🥛 3 reasons crypto just ripped 📈

And what could ruin it 😩

Chevy Cassar

JAN 14, 2026

CRYPTO

NEWSLETTER

GM. This is Milk Road, your #1 source of balanced crypto insights (served farm-to-table fresh).

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

✍️ Why crypto just pumped (and what could ruin it).
🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Ethereum Can Dominate Crypto and Still Be a Bad Investment w/ Christopher Keshian.
🍪 Bitcoin ETFs saw their highest daily inflow since October.

Bridge helps businesses send, store, accept and launch stablecoins instantly. Learn how Bridge helps move money globally.

Prices as of 2:00 p.m. ET. Trade today with Milk Road Swap.

WHY CRYPTO JUST PUMPED… AND WHAT COULD RUIN IT 🎭

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to need a “hell yeaaaah, brother” – stat!

And I think you know why…

This morning, we all woke up to this:

Source: @coinbureau

Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out what key factors caused it all (you know, so I can give each one a gentle little kiss on the forehead, metaphorically).

These are the three main contenders right now:

1. CPI Inflation came in flat

December CPI inflation came in at 2.7%, in-line with expectations of 2.7%.

(Adding wind to the sails of future potential rate cuts, which typically help to lift crypto prices.)

Source: Milk Road

2. CLARITY Act text published

Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee released the full text of the Market Structure Bill (aka: the CLARITY Act), with markups scheduled for tomorrow.

This is a piece of legislation that would mark all major cryptocurrencies as ‘safe’ from a regulatory standpoint, and open the doors for deep pocketed investors to ape into alts.

Source: @Cointelegraph

3. Short leverage flush out

See the three red boxes on the chart below?

Each time the Bitcoin price reached those areas, short sellers were forced to buy tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars of BTC.

(And that’s just on Binance – there was similar forced buying across all major exchanges.) 👇

Source: CoinGlass

That kind of buy pressure + very few sellers left in the market = number go up.

Which is all great news! But I gotta be honest…

Right now, I’ve got one hand on the champagne and the other on the eject button.

Here’s why. 👇

STRIPE IS BETTING ON STABLECOIN INFRASTRUCTURE

Stablecoins are growing fast but most businesses still don’t know how to use them.

That’s where Bridge comes in.

Recently acquired by Stripe, Bridge is building the infrastructure that makes stablecoins usable for businesses.

Bridge lets companies send, store, accept, and even launch their own stablecoins instantly.

They’ve launched a new product called Open Issuance which allows:

Seamless transitions between fiat and stablecoins.
Custom stablecoins to be launched in as little as one day.
Full interoperability across all Bridge-issued stablecoins.

Stablecoins are going global. Bridge is helping power that shift.

Learn how Bridge helps move money globally.

WHY CRYPTO JUST PUMPED… AND WHAT COULD RUIN IT (P2) 🎭

As I’ve stated in the past: Newton's a prick.

His Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

And that’s no different here…

1. Sure, CPI came in flat – but…

The chances of rate cuts being skipped this month have actually gone UP. 😑

Source: CMEgroup

2. The CLARITY Act has now been delayed…

Source: @EleanorTerrett

Translation: Senate leaders don’t have the votes they need to advance the bill (which could see it stall or collapse during committee votes).

So they’re calling a timeout to re-think their on-court strategy.

3. Leveraged longs are now a risk…

Same chart as before, different red boxes.

Source: CoinGlass

If enough Bitcoin holders decide to sell into this recent pump, it could push the price back down.

And if prices hit the levels highlighted in red, it will cause a whole bunch of forced selling, perpetuating the sell off.

So, with all of that in mind – our current approach is as follows…

We’re going to savor this moment.

(Dole out some well-earned forehead kisses, joyfully refresh CoinGecko every hour or so – that kind of thing.)

… all while remaining on our toes (just in case Newton rears his big ugly head).

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