BizwavemediaPersonal Finance and Crypto Updates

The US economy grew 4.4% in Q3 2025, slightly faster than the initial 4.3% estimate, according to revised data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It marks the strongest quarterly growth in two years, boosted by higher exports and stronger business investment.

Consumer spending, government outlays, and a drop in imports also contributed, though household consumption was revised slightly lower.

The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE index excluding food and energy, held at 2.9% for the quarter. Headline PCE rose 2.8%, and the gross domestic purchases price index remained at 3.4%.

Profits from current production rose by $175.6 billion in Q3, up $9.5 billion from prior estimates.

By industry, services expanded 5.3%, goods-producing sectors rose 3.6%, and government output dipped 0.3%.

Markets reacted positively to the stronger GDP print and steady inflation data. The Nasdaq jumped over 1% on the open, the S&P 500 gained 0.5%, and metals rallied. Gold traded near $4,850 and silver hovered around $94 at press time.

Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 on Tuesday morning, falling over 3% as escalating trade tensions sent risk assets lower across global markets.

The largest crypto asset by market capitalization has faced sustained downward pressure since Sunday, when President Trump announced new tariffs and threatened a trade war against European countries opposing his bid to acquire Greenland.

Bitcoin fell from $95,000 to $92,000 on Monday morning and continued declining through the week, breaking below the $90,000 level on Tuesday.

The sharp move lower triggered over $580 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with nearly $150 million occurring in the past hour alone, according to CoinGlass data. Long positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for the majority of forced closures.

The broader crypto market fell alongside Bitcoin, with total market capitalization down about 3% to $3.1 trillion, CoinGecko data showed.

Major altcoins also tumbled. Ethereum retreated to near $3,000, while Solana traded at $127 and XRP fell to $1.91.

Monero posted the steepest decline among major crypto assets, dropping over 11% to $538. The privacy-focused coin has now fallen more than 32% since reaching a new all-time high near $800 last week.

Hyperliquid also saw significant losses, falling 7% over the past 24 hours to trade near $22.

Finst, a Netherlands-based regulated crypto exchange, announced an €8 million Series A round led by Endeit Capital, lifting its total funding to €15 million.

The round attracted continued support from existing investors, including Eelko van Kooten, founder of Spinnin’ Records, and Mark Fransen, co-founder of DEGIRO.

The company will direct the new capital toward European expansion, enhanced staking products, expanded asset selection, new platform features, and additional offerings for retail and professional users.

“Our mission has been clear from day one: to make crypto investing safer, fairer and radically more transparent,” Finst co-founder Julien Vallet said. “With this Series A funding, we’re ready to bring that mission to every major European market.”

Vallet noted that Endeit’s backing would strengthen the exchange’s ability to democratize digital asset services across Europe and reduce costs for European investors.

“Finst has shown exceptional execution and product innovation in a highly regulated market,” said Jonne de Leeuw, partner at Endeit Capital. “Their MiCAR-first approach and focus on transparency align perfectly with our belief that Europe can lead the next phase of regulated digital-finance growth.”

The Amsterdam-based platform launched in 2023 with a goal to address issues like high fees and lack of trust in crypto markets, which weighed on adoption. It focuses on transparency, security, and institutional-grade standards, targeting both retail and professional investors across Europe.

Finst said its verified user base has approached 100,000 since launch, with several billion euros in trading volume handled every year. The company has scaled revenue approximately 14 times over three years while remaining operationally profitable.

In 2024, Finst raised €4.4 million in a seed round led by Sentel SG, Deribit’s parent company. The funding helped fuel the acquisition of competitor Anycoin Direct later that year.

Last year, Finst received its MiCAR (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) license from the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets. The license enables it to scale its operations across EU markets.

Bitcoin reclaimed $90,000 on Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump backed away from threats of imposing tariffs on several European countries over the Greenland issue.

The leading digital asset had fallen to $87,300 by midday after Trump delivered his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to CoinGecko.

In his remarks, Trump said Washington was seeking immediate negotiations to acquire Greenland but emphasized that military force would not be used.

Market concerns were reignited over the weekend after Trump signaled plans to impose 10% tariffs starting Feb. 1 on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and other NATO allies unless they agreed to his demands related to Greenland. He also warned that tariffs could rise to 25% by June if no agreement was reached.

