Santiment's Brian Quinlivan said in a YouTube video published Saturday that Ethereum's social sentiment has dropped to levels similar to those before its 2025 surge. He pointed to the Aug 23 move back to the 2021 peak of $4,878 after an April low of $1,472 and a near 70% four-month climb. Ether traded around $3,089, roughly 36% below its high, amid broader risk aversion.

On January 11, 2026, Ethereum's Beacon Chain saw its staking entry queue rise to about 1.759 million ETH (roughly $5.5 billion), according to ValidatorQueue. The exit queue fell to zero, while price hovered near $3,000, with traders eyeing $2,700 if support breaks.

In 2026, Solana’s price action was increasingly driven by ETF inflows and renewed whale accumulation, even as key support zones came under pressure. The network processed around eight times more Daily Transactions than major rivals, while SOL traded near $136 on 10 January with downside levels flagged at $122 and $102. Clustered liquidity below $120 and weakening RSI and MACD pointed to rising downside risks if those supports failed.

Following December's governance turmoil, Aave fell 20% to $143 and over $500 million was wiped from its market value, while the top 100 addresses increased their holdings to 12.92 million AAVE, or about 80% of supply. At the same time, exchange balances and selling pressure have eased, and if price reclaims the $174 50-day moving average and holds $160 support, analysts see room for a potential move toward $210-$220.

Ethereum staking demand has accelerated, with the activation queue at a yearly high and about 1.76 million ETH (~$5.5 billion) awaiting entry. New validators face a wait of just over 30 days, while the exit queue has fallen to zero. The shift comes as ETH price action remains relatively subdued.

BNY Mellon has launched tokenized deposits for institutional clients and selected Ripple Prime as an early adopter. This collaboration positions Ripple at the center of a potential "digital dollar" shift, as XRP ETFs have accumulated $1 billion in assets under management since their November launch despite XRP ending 2025 down 12%.

Smart money traders are piling back into meme tokens, with Solana-based White Whale turning a $366 buy into roughly $1.5 million for one early participant. Alongside this mid-cap surge, larger names like Dogecoin and Pepe and presale projects such as Bitcoin Hyper and Maxi Doge are being highlighted as key meme coin opportunities in the current bull market.

Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has reiterated his optimistic outlook on digital assets, stating on X that a crypto "super cycle" is expected to begin in 2026 and drive prices far beyond prior projections. He contrasts this view with the traditional four-year market cycle thesis and continues to spotlight Bitcoin, BNB and Aster as his preferred long-term holdings, while separate analysts and investors are also focusing on emerging tokens like Bitcoin Hyper and Floki.