Daily Crypto Signals: Ethereum Eyes $5,000, Zcash Targets $1,000 as BlackRock’s BUIDL Surpasses $100 Million Dividend Milestone
A historic flip in Ethereum's validator queues has sparked predictions of a $5,000 ETH price target, while privacy coin Zcash gains momentum
Quick overview
- Ethereum's validator queue has flipped, leading to predictions of a $5,000 price target as more validators choose to stake rather than sell their ETH.
- Zcash has gained momentum towards a $1,000 target following positive endorsements from former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, with a recent price increase of nearly 40%.
- BlackRock's tokenized fund has achieved a significant milestone with $100 million in dividends paid out, showcasing institutional interest in blockchain technology.
- China's central bank plans to allow interest payments on digital yuan wallets starting January 1, 2026, marking a shift in the use of central bank digital currencies.
A historic flip in Ethereum’s ETH/USD validator queues has sparked predictions of a $5,000 ETH price target, while privacy coin Zcash ZEC/USD gains momentum toward $1,000 following endorsements from former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s tokenized fund milestone and China’s digital yuan interest payments highlight institutional blockchain adoption.
Crypto Market Developments
As institutional finance slowly adopts blockchain technology, the crypto landscape is changing in a big way. BlackRock’s tokenized money market fund has accomplished a major milestone: it has paid out $100 million in dividends since it started in March 2024. The BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) invests in short-term US dollar-denominated assets like Treasury bills and repurchase agreements. This shows that tokenized securities can work on a large scale and look like regular financial instruments.
BUIDL started on Ethereum, but it has now grown to include six more blockchains, such as Solana SOL/USD, Aptos, Avalanche, and Optimism. In October, the fund’s assets under administration reached a high of more than $2.8 billion. Earlier this year, the fund’s overall value went above $2 billion. The $100 million payout milestone shows real Treasury yields given to on-chain token holders. This is because tokenized real-world assets are getting institutional interest because of their operational efficiencies, such as faster settlement, clear ownership records, and programmable distributions.
As for regulatory news, China’s central bank said that starting on January 1, 2026, commercial banks would be able to pay interest on digital yuan wallets. This is a big change for the central bank digital currency. It is no longer only a way to replace cash, but authorities are dubbing it the “digital deposit currency era.” The framework will let banks use the digital yuan in their asset-liability activities, although cryptocurrency transactions and stablecoins are still not allowed in mainland China.
As we get closer to 2026, things look like they will get harder for digital asset treasury firms. Most crypto treasury companies will likely go out of business next year, according to industry leaders. This is because the market is becoming too crowded and many companies are having trouble keeping their market values above their crypto holdings. Treasuries that focus on altcoins are likely to be the first to go, followed by treasuries that hold big assets like Ethereum, Solana, and XRP XRP/USD as the sector becomes more stable.
Ethereum Eyes $5,000 as Validator Dynamics Shift
Ethereum is going through a big change in how staking works, which has happened before big price jumps. The network’s admission backlog has grown to 745,619 ETH, which is worth almost $2.2 billion. This is the first time since June that it has been bigger than the exit queue of 360,528 ETH. This is the most Ether that has been queued for staking since November 30. Validators now have to wait 13 days before they can activate their stakes.
The change shows that validators are choosing to keep their ETH instead of selling it, which lowers the urge to sell on the market. Right now, more than 983 million active validators are staking 29.3% of the total ETH supply, which is over 35.5 million ETH. The recent Pectra update made staking better for users and raised the maximum number of validators, which makes it easier for holders with large balances to restake.
Based on past patterns, Ethereum’s price is likely to go up. In March and June 2024, when staking admission lineups were longer than leave queues, Ether prices went up by 90% and 126%, respectively. If history repeats itself, ETH might rise to $5,000 in 2026 because more people are staking, the network is being used more, and transaction fees are going down. Technical research shows that Ether’s current price movement between $2,750 and $3,200 is similar to the setting that started its fourth-quarter 2024 run. When it broke over $2,750, it rose 74.5 percent to $4,100 in December.
Zcash Targets $1,000 Following Hayes Endorsement
After Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of BitMEX, said good things about Zcash, it has become a popular choice for privacy-focused crypto investors. Hayes said that Zcash’s first price goal is $1,000. He said that privacy and zero-knowledge technologies will become the most important stories once liquidity returns to the crypto markets. He said that even if there aren’t any clear statements about quantitative easing, regulators will still add liquidity through short-term funding operations and reserve-management purchases. This will make things better for assets that are focused on privacy.
Since Hayes’ interview on December 19 in which he talked about this idea, ZEC has gone up almost 40% to $550. This is an 82 percent increase from the local low of about $300 that was set a month ago. The rise is comparable to what happened in October, when Hayes’ support helped Zcash go from about $75 to a multiyear high of $775.
Technical analysis backs up the optimistic case for more higher. Zcash has broken out of an ascending triangle formation and is now using its 50-week moving average as support. If privacy stories acquire more traction in 2026, it might rise toward the $1,000 zone. Some analysts, on the other hand, warn that a pullback toward $400 in the near future is still possible because of a rising wedge pattern. However, this would be a natural reset that gets rid of extra leverage before a larger rally toward the long-term target can happen.
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