New York, Jan 12, 2026, 07:00 EST — Premarket
- Bitcoin showed little movement early Monday following a volatile swing overnight.
- In premarket action, crypto-related U.S. stocks showed a mixed performance.
- Traders are preparing for upcoming U.S. inflation figures alongside the kickoff of major bank earnings season.
Bitcoin slipped roughly 0.1% to $90,551, bouncing between $90,225 and $92,369 earlier. Ether edged up 0.3% to $3,111. In U.S. premarket action, Coinbase dropped 1.9%, Strategy fell 5.8%, miner Marathon Digital lost 2.0%, while Riot Platforms climbed 1.3%.
Sentiment shifted to cautious after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the Trump administration threatened him with criminal indictment, sparking fresh concerns about central bank independence and the dollar’s outlook. “The repeated attacks on the Fed’s independence” remain a downside risk for the greenback, said MUFG’s Lee Hardman. Traders now brace for U.S. inflation figures and the initial batch of U.S. bank earnings on Tuesday. 1
Bitcoin’s movement still hinges largely on interest rates and the dollar. When investors bet on quicker Fed cuts, the cryptocurrency usually gets a boost; rising yields tend to weigh on it.
In a Sunday statement, Powell revealed that the Justice Department hit the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas on Friday and dangled the prospect of a criminal indictment linked to his June testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. He claimed the renovation project was just a smokescreen — “Those are pretexts,” he insisted — and portrayed the conflict as a tactic to influence rate decisions. 2
The euro and Swiss franc gained ground against the dollar as the greenback weakened, while gold surged to a record $4,600.33 an ounce. Thu Lan Nguyen, head of forex and commodity research at Commerzbank, noted this already supports a higher “U.S. dollar risk premium” for the time being. Attention now shifts to Tuesday’s U.S. consumer price index (CPI), a crucial inflation indicator, with a Supreme Court decision on Trump’s emergency tariffs potentially coming as early as Wednesday. 3
Crypto-linked stocks often swing wider than bitcoin itself, since their revenues depend on trading volumes or mining profits. When bitcoin jitters, those cash flows take a sharp hit both ways.
One risk is that the political battle over the Fed could spill into longer-term inflation expectations and bond yields, tightening financial conditions without the Fed actually changing policy. Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, warned that pressuring the Fed might “erode the dollar’s safe-haven role” and “trigger a sharp rise” in long-term yields — a scenario that could weigh on speculative bets across markets. 4
Bitcoin remains roughly 28% under its October peak above $126,000, setting the stage for sharp liquidations once the macro backdrop shifts. The $90,000 mark now stands out as a key battleground for traders on both sides. 5
Desks are eyeing if bitcoin can stay above the $90,000 mark in the next session, with U.S. data releases and bank earnings rolling in. They’re also monitoring any new headlines about Powell that might shake up the market further.
