Gate Research: Crypto Market Extends Uptrend | Ethereum Staking Queue Surpasses 2.17 Million ETH

Crypto Market Overview

BTC (-0.60% | 91,510 USDT): Bitcoin is showing a short-term range-bound upward trend, reflecting a gradual recovery in market sentiment and investor confidence. On the 4-hour chart, the MACD histogram is expanding on the negative side, while MA5, MA10, and MA30 are aligned in a bullish formation and the RSI is moving higher, indicating relatively strong short-term momentum. On the daily chart, BTC continues to face repeated resistance below the key $94,000 level, with price action confined within a gradually tightening ascending wedge. Both upper and lower boundaries have been tested multiple times, suggesting that a directional breakout may be approaching. A decisive breakout above the upper boundary of the wedge, followed by a sustained move above $94,000 and the major moving averages, would be viewed as an important confirmation of a new upward trend.

ETH (-1.22% | 3,116 USDT): Supported by both a technical breakout and a rebound in on-chain activity, Ethereum continues to hold firmly above $3,000, with its overall uptrend still intact. On the 4-hour chart, the MACD histogram has started to contract, signaling slightly cooling short-term momentum, while the RSI has pulled back from overbought levels but remains within a healthy range, suggesting the move is more of a technical consolidation. On the daily timeframe, ETH has successfully broken out of its previous descending parallel channel and has turned the $3,000 level into a key support zone. However, recent attempts to move into the $3,300–$3,700 resistance band have met with notable selling pressure. Bulls will need to clear this zone convincingly to unlock further upside.

Altcoins: Over the past 24 hours, altcoins have shown mixed performance, with XRP down 2.26% and SOL down 2.81%. The Altcoin Season Index stands at 27, indicating that market risk appetite is continuing to recover from relatively low levels.

Macro: On January 12, the S&P 500 rose 0.16% to 6,977.27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.17% to 49,590.20, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.26% to 23,733.90. As of 03:00 AM (UTC) on January 13, spot gold was trading at $4,595 per ounce, down 0.02% over the past 24 hours.

Trending Tokens

DOLO – Dolomite (+55.56%, Circulating Market Cap: $24.23M) According to Gate market data, DOLO is trading at $0.06613, up 55.56% over the past 24 hours. Dolomite (DOLO) is a decentralized lending and margin trading protocol that supports multi-asset collateral, leveraged trading, and efficient capital utilization. Its core strengths lie in a highly modular risk management and account system, which enhances capital efficiency while maintaining security, catering to professional DeFi users and strategy-driven capital. The recent surge in DOLO is mainly driven by news that WLFI has launched a lending market powered by Dolomite. World Liberty Financial introduced this Dolomite-supported lending market to expand use cases for its stablecoin, with the service going live on Monday.

DUSK – Dusk Network (+28.02%, Circulating Market Cap: $38.51M) According to Gate market data, DUSK is currently priced at $0.07562, up 28.02% in the past 24 hours. Dusk Network is a decentralized blockchain protocol designed to provide privacy-preserving and transparent solutions for payments, communications, and asset ownership transfers. Unlike traditional PoW or PoS mechanisms, Dusk introduces a novel privacy-oriented consensus mechanism known as the Segregated Byzantine Agreement (SBA). The rise in DUSK reflects positive momentum from the DuskDS Layer-1 upgrade. On December 10, 2025, Dusk completed the DuskDS network upgrade, significantly improving data availability and performance in preparation for the upcoming DuskEVM mainnet launch. In addition, in November, Dusk and NPEX integrated Chainlink oracle technology to bring regulated European securities on-chain. This oracle integration provides reliable data feeds aligned with Dusk’s “single source of truth” design philosophy, establishing critical infrastructure for compliant on-chain financial activity and helping to reduce barriers for institutional participation.

