Bitcoin price news: BTC holds near year’s low as precious metals continue garnering attent

January 26, 2026

Bitcoin price news: BTC holds near year’s low as precious metals continue garnering attention

Markets

Share this article

“Gold and silver casually adding an entire bitcoin market cap in a single day,” wrote one crypto analyst.

By Krisztian Sandor, Helene Braun|Edited by Stephen Alpher

Updated Jan 26, 2026, 8:50 p.m. Published Jan 26, 2026, 8:48 p.m.

  • Bitcoin is off its worst levels of the weekend, but still near the year’s low at $87,700.
  • Facing the same news cycle as crypto, precious metals continued to surge higher, but a quick retreat from their highs on Monday suggested a bit of exhaustion was setting in.
  • Analysts remain dour on the outlook for crypto prices given the looming government shutdown as well as delays in passage of the Clarity Act.

Bitcoin BTC$88,276.96 remained stuck in limbo at around $88,000 on Monday as gold and silver extended their blistering rallies before paring gains.

BTC is up a bit from what’s now becoming a renewed pattern of panicky weekend selling, but down from around the $90,000 late Friday. Rising odds of a government shutdown on Jan. 31 — and the crimp on liquidity that might entail — were among the leading reasons for the Sunday selloff.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Don’t miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today.See all newslettersBy signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to ourterms & conditionsandprivacy policy.

That exact same news, however, left precious metals bulls unfazed. Gold soared through $5,000 and then $5,100 for the first time ever on Sunday and Monday, while silver raced as high as $118. Exhaustion signs, though, could be setting in. Gold has retreated all the way back to $5,043 — now up 1.3% for the day — while silver has retreated to $108, still higher by 7%.

“Gold and silver casually adding an entire bitcoin market cap in a single day,” wrote well-followed crypto analyst Will Clemente, summing up the mood of bitcoin investors.

The U.S. dollar index (DXY) rolled over to its weakest level since September as the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan reportedly teamed to intervene in currency markets in an attempt to boost the yen versus the greenback. At 154.07 per yen, the dollar is lower by more than 1% on Monday.

The lack of bullish follow-through in bitcoin despite dollar weakness has turned traders cautious for the near-term, analysts at Swissblock argued. “Recent price action has reinforced the bearish outlook,” they said in a Monday note.

A decisive breakdown below the $84,500 support level could open the door to a deeper correction toward $74,000, they warned. Still, they flagged that if this support holds while risk metrics cool off, it could offer a compelling entry point for bulls.

Bitfinex analysts echoed the cautious tone, noting BTC is likely to remain range-bound between $85,000 and $94,500. They also pointed to shifts in the options market, with traders responding tactically to short-term risks without pricing in longer-term volatility.

That means traders are “pricing transitory risk rather than a sustained disruption to market structure,” the analysts wrote in a Monday note.

Adding to the pressure is persistent selling from spot bitcoin ETFs. Cumulative outflows exceeded $1.3 billion over the past week, pointing to a lack of risk appetite among investors.

Schwab director of crypto research and strategy, Jim Ferraioli, sees little reason to expect a sustained move beyond current levels without a pickup in metrics such as on-chain activity, ETF flows or derivatives positioning and miner participation.

A more significant catalyst, according to him, is the passage of the Clarity Act, but that could be delayed by the potential for a government shutdown. Until the legislation is passed, he expects narrow trading between the low $80,000s and mid-$90,000s, as major institutional players will remain on the sidelines.

More For You

By CoinDesk Research

Dec 22, 2025

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

More For You

By AI Boost|Edited by Jennifer Sanasie

5 hours ago

Joseph Chalom

SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom argues that macro uncertainty is hiding a massive institutional shift toward Ethereum-based tokenization.

What to know:

The context: Former BlackRock Head of Digital Assets Strategy, and SharpLink CEO, Joseph Chalom says institutional giants are betting heavily on Ethereum to serve as the global infrastructure for asset tokenization, ignoring current price stagnation.

He outlines three key drivers for a projected 10x surge in Ethereum activity this year:

  • BlackRock’s Larry Fink has signaled strong conviction that Ethereum will be the “toll road” for tokenized assets.
  • Over 65% of all stablecoins and tokenized assets live on Ethereum, dwarfing Solana by a factor of ten.
  • High-value projects prioritize Ethereum’s decade-long record of security and liquidity over faster, cheaper alternatives.