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
In 2025, crypto regulation stopped being mostly about courtroom theater and started focusing on actual infrastructure. Debates over how or whether to regulate crypto became less philosophical and more operational. Regulators spent the year answering the “boring” questions that decide whether a market can scale: who is allowed to issue a “digital dollar,” what backs […]
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As Bitcoin continues to underperform in the fourth quarter of 2025, its investors have had multiple reasons to offload and shave off their holdings. Among these investors is a certain cohort, its short-term holders (STHs), who have been facing heat over an extended period. STH MVRV In Deep Red For 60 Consecutive Days In a recent post on the X platform, market quant Burak Kesmeci revealed an interesting perspective regarding the current market condition for Bitcoin’s most reactive investors — the short-term holders. Kesmeci’s post revolves around the STH MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value) metric. For context, this metric compares the market value of BTC to its realized value, thus serving as a means to track whether Bitcoin’s short-term investors are, on average, in profit or at a loss. Related Reading: Bitcoin Whales Go Quiet On Binance As Inflows Collapse: Supply Shock Setup? A reading less than the neutral “1” level typically indicates that the STHs are in the red. Depending on the depth of this value, it could also foreshadow capitulation events. On the other hand, values above 1 reveal that short-term investors are in profit. The higher the value, the more probable it is for profit-taking events to follow. In his post on X, the online pundit shared that the STH MVRV has been in deep red territory for a full period of 60 days. Kesmeci explained that the flagship cryptocurrency’s short-term investors are now facing the highest level of “patience test” that they have ever witnessed throughout 2025. Notably, prolonged periods of negative MVRV readings have often correlated with heightened market stress. Seeing as the market’s most-reactive investor cohort is the one concerned, the Bitcoin price could witness the effect of capitulation-driven sell-offs. However, the opposite is also possible. In the scenario where bearish pressure eases off completely, prolonged negative readings could be a sign of imminent market stabilization. Bitcoin Stays Beneath 111-Day SMA — What This Means For Price To lend more weight to his on-chain revelation, Kesmeci also followed up with a key technical observation of Bitcoin’s price action. According to the analyst, Bitcoin has been trading below the 111-day simple moving average (SMA 111) within the same period. This alignment between on-chain and technical analysis thus functions to reinforce a clear narrative; Bitcoin is either currently at a consolidatory or corrective phase. This is contrary to the belief that the premier cryptocurrency might be at the start of a significant upward trend. Related Reading: Bitcoin Funds See Significant Net Outflows Heading Into Year-End – What’s Going On? From a broader perspective, Bitcoin’s future trajectory is not completely clear. Macro events, alongside renewed spot demand, could prove pivotal for the cryptocurrency in the future. This market phenomenon could determine whether BTC plunges deeper to the downside or begins its recovery journey. As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at around $87,380, with no significant movement in the past day. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
Developing economies that lack entrenched financial market infrastructure will adopt tokenized real-world assets before developed countries.
An onchain analyst speculated that a private key compromise may have allowed an attacker to mint millions of FLOW tokens.
The news comes one week after a Brooklyn man was indicted on 31 counts for allegedly stealing $16 million from Coinbase customers in a separate scheme.
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 market remains technical, with DOGE and SHIB's movements reflecting broader risk sentiment and liquidity conditions.
