto for a fee, but instead  drained even more funds.

Authorities warn that recovery scams often target victims who have already lost funds, exploiting their hope of getting their money back. Once payments are made, the scammers disappear entirely.

How to Safeguard Funds:

• Be skeptical of investment opportunities promising fast or guaranteed returns
• Never trust “recovery services” that ask for upfront fees to retrieve lost crypto
• Verify platforms and individuals independently before sending any funds

Crypto Trivia Answer

B) Ether ✅

In 2017, insurance giant AXA launched “Fizzy,” a flight-delay insurance product built on Ethereum. When flights were delayed, ETH payouts were triggered automatically by smart contracts, with no claims process or manual intervention required.

That's it for this week's SnapShot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.