Ethereum is up 14% in 2026, with a major leg on 13 January after a softer U.S. inflation print and President Donald Trump's push for rate cuts. According to Garret Bullish, a self-described White House whale, ETH could target $5,413 in a base case or $7,155 in an aggressive scenario under an Elliott Wave framework. Standard Chartered and other analysts also outline a path for ETH to outperform BTC.

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.

Lawmakers are reportedly considering limits on stablecoin yields during bipartisan talks on a U.S. crypto market structure bill set for markup on 15 January. Industry figures including Galaxy’s Mike Novogratz and VC Nic Carter have criticized the idea, with Carter suggesting the sector might be better off without the bill if rewards are curbed. The bill needs support from 7‑10 Democrats to clear the Senate Banking Committee, and a failed vote could make another attempt in 2026 difficult.

Grayscale has registered a Hyperliquid HYPE-linked statutory trust in Delaware, a step that typically precedes an S-1 filing for a U.S. spot ETF, putting it alongside Bitwise, VanEck, and 21Shares in pursuing such a product. HYPE's price briefly recovered by 18% to $28 on 06 January 2026 before losing most of those gains, while sentiment stayed in the "fear" zone despite deflationary buybacks and growing dip buying on spot markets. The $28 level, aligned with the 50-day moving average, now acts as key resistance, with $23 and $22 as potential downside targets if it is not reclaimed as support.

Bitcoin’s 2026 path is drawing mixed calls from major firms. VanEck, Bitwise, Grayscale, Bernstein, and Coinbase foresee a rebound and a possible new high near $150k, while Fidelity’s Jurrien Timmer points to $65k—with $45k below—as key thresholds. In November 2025, CryptoQuant’s Realized Cap flagged bear‑market risk for the first time since 2023.

VanEck set a base-case path for Bitcoin to reach $2.9 million per coin by 2050, versus a bear case of $130k and a bull case of $53.4 million. Matthew Sigel linked the target to BTC's potential roles in trade settlement and central bank reserves, while near-term action centers on defending the $90k area.

Electric Coin Company, a core development team for the Zcash network, announced its departure from Bootstrap's governance structure after a dispute over mission alignment and legal constraints. ZEC initially slumped by 22% on the news but later recovered about 10% as the team pledged to form a new company and introduced plans for a new wallet.

Bitcoin dropped from $94.7K to $90K mid‑week as sentiment turned to fear, while spot BTC ETFs saw $729 million net outflows on January 6–7 after inflows in the first two days of 2026. On January 8, Asian equities fell over 1%, BTC slipped 1.4%, and holding the $89.2K 50‑day MA is pivotal, with recovery hinging on reclaiming the $99.1K short‑term holder cost basis.

Alex Thorn of Galaxy Research said there is a “decent 60%” chance the crypto market structure bill passes, with the Senate Banking Committee markup scheduled for January 15. He cautioned the outcome could shift, while Democratic requests on DeFi compliance and oversight remain sticking points; prediction markets place passage at 79% before 2027 and 49% before May.