On 1 February 2026, six notable crypto projects were highlighted for their positioning ahead of the next potential altcoin uptrend, including ZKP, Solana, Avalanche, Sui, The Sandbox, and Axie Infinity. These projects are being tracked for factors such as ecosystem development, long-term usage, and infrastructure design rather than short-lived hype. They span privacy-focused AI computation, high-speed base layers, scalable smart contracts, and gaming or metaverse platforms.

SUI is trading in a compression zone near key resistance around $2, with analysts highlighting this area as a typical smart money entry stage. The weekly chart shows an intact ascending channel, demand between $1.15 and $0.80, and price currently hovering near $1.28 with support at $1.50. A sustained move above $2 could open the way toward $2.50 and higher targets, while failure to clear resistance risks a downside retest toward $1.20.

Shytoshi Kusama, Shiba Inu's lead developer and co‑founder, reappeared on X and, on January 29, 2026, hinted at a Sunday moment to address ecosystem issues. One exchange referenced the September 2025 Shibarium Bridge exploit involving $4.1 million. Meanwhile, SHIB trades near $0.0000071, down 1.8% in 24 hours and 10.5% over seven days.

Pi Network's 2.03% daily rise to the $0.17 supply zone on Friday and early Saturday met another rejection. Technical gauges still lean bearish as the MACD's recent crossover signals limited upside despite the chance of a retracement toward $0.19-$0.20.

On Jan. 30, Lido Finance said ETH staking set an all-time high, with 36.6 million ETH staked, equal to 30.13% of supply. On Jan. 29, Lookonchain reported Tom Lee's Bitmine added 250,912 ETH, bringing its staked total to 2,582,963 ETH, while ETH traded at $2,633, down 3.86% in 24 hours and 11% weekly.

Metals reversed after a crowded run-up, with silver dropping 27% and gold down 8%, while Bitcoin slipped 0.54% but stayed above $80k. BTC dominance rose 0.70% and the Altcoin Season Index hovered near 40, signaling muted risk appetite as investors reassess whether capital cycles back to metals rather than altcoins.

Over the past two days, while Bitcoin slid 6.95% from its $89.3k high and altcoins dropped 7.98%, Enso's ENSO token showed relative strength. After falling to $1.15 following last week's $2.45 peak, ENSO rebounded sharply, climbing 51.74% on 30 January and gaining 30.8% in the last 24 hours, with key support and resistance levels now clustered between $1.30 and $2.45.

On January 31, 2026, Solana-based DeFi platform Step Finance reported that attackers had compromised several treasury and fee wallets, moving roughly 261,854 SOL valued at about $30 million. Following the incident, the team began an investigation, contacted cybersecurity firms, and Defillama data showed the project's TVL had fallen to zero while the STEP token price dropped sharply.