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In January 2026, the Ethereum ecosystem saw a clear increase in staking activity. Several metrics set new records. These records could reduce the liquid supply and help drive a possible price breakout.

Even though the ETH price has remained below 3,500 USD over the past two months, analysts believe a breakout may be near due to these positive signals on the blockchain.

Nearly 36 million ETH are staked, which corresponds to nearly 30 % of the asset

Data from ValidatorQueue shows that there are now 35.9 million staked ETH. This represents 29.6 % of the total circulating supply. At current prices, this is over 119 billion USD.

The LIT token from Lighter has dropped nearly 15% over the past day following the platform's launch of its new staking program.

The launch brings new use cases and improved collaboration within the ecosystem, but the price drop is primarily due to sales after the launch and broader market forces.

LIT Staking Launch: Everything Lighter Users Need to Know

Right now, LIT tokens are trading on Lighter DEX for $1.85. The token has dropped nearly 14.79% over the past day. This decline confirms Lighter's expected 15% drop for the LIT token.

Bitcoin is attempting to recover from recent losses after reclaiming the 95,000 USD level, giving renewed hope in the short term. The rise pushed BTC to a two-month high, but the recovery is not yet complete.

In reality, Bitcoin is now facing a much bigger test. The range between 98,000 USD and 110,000 USD represents the toughest resistance level so far.

Bitcoin holders have the opportunity to sell

Bitcoin's challenge becomes clearer when examining the Long-Term Holder Cost Basis Distribution Heatmap. Since November 2025, every rally has stalled within a tight supply cluster ranging from approximately 93,000 USD to 110,000 USD. This area contains coins purchased at previous highs, thus creating constant selling pressure whenever the price reaches this level again.

Dash (DASH) has risen significantly and is now the top-performing cryptocurrency among the top 300 this week. The price has increased by over 100 % and Dash has surpassed Monero (XMR).

The increased demand shows that interest in privacy coins is growing and that Dash has the potential to compete with Monero. More merchants are now using Dash, and it has become easier to trade with the coin. This further drives development.

DASH becomes the most traded privacy coin when this week's increase exceeds 100 %

Base, the self-custodial wallet and app ecosystem on the chain developed by Coinbase, is now shifting strategy to a trade-focused approach.

Since its launch in July 2025, the Base app has attracted hundreds of thousands of users who trade, save, build, and spend on the chain.

Base App prioritizes trading first but maintains Mini Apps and Creator Coins

Jesse Pollak, who created Base, explained the change and clarified that the app now aims to prioritize demand and distribution for all types of tradable assets.

CoinGecko's CEO and co-founder, Bobby Ong, has issued a statement about the company's future. He highlights the company's strengths and continued focus on transparency and long-term growth.

The statement comes as rumors have circulated that CoinGecko may be exploring a possible sale.

CoinGecko emphasizes its long-term vision despite rumors of a possible sale

New reports citing individuals with insight suggest that CoinGecko, an independent company in cryptocurrency data collection, is considering a possible sale at a value around 500 million USD.

Crypto-whales are increasing their exposure to Chainlink (LINK) as the second spot ETF linked to the altcoin was launched on the market this week.

The increase in institutional and large investor activity shows that more people are gaining confidence in Chainlink's future. Despite this, LINK has dropped by over 1% in the past 24 hours, in line with the broader market decline.

Bitwise Chainlink ETF starts with inflows of 2.59 million USD

Bitwise Chainlink ETF (ticker: CLNK) began trading on NYSE Arca on January 14. CLNK has an annual management fee of 0.34%. However, Bitwise does not charge this fee for the first three months for up to 500 million USD in assets.

Coinbase's unexpected decision to withdraw support for the CLARITY Act shocked Washington and the cryptocurrency markets. It led to the cancellation of a planned meeting in the Senate Banking Committee and raised concerns that reform of the U.S. cryptocurrency market could once again be stalled.

The reaction initially appeared to be political chaos, but what followed reveals a more nuanced picture.

The CLARITY Act enters an important negotiation phase after Coinbase withdrew

The bill proposal has not collapsed, but has entered a tense pause. Politicians, industry leaders, and the White House say this marks one of the final steps, not the end, of the proposal.

Internet Computer (ICP) has risen by more than 39% over the past week. The cryptocurrency has outperformed major competitors as investors react to the new MISSION70 whitepaper.

The paper proposes major changes to reduce inflation by at least 70% before the end of 2026. The goal would be achieved through both increased demand and reduced supply.

Internet Computer leads today's winners as the crypto market recovers

ICP has become one of the best cryptocurrencies on the market. Data from CoinGecko shows that ICP has increased by nearly 26% in the last 24 hours and is now leading among the top 100 currencies for the day.

Monero (XMR) surged to a new record high on Wednesday as its price rose above $797 and investors bet on privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. This rally concluded a week-long surge that increased XMR by over 50%, making it one of the strongest performers in the crypto market.

