Rick Rieder, a senior BlackRock executive overseeing over $2.4 trillion in 
assets, has become the front-runner to become the next head of the Federal 
Reserve after impressing Donald Trump in his recent interview. A Polymarket 
poll places his odds at…

Crypto ally Rick Rieder emerges front‑runner for Fed Chair on Polymarket

The fourth-quarter crypto pullback hit ARK ETFs, with Coinbase emerging as the 
biggest drag on performance.

Cathie Wood’s ARK adds Coinbase, Circle, Bullish as crypto slides

Quantum Threat Looms, New Whales Rising, Brandt Sees $58K–$62K, Trump Tariff 
Shock, and more in this Week in Review. Week in Review Debate intensified over 
whether advancing quantum computing could threaten Bitcoin’s network, onchain 
data showed new institutional whales now control a larger share of realized 
BTC cap (creating a roughly $6 billion influence gap), […]

Quantum Threat Looms, New Whales Rising, and More — Week in Review

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from 
Latin America over the past week. In this week’s edition, Brazil streamlines 
rules for banks entering the crypto industry, a Colombian pension fund-manager 
reveals the development of a bitcoin investment product, and Revolut applies 
for a banking license in Peru. Brazil Streamlines […]

Latam Insights: Brazil Opens Crypto to Banks, Colombian Pension-Fund Manager Reveals Bitcoin Fund

US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds pulled funds for a fifth straight 
trading day, and the totals added up quickly. According to Farside data, about 
$103.5 million left on Friday, bringing the five-day sum to roughly $1.72 
billion. Related Reading: Crypto Meets Private Banking: UBS Weighs New 
Offering Bitcoin was trading near $89,160 at the time of these reports — still 
well below the $100,000 mark it last reached on November 13. This movement has 
sent a clear signal: many investors are stepping back right now. ETF Flows And 
Who Is Selling Reports note that ETF flows are often on the radar as a quick 
read on investor mood, but the picture is not always simple. Large outflows 
can reflect institutional rebalancing or tactical moves by funds, not only 
mass retail selling. The US market had a four-day trading week because of 
Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, which may have concentrated trades into 
fewer sessions and amplified the numbers. Still, losing more than a billion 
dollars in a few days will get attention. Market Mood And Metals The wider 
mood has soured. The Crypto Fear &amp; Greed Index registered an Extreme Fear 
score of 25, and sentiment trackers have been flashing caution. Reports say 
Santiment believes retail traders are pulling back while attention drifts 
toward more traditional assets. Meanwhile, metals have been strong. Reports 
disclose that with gold trading near $5,000 and silver approaching $100, some 
market players feel Bitcoin has been left out of a rally that lifted metals, 
which has weighed on confidence in the crypto market. Source: Alternative.me 
Bitcoin Price Action Bitcoin has struggled to find a steady rhythm over the 
past week. Prices slipped below the $89,000 to $90,000 range as traders 
reacted to fresh geopolitical tension and renewed trade worries, before 
stabilizing as nerves eased. This was driven higher after some soft political 
indicators around tariff threats, only to substantiate the idea that markets 
rarely react to conflict but rather to changes in tone and expectations. 
Signals That Could Matter These movements illustrate how Bitcoin behaves more 
like a risk asset rather than an asset shelter, falling in tandem with 
equities when unexpected financial shocks hit the globe, before rebounding 
when the fever subsides to gather fresh buyers. Related Reading: Gold Becomes 
The Whale Safe Haven As Bitcoin Takes A Back Seat Current price patterns 
indicate caution, where traders are weighing short-term political risks 
against medium- and long-term macro patterns, as well as institutional 
interests. There are some quieter indications that the rout could be losing 
steam. To this effect, there are assertions suggesting that supply 
distribution on-chain and social chatter can be circumstantial evidence 
showing there is less selling pressure. Featured image from Money; 
Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Cryptocurrency price in MYR