Trading

Large Ethereum holders recently withdrew over $12.5 million in ETH from exchanges and redeployed it into DeFi and leveraged positions, while price trades within a descending channel. Key resistance sits around $2,261, with derivatives open interest and top trader long exposure expanding and potentially amplifying volatility. If buyers can push ETH above this level with strength, leveraged longs and short liquidations could drive a sharper move.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to introduce a framework for U.S. crypto perpetual futures within the next month, according to Chairman Michael Selig. The move aims to recapture trading activity that has shifted to offshore exchanges and make these leveraged, non-expiring contracts more accessible to domestic, including retail, traders while regulators and lawmakers continue to debate broader digital asset rules.

Since the start of 2026, Shiba Inu's exchange balances have fallen by more than 1.6 trillion SHIB, shrinking total reserves on major platforms to about 80.9 trillion tokens. While this decline suggests more holders may be moving SHIB into longer-term storage, futures positioning shows a higher short ratio around 0.91 and recent price pressure near $0.000006.

Bitcoin is consolidating near $68,000 as open-interest-weighted funding rates edge back into slightly negative territory, indicating a more cautious stance in derivatives markets. BTC recently traded around $68,290 after touching highs above $69,000 and lows near $66,138, while the daily RSI has recovered from February’s oversold readings but remains below the neutral 50 level.

At a Tuesday panel in Washington, DC, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency is working to authorize true perpetual futures contracts for cryptocurrencies in the United States within "the next month or so." He and SEC Chair Paul Atkins also discussed prediction markets and an evolving digital asset market structure bill in Congress, which could reshape how both regulators oversee crypto products.

According to CryptoQuant, 38% of altcoins are trading close to their all-time lows, highlighting persistent pressure on smaller market cap tokens. At the same time, institutional investors are directing capital toward U.S. spot Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs, which saw net inflows of $38.7 million and over $458 million respectively. BlackRock's Ethereum ETF contributed about $26.5 million of the ETH inflows, while the broader market remains in a risk-off mood, with sentiment gauges still signaling fear.

NEAR Protocol rose about 12% in the last 24 hours, lifting its price to around $1.35 and market capitalization above $1.7 billion, placing it 44th among cryptocurrencies. The rally followed the launch of the Confidential Intents upgrade, which enables private DeFi transactions, and drew praise from several analysts who highlighted NEAR's AI and privacy-focused capabilities. Some traders see a bullish chart pattern forming, while others point to an overbought RSI above 70 that could signal a near-term pullback.

YZi Labs has pledged a $100 million strategic investment to Hash Global's BNB Holdings Fund as BNB trades around $629. The fund, launched in June 2025, has returned 32.5% since inception and aims to offer compliant yield exposure to BNB. This institutional backing arrives while broader crypto markets weaken and geopolitical tensions around the US, Israel and Iran weigh on risk assets.

Core Scientific has unloaded 1,924 BTC from its reserves, leaving just 613 BTC and pushing the miner to 59th place among corporate Bitcoin holders. MARA Holdings, which reported 53,822 BTC worth about $4.7 billion as of December 31, 2025, has revised its 2026 strategy to permit selling Bitcoin held on its balance sheet in addition to coins sold from daily output to cover costs.

Bitcoin is compressing within a tight range above a key $69,000 support level after weeks of sideways trading, with price respecting a major trendline and attracting steady buying interest. One analyst outlines upside targets at $90,000, $102,000 and $122,000, extending to about $155,000 if bullish momentum persists, while another warns that failure to reclaim the $71,000–$72,000 resistance zone could open a move back toward $61,000.