On 2 January 2026, new data showed Solana's tokenized real-world assets climbed to about $873 million in December 2025, marking a fresh all-time high and signaling growing competition with Ethereum in this segment. Institutional-grade products, including tokenized U.S. Treasuries and six Solana-based ETFs approved in October 2025, have driven significant capital inflows alongside corporate adoption such as Western Union's remittance initiative. Despite SOL trading below its early-2025 peak, onchain revenues, market capitalization above $72.5 billion, and revenue of roughly $110 million over the past 30 days suggest fundamentals remain robust.

Bitcoin closed 2025 below $88,000 after volatile trading in the $90,500–$86,500 range and is now holding above $89,000, up over 2% week-on-week. Altcoins outperformed, with ETH, BNB, SOL, and ADA gaining 5–6%, while DOGE and ZEC advanced more than 9%. Tether confirmed a $779M BTC purchase, totaling 8,888.8888888 coins in Q4 2025, as Strategy and Metaplanet resumed accumulation.

Bitcoin is edging back toward $90,000 and Ethereum has moved above $3,000 amid record daily transactions, while altcoins gain traction with coins like Solana up 3.07% over 24 hours. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin Hyper, PEPENODE and Aerodrome Finance stand out with active presales, high staking yields and strong on-chain or market metrics as traders position for a potential January bull phase.

On Thursday, January 1, 2026, Ripple executed its routine monthly escrow, releasing 1 billion XRP and placing 700 million back into long-term escrow. The remaining 300 million was allocated for liquidity and ecosystem needs. By Friday, January 2, XRP traded near $1.91 after a 2.74% daily gain, with circulating supply at 65.78 billion and 34.18 billion held in escrow.

India has directed refiners to file weekly updates on Russian and U.S. crude purchases as it seeks momentum on stalled trade talks with Washington. Officials expect Russian supplies to fall below 1 million barrels per day. The Prime Minister's Office initiated the move, with PPAC delivering instructions that replace monthly customs-based reporting.

On January 2, 2026, Banxa and Vicox Legal announced a partnership to enable crypto-funded property purchases across Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, and Montenegro. The framework pairs Vicox's real estate legal due diligence with Banxa's regulated payment rails, including a MiCA licence in the Netherlands to operate as a CASP across 30 EEA and coverage in over 200 countries.

Ethereum remains the second-largest crypto by market value, while XRP trails and was recently overtaken by BNB. At the time of comparison, ETH traded around $3,035, up about 1.9% in 24 hours, with a roughly $366 billion cap, and XRP was $1.88 with about $113.8 billion. XRP would be roughly $6.04 at ETH’s current market cap and about $9.64 at ETH’s all-time high.

Bitcoin is consolidating between $86,400 and $90,600, with chart projections pointing to a potential move toward $94,589, $100,000 and even $107,500 if resistance breaks. Several major altcoins, including Ether, BNB, XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink and Zcash, are testing important moving averages and support zones that could either launch relief rallies or extend the broader downtrend.