January has never been peaceful, especially for Ethereum. Looking back at previous years—2021, 2023, 2024, 2025—you'll notice a strange pattern: the market doesn't slowly drift upward; instead, it suddenly explodes one day, with a single candlestick giving you a 15%-20% surge. In hindsight, the seeds of the explosion were already planted long before, but no one saw them at the time.

The beginning of the year is a special window. Institutional rebalancing, capital reallocation, shifts in risk appetite—all these happen within this period. Ethereum just happens to be the barometer of the entire crypto market sentiment. When it moves, the market follows, and often not gently—it's more like stepping on the gas pedal full throttle.

Everyone is familiar with the story from the last cycle. Some missed DOGE, others missed those stories that sounded absurd at first but were repeatedly validated by the market later. Looking back, we realize that opportunities did exist; most people chose doubt, hesitation, or even mockery at the time.

The current atmosphere is no different from before. Ethereum is consolidating sideways, with volatility tightly suppressed, as funds search for more flexible opportunities. History shows that such a situation is most likely to brew extreme moves. Once it breaks out, it won't be a modest 5% or 8% rise but a direct rewrite of the short-term outlook.

In this context, Meme coins are always the fastest ignition points. They don't care about valuation or cash flow; they only look at how far sentiment and consensus can support. The Year of the Horse's key moments, combined with relevant hot narratives, inherently carry viral potential. As long as Ethereum signals something, capital tends to react reflexively.

The cruelest truth in the market is that it never gives you a heads-up. By the time everyone confirms the trend, the first wave of the move is usually over. The real gap opens up at that day, that line, that moment when you are caught off guard.