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In 2025, the total cryptocurrency market cap showed a clear “decline—rebound—pullback” pattern. On-chain perpetual contract trading continued to expand, with liquidity and trading experience noticeably improving. Prediction market volumes surpassed $10 billion, and the growth of crypto payments accelerated the adoption of stablecoins in real-world scenarios. The Web3 sector completed nearly 1,000 financings totaling about $34.9 billion. Although the number of Web3 security incidents declined, individual losses increased significantly. Looking ahead to 2026, Bitcoin’s holdings are increasingly concentrated among large institutions and custodians, helping to enhance overall market stability.

On January 21, the crypto market continued to pull back and consolidate, with risk appetite cooling notably. BTC and ETH came under simultaneous pressure: BTC fell back to around USD 89,000 after breaking below its short-term moving average structure, while ETH saw a relatively larger decline and remains in a weak recovery phase, with major assets dragging on the overall index. On the thematic side, mid- and small-cap tokens such as AIA, MBG, and ARC moved against the trend, supported by narratives around AI agents, on-chain integration of traditional finance, and developer tools, highlighting clear structural divergence. From a structural perspective, Ethereum staking demand continued to improve, with unstaking pressure fading and the staked ratio approaching 30%; meanwhile, Solana’s staking ratio climbed to a record high of 68.8%, indicating that parts of the public-chain ecosystem are still attracting long-term capital. However, whether the broader market can stabilize will still depend on sentiment recove

Last week, BTC moved into a high-level consolidation phase after the previous sharp rally, but the market structure has not flipped bearish. ETH showed greater resilience than BTC, holding up better during pullbacks. On-chain flows clearly reflect a "trading-scenario-first" trend. Capital is rotating out of low-velocity, general settlement layers and into networks with higher trading efficiency and stronger support for active strategies. Perp DEXs and prediction markets have become the main liquidity magnets in this cycle. Both Hyperliquid and Polygon PoS recorded net inflows of over $100 million. Meme activity across the Solana ecosystem is also picking up again. Bags App has risen quickly on the back of its "donation-driven" mechanic, amplifying FOMO and viral growth dynamics.

Gate Research: On January 19, after a period of high-level consolidation, the crypto market saw a broad de-leveraging wave: BTC and ETH fell more than 2%, losses in altcoins widened, and risk appetite contracted. Among notable movers, DUSK surged on catalysts including its mainnet launch, RWA partnerships, and expectations of institutional adoption; NAM experienced sharp swings amid thin liquidity and a technical breakout; and FRAX rallied on its rebranding and broader ecosystem expansion. In today’s highlights, Ethereum’s staking entry queue climbed to its highest level since August 2023 while the exit queue fell to zero; Vitalik Buterin and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko reignited debate over whether protocols should “ossify” or keep evolving, underscoring two divergent paths between long-term stability and continuous iteration; and as Vibe Coding gains momentum, supply-chain style risks tied to IDE auto-execution settings have become a growing focus for developers.

Gate Research Daily Report: On January 16, BTC entered a corrective consolidation phase after surging to around $97,900 and is now oscillating in the $95,000–$95,500 range; ETH moved into a high-level consolidation after hitting a peak near $3,403, with prices fluctuating narrowly between $3,280 and $3,320; GT shifted into range-bound consolidation after a prior rally to 10.83; and OWL led small-cap tokens with a +57.75% gain. XRP broke below the $2.10 level, with technical selling pressure dominating the short-term trend; BitMine said its $13 billion ETH holdings could generate over $400 million in annual revenue and expressed confidence that its investment in MrBeast could deliver a “10x” return; and Ripple injected $150 million into LMAX to push the RLUSD stablecoin into institutional trading infrastructure.

Gate listed 447 new spot assets in 2025, and their post-listing performance showed clear market feedback across several key time points: about 54.8% of assets were up 24 hours after listing, and the average 24-hour gain among the winners was roughly 635%. In the early window, primary listings were more likely to post higher median returns (24-hour median: 12.56%, or 8.03% after trimming outliers), well above non-primary listings (24-hour median: 1.18%, or 0.86% after trimming). Gate-exclusive listings showed an even more concentrated early response: nearly 80% were up within the first 30 minutes, with a median gain of about 81%.

Gate Research: Bitcoin has reclaimed the $96,000 level and continues to trade steadily within an ascending channel. The DFINITY Foundation released the Mission70 whitepaper, sending ICP up over 27%, while ARRR surged nearly 40%, driven by renewed interest in privacy coins and increased community exposure. This market rebound triggered the largest wave of short liquidations since October, with $577 million in shorts wiped out over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, a key setback emerged as the U.S. Senate Banking Committee canceled the revised CLARITY Act hearing. At the same time, Fed officials jointly defended policy independence and signaled a pause in rate cuts.

Gate Research: On January 14, the crypto market rallied broadly as macro sentiment improved and risk appetite recovered. Bitcoin surged and then consolidated at elevated levels, while Ethereum outperformed to lead the move, with other major assets rising in tandem. Among the day’s top movers, BOT spiked on the back of AI trading-tool narratives and speculative flows; MFER gained as the meme sector rebounded and capital rotated; and ARRR drew attention amid a renewed privacy narrative and a broader upswing across privacy coins. In key highlights, Gate expanded its TradFi derivatives offering by adding CFD access to gold, FX, indices, and other traditional assets, further strengthening its multi-asset suite; Wintermute outlined three potential catalysts for an altcoin rebound in 2026; and Polygon Labs announced the acquisition of Coinme and Sequence for over $250 million to accelerate the rollout of its compliant stablecoin payments “open stack.”

