Crypto Market Fear Subsides Significantly, Today's Fear and Greed Index at 45

Per EmberCN monitoring data, a crypto whale or institutional holder that held 101,000 ETH for five years—with an average entry cost of just $660—finished liquidating its position 4 hours ago, transferring the remaining 26,000 ETH (valued at $80.88 million) to the Bitstamp exchange. The holder amassed the 101,000 ETH five years ago at $660 apiece and recently sold off the position at an average price of $3,313, netting a $269 million profit.

Trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio posted on his personal channel on January 12: "My trading plan hasn’t changed—staying firm and waiting for an upward move." Earlier, on January 8, Eugene noted: "I’m rebuilding my SOL position. During this rebound, I’ve been hunting for an asset worth jumping into actively, and so far SOL has shown the strongest relative strength among the top three mainstream coins. Technically, SOL also has one of the cleanest trading patterns, with potential to swing up to $160 or even $200—*that’s on the condition* this uptrend holds and Bitcoin has a shot at $100k down the line. "I think SOL has enough counter-consensus: it’s often hard for folks in the market to find solid reasons to go long, which usually marks the best entry point. By the time all the reasons are obvious, the market’s often already done 50% of its move. Right now, I’m just hoping Bitcoin holds $90k; I’m treating this pullback as just the initial shakeout before the rally, followed by a new uptrend.

On January 12, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan told a public consultation forum for the 2026 budget (per *The Standard*) that the city’s current stablecoin policy is on track and the government will continue to gradually push forward related work. In response to citizens’ proposal to tie stablecoins to gold, Chan said the government will look into this possibility after finalizing the first phase of the stablecoin framework. The government is currently carrying out relevant research but stressed the need for careful review. The forum is part of the Hong Kong government’s public consultation on its upcoming budget, which is set to be officially released on February 25.

On January 12, Onchain Lens monitoring revealed that BitMine—the largest Ethereum Treasury (DAT) firm—has staked an additional 109,504 ETH, valued at $340.49 million. As of press time, BitMine’s total staked ETH stands at 1,190,016, with an aggregate value of $3.7 billion.

**Crypto Exchange Registration Rules Tightened in India** India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) rolled out new guidelines on January 12 tightening registration requirements for cryptocurrency platforms. Regulated exchanges will now verify user identities using real-time selfies (which track eye and head movements to block AI deepfakes from bypassing KYC checks) and geotagging. Additional rules mandate Indian exchanges collect geotags, IP addresses and account creation timestamps during account setup. Users must also submit an extra government-issued photo ID, plus verify their email and phone number, to open an account.

On January 12, U.S. federal prosecutors launched an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over renovations to the Fed’s headquarters, per The New York Times.