In times when the Bitcoin price volatility is at its peak, some altcoins like XRP have been maintaining their stability. As the bulls are trying to regain control, the second-largest crypto, Ethereum, is once again approaching the psychological barrier at $3000. At this time, the bull-bear concentration and the short-term price spikes may have a …
Three of Sam Bankman-Fried's top lieutenants atop the former FTX empire — Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh — agreed to consent judgments.
The Federal Reserve has requested public comment on a plan to create a fast-track approval process for “innovation-focused” banks seeking to operate nationally.
Coinbase Institutional says clearer regulation, stablecoin growth and shifting macro conditions could mark a turning point for crypto markets in 2026.
The legislation, which many have criticized for being overly restrictive for the digital asset market, was reintroduced with “not even a comma” changed, according to one lawmaker.
Ethereum has been struggling to regain traction below the $3,000 level since Monday, with repeated rejection attempts reinforcing a fragile market structure. Bulls continue to lose ground as upside momentum fades, while sentiment across the market remains dominated by apathy and underlying fear. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces Elevated Downside Risk: Loss Selling Takes Hold As STH SOPR Falls Below 1 Trading activity has thinned, relief rallies have been short-lived, and many participants appear hesitant to commit capital in a market that lacks clear directional conviction. As price drifts sideways under key resistance, the broader narrative has shifted from optimism to caution. Despite this weak price action, on-chain derivatives data tells a more complex story. According to a CryptoQuant report, Ethereum’s derivatives market on Binance is reaching record levels, highlighting a sharp rise in risk appetite and speculative positioning among traders. Leverage across ETH contracts has expanded significantly, suggesting that market participants are increasingly willing to take on risk in anticipation of a directional move. This behavior points to growing optimism beneath the surface, even as spot price struggles to reflect it. The divergence between subdued price action and rising derivatives exposure creates a tense market environment. Ethereum Leverage Reaches Extreme Levels The CryptoQuant analysis by CryptoOnchain highlights a critical shift in Ethereum’s derivatives landscape, underscoring how speculative positioning has reached extreme levels. According to the data, Ethereum’s Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR) on Binance has surged to 0.611, marking a new all-time high for this metric. A rising ELR indicates that traders are taking on increasingly large leveraged positions relative to the exchange’s reserves. At the same time, the report explains that buying aggression has intensified. On December 19, the Taker Buy Sell Ratio spiked to 1.13, a level not observed since September 2023. A ratio above one indicates that aggressive buyers are dominating order flow, with traders actively lifting offers rather than passively waiting. This combination of elevated leverage and strong taker buying reflects a market leaning heavily toward bullish expectations. The convergence of these two indicators sends a clear message: traders are not only optimistic about Ethereum’s price trajectory, but they are also willing to assume substantial risk to express that view. However, this structure comes with meaningful downside risks. While high leverage can amplify upside momentum and fuel a breakout through resistance, it also creates fragility. With leverage at historic highs, even a modest price pullback could trigger cascading liquidations, increasing the probability of a sharp “long squeeze” and sudden volatility. Related Reading: Legendary Bitcoin OG Deepens Ethereum Bet Despite Losses Exceeding $70 Million ETH Price Struggles Below as Bearish Structure Persists Ethereum’s price action on the daily chart reflects a market attempting to stabilize after a prolonged corrective phase, but still trapped below critical resistance levels. ETH is currently trading around the $2,950 area after a short-term rebound, yet the broader structure remains fragile. The recent bounce has pushed price back toward the descending short-term moving average, but ETH continues to trade below both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which are now acting as dynamic resistance rather than support. Structurally, Ethereum has formed a series of lower highs since the October peak near $4,800, confirming a clear downtrend on the medium-term timeframe. The failure to reclaim the $3,200–$3,300 zone is particularly notable, as this area previously acted as strong support during the uptrend and has now flipped into resistance. As long as ETH remains below this range, bullish attempts are likely to be sold into. While the latest rebound came with a modest increase in volume, it remains well below the levels observed during impulsive upside moves earlier in the year. This suggests short-covering or tactical buying rather than strong spot demand. Related Reading: From Cycles To Continuity: Why Bitcoin’s 4-Year Pattern May Be Breaking On the downside, the $2,800–$2,750 region stands out as immediate support. A decisive break below this zone would expose ETH to a deeper retracement toward the $2,500 area. For the bearish structure to weaken meaningfully, Ethereum must reclaim the $3,200 level and hold above its key moving averages with expanding volume. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Klarna partners with Coinbase to raise USDC-denominated funding from institutional investors, expanding its traditional capital base.
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Mangoceuticals' partnership with Cube Group could redefine corporate crypto strategies, potentially accelerating growth in digital asset markets.