The price of Bitcoin has continued to struggle under the psychological $90,000 level during the Christmas season, reflecting the sluggish climate of the crypto market. While the premier cryptocurrency and the rest of the crypto market floundered, other asset classes enjoyed significant Christmas season rallies. These recent performances suggest that the Bitcoin price might indeed be at the beginning of a bear market. According to the latest on-chain data, the price of BTC might be heading down to as low as $41,500 in the imminent period of extended downward movement. BTC Price To Reach Next Bottom In October 2026 In a new post on the X platform, Alphractal founder and CEO Joao Wedson has put forward a target and timeline for the Bitcoin price in the coming bear season. According to the on-chain expert, the market leader’s price could form its next cycle bottom around early October 2026. Related Reading: Bitcoin Whales Go Quiet On Binance As Inflows Collapse: Supply Shock Setup? This projection is based on the Repetition Fractal Cycle chart, which portrays how market patterns and price movements repeat themselves on different scales. Using investor behavioral patterns, this chart helps to predict price tops and bottoms across different timeframes. As shown in the chart above, a 4-year cycle is marked by various periods, starting with accumulation, then markup and distribution, before ending with the bear market. Wedson revealed that the most favorable time window for the next accumulation phase would likely be between October 6, 2026, and October 16, 2026, according to historical cycle symmetry. The Alphractal founder added that the price target for Bitcoin by the start of this accumulation phase is between $41,500 and $45,000. In essence, the bear market phase, which the premier cryptocurrency seems to only be at the start of, could see the price of BTC fall as much as 50% from the current price point. Wedson warned in his post: This is not a fixed rule, nor a deterministic price forecast. It represents a fractal rhyme of market cycles — something Bitcoin has historically respected more often than ignored. Markets do not repeat exactly — but they rhyme with an uncomfortable frequency. If the price of Bitcoin goes to around $45,000 from the current point, it would represent a roughly 65% decline from the cycle top. This is significantly lower than the over 75% correction seen in the last bear market in 2022. Bitcoin Price At A Glance As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $87,550, reflecting no significant movement in the past 24 hours. Related Reading: XRP Price To Surge: Analyst Shares ‘Interesting Chart’ That Has Previously Led To A Rally Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
XRP remains in a tight trading range, with sellers defending the $1.90 resistance and buyers supporting the $1.86 level, indicating a potential decisive move soon.
How did 2025 shake out for crypto?
Trust Wallet's Chrome extension shipped a malicious update in December, exfiltrating wallet data and draining roughly $7 million from hundreds of accounts before the company pushed a fix. The compromised version 2.68 was live for days, auto-updating in the background, the way browser extensions are designed to. Users who followed every standard self-custody rule, such […]
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The advisory highlights the fragility of crypto markets, where security concerns can trigger sharp price declines and investor caution.
The post Upbit issues caution advisory on L1 Flow after price drops sharply amid security concerns appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Crypto companies rushed to Wall Street in 2025, with Circle, Bullish, and eToro going public while Kraken lined up for its market debut.
According to reports, Bitcoin’s outlook for 2026 is sharply divided as traders close the year. The coin was trading at $87,520 at the time of publication and is down 8% since Jan. 1, year to date. Market mood has been weak. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit 20 on Dec. 26, marking a stretch of two weeks labeled “extreme fear.” Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible Analysts Split On Market Direction According to posts on X, Jan3 founder Samson Mow contend that 2025 was the bear market and that Bitcoin could be entering a bull run that lasts into 2035. PlanC, another well-known analyst, posted that Bitcoin has never had two red yearly candles in a row and suggested that surviving 2025 meant surviving the bear phase. Those comments have been picked up across industry pages and sparked fresh debate. 2025 was the bear market. https://t.co/1ganX0YSbI — Samson Mow (@Excellion) December 26, 2025 Some Big Price Calls Remain Bullish Several prominent voices still expect sharp gains. Geoff Kendrick at Standard Chartered and Gautam Chhugani at Bernstein each forecast $150,000 for Bitcoin in 2026. Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, predicted $250,000 by 2026, pointing to constrained supply and rising institutional demand as the main drivers. Arthur Hayes and Tom Lee also pushed big targets as recently as October, with $250,000 mentioned as a possible outcome by year-end. Sentiment And Market Data Based on reports, sentiment readings have not helped bullish momentum. The fear index that reached 20 on Dec. 26 stayed in “extreme fear” territory for multiple days. At the same time, Bitcoin’s price sits below many earlier projections. Market watchers note the coin is under pressure even though several forecasts remain optimistic. Bears Put Forward Sharp Downside Scenarios Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, expects a decline of roughly 60% from the historical peak above $126,000 by 2026. Jurrien Timmer of Fidelity warned that 2026 could be a “year off,” with prices possibly falling toward $65,000. Those views rely heavily on historical drawdowns and macro headwinds. They carry weight because large drops have happened before, though past behavior does not guarantee future action. Where The Numbers Diverge The spread of projections is wide. Some firms suggest about $150,000, which would represent roughly 74% upside from a cited $86,000 level. Others point to $250,000, while downside scenarios reach $65,000 or worse when measured from the $126,000 peak. That gap shows how different assumptions about supply, demand from institutions, and macro conditions lead to very different price targets. Related Reading: Ethereum’s 2026 Overhaul Aims To Cut Costs, Boost Speed, Limit Censorship Traders and asset managers will be watching flows into regulated products, corporate treasury moves, and changes in on-chain demand. Headlines and big calls make for talk, but actual flows often decide short-term moves. Volatility is likely to remain, and the wide range of forecasts suggests that both sharp rallies and sudden drops are possible in 2026. