The deal to acquire South Korea's fourth-largest crypto exchange by daily volume is valued at around $70 to $100 million, per local reports.
Indie developers dropped some of the year's best games, including some offbeat insta-classics. Here's what you might have missed.
The rising Bitcoin network mining difficulty ensures the network remains sufficiently decentralized but also makes life harder for miners.
The hacker, who has already bridged the $3.9 million worth of stolen tokens to other chains, will not be affected by the network's planned rollback.
Coinbase said a former customer support agent was arrested in India as investigators probe a breach tied to insider bribery and customer data theft. Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said on Dec. 27 that the arrest involved a former support agent and thanked Hyderabad Police for assistance in the ongoing investigation. The update puts attention […]
The post Coinbase claims arrest in the $355 million insider extortion scheme that targeted nearly 70,000 customers appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin has outperformed precious metals over the last decade, but critics say the comparison doesn't hold up under shorter time horizons.
From Anthropic to Z.AI, the 2026 AI toolkit space demands knowing which platforms deliver. These are the best.
The XRP price has been bearish all through December, with key support zones failing to hold through the growing sell pressure. While the altcoin hovers around the $1.80 price level, recent on-chain evaluation shows that the XRP price could be in a precarious situation. Bearish Divergence Materializes Between RSI And XRP Price In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, market analyst CryptoOnchain highlighted that there is a convergence of both technical and on-chain events, which reveal an imminent bearish phase for the XRP price. Related Reading: Cardano Founder Addresses ADA Dump Rumors, Is He Behind The 80% Price Crash? The analyst first pointed out that the XRP price is painting an unsettling picture on its weekly chart, basing this hypothesis on the technical context. While the XRP price hovers near recent highs, indicating intentions to recover previous levels, its momentum tells a contrasting story. CryptoOnchain explained that a bearish divergence has formed between the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the XRP price. So, as the XRP price appears to target recent highs, the RSI has taken on a clear downturn, creating lower highs progressively. Usually, this type of divergence indicates weakening buying strength and dwindling momentum. Interestingly, historical data reveal that this pattern has often preceded significant price corrections. At the same time, the XRP price happens to be retesting the psychological and technical key level at $1.80. The market quant explained that in the event that $1.80 fails to hold, the altcoin could quickly see the beginning of an unbridled dump. Looking at the broader technical context, it becomes apparent that any significant upside attempt depends on improving momentum. Open Interest On Binance Cascades To New Low CryptoOnchain also cites a shocking development underneath the surface. The relevant indicator here is the Open Interest, which tracks the total value of all outstanding XRP derivatives contracts (on Binance) that have yet to be closed, settled, or liquidated at a given time. XRP’s open interest recently fell to as low as $450 million, a point marking the lowest level since November 2024. A sharp decrease in Open Interest typically points out that there’s been a significant efflux of leveraged capital from the futures market. Related Reading: XRP Stochastic RSI Just Touched 0.0 For The Second Time In History This kind of unchecked contraction suggests that XRP traders are either forcefully exiting the market or abandoning their positions out of fear. Moreover, the decline in Open Interest alongside weakening price momentum paints a narrative on investor interest; it shows that market participants are stepping back due to a lack of conviction, rather than positioning for upward continuation. With these signals converging to expose a strong bearish scenario for XRP, market participants are advised to act with caution, as the $1.80 key level’s defeat could mean serious trouble for the token’s price. As of this writing, XRP is valued at approximately $1.87, with a 1.5% price jump in the past 24 hours. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
