In 2026, the year started with Bitcoin performing a rollercoaster rally. On the morning of January 14th, the price shot up from a low of $91,000, surging past $95,000 within just a few hours, with the intraday high approaching $96,000. This rally was quite aggressive—up 4.7% in 24 hours, and the total cryptocurrency market cap also rose accordingly, re-establishing above $3.1 trillion. Honestly, this wiped out the dull atmosphere at the end of last year.

The driving force behind this is quite clear. On the macro front, the US December core CPI was released at 2.6%, lower than the market expectation of 2.7%, with a month-over-month increase of only 0.2%, indicating inflation continues to decline. This data directly changed market expectations for the Federal Reserve's actions in 2026—from initially planning to cut interest rates once, to now expecting more than two cuts. As a high-beta asset, Bitcoin benefits from the easing liquidity expectations, and immediately surged $3,000 after the data was released.

Policy-wise, the support is also strong. The draft of the US "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" has been officially released, clarifying the classification standards for tokens and the regulatory responsibilities of various departments. The long-standing regulatory uncertainty hanging over the market has been somewhat alleviated. Institutional investors, seeing this clear expectation, immediately increased their willingness to enter. Last week, MicroStrategy made frequent moves, adding 13,000 more Bitcoins worth over $1.2 billion. Whale addresses also kept accumulating coins. In just 24 hours, short positions were liquidated for over $200 million. This combination of signals essentially indicates that institutional funds are officially stepping in, reminiscent of the pattern seen during last year's spot ETF launch rally.