XRP is showing signs of strength even as market volatility remains muted. Despite open interest dropping to its lowest level in six months, recent XRP price action suggests bullish momentum is quietly building. Several on-chain metrics including potential supply shock are the reasons behind XRP’s strong accumulation in recent hours. If buying demand continues to …
As crypto markets head into 2026 in a consolidation-heavy environment, traders are increasingly separating price noise from network strength. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain range-bound, attention is shifting toward blockchains that demonstrated real usage and economic traction in 2025. Solana stands out on that front. After leading the industry in transaction volume, user activity, and …
The battle for leadership in the DeFi space is becoming increasingly clear as two major contenders trade very differently heading into 2026. Chainlink price and HYPE have both delivered strong performances over the past year, but recent price action suggests the balance may be shifting again. HYPE price dominated much of 2025, briefly flipping LINK …
After months of muted price action, memecoins are showing early signs of life. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain locked in consolidation, select high-beta tokens are starting to outperform. Leading the move is the PEPE price, which is attempting a recovery from a prolonged compression phase. The question traders are asking now is simple: is this …
The start of 2026 seems to have been pretty good for the Story (IP) price, as the rally seems to have reversed the persisting bearish trend. The buying volume has surged to a huge extent, which has pushed the price by more than 35%, rising by over $2.2. This rise comes at a time when …
Crypto markets started 2026 with a strong attention on Solana, even though the SOL price has been consolidating below $130 for weeks. According to recent on-chain data, whales accumulating Solana-related tokens was the most discussed trend in the market. Additionally, SOL’s network usage and transaction volume dominate despite low price action. This suggests smart money …
According to Farside Investors data, US investors put close to $32 billion into US crypto exchange-traded funds in 2025 even as markets lost steam late in the year. Related Reading: Crypto Headed For A $10 Trillion Future? Hoskinson Says RWA Is The Key Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew the biggest share, with $21.4 billion in net inflows. That is smaller than the $35 billion that poured into Bitcoin ETFs in 2024. Blackrock Dominates Flows BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, IBIT, accounted for most of the activity. Reports show IBIT took in about $24.7 billion. That makes its inflows roughly five times larger than the nearest rival, Fidelity’s FBTC. Market watchers noted IBIT ranked near the top among all ETF flows, placing behind only a few broad index funds and a big treasury bond fund. If IBIT’s number is removed, the wider spot Bitcoin ETF group actually finished the year with about $3 billion in combined outflows. Grayscale’s Bitcoin product lost nearly $4 billion on the year. Bitcoin’s price was lower than at the start of 2025; it began the year around $93,500. Ethereum Interest Strong But Cooling Based on reports, interest in Ethereum ETFs was real, but the momentum looks uneven. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust, ETHA, sits at nearly $12.6 billion in inflows. Fidelity’s FETH follows at $2.6 billion, while Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust ETF holds about $1.5 billion. Still, public on-chain data showed little renewed demand for spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in the last month of the year, suggesting flows may slow into 2026. Ether ETFs benefited from being new and giving investors a regulated way to own ETH, but recent days have seen quieter buying. Spot Ether ETFs, which only became widely tradable after their July 2024 launch, gathered $9.6 billion in their first full year. Spot Solana ETFs, launched in late October, added $765 million through year end. Altcoin ETFs Show Curiosity, Not Frenzy Litecoin and XRP ETFs also began trading in the latter half of the year, giving investors more choices for regulated altcoin exposure. The sums are small compared with Bitcoin and Ether. Solana’s $765 million is an example of early interest that has not yet turned into a large, steady stream of assets. These products are being tested by the market. Related Reading: Gold And Stocks Ran Ahead, But Bitcoin May Close The Gap In 2026 Global Flows Tell A Different Story Industry trackers reported that crypto ETFs listed worldwide experienced $2.95 billion in net outflows in November, and there was about $179 billion invested in crypto ETFs globally at the end of that month. Regulators and exchanges moved faster this year under new SEC leadership that was more open to approvals, which in turn helped institutional adoption in the US. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (Nasdaq: DJT) has announced plans to distribute a digital asset in 2026. The operator of the social media platform Truth Social, which is backed by former President Donald Trump, announced that its shareholders will be rewarded with a new digital asset in a 1:1 ratio. Trump Media Partners With …
