Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed new laws creating licensed 
crypto exchanges and giving the central bank authority to approve tradable 
coins.

Kazakhstan limits crypto trading to central bank-approved coins

Michael Saylor’s hint about a “Bigger Orange” has sent fresh energy through 
parts of the Bitcoin market. It came after Strategy executed a very large buy, 
and traders took the message as a sign there may be more accumulation ahead. 
Short bursts of buying have a way of changing tone on trading floors. Related 
Reading: What’s Driving The $1.42 Billion Comeback In Spot Bitcoin ETFs? 
Saylor Signals New Buying Spree According to reports, Strategy purchased more 
than $1.25 billion in Bitcoin in its latest move, adding thousands of coins to 
its holdings. That stack has pushed the company closer to a massive total that 
some sources put near 700,000 BTC. Markets reacted quickly. Prices nudged 
higher in the hours after the news, and shares of Strategy were treated by 
some investors as a way to get extra Bitcoin exposure. Traders Pounced And 
Charts Reacted Momentum traders were the first to lean in. They saw the buy as 
proof that a major corporate buyer still sees value in stacking coins during 
dips. Options desks showed increased call buying, and volume spiked on spot 
desks in New York and Asia. Sentiment grew more positive, but caution 
remained. Big buys can lift short-term prices, yet they don’t always start 
long, steady rallies. ₿igger Orange. pic.twitter.com/HI47hMCnui — Michael 
Saylor (@saylor) January 18, 2026 Market Reaction And Investor Moves Retail 
and institutional players both turned their attention to liquidity. Reports 
note that when one large buyer moves, other firms often reassess their risk 
and allocation plans. Hedge funds checked their models. Family offices ran 
fresh numbers. For some investors, the appeal is simple: owning a scarce asset 
that an influential buyer keeps adding to can feel reassuring. Corporate 
Treasuries And Public Perception Corporate cash strategies have been in the 
spotlight since Strategy first started buying coins. CEOs and boards watch 
those moves closely, and investors watch boards. For a public company to keep 
buying, confidence has to be high enough to risk press questions and 
regulatory attention. That choice is being watched by analysts who say such 
buys shape public debate about Bitcoin’s role as part of a company’s balance 
sheet. What Analysts Are Watching Analysts are tracking three things: how many 
coins are being taken off exchanges, whether accumulation is steady or one- 
off, and how the market digests more large purchases. On-chain trackers showed 
notable withdrawals after the reported purchase, which can tighten available 
supply. Some onlookers cautioned that short-term price jumps can be reversed 
if selling follows or if macro news turns sour. Related Reading: More XRP Than 
Cash? “You’re A Genius”, Analyst Says A Cautious Ending Note Based on market 
chatter, the “Bigger Orange” tease is more than a bit of bravado — it is 
treated as a strategic signal by many market players. Still, outcomes are far 
from certain. Buying by a major corporate holder can shift sentiment and 
squeeze short positions, but markets are shaped by many forces at once. For 
now, traders, investors, and watchers will keep an eye on any follow-up moves 
and how price and liquidity respond in the next sessions. Featured image from 
Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Bulls Fired Up As Saylor Teases ‘Bigger Orange’ After Huge Buy

Bitcoin faced the prospect of turning its $98,000 highs into a liquidity hunt 
as tariffs put new BTC price local lows back on the table next.

BTC vs. new $80K ‘liquidity grab’: 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

The EU and South America’s Mercosur formally sign a long‑awaited trade pact in 
Asuncion to cut more than 90% of tariffs. Top officials from the European 
Union and the Mercosur bloc signed the Partnership Agreement and an Interim 
Trade Agreement in Asuncion, Paraguay on January 17, 2026, concluding more 
than 25 years of negotiations and […]

EU and Mercosur Sign Historic Free Trade Agreement

XRP is flashing a rare relative-strength signal against ETH, according to 
crypto analyst Matt Hughes (“The Great Mattsby”), who points to a 2-week 
Ichimoku cloud flip that he says hasn’t meaningfully held as support since 
2021. With XRP also boxed inside a defined USD range on lower timeframes, 
Hughes frames the next phase as a conditional “prove it” moment: reclaim one 
level, and the market has room to work; fail it, and the breakout narrative 
stays premature. XRP Poised To Outperform ETH? Hughes’ primary claim is 
anchored to the XRP/ETH pair on a 2-week chart. In his read, there’s a massive 
regime change: “When looking at the 2-week Ichimoku cloud, you can see that 
XRP is doing something it hasn&#8217;t done since 2021: flipping the 2-week cloud to 
support. The cloud has been a massive resistance for most of the chart&#8217;s 
history until now (with a notable breakout in 2021, but only a few weeks).” On 
Hughes’ chart, XRP/ETH is pressing into the top side of the 2-week Ichimoku 
cloud, with the latest candle marked around 0.00062. His bullish read is that 
a clean flip, price holding above the cloud and treating it as a floor on 
pullbacks, would be a regime change for the pair. XRP Roadmap To $9 Hughes’ 
shorter-timeframe work shifts from relative performance to mechanics in spot 
USD terms. On the daily XRP/USD chart, price is still behaving like a market 
that has not resolved its larger consolidation, oscillating between stacked 
horizontal levels while respecting sloping fan lines that visually reinforce 
why upside attempts have repeatedly stalled. Related Reading: XRP To Repeat 
Its 2017 Playbook? Analyst Forecasts 1,250% Expansion Hughes boils that 
structure down to one actionable threshold: “Price moves in increments, and 
this Gann fan perfectly illustrates why price is stuck in its current range. 
Once XRP can close candles above $2.30, the move up can continue.” Above that, 
the next targets on the daily timeframe are $2.59 and $2.95. The weekly 
XRP/USD chart adds the next level if that acceptance arrives. Two extension 
levels (drawn from the 2014 low to the 2017 high) are explicitly marked: 2.272 
at $3.09882 and 2.618 at $9.00194, with Hughes’ drawn path stepping first 
toward the low-$3 area before stretching higher if momentum persists. Related 
Reading: Surge In XRP Transactions: 1.45 Million Daily Users Could Signal 
Price Rally Ahead, Says Expert Thus, Hughes’ bullish scenario is a two-part 
sequence: first, clear the USD range trigger (a sustained close above $2.30), 
then convert the last major zone before the 2025 high into support. He states 
it in more pointed terms on X: “XRP’s been grinding sideways for 1+ year while 
many other alts were bleeding. Not IF it hits $9—it’s WHEN. Key flip: $3.09 
becomes support and then its go time.” The failure scenario is simpler and 
more immediate. If XRP cannot secure closes above $2.30, the fan-and-range 
framework remains intact: rallies are still just rallies into the same 
ceiling, and the market risks reverting back towards $1.78. However, a dip 
towards this price would not change anything about the long-term bullish chart 
of XRP. Pointing to a gap between chart structure and crowd sentiment, Hughes 
wrote: “An actual infant in diapers and a 120-year-old grandpa who&#8217;s forgotten 
his own name can look at this chart and go, &#8216;Yep, classic breakout above the 
2021 top, now flipping it to rock-solid support.&#8217; Meanwhile, every bear on X, 
their mailman, their mailman&#8217;s dog walker, and that one guy who still thinks 
it&#8217;s 2022 are out here screaming &#8216;BEARISH! DOOM! SELL YOUR KIDS!&#8217; like it&#8217;s 
still the bear market special. Bro, even my grandma&#8217;s bingo partner is bullish 
at this point. Wake up and smell the bull fuel.” At press time, XRP traded at 
$1.9799. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in BMD