The tariff threats stoked fears of an escalating trade dispute with Europe. On Jan. 19, Bitcoin retreated toward $92,000 amid thin holiday trading in global markets.

On Jan. 20, investor anxiety became more pronounced. US stocks plunged. The S&P 500 fell about 2%, the Dow dropped nearly 1.8%, and the Nasdaq slid about 2.4%, marking the biggest one-day drop in months.

The sell-off extended to global markets, with stocks, bonds, and the US dollar all weakening.

Markets reversed course after Trump announced he had a productive meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and revealed a framework for a future deal on Greenland and the Arctic region.

The easing tone reassured investors who had worried trade tensions with Europe could spiral into another tariff-driven shock similar to last year’s “Liberation Day” episode.

Major indexes, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000, all jumped, with small-cap stocks leading gains and fully recovering losses from the previous session. Every sector participated in the rally, with energy stocks outperforming.

Gold and silver initially fell on the news as risk appetite improved, though both precious metals quickly rebounded.

Intel shares surged nearly 11% today, reaching their highest level in about four years as investors responded to political support, major partnerships, and rising AI and data center demand. Intel was last trading near $53 as of Wednesday at 2 PM ET, the same level it last saw in mid-January 2022.

The stock is up over 86% in 2025 and more than 35% year to date. The company is scheduled to report its Q4 earnings tomorrow, a key test for its momentum.

In 2025, the federal government acquired a nearly 10% stake in the company through an $8.9 billion commitment under the CHIPS and Science Act to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing, sparking renewed interest in the stock.

Intel’s rebound has also been shaped by major strategic investments from industry heavyweights. Nvidia agreed to buy a $5 billion stake in Intel and forge a partnership to co-develop chips for data centers and personal computing platforms. SoftBank’s $2 billion investment further strengthened the company’s balance sheet.

At CES 2026, Intel showcased its Panther Lake and Core Ultra Series 3 processors built on the advanced 18A process, designed for AI workloads. Demand for Intel’s traditional server chips in data centers has climbed as cloud and infrastructure players expand capacity.

Analysts point to broader investor optimism around the company’s turnaround strategy under CEO Lip-Bu Tan and the reshaping of Intel’s operations and product roadmap. Multiple brokerages have raised price targets or upgraded ratings in response to these developments.

Binance, one of the largest global crypto exchanges, will add Ripple USD (RLUSD) to its platform, with trading expected to begin on January 22, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Launched in late 2024, RLUSD is a US dollar–backed stablecoin issued by a wholly owned subsidiary of Ripple Labs. Its market capitalization has since surpassed $1.4 billion, per CoinGecko.

Binance will launch three spot pairs, including RLUSD/USDT, RLUSD/U, and XRP/RLUSD, while allowing users to deposit RLUSD ahead of trading and withdraw funds starting January 23.

As part of a promotional campaign, the exchange will waive trading fees on the RLUSD/USDT and RLUSD/U pairs, with no BNB fees applied.

At launch, RLUSD will be supported on Ethereum, with XRP Ledger compatibility to follow. Binance also plans to add RLUSD to its portfolio margin program and Binance Earn.

Ripple said in a statement that the listing represents a key milestone in RLUSD’s ongoing growth and underscores its commitment to building an open, enterprise-ready stablecoin infrastructure.

eXtRemely Positive to see $RLUSD listed on @binance https://t.co/eUaPXMrTCW

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 21, 2026

RLUSD is issued under a New York DFS Limited Purpose Trust Company Charter, while Ripple has also received conditional approval for an OCC charter.

Galaxy, the digital assets firm headed by Mike Novogratz, is aiming to launch a $100 million hedge fund that would seek to profit from volatility across crypto tokens and traditional financial services companies, according to the Financial Times.

The ‘long-short’ fund, seeded with about $100 million from family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and institutions, will invest up to 30% of its assets in crypto tokens. The remainder will go into financial services stocks exposed to digital assets regulation and technology.

Targeted for launch in Q1, it would be the next major initiative following Galaxy’s investment in Forward Industries, now the largest Solana treasury, with Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital.

The launch follows a steep Bitcoin pullback, though Galaxy executives say they remain bullish on major crypto assets and see broad opportunities in regulatory, AI, and digital asset-driven change.

The flagship crypto asset was trading at $89,528 at press time, rebounding slightly after dipping to $87,900 on Tuesday, per CoinGecko.