Gate Research Institute: Cryptocurrency Market Continues Upward Trend | Ethereum Staking Queue Exceeds 2.17 Million ETH

Cryptocurrency Market Overview

• BTC (-0.60% | Current price 91,510 USDT): Bitcoin’s short-term trend shows a oscillating upward pattern, reflecting a gradual recovery in market sentiment and investor confidence. From the 4-hour chart, the MACD green bars are enlarging, MA5, MA10, and MA30 are in a bullish alignment, and RSI is moving upward simultaneously, indicating that short-term momentum remains relatively strong. On the daily chart, Bitcoin repeatedly faces resistance below the key level of 94,000 USD, with the price moving within a gradually converging ascending wedge, with multiple tests of the upper and lower boundaries, suggesting a directional breakout is imminent. If the price can effectively break above the wedge’s upper boundary and re-establish above 94,000 USD and major moving averages, it will serve as an important confirmation signal for the start of a new upward trend.
• ETH (-1.22% | Current price 3,116 USDT): Supported by a technical breakout and a rebound in on-chain trading volume, Ethereum continues to hold above 3,000 USD, with the overall upward trend still intact. From the 4-hour chart, MACD green bars are converging, short-term momentum is slightly cooling, RSI has pulled back from overbought territory but remains within a relatively healthy level, indicating that the correction is more of a technical adjustment. On the daily chart, Ethereum has successfully broken through the previous descending parallel channel, turning the 3,000 USD level into a key support. Recently, the price tested the important resistance zone of 3,300–3,700 USD with noticeable selling pressure. Bulls need to break through this barrier effectively to open up a new upward space.
• Altcoins: In the past 24 hours, altcoins have shown mixed performance, with XRP down 2.26%, SOL down 2.81%. The altcoin season index stands at 27, indicating that market risk appetite is gradually recovering from lows.
• Macro: On January 12, the S&P 500 index rose 0.16%, closing at 6,977.27 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.17%, closing at 49,590.20 points; the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.26%, closing at 23,733.90 points. As of 11:00 AM ( UTC+8) on January 13, spot gold is temporarily priced at 4,595 USD per ounce, down 0.02% within 24 hours.

Hot Tokens to Watch

DOLO Dolomite (+55.56%, Market Cap 24.23 million USD)

According to Gate data, the DOLO token is currently trading at 0.06613 USD, up 55.56% in 24 hours. Dolomite (DOLO) is a decentralized lending and margin trading protocol supporting multi-asset collateral, leverage trading, and efficient capital utilization. Its core advantage lies in a highly modular risk control and account system, which ensures security while enhancing capital efficiency, serving professional DeFi users and strategic funds.

The rise in DOLO is mainly driven by news of WLFI launching a lending market supported by Dolomite. The crypto project World Liberty Financial launched a lending market supported by Dolomite to expand its stablecoin use cases, which went live on Monday.

DUSK DUSK Network (+28.02%, Market Cap 38.50 million USD)

According to Gate data, the DUSK token is currently priced at 0.07562 USD, up 28.02% in 24 hours. Dusk Network is a decentralized blockchain protocol providing privacy and transparency solutions for payments, communication, and asset ownership transfer. It differs from PoW/PoS consensus mechanisms by introducing a new privacy-oriented consensus protocol — Byzantine Agreement (SBA).

The price increase of Dusk reflects positive factors from the DuskDS Layer-1 upgrade, completed on December 10, 2025, which enhanced data availability and performance in preparation for the upcoming DuskEVM mainnet. Additionally, in November, Dusk partnered with NPEX to introduce Chainlink oracle technology to bring regulated European securities assets on-chain. The oracle integration provides reliable data sources, aligning with Dusk’s core feature of a “single true data source,” laying a key technical infrastructure for compliant on-chain financial transactions and reducing institutional participation risks.