XRP is trading around $1.87 and has slipped below the $2 mark after a recent slide. According to market trackers, the token is down about 30% in the fourth quarter of 2025, yet some analysts say the current weakness may be part of a larger build-up that has preceded strong rallies before. Investors and commentators are watching price action closely as debate grows over whether the token is setting up for a sharp rebound or more weakness. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forecasts For 2026 Range From $65K To $250K As Sentiment Hits ‘Extreme Fear’ Historical Accumulation Patterns Based on reports from chart watchers, XRP has shown what some call repeatable accumulation phases in past cycles. One run of consolidation unfolded from early 2015 through early 2017. During that span a steep drop took XRP from $0.00885 to $0.005, and later it rallied hard, climbing to about $3.30 by January 2018. A second cycle ran from mid-2023 into late 2024, where an August to November slide saw prices fall from $0.62 to $0.50, before a quick push up to roughly $3.4 in January 2025. Analysts point to these past moves as a pattern that could provide clues about what happens next. Recent Downtrend And Support Levels Reports show that since October 2025, XRP has fallen from about $2.8 to the current price near $1.84. Technical commentators have highlighted that the $1.8–$2 band, which acted as resistance earlier, may now be acting as support after recent trading. One analyst framed the present setup as an ABC reset, a short-term corrective structure that sometimes precedes renewed upward movement. Still, traders are split; some see a base forming, while others view the decline as evidence of continued selling pressure. The most hated $XRP rally is about to start! ???? pic.twitter.com/HTwbTIwxZ2 — STEPH IS CRYPTO (@Steph_iscrypto) December 16, 2025 Market Voices And Possible Catalysts According to community commentators, legal and market actions could influence XRP’s next leg. The potential end of a long-running SEC case, the arrival of XRP-focused ETFs, and pending legislation known as the Clarity Act were all cited as items that might change investor sentiment. One market watcher went so far as to say this could become the “most hated” rally, a phrase meant to describe a sudden surge that comes while many remain doubtful and frustrated. Utility Versus Price Several observers have urged a focus on real-world use. According to Aljarrah, the token’s value comes from practical utility and improved liquidity, which allows larger transfers with fewer tokens and makes the payment rails more efficient. People obsess over price, but XRP’s value is in its utility. A higher price strengthens liquidity, efficiency, and adoption. Let the tech and leadership do the work, short-term noise doesn’t matter. — Black Swan Capitalist (@VersanAljarrah) December 21, 2025 Related Reading: Big Bet On Ethereum: CEO Sees 10X TVL Growth In 2026 Price moves matter, he said, but not as speculation—rather as a factor that can broaden adoption by improving liquidity and network function. Traders should note that past patterns do not guarantee future results. While the accumulation thesis rests on historical parallels and technical charts, the market remains sensitive to news and flows. Selling now could mean missing gains if a rally follows, some warn; others say patience and careful sizing remain essential. For investors, the coming weeks may tell whether the current slump is the end of a retracement or the start of another climb. Featured image from LumerB/Getty Images, chart from TradingView
Hegota will follow “Glamsterdam,” Ethereum’s next major upgrade, which is currently expected to roll out in the first half of 2026.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has responded to growing questions about why ADA’s price is not rising, even as excitement builds around Midnight ($NIGHT), a new Cardano-linked project that recently surged in popularity. This week, $NIGHT topped CoinGecko’s list of most trending cryptocurrencies, briefly outperforming major names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in online interest. Reacting …
Ethereum’s 2026 roadmap centers on two tracks: expanding rollup data capacity through blobs while pushing base-layer execution higher through gas limit changes. Those gas limit changes depend on validators moving from re-executing blocks to verifying ZK execution proofs. The first track is already anchored by Fusaka, which shipped Dec. 3, 2025. Fusaka Fusaka sets up […]
