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Monero's price has risen by over 35% in the past seven days, with a new strong increase in the past 24 hours alone. This movement pushed XMR to a new high near $598 before sellers entered the market, and the price is now hovering just below the resistance level.

Although the trend still appears strong on the surface, several underlying signals suggest this rally may now be entering a fragile phase. The key question is whether Monero will consolidate before another upward move, or if the growing imbalance beneath the surface is setting the stage for a more significant drop.

The crypto market is preparing for a week with major Token Unlocks. Over the next seven days, new tokens worth over $1.69 billion will enter circulation. Three major ecosystems, Ondo (ONDO), Official Trump (TRUMP), and Arbitrum (ARB), will release fresh tokens into the market.

These releases will add more liquidity, but could also trigger short-term price fluctuations and increased volatility. Below is a review of what you should keep an eye on for each project.

1. Ondo (ONDO)

Token Unlock date: January 18

India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has introduced stricter compliance requirements for crypto platforms, with significantly enhanced identity verification for users across the country.

Under the new rules, regulated crypto exchanges must verify users through live selfie authentication and geographic location data during the onboarding process.

India's new verification standards target deepfakes and static images

The latest FIU rules take user verification further than just document checks. Exchanges must use live selfie verification requiring dynamic movements, such as blinking or turning the head, to confirm the user is present. This measure aims to prevent static images or deepfake attacks from bypassing identity checks.

A trader turned $321 into $2.18 million in just 11 days using the Chinese meme coin 114514, highlighting the intense speculation driving the market at the start of 2026.

This increase aligns with targeted investments from the BNB Chain Foundation and the cultural significance of the Year of the Horse. Analysts believe these trends could propel Chinese meme coins through the first quarter.

Binance listing boosts Binance Life valuation to $153 million

Binance Life (币安人生) reached a market value of $153 million following its Binance listing on January 7. The token traded at $0.1519 on January 12, up 16.9% over the past day. Daily trading volume was $66.1 million, with $47.9 million on Binance, and additional activity on KCEX and LBank.

The crypto funds experienced a sharp reversal last week, with outflows of $454 million, nearly erasing the previous year's inflows of $1.5 billion.

The selling appears to be linked to declining expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in March, following recent macroeconomic data suggesting the Fed may maintain its current policy.

Crypto funds lose $454 million as hopes for a Fed rate cut fade

According to the latest figures from CoinShares, last week's crypto outflows followed four consecutive days of total withdrawals amounting to $1.3 billion.

The first month of the new year is often a time for major network and protocol upgrades. Altcoins are likely to leverage this momentum, as several have already demonstrated in recent days.

BeInCrypto has analyzed three such altcoins that investors should keep an eye on during the second week of January.

Mantle (MNT)

Mantle is approaching its first major network upgrade for the year, and the main network update will support all features from Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade. The upgrade is scheduled to go live this week and could improve utility and scalability, potentially attracting new users and increasing activity on the blockchain.

Ethereum's long-term development is entering a critical phase as Vitalik Buterin promotes the concept of "ossifiability"—the idea that the network can be "frozen" without losing functionality, even if core developers disappear.

This perspective, first articulated in 2024 as part of the walkaway test, positions Ethereum not just as a platform for decentralized apps (dApps), but as a trustless foundation capable of operating independently for decades.

Vitalik Buterin's Ethereum ossifiability roadmap: Alt users must know

Bitcoin's breakout story is underway, but the necessary upward move is not yet confirmed. Bitcoin's price has recovered key trend support, the narrative favors continuation, and short-term selling has dried up.

Nevertheless, each rise encounters resistance. The cause is not immediately clear from the chart alone. One group of holders continues selling at strength, which may delay the next upward phase.

The price structure remains intact

Bitcoin is trading in a cup-and-handle pattern on the daily chart. The price briefly pushed up toward the breakout level near $92,400 before pulling back, but the structure remains valid as long as a key support level holds.

Ethereum price is rising again, up over 2% in the past day, and remains positive for the month. The rally looks encouraging, but the underlying structure remains fragile.

A bearish pattern remains active, and unless key levels are defended, this rally risks turning into a deeper correction.

Ethereum price is rising within a fragile bearish structure

Despite the rally, Ethereum remains within a head-and-shoulders pattern on the daily chart. The peak on January 6th formed the right shoulder, and now the price is attempting to stabilize without invalidating the pattern.

Several members of the crypto community have accused Nikita Bier, X's product lead and Solana advisor, of deliberately withholding crypto-related content on X (formerly Twitter).

The claims emerged after multiple users reported a noticeable decline in crypto-related posts in their feeds.

Crypto Visibility on X: Why Users Are Concerned

X has long been a key source for the crypto community to stay updated on industry news, follow market trends, discover new opportunities, and identify emerging projects and metatrends. Recently, however, users have expressed growing concerns about changes to the feed, reporting an increase in posts unrelated to crypto.

