The altcoin market enters the second week of January with uncertain signals. Some tokens have reached all-time highs. Some people have recovered amid skepticism. Most altcoins continue to struggle to recover from the massive sell-off that occurred last October.
In that context, the three altcoins face a high risk of large-scale liquidation as traders may be misjudging actual market demand.
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1. Solana (SOL)
Although the wave of meme coins in early 2026 is not very strong, it shows that traders are becoming more open to risk. The Solana ecosystem announced several new records. Pump.fun’s DEX volume has reached an all-time high. The number of meme tokens deployed daily is also rapidly increasing.
As a result, many traders continue to expect SOL to rise for the remainder of January. This optimism is also reflected in the liquidation data, where the potential cumulative liquidation value of long positions far exceeds the liquidation value of short positions.
However, traders may be overestimating this demand. According to Santiment data, the number of new wallets created each week reached 30.2 million in November 2024. That number has now dropped to 7.3 million.
This chart shows that the rise in SOL is closely related to weekly new wallet growth. A sharp decline in this indicator undermines the fundamental basis of the rebound at the beginning of the year.
“Solana surged to $144 in an attempt to break through the $145 resistance. This largely depends on whether SOL Network growth starts to pick up again,” Santimento reported.
A recent BeInCrypto report also notes that SOL is recovering and institutional investors are flowing into the ecosystem. However, individual investors remain largely absent. This group has been a key driving force behind SOL’s explosive rallies in the past.
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Long-term traders could face close to $1 billion in liquidations if they continue chasing positions without a strict stop-loss plan. This is what will happen if SOL returns to the $132 area this week.
2. Monero (XMR)
Discussions about Monero (XMR) in the cryptocurrency community are becoming more positive than ever. XMR hit a new all-time high today. At the same time, rival Zcash (ZEC) has fallen sharply due to declining confidence.
The 7-day liquidation heatmap shows that the potential cumulative liquidation of long positions exceeds the liquidation of short positions. Long XMR traders need to remain cautious this week for two main reasons.
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First, while reaching new highs, XMR is also touching a strong resistance trend line that has been present since 2018. This has led to strong selling pressure from holders who are grabbing large profits.
Second, Coinglass data shows that XMR open interest has surged by nearly $180 million. This marks the highest level ever.
Therefore, traders are adding capital and leverage rights as XMR reaches a major resistance zone. This action carries very high risks. If XMR returns to $454 this week, long traders could face liquidations of more than $20 million.
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3. RENDER
RENDER is up over 90% since the beginning of the year. Artemis data shows that not only RENDER but other AI coins have also recorded significant gains. This makes the AI ​​sector the best-performing segment of the cryptocurrency market so far this year.
Investors seem to favor AI coins in early 2026. This sentiment could cause RENDER and other AI tokens to continue rising even after reaching short-term balances.
“These AI coins have been doing so well that they hardly appear on the timeline these days. FET and RENDER stand out. It seems like the move is not over yet, so it seems reasonable to buy physical and wait,” commented Altcoin Sherpa.
RENDER’s 7-day liquidation map shows relatively balanced expectations between long and short positions.
If AI Coin continues to attract funds this week, RENDER short traders could face a liquidation of up to $5.8 million. This would occur if RENDER rose to $2.93.
