Crypto markets moved higher on Friday, Jan. 2, as risk appetite returned across digital assets following two relatively flat holiday weeks.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $89,900, up roughly 2.2% on the day, and reaching as high as $90,788 in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) gained about 4.4% to trade near $3,120. Among other top-10 tokens, BNB and XRP rose about 3% and 6%, respectively, while Solana (SOL) surged roughly 5%, per The Defiant’s price page.

Among today’s top gainers, memecoins led the pack, with Pepe (PEPE) rising about 30% over the past 24 hours and Dogecoin (DOGE) climbing around 11%. Ethena (ENA) also posted gains of roughly 11% on the day. Today’s rally comes after altcoins had a rather difficult 2025, with many previous cycle winners deeply in the red on the yearly chart.

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