As the year draws to a close, XRP investors are increasingly adopting a bearish outlook, anticipating that the altcoin will remain below the critical $2 threshold. XRP Forecasts Dipped A recent poll conducted by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, running from December 12 to 23, reveals that 73% of investors predict XRP will finish the year between $1.50 and $2.00, suggesting a muted conclusion for the altcoin’s performance in 2025. Just weeks prior, market sentiment was more optimistic, with around 38% of traders expecting XRP to rally to a range of $2.00 to $2.50 by December 31. However, that figure has since dropped to 28%, reflecting a significant decline in confidence. Related Reading: Bitcoin Correction Timeline: Analyst Predicts Potential Bottom In October 2026 The possibility of the cryptocurrency exceeding $2.50 appears almost non-existent, as only about 4% of respondents foresee it reaching the $2.50 to $3.00 range, and a similar 4% predict it could surpass $3.00. The consensus of 73% predicting an XRP finish between $1.50 and $2.00 marks an increase from the 63% recorded earlier in the poll. This growing alignment among poll participants indicates that they are consolidating around this range as the most likely scenario. Furthermore, the sentiment towards higher price levels has significantly shifted. The percentage of voters anticipating a rally into the mid-$2 range has dwindled to a mere 4%, reflecting dwindling confidence after several failed attempts to break through resistance levels. Even the outlook for the altcoin’s price to drop below $1.50 has risen slightly to 7%, up from 6%, although most believe a sharp sell-off is unlikely. Rising Supply From Early Investors This prevailing sentiment aligns with Futures data indicating a prevalence of aggressive sell orders, while the slow accumulation of XRP in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at a pace of $30 to $50 million daily cannot keep up with profit-taking and risk reduction activities in the market. On-chain data reveals that significant realized gains have been secured as XRP approached its recent highs. For instance, a long-term holder who initially acquired the altcoin around $0.40 sold over 350 million tokens at approximately $2.00, reaping an estimated profit of $721 million. Related Reading: Ethereum Fails To Surpass $3,000: Predictions For The Final Days Of The Year With many early investors reportedly cashing out at the $2 level, there has been minimal support for dip-buying to bolster the price, keeping it in the current range between $1.7 and $1.8 recorded in the week. Experts suggest that when the supply increases from long-term holders, whose initial investments were made at $0.40 to $0.60, it creates a resistance ceiling that is challenging to break without substantial new demand entering the market. At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $1.830. The altcoin has recorded major losses in all time frames, with a year-to-date decline of 15%, in line with the broader market’s performance. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
On-chain data shows a chunk of the Bitcoin supply has its cost basis above the current spot price, which could potentially shape volatility if BTC rebounds. Bitcoin Supply Overhang Could Dictate Volatility & Selling Pressure As pointed out by CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn in a new post on X, over 6.6 million BTC is being held above the latest spot price of the cryptocurrency. The on-chain indicator of relevance here is the “Supply In Loss,” which measures, as its name suggests, the total amount of Bitcoin that’s currently carrying some net unrealized loss. Related Reading: Bitcoin Extreme Fear Streak Extends To 13 Days On Christmas The metric works by going through the transaction history of each token in circulation to determine the price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain. If this previous transfer price was more than the current spot price for any coin, then that particular token is considered to be in a state of loss. The Supply In Loss adds up all coins fulfilling this condition to find the total situation on the network. A counterpart indicator called the Supply In Profit accounts for the supply of the opposite type. Now, here is the chart shared by Maartunn that shows the trend in the Bitcoin Supply In Loss over the last few years: As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Supply In Loss shrunk to a value of zero as the asset’s price set its all-time high (ATH) above $126,000 back in October, but with the market downturn that has followed since then, the indicator’s value has shot up. Today, around 6.6 million tokens of the cryptocurrency sit below cost basis, equivalent to a third of the BTC supply in circulation. The recent highs in the Supply In Loss represent the highest degree of pain in the market since 2023. In another X post, the analyst has shared the chart for another Bitcoin indicator, this one called the UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD). The URPD contains information about how much BTC was bought last at each of the levels that the asset has visited in its history. Looks like a significant portion of the supply sits above the spot price | Source: @JA_Maartun on X From the chart of the URPD, it’s visible how the Bitcoin supply that’s in loss is distributed across the various levels right now. A few levels are particularly prominent in the degree of supply that they carry, while some others are notably thin with coins. Generally, investors who are in loss look forward to a retest of their cost basis so that they can get their money “back.” Once this happens, some of these hands decide to exit, fearing that BTC will go down again in the near future. This selling can make large supply clusters above the spot price, potential points of volatility. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Trading Near ‘Fair Value,’ Says On-Chain Model Considering that a large portion of the supply is underwater right now, a venture back to higher levels could be met with selling pressure for Bitcoin. BTC Price Bitcoin has made some recovery during the past day as its price has returned to $88,600. Featured image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com
A surge in stablecoins, tokenized RWAs and growing sovereign wealth fund interest could drive a major increase in Ethereum’s TVL in 2026, Sharplink’s co-CEO said.
