Fidelity Director warns that a "bad year" for Bitcoin is coming
Fidelity's Director of Global Macro Analysis, Jurrien Timmer, warned that Bitcoin may have already completed another stage of its traditional 4-year cycle based on halving. This means the flagship coin has already reached the end of the last growth phase.
I remain optimistic about Bitcoin, but I am concerned that Bitcoin may have just completed another four-year halving phase in both price and time, Timmer wrote on social media.
Германия хочет помочь Индии снизить зависимость от России
Германия хочет более тесно сотрудничать с Индией в вопросах безопасности, чтобы помочь Нью-Дели снизить зависимость от России.
Об этом в понедельник заявил канцлер Фридрих Мерц в ходе своего первого официального визита в Индию, где он встретился с премьер-министром Нарендрой Моди, сообщает Reuters. Стороны подписали соответствующий меморандум о взаимопонимании, а также соглашения, касающиеся критически важных минералов, сектора здравоохранения и центра инноваций в области ИИ. «Индия и Германия работают вместе над созданием безопасных, надежных и устойчивых цепочек поставок. Меморандумы о взаимопонимании, подписанные сегодня по всем этим вопросам, придадут новый импульс и силу нашему сотрудничеству», — заявил Моди на совместной пресс-конференции. Индия по-прежнему тесно взаимодействует с Россией в сфере политики безопасности, получая оттуда большую часть своей военной техники, и является, наряду с Китаем, одним из крупнейших покупателей российского газа и нефти. Германия добивается того, чтобы индийское правительство не допускало обхода антироссийских санкций индийскими компаниями и сократило импорт энергоносителей, однако Индия до сих пор отвергала эти требования. Мерц также призвал Индию и Европейский союз завершить переговоры о соглашении о свободной торговле, отметив, что его визит должен придать импульс заключению сделки к концу января.
The dollar posted its sharpest drop in nearly three weeks amid news that the Fed had received subpoenas from the Department of Justice. This revived investors' concerns about political interference in U.S. monetary policy, according to Bloomberg.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot index fell 0.2% during Asian trading on Monday — its worst performance since December 23. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice is threatening criminal charges formally linked to his June testimony about the regulator's headquarters renovation.
In the US, a man bought an old safe with $7.5 million inside for $500.
A well-known auctioneer explained how it happened that an American bought a storage unit cheaply, only to find millions inside.
A US resident became the owner of a real treasure, paying a tiny amount of money. At an auction, he purchased a neglected storage unit for $500 (about 40,000 rubles), and inside was a safe containing $7.5 million in cash. In rubles, this amounts to over 580 million. This astonishing story was shared by renowned auctioneer Dan Dotson, star of the TV show Storage Wars.
The lucky winner bought the unit at an auction where the contents of storage units, whose rent hasn't been paid for over three months, are sold. No one—neither organizers nor buyers—knows in advance what’s behind the door. The new owner initially tried to open the safe himself but failed. He then called in a specialist who managed to crack the lock.
"Usually such safes are empty, but this one was overflowing with money," explained Dotson. Where the huge amount of money came from and who it belonged to before remains a mystery. #MSMannanov $BTC
Experts' expectations for the average exchange rate this year range from 80 rubles/$ to 95.5 rubles/. Russian currency is expected to weaken by about 6% this year, and the average annual exchange rate for the dollar will be 88.5 rubles/$ in 2026, according to the consensus forecast by Vedomosti. On average in 2025, the dollar exchange rate was 83.3 rubles/$, calculated by Vedomosti based on data from the Central Bank. The local minimum was reached in December, when the dollar was worth around 76 rubles.
The Ukrainian Air Force F-16 fighter jet was shot down by a S-300 missile system with two missiles. A Russian S-300 missile crew claimed the destruction of the Ukrainian Air Force F-16, with two missiles launched at the target.
Colonel Alexey Zhirkov, commander of the air defense brigade, emphasized the superiority of Russian air defense systems over Western counterparts.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the first F-16 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force shot down by Russian air defense systems in April 2025.
In winter 2025, losses are estimated at six aircraft: one Su-27 and one MiG-29 were destroyed in air combat, and four more aircraft (three MiG-29s and one Su-27) were shot down by air defense units.
Stocks of companies related to Greenland are rising amid Trump's threats of annexation, reports Financial Times.
