Gate Research Institute: Ethereum core members reboot The DAO | SENT 24-hour increase exceeds 60%

Cryptocurrency Asset Overview

BTC (-1.35% | Current Price 81,364 USDT)

BTC has shown a clear unilateral downward trend over the past 24 hours. After reaching a high of $90,600 on the 29th, it failed to stabilize, then continued to decline, breaking below key support levels at $89,000 and $88,000. On the morning of the 30th, there was a volume-driven dip, with the lowest touching around $81,000. Market sentiment shifted rapidly from cautiousness to panic. From a technical perspective, MA5 and MA10 have clearly crossed below MA30 and are diverging downward. The price is trading below the moving average system, indicating a dominant bearish trend. During the decline, trading volume increased, reflecting concentrated selling pressure. Currently, around $81,000 is an important short-term support. If volume decreases and the price stabilizes, there is room for a technical rebound. Resistance levels above are at the $83,500–$84,000 range. If the rebound occurs without volume and cannot recover this zone, the overall trend remains weak, with further downside possible.

ETH (-1.41% | Current Price 2,708 USDT)

ETH’s movement over the past 24 hours closely mirrors BTC. After peaking near $3,040, it continued to weaken, breaking through key support levels at $2,950, $2,900, and others. On the 30th, there was a volume-driven sell-off, with the lowest touching around $2,685, followed by a slight rebound above $2,700. From a technical standpoint, short-term moving averages have all turned downward, with MA5 and MA10 forming death crosses below MA30. The price is clearly below the moving average system, indicating a bearish structure. During the decline, volume increased, showing concentrated capital withdrawal. The $2,680–$2,700 zone is a short-term support area. Resistance levels above are at $2,780–$2,800 and near $2,900. Until a clear sign of stabilization appears, the trend remains primarily weak and corrective.

GT (-1.38% | Current Price 9.32 USDT)

GT followed the broader market decline over the past 24 hours, but the downward pace was relatively mild. After reaching a high of $10.10 on the 29th, it continued to fall, breaking support at $9.80 and $9.60, with a low of $9.28. Currently, it is in a low-range consolidation phase. Technically, MA5 and MA10 have crossed below MA30, with short-term moving averages in a bearish alignment. However, the slope of the decline is more gradual compared to BTC and ETH. Volume during the decline was limited, mainly showing a passive correction. The $9.20–$9.30 zone is an important support area. Resistance above is at $9.60 and $9.80. The overall trend remains in a weak adjustment phase, awaiting confirmation of support before observing subsequent direction.

Daily Gainers and Losers Tokens

The market experienced a significant correction today, with mainstream coins weakening collectively. Market sentiment turned notably pessimistic, and risk-averse capital increased rapidly. BTC fell approximately 7.7%, ETH nearly 9%, while core assets like SOL, XRP also declined, dragging down nearly all top market cap tokens. Stablecoins USDT and USDC remained relatively stable, with funds clearly flowing into safe-haven assets. Overall, the market is in a volume-driven decline phase, dominated by panic sentiment. Short-term capital mainly reduces positions and waits, with no clear signs of emotional recovery or capital inflow yet.

SENT Sentient (+68.01%, Circulating Market Cap $276 million)

According to Gate data, SENT is currently priced at about $0.03975, up 68.01% in 24 hours, with short-term trading activity significantly heating up. Sentient is an open-source protocol focused on building a decentralized general artificial intelligence (AGI) economy, committed to establishing on-chain ownership, invocation, and revenue-sharing mechanisms for AI models, promoting a composable and profit-sharing AI Agent network. The project proposes the OML (Open, Monetizable, Loyal) framework, encouraging community participation in model contribution and governance, supported by institutions like Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Framework Ventures.

The recent surge in SENT over the past 24 hours is mainly driven by the rising AI + Web3 narrative, exchange listings, incentive activities boosting trading activity, and capital rotation into small-cap hot assets. The short-term rally mainly reflects market sentiment release and trading effects.

GWEI ETHGas (+58.14%, Circulating Market Cap $72.15 million)

According to Gate data, GWEI is currently priced at about $0.04208, up approximately 58.14% in 24 hours, performing notably among small-cap assets. GWEI is a governance token issued by ETHGas Foundation, aimed at providing governance rights and community-driven decision-making for the ETHGas protocol and its Realtime Ethereum ecosystem. The project focuses on building real-time, gas-free, or low-gas solutions for Ethereum block space optimization, redefining transaction fee structures and block space utilization.