Bitcoin is struggling to regain momentum below the $90,000 level, yet it continues to hold above $86,000, reflecting a market gripped by indecision. Price action has narrowed into a tight range, with neither buyers nor sellers able to assert clear control. As volatility compresses, apathy has become a defining feature of the current environment, and an increasing number of analysts are openly discussing the possibility that the market is transitioning toward a broader bear phase. Related Reading: XRP Exchange Reserves On Binance Fall To Six-Month Low: Selling Pressure Is Easing While price levels dominate headlines, on-chain data suggests the more important battle is unfolding beneath the surface. According to CryptoQuant analyst Burak Kesmeci, Bitcoin’s current positioning cannot be understood by price alone. Instead, attention is shifting toward the cost bases of key market participants, particularly whales and Binance spot users. Even with Bitcoin trading around $87,000, the most consequential level sits significantly higher. Data shows that the average cost basis of new whales, defined as holders with coins younger than 155 days, is clustered around $100,500. This zone represents a critical break-even threshold for large players who entered the market recently. As a result, every approach toward $100,000 carries heightened significance. That level may either trigger distribution, as whales seek to protect capital, or mark the start of renewed accumulation if confidence returns. Cost Basis Data Maps Bitcoin Real Support and Resistance The report highlights that beneath Bitcoin’s current price action, cost basis data offers a clearer framework for understanding market risk. For Binance spot users, the average cost basis sits near $56,000. This level represents the largest concentration of spot volume in the market and effectively defines the “deep water” zone if conditions deteriorate. In a prolonged bearish phase, $56K is where the bulk of spot holders would be tested, making it a critical long-term support area rather than a short-term trading level. Long-term whale positioning adds another important layer. The cost basis for whales holding Bitcoin longer than 155 days is clustered around $40,000. This means these participants are still sitting on profits of more than 2x, even after the recent correction. That profit cushion helps explain the rise in realized gains seen over recent weeks. For many long-term holders, current prices already represent a satisfactory exit, increasing the incentive to distribute into strength rather than aggressively accumulate. Taken together, the data reframes Bitcoin’s market structure. The key short-term ceiling remains near $100,000, where newer whales approach breakeven and supply tends to emerge. On the downside, $56,000 stands out as the level where spot market conviction would be most severely tested. Related Reading: Ethereum Bearish Structure Meets Bullish Supply Signal – What Happens Next Bitcoin Consolidates Above Key Weekly Support as Momentum Cools Bitcoin is trading near the $88,700 level on the weekly chart, stabilizing after a sharp pullback from the $120,000–$125,000 highs reached earlier this cycle. While the broader uptrend from 2024 remains intact, recent price action signals a clear slowdown in momentum. The market has shifted from an impulsive expansion phase into a corrective and consolidative structure, with volatility compressing around a critical support zone. Technically, Bitcoin is holding just above its rising medium-term moving average, which has acted as dynamic support throughout this bull cycle. The rejection above $110,000 marked a decisive loss of upside control, and the failure to quickly reclaim that zone suggests distribution rather than a brief pause. At the same time, price remains well above the long-term moving average, reinforcing that this move is still corrective within a larger trend, not yet a confirmed trend reversal. Related Reading: Bitcoin and Ethereum Coinbase Inflows Collapse While Binance Retains Relative Activity – Details Volume dynamics support this interpretation. Selling pressure expanded during the initial breakdown, but recent weeks show declining volume as price stabilizes between roughly $86,000 and $90,000. This points to seller exhaustion, though buyers have yet to step in with conviction. Structurally, the $86,000–$88,000 range is pivotal. Holding this zone keeps the higher-timeframe bullish structure alive. A clean breakdown would expose deeper downside. While a recovery above $95,000 would be needed to reassert bullish momentum and reopen the path toward prior highs. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Discounts and bundle deals were offered to mining operators, as 2025 ends on a bad note for the crypto market and the mining industry.
