SBI Group is preparing to test a new cashless payment system in Japan using USDC, a US dollar–linked stablecoin issued by Circle. The pilot project is expected to begin in spring 2026 and will focus on in-store payments using QR codes. The test will be run by SBI VC Trade, Japan’s only registered operator allowed …
James Howells, who accidentally threw away a hard drive with 8,000 Bitcoin, has given his advice for industry newcomers, veterans, and skeptics in 2026.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is hovering at levels lower than during the shock FTX collapse in late 2022, despite Bitcoin trading at roughly five times the price.
The proposal shifts a portion of trading fees from liquidity providers to the protocol, which will be used to burn native token UNI.
If Ether manages to reclaim its all-time high in 2026, it may just be a “bull trap,” says crypto analyst Ben Cowen.
A security issue in the Trust Wallet browser extension has led to the loss of nearly $6 million in crypto, raising serious concerns among users during the Christmas period. The problem affects Trust Wallet Browser Extension version 2.68 only, according to an official statement from Trust Wallet. Mobile app users and people using other extension …
Adopting AI and blockchain could transform financial giants into tech-like leaders, potentially reshaping market dynamics and growth strategies.
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Trust Wallet confirmed Thursday that it has identified a security incident affecting a specific version of its web browser extension.
Grok makes X more truth-friendly as it often challenges users’ assumptions instead of confirming them, says Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
According to reports, Ethereum plans two major hard forks in 2026 that aim to change how the network runs. Mid-2026 will see the Glamsterdam upgrade, and late 2026 is set for Heze-Bogota. These steps are meant to speed up transaction handling, add new validation tools, and make the chain harder to censor. Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible Ethereum Trading, Options Pressure Ethereum is currently above $2,900 as the market awaits a large options expiry. Reports put the expiring notional at $6 billion, with more call options than puts. Many contracts could end up worthless if ETH fails to rise above $3,100, the so-called max pain level. Analysts see a consolidation range between $2,700 and $3,100 into year-end, and some experts offer a bearish 2026 view, pointing to possible drops toward $1,800–$2,000 if broader market conditions worsen. Parallel Execution Glamsterdam targets parallel processing by letting multiple transactions run at the same time instead of one after another. Block access lists will tell nodes which data each transaction needs, which makes parallel work safer and more efficient. Ethereum will undergo key upgrades in 2026, with the Glamsterdam fork enabling parallel processing and increasing the gas limit to 200 million, up from 60 million. Validators will shift to validating ZK proofs, paving the way for Ethereum L1 to achieve 10,000 transactions per… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 25, 2025 Protocol-level proposer-builder separation, or ePBS, is also planned. That move is expected to cut some centralization risks and make it easier for validators to use zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs without being penalized for extra compute time. Gas limits are expected to rise in stages, with talk of reaching 200 million per block after key changes land. About 10% of validators could start verifying ZK proofs rather than rechecking all transactions by year-end, based on current projections. The push toward parallel execution could reduce slowdowns that happen when demand spikes. But higher gas limits come with tradeoffs. Running bigger blocks or faster workloads can raise hardware needs, which could make it harder for smaller validators to stay in the network. That balance between speed and decentralization will be watched closely. Layer-2 Throughput Could Jump Sharply A major part of the story is layer-2 scaling. Increasing the number of data blobs per block to 72 or more would give L2 systems much more space to store transaction data, which could let them process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second in aggregate. Designs like ZKsync’s Elastic Network aim to let users keep money on Ethereum while using faster L2s. An interoperability layer is also being discussed to move activity between different L2s more easily. Still, user experience, liquidity splits, and coordination between chains remain open issues that need work. Related Reading: JPMorgan Eyes Crypto Services As Institutional Demand Grows – A Boost For BTC Price? Heze-Bogota: Censorship Resistance Heze-Bogota will add tools to help groups of validators make sure certain transactions are included. Fork-choice inclusion lists are meant to reduce the risk that transactions get blocked if only part of the network remains honest. That change is more about values and permissionless access than it is about raw speed. Featured image from Firi, chart from TradingView
The incident highlights the critical need for robust security measures in digital wallets to prevent significant financial losses for users.
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Bitcoiners wanting to focus on short-term factors should be “fairly methodical and mathematical,” says Strategy CEO Phong Le.
