Bitcoin briefly climbed above $94,100 on January 13, extending the strength seen since the start of the year. The rally came as markets reacted to U.S. December inflation data and to growing friction between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve.
Spot Bitcoin ETF flows swing back into positive territory
A key support for the move was the reversal in spot Bitcoin ETF flows. After a stretch of outflows, BlackRock’s IBIT posted about $112 million in net inflows, while Grayscale’s GBTC added roughly $64 million. That shift pushed cumulative inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs above $56 billion. Institutional demand returning to the market helped Bitcoin stay above $92,000.
$100,000 returns to the market conversation
Bitcoin’s advance lifted its market capitalization past $1.87 trillion, while the total crypto market reached $3.28 trillion. With prices recovering to levels last seen around January 7, traders started asking whether Bitcoin could test $100,000 before the end of the first quarter. At the same time, the Consumer Price Index remained above the Fed’s 2% inflation target, limiting the case for aggressive rate cuts under a conventional policy view.
Pressure on the Fed adds another layer of uncertainty
The report says the Trump administration has stepped up calls for lower interest rates. It also notes that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the Fed, raising the political temperature around central bank independence. That uncertainty has added to the view of crypto as an alternative during macro stress, while also feeding market volatility.
XRP sees a sharp short squeeze in derivatives
The macro reaction was not limited to Bitcoin. XRP posted one of the strongest moves in derivatives markets, where $76,450 in positions were liquidated within an hour. Most of that came from shorts, with short liquidations at $70,180 versus $6,270 for longs. The liquidation imbalance reached 1,122%. It was a textbook short squeeze: traders positioned for a drop were forced to buy back, and that buying pressure drove the price higher.
XRP stands out as a short-term derivatives signal
Analysts cited in the report say the imbalance in XRP was not random. Its liquidity profile and market structure make it highly sensitive to macro headlines. The rapid jump after the CPI release also suggested weaker market depth, allowing short-term arbitrage activity to have a larger effect on price. The report highlights renewed attention on the $2.08 level as resistance. Bitcoin and Ethereum also saw liquidations, but the imbalance was less severe: Bitcoin recorded $4.72 million, while Ethereum posted $3.39 million.
Macro shocks still ripple through the largest crypto assets
Weakness in XRP ETFs before the CPI release had already pointed to fragility building in the market. The macro surprise simply accelerated that imbalance. Even the largest crypto assets remain exposed to fast shifts in sentiment and abrupt derivatives repositioning, with Fed-related political developments and ETF flows set to influence the market’s next moves in the weeks ahead.