According to Charles Hoskinson, the race between Solana and Ethereum looks different depending on the time frame. Solana may win ground quickly because it moves fast. Ethereum looks set to aim for a broader, slower build that could matter more later. Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible Short-Term Gains For Solana Solana’s appeal is plain. Its network pushes a lot of transactions every day and it can adopt upgrades more quickly, Hoskinson said. That speed has helped projects bring tokenized stocks and other finance tools onto the chain. Reports have disclosed that the total value of tokenized equities on Solana recently hit about $185 million. Platforms such as xStocksFi, Superstate, and Remora Markets are among those building there. For traders and some institutions, low fees and high throughput are hard to ignore. A Large Financial Gap Remains Still, there are big differences under the surface. Solana’s total value locked and stablecoin use sit at about 10% of Ethereum’s levels. That gap means the kinds of financial activity seen on Ethereum are not yet matched on Solana. The size of a chain’s financial ecosystem affects what kinds of services and markets can grow on it. So while adoption on Solana is growing, the scale of on-chain lending, staking and stablecoin volumes is still much smaller when compared with Ethereum. Ethereum’s Research-First Approach Ethereum’s work is focused on research and longer-term upgrades, especially in areas like zero-knowledge proofs and advanced scaling methods. Reports have suggested that Ethereum is aiming to move more of its validation to cryptographic proof systems so it can act as a verification layer for many networks. Speed Now, Strategy Later Hoskinson framed the difference as one of timing. Solana’s leadership and design allow quicker decisions and faster rollout of new features. Ethereum’s path is marked by heavy research and slow coordination. This means Solana may capture use and attention in the near term, while Ethereum’s technical direction could shape broader infrastructure over a longer span. Both approaches come with trade-offs. One focuses on quick adoption, the other on building systems that rely on stronger mathematical proofs. Tokenized stocks on Solana reach a new All-Time High with ~$185M in total value. Solana stands as the institutional infrastructure of choice for leading tokenized stock platforms like – @xStocksFi – @SuperstateInc’s Opening Bell – @RemoraMarkets pic.twitter.com/xr7q54sucs — Capital Markets (@capitalmarkets) December 24, 2025 Related Reading: Ethereum’s 2026 Overhaul Aims To Cut Costs, Boost Speed, Limit Censorship What This Means For Markets For investors and builders, the split is clear: architects chasing rapid growth may prefer Solana today, while those betting on deep financial stacks and broad verification may stick with Ethereum. The $185 million milestone for tokenized stocks on Solana signals rising trust in blockchain-based equity products, but it is small compared with traditional markets. Reports and comments from industry figures like Hoskinson help explain why different teams pick one chain over another. In the end, both chains are being tested by real use, and their paths will be measured by what users and institutions choose to run on them. Featured image from Equiti, chart from TradingView
Fundstrat’s head of research said institutional tokenization supports a $7,000–$9,000 Ether price in early 2026 and a longer-term case for $20,000.
On a cold ‘Betwixmas' December morning, the mood around Bitcoin feels familiar and strange at the same time. Familiar, because the story still swings between euphoria and anxiety. Strange, because the people watching the chart now include a different crowd. Some are still the veterans who lived through 2017 and 2021, some are newer, the […]
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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has stepped forward to address swirling rumors that he dumped his ADA holdings, sparking concerns about his potential role in the altcoin’s dramatic 80% price crash. Amid speculation and social media chatter, Hoskinson firmly denies the claims, insisting he did not personally contribute to the decline by offloading his assets. Cardano Founder Denies Claims Of Selling ADA Despite the festive holiday season, Hoskinson was bombarded with accusations of contributing to ADA’s 80% price crash over the past four years. Initially, the Cardano founder took to X on December 25 to share an optimistic message for 2026, encouraging holders and community members not to lose hope. Related Reading: What The New Mightnight Launch Means For The Cardano Network He emphasized that despite the challenges of the past years, there is much to look forward to in 2026. He extended holiday greetings and expressed appreciation for the Cardano community, including members like @injective_pie, who has been vocal about ADA’s price performance and its blockchain’s progress over the years. While many responded positively to Hoskinson’s messages and holiday greetings, @injective_pie confronted him directly, accusing him of dumping ADA. The community member questioned the Cardano founder about selling his ADA at $3 and not buying back at lower levels around $0.3, suggesting that such actions could undermine trust in the crypto project. Hoskinson swiftly dismissed these allegations, insisting that he did