Macro Trends

The article leverages data points such as the surge in oil prices due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, inflation expectations, and central banks' 36,000-ton gold reserves to reveal the divergence between Bitcoin and gold in the early stages of the crisis.

In February, the overall crypto market showed a weak trend, with notable outflows from BTC ETFs. Major blockchains remained stable throughout the month, with Solana leading by a wide margin at over 100 million daily transactions. Ethereum recorded 13.34 million unique active addresses, maintaining its second-highest level in history. TradFi trading volume on Perp DEXs surged to $47.3 billion, largely driven by Hyperliquid’s HIP-3. The Web3 sector completed 46 funding rounds totaling $986 million, with the top 10 projects accounting for $793 million—three major deals were led by Tether. Meanwhile, Web3 security incidents declined significantly month-over-month, though smart contract vulnerabilities remained the primary risk source.

The text shifts the perspective from the Middle East to the global stage, systematically assessing the energy dependence, reserve life, and social/political tipping points of Japan, South Korea, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, the United States, and China.

Gate Research Institute: Over the past 24 hours, BTC briefly climbed above $71,000, but following a sharp drop and quick rebound during the U.S. market session, it settled back near $69,300. ETH rapidly declined from $2,070 to $2,010 and remains in a recovery phase. Altcoins showed weakness, with most lagging behind BTC, while the Fear & Greed Index remains in the extreme fear range. HUMA, NAORIS, and ARIA saw gains of 50.13%, 39.38%, and 29.02%, respectively, fueled by AI-related narratives. Additionally, Oracle’s earnings beat expectations, driving its share price up nearly 8% after hours, and both Hyperliquid and Circle announced significant product updates.

This article analyzes the shift in VC strategy from being judgment-driven to being driven by the ability to win deals. It highlights how scaled institutions like a16z, leveraging massive capital, full-spectrum services, and economic moats, are enabling capital-intensive giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic to prevail.

Gate Research: Between 2025 and 2026, PayFi is evolving from a crypto payment tool into a next-generation payment and financial engine, with stablecoins achieving scale in high-frequency and cross-border payments and demonstrating clear efficiency and cost advantages over traditional systems. As Web2 and Web3 continue to converge, institutions such as Visa, PayPal, and emerging neobanks are becoming key gateways to mainstream adoption, while the combination of stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), and AI is shaping PayFi’s foundational architecture by enabling automated, always-on settlement, asset mobility, and risk management. Looking ahead to 2026, regulatory clarity, scalable asset tokenization, and the maturity of AI-driven financial systems will be the primary determinants of PayFi’s competitive landscape and long-term barriers.

Gate Research Daily Report: On January 26, crypto market sentiment fell into the extreme fear zone, with major assets under pressure and risk appetite continuing to contract. Mid- and small-cap tokens such as TAIKO, AUCTION, and BOB moved higher against the broader trend, driven by technical upgrades, capital rotation, and supply constraints, indicating localized sector rotation. Structurally, the SocialFi narrative is rapidly unwinding, with social tokens broadly down more than 90%; Bitcoin payments are seeing accelerated offline adoption in Las Vegas and other locations; and while on-chain stablecoin settlement volumes continue to expand, their share of real-world payments remains below 0.02%.

Gate Research Daily Report: On January 23, BTC rebounded after a sharp sell-off that previously pushed it down to around $87,000, and is now consolidating within the $89,300–$89,900 range; ETH staged a technical rebound after falling to around $2,866, but retreated after facing resistance near $3,000 and is now moving sideways between $2,930–$2,980; GT, after rebounding from lower levels, is capped by resistance near $10.10 and continues to trade in a weak consolidation pattern; XRD led small-cap tokens with a surge of +60.19%. Meanwhile, South Korean authorities reported that BTC under custody may have been stolen in a phishing attack, involving around $47 million; Citi warned that the recent surge in Ethereum on-chain activity is likely driven mainly by “address poisoning” scams; and World Liberty Financial’s partnership with Spacecoin to launch the USD1 satellite DeFi project has drawn market attention.

The article proposes three pathways for market recovery in 2026: institutions expanding Solana/XRP ETF investment ranges, wealth spillover from mainstream assets, and retail investors rotating back from AI/stock markets to crypto, strategically analyzing the key to liquidity diffusion.