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A fresh $4 billion lawsuit tied to Terraform Labs’ collapse is becoming a test of what a stablecoin’s $1 promise means amid the adoption of dollar tokens as payment rails. The case is about more than who pays for a 2022-era failure. It also decides whether a “stable” price can be maintained by arrangements that […]
The post Terraform’s $4 billion Jump lawsuit exposes the hidden “shadow trading” that may be artificially holding up stablecoin prices appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The Wall Street bank said its bitcoin forecast relies on further crypto ETF inflows and a continued rally in traditional equity markets.
Bitcoin bulls are putting up a fight on Friday to break this week's choppy action that has capped all advances at around $90,000.
TRON integrates with Coinbases Base network via LayerZero, allowing TRX to bridge cross-chain and trade on Base-based DEXs.
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An Incentives Committee would direct programmatic token emissions, focusing allocations on participants that secure AVSs and contribute to the EigenCloud ecosystem.
DOT has support in the $1.72-$1.74 zone.
The Federal Reserve is seeking public feedback on a proposed “payment account” — informally dubbed a “skinny master account."
The U.S. central bank has been mulling the idea of a "skinny" version of master accounts for firms that want payments access without the deeper Fed demands.
HIP-3 trading volume on Hyperliquid has exceeded $10B, marking significant cumulative growth for the decentralized exchange platform.
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The European Central Bank plans to enable DLT transactions in 2026 as it prepares for the digital euro issuance and lawmakers establish rules on privacy.
DraftKings can offer event contracts in states that still prohibit online sports betting, expanding reach without changing state gaming laws.
Investigators said suspects printed fake 50,000-won bills to scam crypto holders in face-to-face trades.
Circle remains the bank's top pick in the sector, with Bullish and Coinbase following.
Crypto analyst Quantum Ascend has published a weekly-chart “roadmap” for Shiba Inu (SHIB) in a new video, laying out three upside targets for a potential altcoin cycle, while warning that SHIB’s deep multi-year drawdown could cap the move if macro conditions deteriorate. The Base Case For Shiba Inu Price In his X post, Quantum Ascend listed “Altseason Targets” as a conservative level (“$0.47 e-8,” as written), a “Primary” target of $0.00014, and a “Blow-Off” target of $0.00035. In the video, the analyst anchored the roadmap to Elliott Wave-style structure and Fibonacci extensions, and emphasized that the bullish path is conditional, not guaranteed. Starting from SHIB’s 2021 peak and the subsequent collapse, the analyst said the drawdown returned price to a historically meaningful zone: “Count out the five wave moves there pretty cleanly, but since then, nothing but a drawdown… Came back down right into this wave four low.” Related Reading: Shiba Inu Scores US Regulated Derivatives Entry Via Coinbase From that setup, Quantum Ascend argued the decline can be read as a “crashing pattern” that often resolves with a reversal back toward prior highs. “So you have your five waves down, and typically what’ll happen, price will roll back up to the fourth wave, and then what it does is it’s going to come take out this fifth wave. This is six, come take out that fifth wave, even if it’s just a little for a wave seven, then it’s done and it turns back the other direction, right? So when we’re looking at it from this perspective, we can see pretty textbook for the level it went to,” the analyst said. “So now that you see the case for a new high… we got to start taking these fibs into play here and figure out, all right, where’s some logical price levels for this thing to end up.” Quantum Ascend then flagged the biggest constraint: SHIB’s magnitude of drawdown relative to prior-cycle behavior. “The one thing that’s stopping me from saying, yep, 100%, we’re going to see new highs, is going back to 2021, price is down 93% at the worst and right now down 92%,” the analyst said. “Back in 2021, coins that set their highs in 2017 and had a 90% plus drawdown did not set new highs in the 2021 cycle… So this is a four-year range down 90 plus percent. It fits the parameter of some of those other coins that never ended up going off into a new all-time high.” Related Reading: Shiba Inu Remains A Familiar Crypto Name As Losses Pile Up If that historical analog holds, the analyst said SHIB could be tracing a larger corrective structure rather than a fresh impulse. “If that’s the case, then this count would be five waves up and then we have an A, B into the retracements, and then C would start taking us much lower. That coincides with a recession-depression type feel,” the analyst said, adding: “And I do believe that that is the base case moving forward here… It’s just really important to understand the broader macro climate. Like this Shiba isn’t going unless everything else is lined up.” The Bullish Case For SHIB Price Even so, Quantum Ascend laid out upside zones using confluence between broader and nearer-term Fibonacci ranges. The analyst’s stated primary target for an “altseason environment” is the 1.618 Fibonacci extension at roughly $0.00014 which translates to a 1,800% rally from the current price. He added: “My blow-off is going to be a full 4.236 extension here of this range.” The blow-off scenario hits $0.00035, but was presented by him as technically possible but unlikely. Market-cap math was used as a reality check. “The thing I’ll say about SHIB is it’s at a $4.2 billion market cap right now. That’s pretty big, especially for what it is,” the analyst said, estimating that a move to the conservative area would imply roughly a $25 billion valuation and that the most extreme scenario would push into triple-digit billions. “That is massive getting up there… That’s like a 50x from where we’re at. And at that point, you’re talking 200 billion for a coin that doesn’t really do anything… In no way, shape, or form is this my base case.” $SHIB | @Shibtoken ????