Gold & Silver Soar as Bitcoin Loses Its Inflation Bet
Welcome to the Daily for Wednesday, January 14, 2026. ☕️
Hello Cointribe! 🚀
Glad you’re here! 👋 It’s January 14, 2026—let’s catch you up with a quick hit of the past 24 hours’ must-read news.
But first…
✍️ Cartoon of the day:
A quick look at the market…
🌡 Weather:
☀️ Sunny
24h crypto recap! ⏱
⚡ BNB Smart Chain Targets Ultra-Fast Performance With Fermi Hard Fork
BNB Smart Chain is preparing a major technical upgrade with the upcoming Fermi hard fork, designed to significantly increase transaction speed and reduce network latency. The upgrade introduces architectural changes aimed at improving block processing and validator efficiency. By focusing on performance at scale, BNB Chain seeks to strengthen its competitiveness among high-throughput blockchains while supporting growing DeFi and application demand.
⚠️ Vitalik Buterin Highlights the Limits of Today’s Stablecoins
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has raised concerns about the structural limitations of current stablecoins, pointing to issues around centralization, collateral quality, and long-term resilience. While acknowledging their usefulness, he warns that many designs remain vulnerable under extreme economic stress. His remarks reopen debate about whether stablecoins can fully meet the demands of a global financial system.
💸 NYC Token Draws Scrutiny After Early Liquidity Pulls
The cryptocurrency project linked to New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing growing scrutiny following early liquidity withdrawals and concerns over token centralization. On-chain data has raised questions about governance structure and transparency, prompting debate around political-themed crypto initiatives. The episode highlights the challenges of blending public leadership with decentralized finance experiments.
🛠️ CFTC Creates Innovation Committee for Crypto and Financial Tech
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced the formation of a new Innovation Advisory Committee focused on emerging financial technologies, including cryptocurrencies. The group aims to provide guidance on market structure, risk management, and regulatory adaptation. This initiative signals a structured effort to engage with innovation while reinforcing oversight in fast-growing markets
⚠️ SEC Considers Seizing Venezuela’s Alleged 600,000 Bitcoin Cache
U.S. regulators are reportedly examining whether Venezuela’s alleged Bitcoin holdings—estimated at up to 600,000 BTC—could be subject to seizure. The discussion involves the SEC and broader U.S. authorities, amid ongoing investigations into corruption, sanctions evasion, and digital asset flows linked to the Venezuelan state. The case highlights how sovereign Bitcoin reserves, if confirmed, could become entangled in international legal and geopolitical disputes.
👉 Read the article
🧠 Crypto of the Day: BNB
BNB Shows Early Signs of Recovery
Our crypto pick for the day is BNB. The asset is beginning to regain its footing after an extended sell-off and a long phase of sideways movement. On the daily chart, price action is now shaping a well-defined upward pattern. A rising trendline connects a sequence of higher lows, showing that buyers are entering the market sooner on each pullback and slowly asserting control. This change in behavior emerged in late December, when BNB found stability after dipping into the low $800 area, signaling a clear break from the downward pressure that dominated through November and early December.
Price Structure Signals a Shift
The developing structure reflects a market that has moved past its weakest phase. Instead of sharp sell-offs, declines are becoming shallower, which supports the idea of accumulation. The ascending trendline serves as a visual guide to this transition, marking the point where demand has consistently absorbed selling pressure. As long as price respects this rising support, the broader recovery narrative stays valid.
Indicators Align With Recovery
Momentum gauges reinforce this improving outlook. The relative strength index sits near 57, indicating growing bullish strength without reaching overheated levels. Meanwhile, BNB is trading above its 20-day moving average, which has flattened and begun to slope upward, a classic early sign of a trend reversal. Bollinger Bands are widening, with price pressing toward the upper band, pointing to expanding volatility driven by direction rather than consolidation.
Upside Levels to Watch
If BNB remains above the ascending trendline, the current structure suggests room for further gains. A continued advance could bring the $960 to $1,000 area into focus. A pullback would only raise concern if price falls decisively below the trendline and nearby support zones.
📊 Real-time Performance (CMC)
💵 Current Price: $936.25
📉 24h Change: 2.93%
💰 Market Capitalization: $2.35B
🏅 CoinMarketCap Rank: #5
🪙 Circulating Supply: 137.73M BNB
📊 Trading Volume (24h): $3.21B
🥇 Gold & Silver Soar as Bitcoin Loses Its Inflation Bet
As gold and silver rally to fresh highs, Bitcoin is underperforming in the long-standing “digital gold” narrative, slipping to multi-year lows in relative value and prompting investors to revisit traditional safe havens.
📈 Precious Metals Outshine Bitcoin
Since early 2026, gold and silver have seen strong gains, capturing investor attention and market inflows. In contrast, Bitcoin’s value has lagged, falling below key ratios against gold and posting lower relative performance amid tightening macroeconomic conditions. This divergence suggests that crypto’s inflation-hedge story has lost some traction.
📉 Bitcoin’s Hedge Status Questioned
Analysts point to growing distrust in volatile digital assets as a key reason behind Bitcoin’s lag. The leading cryptocurrency remains significantly below its 2025 peak, and this weakness has reinforced skepticism about its ability to serve as a reliable store of value against currency debasement.
⚖️ Views on the Future Diverge
Despite the underperformance, some long-term supporters remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s prospects. They argue that rising U.S. public debt, evolving Federal Reserve policy, and broadening institutional interest—such as Bitcoin ETFs—could eventually bolster Bitcoin’s value proposition and restore its appeal as a hedge.
🔮 Safe-Haven Race Rewrites Narrative
The ongoing outperformance of gold and silver highlights a potential shift in how investors allocate risk in uncertain economic times. While Bitcoin still holds long-term potential, its current performance versus traditional safe havens underscores a critical turning point in the inflation-hedging debate.
