Ethereum is consolidating near $3,300 as traders watch a narrowing structure and improving momentum. A January 18, 2026 post by Merlijn The Trader stressed holding $3,300 and pointed to $3.9k–$4k as a potential upside zone. The 4-hour MACD has turned upward, while patterns such as a falling wedge and double bottom are in focus.

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%).

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.

Large holders amassed over 210 million ADA across the past three weeks while the token traded below $0.40. Price compressed near $0.38–$0.39 inside a multi‑month descending channel, with Binance top traders 72.52% long and the OI‑Weighted Funding Rate at +0.0018%. Momentum stayed weak, leaving a breakout above resistance as the key signal.

On January 15, Solana recorded $804 million in stablecoin inflows in 24 hours, later maintaining $532 million, outpacing Tron's $397 million and contrasting with Ethereum's net outflows. Stablecoin supply on Solana has reportedly climbed to a record $15 billion, a 200% year-on-year jump, while one analyst suggests SOL could reach $300 if it breaks out of its current range. Recent data also indicate six straight weeks of inflows into SOL-linked ETFs, with $8.94 million added on January 15 and total net assets rising to $1.19 billion, equal to 1.49% of Solana's market cap.

Altcoins gained momentum as Bitcoin’s dominance weakened and Ethereum emerged as a key driver of sentiment, with ETH/BTC trading at 0.03484. The Altcoin Season Index fell to 35 while Total 2 formed an ascending triangle around $1.29 trillion, and several privacy-focused altcoins recorded outsized gains.

Shiba Inu closed below its 20-day moving average, breaking a key support that had underpinned bullish sentiment after the January 4 peak at $0.00000965. With SHIB trading around $0.00000840, the move exposes downside room toward the lower Bollinger Band near $0.00000718, implying a potential decline of about 14.36% if past patterns repeat. Momentum and volume readings now tilt bearish, as the 20-day average turns into resistance and buyers have yet to show strong defense around current levels.