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24 Jan 2026, 16:55

European investors begin pulling back from US stocks amid Trump trade threats

President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance toward Europe may be pushing away some of the biggest buyers of American stocks, even as he celebrates record market highs and predicts further gains. Trump said he expects the US stock market to double from its current record levels, which he takes credit for achieving. But there’s a problem. Foreign investors, particularly from Europe, have been huge buyers of US stocks in recent years. Their money has helped push market indexes to the records Trump likes to talk about. Now, his harsh words and threats toward European nations could drive these investors away. Vincent Mortier works as chief investment officer at Amundi SA, Europe’s biggest asset manager, handling €2.3 trillion ($2.7 trillion). He told Bloomberg that clients are asking to move money out of US investments. “We are seeing more clients wanting to diversify away from the US. We saw that trend start in April 2025, but it has somewhat accelerated this week,” Mortier explained. He noted that moving away from US investments will take time and careful planning. Investors need to decide how to shift from major benchmarks and protect themselves from dollar swings. The S&P 500 fell 2.1% on Tuesday after Trump’s tariff announcement targeting eight European nations. At stake? $10.4 trillion in US stocks owned by Europeans , with over half that total coming from those same eight countries now facing his threats. Europeans own 49% of all US stocks held by foreign investors, according to Hugo Ste-Marie, a strategist at Scotiabank. That’s enough to impact the market. To be fair, European countries probably won’t work together to dump US assets all at once. The real concern isn’t government action. But as Trump keeps making threats and insulting comments, money managers from London to Berlin to Madrid are getting more questions from clients about reducing US holdings. US s tocks no longer the o nly winner For many years, cutting back on US stocks would have been a mistake. American stocks did much better than other developed markets. But things have changed since Trump took office. As the dollar weakened and European spending picked up, global markets left US stocks in the dust. Last year’s winners: South Korea’s Kospi up 80%, Europe’s Stoxx 600 up 32%, Japan’s Topix up 23%, and Canada’s benchmark up 28%. The S&P 500? Just 16%. Canada’s margin of victory was the largest seen in 20 years The past three years saw Europeans expand their US stock positions by $4.9 trillion, a 91% increase. Walking away from that now would signal a major strategic shift. That includes both new buying and gains from rising prices, based on Federal Reserve data from January 9 that covers through September. Greenland’s SISA Pension manages around 7 billion Danish kroner ($1.1 billion) and has roughly 50% in US investments, mostly stocks. The board has talked about selling. So far, there hasn’t been much stock selling, though some pension funds like Denmark’s AkademikerPension are getting rid of US Treasury holdings. Trump has warned that large-scale selling would bring “big retaliation,” keeping the threat of financial punishment on the table. For some Europeans, his threats have become too much. “As investors reposition for a new cycle, we believe allocations to European assets could accelerate this year,” Raphael Thuin, head of capital markets strategies at Paris-based Tikehau Capital SCA, which manages over €50 billion ($59 billion). He said clients in Europe and Asi a br ing up this topic frequently. Right now, the threat to American stocks from Europeans pulling back is limited. But it adds another worry for a market already trading at very high values. “This is really an environment where you don’t want to be all exposed to US equities or US assets, especially not the dollar,” said Mathieu Racheter, head of equity strategy at Julius Baer & Co., which manages 520 billion Swiss francs ($662 billion). Canada sets a precedent There’s history here. Last year, Canadians pushed their pension fund managers to reduce US stock holdings after Trump said he would use “economic force” to make Canada the 51st state. At Davos, Prime Minister Mark Carney said countries need to rethink their financial ties with the US since Trump has turned that relationship into a weapon. “If you asked an economist what the textbooks say happens with tariffs, it’s that it would be difficult for the exporting country, but what we’re seeing right now, at least in financial markets, is kind of the opposite,” said Sebastien Page, chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price, which manages nearly $1.8 trillion. “It motivates domestic investments, and it motivates diversifying trade partners.” Daily ETF flow data shows there has been “little change” in foreign investor demand for US equity funds so far, JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote on Wednesday. Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.