not dump his ADA and that false narratives do not change reality. The member’s response highlighted the tension between the Cardano founder and some skeptical segments of the community. It also underscored the ongoing dissatisfaction with the current price of ADA. Notably, frustration among ADA investors has been growing over the years, as the cryptocurrency has failed to regain its all-time highs. Since its 2021 peak, the Cardano price has steadily declined, most recently dropping toward $0.35 after crashing by over 3% this week. Year-to-date, the altcoin has fallen by more than 50%, underscoring the prolonged challenges facing the network despite its strong community support. Cardano’s underperformance stands in contrast to other major cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which reached new ATHs this year. Even with its surging daily trading volume of more than 96%, ADA has yet to show any significant upward momentum, declining even more as the broader market navigates ongoing bearish pressures. ADA Price Weakens Further As Open Interest Drops Amidst sluggish price action, data from Coinglass shows that ADA Futures Open Interest (OI) has declined from $1.72 billion in October 2025 to $651 million as of December 26. This massive change represents a steep decline of more than 62% in less than three months. Related Reading: Cardano Founder Reveals “Game Plan” For 2026, But Can ADA Price Still Recover? With key fundamentals deteriorating and market sentiment weakening, additional pressure has been placed on ADA’s price. On-chain data also shows that Cardano’s Fear & Greed Index stands at 37, firmly placed in the fear zone, as the price continues to trend lower. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com
Stani Kulechov's comments followed an uproar in the Aave community about the relationship between the Aave decentralized autonomous organization and Aave Labs.
Bitcoin’s technical and onchain market structure was robust throughout 2025, but ever-shifting macroeconomic conditions eventually put a cap on BTC price. Will the trend shift in 2026?
Got holiday cash to spend? A wave of standout indie games is bucking rising hardware and AAA prices, giving players plenty to check out for $20 or less.
Cryptocurrency markets experienced a modest recovery this week, but spot Bitcoin ETFs extended a five-day losing streak amid thin year-end liquidity.
XRP’s chart is telling a two-speed story right now. While short-term price action remains heavy and key resistance levels are still capping upside, the broader structure continues to quietly mature beneath the surface. This tension between near-term pressure and a slowly building macro setup is what makes the current phase especially critical for what comes next. A Multi-Year Compression Is Reaching Its Endgame In a recent update, crypto analyst EGRAG CRYPTO emphasized that the XRP macro triangle is far more than just market noise; it is a definitive roadmap. Analyzing the asset on a 2-month timeframe, the analyst noted that this massive structural formation has been developing for years, serving as a primary indicator of where the price is headed in the long term. Related Reading: XRP Price To Surge: Analyst Shares ‘Interesting Chart’ That Has Previously Led To A Rally EGRAG was among the first to identify this specific breakout setup in its early stages. What the broader market might view as stagnation or random volatility is a multi-year triangle reaching its final apex on the macro chart, signaling that a major move is being prepared. The analyst stressed that this technical preparation is not based on “hopium,” but on a disciplined interpretation of long-term price action. Basically, this macro view provides a structured look at the market, stripping away the distractions of lower timeframes to reveal the significant accumulation and pressure building within the triangle’s boundaries. This tiered roadmap is designed to guide investors through the potential breakout phases, offering a strategic perspective on how XRP is expected to unfold as it finally exits this historic consolidation pattern. Double Bottom Falters As Buyers Struggle To Follow Through According to a post by Umair Crypto, the market is still showing signs of hesitation, with the double-bottom structure failing to gain meaningful traction. On the 4-hour chart, the recent bounce from the $1.84 area aligns closely with the golden pocket of the $1.772–$1.962 Fibonacci retracement, which helps explain the temporary reaction seen so far. Related Reading: Why The Current XRP Valuation Doesn’t Make Sense For momentum to shift, price needs to start closing above the $1.96 level. A move beyond that zone would allow the daily RSI trendlines to flip, marking the first real step toward regaining bullish momentum. The next and more critical hurdle sits at the $2.00 mark, where a breakout would also mean reclaiming the daily 50 SMA, a key signal that bullish structure is returning. Until those resistance crucial levels are recovered, the broader outlook remains bearish. Thus, the altcoin is vulnerable to further downside, and the risk of printing lower lows stays on the table as long as buyers fail to assert control above these key thresholds. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The USX stablecoin briefly slipped below its dollar peg on Solana DEXs before recovering after its issuer injected liquidity into secondary markets.
