Market Overview: The Institutional Divergence
Wall Street is buying the future while the spot market sells the present. That’s the paradox defining Jan 7. Morgan Stanley just filed for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs — a massive endorsement. Yet, BTC slid 2.75%, dragging the majors down with it. Why the disconnect? Look at the order books.
Riot Platforms dumped nearly $200M in BTC to fund AI ventures. Simultaneously, spot ETFs saw their first net outflows of the year. This supply shock hit right as BTC tested the psychological $91k support. The result? A classic liquidity flush. The macro backdrop remains fertile — Fed balance sheets are expanding again — but today, cash is king.
Bitcoin & Majors: Sell-the-News or Healthy Reset?
BTC (-2.75%) is caught in a tug-of-war. BlackRock scooped up $340M ahead of Japan’s PMI data, signaling strong conviction. But the $2.3B taker sell volume spike suggests traders are de-risking ahead of the Jan 15 Senate vote. The price action is choppy, oscillating between $90k and $93k.
ETH (-4.02%) is the day's biggest disappointment. Despite the Morgan Stanley filing — which should be rocket fuel — price action remains heavy. The market seems to be pricing in regulatory delays rather than immediate approval.
XRP (-5.92%) was the volatility king. It ripped 12% earlier on a technical breakout and Hyperliquid listing, only to round-trip the entire move. The catalyst for the dump? Ripple confirmed it has "no plans" for an IPO. Speculators betting on a public listing exit got trapped and liquidated.
Outliers & Alpha: The AI Pivot
While prices bleed, infrastructure is shifting.
- Miners -> AI: It's not just Riot. The narrative of miners pivoting to High-Performance Computing (HPC) is accelerating. This creates selling pressure on BTC reserves (to buy GPUs) but boosts the equity value of the mining companies.
- LINK: Bitwise’s Spot Chainlink ETF got SEC approval. In a sea of red, LINK has a structural bid underneath it now.
- Solana Stablecoins: Network revenue is soaring, and stablecoin market cap hit $15B. The price is down, but the on-chain economy is printing money.
Sentiment: Cautious Optimism
The "Up Only" vibe of early January has fractured. Traders are realizing 2026 won't be a straight line. With the Senate vote looming on Jan 15, expect volatility to remain elevated. The smart money is accumulating (BlackRock), but the weak hands are folding.