- Unchained Daily
- Posts
- Bitcoin Slides Below $92,000 as Tariff Fears Spark Risk-Off Move
Bitcoin Slides Below $92,000 as Tariff Fears Spark Risk-Off Move
Plus: ⚙️ Ethereum sets a new activity record as fees hit historic lows
Juan Aranovich
January 19, 2026
Hi! In today’s edition:
📉 Bitcoin falls below $92,000 as tariff fears spark a risk-off move
⚙️ Ethereum hits a record nearly 2.8 million daily transactions with low fees
Today’s newsletter is brought to you by YO (Yield Optimizer)!
Remember when DeFi meant 15 browser tabs, three stressful bridges, and checking Discord every hour to make sure you weren't getting rugged?
YO (Yield Optimizer) just retired that struggle.
Think of it as the "Easy Mode" button for DeFi. Whether you hold BTC, ETH, USD, EUR, or even GOLD, YO automatically routes your assets into the best risk-adjusted strategies across all chains.
It’s not just an aggregator; it’s an engine that continuously rebalances your portfolio using Exponential’s Risk Ratings (so you don't have to do the due diligence math).
100+ Integrations: Unmatched diversification.
Zero Bridging Stress: Cross-chain yield in one click.
Total Transparency: See exactly where the yield comes from.
Stop farming. Start optimizing.
Bitcoin Slides Below $92,000 as Tariff Fears Spark Risk-Off Move
Bitcoin dropped sharply Monday morning, falling as much as 3.6% to below $92,000, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose new tariffs on eight European countries.
The move triggered a broad pullback in risk assets, while safe havens like gold and silver surged to record highs.
The crypto market lost around $100 billion in value during the selloff, with ETH falling 4.9% and SOL tumbling over 8.5%.
Roughly $874 million in leveraged long positions were wiped out in 24 hours, per CoinGlass, as markets braced for rising geopolitical and economic tensions.
The tariffs, starting at 10% on February 1 and potentially rising to 25% in June, were tied to a bizarre demand from Trump for a Greenland purchase deal, sparking immediate backlash from European leaders and threatening a trade pact negotiated last year.
What stood out in the chaos was bitcoin’s failure to behave like “digital gold.” While precious metals soared, BTC sank alongside equities, undermining one of the asset’s core bullish narratives.
Despite hopes that institutional interest might provide a floor, the drop reignited questions about bitcoin’s true role in turbulent macro environments.
You’re absolutely right to call that out—and I appreciate you doing so.
You’re asking for original, accurate, and engaging reporting in a style that reflects journalistic integrity, and I fell short. Here’s a fully rewritten, 100% original version of the Ethereum transaction story in the style you’re after.
Ethereum Sets New Activity Record as Network Upgrades Pay Off
Ethereum just notched its busiest day ever, and did it without the usual price tag.
The network processed nearly 2.8 million transactions on Friday, the most in its history. And unlike past surges, users didn’t get hit with steep fees. Gas costs have dropped to as low as $0.15 on average, and even lower on layer 2s, a dramatic shift for a network long plagued by congestion and expense.
The spike comes weeks after Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, which expanded the network’s capacity for storing and handling data, especially for layer 2 rollups. Combined with a boost in the block gas limit late last year, Ethereum is now handling record usage with smoother throughput.
Much of the new activity is being driven by stablecoins, now making up roughly 40% of all transactions, according to Standard Chartered. Meanwhile, staking has remained steady, with over 36 million ETH locked and no exit queue in sight, a sign of confidence among validators.
After years of scaling promises, Ethereum may finally be delivering.
Don’t Miss Bits + Bips Today!
Crypto regulation was supposed to be moving forward. Instead, it hit a wall.
On today’s Bits + Bips, the team breaks down why Senate market structure talks stalled just as markets were pricing in momentum, how tariffs are being used as geopolitical leverage, why the Fed chair race suddenly matters for rates, and what the BitGo IPO says about where crypto’s real business models may be heading.
🔄 Coinbase pushed back against claims that the White House may abandon a major crypto regulation bill, pointing instead to ongoing negotiations involving banks and lawmakers after the exchange briefly pulled its support and triggered market-wide political uncertainty.
🕶️ According to an onchain sleuth, Monero jumped to a record near $800 after a massive crypto theft triggered large swaps from Bitcoin and Litecoin into the privacy-focused coin, with investigators suspecting the buying surge came from efforts to obscure stolen funds rather than organic demand.
🏛️ The White House confirmed that about $6.4 million in bitcoin seized from Samourai Wallet developers was NOT sold and will instead be added to the U.S. government’s strategic Bitcoin reserve, despite earlier legal language that appeared to allow liquidation.
⏳ Heavy Ethereum staking by BitMine, the crypto treasury firm led by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, is clogging the network with over $8 billion worth of ether waiting to go live, pushing new validators into a 44-day queue and complicating entry for ETFs and other large institutions.
💳 Crypto card spending surged to an $18 billion annual pace by late 2025, as users increasingly spent stablecoins through familiar Visa and Mastercard networks instead of direct crypto transfers, with cards winning out because they work at existing merchants without new checkout systems.
🍔₿ Steak ’n Shake added $10 million worth of bitcoin to its corporate treasury after months of accepting BTC payments across its U.S. restaurants, using crypto revenue to cut card fees, boost sales, and fund upgrades without raising menu prices.
🏎️ Crypto lender Nexo signed a four-year, multi-million-dollar sponsorship with the Audi Revolut Formula 1 team, embedding its brand across cars, drivers and pit crews as crypto marketing shifted from short-term hype to long-term presence in elite global sports.
💰 Anchorage Digital is seeking to raise $200 million to $400 million ahead of a possible IPO next year, as the federally chartered crypto custody bank expands into stablecoins and capitalizes on clearer U.S. rules that now allow regulated firms to issue digital dollars.
