An early Ethereum whale completed the distribution of more than 154,000 ETH, moving the final 26,000 coins to Bitstamp. The holder bought at a $517 average and could realize about $274M in net gains, while ETH held above $3,100 and daily volumes approached $20B.

On 12 January 2026, crypto traders are watching three key macro and policy catalysts: U.S. CPI, PPI and the Senate's review of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. CPI and PPI readings could shift expectations for 2026 rate cuts and near-term volatility across Bitcoin and altcoins. The Clarity Act's progress may shape longer-term sentiment by signaling whether U.S. regulation is moving toward clearer oversight of digital assets.

Standard Chartered is in early talks to build a crypto prime brokerage under SC Ventures, signaling a further push into digital assets by major banks. The bank also lowered its Ether outlook to $7,500 for end-2026 and $22,000 for end-2028, while lifting its 2030 target above $40,000.

Bitcoin is trading around $90,578 with a market capitalization above $1.8 tn as price compresses beneath resistance near $91,900–$92,000. The current range between the high-$80,000s and low-$90,000s resembles Bitcoin’s consolidation phase in early 2025, when a breakout above $86,000 preceded gains of more than 40%. Technical signals such as an ascending trendline from January, flat 50-day and 200-day EMAs, and a neutral RSI indicate consolidation rather than a clear top, while a decisive move above $91,900 could open a path toward $93,000 and $94,800.

Standard Chartered's digital assets research head Geoffrey Kendrick said Ethereum is poised to outperform other major cryptocurrencies in 2026, even as the bank cut its near-term ETH price forecasts. The bank now expects ether to reach $7,500 by end-2026 and sees Ethereum's dominant role in stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and DeFi, alongside rising network activity, as key drivers for a stronger ETH-BTC ratio.

On January 12, 2026, Michael Saylor said Strategy purchased 13,627 BTC for about $1.25 billion at an average price of ~$91,519. As of January 11, 2026, the firm holds 687,410 BTC acquired for ~$51.80 billion at an average ~$75,353, valuing the stash near $62.3 billion with over $10 billion in unrealized gains at a $90,600 price.

MYX Finance rose around 11 percent over the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap, and pushed above a key $4 breakout level after moving sideways since 11 October. DeFiLlama data showed the DEX had more than $1.92 billion in prior week perpetuals volume and a TVL recovery from $27 million in December to about $33 million.

Over the weekend, on-chain data from XRPScans showed that transaction activity on Ripple's XRP Ledger dropped by about 99% within 48 hours, with payment volume between accounts sliding from over 1.09 billion on Thursday, January 8, to 166.99 million on Saturday and then to around 137.40 million by January 11. Despite this steep fall in usage and a parallel decline in executed transactions, XRP is still trading above $2, while developers report that a large batch of ledger fixes and amendments covering features like TokenEscrow, AMMClawback, Multi-Purpose Tokens and a Price Oracle is nearing activation.