Gate Research:BTC has entered a consolidation and recovery phase after pulling back from recent highs, while ETH has significantly outperformed most altcoins over the past week. Gate has expanded its TradFi offerings by enabling CFD trading on traditional financial assets, including gold, foreign exchange, indices, commodities, and selected popular stocks. On-chain capital is increasingly flowing toward trading-oriented networks, with Perp DEXs emerging as the key driver. Hyperliquid and Ink recorded the highest net inflows among public chains. On the technology front, StarkNet, leveraging its high performance and verifiable execution capabilities, has become one of the core technology stacks for Perp DEXs. It helps on-chain derivatives evolve toward exchange-grade infrastructure.

Gate Research: On January 12, the crypto market continued its low-level recovery, showing a mild rebound while overall risk appetite remained cautious. BTC stabilized and reclaimed its short-term moving averages, signaling a partial repair in short-term structure, though upside momentum is still constrained by overhead resistance. ETH remained relatively resilient, maintaining a low-volatility recovery pattern and reflecting its role as a more defensive allocation within the market. On the thematic side, XCN, ARC, and VVV outperformed, driven by narratives around DeFi governance, AI agent tooling, and privacy-focused inference applications. From a structural perspective, the recent pullback in Bitcoin mining difficulty has eased pressure on the mining sector, while Ethereum recorded nearly USD 50 billion in net inflows over the past year, underscoring continued long-term capital accumulation in core assets amid market consolidation. However, the sustainability of the rebound will likely depend on a pickup in

Gate Research Daily Report: On January 9, BTC first extended its previous rally and surged rapidly, forming a short-term peak near 94,800 USDT. ETH also continued its earlier uptrend and pushed higher, topping out around 3,308 USDT, before bullish momentum weakened significantly and prices retreated from the highs, gradually developing into a relatively smooth downward move. Meanwhile, ISLM became the market’s standout performer with a gain of over 460%. On the macro and industry front, JPMorgan is accelerating its blockchain strategy and plans to build a “regulated, interoperable digital money” system. Hilbert Group announced the acquisition of Enigma Nordic for $25 million, further strengthening its institutional-grade crypto trading presence. In addition, a company linked to Tether executives drew market attention after acquiring Northern Data’s bitcoin mining business.

Gate Research: BTC and ETH remain in a consolidation and recovery phase, with no confirmed trend reversal, while capital continues to rotate toward low-volatility assets and long-term narrative plays. Aave Horizon’s RWA market has surpassed $600 million in net deposits, signaling sustained institutional participation. Tokenized stocks have exceeded $1 billion in assets under management, underscoring the accelerating expansion of on-chain securities.

Gate Research: On January 7, the crypto market remained under pressure and traded in a consolidative manner, with risk appetite staying defensive. BTC pulled back from recent highs and moved into range-bound consolidation, with short-term momentum easing while the medium-term structure remains intact; ETH showed relatively resilient performance. On the thematic side, DSYNC, FHE, and XPLA posted strong gains, driven by narratives around AI agents, privacy computing, and Web3 gaming/IP co-creation. Structurally, new highs in Aave Horizon’s RWA borrowing, record Polygon PoS fee burns, and multiple Solana metrics reaching record levels in 2025 stand out as key fundamental positives, though the sustainability of the broader trend still depends on continued sentiment stabilization and the materialization of incremental catalysts.

Gate Research: BTC has stabilized again on the 4-hour timeframe, with a clear upside structure in place. Overall price action points to a mild and orderly recovery. ETH's catch-up move is gradually taking shape, with a noticeably steeper trend slope than BTC. Supported by returning capital inflows, its upside pace has continued to accelerate. Capital flows across public blockchains are showing clear divergence. More conservative, allocation-oriented capital is rotating back into core settlement layers, led by Ethereum. Base, as a user onboarding and asset distribution layer, is also seeing sustained net inflows. Polymarket Builders trading volume has reached a new all-time high, further strengthening the head effect. The increase in trading activity is mainly concentrated in a small number of mature tools, including betmoar.

Gate Research: On January 5th, global markets enjoyed widespread gains, and the crypto market staged a solid overall rebound under the combined influence of the classic “January effect” and a broad repair in macro risk appetite. BTC led the rally, while ETH and major mainstream assets followed steadily in a market structure that remained relatively restrained and orderly. In the Solana ecosystem, the Meme sector showed clear signs of heating up again: PONKE surged sharply on renewed classic Meme narratives combined with capital rotation; MSQ strengthened driven by small-cap rebound dynamics and liquidity resets; WOLF attracted fresh capital attention amid a revival of the Matt Furie family narrative. On the news front, Infinex’s public sale fundraising has progressed far below expectations so far, underscoring the real-world constraints between project pricing and current community consensus. At the same time, Solana is poised to move forward with its Alpenglow consensus-layer upgrade in the near term, positi