DASH Dash (+17.92%, Market Cap 573 million USD)

According to Gate data, DASH is currently priced at 45.20 USD, up 17.92% in 24 hours. Dash (DASH) is a decentralized digital currency emphasizing fast payments and low fees, achieved through a masternode mechanism enabling instant transaction confirmation and on-chain governance.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) banned privacy coins including Dash on January 12 at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), forcing some positions to close. However, DASH found support around 38.47 USD, indicating excessive selling. The market’s common “sell the rumor, buy the news” phenomenon shows that after panic selling, funds are beginning to accumulate, and traders view this ban as a regional event rather than a global trend.

Alpha Insights

The number of ETH queued to join the Ethereum PoS network exceeds 2.17 million, approximately 6.74 billion USD

On January 13, according to ValidatorQueue, the number of ETH waiting to join the Ethereum PoS network has risen to 2,170,452 ETH, worth about 67.4 billion USD, with an estimated activation delay of approximately 37 days and 16 hours. This expansion is mainly due to BitMine recently staking a large amount of its ETH holdings. In contrast, only 11,063 ETH, valued at about 34.35 million USD, are in the exit queue, with an estimated wait time of about 4 hours and 37 minutes.

The structural change in the Ethereum staking queue is an important window into network health and market sentiment. The current staking queue size significantly exceeds the exit queue, clearly reflecting strong market confidence in long-term ETH staking yields and network security. Notably, since the second half of 2025, the ETH entering the staking queue has grown from hundreds of thousands to millions, while the exit queue has shrunk to nearly negligible levels. This persistent, one-way net inflow indicates that staking is widely regarded as a core long-term strategy within the Ethereum ecosystem, rather than a short-term arbitrage tool.

Currently, this is a critical window for the passage of the “Clarity Act,” and failure to reach consensus could delay or jeopardize the bill

Wall Street analyst Bernstein pointed out that due to escalating disagreements between the banking sector and the crypto industry over stablecoin yield distribution, the window for passing the Crypto Market Structure Act is rapidly closing. Although there are disputes over the classification of digital assets and DeFi regulation in the “Clarity Act,” the real core resistance lies in the banking sector’s attempt to restrict crypto platforms from offering yield incentives to stablecoin users. Banks worry that stablecoins could disrupt traditional deposits, while the crypto industry believes re-evaluation would undermine existing compromises in the “GENIUS Act.” The opposing stances mean that if consensus cannot be reached in the short term, the bill’s progress may be delayed or stalled, making this a critical window before the 2026 midterm elections.

The current crypto legislation process is in a highly sensitive and urgent phase of strategic contest. Banks see stablecoin yields as a direct challenge to traditional deposit business, fearing funds will flow from traditional savings accounts into interest-bearing stablecoin products, shaking their core liabilities structure. Essentially, this is a battle over the future form of money and the dominance of financial services between traditional finance and the emerging crypto ecosystem.

Crypto asset custody company BitGo files for IPO, aiming to raise up to 201 million USD

On January 12, the crypto custody startup BitGo disclosed in regulatory filings that it plans to raise up to 201 million USD through an initial public offering (IPO). The company, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, will sell 11.8 million shares jointly with some existing shareholders, at an offering price range of 15 to 17 USD per share. Founded in 2013, BitGo is one of the largest crypto asset custody providers globally. As institutional interest in crypto assets continues to grow, its role in providing digital asset storage and security becomes increasingly critical. The IPO is underwritten by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BTGO.

BitGo’s listing also reflects the collective emergence of “crypto infrastructure” companies. These firms form the backbone of the digital asset financial ecosystem, and their entry into capital markets signifies an accelerating integration of the crypto industry with traditional finance. For public investors, participating in the growth of “crypto infrastructure” via stock markets allows exposure without directly holding cryptocurrencies, lowering participation barriers and risks while providing a more stable entry path into the crypto economy.
References:

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Validatorqueue, https://www.validatorqueue.com/
• The Block, https://www.theblock.co/post/385059/bernstein-says-window-for-crypto-market-structure-bill-is-here-and-now?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Disclaimer Investing in cryptocurrencies involves high risks. Users are advised to conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products before making any investment decisions. Gate is not responsible for any losses or damages resulting from such investment decisions.