As geopolitical tensions rise, the US dollar (USD), long seen as the market's preferred safe haven, is failing to respond as it has historically done.

At the same time, gold (XAU) and silver (XAG) are providing signals that extend far beyond a typical commodity rally.

Gold hits record highs while silver explodes, but markets hedge against something bigger than inflation

Instead, capital is decisively flowing into hard assets, pushing gold towards $5,000 and silver above $80, levels that are forcing investors to reassess old macro assumptions.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell suggests that a criminal investigation initiated by federal authorities is politically motivated. He believes it stems from the central bank's refusal to adjust interest rates in line with the president's wishes.

This occurs as Powell's tenure nears its end in May 2026, amid increasing tensions between him and President Donald Trump.

Federal Reserve chair links criminal investigation to monetary policy stagnation

In a recent video, Federal Reserve chair Powell revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to the Fed on Friday. According to Powell, these included threats of a criminal indictment related to testimony he provided to a Senate committee last year regarding the renovation of the central bank's headquarters in Washington, DC, valued at $2.5 billion.

Several key U.S. economic indicators will be released this week, and each of them could significantly impact investor sentiment and thereby influence Bitcoin's price.

Investors can strategically position their portfolios by trading around the following major news events between January 12th and 17th.

4 American economic events to follow this week

The four macroeconomic events are concentrated between Tuesday and Thursday, increasing the chances of Bitcoin price volatility on these days.

Monero (XMR) has set a new all-time high after reaching $598. Market capitalization has also crossed $10 billion for the first time. Many analysts remain bullish and believe the uptrend has only just begun.

The experienced trader Peter Brandt has contributed to the optimism by comparing XMR's price development to that of silver.

Can Monero become the 'silver' of the cryptocurrency market?

On January 12, price data from BeInCrypto showed that Monero (XMR) had risen more than 30% since the previous Saturday. It was trading above $585, with a market capitalization of over $10.7 billion.

An early Ethereum investor has likely made a complete withdrawal from his ETH position after on-chain data showed the transfer of his holdings to a centralized exchange. The sale is believed to have generated around $274 million in profit.

This comes as ETH continues to experience selling pressure from US institutional investors, yet some market analysts remain optimistic about the prospects for the second-largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum OG whale exits with 344% gain

On January 7, Chinese state TV aired dramatic footage: a masked, handcuffed man was escorted off a plane in Beijing. The prisoner was Chen Zhi, the 38-year-old founder of Cambodia's Prince Holding Group, accused of running one of Asia's largest fraud schemes.

Cambodia had arrested Chen the day before and handed him over to China, bringing an end to years of speculation about whether the wealthy businessman would ever face justice. But while Chen's fall dominates the headlines, another mystery remains: What actually happened to his $15 billion in Bitcoin?

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reportedly finalizing guidelines that would allow publicly listed companies and professional investors to trade cryptocurrencies.

This marks the end of a nine-year ban on corporate cryptocurrency investments, supporting the authorities' broader "2026 Economic Growth Strategy," which includes stablecoin legislation and approval of spot crypto ETFs announced last week.

Framework for Corporate Investments

According to FSC's new guidelines, cited by a local media report, qualified companies may invest up to 5% of their equity annually. Investments can only be made in the 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market value on South Korea's five largest exchanges.

A viral clip of White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt abruptly ending a briefing seconds before a key betting cutoff has heightened concerns about insider trading in prediction markets. The incident comes as 30 Democrats have introduced a bill that would ban elected officials from placing political bets.

It may have started as a joke – but no one laughed.

The 30-second exit

The controversy began on January 7th when Leavitt ended his daily briefing at approximately 64 minutes and 30 seconds, just before the 65-minute mark that prediction market Kalshi had set as a betting limit. At the time, the market was showing a 98% probability that the briefing would go beyond 65 minutes. Traders who had bet on this outcome saw returns of up to 50 times their stakes within seconds.

Even though NFT Paris and RWA Paris 2026 were officially canceled on January 5th, citing a global crypto market collapse and unsustainable costs, the rise in crypto-related violence has cast an unsettling atmosphere around the announcement.

France has reported over 20 kidnappings and violent attacks against crypto professionals and their families since January 2025. This has created a fearful atmosphere among the country's Web3 community.

Voltsbølge hits French crypto community

Four kidnapping attempts alone occurred within four days early in January 2026. This led to urgent warnings from crypto industry actors.

Stellar's price has been declining for several months and remains down by about 34% over the past three months. Despite this broader downtrend, the recent price movement has stabilized, with XLM mostly moving sideways over the past day. Beneath the surface, however, several signals indicate that the weakness is losing strength rather than worsening.

Meanwhile, actual usage of Stellar is growing. Capital continues to flow into the network, buying on dips remains active, and a bullish chart structure is forming. With Stellar's real-world asset value now approaching $1 billion, the price is nearing a critical juncture.