GWEI is now listed and supports governance participation through automatic staking. The ETHGas Foundation has also announced token distribution strategies to support the ecosystem’s long-term development. The recent surge in GWEI is mainly driven by increased market attention to Ethereum infrastructure innovation, the launch of governance incentives, and capital rotation into infrastructure assets. The overall market sentiment improvement has also boosted trading activity for small-cap governance tokens.

EDGE Definitive (+17.53%, Circulating Market Cap $26.03 million)

According to Gate data, EDGE is currently priced at about $0.13281, up approximately 17.53% in 24 hours. EDGE is the native token of the DeFi project Definitive, which aims to provide decentralized financial services, including trading and on-chain financial functions. The token is used for governance, fee payments, and internal incentives. The ecosystem development focuses on improving DeFi service efficiency and user experience.

The recent price increase of EDGE mainly reflects heightened short-term capital interest in DeFi small-cap assets. Additionally, in the context of overall market weakening, user trading activity has increased. Some trading incentives and liquidity measures have also temporarily boosted trading volume and price volatility.

Market Insights

Bitcoin Falls Below $82,000, Tech Stock Sell-off Triggers Cross-Market Risk Asset Decline

Amid a global sell-off led by tech stocks, the crypto market experienced a sharp decline on Thursday, with Bitcoin dropping below $82,000, dragging down risk assets overall. Data shows the total crypto market cap fell from about $3.1 trillion to just above $2.9 trillion, a roughly 6% daily decline, one of the largest single-day corrections in recent months. During the rapid decline, over $1 billion in liquidations occurred within 24 hours, mainly from high-leverage long positions, indicating a sharp decrease in short-term risk appetite.

Beyond crypto assets, stocks and precious metals also came under pressure. Tech giants like Microsoft fell sharply due to disappointing earnings, dragging down overall market sentiment. Gold and silver, which had hit record highs earlier, also retreated quickly. Concerns over a potential government shutdown further heightened risk aversion. Historical data suggests similar political risk events have caused significant Bitcoin corrections; if repeated, Bitcoin could face further downside pressure.

Bit Digital Fully Exits Bitcoin Mining, Shifts Focus to Ethereum Vaults and AI Infrastructure

Supported by Brock Pierce, crypto mining company Bit Digital announced it will cease all Bitcoin mining operations, ending its mining activities since 2020. In a letter to shareholders, the company stated that as industry conditions change, Bitcoin mining has become a capital-inefficient business. In contrast, Ethereum infrastructure, staking, high-performance computing, and AI-related businesses have stronger operational, profitability, and long-term growth potential. Bit Digital plans to further concentrate its digital assets on Ethereum and increase holdings in AI and high-performance computing infrastructure through its majority stake in WhiteFiber.

Bit Digital is one of the early diversified crypto miners into high-performance computing and launched Bit Digital AI in 2023, completing its transition into computing power and AI infrastructure. Its subsidiary WhiteFiber raised nearly $160 million via IPO in 2025, becoming a core long-term asset. To date, Bit Digital holds over 150,000 ETH, most of which are staked, reinforcing its “Ethereum vault” positioning. Management states that capital markets increasingly favor infrastructure assets that can actively participate and generate ongoing revenue, with Ethereum and AI being key long-term strategic directions.

Ethereum Core Members Restart The DAO, Launch $220 Million Security Fund to Reshape On-Chain Governance

Including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, several early Ethereum core members announced the restart of The DAO, a historically significant network experiment, and established a $220 million Ethereum security fund. Over 70,500 ETH that have remained unused since the 2016 DAO hack will be redeployed, with about $13.5 million allocated via DAO governance mechanisms for security-related grants, including secondary financing, post-event public goods funding, and proposal processes based on ranked bidding. The new entity is named The DAO Fund.

Remaining approximately 69,420 ETH will be used for staking as a long-term security fund for Ethereum, expected to generate about $8 million annually at current yields. The DAO was one of Ethereum’s earliest decentralized governance experiments, and its 2016 smart contract vulnerability attack led to a hard fork, shaping the split between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. Nearly a decade later, this move symbolizes the community’s return to DAO coordination and reflects an effort to turn past lessons into long-term security and public goods building under a more mature technical and governance framework.
References:

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/GT_USDT
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/price
• Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/01/29/ethereum-ogs-revive-the-dao-with-usd220-million-security-fund-unchained-reports
• The Block, https://www.theblock.co/post/387746/bitcoin-drops-below-84000-tech-stock-selloff-metals-off-record-highs
• The Block, https://www.theblock.co/post/387748/brock-pierce-ethereum-treasury-bit-digital-wind-down-bitcoin-mining

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