Today in crypto: The Bitcoin community celebrates 17th anniversary of Hal Finney’s ‘Running Bitcoin” post, Spot Bitcoin ETFs reversed early inflows in 2026 and posted four straight days of outflows. Meanwhile, Anti-DeFi group runs ads aimed at pressuring senators to strip DeFi provisions from crypto bill.
The Bitcoin community celebrates 17th anniversary of Hal Finney’s ‘Running Bitcoin’ post
Bitcoiners are celebrating the 17th anniversary of cypherpunk and Bitcoin (BTC) pioneer Hal Finney’s post on January 10, 2009, announcing that he was running the Bitcoin protocol.
“Running Bitcoin,” Finney said in an X post, which is pinned to the top of his profile. Finney was the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction on the network, when Satoshi Nakamoto sent him 10 BTC, valued at over $900,500 using market prices at the time of publication.
Finney passed away in 2014 at 58 years old, and, since that time, there has been intense speculation about whether Finney is actually the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
The “running Bitcoin” post has become a piece of lore within the Bitcoin community, as it celebrates 17 years of network uptime for the world’s first decentralized blockchain monetary ledger.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs lose $681M in first week of 2026 as risk appetite fades
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) started 2026 with sharp outflows, shedding a combined $681 million over the first full trading week of the year.
According to data from SoSoValue, spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded four consecutive days of net outflows between Tuesday and Friday, outweighing inflows earlier in the week. The largest daily redemption occurred on Wednesday, when products shed $486 million, followed by $398.9 million on Thursday and $249.9 million on Friday.
The reversal came after 2026 opened with brief strength. On Jan. 2, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $471.1 million, followed by another $697.2 million inflow on Jan. 5.
Spot Ether (ETH) ETFs followed a similar trajectory. On a weekly basis, spot Ether ETFs posted net outflows of approximately $68.6 million, ending the week with total net assets of around $18.7 billion.
Anti-DeFi group runs ads urging public to pressure Senators on crypto bill: Report
An anti-decentralized finance group is reportedly running advertisements on Fox News encouraging the public to pressure their Senators into passing crypto market structure legislation that excludes DeFi provisions perceived to be threatening to the banking industry.
According to two screenshots shared Friday on X by Crypto in America host Eleanor Terrett, the Investors For Transparency members wrote: "Tell Your Senator: Pass Crypto Legislation Without DeFi Provisions,” sharing a hotline number to contact their local Senators.
“Don’t Let DeFi Stall Innovation,” another snippet of the ad said, which appears to echo concerns from banking lobbyists over the CLARITY Act permitting stablecoin issuers to offer interest-bearing products that could be disguised as bank-like deposits and potentially draw trillions of dollars from the traditional banking system.