24 Jan 2026, 15:55

China cuts EV tax breaks in half and adjusts trade-in subsidies

BYD plans to sell 1.3 million vehicles in international markets this year, marking a nearly 25% jump from 2025 as the Chinese electric car giant looks abroad while facing mounting pressures back home. Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD’s brand and public relations division, announced the overseas sales goal at a media briefing in Shanghai on Saturday. The target represents an increase from the 1.05 million vehicles the company sold outside China last year. The push for more international sales comes as BYD deals with a tougher environment in its home market. Strong performance abroad last year helped the automaker claim the top spot globally for electric vehicles, pushing past Tesla. But now the company faces weakening demand in China as the government pulls back on programs that encouraged people to buy electric cars, and local rivals step up their game. The new target may fall short of what some financial analysts expected. Citigroup said in November that BYD was working toward overseas sales of 1.5 million to 1.6 million units in 2026, based on talks with company leaders. _*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> China Scales Back EV Incentives China’s electric vehicle market is entering a new phase this year with major changes to government support programs. Since January 1, buyers of new energy vehicles no longer get a full tax break on their purchases. Instead, they now receive only half of the previous exemption, according to CarNewsChina. Market watchers predict growth in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales will slow down this year. Bloomberg reports that combined sales of these vehicles are expected to grow by around 10% in 2026, a sharp drop from the 18% growth seen in 2025. The Chinese government has also changed how its trade-in program works. New rules raise the minimum price needed to get the maximum rebate, which means cheaper models get less support. These adjusted subsidies particularly affect brands like BYD that focus on lower-priced vehicles. BYD and other Chinese electric vehicle makers now operate in a changed landscape. At home, they must work harder for each sale as government help decreases and more companies fight for customers. Abroad, they face barriers like tariffs but also see opportunities as major markets like Europe consider new approaches. Europe takes a welcoming approach The European Union is considering a new approach that would replace high import taxes with minimum price requirements. This shift signals improving relations between the two sides after months of trade friction. Under the European plan, Chinese carmakers would agree to sell their vehicles at or above certain prices instead of paying tariffs at the border. The pricing system would factor in government subsidies that manufacturers receive. Chinese brands have been making steady progress in Europe despite the tariffs. In November 2025, they held 12.8% of the European electric vehicle market. That growing presence shows Chinese carmakers can compete even when facing extra costs at the border. BYD’s rise comes as Tesla struggles with its own challenges. Tesla’s 2025 deliveries fell 8.6% to 1.64 million from 1.79 million in 2024, marking a second consecutive year of decline for the American electric vehicle maker. The drop helped BYD secure its position as the world’s largest electric vehicle seller . For BYD, the strategy seems clear. Grow overseas sales to make up for slower growth at home. Whether the company can reach its 1.3 million unit target, or push higher as some analysts predicted, will depend on how quickly these market changes unfold in both China and Europe over the coming months. The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them .

24 Jan 2026, 15:35

President Trump threatens 100% tariffs on all Canadian exports

President Donald Trump says he’ll slap 100% tariffs on everything Canada sells to the US if it goes ahead with its new trade deal with China. Trump posted the threat on social media, calling Prime Minister Mark Carney “Governor Carney” in what’s become his ongoing joke about wanting Canada as America’s 51st state. He said Canada was “sorely mistaken” for opening its doors to more Chinese electric vehicles. “China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” Trump wrote. He said if Canada makes a deal with China, “it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.” This comes after Canada and China announced a big trade agreement last week. The deal lowers trade barriers between the two countries and rebuilds ties that had fallen apart. It’s a clear break from Trump’s trade policies. Carney traveled to Beijing last Friday and met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. No Canadian leader had visited China’s capital in eight years. Carney said China expects to cut tariffs on Canadian rapeseed, also known as canola. Canada’s side of the bargain? It will let 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into its market at a tariff rate of about 6%, scrapping a 100% surtax. China will also offer visa-free travel to Canadians. _*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> Carney takes aim at Trump in Davos Right after signing the deal, Carney gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He warned against coercion by great powers; everyone knew he meant Trump, even though he didn’t say the name. Carney took aim at using “tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.” Trump didn’t take that lying down. He accused Canada of ingratitude for American military protection and said the country “lives because of the United States.” Carney rejected that claim . There’s more. Trump withdrew an invitation for Canada to join his so-called Board of Peace just a week after Carney had signed onto it. Trump said Canada opposes his planned “Golden Dome” missile-defense project, though it’s not clear if that’s actually Ottawa’s position. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that Trump had asked Canada to take part in the project. At Davos, Carney called on middle powers to band together to resist intimidation from great powers. Unclear terms and trade agreement details Nobody’s quite sure what Trump means by a “deal”, the Canada-China pact was basically a trade, focused on agriculture and electric vehicles. The White House didn’t immediately respond to questions. It’s also unclear what any change would mean for goods traded under the USMCA trade deal. Right now, goods under that agreement are typically tariff free, which means most Canadian exports to the US face no tariff. The current tariff for non-excluded goods is 35%, with different rates for certain sectors like steel and aluminum. Things between Washington and Ottawa have gotten ugly since Trump’s return to the White House. His decision to raise tariffs on goods from Canada triggered widespread outrage. Many Canadians are boycotting American products and skipping travel to the US. Canada has historically routed much of its trade south to the US. Now the country is aggressively looking to increase trade ties east to Europe and west to Asia. That includes sealing this trade deal with China and seeking new links with India—two countries that openly feuded with Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, in recent years. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .

