New York, January 13, 2026, 18:00 EST
Bitcoin jumped 4.8% to $95,621 on Tuesday, after swinging between $90,956 and $95,815 in a choppy session. Ether rose 7.5% to $3,330 and XRP gained 5.9% to $2.17.
The move matters now because crypto has slipped back into trading on two policy levers at once. Rate-cut hopes lift risk appetite, and any progress on a U.S. rulebook changes who is willing to hold coins through the next bout of volatility.
The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.3% in December and was up 2.7% from a year earlier, while core CPI — which strips out food and energy — came in at 2.6% year-on-year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Traders still see June, after Jerome Powell’s chair term ends in May, as the most likely timing for a cut and expect two reductions this year, though futures now show about a 40% chance of an April move; President Donald Trump called inflation “very low” and pressed for lower rates. “A disinflationary trend is gradually taking shape,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
On Capitol Hill, U.S. senators late on Monday unveiled draft legislation that would define when crypto tokens are securities or commodities and hand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a bigger role policing spot markets — where tokens trade for immediate settlement. The bill would bar paying interest solely for holding stablecoins — dollar-pegged crypto tokens — but would allow activity-based rewards; it is scheduled for debate in the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, though some lobbyists doubt it can make it into law with midterms looming. “Their demands to eliminate stablecoin rewards are designed to choke off consumer choice,” said Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, while Cody Carbone of The Digital Chamber called the process “encouraging.” (Reuters)
Decrypt said bitcoin had reclaimed $93,000 earlier in the day for the first time in nearly a week, with trading volume up 20% to $88.9 billion. Glassnode analysts flagged weakening “spot CVD” — cumulative volume delta, a gauge of whether buyers or sellers are pushing trades — as evidence of “sell-side dominance and a more defensive near-term posture.” A Myriad prediction market put the odds of a return to $100,000 at 80%, even as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stayed in “Fear,” the report added. (Decrypt)
In a note on Monday, QCP’s Rachel Lee said “near-term volatility risks should remain elevated” heading into the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling expected on Wednesday. Reuters reported the court is due to issue rulings on Jan. 14 and the U.S. could face nearly $150 billion in refunds if the tariffs are struck down. (QCP Group)
But the rally is still brittle. If inflation stops easing and the Fed stays on hold, or if the market-structure bill bogs down in election-year politics, crypto’s bid can fade fast.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins called this a “big week for crypto” as investors weighed the latest push on U.S. legislation, Barron’s reported. (Barron’s)
For now, traders will watch whether bitcoin can hold above $95,000 into Wednesday’s court decision and the rest of the data calendar. The next test is simple: does the market keep buying when the headlines turn messy.