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
Under the President Donald Trump Administration, the U.S. government has taken a markedly different approach toward cryptocurrency. Instead of treating the sector as a regulatory problem or speculative threat, Washington is now moving to integrate crypto directly into the existing financial system. According to @tiger_research, the U.S. strategy is not to replace traditional finance with …
Ethereum (ETH) is trading near a crucial price zone, leaving traders cautious as the market looks for its next direction. After weeks of volatile moves, ETH has entered a slower phase, hovering close to a key support area. The current price action suggests the market is at a decision point, where a strong move in …
Bitcoin is about to close 2025 almost exactly where it started. After riding a strong bullish wave for most of the year, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $126,080 on October 6. ETF inflows were strong, regulatory progress improved sentiment, and on-chain activity picked up. But the rally didn’t last. A mix of macro …
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 …
Bitcoin is ending the year down nearly 10%, leaving many investors puzzled. 2025 was expected to be a big year for Bitcoin, with new milestones like spot Bitcoin ETFs, more interest from big institutions, and increased political attention. Despite this, the price hasn’t kept up, creating fear in the market. But Michael Saylor, co-founder of …
The Bitcoin market stands at a critical juncture, as it currently hovers above its $85,000 psychological level. Aside from its psychological validity, this key support also appears to hold technical importance. Hence, its strength could be tested before the market shows directional momentum. However, a recent analysis has surfaced that paints a grim picture for the flagship cryptocurrency’s future. Related Reading: Bitcoin Supply Overhang: 6.6 Million BTC Bought Above Current Price Descending Triangle Forms Near $85,000 Support In a recent post made on QuickTake, CryptoOnchain reveals that there has been the appearance of a classic technical pattern, indicative of an asset’s bearish continuation intent. This pattern, which is present on the Bitcoin daily timeframe, is characterized by a sequence of lower swing highs, with price compressing against a horizontal support acting as the triangle’s base. Interestingly, a price level, known as the Point Of Control (POC) — wherein lies the highest traded volume — also sits near the $85,000 support. This further reinforces the significance of the price level. If this price level were to be breached decisively, the Bitcoin price could see a rapid downward movement, seeing as liquidation and capitulation events would likely follow. Notably, heightening downward pressure might be seen if very little or no demand comes into play to reassert bullish momentum. Related Reading: Ethereum’s 2026 Overhaul Aims To Cut Costs, Boost Speed, Limit Censorship Exchange Activity Drops To Multi-Year Lows CryptoOnchain supports his bearish hypothesis with another notable on-chain observation. The indicator here is the Bitcoin Exchange Withdrawing Transactions (7-day Moving Average) metric, which keeps tabs on the number of on-chain withdrawal transactions made from cryptocurrency exchanges over a period of seven days. The analyst highlights that the metric’s readings have fallen to levels around 5,000, the lowest seen since 2016, about nine years ago. Interestingly, this current level falls short of the readings put in during previous bear markets (in 2018, 2020, and 2022). Exchange withdrawal activity offers insight into investor conviction and accumulation behavior. Rising withdrawal activity signifies growing accumulation appetite and increasing confidence, as coins sent out of exchanges are usually kept in private wallets. On the flipside, this significant fall in exchange withdrawal activity points to a deep feeling of disinterest among Bitcoin investors, or a lack of conviction that is important for long-term holding. Aside from the evident lack of urgency to acquire coins into private wallets, the low readings from this metric reveal that investors are also not actively accumulating BTC. The analyst concludes that “the data suggests widespread skepticism or exhaustion, with real, non-speculative demand largely absent.” If the $85,000 support fails, the lack of interested buyers could cause Bitcoin’s price to fall rapidly. As of press time, Bitcoin holds a value of $87,410, with no real movement since the past 24 hours. Featured image from Pexels, chart from Tradingview
With the crypto market cap near $3.04 trillion, investors are already looking ahead to 2026. Instead of hype, the focus is now on key dates, policy moves, and rule changes that could shape the next market phase. 10x Research, led by Markus Thielen, breaks the year down quarter by quarter, highlighting moments that could drive …
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned that reopening the GENIUS Act would cross a “red line,” accusing banks of lobbying Congress to block stablecoin rewards and limit competition.
