Ethereum

Recent price action shows Ethereum breaking from its usual correlation with the Russell 2000, even as U.S. small-cap stocks continue to climb. At the same time, the ETH/BTC pair has risen about 8% since October, pointing to stronger relative demand for Ethereum and hinting at a potential shift in altcoin market dynamics.

BMNR is pursuing a 5% share of Ethereum’s supply and says it manages large ETH holdings with staking income, alongside a $200 million investment in Beast Industries. Analysts highlight recent multi‑million ETH buys and structural demand from Digital Asset Treasuries as they discuss a potential path toward a $12,000 year‑end price versus a $3,500 high.

On Saturday, Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko said on X that Solana must keep iterating and even envisaged network fees funding AI-assisted code updates. His comments contrasted with Vitalik Buterin's "walkaway test" vision for Ethereum, which emphasizes long-term self-sustainability without ongoing developer guidance.

Ethereum is holding above the 21-period EMA on the three-week chart, which several technical analysts view as a sign of ongoing strength rather than a major top. They interpret the current sideways action as reaccumulation within a broader uptrend, with a higher-probability scenario of further upside as long as this key support does not break.

Ethereum is maintaining a constructive structure, with price holding above the 1D Bull Market Support Band and the key 0.618 Fibonacci level around $3,100 while facing resistance near the $3,400 area. Analysts note that this sustained support, alongside ETH’s position above the Daily 200MA versus Bitcoin, indicates buyers remain in control despite recent rejections at the 0.5 Fibonacci zone. As long as these technical levels hold, the broader bullish outlook for ETH and the potential for a stronger altcoin market response remain in place.

On January 14, Base led Ethereum layer-2 fee revenue with about $147,000 for the day, according to CryptoRank.io. Arbitrum and Starknet followed at roughly $39,000 and $9,000, while many other scaling networks generated under $5,000; a DefiLlama table cited by community analysts showed Polygon near $155,000 across its broader network, prompting debate over L2 classification.

Analytics group Arab Chain, via a CryptoQuant QuickTake, reports Binance's ETH futures daily volume reached $21.7 billion, the highest since mid-December. The uptick follows a late-December lull while ETH trades around $3,292. Over the week, Ether reclaimed $3,300 but failed to break $3,400, reinforcing a short-term bearish setup.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chairman Thomas Lee are publicly backing their firms' Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings as core drivers of future income. In January 2026, Metaplanet bought $632.5 million in BTC under its "555 Million Plan," while Bitmine holds over 4.2 million ETH and targets owning 5% of the total supply. Both companies are building revenue strategies around BTC income tools and ETH staking amid strong ETF inflows and optimistic price projections for 2026.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that in 2026 the network will work to restore "lost ground" in areas such as self-sovereignty, privacy, and user experience. He pointed to progress in institutional and retail privacy tools like Railgun and highlighted growing execution client diversity, with Geth's dominance reduced and alternatives like Nethermind and Besu gaining share.

On January 16, 2026, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined a 2026 initiative on X to restore self-sovereignty and trustlessness. The plan emphasizes ZK-EVMs and Block Access Limits to make full nodes practical again, privacy tools like Helios, ORAM and PIR, and onchain app hosting; the network also raised its blob limit from 15 to 21.