A Glassnode analyst has pointed out how Ethereum is retesting a dense supply 
cluster that could set the tone for where the cryptocurrency heads next. 
Ethereum Is Trading At A Dense Level On The CBD In a new post on X, Glassnode 
analyst Chris Beamish has talked about how Ethereum is looking from the 
perspective of the Cost Basis Distribution (CBD). The CBD is an on-chain 
indicator that tells us about the total amount of ETH that investors last 
purchased at the various levels that the cryptocurrency has visited in its 
history. Related Reading: Bitcoin Social Interest Fades As Retail Chases Gold, 
Silver Hype Below is the chart shared by Beamish that shows the CBD heatmap 
for Ethereum. As is visible in the graph, Ethereum&#8217;s bottom in November gave 
rise to a dense supply cluster on the CBD around the $2,750 level. 
Interestingly, the zone has since acted as a support barrier for the asset 
multiple times. The explanation behind this trend could lie in investor 
psychology. Generally, investors are sensitive to a retest of their cost basis 
since it can lead to a flip in their profit-loss balance. As such, they can be 
likely to show some kind of move when one takes place. When the retest is 
occurring from above, the holders might react by accumulating more in order to 
defend their break-even level. This is the pattern that has potentially been 
witnessed since the November bottom. From the chart, it&#8217;s apparent that 
Ethereum retested the $2,750 supply zone twice in December and both times, the 
asset was able to rebound. Recently, a third retest has taken place and so 
far, the support has held, but it only remains to be seen how long the coin 
will maintain above it. &#8220;Holding here suggests absorption and base building, 
but a breakdown would move price into thinner support where underwater supply 
may derisk,&#8221; explained the analyst. Usually, regions where a large amount of 
supply shares a cost basis tend to act as notable sources of 
support/resistance. The $2,750 cluster might fall in this category, but that 
doesn&#8217;t make it unbreachable. &#8220;Next move hinges on this level,&#8221; noted Beamish. 
Related Reading: Stablecoin Market Cap Drops By $7 Billion—What It Means For 
Bitcoin In some other news, Ethereum has witnessed a decline in transaction 
fees recently, as highlighted by Glassnode in an X post. Following this 
drawdown, the transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain has fallen to its 
lowest level since May 2017, a potential indication that network activity has 
gone down. ETH Price At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading around 
$2,950, down 1.5% over the last week. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from 
TradingView.com

Next Ethereum Move Hinges On This Level, Says Glassnode Analyst

Crypto prices today have slightly risen as traders await the U.S. Federal 
Reserve’s interest rate decision, keeping the market on edge. With modest 
gains in Bitcoin and a few other altcoins, the total value of the 
cryptocurrency market increased by…

Crypto prices today (Jan. 28): BTC, BNB, XMR, ADA show modest gains ahead of Fed rate decision

New research shows stablecoin issuers, led by Tether, generated the majority 
of crypto protocol revenue in 2025, highlighting a shift away from trading- 
driven income toward payment and settlement infrastructure. Stablecoins 
Overtake Trading as Crypto’s Top Revenue Engine Stablecoin issuers emerged as 
the clear revenue leaders in crypto last year, according to new research from 
Coingecko. […]

Tether Dominates Crypto Revenue With $5.2 Billion in 2025

Chainalysis says the on-chain money laundering ecosystem processed $82 billion 
in funds in 2025, with Chinese-language networks now dominating.

Crypto launderers are turning away from centralized exchanges: Chainalysis

Crypto analyst Matt Hughes is arguing the global liquidity cycle is stretching 
well beyond its usual rhythm and that the extension is precisely why staying 
structurally bearish on crypto has been so punishing since 2020. Hughes, who 
posts as “The Great Mattsby,” said Monday that the cycle is “now ~6 years 
strong post-2020 with no clear peak in sight as of early 2026,” framing the 
move as something closer to a super-cycle than a standard 4–6 year expansion. 
What This Means For The Crypto Market Hughes’ core claim is that the 
traditional mechanism that ends liquidity cycles, central banks tightening 
into contraction, is being blunted by a mix of debt math, fragmented global 
money creation, and a capital-intensive investment boom that keeps pulling 
liquidity back into risk assets rather than allowing it to drain out. “The 
current global liquidity cycle is on track to become the longest ever, 
smashing past the typical 4–6 year patterns we&#8217;ve seen historically. Here&#8217;s 
why it&#8217;s stretching into a true super-cycle (now ~6 years strong post-2020 
with no clear peak in sight as of early 2026):” Hughes wrote, before laying 
out the macro pillars of the thesis. First, Hughes points to the scale of 
leverage in the system as a constraint on normalization. “Global debt/GDP 
&gt;350% creates a refinancing nightmare,” he wrote, arguing that each policy 
response has to be larger to prevent defaults and that aggressive tightening 
risks cascading sovereign and emerging-market stress. In that framework, 
policy makers are boxed into “perpetual support mode,” which delays the kind 
of contraction that would normally mark the end of a liquidity upswing. 
Related Reading: US Government Bitcoin, Crypto Theft Allegation Emerges 
Involving CEO’s Son Second, Hughes argues the cycle can run longer because 
global liquidity is no longer dominated by a single central bank. “The old 
dollar-only world is fragmenting,” he wrote, describing a “bifurcation of the 
global monetary system” in which liquidity creation outside the US can offset 
periods when the Federal Reserve is tighter. In his telling, a multipolar 
setup — spanning “BRICS nations,” China as a major credit creator, and 
alternative stores of value including “yuan, gold, crypto” — makes the overall 
system more resilient than past cycles that were more synchronized. Third, 
Hughes links the endurance of the cycle to an unusually large wave of capital 
demand. He calls AI, renewables, data centers, chip fabs, and blockchain 
“capital hogs,” arguing that the scale of funding required “demand &amp; absorb 
endless liquidity.” He also ties that directly to market behavior, writing 
that risk assets like “IWM small-caps, ARKK innovation, BTC” pushing toward or 
near all-time highs is consistent with a cycle that is “closer to start than 
end.” Related Reading: Bitwise Says Crypto Has Likely Bottomed, Echoing Q1 
2023 Setup Finally, Hughes emphasizes a policy bias toward preventing 
downturns. He described central banks as “hyper-proactive,” citing tools like 
forward guidance and yield curve control alongside tighter fiscal-monetary 
coordination. He also argued geopolitical priorities: reshoring, 
infrastructure, and the energy transition reinforce a stimulus-leaning 
posture, while traditional recession signals have been less reliable, pointing 
to a record-long 10y/3m inversion “without collapse.” Not everyone in the 
thread accepted the implication that the liquidity impulse remains cleanly 
supportive. A user posting as zam flagged a near-term risk: “My concern here 
is that Michael Howell says that liquidity momentum is slowing down 
considerably and that the liquidity is peaking very soon for this cycle. Any 
thoughts on that?” Hughes’ reply was succinct: “It can rotate into other 
assets as long as the economy is strong.” For crypto markets, the exchange 
captures the key tension: whether the cycle’s length is the dominant story, or 
whether a decelerating liquidity impulse changes the playbook via rotation 
rather than outright collapse. Hughes’ framing leaves the timing open-ended, 
asking followers whether the crypto peak arrives “at the end of 2026 or even 
longer,” while implicitly suggesting bears may need a clearer, system-wide 
rollover in liquidity, not just slower momentum, before the macro backdrop 
decisively turns. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.95 
trillion. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in USD