Ethereum (ETH) core news focuses on six main themes: technological upgrades and outlook, continuous institutional fund inflows, supply-demand reversal in the staking market, clear roadmap from V神, strong institutional bullish targets, and gradually clarified regulatory framework. Below are the structured key points and details (data and events are from recent authoritative sources).

1. Technical Upgrades: Fusaka takes effect, Glamsterdam and Hegota double forks locked

1. Fusaka hard fork (activated on 2025.12.3): introduces PeerDAS peer data availability sampling, completes second Blob Parameter Only (BPO) hard fork on January 7, increasing Blob data storage limit from 15 to 21, freeing more on-chain space for Layer2 Rollup, Layer2 costs down 40%-90%; on-chain data shows 292,000 new wallets daily, up 110% from before the upgrade.

2. Glamsterdam upgrade (planned for the first half of 2026): core is parallel execution + ZK verification, gas limit proposed to increase from 60 million to 200 million; target L1 TPS to surpass 12,000+, combined with Layer2 to achieve hundreds of thousands TPS; strengthen anti-censorship and transaction inclusion mechanisms, improve network stability.

3. Hegota upgrade (planned for the second half of 2026): integrates execution layer Bogota and consensus layer Heze, promotes full deployment of Verkle Tree, reduces full node storage and bandwidth thresholds; improves privacy query infrastructure (ORAM/PIR) and social recovery wallets, solidifying the decentralized foundation.

4. V神’s 2026 technical roadmap (released on January 17): six major directions “reclaim sovereignty and de-trust”:

◦ ZK-EVM+BAL lowers full node operation barriers

◦ Helios verifies RPC data authenticity

◦ ORAM/PIR enables RPC privacy queries

◦ Promote social recovery wallets and time locks

◦ Achieve account abstraction experience consistent with regular transfers

◦ Encourage DApps to adopt IPFS instead of trusted servers

2. Institutional Funds and ETFs: continuous net inflows, scale exceeds new supply

1. US spot ETH ETF: net inflow of $175 million on January 14 (highest daily inflow in 2026), continued inflow of $164.4 million on January 15, four consecutive days of positive inflow; inflow scale has surpassed the new ETH supply during the same period, effectively reducing circulating chips on exchanges and supporting prices.

2. Supply-demand reversal in staking market: as of January 19, exit queue dropped to 0 ETH (peak of 2.67 million ETH in September 2025), entry queue surged to 2.5978 million ETH (highest since July 2023), waiting time about 45 days; institutions lock chips through large-scale staking, staking yields stable at 3.8%-4.2%, becoming a core income source for institutional allocation.

3. Strong institutional bullish outlook:

◦ Standard Chartered: designates 2026 as “Ethereum Year,” target price $7,500 (year-end), and forecasts $15,000 by 2030.

◦ Etherealize co-founder: ETH could reach $15,000 by the end of 2026, driven by fivefold expansion of stablecoins, explosive Layer2 ecosystem, and RWA tokenization landing.

◦ Market consensus: ETH market cap has entered the top 25 global assets, institutional allocation ratio continues to rise.

3. Regulation and compliance: frameworks gradually clear, paving the way for staking ETFs

1. US regulatory progress: SEC clarifies that “specific liquid staking activities do not constitute securities issuance,” clearing key hurdles for Ethereum staking ETFs (such as Lido VanEck staking ETF); CFTC repeatedly confirms ETH as a commodity rather than a security, increasing regulatory certainty.

2. Crypto market structure bill: passed by the House with high votes, aims to clarify that main coins like BTC, ETH fall under CFTC jurisdiction, while security tokens are under SEC, providing top-level design guarantees for large-scale institutional entry.

3. Global compliance advancement: EU’s MiCA law implemented, UK’s crypto regulatory framework improved, several Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, Singapore) hold an open attitude towards ETH and Layer2 ecosystems, promoting compliant RWA (real-world asset) tokenization on Ethereum.

4. Price and market performance

• Price: back to the $3,300 mark, recent volatility range $3,100-$3,400.

• Drivers: ETF fund inflows, staking queue reversal, technical upgrade expectations, institutional bullish reports.

• Short-term focus: Glamsterdam upgrade schedule, staking ETF approval progress, macro interest rate paths (Fed rate cut expectations) and their impact on risk assets.

Core conclusions and trading tips (from $ETH ’s perspective)

1. Core logic: technological upgrades (Layer2 cost reduction + L1 performance boost) + institutional funds (ETF + staking) + regulatory clarity, three catalysts resonating, with potential for “Ethereum Year” in 2026.

2. Operation suggestions: hold tight, wait for price increases; monitor key nodes such as staking ETF approval, Glamsterdam upgrade, RWA tokenization landing; in the short term, consider phased building positions in the $3,100-$3,200 range.