The cryptocurrency market remained range-bound in the first full week of 2026, characterized by macro uncertainty and a gradual recovery in sentiment. Against this backdrop, global exchange HTX highlighted several sector-specific assets that posted significant gains between January 5 and January 11, led by the BSC-based Chinese memecoin Binance Life and the privacy-focused token ZKP.
Privacy and DeFi infrastructure emerged as the strongest-performing sectors. The privacy narrative gained notable momentum, with ZKP (zkPass) surging 90% and the established Monero (XMR) rising 36%. In DeFi, Frax Finance's FXS token topped the weekly leaderboard with a remarkable 110% gain. HTX's early listing of these assets allowed users to capture the inflection point as capital shifted towards sector-wide revaluation.
Within the memecoin segment, Binance Life was the clear standout, rallying 63%. The token's growth was fueled by recovering activity on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and traction for Chinese-language meme narratives. HTX, an early supporter, has expanded its offerings in this niche, listing several other popular Chinese memecoins and introducing isolated-margin trading with up to 10x leverage for select pairs like /USDT and /USDT. The exchange is concurrently running a "Chinese Asset" campaign with a $200,000 prize pool until January 19 to reward community participation.
The AI sector also showed strength, with capital becoming more selective. AI Companions (AIC) gained 53%, AI Rig Complex (ARC) on Solana rose 42%, and the more established Render Token (RENDER) increased 23%. The report positions early exchange listings as a source of relative "certainty" in volatile markets, validating HTX's strategy of identifying high-potential assets through forward-looking, multi-sector trend analysis.