The post Ethereum’s 2026 roadmap includes this validator risk that’s bigger than you think appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, has taken a new step into the crypto space by issuing the country’s first loan secured by cryptocurrency. The pilot loan was given to Intelion Data, one of Russia’s biggest Bitcoin mining companies. Sberbank confirmed that the loan was backed by digital currency mined by Intelion Data. However, the bank did …
Bitcoin saw a decent price increase today, even as weekend trading remained quiet. Market activity was limited, but the short-term price action is still giving traders something to watch. Right now, Bitcoin appears to be moving within a short-term recovery phase after its recent pullback. Some analysts say this bounce is part of a temporary …
The Bitcoin price is currently over 30% below its all-time high of around $126,000, which was reached in the first week of October 2025. Unfortunately, it has gone downhill for the premier cryptocurrency since reaching this peak, starting with the infamous October 10 market bloodbath. The general consensus in the crypto market has been that this price downturn was triggered by the increasing selling pressure. Interestingly, the latest on-chain data suggests that the Bitcoin price has not seen significant selling pressure in years. Lack Of Selling Pressure Means No Distribution In BTC Market In a December 27 post on the X platform, on-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr. revealed that the Bitcoin price has not seen strong selling pressure since early 2023. This puts the market leader on the verge of a new record in terms of selling activity. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hovering In A Descending Range, But Alts Are Quietly Gaining Momentum The crypto pundit’s on-chain observation revolves around the Sales Pressure metric, which evaluates different indicators that track investor behavior and supply/demand dynamics. This metric tracks the movement of coins on the blockchain in real-time, providing insights into potential price movements. CryptoQuant’s data shows that the Bitcoin price has gone 1,079 days without strong selling pressure, nearing the current all-time high of seller silence of around 1,125 days. Ultimately, this suggests that the BTC price is yet to see the selling pressure often associated with bear markets. According to Adler Jr., the lack of strong selling pressure means that the Bitcoin price has not seen mass profit-taking, capitulation events, or distribution. The on-chain analyst did note that the absence of selling pressure doesn’t automatically mean price growth for the flagship cryptocurrency. However, Adler Jr. highlighted that periods of major selling pressure are often followed by significant price moves for Bitcoin. As shown in the chart below, the Bitcoin price historically tends to go on an extended rally after a period of significant selling pressure. The price of BTC was below $1,000 as the sales pressure subsided in late 2015, before running to around $20,000 in December 2017. A similar occurrence could be observed after the Bitcoin price came out from under the sales pressure of 2019, before surging to the then-all-time high of around $69,000. Strong sales pressure is looking imminent for the Bitcoin price, especially as the period of seller silence nears its record high of 1,125 days. While the market leader might struggle during the period of strong selling pressure, the coin would likely exit the phase with an upward bounce. Nevertheless, Adler Jr. concluded that the Bitcoin market remains structurally resilient in its current state. Bitcoin Price At A Glance As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $87,810, reflecting no significant movement in the past 24 hours. Related Reading: Bitcoin 4-Year Cycle Is Dead: Crypto Trader Explains What Happens Next Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
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, …
Trump‑era tariffs, bruising rate realities and a burned‑out memecoin cycle are forcing crypto to shed its Peter Pan phase and build tokens with real utility, says Animoca Brands’ Yat Siu.
Mirae Asset Group is reportedly in talks to acquire South Korea’s crypto exchange Korbit in a deal valued at up to $100M, according to local media.
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.
Bitcoin analysis said that while a retest of $93,500 could still occur by the yearly close, a red 2025 candle would threaten the four-year cycle theory.