A massive crypto position opened by a high-net-worth holder has traders debating whether a short, sharp bounce is coming — or if the market is setting up for more pain. According to on-chain trackers, an $11 billion Bitcoin whale recently sold assets and placed nearly three quarters of a billion dollars on bets for higher prices in Bitcoin, Ether and Solana. Whale Opens Massive Longs Based on reports by Lookonchain, the wallet sold about $330 million worth of Ether before opening three leveraged long positions totaling $748 million. The single biggest position is a $598 million long on Ether opened at $3,147 with a liquidation trigger under $2,143. Related Reading: Crypto Policy In The Hot Seat As US Lawmaker Calls SEC Hearing The same reports list entry prices near BTC $87,883 and SOL $124.43 for the other parts of the bet. At the time of the trades, Ether was trading around $2,975. The whale is carrying close to $50 million in unrealized losses on those leveraged bets, according to the on-chain data. BREAKING! The #BitcoinOG(1011short) with a massive $749M long position in $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL, just deposited 112,894 $ETH($332M) into #Binance again.https://t.co/rM9dXV3Ln4https://t.co/Fsi6okD47f pic.twitter.com/qVlZ4c6Htx — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 30, 2025 Smart Money Still Cautious Reports have disclosed that other whale addresses also piled into spot Ether around the same window. One thread of transactions shows about $5B of Bitcoin moved into Ether holdings since August, with an earlier swap that saw $2.59B of BTC exchanged for $2.2 billion in spot ETH and a $577M perpetual long. In one burst of activity, nine large addresses added a combined $456 million in ETH within a day. Nansen data shows 19 wallets collecting a total of 7.43 million spot ETH in recent weeks. Nansen’s data tells a very different story. Based on figures from the analytics firm, high-performing traders reduced their bullish Ether positions by $6.5 million in a single day and are now holding net short positions of $121 million on ETH. The same group is also betting lower on Bitcoin, with $192 million in short exposure, and on Solana, totaling $74 million. While large holders buying on the spot market can push prices higher in the short run, experienced traders appear to be bracing for further weakness rather than a sustained move up. Year-End Rally Failed As Liquidity Thinned Bitcoin and Ether ended December without the expected year-end rally, highlighting the fragility of crypto markets when liquidity is low and risk appetite declines. Repeated attempts by Bitcoin to reclaim key levels were unsuccessful, and the quarter closed with negative performance while precious metals such as gold posted gains. Related Reading: Crypto Heat Fizzling Out? US Search Interest Plunges As Retail Shy Away The market is now watching whether the alpha crypto can hold support into the new year; the failed rally may mean a deeper reset is needed before a sustained recovery. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Most people enter crypto when prices are already flying. By then, the biggest gains are often gone. The real opportunities usually appear much earlier, when projects are still small, ignored, and quietly building in the background. Recently, a crypto analyst shared a list of underrated micro-cap altcoins worth watching for 2026. Bitcoin Still Controls the …
After spending months trapped in narrow ranges, the prices of Chiliz (CHZ) and Canton (CC) have both posted sharp upside moves, gaining over 10% to 15% in a short span. These rallies are unfolding while the broader crypto market remains selective, suggesting the moves are not driven by hype but by capital rotation into lagging …
The institutional demand for Bittensor (TAO) is on the rise in tandem with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). On Tuesday, Grayscale Investments and Bitwise filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer spot TAO exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bittensor ETF in 2026 Amid AI Boom According to the preliminary prospectus, Bitwise …
Altcoins have largely underperformed the Bitcoin price over the past several months, leaving traders frustrated by failed rallies and shallow recoveries. Despite occasional strength in select tokens, the broader altcoin market has struggled to sustain momentum. However, a longer-term view of altcoin dominance suggests the market may be approaching a critical turning point that could …
Dogecoin (DOGE) price has slipped back into focus as the broader crypto market continues to consolidate. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain range-bound, DOGE has underperformed, raising questions about whether the memecoin is losing momentum or quietly forming a base. With price hovering near an important support zone, the next few moves could be critical for …
Institutions are increasingly using bitcoin options strategies on altcoins to manage price volatility and enhance returns, STS Digital told CoinDesk.