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is ending the year with major technological developments after a year that saw it gain significant adoption and milestones. On Dec. 24, Denis Angell, a lead software engineer at XRPL Labs, announced the integration of “post-quantum” cryptography and native smart contracts into AlphaNet, the project’s public developer network. The ‘Q-Day' inevitability […]
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Crypto analyst Steph has pointed to an “interesting” chart, which has previously led to an XRP price rally. This came as the analyst also suggested that the altcoin may be forming a bottom in preparation for the next leg to the upside. Analyst Shares Why This Chart Is Interesting For The XRP Price In an X post, Steph highlighted the 3-week XRP price chart, stating that it was “interesting” for one reason. He revealed that the Stochastic Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped to 0.00 on the 3-week timeframe, which is extremely rare and has only happened once before, which was the 2022 bear market bottom. Related Reading: Pundit Explains Why This Changes Everything For XRP In The Long Term Steph further explained that on such a high timeframe, this indicator only reaches zero when selling pressure is fully exhausted, which is a positive for the XRP price. The analyst added that this means that momentum to the downside has dried up, although he warned that this doesn’t mean that price must instantly reverse. Steph noted that the last time this signal appeared, the XRP price entered a long accumulation phase before the next major move higher. As such, the analyst claimed that this again suggests that the downside risk is structurally limited and that long-term holders are absorbing supply rather than distributing. He further remarked that these signals tend to mark cycle lows rather than short-term trades. The XRP ETFs also mark a positive for the XRP price as these funds maintain their inflows streak. These funds have recorded daily inflows since the Canary’s fund launched on November 13. As a result, they now boast net assets of over $1.1 billion, even as XRP continues to see significant demand from institutional investors. XRP Remains Below Key Levels In an X post, CryptoXLarge stated that on the weekly chart, the XRP price remains below the descending trendline around the 8 to 21 EMA levels. He further remarked that this week, the price is attempting to break below the key support zone around $1.95, which aligns with the Fib 0.5 level and the 89-week EMA, which is a support that has held throughout the year. Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Keeps Crashing CryptoXLarge stated that a weekly close below this level could increase the probability of a move toward the $1.60 support, which is the Fib 0.618. Meanwhile, a weekly close above $1.95 may boost buying interest, which could trigger a relief XRP price rally toward $2.30 and then $2.70. Crypto analyst Crypto King also echoed a similar sentiment, stating that a reclaim of $1.98 could eventually send the altcoin to as high as $3.66. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.87, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Asia's crypto regulation in 2025 focused less on new promises and more on the delivery of workable rules in practice.
Silver left the $50 range in late November and went parabolic into year-end, registering consecutive all-time highs and hitting $72 an ounce on Dec. 24. Gold made a similar run throughout 2025, reaching $4,524.30 the same day. Bitcoin, however, traded at $87,498.12 as of press time, down roughly 8% for the year and 30% from […]
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The non-fungible token project owned by Luca Netz appeared on the Sphere’s exterior screens, with the animated display going live on Christmas Eve.
Prediction markets are moving into crypto’s mainstream as Crypto.com’s in-house market maker raises fairness questions and Coinbase doubles down on growth.
Headlines move crypto fast, but liquidity decides what lasts. Data from ETFs, stablecoins and on-chain flows shows what really drives prices.
The year opened with a sitting president launching his own token three days before inauguration and closed with researchers proving that one of the year's “comeback stories” was controlled by a few dozen wallets. Between those bookends, 2025 turned memecoins from niche absurdity into crypto's most visible, and most embarrassing, corner. A sovereign leader rugpulled […]
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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has shared his thoughts on how Ethereum and Solana may perform as the crypto market moves toward 2026. His comments show the different strengths and challenges facing both blockchains. Hoskinson said that Solana has better growth potential in the short term. He explained that Solana can move faster when it comes …
Bitcoin has seen very little movement in the past 24 hours, with prices trading in a narrow range as the holiday season keeps activity low. Market conditions remain calm, and there have been no major breakouts so far. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is holding above an important short-term support zone near $85,500. As …
Ethereum is preparing for major network upgrades in 2026 that could transform how the blockchain works. According to recent developer roadmap updates shared in late 2025, Ethereum is planning two major protocol upgrades in 2026, the Glamsterdam fork and the Heze-Bogota fork. These upgrades target faster transactions, stronger privacy, and better decentralization, helping the ETH …
DTCC’s move to bring US Treasurys onchain highlights growing institutional momentum behind tokenized real-world assets.
The move could integrate crypto into Russia's financial system, potentially boosting market legitimacy and attracting new investors.
The post Russia’s top stock exchanges plan to launch crypto trading once legal framework is in place appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
The filing surge coincided with meaningful legislative progress that provided clearer operational frameworks for market participants.
