Bitcoin Wednesday #151: Amsterdam on 7 January 2026

Bitcoin Wednesday #151 returns on 7 January to the Stadschouwburg's Brasserie on the Leidseplein. See photo.

The January Effect

We've started the new year with a bounce back after the big bloodbath: Bitcoin ETFs lost a record $4.57 billion in November-December, then reversed course with $1.2 billion in inflows across the first two trading days of 2026, $670 million on the first trading day alone.

Has the tide already turned and are we headed back to new all time highs, or is this just a temporary break in the bear market? Either way, it's likely we'll see much more price volatility before long, as we usually see after periods of stability.

Some topics to discuss:

Major banks, especially in the US are aiming for a much bigger share of the revenue.

Morgan Stanley filed for Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, becoming the first major bank in the US to do so.

Meanwhile Bank of America has started allowing wealth advisers to recommend crypto allocations.

The latest on BIP 444? Likelihood and timeline is still uncertain, although the Bitcoin fork has some momentum and visible backers, significant unresolved technical objections make activation unlikely without further changes and broad infrastructure support.

In our opinion, it's safe to wait until this really happens. Not least among the critical milestones for such a fork is wallet and infrastructure compatibility testing. Although Bitcoin's open-source design permits forks, until wallets and exchanges support both chains, the debate is still largely theoretical.