The shares of Greenland's largest bank, Grønlandsbanken, have risen 34% since the beginning of 2026. The shares of the American company Critical Metals, which is mining rare metals in southern Greenland, have increased by 103% on NASDAQ over the same period. The shares of another bank operating in Greenland — Føroya Banki — are trading near record highs.
Some analysts believe that a deal under which the U.S. might purchase part or all of Greenland and invest in its economy could provide support to local financial institutions and other companies.
Reliance Industries company stated that it does not expect deliveries of Russian oil in January. This decision could lead to a sharp reduction in Russian oil imports into India this month to the lowest level in years, according to Reuters.
"The Reliance Industries refinery in Jamnagar has not received any shipments of Russian oil for the past three weeks and does not expect deliveries of Russian oil in January," the company said in a statement. According to sources, Russian oil imports into India are likely to drop to less than 1 million barrels per day.
According to sources and analytics company Kpler, the tightening of U.S. and EU sanctions has led to a reduction in Russian oil deliveries to India, which fell to a three-year low in December—around 1.2 million barrels per day. This is approximately 40% lower than the June peak of 2 million barrels per day.
This week, Chinese buyers rejected offers to purchase Venezuelan oil as the U.S. blockade against the South American producer restricts exports and drives up prices, Bloomberg reports.
Venezuelan Merey crude was offered at a $13 per barrel discount compared to ICE Brent, sources said. This is comparable to a $15 discount a month ago, before the U.S. campaign against sanctioned tankers began.
According to sources, supply disruptions have led sellers to increase Merey crude prices.
China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, and Merey crude is often used to produce asphalt, which is used to pave roads in this Asian country.
An unknown user of the Polymarket prediction markets platform made a profit of approximately $410,000 by successfully forecasting the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, reports Reuters.
The trader, whose account was created just last month, started small: on December 27, he bet only $96 that the U.S. would invade Venezuela by January 31. In the following days, he increased his positions.
By the time of the U.S. special operation on the weekend, the value of his contracts was around $34,000. Bets were placed at 'high odds' (the event was assessed by the market as unlikely). After news broke of Maduro's capture, the value of the contracts surged sharply.
The mysterious trader's success has raised questions among U.S. lawmakers about possible insider information use.
Democratic Congressman Richie Torres said he will introduce legislation this week banning elected officials and federal employees from placing bets on prediction platforms if they possess non-public information.
Trump announces actions against Colombia and Iran after Venezuela takeover
US President Donald Trump said Sunday evening that his administration is considering taking action against Colombia and Iran after Washington struck Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump outlined potential action against Colombia over its role in the cocaine trade and also raised the possibility of action against Iran amid ongoing protests in the country.
The Central Bank of India urged all countries of the world to abandon stablecoins
In its annual report on India's financial stability, the central bank stated that stablecoins pose serious risks to global financial stability and the credit-money system. Despite the important role stablecoins play in the crypto industry, and their significance having increased after the enactment of the stablecoin regulation law in the USA, tokens pegged to fiat currencies do not meet the core characteristics of money and may weaken the influence of central banks, warns the RBI.
Bulgaria bids farewell to the lev and prepares for the transition to the euro
Bulgaria is completing its final preparations for the transition to the single European currency. From January 1, the country will officially abandon the lev and become the 21st member of the eurozone, joining the monetary union two years after Croatia, Reuters reports.
Bulgaria has met all formal requirements regarding inflation levels, budget deficits, the cost of long-term borrowing, and the stability of the exchange rate. Now, more than 350 million Europeans will use the euro.
The negotiations between the presidents of the USA and Ukraine, Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, could lead to the first telephone conversation in more than five years between the latter and the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, reports Fox News, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
Ensuring direct telephone negotiations between Zelensky and Putin would be a "diplomatic victory" for Trump, said a source to the channel.
The source also said that Zelensky was likely feeling anxious before his meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida,
"Zelensky usually gets very nervous before such conversations with President Trump. <...> He spends a long time concentrating and studying the briefings prepared for him by the Department of International Policy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the source told Fox News.
The Deputy Chairman of Sberbank Anatoly Popov stated that over time the bank may offer loans secured by cryptocurrency. Details about which category of clients this product will be intended for and which cryptocurrencies are planned to be accepted as collateral are not disclosed.