Crypto Market Tumbles: What’s Driving the January 16, 2026 Sell-Off?

Crypto markets are bleeding red. A sudden, sharp correction has wiped billions from the digital asset space, leaving investors scrambling for answers. Is this a healthy pullback or the start of something more sinister?

The Regulatory Hammer Drops

Fresh regulatory noise is rattling cages. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) in a key jurisdiction just hinted at stricter capital requirements for crypto custodians—spooking institutional players who've only recently warmed to the asset class. It's classic short-term pain for perceived long-term gain, but the market hates uncertainty more than it hates bad news.

Liquidity Takes a Holiday

Thin order books are amplifying the moves. With many traditional market makers on the sidelines during the Asian trading session, a few large sell orders sliced through support levels like a hot knife through butter. It’s a stark reminder that for all its growth, crypto’s plumbing remains fragile under stress.

Profit-Taking After the Rally

Let's be real—this was overdue. The sector ripped to new all-time highs (ATH) just weeks ago on ETF euphoria. Some of this is simply traders banking gains, rotating capital, and preparing for the next narrative. Even the mighty BNB isn't immune when sentiment flips.

The Macro Shadow Looms

Don't ignore the old-world backdrop. Shifting interest rate expectations and a wobbly stock market are reminding everyone that crypto isn't an isolated island—yet. When risk-off sweeps through TradFi, digital assets often feel the chill first and hardest. A cynical take? The same Wall Street banks now offering Bitcoin ETFs are probably shorting the futures—hedging their bets is their favorite sport.

So, is it time to panic? Hardly. Volatility is the admission price for asymmetric returns. These shakeouts weed out leverage and reset the board for the next leg up. The fundamentals—adoption, institutional infrastructure, technological innovation—haven't changed. Today's fear is tomorrow's buying opportunity. Just maybe wait for the chart to stop falling first.

Crypto Winners & Losers

Nine of the top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen their prices fall over the past 24 hours, as of Friday morning (UTC).

has fallen by 0.8% since this time yesterday, currently trading at $95,702. It’s among the higher drops in this category today.

decreased by 0.3%, now trading at $3,315. This is among the lowest drops in the category.

The highest fall in this timeframe is2.6%, currently standing at $0.14.

follows with a 1% decrease to the price of $2.08.

The only increase is0.5%, trading at $0.308.

Of the top 100 coins per market cap, 88 are down today.

The highest drop in this category is 7.7% byto the price of $409.

is next on the list, having dropped by 5.8% and trading at $1.8.

The rest are down 4.5% and less per coin.

As for the green coins among the top 100,was the winner with a 15.9% rise, currently standing at $95.5.

andfollowed with increases of 6.4% and 6.1% to $1.64 and $0.002912, respectively.

The rest are up 3% and less per coin.

Meanwhile, South Korea took a massive step towards formalising blockchain-based capital markets. The country’s lawmakers moved forward with a piece of legislation that established a legal framework for issuing and trading tokenised securities.

Under the revised framework, the Electronic Securities Act allows eligible issuers to create tokenised securities using blockchain infrastructure. At the same time, Amendments to the Capital Markets Act allow those products to be traded as investment contract securities through brokerages and other licensed intermediaries.

South Korea has taken a major step toward formalizing blockchain-based capital markets, as lawmakers advanced legislation.#SouthKorea #Cryptohttps://t.co/gQzTap0JjP

No Stalling For Bitcoin

According to Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at, bitcoin is currently undervalued, as it has shown a clear divergence from other risk assets over the past few months, particularly U.S. equities.

“Given Bitcoin’s inherent volatility, such divergences do occur but are typically temporary. The recent price action suggests that BTC is now moving toward a fairer valuation, closer to its previous all-time highs, rather than running ahead of fundamentals.”

Lienkha added that he doesn’t expect “prolonged stalling at current levels.” It’s more likely that BTC will either retest the $90,000 area or MOVE higher toward $100,000.

“From a technical perspective, $100,000 represents the next significant resistance level, while the $90,000 zone WOULD act as the nearest meaningful support in the event of a pullback,” Lienkha writes.

