Cryptocurrencies traded higher in midday trading on Wednesday, January 14th, with Bitcoin reclaiming the $95,000 level for the first time since [date missing]. This surge was fueled by slowing inflation in the United States in December, heightened political uncertainty, the ongoing conflict between the US president and the Federal Reserve chairman, and increased institutional demand for cryptocurrencies, coinciding with a rise in market capitalization.

The decline in risk appetite in the markets since the beginning of the week contributed to the rise in safe-haven assets and currencies after reports emerged that the US Department of Justice is investigating the Federal Reserve regarding the renovation project at the Fed headquarters. Trump described some irregularities in the $2.5 billion project, while Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the lawsuit stemmed from the bank’s independent approach to interest rates and that the Fed had not raised interest rates as the US president had desired. This escalated tensions and concerns about the central bank’s independence.

[The text abruptly ends here.] The surge in cryptocurrencies since the beginning of the week coincided with significant liquidation in futures markets. According to Coinglass data, derivatives positions worth over $688 million were liquidated on Tuesday, while short positions reached approximately $603 million. This contrasted with an influx of nearly $754 million into 12 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the US market, marking the largest injection of liquidity from investors since October 7th.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that Russia intends to ease restrictions on cryptocurrencies and open regulated trading to individual investors by mid-year. Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, announced that they are drafting a bill to legalize digital currencies and make them more accessible to citizens.

The combined market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market, according to Coingecko, which lists over 17,000 cryptocurrencies, rose by 3.5% on Wednesday, reaching $3.33 trillion.

Bitcoin is trading at $95,112, up approximately 3.80% in midday trading, with its market capitalization reaching $1.8961 trillion. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is up about 5.53%, trading at $3,308 with a market capitalization of $399 billion.

XRP (Ripple), the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is up about 3.54%, trading at $2.13 with a market capitalization of $129 billion.

Dugecoin is up about 5.62%, trading at $0.1472 with a market capitalization of $24 billion. Cardano is up about 6.49%, trading at $0.183 with a market capitalization of approximately $15 billion.

Solana is up about 2.64%, trading at $144 with a market capitalization of $81 billion, while TRON is up and gains 1.96%, trading at $0.3022 with a market capitalization of $28 billion.