Bitcoin Spikes on Powell DOJ Shock, Then Cools

Plus: đź”’ Tether freezes $182 million in USDT on Tron.

Author

Juan Aranovich
January 12, 2026

Hi! In today’s edition:

  • ⚖️ Bitcoin pops above $92,000 on Powell DOJ news, then pulls back

  • đź”’ Tether freezes $182 million in USDT on Tron in a single action

  • đź“Š 6 Ways to make money in prediction markets in 2026

  • 🎙️ Inside the Aave DAO versus Labs brand battle on Uneasy Money

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Fuse!

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Bitcoin Briefly Pops to $92K on Powell DOJ News, Then Retreats

Bitcoin spiked to an intraday high of $92,356 on Sunday night after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirmed he is under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice, an unprecedented move that raised concerns about the Fed’s independence and potential political interference in monetary policy.

The initial reaction, fueled by haven flows and speculation that Powell’s legal troubles could compromise the Fed’s autonomy, saw gold and silver rally alongside BTC. Analysts said the episode reinforced bitcoin’s narrative as a hedge against politicized institutions. 

“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence… or [be] directed by political pressure,” Powell said in a video statement Sunday.

But the crypto rally quickly faded. By early Monday, BTC had dropped back to around $90,200, erasing most of its gains. Ether and other major coins mirrored the pullback, despite Sunday’s short-lived spike.

Prediction markets appear unconvinced that the DOJ probe will result in Powell’s early exit, with Polymarket giving just a 13% chance of removal before May 14. 

The muted crypto reaction suggests traders are waiting for more clarity.

Still, gold remained elevated above $4,590 an ounce, hinting that traditional safe havens are pricing in greater political risk. 

For now, bitcoin’s hedge appeal may remain more narrative than trade.

Tether Freezes $182 Million in USDT on Tron

Tether froze roughly $182 million worth of USDT on Sunday, blacklisting funds held across five addresses on the Tron network. This single-day freeze exceeds the total amount of USDC that has ever been frozen by Circle.

Onchain data shows the wallets each contained between about $12 million and $50 million, making the action one of the largest single-day enforcement moves on Tron to date.

Tether said the freeze was carried out in response to a formal law enforcement request tied to an investigation that has been underway for months. 

The company has increasingly taken a proactive role in compliance, using its centralized control to restrict wallets linked to suspected illicit activity or sanctions violations.

6 Ways to Make Money in Prediction Markets in 2026

Prediction markets are exploding in popularity.

Most people are using them like a casino.

We just published a deep dive on how professionals actually approach these markets, focusing on probability, structure, and repeatable edge rather than predictions.

If you want to understand what matters before these markets mature, this is for you.

How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money

Marc Zeller walks the crew through DeFi’s biggest brand battle. Must the Aave DAO own the brand and IP?

Aave DAO on Christmas Day lost the vote to take control of Aave brand assets, but the fight is likely not over.

In this Uneasy Money episode Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) founder Marc Zeller takes hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan inside the fight over one of DeFi’s biggest names, teasing a “phase two” of the fight.

They talk about how Aave Labs was forced to the negotiating table and why backing down is not an option for the DAO. Could Aave DAO pay off Stani Kulechov?

Plus, why is Infinex’s ICO getting so much flak and are claims of insider trading on Polymarket misguided?

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

  • đźš« Tennessee regulators ordered Kalshi, Polymarket, and Crypto.com to shut down sports-related event contracts for state residents, arguing the products amount to unlicensed gambling despite the platforms being federally regulated derivatives markets.

  • đź”’ Dubai’s financial regulator banned privacy-focused cryptocurrencies and transaction-hiding tools across its main financial free zone while tightening stablecoin definitions and shifting token approval responsibility to firms, arguing that assets designed to obscure identities clash with global anti-money-laundering rules and international compliance standards.

  • đź“Š Ethereum treasury firm BitMine crossed one million staked ETH after adding another 86,400 tokens, turning its massive holdings into yield-generating assets even as its share price remains far below last year’s peak.

  • 🧩 Starknet published a technical post-mortem explaining that a rare software bug caused a brief network halt and rollback of 18 minutes of activity, while safeguards prevented faulty transactions from becoming permanent and prompted new testing commitments.

  • 🎭 Solana memecoin platform Pump.fun is revamping its creator fee system after finding that earlier incentives encouraged mass token creation over healthy trading, introducing shared fees, transferable ownership, and tighter controls to improve market behavior.

  • 🏦 BNY Mellon activated a tokenized deposit service for major institutional clients, turning bank deposits into blockchain-based balances that can be used for faster payments and collateral while remaining fully inside the traditional banking system.

  • 🇬🇧 Ripple received regulatory approval from the UK’s financial watchdog to scale its crypto-powered payments business, strengthening its position ahead of stricter nationwide crypto rules set to take effect in 2027.

  • 🌍 Stablecoin payments firm Rain raised $250 million in a Series C round led by ICONIQ, pushing its valuation close to $2 billion as it expands card-based stablecoin spending and regulated payment infrastructure across multiple continents.

  • 🚀 Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz raised $15 billion to back technologies it views as critical to U.S. leadership, framing crypto alongside AI as a strategic pillar for America’s long-term economic and geopolitical competitiveness.