Gate Research: Market in Extreme Fear, Stablecoin Real Payment Share Below 0.02%

• Market review: On January 26, crypto market sentiment fell into the extreme fear zone, with major assets broadly under pressure and risk appetite continuing to contract. After an emotion-driven sell-off, BTC found support around USD 86,000 but remains below its medium-term moving averages; ETH broke below its previous consolidation range, with volatility expanding significantly. Overall, the market remains in a phase of correction and heightened fear.
• Hot tokens: TAIKO surged sharply, driven by progress in technical upgrades and strong buying interest from the Korean market; AUCTION posted notable gains on the back of expanding trading volume and a technical breakout; BOB moved higher against the broader trend amid staking-driven supply constraints and a technical rebound, indicating that localized alpha opportunities persist even in a weak market environment.
• Alpha insights: The SocialFi narrative is rapidly unwinding, with social tokens broadly down more than 90%; Bitcoin payments are seeing accelerated offline adoption in Las Vegas and other locations, leading to marginal improvements in payment cost structures; meanwhile, on-chain stablecoin settlement volumes continue to expand, but real-world payment usage remains below 0.02%. The market is shifting from high-valuation narratives toward a reassessment focused on real demand and execution.

Discover more details today → Gate Research: Market in Extreme Fear, Stablecoin Real Payment Share Below 0.02%

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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.

Gate Team
January 26, 2026

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