The surge pushed Monero's market capitalization above $13 billion, placing it among the top 15 cryptocurrencies. Trading volumes also rose as buyers sought to capture gains.

Increased demand for financial privacy

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said late Tuesday that the company can no longer support the Senate's version of the cryptocurrency market structure bill, as lawmakers introduced major changes to the CLARITY Act.

He said the Senate Banking Committee's draft "destroys key parts of the market structure" and creates risks for tokenized stocks, DeFi, stablecoins, and open crypto markets.

The CLARITY Act has just been amended

Coinbase withdrew its support just a few hours before the Senate was set to advance the bill to the markup process in committee.

The increasing use of AI tools to create deepfake content has raised new concerns about public safety.

As technology becomes more advanced and accessible, questions arise about how secure the visual identity verification systems used by centralized crypto exchanges are.

Governments are trying to stop deepfakes

Deceptive videos spread rapidly on social media. This increases concerns about a new wave of disinformation and fake images. The growing use of this technology now threatens both public safety and individuals' personal privacy.

Bitcoin surged above $97,000 on Tuesday as large traders returned to the spot market after several weeks of selling driven by ETFs. The $100,000 level is now back in focus, indicating the market is gaining new momentum.

Latest data from the blockchain and derivatives show this rise is not being driven by retail investors using leverage. Instead, Bitcoin whales are buying directly on the spot market, while smaller traders attempt to follow via futures. This is significant because rallies led by spot buyers often last longer.

U.S. President Donald Trump says Greenland is important for national security. But behind this, it seems the U.S. is mainly following the interests of the technology sector.

Greenland has vast areas, abundant minerals, and few inhabitants. The region is therefore attractive for modern industries. It's not surprising then that the U.S. wants to take over. American technology billionaires financially supported Trump's 2024 campaign. They rarely provide such support without expecting something in return.

Why Greenland Became Relevant Again for Trump

The SEC has concluded its review of the Zcash Foundation and informed the organization that they do not intend to recommend any action or change the rules in this matter.

The decision removes a long-standing legal uncertainty that has followed Zcash for over two years.

A two-year investigation concludes

ZEC surged on the news. The token traded near $440, up about 13% during the day, with high trading volume as traders priced in reduced regulatory risk.

But the price also rose after several days of significant concern over governance in the Zcash ecosystem. It had previously caused the token to drop sharply.

After surpassing 3,300 USD, Ethereum's price is now testing a key technical level. This area could indicate whether the market is ready to move toward 4,000 USD or if another pullback will occur.

Meanwhile, key metrics show a new leap ahead toward 2026, strengthening the possibility that Ethereum could reach 4,000 USD.

Ethereum is testing a key resistance level at 3,450 USD as 4,000 USD approaches

Ethereum's price has already cleared a crucial level by surpassing 3,300 USD. Now, Ethereum needs to reclaim 3,450 USD. Analyst Ted Pillows says that if this happens, the path to 4,000 USD could become straightforward.

Monero has had a strong upward move. The XMR price has increased by nearly 56% over the last seven days, and even after a drop, it is up about 2.7% over the last day. The price is only 1–2% below its record of nearly $721.

If we look at a longer perspective, the movement appears even stronger. The last three months, Monero has risen by approximately 120%. The trend clearly points upward, but now the question is simple. Will there be a pause before the next attempt to reach a record, or will the decline become significant again?

XRP's price has fallen sharply in recent days, causing panic selling in the market. The decline has made investors more negative as they try to limit their losses.

The rapid decline has made XRP oversold. When this happens, investors often buy to achieve a quick recovery.

XRP holders are selling to avoid losses

On-chain data for profit and loss shows losses have dominated XRP trading over the past 20 days. Many sold initially when the price rose slightly, hoping to exit the market without significant losses. But as the price continued to drop, selling increased to avoid even greater losses.

The cryptocurrency market gained more momentum after the U.S. inflation figures came in as expected. The December CPI rose by 2.7% compared to last year. This was in line with expectations, and inflation continues to cool. Therefore, pressure for rapid interest rate cuts decreased and risk appetite increased in the markets. Some major crypto investors noticed this.

Large investors have still acted cautiously instead of buying blindly. They chose to increase their holdings in three different tokens. They are monitoring key technical levels and preparing rather than taking big risks.

The cryptocurrency market rose significantly today as the US CPI remained at the same level in December. This caused Bitcoin to surpass $95,000 within the last 24 hours.

Right now, BTC is trading around this price, and those altcoins that benefited from it could see further gains.

BeInCrypto has analyzed three such altcoins that could see new gains soon.

Pump.fun (PUMP)

PUMP's price closely follows Bitcoin, with a strong correlation of 0.96 to the market leader. When Bitcoin continues to rise, this altcoin could benefit from a strong market. Currently, PUMP is trading near $0.00281, indicating a better short-term sentiment.