The ongoing Bitcoin price play out leading into a bear market is now one of the most pressing questions in the crypto industry. Right now, Bitcoin is trading between $87,700 and $88,000, which is a 30% drop from the all-time high it reached in October 2025. Price action alone often leaves room for debate, but on-chain data is beginning to offer clearer guidance. Notably, analysis from CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin’s internal market structure is shifting in a way that aligns more closely with early-stage bear market conditions. BCMI Drops Below Equilibrium The important bear market signal is from Bitcoin’s Combined Market Index, or BCMI, which is a composite indicator that blends price behavior with on-chain momentum. According to Woo Minkyu, a verified analyst on the CryptoQuant platform, Bitcoin’s BCMI returned to the 0.5 level in October. This was initially interpreted as a cooling phase rather than a definitive cycle top. At the time, the assumption was that Bitcoin was consolidating after an extended rally. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Remains Stuck Inside This Range, But A Breakout Could Follow However, that view has weakened with the deterioration of market conditions. Particularly, Bitcoin’s price action has declined materially since late October, and the BCMI has fallen in tandem with the price. This joint decline suggests the market has reset not only through time but also through valuation and participation. As shown on the chart below, the BCMI has now slipped below its equilibrium zone, and this is a development that is known to coincide with transitions into bearish phases, where rallies tend to be capped, and downside risks increase. A closer look at prior Bitcoin cycles adds more context to the current setup. In both 2019 and 2023, meaningful cycle bottoms formed only after BCMI compressed into the 0.25 to 0.35 range. Those levels reflected deep sentiment compression, washed-out positioning, and a structural reset of the market. At current readings, Bitcoin’s Combined Market Index is less than 0.4. This reading is below equilibrium but still well above a bottom zone. This opens the possibility that the market is transitioning into a bear phase, not just experiencing a pullback. According to the analyst, a more durable bottom may only form if history repeats itself and the BCMI revisits 2019-2023 levels. Weak Sentiment Adds To Bear Market Evidence Market sentiment is also supporting the idea that Bitcoin is moving deeper into a bearish phase. Optimism has been really scarce in recent weeks, with traders showing little confidence that the price has found a sustainable floor. CoinMarketCap’s Crypto Fear and Greed Index is currently posting a reading of 28, which places sentiment firmly in the Fear zone. Related Reading: The Bitcoin Bull And Bear Cases That Crypto Traders Should Know About This poor sentiment backdrop has been affirmed by industry commentary. For instance, Changpeng Zhao recently noted that many investors only wish they had bought Bitcoin early when prices were already at all-time highs. In practice, those early accumulations happened during periods like the present one, when fear, uncertainty, and doubt dominate market psychology. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Post-halving stress is reshaping Bitcoin mining. As margins compress, miners turn to AI, HPC and consolidation to survive heading into 2026.
As Bitcoin (BTC) struggles to maintain its position below the $90,000 threshold, market sentiment appears to be shifting toward the possibility of a new bear market. Notably, analyst Ali Martinez has drawn comparisons with historical market cycles to forecast Bitcoin’s trajectory. Bitcoin Market Patterns In a recent social media post, Martinez highlighted a recurring pattern that suggests it typically takes around 1,064 days for Bitcoin to transition from a market bottom to a market top, followed by approximately 364 days from a market peak back to the next bottom. Related Reading: Ethereum Fails To Surpass $3,000: Predictions For The Final Days Of The Year In the first cycle, the market bottomed out in January 2015 and reached its peak in December 2017, exactly 1,064 days later. This was followed by a bear market that lasted 364 days, culminating in the bottom in December 2018. The second cycle mirrored this pattern: the market bottomed in December 2018 and reached its apex in November 2021, again over a span of 1,064 days. Subsequently, another downturn followed, leading to a bottom in November 2022, when Bitcoin traded around $15,500. Next Bottom At $37,500? Currently, the analyst highlights that the market is in what could be the third cycle, having witnessed a market bottom in November 2022 and a current peak above $126,000 reached back in October. Applying the historical patterns of these cycles, it suggests that Bitcoin is now within the 364-day correction window, indicating a potential bottom could materialize around October 2026 — approximately 288 days from now. Related Reading: Altcoin Struggles: What The Future Holds And The Potential For A 2026 Revival Examining past bear markets offers additional context for projecting potential downside. The bear market from 2017 to 2018 saw a correction of approximately 84%, while the market decline from 2021 to 2022 experienced a retracement of roughly 77%. Averaging these two corrections, Martinez suggests an expected retracement of around 80%, positioning Bitcoin’s next market bottom at around $37,500. Currently, the market’s leading cryptocurrency is trading slightly above the $88,290 mark, which is a 30% gap from the current peak. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
2025 saw the US-China rivalry weaponize every layer of the technology stack—from minerals to models to military doctrine.