On 06 February, after three sessions of outflows, crypto markets saw a single-day swing above 10%, and Solana began outperforming Ethereum on several metrics. Solana’s perpetuals volume reached $12.1 billion versus Ethereum’s $9.6 billion, while its stablecoin market rose 8.5% versus 0.2%. The SOL/ETH ratio hovered near 0.04, a historically important area.

On 05 February, heavily leveraged positions linked to BlackRock’s IBIT ETF were forced to unwind, sending turnover to $10.7 billion and options premiums to $900 million as Bitcoin’s drawdown reached about 35%. Arthur Hayes said banks hedging IBIT-linked notes exacerbated selling, while IBIT’s first $200+ million inflow in nearly a month and a 65% jump in Coinbase Premium Index signaled possible stabilization.

In early 2026, stablecoin dominance has climbed about 25% to roughly 14% of the crypto market, even as the TOTAL market cap has fallen around 23% and Bitcoin trades about 50% below its $126k peak. Over the same period, weekly stablecoin inflows have doubled to nearly $102 billion and Tether has added $4.75 billion in new USDT supply, suggesting investors are moving into stablecoins as a defensive position rather than exiting crypto entirely.

Cardano's ADA has fallen roughly 20% in 2026, returning to Q3 2023 price levels. According to Charles Hoskinson in a recent interview, unrealized losses across his crypto holdings have exceeded $3 billion, up from about $2.5 billion in early January. With dominance under 0.5% of the crypto market, confidence could weaken and raise the risk of a slide below $0.20.

President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, reinforcing expectations for future rate cuts. Despite that, Bitcoin fell about 14% in the week after the announcement, while broader U.S. markets also softened. BTC finished 2025 down 6.3% after three Fed cuts, highlighting persistent caution around liquidity and inflation.

WLFI sold $50 million in BTC as Bitcoin's 2026 decline reached 17.14% and slipped below the $63k election-open level, according to TradingView. Coinglass data shows more than 500k traders were liquidated and total liquidations hit $2 billion. The article also reports $434 million in BTC ETF outflows, including $175 million from BlackRock's IBIT.

XRP fell 9% in 2026 and touched $1.60, its first nine‑month low, after breaking the $1.80 support. According to Alphractal, a 0.998 correlation to Bitcoin and an 87% altcoin‑BTC linkage keep price action tethered to BTC swings. Despite SoSoValue's noted ETF inflows and RWA TVL rising 11% to $235 million, gains remain muted.

Metals reversed after a crowded run-up, with silver dropping 27% and gold down 8%, while Bitcoin slipped 0.54% but stayed above $80k. BTC dominance rose 0.70% and the Altcoin Season Index hovered near 40, signaling muted risk appetite as investors reassess whether capital cycles back to metals rather than altcoins.

Amid the first FOMC meeting of 2026 and lingering government-shutdown worries, XRP climbed 2.13% from the $1.70–$1.80 floor on the weekly chart. Altcoin Season Index jumped 10 points and BTC dominance tested 60%, yet structure remains weak, with $2.15 capping rallies and $1.80 support at risk as ETFs saw $23 million inflows.