El Salvador added 12 BTC to its reserves in the past day, ramping up its Bitcoin purchase as the leading crypto asset hovers near its all-time high.

This development comes despite a recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to scale back some of its crypto policies.

Bitcoin Push Continues

The National Bitcoin Office announced via X on January 19th that it had purchased 11 BTC for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which is currently worth more than $1 million. An additional Bitcoin was acquired on the following day for $106,000.

The office’s portfolio tracker further revealed that the country’s total holdings now stand at 6,044 BTC, valued at roughly $620 million, with Bitcoin trading above $103,000.

Last month, President Nayib Bukele’s administration secured a $1.4 billion financing deal with the IMF, agreeing to reduce certain Bitcoin initiatives, including making BTC acceptance optional for businesses and reducing government involvement in the Chivo wallet.

However, the day after this agreement, the Central American country purchased $1 million worth of Bitcoin. National Bitcoin Office Director Stacy Herbert stated on X that the country’s Bitcoin strategy remains unchanged. El Salvador became the world’s first nation to recognize Bitcoin as an official currency following its adoption by the Legislative Assembly in 2021.

Bitfinex and Tether’s Offerings in El Salvador

Last year, Bitfinex Securities launched tokenized US Treasury bills in El Salvador under the country’s new securities regime. The main objective behind the offering was to raise $30 million and provide investors exposure to short-term Treasury bonds through blockchain technology.

More recently, USDT stablecoin issuer Tether announced relocating its business and headquarters to El Salvador after acquiring a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license. The move aligns with El Salvador’s Bitcoin-friendly policies, aiming to foster global Bitcoin adoption and innovation in emerging markets. Tether’s CEO highlighted the country’s supportive environment for digital assets and its vision for financial freedom and decentralized technologies.

The recent launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, catalyzed by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, has ignited a mix of excitement and caution within the memecoin and broader cryptocurrency community. 

This frenzy has caught the attention of billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who is now contemplating the creation of his own memecoin, inspired by the recent memecoin movements.

Cuban’s Memecoin Vision: Combining Fun And Financial Responsibility? 

In a recent social media post, the renowned billionaire opened the door to the possibility of launching a new memecoin, stating, “If memecoins are the way, maybe I’ll issue one.” 

His announcement has stirred curiosity among crypto enthusiasts, particularly as he hinted that his memecoin would mirror the parameters of Trump’s TRUMP memecoin. 

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Cuban plans to implement a 20% float and adhere to a similar release schedule, with one significant distinction: all potential revenue generated from the sale would be directed to the US Treasury. To enhance transparency, Cuban also indicated that the wallet address would be publicly accessible, allowing anyone to track the funds.

Cuban framed his initiative as a way to combine entertainment with a social purpose, noting, “If you want to gamble, gamble. But at least use it to make a dent in the US debt.” 

This statement reflects a growing sentiment among some investors that memecoins can serve a dual purpose—providing both amusement and potential benefits to broader societal issues. However, Cuban’s proposal has not been without its critics. 

Cuban Cites Dogecoin Success

In response to Cuban’s announcement, a user on X (formerly Twitter) cautioned him about the potential pitfalls of launching a memecoin, suggesting that he might be accused of exploiting information asymmetry at the coin’s launch. 

The user stressed that the supposed memecoin’s price would be dictated by supply and demand dynamics, starting from nearly zero, and warned Cuban not to proceed without careful consideration.

Cuban, undeterred by the criticism, defended his understanding of the memecoin landscape, stating, “It’s not hard to put it together. I never have thought about doing a meme coin. Wouldn’t be hard at all.” 

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The back-and-forth dialogue continued, with the user asserting that creating a sustainable memecoin that benefits long-term holders is a challenging endeavor. 

He further argued that successful memecoins often emerge from community-driven initiatives rather than top-down launches, warning that hype surrounding a celebrity-backed launch could lead to short-term trading rather than fostering an organic community.

Cuban concluded the exchange by acknowledging the importance of community in the longevity of memecoins. He cited examples like Dogecoin  (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), which have thrived due to their strong communities. 

“I’m not saying buyers won’t get rekt. I said it was gambling. It’s a game of musical chairs. No promises. No pumps by me. Just complete transparency,” he emphasized.

At the time of writing, the TRUMP memecoin is trading at $44,778, recording a 14% recovery in the past 24 hours after plunging over 50% from its $79 peak reached over the weekend. 

Featured image from CNBC, chart from TradingView.com 

Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that “we are adjusting prices today across most plans” in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.

Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou tells The Verge that the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers’ next billing cycle, according to Zhou.

“As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” the company’s letter to investors says. Netflix last raised the price of its subscription in October 2023. This is also the first time it’s raising the price of this ad-supported plan, which it rolled out in 2022.

Netflix added 19 million new subscribers over the past few months — the most in its history during a single quarter — bringing its global total to 300 million. This is the last time Netflix will reveal how many subscribers it added during the quarter, as the company said last year that it would only announce “major subscriber milestones as we cross them” starting in the first quarter of 2025.

Even with a subscriber count reaching new highs, and operating income ballooning past $10 billion for the first time, Netflix executives believe the company still has room for growth. The company’s letter to investors says it accounts for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in the countries it’s available in, “which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world.”

Along with the price hike, Netflix announced that it’s rolling out a new Extra Member with Ads plan, which will allow those on the ad-supported plan to add someone outside their household to their subscription. It currently costs an extra $7.99 per month to add someone outside your household to an ad-free plan.

Update, January 21st: Added information from Netflix.

President Donald Trump is trying to halt the flow of funding for EV charging infrastructure from two programs that have benefited Tesla — the latest example of how Elon Musk’s political interests seem to be at odds with his car company’s goal of advancing sustainable energy.

It’s not a given that Trump’s gambit will succeed. But if it does, Tesla could be cut off from two sources of funding that the automaker has tapped the past two years to build out its market-leading EV charging network.

In one of the myriad executive orders Trump signed on the first day of his second term, he declared that “[a]ll agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds” from programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He specifically calls out stopping funding for EV charging stations that’s been made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program.

Those agencies are supposed to submit a review of “processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements” within 90 days of the date of this order, and all agency heads shall submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Economic Council (NEC). The order also states that agencies cannot disburse more funds unless the “Director of OMB and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy have determined that such disbursements are consistent with any review recommendations they have chosen to adopt.”

Musk has long claimed that Tesla’s mission is “accelerating the transition to sustainable energy.” But he is now officially working with the second Trump administration, which took big swings at sustainable energy on its first day. Trump has already signed orders halting federal leases for offshore wind development, pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, and is trying to reverse other Biden administration EV policies.

Tesla was recently part of a group that won a $100 million award from the CFI program to build out charging infrastructure for heavy-duty electric trucks across Illinois, as TechCrunch first reported last week. The company was hoping to secure around $40 million from the group’s original funding request of $126 million. Tesla has also repeatedly sought around $100 million in CFI funding to build a truck-charging corridor between Northern California and southern Texas, but that application has been passed over multiple times.

Tesla’s CFI award in Illinois is a small portion of the nearly $2 billion the Department of Transportation has allocated over the last two years. Tesla has won a much greater share of grants from the NEVI program — which doles out smaller amounts of money to states, which, in turn, use those funds to offer grants to build charging infrastructure. Tesla had won around 13% of all NEVI awards by the middle of 2024 and was using those millions to further build out its Supercharger network, which is now open to almost all competing EVs.

Trump could slow or stop the flow of future spending from these programs, according to Martin Lockman, a fellow at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. He might especially be able to do so if his administration is successful in its promised legal fight over the Impoundment Control Act, which limits the president’s ability to stop Congress from spending money that’s been appropriated.

“There’s a lot of wiggle room here, and the Trump administration will certainly do everything that it can to delay spending under these bills,” Lockman said.

It is not clear that Trump can legally stop the funding of awards that are already under contract, though.

“People who have contracts today have rights under those contracts, and the President can’t take them away,” he said.

But, Lockman cautioned, if agencies feel enough pressure from Trump, they could violate the terms of those contracts — and potentially the laws that established the funding programs in the first place — and refuse to give out the money. In that situation, the companies, state and local agencies, or other entities that won awards from NEVI or CFI would have to fight to get them fulfilled.

“If the new administration wants to make people fight for their contracts in court, that would certainly be a huge barrier to building EV infrastructure,” he said.

Microsoft is basically the biggest name in the business world, whether we’re talking about Microsoft Office apps or Windows running on our computers. One thing they have nailed down is recognizing that their products are well-loved for their simple and familiar interface, but still offering regular updates.

Windows 11 Pro was specifically designed for business professionals. You’ll find new tools for productivity and balancing hybrid or remote work with life. With this deal, you can upgrade three devices to Windows 11 Pro — rated 4.5/5 stars by verified purchasers — for just $19.97 at TechRepublic Academy.