24 Jan 2026, 15:26

BitGo Adds Custody Support for StorX’s SRX token as DePIN Tokens Push Further Into Institutional Rails.

StorX Network’s $SRX token has been added to BitGo’s custody platform , a move that gives the decentralized storage project access to institutional custody workflows that many funds and corporate desks require before holding assets at scale. In parallel, StorX has also enabled institutional access through Fireblocks , extending support to secure custody, treasury management, and transaction workflows used by regulated financial institutions, exchanges, and asset managers. The update was disclosed by StorX Network on January 14, 2026, positioning $SRX as increasingly compatible with institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure. https://x.com/StorXNetwork/status/2012136272450715836 Why BitGo matters for “institutional-grade” crypto BitGo is a long-standing digital asset infrastructure provider that positions its offering around regulated/qualified custody, governance controls, and operational workflows used by institutions. BitGo has also said it safeguards 600+ tokens across multiple chains and has built custody offerings designed for institutional requirements. For DePIN networks, where tokens are tied to real-world infrastructure incentives, custody support is often treated as a “plumbing” milestone : it doesn’t change the protocol, but it can make the asset easier to hold for allocators who can’t (or won’t) self-custody. Alongside BitGo custody, $SRX also offers broad self-custody wallet coverage, increasing operational accessibility for both retail and professional users. StorX’s official wallet support list includes D’CENT, Guarda, ELLIPAL, Trezor, Infinity Wallet, and ONTO Wallet, spanning mobile apps, desktop/web wallets, and hardware options. StorX has also published an integration guide for adding SRX to the Tangem app, extending SRX’s availability into another hardware-wallet ecosystem used for cold-storage-style custody workflows. On the trading side, $SRX is available on exchanges such as BTSE, Bitmart, MEXC, BingX, Biconomy, Bitrue, Coinstore, and Probit, providing liquidity across both retail and professional trading environments. Why this listing is strategically timed StorX positions itself in the DePIN segment through decentralized cloud storage , using token incentives to coordinate node operators and expand infrastructure capacity. With SRX now supported by a major custody provider, StorX can credibly pitch SRX as “institution-ready” infrastructure exposure rather than purely retail flow, particularly at a time when DePIN, as a category, is being tracked more formally by market data providers. For context, CoinMarketCap’s DePIN research has described a sector with hundreds of projects and a market cap in the tens of billions of dollars , alongside billions raised across the category, evidence that DePIN is moving from niche to investable theme for larger capital pools. What this could signal: SRX positioning for the next leg of DePIN market access From a market-structure perspective, custody is a prerequisite for several downstream channels, OTC facilitation, treasury holdings, fund mandates, and risk-managed storage for professional operators. By securing BitGo custody support, StorX can argue SRX is building the institutional “checklist” (custody → broader access → deeper liquidity), aligning with how other infrastructure tokens have historically expanded distribution. BitGo removes a major operational blocker , and that’s often how tokens transition from “tradable” to “allocatable” for institutional buyers. How StorX’s DePIN Model Operates At the protocol level, StorX Network operates a decentralized storage model in which node owners supply unused disk capacity to the network and earn $SRX rewards for providing encrypted, redundant storage services. User data is fragmented, encrypted, and distributed across multiple independent nodes, reducing reliance on centralized data centres and mitigating single-point-of-failure risks. End users, including individuals and enterprises, can access decentralized storage and backup services through StorX’s platform , while node operators are incentivized to maintain uptime and performance through protocol-level economics. This dual-sided model aligns infrastructure providers and storage consumers within a token-driven framework that is increasingly characteristic of the DePIN sector.

