Standard Chartered lowered its end-2026 Solana price target to $250 from $310 and reaffirmed a roadmap to $2,000 by end-2030. The bank cites a shift in DEX activity away from memecoin trading toward SOL–stablecoin pairs and a micropayments push, with stablecoin velocity reportedly two to three times Ethereum's. At press time, SOL traded at $96.93.

Bitcoin's downturn traces back to Oct. 10, 2025, when a derivatives washout forced roughly $19 billion in futures liquidations as prices fell. CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost says open interest collapsed by about 70,000 BTC that day, resetting months of leverage and leaving speculation subdued amid weaker spot volumes and declining stablecoin liquidity.

In a Feb. 1 analysis, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju argued that Bitcoin’s recent decline is driven by persistent selling pressure and a lack of new capital, as signaled by a flat Realized Cap and weakening liquidity. He said a full-cycle style 70% crash would likely require MicroStrategy to shift from aggressive accumulation to substantial selling, while other on-chain data from CryptoQuant contributors show stablecoin market growth has reversed since December and exchange inflows have faded. At press time, BTC was trading at $78,280 amid what Ki expects could become a broad sideways consolidation phase rather than an immediate capitulation.

In a weekend post on X, Global Macro Investor founder Raoul Pal argued that bitcoin’s drawdown reflects a short‑term US liquidity squeeze, not a broken crypto cycle. He cited the 2024 reverse‑repo drain, a July–August TGA rebuild and shutdown effects, and said gold and long‑duration tech competed for flows; BTC was $77,510 at press time.

Over the weekend, Bitcoin fell sharply below $76,000 on light volume, briefly slipping through $75,000 and moving into a horizontal support band between $73.7K and $76.5K identified by technician Aksel Kibar. He argues that this area is only a potential bottoming zone and says he is waiting for clear bullish reversal patterns and a breakout above $91.2K before adopting a more constructive view. At press time, Bitcoin was trading around $76,713.

On January 30, Bitcoin dropped to $81,119 as derivatives data showed a cascade of forced long closures. According to on-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr., long-liquidation dominance reached roughly 97% (30-day average 31.4%) while perpetual funding stayed positive at 43.2% annualized, suggesting leverage may not be fully cleared. BTC last traded near $82,968.

Former Ripple CTO David "JoelKatz" Schwartz has challenged viral claims that XRP is on a near-term path to $50–$100, arguing that the current market price already reflects how much capital truly believes in such scenarios. He framed the discussion in probabilistic terms, noting his own past underestimation of crypto rallies, and used a thought experiment to argue that if many rational investors saw even a 10% chance of $100 within a few years, XRP would not be trading far below $10. Schwartz also revisited his earlier remark that XRP "can't be cheap" and discussed XRPL throughput, saying higher transaction capacity is possible but would likely increase costs for node operators.

On Wednesday, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju reiterated the view that Bitcoin functions as a form of "energy money," arguing that proof-of-work is evolving into a settlement layer for an AI-centric economy constrained by power rather than narratives. He aligned his comments with Hashed CEO Simon Kim's thesis that Bitcoin mining infrastructure and curtailed renewable energy can be monetized as AI demand for high-density, flexible power grows, citing large sovereign wealth allocations and flare-gas projects. Kim further claimed that over half of Bitcoin mining now relies on sustainable energy, that methane-based flare-gas mining materially cuts CO2-equivalent emissions, and that miners in regions like Texas act as controllable loads that support grid stability.

In a Jan. 23 research note, 21Shares' Matt Mena projected three XRP outcomes for 2026 after the August 2025 settlement cleared the SEC overhang. The firm cites US spot ETF assets above $1.3 billion and a 55‑day inflow streak, exchange reserves at 1.7 billion XRP, and RLUSD's expansion as key inputs behind targets of $2.45 (50%), $2.69 (30%), and $1.60 (implied -16%).