Bitcoin pushed to a two-month high, finally joining the rally in risk assets and precious metals after spending weeks stuck in a tight range. The move comes as investors bid up alternative assets, with geopolitics a supporting tailwind.

The original digital asset rose as much as 2.4% to $96,348 early Wednesday in Singapore, its highest intra-day level since Nov. 16. Ether, the second-largest token, surged as much as 5.1%. In options markets, the rally has erased more than half a billion dollars in bearish crypto bets.   

Bitcoin slumped to a loss of more than 6% for 2025 after ending the year in muted fashion, trading in a narrow range and proving largely indifferent to rallies in stocks and precious metals. But the token has flashed signs of a potential breakout throughout January, and traders now see it potentially gaining ground on rival asset classes.  

“Medium term, I think we could see investors allocate more to Bitcoin on a gold-catch-up narrative — and other risk-on assets are having a great time,” said Justin d’Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital. 

He pointed to a Tuesday report showing that underlying US inflation rose less than expected as a tailwind for the token, as well as tensions surrounding the US Federal Reserve, which was served with grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department earlier this week. The Fed episode highlights “the value of safe-haven and hard assets” over the US dollar, d’Anethan said. 

Another factor is the “sharp short squeeze” in Bitcoin derivatives markets, said Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research. Some $290 million of Bitcoin short positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Across all cryptocurrencies, about $600 million of short positions were wiped out.

Investors poured $754 million into the 12 US-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Tuesday, the most since Oct. 7, in a vote of confidence that the rally has further to go. 

A sustained break above $95,000 would open the way for a run at the $100,000 mark and “potentially the 200-day moving average, which currently stands at $106,115,” Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG Australia, said in a note.

Broadly, traders view the current macro backdrop as positive for Bitcoin, said Joshua Lim, global co-head of markets at FalconX. 

Venezuela tensions, unrest in Iran, the Fed independence debate and MSCI’s decision to shelve a plan to eject crypto-heavy firms like Strategy Inc. from major indexes amount to a “steady drumbeat of positive macro developments” for Bitcoin, he added. 

Bitcoin was trading at $94,787 as of 6:07 a.m. in London. 

Published on January 14, 2026

Investors expect two 25-basis-point rate cuts this year, with the earliest in June.
| Photo Credit:
istock.com

Gold climbed on Wednesday to ‌again hit a record, while silver surpassed the ​never-before-seen $90 mark, as softer-than-expected US inflation readings cemented bets on interest rate cuts amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Spot gold rose 1 per cent to $4,633.40 per ounce as of 0525 GMT, after hitting a record high of $4,639.42 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February delivery rose 0.8 per cent to $4,640.90.

Spot silver jumped 4.2 per cent to $90.59 per ounce after breaching $90 for ​the first time, having shot up nearly 27 per cent already this ⁠year.

“US CPI figures showed that inflation remained relatively contained at 2.6 per cent (year-on-year), and risk assets may be hoping for a similarly benign PPI reading to keep expectations ​alive for further monetary policy ⁠easing,” said Tim Waterer, KCM Trade’s chief market analyst.

The US core Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 per cent month-on-month and 2.6 per cent year-on-year in December, falling short of analysts’ expectations of a 0.3 per cent and ‌2.7 per cent increase, respectively. US core Producer Price Index data for ‌December is due later in the day.

US President Donald Trump welcomed the inflation figures, reiterating his push for ‍the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates “meaningfully.”

Global central bank chiefs and top Wall Street bank CEOs lined up ‍in support of Powell on Tuesday after news of the Trump administration’s decision to investigate him drew condemnation from former Fed chiefs as well.

Analysts say worries around Fed independence and trust in US assets added to safe-haven demand for the yellow metal.

Investors expect two 25-basis-point rate cuts this year, with the earliest in June.

Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and ⁠during geopolitical or economic uncertainty.

ANZ expects gold to trade above $5,000/oz in the first half of 2026, the bank ​said in a note on Wednesday.

For silver, the next big ⁠figure was the $100 mark and high two-digit percentage gains for the metal seem likely this year, said GoldSilver Central managing director Brian Lan.

Elsewhere, spot platinum climbed 4 per cent to $2,415.95 per ounce, a one-week high. It hit a record $2,478.50/oz on December 29.

Palladium ⁠was up 3.3 per cent at $1,899.44 per ounce.

Published on January 14, 2026