Towards the weekend the market\u2019s bellwether traded between $88,000 and $91,000. At the time of writing the coin is around $89,000.<\/p>\n Glassnode analysts noted<\/a> a persistent supply overhang: recent buyers are creating resistance and capping upside. Short rallies are being used for exits (distribution).<\/p>\n Attempts to establish a foothold higher encounter selling by investors who accumulated in Q1\u2013Q3 2025.<\/p>\n CryptoQuant researcher Julio Moreno noted<\/a> that, for the first time ever, the share of \u201cnew\u201d whales in the first cryptocurrency\u2019s realised capitalisation has surpassed that of long-term holders.<\/p>\n Their average purchase price is around $98,000. With spot quotes below that level, investors are sitting on a combined unrealised loss of $6 billion.<\/p>\n The broader crypto market tracked bitcoin\u2019s moves. Ethereum slipped below $3000 (-12% for the week), while BNB fell under $900 (-7.5%).<\/p>\n Crypto Fear & Greed Index<\/a> returned to \u201cextreme fear\u201d at 25 points. A week earlier it hovered around 50.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flows into crypto ETF<\/a>s were negative too. Investors pulled out $1.33 billion<\/a> from spot bitcoin funds and $611 million<\/a> from Ethereum products.<\/p>\n Total crypto market capitalisation fell to $3.08 trillion. BTC dominance stands at 57.5%, ETH at 11.5%.<\/p>\n Token Terminal analysts recorded<\/a> the start of an \u201cEthereum mainnet return\u201d. Amid record-low fees, activity on the base layer surpassed layer-2 solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mainnet overtook L2 protocols by daily active users. On January 16th the figure peaked at roughly 1.3 million addresses. After a pullback it stabilised at 945,000 per day\u2014still above Arbitrum, Base and OP Mainnet.<\/p>\n At the same time liquidity is leaving the second layer. According to L2Beat, the combined TVL<\/span> of the rollup ecosystem has fallen 16% year-on-year to $45 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts linked the burst of activity on Ethereum to December\u2019s Fusaka<\/a> upgrade, which significantly reduced gas costs. However, much of the traffic may be \u201cartificial\u201d and not reflect actions by real users, they warned.<\/p>\n Blockchain-security expert Andrey Sergeenkov suggested the spike stems from a wave of address \u201cpoisoning\u201d, calling it a mass spam attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Fusaka, fees dropped by more than 60%. That made fraud schemes profitable: attackers can remain in the black even with conversion rates of 0.01%.<\/p>\n Meanwhile JPMorgan analysts questioned<\/a> the long-term durability of Ethereum\u2019s gains.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, successive blockchain upgrades have failed to materially boost activity on a sustained basis for a variety of reasons,\u201d the bank said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bhutan\u2019s sovereign fund Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) and the Sei Development Foundation agreed<\/a> to deploy a validator on the Sei network in the kingdom.<\/p>\n The partnership aims to expand national blockchain infrastructure. The parties plan to explore asset tokenisation<\/a>, test new economic models, and venture into data valuation and DeSci<\/a>.<\/p>\n DHI InnoTech, the fund\u2019s innovation arm, will implement the initiative with support from venture firm Sapien Capital. The node is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n Bhutan currently ranks<\/a> seventh globally among sovereign bitcoin holders. The government owns 5,985 BTC (~$529 million), acquired largely through mining.<\/p>\n Also this week, the authorities of Bermuda announced<\/a> a state-level blockchain initiative. The government plans to create the \u201cworld\u2019s first fully on-chain economy\u201d.<\/p>\n Circle and Coinbase are technical partners. The rollout will proceed in stages:<\/p>\n The shift to blockchain is meant to tackle costly bank transfers. Traditional payment gateways are often uneconomical for island jurisdictions and dent local businesses\u2019 margins. Using USDC should enable fast, cheap settlements.<\/p>\n Elliptic specialists found<\/a> that Iran\u2019s central bank acquired USDT worth $507 million.<\/p>\n The bulk was bought in spring 2025. With sanctions in place and access to SWIFT cut off, cryptocurrencies have become the country\u2019s only alternative to international bank transfers.<\/p>\n According to the researchers, until the June hack<\/a> the central bank routed most funds to Nobitex, then Iran\u2019s largest crypto exchange for buying and selling digital assets against the rial.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the attack the regulator switched to a more complex scheme using decentralised cross-chain bridges<\/a> and DEX<\/a>s, chiefly on TRON and Ethereum.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elliptic attributed the purchases to economic instability amid the rial\u2019s depreciation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe primary motivation for acquiring USDT is a desire to control currency markets. This aligns with the blockchain activity. Routing funds to Nobitex indicates a strategy of injecting dollar liquidity into the local market to support the rial,\u201d they noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Experts believe the central bank sought to stem the currency\u2019s decline by buying fiat with USDT on the exchange. The regulator is also building a \u201csanctions-resistant\u201d banking mechanism.<\/p>\n Also on ForkLog:<\/strong><\/p>\n The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said<\/a> it is developing a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenised securities.<\/p>\n The service, which requires regulatory approval to launch, will offer 24\/7 market access, instant settlement and the ability to place orders in dollar terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new NYSE project will support stablecoins.<\/p>\n Technically, the platform will combine the NYSE Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems, enabling settlement across multiple networks.<\/p>\n The venue will handle tokenised shares fungible with traditional securities as well as native digital assets. Token holders will retain rights to dividends and corporate governance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Only qualified broker-dealers will be admitted.<\/p>\n NYSE president Lynn Martin said the exchange aims to marry the trust of traditional markets with modern on-chain solutions and high investor-protection standards.<\/p>\n The exchange\u2019s parent, Intercontinental Exchange, is in parallel adapting clearing infrastructure to round-the-clock operations via tokenised deposits.<\/p>\n We analyse Ethereum developers\u2019 plans and assess<\/a> prospects ahead of forthcoming upgrades.<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-d75e2632cd09e0d5-4570823653211469-1024x488.png\")
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Activity on Ethereum<\/h2>\n
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What to discuss with friends?\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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Blockchain initiatives in Bhutan and Bermuda<\/h2>\n
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Iranian stablecoins<\/h2>\n
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NYSE tokenisation<\/h2>\n
What else to read?<\/h2>\n