Forced liquidations in the crypto derivatives market reached about $150 billion in 2025, according to CoinGlass data. On its face, the figure looks like a year of persistent crisis. For many retail traders, watching price feeds turn red became shorthand for chaos. In practice, it captured something more mundane and structural: the notional value of […]
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Regulatory clarity in the United States and the likelihood of falling interest rates will push the crypto ETF market higher in 2026.
Investor flows continue to favor traditional hedges and equities, as bitcoin ETFs extend outflows despite broader markets rising.
The privacy narrative is positioned for continued relevance into 2026, driven by practical adoption needs rather than speculative momentum.
The mainnet rollout follows the Fermi testnet activation in November, further reducing block times on the layer-1 blockchain network.
In an exclusive Cointelegraph interview, the crypto analyst pointed to macro headwinds, muted sentiment and cycle dynamics shaping Bitcoin’s path into 2026.
Banks have mostly stayed on the sidelines when it comes to holding XRP directly, even as interest in digital assets continues to increase. That hesitation has not been due to a lack of utility or demand but to strict regulatory capital rules that made holding XRP economically impractical for regulated institutions. However, a small adjustment in how XRP is treated under global banking rules could remove that barrier and change how banks interact with the cryptocurrency. Why Banks Can’t Hold XRP The main obstacle preventing banks from holding XRP has been its treatment under the global banking framework known as Basel III. Basel III is an international regulatory framework developed after the 2008 financial crisis that introduces higher quality and quantity of capital requirements in the international banking sector. Right now, XRP currently falls into the Type 2 crypto exposure under Basel III, which is set up with rules for assets that pose higher risks. Under these rules, most cryptocurrencies, including XRP, fall into a high-risk category that carries a punitive capital requirement. Banks are required to apply a 1,250% risk weight to such assets, implying they must set aside far more capital than the value of the XRP itself. This means that under the Basel III framework, for every $1 of XRP exposure, a bank must hold $12.50 in capital. This dynamic was recently explained by a crypto commentator with the name Stern Drew on the social media platform X. In a post on X, Drew explained that this capital inefficiency alone accounts for years of institutional hesitation. The issue has not been demand nor technology, but the regulatory capital treatment that made holding XRP irrational from a balance sheet perspective. The Regulatory Inflection Point The conversation around XRP’s regulatory status is becoming increasingly important to its long-term outlook. Interestingly, Drew’s analysis goes further by pointing to what he describes as an inflection point that markets may be overlooking. Now that legal and regulatory clarity surrounding cryptocurrencies is improving, XRP could be reclassified into a lower-risk category under Basel III. The endgame is that XRP is on a clear path to becoming a Tier-1 digital asset for global institutions, which is mostly for tokenized traditional assets and stablecoins with strong mechanisms. If that reclassification occurs, the economics will change immediately. XRP would become acceptable for direct balance sheet exposure, allowing banks to custody, deploy, and settle using the asset without the need of excessive capital. This is not a discussion about short-term price movements but about capital mechanics that determine whether large pools of institutional money can participate in holding XRP at all. In this case, liquidity provisioning of XRP by banks would change from off-balance-sheet usage to direct institutional ownership. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
The event underscores the risks of high leverage in crypto trading, where rapid price shifts can trigger cascading liquidations and market instability.
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Cryptocurrency prices moved lower as the broader market cooled, even though no major negative news triggered the drop. The total crypto market value slipped to about $2.94 trillion, down roughly 1.5% over the past day. Bitcoin Pulls Back After Recent Strength Bitcoin fell to around $87,100, giving up earlier gains. Trading data shows that Bitcoin …
Bitcoin and several major altcoins attempted to start a relief rally, but higher levels continue to attract strong selling by the bears.
Gold, silver, platinum and copper all surged to new records as metals — not bitcoin — attracted capital on the debasement trade and geopolitical tension.
Regulators are entering a second year of sweeping change under the Trump administration, with the SEC and CFTC set to have a busy 2026.
Beneath the Mediterranean, physicists at the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope Initiative built a cathedral of glass spheres that listens for cosmic whispers—and this year, it heard the most energetic neutrino humanity has ever recorded.
Diversification into AI and HPC infrastructure drove sharp outperformance for miners, while pure-play bitcoin miners lagged.
Tokens must demonstrate tangible value to remain competitive as the crypto market shifts towards business-driven fundamentals.
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