️ Macro Structure Points to New Highs ↗️ Altseason Targets???? ➤➤ Conservative: $0.47 e-8 ➤➤ Primary: $0.00014 ✅ ➤➤ Blow-Off: $0.00035 Here’s the Roadmap???? pic.twitter.com/nWxQsVtLvv — Quantum Ascend (@quantum_ascend) December 18, 2025 Despite publishing upside targets, Quantum Ascend stressed exit discipline over maximal upside capture, noting he does not hold SHIB. “I don’t own this coin, but if I did, I would be layered out all in this area [from the 0.5 Fibonacci level at $0.00004699] … I’d be done by the time it got up to that 1.618 Fibonacci at $0.00014,” the analyst said, arguing that “dollar cost averaging both in and out is a great strategy” in a meme-coin trade that ultimately depends on broader liquidity and risk appetite. At press time, SHIB traded at $0.00000738. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The rise in bomb threats against major corporations highlights growing cybersecurity challenges and the need for enhanced digital defenses.
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The crypto industry is ever-growing and ever-changing. It would be difficult to summarize it in 50 names. Here are a few final individuals and entities we wanted to make note of this year.
The Bitcoin price has been experiencing significant price fluctuations since the start of the month, which has kept the volatility at the highs. As the price is heading towards the weekend, the rally appears to be largely calm. The volatility has compressed, ranges have tightened, and intraday swings have faded. However, a close observation highlights …
Dogecoin is showing resilience at key support, with buyers repeatedly stepping in to absorb downside pressure. However, momentum indicators and the broader structure continue to favor the bears, keeping the short-term trend under stress. This tug-of-war sets the stage for a decisive move, as the next reaction will determine whether DOGE stabilizes or slides deeper. DOGE Stuck In A Prolonged Corrective Phase According to a recent update by More Crypto Online, Dogecoin’s price action remains stuck in a corrective phase that has been in place since November 2024. The sharp flash crash on October 10 added complexity to the broader structure, making the chart harder to interpret. However, the core scenarios outlined in earlier analyses are still valid, with the short-term trend clearly leaning to the downside. Related Reading: Fading ETF Interest Puts Pressure on Dogecoin as Price Approaches Critical Cost-Basis Zone Although the “yellow” scenario allows for the possibility of one more push higher, downside momentum is still currently in control. Until DOGE shows a decisive reaction at a major support level, or at least manages to stabilize before slipping below the 9.6-cent level that marks the October 10 low, further weakness should be expected. Initial support sits at 9.6 cents, followed by deeper levels at 8.0 cents and then 5.4 cents. Whether price eventually reaches these lower targets is still uncertain, but for now, there are no technical signals suggesting that a local bottom has formed. Overall momentum remains negative, with DOGE still trading within a local downtrend. While a bullish reversal could develop at some point, current conditions do not justify adopting a bullish bias. Trying to anticipate a reversal ahead of confirmation carries increased risk in this environment, making caution the prudent approach for now. Bears Press, But Dogecoin Refuses To Break Crypto analyst Broke Doomer revealed that DOGE is displaying significant resilience, as bears have attempted to push the price lower multiple times without success. Despite the persistent downward pressure, the price continues to hold its ground, suggesting that the current support level is much firmer than sellers anticipated. Related Reading: Dogecoin Price Can Stage A 96% Rally If It Breaks This Falling Wedge Pattern The analyst noted that every dip into this specific zone is being bought up relatively quickly, a clear indication that strong bids are still stepping in whenever weakness is shown. This aggressive “buy-the-dip” behavior suggests that institutional or large-scale buyers are likely positioning themselves within this consolidation range, preventing a deeper breakdown. Given this ongoing battle between supply and demand, the focus has now shifted to the longevity of this base. Broke Doomer raised the question of how long this support will hold before buyers finally seize full control of the momentum. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
Jeff Yan, founder of Hyperliquid, has quietly built a $308 billion volume DEX with over half a million users, influencing DeFi while avoiding public attention.
Solana’s 2025 has proven that its builders and its culture continue to keep its ecosystem in crypto’s cultural zeitgeist.
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The Ethereum Foundation’s new leaders hope to bring in a new era for the second-largest cryptocurrency.