Cryptocurrency whales are supposedly rotating capital into low-priced tokens on the Binance Smart Chain and Solana networks, causing short-term price movements in several micro-cap assets, according to blockchain analytics and market data reviewed by Santiment on Friday. While Bitcoin and Ethereum are still locked in consolidation price ranges near their weekly highs, traders are placing their money on altcoins. At the time of this reporting, Bitcoin was trading slightly above $95,000, and Ethereum was holding near $3,300. 🗣️ The stories generating the biggest headlines across social media Thursday, are: ❌ InfoFi Project Ban: X has banned InfoFi crypto projects like Kaito, Cookie, and Xeet from using its API to stop spam and AI-generated low-quality content. Head of Product Nikita Bier revoked… pic.twitter.com/Okq5eCAOFu — Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 15, 2026 Despite Bitcoin briefly surging beyond $97,000, its market structure is more range-bound and does not have a clear trend. Fartcoin struggles to sustain bull run, BSC tokens count 700% price profits Santiment data shows that Fartcoin was the most accumulated token by smart money over the last 24 hours. The Solana-based token, however, failed to sustain its January 14 surge above the $0.45 resistance zone, slipping below both its seven-day and 30-day simple moving averages. According to TradingView’s technical indicators, analysis on the Moving Average Convergence Divergence histogram is flashing sell signals, which could mean its upside momentum is fading. FARTCOIN’s Relative Strength Index reading has clocked 46, a figure that suggests the token was neither oversold nor showing signs of a relief bounce before it fell 2.23% in the last 24 hours, leaving room for further downside. On Binance Smart Chain, memecoins Formula 1, trading under the ticker CHAMPAGNE, and Trump Mog had whopping gains of 1,099% and 719%, respectively, in the 24 hours. According to CoinMarketCap, the top-performing memecoins in the last day included U and BYTE, which posted gains exceeding 117%, while ATLAS and EGL1 climbed more than 50%. RIZZMAS, HOSICO, and SORA advanced with profits from 24% to over 40%. Several wallets are now purchasing low-priced BSC tokens within a narrow time window, although trading volume is modest across the board. Macro crypto backdrop is whale-driven, CryptoQuant analysts say The current market is in a consolidation phase built up by structural rebuilding, according to two CryptoQuant contributors. The underlying bias may be conditionally bullish, but short-term overheating risks are still in play, which may be making traders think twice about following through on a buying spree on large-cap assets. CryptoQuant’s spot and futures taker charts show that retail activity is subdued, while large coin holders are exerting their influence with “Big Whale Orders.” Fewer retail traders mean whales are deploying capital more tactically toward low-liquidity assets, hopeful that smaller inflows will generate disproportionate price moves. The crypto market has added about $120 billion in total capitalization since the start of this business week, aided by a 6% price uptrend in the largest coin by market cap. January has witnessed political impacts that have surprisingly helped digital assets count positives, including the US invasion of Venezuela and the stalling of a Senate-sponsored market bill markup . Bitcoin’s rally has been supported by strong ETF inflows and institutional demand, pushing its market capitalization closer to benchmarks seen in special metals, silver, and gold. At the same time, Ethereum staking reached a record level of 36 million ETH locked. On the derivatives markets side of the analysis, around 25,000 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire today with a notional value near $2.4 billion. Although the amount is slightly larger than the previous week’s expiry, Crypto Twitter expects a muted impact on spot markets and an even slower day in derivatives trading. The 90-day Spot Taker CVD has changed back to Taker Buy Dominant, showing holders are persistently buying even though most tokens have a moot price appreciation. This behavior implies that sell-side pressure is constrained and available supply is being absorbed at lower levels. “My understanding is that there’s a possibility for us to touch the $93.8K area again, which is the Trader Realized Price at the moment. For a good and healthy market environment, Bitcoin has to hold this level for us to find new highs again. That said, it’s totally healthy and nothing out of the normal if we have this retest, but it may not happen as well,” said Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant head of research. Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.
