Bulls and Bears Form Support Group: ‘We Have No Idea What’s Happening 😭

Bulls and Bears Form Support Group: ‘We Have No Idea What’s Happening 😭

OVERVIEW

Bulls and Bears Form Support Group: ‘We Have No Idea What’s Happening 😭

Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:

Source: Santiment

And here’s a look at crypto’s total and altcoin market cap YTD:

Source: TradingView

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
Crypto News 📰

🚀 Bitwise CIO: Corporate Bitcoin Frenzy Incoming

Matt Hougan predicts a horde of companies will jump on the BTC bandwagon in the next 12–18 months, and he’s calling it a “megatrend.” MicroStrategy’s plan to raise $42 billion is just the tip of the iceberg—plenty more firms want a piece of the action. If your boardroom wasn’t already talking Bitcoin, now might be a good time to schedule that meeting. CryptoBriefing.

⚖️ Craig Wright’s Final (Doomed) Appeal?

He’s reportedly aiming to appeal COPA’s contempt verdict at the Supreme Court—despite the fact that this route is off-limits. Patent lawyer David Pearce says Wright’s “inevitably” looking at a rejection, which would be just another L in his ongoing campaign to pass off as Satoshi. The man already owes legal fees, plus a suspended prison sentence, and now it seems he’s grasping at straws for a last-minute save. Protos.

🏛️ CFTC Enforcement Chief Leaves Before Trump Arrives

Ian McGinley is out, and he’s leaving behind a pile of crypto lawsuits—Binance, KuCoin, FTX, the works. Once a Trump pick slides into the CFTC’s top seat, Republicans might steer enforcement in a different direction. If new legislation passes soon, the CFTC could overshadow the SEC in crypto oversight—assuming they actually appoint someone before the next bull run. CoinDesk.

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TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Patience Protects Your Pocketbook 🧠 

There are a lot of wise sayings about the importance of waiting, patience, and confirmation that are applicable to investing and trading:

“Observe, confirm, then commit”

“Trust is good, but control is better.”

“Even the sharpest knife needs a honing stone.”

“A quick look could save a quick loss.”

“In God we trust; all others must bring data.”

You get the point.

If there’s been one primary technical theme I’ve written about since mid-December 2024, it’s been the importance of the Cloud, which is part of the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo system.

For new readers and those not familiar with Ichimoku – that’s cool. You just need to know that the inside of the Cloud is like being inside a highly radioactive environment, and you’re wearing socks with flip-flops: it’s dangerous and not smart.

Everything Bad Exists Inside The Cloud – Click to enlarge.

That Brings Us To Today’s Charts 📈 

If XRP’s daily chart closes roughly where it’s at right now ($2.68), you’re probably going to see a lot of people referencing it tonight because it’s showing clear signs of a bullish breaking out – but nothing is confirmed yet:

XRPUSD Daily Chart – Click to enlarge.

Yesterday’s close put the Chikou Span into ‘open space’ – a condition where it won’t move below or inside any candlesticks over the next five to ten periods. For conservative Ichimoku analysts, it’s a signal for a highly probable move higher without a lot of resistance. 🛑 

But (there’s always a but), the rest of the crypto market doesn’t look like XRP’s daily chart. With a few exceptions, most of the crypto market appears split between being below the Cloud on their respective daily charts or stuck inside the Cloud:

 Bitcoin

BTCUSD Daily Chart – Click to enlarge.

Bullish Ichimoku analysts and traders are looking for a close above the top of the Cloud (Senkou Span A) at $100,151. If that occurs anytime over the next eight days, that would confirm an Ideal Bullish Ichimoku Breakout.  

Curve Finance

CRVUSD Daily Chart – Click to enlarge.

Curve Finance is inside the Cloud and is testing the bottom of the Cloud (Senkou Span B) as support. On the daily chart, at least, price action looks like it is positioning for a another dump – but until there’s a clear breakout below the Cloud, then it’s still ‘meh’. 🤷‍♀️ 

Ethereum

ETHUSD Daily Chart – Click to enlarge.

Ethereum’s chart is ugly for bulls. Because it closed below the Cloud yesterday, from an Ichimoku perspective, it’s bearish. 

But there is one behavior that I wanted to point out on the chart: how the Chikou Span responds to the same support and resistance levels as the current price action.

Note where the Chikou Span closed yesterday: right above the top of the Cloud (Senkou Span A). ⛅️ 

Solana

SOLUSD Daily Chart – Click to enlarge.

I find Solana’s chart to be the most interesting out of the four charts we’ve looked at for the three following reasons:

  1. Kumo Twists (when the Cloud changes color) are often ‘warning signs’ in time that can sometimes alert analysts and traders to future swing highs/lows.

  2. Large gaps between the Tenkan-Sen and the candlestick bodies don’t last long and most often (not always) resolve with price returning to the Tenkan-Sen.

  3. Ichimoku has a Time Principle (time cycles). The first number of importance is 9. Consequently, the Kumo Twist occurs on the 9th day from the most recent swing high on January 15.

