On January 18, 2026, data indicated that China's primary aluminum output in January–November 2025 reached about 41.17 million tonnes, up roughly 2.5% year on year, with November alone at 3.79 million tonnes. In contrast, crude steel production for 2025 is estimated at around 968 million tonnes, slipping below 1 billion tonnes and declining about 4% from 2024 amid capacity controls and weaker demand.

As of January 2026, Ethereum's gas costs have fallen to $0.01, according to Etherscan. A 17 January 2026 throughput peak of 2.6 million transactions was handled smoothly after late-2025 upgrades and wider Layer-2 use. ETH traded at $3,319.87 (+0.62%), while SOL stood at $142.26 (-1.23%).

After a calm weekend, liquidity stayed thin and volatility subdued across majors. XRP's trading participation fell toward zero while price drifted under the 100/200 EMA. SHIB compressed near short‑term support with few obstacles overhead. Bitcoin's attempts higher lacked volume, facing repeated rejection near key daily moving averages.

According to the report, Bitcoin fell about 3% to around $92,000 during Monday's Asian session after President Donald Trump warned of new import levies on eight European countries. He outlined a 10% tariff from Feb. 1, with a potential increase to 25% on June 1 if no deal is reached, prompting risk-off moves across futures and Asian stocks.

Bitcoin slid under $93,500 after losing $95,000 and $94,000, and briefly dipped below $92,000 while remaining beneath the 100‑hour SMA. If $92,000 holds, upside hurdles sit near $93,000, $93,500 and $94,000, with scope toward $95,000; failure to stabilize risks tests of $91,800, $91,300 and the $90,000 area.

According to an Artemis report, Visa accounts for more than 90% of the cryptocurrency card segment, which now handles $18 billion in annual transactions. Stablecoin-linked payments, including Visa's reported $3.5 billion volume by the end of 2025, are supporting this expansion, while analysts expect traditional card networks to remain dominant in the near term.

Bitcoin Hyper, a Bitcoin Layer 2 project, has raised over $30.6 million in its presale, with tokens priced at $0.013585 and an initial listing set at $0.013675. According to the publication, DeFi volumes rose 15% month-over-month, while Base and Arbitrum recorded $147,000 and $39,000 in daily fees around January 14–15, 2026, underscoring robust L2 activity ahead of HYPER's Q1 2026 launch.

Toncoin has struggled to break decisively above the $1.70 area in recent weeks, even as Bitcoin reclaimed $94.5k as support. On-chain and derivatives data show rising 90-day MVRV and Open Interest but no clear network-wide accumulation, suggesting potential rallies toward $2.16–$2.37 could be limited by profit-taking.