XRP has entered 2026 with gains of more than 20%, lifting it back among the largest digital assets by market value and sparking renewed debate about its long-term prospects. While Ripple originally positioned XRP as a fast, low-cost bridge for cross-border payments, banks have largely favored Ripple's software tools, stablecoins, or internal tokens instead of using XRP directly. The rapid expansion of dollar-pegged stablecoins and Ripple's own evolving business strategy have prompted analysts to question how central XRP remains to the company's future.

Axie Infinity's AXS token has extended a volatile upswing on the daily chart, with price now pressing into a tight resistance band between $2.287 and $2.338 while momentum indicators remain firmly bullish. Technical signals such as rising 9-day and 20-day EMAs, an overbought RSI, and a widening positive MACD histogram point to strong upside pressure, but nearby resistance and large order-book walls around $2.161 and $2.500 could decide whether the rally continues or retraces toward support near $1.546–$1.523. Traders monitoring AXS may see breakout or rejection behavior around these levels as key triggers for the next move.

Solana is trading at $142.51 with daily volume near $2.25 billion, holding above the $140 support area. On January 17, 2026, STSS and Coinbase announced a validator on the Solana network, described as strengthening decentralization. Key levels show resistance at $145.47 with potential upside targets at $148.82 and $151.73 if price breaks higher.

DASH shows fading bullish momentum on the 1‑day chart, with RSI easing from overbought and EMAs starting to converge. Key sell walls sit at $78.00, $84.50 and $90.00, while resistance levels are $97.86 and $121.12. On the downside, the order book highlights $70–68 as near‑term floors, followed by $63.65, $56.46 and $45.57.

XRP is trading near $2.06 as spot ETFs logged $1.28B of inflows, helping offset selling pressure. Price consolidates in a descending triangle around $2.05, with downside targets near $1.91 and potential resistance toward $2.19. Coinbase's criticism of a Senate draft on stablecoins may add headwinds for crypto sentiment.

On January 18, 2026 (9:08 AM UTC update), Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko argued that Solana must continually iterate to remain viable, signaling future versions that may not come from Anza, Solana Labs, or the Foundation. His stance contrasts with Vitalik Buterin's 2026 focus on decentralization, privacy, self-sovereignty and resistance to centralization.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has pushed back on reports of a rift with the White House, saying the administration remains engaged on the CLARITY Act even after Coinbase withdrew support for the current draft. He argued the bill's latest version could damage DeFi, tokenized stocks and stablecoin yield products, and indicated lawmakers are revising the proposal after a Senate Banking Committee markup was postponed.

According to the analysis, QNT rose 12.33% over the past 36 hours as daily volume tripled since Friday, 16 January. The study highlights weekly support near the 78.6% retracement at $75, a short-term invalidation on a 4‑hour close below $72.5, and overhead supply at $90–$110, while BTC's defense of $94.5k could allow a push toward $100k.