Bitcoin’s resilient basis rate and options data suggest limited downside despite ETF outflows, while BTC waits for a catalyst that can help it reclaim $90,000.
Stablecoins are no longer just a tool for crypto traders. They are on track to challenge one of the most important payment systems in the U.S. financial system. In its latest annual predictions report, Galaxy Digital said stablecoins could surpass the ACH in transaction volume by 2026, pointing to rapid growth in both usage and …
XRP’s open interest has reportedly crashed to lows not seen since last year, when the altcoin surged by around 600%. On-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant noted that this development could be bullish for XRP as it looks to rebound to new highs. XRP’s Open Interest Drops To Lowest Level Since 2024 In a blog post, CryptoQuant analyst Arab Chain revealed that XRP’s open interest on Binance has fallen to its lowest level since 2024. The analyst noted that analysis of XRP Ledger data on the crypto exchange shows a clear rebalancing in the derivatives market, with open interest falling to almost $453 million, the lowest level since the end of last year. Related Reading: Why You Should Pay Attention To XRP’s Exchange Netflows This Month Arab Chain noted that this development reflects a fundamental shift in trader behavior and confirms a significant decrease in leverage usage compared to previous periods. Notably, the XRP price looks to have been fueled by leverage in the early parts of this year. The analyst noted that open interest in XRP futures contracts exceeded $1 billion on several occasions, which coincided with strong price surges. The XRP open interest also rose again in mid-2025 to levels similar to those recorded in the early months of the year, sparking significant volatility for XRP. However, Arab Chain noted that the current landscape is “markedly different.” Open interest has declined gradually and then sharply, indicating a significant exit by short-term speculators. Meanwhile, the analyst explained that the decrease in XRP open interest carries dual implications. The first is that the decline in risk appetite and weakening momentum in the derivatives market explain the volatile price behavior in the absence of strong, liquidity-driven breakouts. The second is that the contraction represents a healthy structural development, as it reduces the risk of forced liquidations and mitigates the abnormal pressures associated with excessive leverage. Arab Chain noted that periods of low open interest often represent transitional phases, during which the market shifts froma highly speculative environment to a calmer one that relies heavily on genuine spot demand. XRP May Be Preparing For Another Significant Rally Crypto analysts have suggested that XRP may be preparing for another significant rally, although it remains to be seen if it could rally 600% like last year. In an X post, crypto analyst Niels stated that the altcoin is forming a higher low around this level. He noted that this is a similar structure that happened in April this year, before a new all-time high (ATH). The analyst added that a push above $2 could put the bulls in control. Related Reading: XRP Stochastic RSI Just Touched 0.0 For The Second Time In History Crypto analyst Chart Nerd predicted that XRP could reach a new ATH on its next leg to the upside. This came as he noted that the altcoin was in the middle of an ABC reset. His accompanying chart showed that XRP could reach as high as $4.5 on this impulsive move to the upside, which is expected to happen in the first half of next year. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.84, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The rapid rise of crypto treasury companies could be facing its real test soon. In its annual report, Galaxy Digital warned that five or more Digital Asset Treasury companies (DATs) could soon be forced to sell assets, merge with larger players, or shut down altogether as market conditions tighten. The report points to growing pressure …
Ethereum’s current market sentiment remains mixed. While on-chain adoption and institutional interest continue to grow, ETH’s price has struggled to reflect these improvements. Ether is trading near $2,924, down more than 12% over the past year, suggesting that strengthening fundamentals have yet to translate into short-term price momentum. Despite this disconnect, analysts and industry leaders …
Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine has begun staking Ether after depositing nearly $219 million worth of ETH into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system.
Bitcoin ETF headlines have turned into a scoreboard with “record inflows,” “largest outflows ever,” and “institutions dumping.” The problem is that most stories isolate a single day or a single fund. Without context on cumulative flows, fund cohorts, and custody plumbing, they say very little about how much spot Bitcoin is actually changing hands, or […]
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