New look, new features

The first thing you’ll notice is a redesigned user interface. Rounded app corners, a centered bottom taskbar, snap layouts and widgets all give your computer a refreshed, yet familiar, appearance while offering the latest tools.

Then, there’s layers of security features like Microsoft Information Protection that protects your personal data from leaks and BitLocker device encryption that encrypts your hard drive with a key. Both of these are excellent for shielding your personal and work information from harm.

Designed for the workforce

If you’re a remote or hybrid worker, or a business owner or manager with employees around the globe, you’ll appreciate things like:

• Windows Information Protection allows you to separate work and personal data on the same device.
• Remote desktop access is included from anywhere. Connect to your Windows 11 Pro computer from another computer, a tablet or a smartphone.
• Group Policy Management tools allow enforcement of policies and compliance. Administrators can create settings or access for different devices, users and groups.

Upgrade your operating system to Windows 11 Pro on three devices for only $19.97 (reg. $199), now at TechRepublic Academy, so be sure to take advantage of it before it’s gone.

Prices and availability are subject to change.

Bitcoin nears new highs, Solana seeks stability, and a $0.0008 token captures investor interest.

Bitcoin is pushing toward new highs, drawing attention as its value edges close to a substantial figure. Meanwhile, Solana aims to find stability amid market shifts. Amid these developments, a tiny token priced at fractions of a cent is sparking curiosity among investors. Could this under-the-radar cryptocurrency become a standout performer in the bullish market phase?

Catzilla: Changing meme coins with purpose

Greed? Conquered.
Crypto Manipulators? Challenged.
Scammers? Unmasked.

Enter Catzilla — the fearless disruptor in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). Catzilla isn’t just another meme coin; it’s a movement designed to empower individuals, confront corruption, and deliver real financial opportunities. Backed by a passionate community, this game-changing project is set to transform the crypto ecosystem

Why Catzilla stands out

From Short-Term Hype to Long-Term Growth
While many meme coins fizzle out after the initial hype, Catzilla is built for longevity. With a structured presale beginning at $0.0002 and climbing to $0.0016 over 14 stages, early investors can secure CATZILLA tokens at an 88% discount — a rare opportunity for exponential growth.

Triple utility: More than just a token

• Governance: Shape Catzilla’s future through community-driven decisions.
• Incentives: Earn rewards for your active participation and support.
• Staking: Stake your CATZILLA tokens to unlock potential passive income streams.

Catzilla’s vision

Catzilla isn’t here to play by outdated rules. It’s a beacon for investors, meme enthusiasts, and crypto innovators who want to be part of something bigger — where creativity, transparency, and potential meet.

Whether someone is a seasoned trader or new to crypto, Catzilla offers a dynamic and inclusive platform for exploring financial opportunities with a side of fun.

Don’t Miss Out: Grab CATZILLA tokens now and become part of a movement that aims to redefine the meme coin landscape. Together, we’re unstoppable! 

Bitcoin on the brink of a bullish breakout

Bitcoin is moving within a strong price range, showing potential for growth. Currently priced between $91k and $109k, it eyes the $116k resistance level. If surpassed, it could climb towards $133k, representing a potential rise of about 22%. The RSI hovers around the neutral 51 mark, while the Stochastic indicator suggests buying pressure. 

The MACD is slightly negative, hinting at consolidation before a possible rally. Short-term averages align closely with the current price, indicating a stable trend. Recent performance shows a solid increase, with nearly a 10% rise in a week. The 6-month surge of almost 59% hints at continued bullish momentum. Bitcoin enthusiasts anticipate significant upward movement!

Solana gears up for potential price breakout

Solana‘s price shows dynamic movement within a range of $182 to $308. The current outlook is promising, with an impressive 1-week rise of over 30%. The RSI of under 50 suggests potential room for more upward movement. If Solana breaks the $365 resistance, it could accelerate toward the next target at $491. However, should the price hit the support level near $113, further drops could be expected. With its MACD slightly negative and steady stochastic values, Solana has the potential to see a notable rebound. If the market sentiment turns bullish, Solana’s price could experience a surge of over 60% from its current trajectory.

Conclusion

While BTC and SOL show limited short-term potential, the spotlight shifts to Catzilla. This token offers a 700% ROI during its presale, starting at $0.0002 and rising to $0.0016 over 14 stages. With governance rights, reward incentives, and staking options, Catzilla aims to unite enthusiasts seeking financial freedom and invites participation against crypto villains.

To learn more about Catzilla, visit the website, X, Telegram chat.