DASH – Dash (+17.92%, Circulating Market Cap: $573M) According to Gate market data, DASH is trading at $45.20, up 17.92% over the past 24 hours. Dash (DASH) is a decentralized digital currency focused on fast payments and low transaction fees, leveraging a masternode system to enable near-instant transaction confirmations and on-chain governance. On January 12, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) banned privacy coins, including Dash, within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), triggering forced position unwinds. However, DASH found strong buying support around the $38.47 level, indicating an oversold condition. The market’s typical “sell the rumor, buy the news” dynamic appears to be playing out, with panic selling followed by accumulation, suggesting traders view the ban as a regional regulatory event rather than a global trend.

Alpha Insights

ETH Staking Queue Surpasses 2.17 Million ETH, Worth Approximately $6.74 Billion

On January 13, data from validator queue tracking website ValidatorQueue showed that the amount of ETH currently waiting to join the Ethereum PoS network has continued to rise to 2,170,452 ETH, equivalent to approximately $6.74 billion at current market value, with an estimated activation delay of about 37 days and 16 hours. The expansion of the staking queue is mainly driven by BitMine’s recent decision to stake a large portion of its ETH holdings. In sharp contrast, the exit queue for the Ethereum PoS network currently contains only 11,063 ETH, worth about $34.35 million, with an estimated exit wait time of just 4 hours and 37 minutes.

Structural changes in Ethereum’s staking queues provide an important lens for assessing network health and market sentiment. The scale of ETH waiting to be staked far exceeds that of ETH exiting the network, clearly reflecting strong market confidence in Ethereum’s long-term staking yields and network security. More notably, since the second half of 2025, the amount of ETH entering the staking queue has risen steadily from hundreds of thousands to several million, while the exit queue has continued to shrink to nearly negligible levels. This persistent, one-way net inflow suggests that staking is increasingly viewed as a core long-term allocation strategy within the Ethereum ecosystem, rather than a short-term arbitrage tool.

A Critical Window for the Passage of the Clarity Act

Wall Street firm Bernstein notes that as divisions between the banking sector and the crypto industry intensify over the issue of stablecoin yield distribution, the window for passing crypto market structure legislation is rapidly narrowing. While the Clarity Act remains controversial regarding digital asset classification and DeFi regulation, the true sticking point lies in banks’ efforts to restrict crypto platforms from offering yield incentives to stablecoin users. Banks fear that yield-bearing stablecoins could siphon funds from traditional deposits, while the crypto industry argues that reopening the debate would undermine the hard-won compromise embodied in the GENIUS Act. With both sides entrenched, failure to reach a near-term consensus could delay or derail the legislation altogether, making the period ahead of the 2026 midterm elections—particularly before Q2 2026—a critical window.

At present, the crypto legislative process is entering a highly sensitive and time-pressured phase. For banks, stablecoin yields represent a direct challenge to their core deposit businesses, as capital could migrate from traditional savings accounts to yield-generating stablecoin products. At its core, this standoff reflects a broader struggle between the traditional financial system and the emerging crypto ecosystem over the future form of money and control over financial services.

Crypto Custodian BitGo Files for IPO, Seeking Up to $201 Million

On January 12, crypto asset custody startup BitGo disclosed in regulatory filings submitted on Monday that it plans to raise up to $201 million through an initial public offering (IPO). Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company and certain existing shareholders plan to offer 11.8 million shares at a price range of $15 to $17 per share. Founded in 2013, BitGo is one of the world’s largest crypto asset custodians. As institutional interest in digital assets continues to grow, its role in safeguarding and storing crypto assets for clients has become increasingly critical. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are serving as joint lead underwriters, and BitGo plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BTGO.

BitGo’s IPO also highlights the broader emergence of “crypto infrastructure” companies. Together, these firms form the financial backbone of the digital asset ecosystem, and their collective move toward public markets signals accelerating integration between the crypto industry and traditional finance. For public market investors, participating in the growth of “crypto economic infrastructure” via equities—without directly holding cryptocurrencies—significantly lowers barriers to entry and risk, while offering traditional capital a more measured pathway into the digital asset space.


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

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Disclaimer
Investing in cryptocurrency markets involves high risk. Users are advised to conduct their own 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 arising from such decisions.