U.S. CPI: +2.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +2.9%); U.S. CORE CPI: +3.2% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.3%)

On January 23, monitoring from HyperInsight (via https://t.me/HyperInsight) shows that at 12:31, the "Lightning Backhand" whale (address 0x50b30) shorted 211.71 BTC with 20x leverage, entering at an average price of $89,845. The position is currently slightly underwater. This address frequently switches between long and short positions, opening large new positions in the opposite direction right after closing its existing positions.

On January 23, Farside Investors reported the following U.S. crypto spot ETF flows from the prior day: - U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a combined net outflow of $32.2 million, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for $22.4 million of the outflows. - Ethereum spot ETFs posted a net outflow of $42 million, while the ETHA ETF recorded $44.4 million in net outflows. - Solana (SOL) spot ETFs registered a net inflow of $1.7 million.

On January 23rd, Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter took to X (formerly Twitter) to share: "X is now algorithm-driven, and the platform has traded off between boosting user engagement and preserving stable creator-fan connections. Right now, it’s prioritizing the former—hurting creators’ ability to consistently reach their existing audience, making it less predictable for users to reliably get content from their favorite creators, and rippling through niche communities like Crypto Twitter (a filter bubble)." Carter predicts future discussions and demands will center on "digital property," with a focus on algorithm transparency, creators’ right to reach their followers, and users’ right to receive content from the accounts they follow.

January 23rd: Per monitoring from HyperInsight (https://t.me/HyperInsight), trader 0x61cee opened a 20x leveraged short position on 226,100 xyz:SILVER (a silver-pegged token) at an average entry price of $89.72. The position currently has an unrealized loss of $2.026 million, with a liquidation price of $112.79.

On January 23, Glassnode released its weekly report noting Bitcoin remains in a low-participation phase—price moves are driven more by a lack of selling pressure than positive trading intent. On-chain data still shows a supply surplus and fragile structural support; while spot flows have improved slightly, they haven’t yet translated into sustained buy-side momentum. Institutional and corporate demand stays cautious: treasury flows are stabilizing, and trading activity is limited to sporadic trades. Derivatives participation remains subdued—futures volume is shrinking, leverage usage is relatively low, which further worsens market illiquidity and makes prices more reactive to small position shifts. Overall, the market seems to be quietly forming a bottom—but this consolidation isn’t from excessive participation or enthusiasm; it’s a pause in investor confidence as everyone waits for the next clear catalyst to reignite broader market engagement and momentum.

Bitcoin briefly topped $90,000 on Jan. 23, per HTX market data. It’s currently trading at $89,948, up 1.07% over the past 24 hours.