Popular market analyst KillaXBT has shared a bold prediction of a Bitcoin super cycle. After multiple failed “super cycle” calls by other market enthusiasts, the anonymous market expert argues that Bitcoin’s defining breakout has yet to begin, highlighting a key market condition. Related Reading: Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Face Prolonged Pain As Key Metric Stays Red Metal Market Downtrend, Bitcoin Supertrend According to KillaXBT in an X post on December 27, the real super cycle will only emerge when capital decisively rotates away from precious metals and into Bitcoin, marking a generational shift rather than a typical crypto rally. Unlike past “premature” super-cycle narratives, driven more by optimism, the analyst references a budding price structure similarity that indicates a massive Bitcoin price rally ahead. Notably, interest in precious metals is soaring after gold and silver recently reached new ATH prices of $4,500 and $77, respectively. Similar to most analysts, KillaXBT anticipates these precious metals will eventually slip into a multi-year downtrend that will force investors to explore other havens against inflation. In particular, the analyst expects older generations to remain anchored in gold, while a new cohort of capital increasingly chooses Bitcoin as its preferred store of value. As metals underperform, a scarce Bitcoin is tipped to record an unprecedented demand. The analyst draws a historical parallel between gold in early 1972 and Bitcoin’s current position heading into 2027. In this period, Gold entered a powerful multi-year run as capital sought protection from inflation and currency debasement. KillaXBT argues Bitcoin is approaching a similar inflection point and is set to outperform every major asset class in the next cycle. Interestingly, gold, long considered the ultimate store of value, is currently valued at an estimated $31.7 trillion in market cap value. Bitcoin, by contrast, sits near $1.83 trillion. KillaXBT explains that even at a Bitcoin price of $200,000, the network’s market cap would rise to roughly $5 trillion, still about six times smaller than gold, highlighting how early Bitcoin remains in the global asset hierarchy. Related Reading: Ethereum Investors Slide Deeper Into Losses – What The Drop Below $3,000 Means This Is The Last Sub $100,000 Bear Market – Analyst In concluding notes, KillaXBT states that skepticism has accompanied every major Bitcoin rally, consistently peaking just before large upside moves. In past cycles, critics pointed to regulation, environmental concerns, and volatility risks. Today, the fear narrative has shifted to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The analyst suggests that these concerns may once again pressure investors out of the market prematurely. However, KillaXBT is taking a bullish stance as they believe the current phase could represent the final prolonged bear market in which Bitcoin trades below $100,000. However, they warn that investors should expect the supercycle boom in 2027, as 2026 is likely to be a bearish period. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview
Spot Bitcoin ETFs extended a six-day withdrawal streak as analysts point to seasonal factors rather than weakening institutional demand.
Coinbase Institutional says shifting market structure, not hype cycles, will shape crypto trading and adoption in 2026 as activity concentrates in a few key areas.
XRP is slowly entering one of the most important structural phases in its history. Price action has been mostly bearish and sentiment across the broader crypto market has been cautious, but on-chain data tells a very different story. Data from Glassnode shows XRP balances on centralized exchanges falling to around 1.5 billion XRP, their lowest in over a year. This trend is unfolding alongside accumulation from newly launched XRP ETFs, creating conditions that could change the altcoin’s price dynamics heading into 2026. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forecasts For 2026 Range From $65K To $250K As Sentiment Hits ‘Extreme Fear’ XRP Exchange Balances Fall To Multi-Year Lows Data from Glassnode’s XRP balance on exchanges metric points to a clear and persistent downtrend in balances held on crypto exchanges throughout 2025. Earlier in the year, about 4 billion XRP sat on centralized platforms. Since then, balances have steadily declined, with a particularly sharp drop visible in the fourth quarter of the year. As it stands, exchange-held XRP has compressed toward the 1.5 billion mark, one of the lowest levels recorded in recent years. This decline has occurred despite the current downtrend in XRP’s price action, meaning that some holders are increasingly opting to move tokens into longer-term custody, even as some others are selling off their holdings. This trend is important for bullish momentum, as falling exchange balances reduce near-term sell pressure and make cryptocurrencies more sensitive to incoming demand. At the center of this supply contraction are US-based Spot XRP ETFs, which have risen as a powerful new source of demand. Market estimates indicate that about 750 million XRP have been absorbed by the six Spot ETF products since the first one launched in November. As ETFs continue pulling XRP off exchanges, the pool of liquid supply available to the spot market keeps shrinking. This dynamic does not force an immediate price response, but it changes the balance between supply and demand, and we could start to see the effects on the crypto in 2026. Related Reading: Big Bet On Ethereum: CEO Sees 10X TVL Growth In 2026 Weekly Chart Points To Exhaustion As XRP Sits On Support While on-chain data highlights tightening supply, technical conditions are beginning to reflect a similar theme. Crypto analyst Steph Is Crypto recently pointed out that XRP is now sitting on an important horizontal support zone on the weekly timeframe. The chart shows XRP’s price action is now compressing into the $1.90 to $2.00 range after an extended decline from mid-2025 highs near $3.50, placing XRP back at a level that previously acted as a launch point earlier in the cycle. Furthermore, the weekly Stochastic RSI is now in extreme oversold territory and this means that selling pressure has already done much of its work. Steph’s analysis noted that turning points tend to form when downside momentum is exhausted and there is little energy left for sellers to continue pushing price lower. Based on this, traders can expect XRP to transition into bullish momentum in early 2026. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
Uniswap has removed 100 million UNI from circulation after its fee-burning proposal passed with near-unanimous support.