December close is on the horizon, and the crypto markets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, are gearing up for a bearish close within a consolidated environment. XRP price action has remained under pressure in recent sessions, even as ETF-related inflows linked to the token continue to stay positive. While such inflows are typically seen as …
For many crypto investors, the past year has been painful. Altcoins have struggled badly, with many tokens falling nearly 90% from their highs. In fact, some analysts like Michael Van De Poppe say this has been worse than the 2022 bear market. This has sparked a big question across crypto markets: are altcoins finished, or …
The crypto markets are bracing for one of the calmest yet most interesting year-ends, much more diverse than the previous one. The top two tokens are consolidating just below their respective psychological barriers; Chainlink also seems to be following the trend. In times when liquidity has stayed selective, the LINK price is drawing attention, not …
As the crypto markets are heading for the yearly close, the volatility has just lit up. Bitcoin price surged over $90,000 for a while but failed to reach the critical resistance at $90,500. As a result, the price dropped below $88,000, dragging the Ethereum price below $3000. Besides, Solana price also faced a similar downfall …
Crypto markets are heading into the final trading days of the year with thin liquidity and a closely watched US macro calendar. While price action across risk assets remains relatively contained, several key events this week could influence short-term sentiment, particularly for cryptos that tend to react sharply during low-volume conditions. FOMC Minutes in Focus …
As the markets are approaching the end of 2025, the consolidation seems to have overpowered the volatility among the cryptos. Bitcoin price silently climbed above $90,000, and Ethereum price rose above $3,000. Unfortunately, both levels were lost as bears teamed up, dragging them below the psychological barrier. This suggests the capital remains concentrated in the …
After years of sharp ups and downs, many crypto investors are still waiting for the kind of bull run that feels truly explosive. According to macro researcher Jesse Eckel, that moment may not arrive in 2025 — but in 2026. Instead of focusing on short-term price charts, Eckel looks at big economic signals like liquidity, …
The Uniswap price has gained significant attention in the past few days following the rollout of Uniswap’s Unification, which burned 100M UNI tokens. With the supply crunch in place, the UNI price was believed to experience a strong push. In the past 24 hours, the price faced a notable upswing after maintaining a narrow trade, …
Altcoins posted broader gains in quiet Sunday trading as bitcoin held a tight range near $88K and analysts weighed crypto against the surge in precious metals.
Crypto analyst and XRP advocate Levi Rietveld recently shared a short post on X stating that “$XRP is built for this,” alongside a video clip of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaking about reviewing regulatory barriers around blockchain, stablecoins, and new payment systems like the crypto industry. Bessent’s comments focused on reforming financial infrastructure so capital markets can function more efficiently for mainstream users. In turn, Rietveld viewed those comments as closely matching the original purpose XRP was created to serve. Related Reading: Ethereum’s 2026 Overhaul Aims To Cut Costs, Boost Speed, Limit Censorship What XRP Was Designed To Do In the video clip that Levi Rietveld shared on X alongside his statement of XRP being built for this, Scott Bessent outlined a policy direction that places emphasis on evaluating regulatory impediments to blockchain technology, stablecoins, and new payment systems. Bessent stated that officials will take a close look at regulatory impediments to blockchain, stablecoins, and new payment systems and consider reforms to unleash the power of American capital markets. Notably, this plan corresponds to a more crypto-positive approach adopted by the current US administration under President Donald Trump. $XRP Is Built For This! pic.twitter.com/WNDUoeFPC4 — Levi | Crypto Crusaders (@LeviRietveld) December 22, 2025 These are a part of efforts by the US government to modernize crypto regulation and define clearer frameworks for digital assets, including proposed acts aimed at bringing clarity to markets and stablecoins. One example of this is the Clarity Act, a legislative proposal that aims to clearly define the regulatory treatment of digital assets, separate payment-focused tokens from securities, and assign clearer oversight roles to agencies such as the SEC and CFTC. Bessent’s comments focused on improving payment systems and removing friction around new financial technology. XRP proponents like Levi Rietveld would quickly point out that the theme aligns closely with how the cryptocurrency and the XRP Ledger were engineered. The XRP Ledger works with transparent settlement, predictable transaction costs, and finality that does not depend on mining or complex smart contract execution. These characteristics are important for institutions that need clarity and reliability. In practice, XRP’s real-world role is most visible through payment solutions developed by Ripple. Banks and other financial institutions do not need to hold large balances of foreign currencies, since XRP can be used as an intermediate asset during settlement. XRP’s Current Regulatory And Institutional Position Progress on regulatory clarity has been helping real institutional infrastructure around XRP. Multiple Spot XRP ETFs have gained approval and launched in 2025 and early numbers are positive, with over $1.14 billion worth of inflows. Bloomberg estimates suggest these funds could draw $5 billion to $7 billion in institutional capital by 2026. Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible This creates new avenues for asset managers, pension funds, and other institutional allocators to hold XRP within traditional investment vehicles. All these cannot be possible without the clear framework for blockchain, stable coins, and new payment systems proposed by Bessent. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Ethereum has spent much of December under pressure, and the recent fall below $3,000 has left a visible mark on investor positioning. On-chain data now shows a notable deterioration in profitability across the network, with the share of ETH supply sitting in profit falling below 60%. At the same time, institutional demand has decreased, with data from Glassnode showing how both retail profitability and institutional participation in Ethereum have weakened simultaneously. Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible Ethereum’s Percent Supply In Profit Falls Below 60% The drop in Ethereum’s percent supply in profit has been one of the clearest signals of stress for Ethereum. Ethereum’s investors have fallen into deeper losses, and this is a reflection of recent price action. Speaking of price action, Ethereum had initially reclaimed the $3,000 price level on December 22. During this time, the percentage of ETH supply in profit pushed back above 60% and reached as high as 63%. However, this break was for only a very brief time, and price action fell back below $3,000 after just a few hours. As ETH broke below $3,000 again, the share of supply held at unrealized gains fell under 60%, down from above 70% earlier in December. This fall shows that the pullback has not been limited to recent buyers but has begun to impact investors who accumulated during the beginning of the month. ETH Percent Supply In Profit. Source: Glassnode ETF Net Outflows Indicate Waning Institutional Participation The weakness in on-chain profitability and price action is also a reflection of trends in the ETF market. Another data metric from Glassnode shows that since early November, the 30-day moving average of net flows into US Spot Ethereum ETFs has turned negative and remained there. This persistence of outflows points to a phase of muted participation and disengagement from institutional traders. The ETF chart below shows that inflows, which supported Ethereum’s push to new all-time highs in August, have faded, replaced by continued outflows through November and December. This matters for price action because ETF demand has been a key source of incremental buying. As that bid has weakened, Ethereum has struggled to absorb sell-side pressure, contributing to its failure to hold above $3,000. ETH: US Spot ETF Net Flows. Source: Glassnode The combination of negative ETF net flows and Ethereum’s recent price behaviorhelps explain rising unrealized losses. Interestingly, various on-chain data sources also reveal different instances of whale addresses reducing their exposure to Ethereum outside of spot ETFs. For instance, Lookonchain recently highlighted activity from a wallet believed to be linked to Erik Voorhees, which swapped 4,619 ETH, valued at about $13.42 million, into Bitcoin Cash (BCH) over the past two weeks after having been inactive for nearly nine years. Voorhees later responded by clarifying that the wallet does not belong to him and that he does not hold any Bitcoin Cash. Related Reading: Ethereum’s 2026 Overhaul Aims To Cut Costs, Boost Speed, Limit Censorship Lookonchain also pointed to selling pressure from Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, who has offloaded a total of 1,871 ETH at about $5.53 million in the past week. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
According to Sharplink co-CEO Joseph Chalom, Ethereum could see a major jump in total value locked (TVL) next year if certain onchain trends pick up. Chalom put a bold number on it: 10X TVL in 2026. That claim ties together rising stablecoin use, bigger tokenization of real-world assets, and increased interest from big financial groups. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forecasts For 2026 Range From $65K To $250K As Sentiment Hits ‘Extreme Fear’ Stablecoin Activity On Ethereum Based on reports, the total stablecoin market stands at about $308 billion now and could grow to $500 billion by the end of next year, a rise of roughly 62%. Over half of all stablecoin activity — about 54% — happens on Ethereum. That math matters: more stablecoin flows on Ethereum tends to lift the protocol’s TVL because many of those dollars sit in smart contracts for swaps, lending, and liquidity pools. Sharplink Gaming holds 797,704 Ether, worth roughly $2.30 billion at the time of publication, a signal that some public treasuries are already staking big bets on the network. Tokenized Assets Gain Traction Chalom also expects tokenized real-world assets to expand rapidly, forecasting a $300 billion market for RWAs in 2026 and saying tokenized assets will 10X in AUM next year as funds, stocks, and bonds get wrapped onchain. In 2026, I believe Ethereum’s Total Value Locked (TVL) will increase 10X. Why and how? ???? Views ≠ investment advice. — Joseph Chalom (@joechalom) December 26, 2025 He points to rising interest from mainstream firms like JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock. Reports note that sovereign wealth funds may increase their Ethereum exposure by five- to tenfold, which could bring large, patient capital into tokenization projects and protocol deposits. Ethereum Price Action Ethereum was trading near $2,921 on December 25, 2025, giving the network a market value of about $352 billion, while 24-hour trading volume came in at roughly $11.47 billion. Over the course of 2025, ETH moved through a full market swing. It opened the year around $3,298, climbed to about $4,390 in August, and stayed below its record high of $4,942, before sliding back to the $2,921 area by year-end. Price swings were heavy, with annual volatility close to 140%. Technical readings show mixed momentum. The weekly RSI sits at 41.7, placing Ethereum in a neutral-to-bearish zone, while the daily MACD histogram remains negative at -0.15. Price action has also been boxed into a narrow band between $2,774 and $3,038. Futures data adds to the cautious tone. Total open interest stands near $37 billion, down 0.62% over the past 24 hours, pointing to reduced exposure from traders. Liquidation data shows more than $100 million in potential long liquidations clustered between $2,880 and $2,910, an area now seen as a key pressure point. Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible Market Signals And Risks Not everyone agrees that token flows will translate into quick price gains. According to crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen, Ether is unlikely to hit new highs next year given current Bitcoin conditions. That caution lines up with technicals that point to range-bound trading and with the fact that open interest has eased slightly. The liquidation cluster near $2,880–$2,910 shows where leveraged positions could be forced out, and that kind of stress can push price moves faster than fundamentals. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
The altcoin market continues to struggle, with Bitcoin dominance hovering near 59% and the Altcoin Season Index sitting close to 37. This signals that capital remains heavily concentrated in Bitcoin, leaving most altcoins under pressure despite pockets of optimism around ETFs and selective narratives. Market sentiment reflects this imbalance. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index …
Solana is trading at a critical turning point after an extended downtrend. Following a sharp sell-off from the November highs, SOL has spent the last several weeks consolidating above the $118–$120 zone. This area has now been defended multiple times, shifting focus to whether the current structure can support a bullish correction or if the …
According to reports, Joshua Dalton, founder of Triblu, has put forward a striking scenario: that XRP holders could become millionaires, billionaires, or even trillionaires if the token were used as part of a US strategic crypto reserve. Related Reading: JPMorgan Eyes Crypto Services As Institutional Demand Grows – A Boost For BTC Price? Dalton argued that XRP, because of its ties to a US-based company, is a safer fit for a national reserve than Bitcoin. The claim has energized some corners of the crypto community, but it also faces steep legal and market obstacles. Dalton’s Bold Claim And The Numbers Dalton’s case relies on hard math. Based on reports, the US national debt is about $38 trillion. Ripple’s escrow holds roughly 34.4 billion XRP. Using those figures, Dalton and others calculate that an XRP price near $883 would be needed to offset roughly 80% of that debt. Many people won’t like what I say below. “Bitcoin cannot be the official currency for the United States’ reserves because Satoshi Nakamoto is still unknown and it could be the currency operated by China. The government can ???? trust XRP because it is operated by @Ripple and ????… — Joshua Dalton (@J9Dalton) January 23, 2025 At present, XRP trades around $1.91. That would mean a rise of over 46,000% for the token. By comparison, Bitcoin is trading near $89,000 and would have to reach about $30 million per coin to meet a similar debt-offset goal if the plan focused on 1 million BTC, an idea once floated by US Senator Cynthia Lummis. That would be a gain of more than 33,000% from current levels. Legal And Market Limits US President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year creating a national Bitcoin reserve and a wider crypto stockpile framework. But policymakers appear to be focused mainly on Bitcoin for the reserve role, with other coins treated as seizure assets or general holdings. Importantly, Ripple’s escrow is privately controlled and governed by contracts. It cannot be commandeered by a government without legal action and likely long court fights. Even if US authorities somehow obtained large amounts of XRP, unloading such a position on global markets would likely push the price down, not up. Markets are not built to absorb trillions of dollars without heavy distortion. Holders And Wealth Scenarios Based on wallet data, some XRP addresses would see big nominal gains at an $880 price. For example, a holder of 10,000 XRP — currently worth about $19,100 — could see that stake climb to nearly $9 million on paper. Reports show 179,546 wallets hold between 5,000 and 10,000 XRP. About 2,006 addresses sit between 500,000 and 1 million XRP. Yet most of the largest reserves are held by Ripple, its founders, or exchanges. Only 20 wallets contain between 500 million and 1 billion XRP, and six addresses hold more than 1 billion. 2026 is going to be epic! Locked in! XRP will be the star of 2026. — Coach, JV (@Coachjv_) December 23, 2025 Market Reaction And Expert Views Matthew Sigel, lead researcher at VanEck, has argued in public that Bitcoin offers the best path to large-scale fiscal uses, and other analysts remain skeptical of any single token being used to “solve” national debt. Related Reading: XRP To $1,000? Korean Researcher Lays Out 10-Year Roadmap Coach JV and other commentators have shifted attention to 2026 as a potentially strong year for XRP price action, framing the outlook as speculative and time-bound. These views are primarily sentiment-driven and rely on factors beyond government policy, such as market demand and regulatory clarity. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView