Why Is Crypto Up Today? – January 9, 2026

The crypto market is up today, albeit barely, with the cryptocurrency market capitalisation rising by 0.3%, standing at $3.18 trillion. Currently, 63 of the top 100 coins have dropped over the past 24 hours. At the same time, the total crypto trading volume stands at $112 billion.

Crypto Winners & Losers

At the time of writing on Friday morning, 4 of the top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen their prices decrease over the past 24 hours, while 4 have appreciated in the same time (not taking the stablecoins into account).

Bitcoin (BTC) is up by 0.3% since this time yesterday, currently trading at $90,247.

Ethereum (ETH) fell by 0.8%, now changing hands at $3,089. This is the second-highest drop in this category.

Like yesterday, the biggest drop at the time of writing is recorded by Tron (TRX). It’s down 1% to $0.2931.

On the other hand, Solana (SOL) appreciated the most, rising 2.9% to $138.

It’s followed by Binance Coin (BNB), having gone up 0.7% to $890.

Looking at the top 100 coins, two have recorded double-digit increases. Pol (POL) is up 12.5% to $0.1462, followed by Zcash (ZEC) with 11.2% to $436.

Of the red coins, Sky (SKY) fell the most. It is down 4.8% to $0.05761. Rain (RAIN) is next, having decreased by 3.6% to the price of $0.008503.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to accelerate interest rate cuts, despite the latest strong job report.

The Fed implemented three consecutive rate cuts in late 2025 totaling 75 basis points, with the benchmark rate going to a range of 3.5 to 3.75%. However, markets expect significantly fewer reductions in 2026.

‘Data Incoming’

Ahead of today’s US employment report, the first such major data release of the year, Fabian Dori, CIO at Sygnum, commented that “markets are starting the first full business week of the year with numerous key macro data to be published.”

Dori says that the NFP (nonfarm payrolls), unemployment and wage growth numbers are of special interest, as the US Federal Reserve “justified the latest rate cuts with a softening labor market.”

He continues: “Interpretation is unusually challenging, however, due to shifting labor-supply dynamics from immigration policy changes, potential AI-driven effects on labor demand, distortions from the recent government shutdown, and intermittent funding-market stress that has required the Fed to manage liquidity alongside its traditional inflation and employment mandate.”

While PMI (purchasing managers index) sub-indices “for new orders and service employment have recently improved, a material re-acceleration in hiring or wage growth would come as a surprise. Combined with recent softer-than-expected inflation data, solidly anchored inflation expectations, and ongoing debate about the level of the neutral rate under evolving Fed leadership, risks to the rate policy outlook may be skewed toward more easing than currently priced in. This would be particularly beneficial for higher beta risk assets, including technology, mid and small caps, as well as blue chip crypto assets.”

‘BTC Remains Vulnerable’

Moreover, Samer Hasn, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com, commented on the Bitcoin price, saying that it’s “barely holding above the 90,000 level.”

The pullback, Hasn says, came amid a steady drain of liquidity across the market, spanning onchain activity, spot ETFs, and the futures complex.

“The decline is not being driven by panic selling, but by hesitation,” the analyst argues. “Buyers appear reluctant to push prices higher, likely sensing that the current sentiment lacks the depth needed to sustain another extended rally.”

Onchain signals further highlight caution. The number of whale addresses saw a sharp single-day drop that brings the count close to its lowest level since January 2024. Spot ETFs flows turned negative again, and futures positioning adds another layer of pressure, along with macro data, Hasn says.

“With macro signals mixed and liquidity retreating across channels, restoring bullish conviction may prove difficult in the near term,” he concludes. “Until participation stabilizes and buyers regain confidence, bitcoin remains vulnerable to further pressure rather than poised for a clean rebound.”

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Friday morning, BTC stood at $90,247. Starting at the $89,900 level, the coin soon fell to the intraday low of $89,343.

That said, it quickly climbed to the intraday high of $91,360 and continued trading sideways until the morning’s brief return to the $89,600 level.

The critical resistance zone currently sits between $94,000 and $97,300. A breakout would open a path to $100,700, as well as the $105,000–$108,000 zone. However, if it fails to hold $90,000, BTC could fall to $86,900 and $80,500.

Ethereum is currently changing hands at $3,089. Unlike BTC, ETH began the day with $3,125 before dropping to the intraday low of $3,058.

It’s seen quite a choppy trading day since, including spiking very briefly to the intraday high of $3,133 and briefly falling to the $3,060 zone again.

ETH now sits in the $3,050-$3,120 range, seeking a breakout above it in order to potentially move towards $3,230 and $3,330. That said, further declines may lead to a pullback below $3,000.

Meanwhile, the crypto market sentiment continues decreasing, barely hanging within the neutral zone.

The crypto fear and greed index currently stands at 41 today, compared to 43 yesterday. The metric borders the fear zone, and we may see it slipping back into it soon.

This again shows that concern and fear over the mid-term market performance has been increasing among the market participants over the past week.

ETFs Post Another Day of Outflows

The US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted another day of notable outflows. On Thursday, these funds recorded negative flows of $398.95 million. With this, the total net inflow pulled back below $57 billion, currently standing at $56.65 billion.

Five of the twelve BTC ETFs posted outflows, and two saw inflows. Among the red ones, BlackRock and Fidelity let go of the highest amounts: $193.34 million and $120.52 million, respectively.

As for the green ETFs today, Bitwise saw inflows of $2.96 million, while WisdomTree took in $1.92 million.

Moreover, the US ETH ETFs saw negative flows on 8 January as well. The outflows for the day amounted to $159.17 million. With this, the total net inflow pulled back to $12.53 billion.

Five of the nine funds posted outflows. None saw inflows.

Among these, BlackRock saw the highest amount in outflows: $107.65 million. It’s followed by Grayscale’s $44.62 million in total outflows.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that Bitcoin held on domestic exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb can be legally seized under the Criminal Procedure Act.

The court stated that Bitcoin qualifies as “an electronic token with the ability to be independently managed, traded, and substantially controlled in terms of economic value.“

Quick FAQ

The crypto market recorded a red 24 hours. Meanwhile, the US stock market closed the Thursday session mostly higher, with some exceptions. By the closing time on 8 January, the S&P 500 was up 0.0077%, the Nasdaq-100 decreased by 0.57%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.55%.

Analysts argue that the market is currently consolidating. Smaller decreases are still possible and expected, though some argue that we may see an increase in the market in the near-term as well.

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