At the beginning of 2026, major cryptocurrencies and meme coins have rebounded from the prior year's downturn, while retail sentiment has turned more optimistic but remains highly reactive to short-term news. Social and sentiment data indicate that Bitcoin is trading increasingly in line with macroeconomic signals and ETF flows, as Ethereum, XRP and Solana see mixed yet notable shifts in discussion and price action. Meme coins, led by Dogecoin and its leveraged ETF performance, have also attracted renewed interest alongside whale activity and social media hype.

VanEck's Head of Digital Assets Research Matthew Sigel projects that Bitcoin could be valued near $2.9 million per coin by 2050 in the firm's long-term base-case scenario. The outlook assumes BTC is adopted for 5% to 10% of global trade settlement and reaches a 2.5% share of central bank reserve assets, alongside a 15% annualized return from 2026 to 2050, while alternative bear and bull cases point to much lower or significantly higher prices.

Zcash developers who left Electric Coin Company plan to build a new Zcash-focused startup and a wallet code‑named cashZ using the Zashi codebase. Former ECC CEO Josh Swihart said they will not launch a new token and remain focused on ZEC. Meanwhile, dev activity has slumped, and recent market swings have tested the project.

Bitcoin has risen back above $90,000, with analysts noting that the move is being powered mainly by spot buying rather than high leverage. Derivatives indicators show only moderate expansion, while exchange balances have dropped to their lowest level since 2018, suggesting a more sustainable market structure.

In early January, Ripple's XRP has shown a recovering market structure, with on-chain indicators pointing to rising liquidity and active DEX usage. Liquidity on the XRPL decentralized exchange has climbed to $173 billion, while US-listed spot XRP ETFs recorded $46.10 million in inflows on January 5th. Analysts note stronger buying pressure, a breakout from a falling wedge pattern, and increased institutional-grade participation as XRP holds above the $2.30 level.

According to CoinShares' 2025 fund flows report, digital asset investment products recorded $47.2 billion in global inflows, slightly below 2024's $48.7 billion. Bitcoin's inflows fell 35% to $26.9 billion, while Ethereum drew $12.7 billion (+138% YoY), with XRP and Solana attracting $3.7 billion (+500%) and $3.6 billion (+1,000%), respectively.

Bitcoin rose 1.1% during Monday's Asian session, extending a five-day run and briefly touching $93,000. Some analysts expect a move toward $97,000–$107,000 before a potential reversal, citing liquidity risks and macro stress. One view remains bearish into the coming months, with downside targets below $70,000.

Turkmenistan legalized cryptocurrency mining and trading after President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a new law on Thursday. The statute classifies virtual assets under civil law, sets up central bank oversight for licensed exchanges, and keeps digital assets from being used as payment, while state controls on internet access continue.

On January 1, unusual activity in low-liquidity meme coin BROCCOLI(714) on Binance sparked a rapid spike and reversal. Pseudonymous trader Vida said he capitalized on order book anomalies and alert signals to net around $1 million. Lookonchain initially said the pattern was consistent with a market maker account compromise, but a Binance internal review reportedly found no clear evidence of hacking.