Pepe, Bitcoin, Ethereum Lead Crypto Hype to Kick Off Weekend

• **PEPE leads weekend buzz with price gains and retail momentum across major social platforms.
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• BTC and ETH stay in focus as institutional activity, ETF flows, and key technical levels drive discussion.

As crypto markets move through the weekend, Pepe (PEPE), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH) are seeing the most activity across X, Telegram, and Reddit. PEPE’s attention spike has resulted from its stellar rally, posting a 19.72% surge in the last 24 hours for a 51.2% gain over the last seven days. This uptrend, combined with sharp volatility, rising trading volume, and comparisons with past memecoin rallies involving DOGE, SHIB, BONK, and FLOKI, has made PEPE one of the trendiest cryptos

🗣️ According to our social media data, coins generating the most hype to start the weekend, are:

🪙 Pepe $PEPE: Trending due to its association with the PEPE meme coin, which has experienced significant price volatility, rapid surges, and increased trading volume. Discussions… pic.twitter.com/NtgJ0vm7cF

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 3, 2026

Analyst CyrilXBT noted that PEPE is currently trading between **$0.000000400 **and $0.000000600, a zone that acted as both support and resistance during Q3 2024 and early Q4 2025. Consequently, many are viewing this range as a demand or accumulation zone. If the PEPE price maintains the trend, the analyst has pointed to a breakout toward resistance levels at $0.00000080, $0.00000120, and $0.00000140. Analysts Watch Crucial Levels for Bitcoin and Ethereum Ethereum is trending as price consolidates near the $3,000 level, a range many traders associate with past accumulation before strong moves. Network activity remains elevated, with steady smart contract deployment, active Layer 2 usage, and continued use of ETH for NFT and on-chain payments. Market focus increased after ETH briefly moved above $3,100 before pulling back. According to analyst Ted Pillows, a retest of the $3,020 to **$3,050 **zone could occur. He added that the ETH price holding this area may set up the next resistance at $3,500. Per the data, discussions around Ethereum also center on staking growth, governance developments, and expectations that 2026 could mark a new all-time high cycle.

$ETH broke above $3,100 yesterday and is now slightly coming down.

I think a retest of $3,020-$3,050 zone could happen here.

If Ethereum holds this level, the next leg up will start. pic.twitter.com/xnQ30vPpqr

— Ted (@TedPillows) January 3, 2026

According to a CNF report, Ethereum’s role in scaling solutions and real-world asset integration keeps it firmly in focus for both traders and longer-term participants. Bitcoin, however, is trending for a broader set of reasons that extend beyond price alone. Several developments have driven discussion this week, including Bitfarms agreeing to sell a Bitcoin mining site in Paraguay for up to $30 million, and Tether becoming the fifth-largest Bitcoin holder, as reported by CNF, with $8.42 billion worth of BTC. Meanwhile, South Korea’s largest exchange is preparing its infrastructure for Bitcoin ETFs, despite regulatory delays. This comes as global ETF data shows notable outflows, with $348 million exiting Bitcoin ETFs toward the end of 2025. These mixed signals have fueled debate around short-term flows versus long-term demand. On social media, discussions about Bitcoin remain largely bullish. As per Santiment, traders are watching large options expiries and sharing price targets for 2026. However, on-chain data from CryptoQuant shows that whale accumulation claims are overstated, with exchange consolidation distorting wallet data rather than signaling fresh buying. Nevertheless, technical analysts are pointing to a new bullish signal. Bitcoin price has just printed its fifth “golden cross,” where the short-term moving average crosses above the long-term average. Historically, previous golden crosses were followed by rallies of 87%, 47%, 78%, and 33%. If similar momentum unfolds, some projections place BTC near $180,000.

BITCOIN JUST FLASHED A FRESH GOLDEN CROSS:

Bitcoin has just experienced its fifth “Golden Cross,” a technical signal historically followed by significant price rallies, even though market sentiment currently remains low and skeptical.

Previous Golden Crosses were followed by… pic.twitter.com/KaFjXdf7Cq

— Trending Bitcoin (@TrendingBitcoin) January 3, 2026

Moreover, as CNF earlier detailed, selling pressure from long-term holders is nearing saturation, with fewer dormant coins left to re-enter circulation.