For those three reasons, bulls have something to look forward to. But because this is the crypto market, it looks like Solana wants to make one more big push south and trap some bears before responding to the Kumo Twist and time cycle later this week. 📆 

NEWS
“Judges to SEC: ‘Your Excuse Note Won’t Cut It—We Need a Full Report 🔨 

Yesterday, the SEC got a big ol’ smackdown from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The court told the SEC to “explain itself” after it denied a Coinbase petition for clearer digital asset regulations. 👍️ 

Wait, What Happened? 🤔 

  • Coinbase’s Original Ask: Back in 2022, Coinbase formally asked the SEC to create clear, common-sense rules for crypto. Their argument? Digital assets aren’t exactly the same as the stocks and bonds we’ve known for decades, and the industry needs better guidance.

  • SEC’s Two-Page Denial: The SEC basically shot that request down in a quick two page response, saying “Nah, we’ve got this covered with the existing rules.”

  • The Court’s Reaction: The Third Circuit wasn’t having it. They called the SEC’s denial “conclusory and insufficiently reasoned” and told the agency to cough up a proper explanation.

Judge Thomas Ambro put it plainly:
“Because we believe the SEC’s order was conclusory and insufficiently reasoned, and thus arbitrary and capricious, we grant Coinbase’s petition in part and remand to the SEC for a more complete explanation.”

Judges Didn’t Mince Words 💬 

Judge Stephanos Bibas, in particular, delivered some choice quotes, warning the SEC against its “sporadic” enforcement approach—basically going after companies one by one without a clear roadmap.

Judge Bibas:
“We properly remand to the SEC to explain itself; it should not give yet another poor explanation in an already-long line of them.”

And if that wasn’t enough of a burn:

More Bibas Heat:
“Sporadically enforcing ill-fitting rules against crypto companies that are trying to follow the law goes way beyond fighting fraud.”

Translation? The SEC’s enforcement-only strategy is looking more like a “de facto ban” on an entire industry, rather than a genuine attempt at investor protection. 🧠 

The Bottom Line

The Third Circuit just told the SEC to go back and do its homework. Although the court didn’t force the agency to draft new crypto regulations this second, it did make it crystal clear that the SEC can’t just brush off legitimate requests for regulatory clarity. Essentially, the judges called out the agency for trying to regulate an entire industry by sprinkling around lawsuits instead of writing real rules. 📰 

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
Metaverse, NFT, & Gaming News 🎮️

⚙️ Starknet’s 2025 Update: From Memecoins to Actual Games

They racked up 121 new projects this year—mostly gaming, some degen nonsense, and a sprinkling of AI weirdness. Big wallets and CEXs decided Starknet’s not a ghost town, so they hopped on board. If you like cheap fees and borderline-crazy dev experiments, this might be your new sandbox. StarkNet blog.

🔥 Gala’s “It’s Cold Outside” Challenge: Devs, Start Coding

Got an idea for a GalaChain dApp that won’t self-destruct? Gala’s tossing out dev rewards this January for anyone who can whip up swaps, tokens, or weird new ways to use $GALA before your fingertips freeze. Nail it, and you’ll stroll off with some hot prizes (and bragging rights to match). Gala Games blog.

🏴‍☠️ Virtuals x Ronin: $JAIHOZ Unleashed

Jihoz’s digital twin just hit X with fewer filters and a token that’s airdropping on Base and Ronin. You can finally banter with an “unhinged professor” who’s not afraid to talk back. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot some $JAIHOZ tokens in your wallet—because who says no to free digital loot? Ronin Chain blog.

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
DeFi, DEX, and Lending Protocol News 🏦

🏦 Band Protocol on XRPL: Enterprise Dreams On-Chain

They ported over to XRP Ledger so businesses can get real-time price feeds without meltdown-level errors. Think low transaction costs, consistent uptime, and fancy oracles in a neat package. If your CFO complains about “off-chain data,” you can just point them to Band and call it a day. Band Protocol blog.

🪙 Synthetix + Infinex: sUSD Earns You Money For Sitting Still

They’re piling on weekly OP and SNX rewards for six weeks straight, just for parking your sUSD in Infinex. As if that isn’t enough, they’re randomly handing out Patron NFTs to depositors with at least $1,000—think of it as a fancy receipt for your stablecoin stash. You basically get paid to do nothing, so long as you can follow three steps without breaking a sweat. Synthetix blog.

🎥 Sei’s Creator Fund: Lights, Camera, Crypto

They’re throwing $250K worth of SEI at video creators who can keep people awake without pushing shady crypto tips. Your job is to spam the internet with streams, demos, or short-form meme greatness—just don’t forget to submit by January 27. Land a top spot, and you’ll rake in matching funds plus extra goodies for actually entertaining the crowd. Sei blog.

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Author Disclosure: The author of this newsletter holds positions in ADA, LTC, IMX, WMT, COPI, MIN, AGIX, ALGO, DOGE, ZEC, AVAX, XLM, XTZ, and NEAR. 📋





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