GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that breaks down the market’s moves, so you can stay one step ahead of the crowd.
Here’s what we’ve got for you today:
- ✍️ BTC broke $94k! (Here's why & what to look out for)
- 🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Why Tokenization Is the Real Crypto Opportunity Everyone Is Missing w/ Michael Tanenbaum
- 🍪 150M new potential Bitcoin users?
Launching The Energy Network on Solana, Fuse Energy has just secured $70M in Series B funding. Discover the future of energy now.
Prices as of 2:00 PM ET. Trade today with Milk Road Swap.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS WEEK 📆
Crypto prices are going… up? 🤨
(Alright, where’s Ashton? Surely we’re being Punk’d.)
Here’s what’s driving the current price rebound, and the events that could affect the market further this week:
1. Macro 🌎
Like a recently divorced dad at a key party, the Macro data release schedule is coming into the first full week of 2026 absolutely swinging.
Here’s what’s on the books:
- December ISM Manufacturing PMI data – Tue – Are U.S. manufacturers buying materials in expectation of future economic growth? PMI data helps to answer that
- December ADP Nonfarm Employment data – Wed – Did the private-sector labor market grow or contract in December?
- November JOLTS Job Openings data – Wed – Did businesses increase or decrease their hiring in November?
- December Jobs Report – Fri – How did the broader U.S. Jobs market fare in December?
- January MI Consumer Sentiment data – Fri – A vibe check with consumers
The data we’re most excited to see from this list? Tomorrow’s PMI data.
A PMI above 50 = expanding U.S. economy = a good thing for the broader crypto market. Here’s hoping we move towards the white line below. 👇
Alright, that’s the macro data to watch for. Now let’s look at the big macro event of the week.
2. Venezuela 🇻🇪
ICYMI: On Friday night, the U.S. gave (former) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro an all-expenses-paid trip to the same Brooklyn detention center that held Diddy, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sam Bankman-Fried.
And while Nic is on indefinite leave, the U.S. has taken temporary control of the Venezuelan government…
The same government that holds the largest oil reserves in the world (even more than the gulf countries). 👇
Ok. Er, cool… what does this have to do with crypto?
Keep scrolling to the second part of this article to find out. 👇
FUSE ENERGY RAISES $70M AT A $5B VALUATION
Is this the most legit energy company to ever enter crypto?
Fuse Energy is a $400M ARR utility powering 200,000+ homes, today announcing a $70M Series B at a blockbuster $5B valuation.
This comes after the recent beta launch of The Energy Network, a new digital layer engineered to scale our grids and save billions in costs.
And now, it’s just building its momentum:
- Recently raised $70M in Series B led by Lowercarbon and Balderton.
- Now valued at $5B.
- Launched beta on Solana.
- Received landmark no-action letter from the SEC last month.
- Planning listings for early 2026.
A new foundation for the grid is coming.
Check out their announcement here and follow Fuse on X for updates.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS WEEK (P2) 📆
Ok, let’s connect the dots between Venezuela and crypto, starting here:
There are 8 FOMC meetings this year, which means there are 8 opportunities for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
The more cuts we see, the better it is for crypto:
Lower rates = cheaper loans = more businesses taking out loans & using them to fund hiring/growth = a growing economy = crypto growing along with it.
The magic formula the Fed looks for when cutting rates?
3. Employment weakening + inflation weakening = increased chances of rate cuts ✂️
ICYMI: Gas prices are a key factor when it comes to calculating inflation.
So now that the U.S. has control of the world’s largest oil reserves, folks are wondering whether or not some of that supply will find its way into the U.S. market…
If it does, that influx could drive oil prices down, softening the effect that gas prices have on already weakening inflation data:
Take that, add it to the fact that the U.S. job market has been weakening pretty consistently over the past few months, and you have all the pieces of the magic rate cut formula.
Now – whether or not the U.S.’ new found access to oil will affect the market the way we outlined above? That’s a whole other question…
But it’s one we’re digging into in tomorrow’s edition of Milk Road Macro, so make sure you’re subscribed.
4. Charts 📊
Righto. So it looks like there’s a whole lot of potential economic energy stored up here…
But as we all know, markets are forward looking – they tend to react ahead of the actual events playing out.
So what’re we seeing in the charts? Short answer, this:
Source: TradingView
Long answer: In order to sustain an upward trend, an asset's price needs to continue making higher highs (green cups) and higher lows (red cups).
Good news is, BTC seems to have reacted positively to the events in Venezuela, moving from ~$88k to ~$94k over the weekend, forming what looks to be a higher low in the process.
(See red cups.)
This means that even though BTC’s price has flatlined over the past few months, it's still in holding its multi-year uptrend.
Not the worst way to start the first full week of the new year, eh?
Let’s see if prices can maintain strength as this week’s events play out. 🙏
BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪
Arc is now live on testnet. If you’re looking to build on Circle’s layer 1, now’s your chance to test it out.*
150M new potential Bitcoin users? You can now pay with BTC at Walmart.
Zuck's $100B empire plan: Is Meta about to take the lead in agential AI?
New data breach: Ledger reveals payments partner leaked customer names & contact information - DL News.
Wanna buy the dip? Milk Road Swap lets you trade across Ethereum and Solana tokens in one clean interface.
*this is sponsored content.
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