Moreover, Lienkha argued that BTC could proceed to close the performance gap if US equity indices continue trading NEAR all-time highs. This would reflect “strong investor confidence and relatively supportive financial conditions.” It may also lead to BTC moving towards its previous ATH. Additionally, periods of sustained strength in equities have historically “often provided a favourable backdrop for Bitcoin.”

Lienkha concluded: “ETF flows primarily reflect broader market sentiment rather than acting as an independent driver of price action, as a significant portion of ETF investors are retail participants similar to those investing directly in Bitcoin. While sentiment and, therefore, short-term momentum can shift quickly, such changes are unlikely to materially alter Bitcoin’s long-term fundamental trajectory.”

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Friday morning, BTC was changing hands at $95,702. It began the day with a climb to the high of $97,097, then plunged to the $95,500 zone and attempted to recover the intraday high again. However, it fell to the low of $95,132, trading sideways since.

Over the past week, BTC appreciated 5.7%, moving within the $90,014-$97,538 range.

Should the price fall below $93,000, it could continue decreasing towards $90,000. However, holding the $95,500 level could open doors for another push towards $100,000.

At the same time, ethereum was trading at $3,315. The coin started the day at the intraday high of $3,378 but soon dropped to the low of $3,278. It has continued trading in the $3,282-$3,234 range.

ETH has increased by nearly 7% over the past 7 days. The lowest point in this period was $3,068, while the highest stood at $3,379.

A break above $3,300 may be an opportunity for the coin to reclaim the $3,500 and $3,630 levels. On the other hand, a decrease could mean a price drop towards the $3,100-$3,150 range.

Meanwhile, the crypto market sentiment has seen a slight decrease, as is to be expected given the market crop.

The crypto fear and greed index stands at 50 this morning, compared to 54 at the same time yesterday. It is still firmly situated within the neutral zone.

This drop indicated an increase in caution, though there is still confidence that the prices will see another surge in the near term.

ETFs Post Fourth Day of Inflows

On Thursday, 15 January, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a fourth straight day of positive flows, adding $100.18 million, significantly lower than the nearly $844 million a day prior. The total net inflow currently stands at $58.22 billion.

We’re seeing outflows again, after several days of inflows exclusively. Three of the twelve ETFs posted positive flows, while two recorded outflows.

took in $315.79 million, followed byandwith $6.74 million and $2.96 million, respectively. On the other hand,let go of $188.89 million, followed by$36.43 million.

Furthermore, the US ETH ETFs posted inflows as well. On 15 January, these totalled $164.37 million. This is also its fourth day of positive flows in a row and, unlike BTC ETFs, there wasn’t a significant drop in the total amount between the days. With this latest amount added, the total net inflow moved up to $12.91 billion.

Also unlike BTC ETFs, ETH ETFs posted no outflows. Nonetheless, only two of the nine funds saw inflows, compared to six a day earlier.

is at the top again with $149.16 million in positive flows, followed byinflows of $15.21 million on the same day.

Meanwhile, in other news,, a privately held home builder in the US, has received a “no-action” letter from the, which allows it to launch a universal payments token.

With this, the company announced the launch of a crypto payments and rewards token dubbed “MegPrime.” The token turns everyday spending into unified rewards, enabling households to earn a portion of the money they had spent.

We’ve been building quietly …

MegPrime is a universal payments and rewards platform designed to turn everyday spending into real rewards, from coffee to rent.

We’ve received an SEC no-action letter confirming that the Division of Corporation Finance will not recommend…

Quick FAQ

The crypto market posted a drop over the last 24 hours. On the other hand, the US stock market closed higher on Thursday, after two straight days of losses. By the closing time on 15 January, thewas up 0.26%, theincreased by 0.32%, and therose by 0.6%. TradFi participants absorbed the latest batch of economic data and bank earnings reports.

For now, a dip is not surprising nor uncommon. What’s more, it’s typical and expected after several days of gains. Moreover, the current decrease is minor. While the loss may expand over the weekend, analysts argue that the prices will go back up as we’re still trading within a relatively tight range.