Gate Research Weekly Report: BTC and ETH are consolidating at lower levels, with downside pressure easing but the broader trend yet to be confirmed. Capital is rotating toward lower-volatility assets and long-term narrative plays, while on-chain data shows continued accumulation by whales and sentiment remains in the extreme fear zone. Ondo has introduced tokenized equities and ETFs to Solana, further expanding RWA and on-chain securities use cases. Solayer launched a $35 million ecosystem fund focused on high-performance on-chain applications. Vitalik Buterin proposed a native DVT design to enhance decentralization in Ethereum staking. BGB, H, and MBG are set to see sizable token unlocks over the next seven days.

Gate Research Daily Report: On January 21, the crypto market continued to pull back and consolidate, with risk appetite cooling notably. BTC and ETH came under simultaneous pressure: BTC fell back to around USD 89,000 after breaking below its short-term moving average structure, while ETH saw a relatively larger decline and remains in a weak recovery phase, with major assets dragging on the overall index. On the thematic side, mid- and small-cap tokens such as AIA, MBG, and ARC moved against the trend, supported by narratives around AI agents, on-chain integration of traditional finance, and developer tools, highlighting clear structural divergence. From a structural perspective, Ethereum staking demand continued to improve, with unstaking pressure fading and the staked ratio approaching 30%; meanwhile, Solana’s staking ratio climbed to a record high of 68.8%, indicating that parts of the public-chain ecosystem are still attracting long-term capital. However, whether the broader market can stabilize will stil

Why did Coinbase pull its support for the CLARITY Act at such a pivotal time? This article explores how the ban on stablecoin yields poses a threat to Coinbase's main sources of revenue and breaks down the industry's contrasting approaches to balancing regulatory clarity with space for innovation.

Gate Research Daily Report: Bitcoin encountered resistance near USD 97,500, while Ethereum has been trading within a range between its key support level and the USD 3,300–3,400 resistance zone. ROSE surged 34.35% over the past 24 hours, driven by accelerating capital inflows into the high-beta “privacy + AI” narrative. ARPA rose more than 51%, with the rally largely reflecting shifts in market sentiment as 24-hour trading volume expanded sharply to USD 320 million. Alpha Edge Media, a subsidiary of Aether Holdings, has acquired the institutional-grade crypto communications and media platform Coinstack. To break out of its current malaise, the crypto market may require an expansion of ETF investment mandates, with leading assets rallying to draw retail attention back. The STH-NUPL indicator shows that new investors have remained in net unrealized losses since November 2025.

Gate Research Daily Report: On January 19, after a period of high-level consolidation, the crypto market saw a broad deleveraging pullback: BTC and ETH weakened in tandem, losses in altcoins widened, and risk appetite contracted quickly. The Fear & Greed Index slid from 49 to 44, with sentiment shifting from neutral toward fear, while spot gold continued to climb—signaling rising demand for safe havens. Among notable movers, DUSK rallied sharply on its mainnet rollout and expectations around RWA-related partnerships; NAM posted violent swings amid thin liquidity and a technical breakout; and FRAX drew inflows on the back of its rebrand and broader ecosystem expansion. Today’s alpha highlights included a structural signal from Ethereum staking—its entry queue reaching the highest level since August 2023 while the exit queue fell to zero—alongside a renewed debate between Ethereum and Solana over “ossification vs. evolution,” and growing attention to supply-chain style security risks tied to IDE auto-execution

Gate Research Daily Report:On January 16, BTC entered a corrective consolidation phase after surging to around $97,900 and is now oscillating in the $95,000–$95,500 range; ETH moved into a high-level consolidation after hitting a peak near $3,403, with prices fluctuating narrowly between $3,280 and $3,320; GT shifted into range-bound consolidation after a prior rally to 10.83; and OWL led small-cap tokens with a +57.75% gain. XRP broke below the $2.10 level, with technical selling pressure dominating the short-term trend; BitMine said its $13 billion ETH holdings could generate over $400 million in annual revenue and expressed confidence that its investment in MrBeast could deliver a “10x” return; and Ripple injected $150 million into LMAX to push the RLUSD stablecoin into institutional trading infrastructure.