24 Jan 2026, 14:42

Why is Ethereum’s validator entry queue congested?

The entry queue to become an Ethereum validator now stands at 3,114,842 ETH with a wait time of 54 days and 2 hours, according to data from Validator Queue, creating the longest entry queue in over a year as institutional investors pour capital into the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency network. The last time that exit queues dominated was in December 2025, after reaching a peak in September. 976,509 active validators have staked over 36.3 million ETH, which is nearly 30% of the total supply, as of the time of writing. Source: Validator Queue Why is Ethereum’s validator entry queue congested? The rise of the entry queue has been fueled largely by institutional participants taking major positions in Ethereum staking. As of January 19, 2026, Tom Lee’s BitMine, the leading Ethereum treasury firm, had staked 1,838,003 ETH , which was worth $5.9 billion at $3,211 per ETH. BitMine now holds over 4.2 million ETH, which is nearly 3.5% of ETH’s total circulating supply. Lee, who is the chairman of BitMine, stated, “BitMine has staked more ETH than other entities in the world. At scale (when Bitmine’s ETH is fully staked by MAVAN and its staking partners), the ETH staking fee is $374 million annually (using 2.81% CESR), or greater than $1 million per day.” 73.57% of Grayscale’s ETH holdings are staked as of the time of writing. The asset manager has since become the first US Ethereum exchange-traded product to distribute staking rewards to investors in January 2026, with Purpose Investments set to follow suit on January 30. SharpLink Gaming, operating under the ticker SBET, has emerged as the first publicly listed company to use ETH as its primary treasury asset. The firm has generated over 11,600 ETH from staking activities since launching its Ethereum treasury in June 2025. Technical upgrades reduced barriers to entry Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade in May 2025 contributed to lowering the barriers for large-scale staking operations. The update increased the maximum validator stake from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH and also enabled automatic compounding of rewards. This has made it easier for institutional players to manage large positions without operating thousands of separate validators. With 29.88% of ETH’s supply now locked in staking contracts and the current annual percentage rate at 2.83%, the network faces a tightening of liquid supply. Analysts suggest this could support price appreciation, with some forecasting moves toward $4,000 to $6,000 in 2026. Critics claim that the concentration of staking power among institutional players threatens the very core of Ethereum, which is decentralization. However, people like Lee disagree with that take, as he believes that someone accounting for 10% of a system does not equate to them being in control of it. The leadership of BitMine has stated that they want to acquire more ETH and raise their percentage of holdings to 5% of token supply. Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.

24 Jan 2026, 14:34

Bitcoin Price in the Crosshairs Again as Trump Threatens Canada With 100% Tariffs

The tension between the two North American giants continues to escalate as US President Donald Trump just warned on his social media platform that he is willing to tax its northern neighbor with a 100% tariff if Canada makes a deal with China. Given the historical impact of tariffs or even their threat on BTC, it’s worth keeping an eye on the asset’s price moves over the next 48 hours. Minutes ago, Trump took it to Truth Social to warn Canada about the aforementioned 100% tariffs if Prime Minister Mark Carney strikes a deal to become a “drop off port” for China to “send goods and products into the United States.” He went even further, claiming that such a deal with the Asian giant could be devastating to Canada’s economic prosperity: “China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life.” The first reports about this “new strategic partnership” between Canada and China emerged about a week ago. The preliminary trade deal aims at reducing tariffs, including a commitment to import almost 50,000 EVs from China at preferential tariff rates. Before today’s threat, Trump withdrew his invitation for Canada to join his Board of Peace initiative after claiming during his Davos speech that Canada “lives because of the United States.” Bitcoin’s price has been severely impacted by even the mere threats of tariffs from the US against other nations, especially if they are supposed to be allied countries. Recall that just last week, after Trump announced new tariffs against several EU states, BTC tumbled from over $95,000 to $87,000 from Monday until Wednesday. It briefly dipped by a more modest $500 minutes ago after Trump’s statement on Truth Social, but more volatility could be expected on Monday morning when other financial markets open. BTCUSD Jan 24. Source: TradingView The post Bitcoin Price in the Crosshairs Again as Trump Threatens Canada With 100% Tariffs appeared first on CryptoPotato .