Recently, many people have simply and crudely interpreted this round of market rally as "market sentiment driving the hype," but in fact, a closer look at the specific data reveals that behind it is a structural rise driven by real money.

Let's start with Bitcoin. From December 2025 to January 2026, spot ETF purchases totaled over $9 billion, with several days seeing single-day inflows of $800 million to $1 billion. Such volume cannot be driven by retail investors alone; it must come from large, long-term institutional players like pension funds and hedge funds. Meanwhile, addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC on-chain continue to increase, indicating that big players are quietly accumulating and bottoming out. Bitcoin repeatedly hitting the $90,000 to $100,000 range without breaking down is a strong signal—it's not just a rapid surge, but a sustained upward trend with support.

Looking at Ethereum, the picture is even more interesting. Over the past month, Ethereum's spot and futures trading volumes have surpassed Bitcoin multiple times, with daily on-chain settlement amounts remaining above $20 billion. More importantly, the amount of staked Ethereum has exceeded 34 million, accounting for nearly 30% of the circulating supply. What does this mean? A large portion of the tokens are frozen in protocols, reducing the available supply for trading, which amplifies the impact of new capital entering the market. Capital continues to chase Ethereum above $3,000, indicating confidence in its cash flow generation and network effects rather than short-term speculation.

From a macro perspective, the market has already digested the Fed's rate cut expectations for 2026. The US dollar index has fallen more than 6 percentage points from its peak, and global risk assets are strengthening accordingly. Against this backdrop, crypto assets have become the new darling of capital—Bitcoin offers a safe-haven attribute, while Ethereum provides growth resilience, making them a perfect complement. The total market cap of stablecoins has surged back to $180 billion, a clear signal that off-chain funds are continuously flowing into the crypto ecosystem.

The price structure also supports further upward movement. Bitcoin's cost basis zone has risen above $85,000, and Ethereum's main trading ranges are between $2,800 and $3,200. As long as prices hold these levels, trend-following capital will not easily withdraw.

Overall, this rally is driven by three forces: large-scale institutional capital inflows, genuine on-chain demand growth, and a loose global liquidity environment. We are still in the phase of continuous capital expansion, far from the end of sentiment peak.