XRP is trading below $2 around the $1.75 level, while on-chain data shows that 42 new whale wallets holding at least 1 million XRP have appeared since the start of 2026. This renewed accumulation follows a pattern that previously preceded a strong recovery when price was near similar support levels. If XRP breaks above $1.95 and reclaims the 200-day EMA around $2.20, some market participants may look for a longer-term move toward the $3 area.

On January 29, 2026, a 2013 email from Arthur Britto resurfaced and reignited debate over whether XRP should be viewed mainly as investment or as underlying payment infrastructure. Developers emphasize that XRPL was designed around liquidity and spreads, while traders and analysts argue that this utility-focused architecture does not eliminate the potential for significant long-term price appreciation.

Aster (ASTER) is trading at $0.6072 and holding the $0.60 support amid broader market weakness. Technicals point to potential follow-through toward the $0.74 50-day moving average after a 75% slide from the September peak at $2.42. The protocol ranks second among perpetual DEXs with $7 billion average daily volume and a 14% share.

On Jan. 30, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said he signed an agreement to integrate USDCx, a Circle-linked stablecoin, into the network. The initiative aims to channel sustained on-chain dollar liquidity for DeFi, though rollout timing and scope remain unconfirmed. USDCx is issued on a partner chain and backed one-to-one via Circle's xReserve, which is designed to reduce reliance on traditional bridges.

In the first 30 days of 2026, Solana’s on-chain activity surged, with Nansen reporting active addresses more than doubling to over 5 million and daily transactions rising from 52 million to 87 million. Daily fee revenue also reached about $1.1 million, driven primarily by DEX and DeFi usage, while sectors such as gaming, NFTs and infrastructure showed additional growth. Other L1 networks, including Ethereum, BNB, Tron and Base, recorded their own gains in users and transactions over the same period.

January 29, 2026 is the presale cutoff for BlockDAG, offering tokens at $0.0005 ahead of a confirmed $0.05 listing. Its hybrid PoW+DAG architecture targets 10,000 TPS, with Mainnet scheduled for February 11, 2026, as Bitcoin trades near $82,300 and Ethereum sits in the $2,700–$2,750 range.

Worldcoin's WLD token surged about 50% early in the week as traders positioned around speculation that OpenAI may use its iris-scanning technology for a proof-of-personhood social platform. On-chain data shows wallets holding 10‑100 million WLD accumulated more than 30 million tokens since January 15, while smaller whale addresses added about 2.6 million WLD in the last 24 hours, supporting expectations of further upside if key resistance levels break. Some analysts also highlight Maxi Doge's $MAXI presale, which has reportedly raised nearly $4.5 million with staking yields up to 69% APY, as another play on meme coin momentum.

Ether fell more than 10% over three days, slipping below the $2,800 area and trading near $2,700 as traders reassessed downside risk. Analyst Metacryptox flagged $2,700 as a make‑or‑break zone, while Peter Brandt noted a triangle breakdown that projects toward $2,100, with $2,500 near the 200‑week SMA as interim support.