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Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of the top news stories during U.S. business hours and insight into market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of US markets, see Crypto Daybook Americas from CoinDesk.
Crypto markets are starting the year in recalibration mode rather than pullback, with bitcoin consolidating above $90,000 and ether regaining relative strength as institutional positioning resets.
As Hong Kong began its trading day on Wednesday, BTC slipped slightly on short-term frames, but remained range-bound after breaking through the psychologically important $90,000 level.
“With stocks, gold and other precious metals at record highs, we see the situation as a battle between an upward price correction to be in line with all other assets and a price decline over the next few months to meet the 4-year cycle,” George Mandres, crypto analyst at trading firm XBTO, told CoinDesk in a note, adding that the latter “can very quickly turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
So far, neither force has dominated price action. Instead of a sharp correction, bitcoin moved sideways, suggesting digestion rather than distribution. Mandres highlighted the calendar effect as a key difference from the end of 2025.
“What is different today compared to a few weeks ago, other than the [btc] The price, which exceeded $90,000, is the fact that a new year has started and therefore PNLs are reset to 0, and investors must allocate capital to attractive risk/reward opportunities,” he continued.
Ethereum tells a slightly different story. Although ETH has outperformed bitcoin on both weekly and monthly windows, futures data suggests that positioning has cooled.
Bradley Park, founder of DNTV Research, said CME’s Ethereum futures open interest provides useful context beyond spot charts.
“The rise in open interest increasingly reflects institutional participation via DAT ETF-based trades, while the decline in open interest suggests an unwinding,” Park said in a note to CoinDesk.
This outcome now seems well advanced.
“The recent pullback looks less like a structural break and more like a loss of momentum, with positioning reset to around July 2025 levels,” Park added.
It is important to note that this reset was not accompanied by a strong spot sell-off.
A recent report from Glassnode reinforces the same theme across all assets. Options markets have been de-risking aggressively, with open interest contracting and volatility expectations rising, while U.S. spot ETF flows have returned to net inflows, signaling renewed institutional demand but also increased sensitivity to short-term profit-taking.
Taken together, the signals point toward consolidation and rotation rather than broad risk aversion. Bitcoin absorbs competing macroeconomic narratives without breaking the trend, while Ethereum appears less crowded and better positioned if institutional flows re-engage.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin is trading sideways above $90,000, with price action reflecting consolidation after a recent advance rather than renewed selling pressure, as macroeconomic support and cyclical caution continue to offset each other.
ETFs: Ether is trading around $3,247, down slightly over short periods but remaining sharply up on weekly and monthly views, highlighting resilience despite a recent cooling in futures positioning.
Gold: After rising almost 65% in 2025, banks see gold reaching new records in 2026 due to lower rates, central bank purchases and geopolitical risk.
Nikkei 225: JJapan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.45% on Wednesday as Asia-Pacific markets were mixed, with Australia’s ASX 200 rising 0.38% after inflation data came in lower than expected.
Elsewhere in crypto
- DeFi, Ethical Disputes Remain in Senate Crypto Bill Ahead of Jan. 15 Vote (CoinDesk)
- Rapper Drake Faces RICO Lawsuit for Promoting and Using Crypto Casino Stake (Decrypt)