The Bitcoin-to-gold ratio has strengthened because Bitcoin spent the past year in a “stagnant stage,” while gold enjoyed a “tremendous year,” according to Lyn Alden.
The incident highlights the critical need for robust security measures in blockchain networks to prevent significant financial losses.
The post Flow validators deploy fix, prepare for network restoration after security breach appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Since the short squeeze in mid-December, Bitcoin has yet to make any significant price gain, facing multiple rejections at the $90,000 price zone. The maiden cryptocurrency is presently consolidating within the $87,000, while investors patiently anticipate a clear market direction. According to pseudonymous analyst Sunny Mom, recent on-chain analysis suggests that bearish sentiment will remain dominant in the coming months following the initial extended correction in October and November. Related Reading: Bitcoin 4-Year Cycle Is Dead: Crypto Trader Explains What Happens Next Why Rising Short-Term Bitcoin Supply Is Flashing A Rare Bearish Signal In a QuickTake post on December 27, Sunny Mom draws attention to the BTC HODL waves, which show the rising share of short-term holders coinciding with falling prices, flipping a metric that typically supports bullish narratives. Historically, an increase in short-term holder (STH) supply, coins held for less than 155 days, suggests fresh capital is entering the market ahead of sustained rallies. However, the analyst described the current move as “passive bag-holding” rather than signaling “new blood.” This is because investors who bought during the $120,000 rally in October, driven by FOMO, alongside dip buyers in November, now sit on unrealized losses, thereby creating a price setup that alters market behavior. Sunny Mom explains that each relief rally is met with selling pressure as these holders attempt to exit at breakeven, effectively turning the expanding STH cohort into a ceiling rather than a floor. Therefore, price rebounds struggle to gain traction. The renowned analyst explains that the market is witnessing an emotional toll that is growing visibly on-chain. Notably, there have been repeated spikes in Net Realized Loss (NRL) since October liquidations, suggesting that capitulation is underway, with investors locking in losses after months of endurance. Sunny Mom describes the process as a “dull knife” finally cutting deep, an indication that weaker hands are being forced out, not through a single crash, but through prolonged exhaustion. Related Reading: Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Face Prolonged Pain As Key Metric Stays Red Bitcoin In Demand Vacuum As Likely Fall Below $80,000 Remains Active In further analysis, Mom attributes the current bearish setup to a demand vacuum. The market expert explains that exchange reserves are sitting near multi-year lows, signaling limited immediate sell-side liquidity. At the same time, long-term holders (LTHs) show little interest in distributing coins, reinforcing the view that conviction capital remains intact. Therefore, the problem lies on the demand side. With macro uncertainty still elevated, new buyers appear hesitant to step in, creating a demand vacuum. This also creates thin order books, meaning even modest sell pressure can push prices sharply lower. While some market watchers target a potential recovery in Q1 2026, citing expectations of rate cuts and improved global liquidity. Mom predicts Bitcoin may need a “final shakeout” to resolve the imbalance and reset the market for a bullish breakout. The analyst points to a potential move below $80,000 as a liquidity hunt that could flush remaining weak hands and allow larger holders to reaccumulate. Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview
Robinhood's strategic giveaways could boost user engagement and platform activity, potentially enhancing its market position in crypto trading.
The post Robinhood offers $750K in Bitcoin on day 2 of its holiday countdown event appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
The “fast-moving retail crowd” is one of the reasons Bitcoin is ending the year lower than it started, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan.