Crypto privacy is approaching an inflection point as relevant lawsuits near their conclusions and developers pivot toward designs that ensure privacy while appeasing regulators.
A veteran market analyst has flagged a technical pattern that could signal a turning point for Bitcoin after months of underperformance versus gold. The move comes as traders weigh whether the long run of gains for the yellow metal has exposed limits in Bitcoin’s safe-haven story. Related Reading: Gold And Stocks Ran Ahead, But Bitcoin May Close The Gap In 2026 Bitcoin Versus Gold Ratio Down The Bitcoin-to-gold ratio has plunged. It fell from 32 on Oct. 5 to about 20 today, a drop of more than 37%. According to the data, that means one Bitcoin bought roughly 32 ounces of gold in early October but now buys about 20. The ratio’s slide has accelerated since gold’s rally took hold and Bitcoin’s price slipped below key levels. Daily readings point to a possible change in momentum. On Nov. 21 the BTC/GOLD pair hit a low of 20 and the RSI stood at 21.30. A lower low near Dec. 1 came with a higher RSI low of 26.83. Then another trough at 19 on Dec. 26 coincided with a higher RSI low of 32.21. That’s a valid bullish divergence on the daily timeframe for BTCUSD vs. Gold. Interested to see where that leads us into 2026. pic.twitter.com/D6ei8HsIDy — Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) December 31, 2025 Based on reports, Michaël van de Poppe called this pattern a “strong” bullish divergence on the daily chart, a setup traders watch because it can show selling pressure easing even as prices make new lows. Technical Signals Show Cooling Selling Pressure On the weekly chart the picture adds weight to the signal. The weekly RSI for the BTC/GOLD pair has sunk to about 31.85 at press time. That level was last seen during the November 2022 sell-off tied to the FTX collapse, a point that marked a bottom in that cycle. Reports also link similar RSI lows to the bottoms seen in 2015 and 2018. Taken together, the daily divergence and the low weekly RSI make a stronger case that the downtrend may be losing steam, though nothing is guaranteed. Market Sentiment Splits Investors Gold’s rally has been dramatic. Reports show gold surged by over 70% in 2025 while Bitcoin fell by 7% over the year in some measures. At press time Bitcoin trades at $87,750, down 4.8% year-to-date. The breakdown in the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio and Bitcoin’s continued weakness below $100,000 have prompted fresh questions about the “digital gold” story as bullion posts historic gains. Short-term money appears to favor gold for capital protection. Many traders are treating the metal as a shelter while it climbs to new highs. Long-term holders, however, still point to Bitcoin’s potential for big upside once risk appetite returns. Related Reading: Crypto Headed For A $10 Trillion Future? Hoskinson Says RWA Is The Key According to market watchers, the near-term outlook hinges on whether the BTC/GOLD ratio and price action deliver follow-through above key levels. Until that happens, signals will remain tentative. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Whale accumulation across Solana tokens is headlining crypto-related social buzz as 2026 begins, according to data from Santiment.
Millions of long-inactive users still hold crypto at Bithumb, highlighting how early retail capital can remain untouched for years.
The new crypto tax reporting rules could significantly reduce tax evasion, increasing transparency and compliance across global markets.
The post Crypto tax reporting rules taking effect in UK and 40+ countries appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Glassnode data shows that XRP's exchange balances hit their lowest level since 2018 in late December, sparking the usual wave of accumulation phase speculation and “tight supply = moon” commentary. While the eight-year low encompasses the entire exchange ecosystem, CryptoQuant data for Binance offers a recent window into whether these troughs actually precede rallies. Binance's […]
The post XRP on exchanges hits 8 year low, but historical data exposes a brutal flaw in the popular “moon” narrative appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Asia laid the groundwork for non-USD stablecoins in 2025, as regulators and crypto firms pushed local-currency stablecoin initiatives.
Solana’s bid to move beyond memecoins will depend on whether its upgrades can deliver predictable execution for serious onchain finance.
Crypto analyst Chris Millas has highlighted an unusually persistent slump in Strategy shares, breaking with past drawdown patterns even as the firm continued accumulating bitcoin.
El Salvador's focus on Bitcoin and AI could position it as a tech leader, potentially reshaping global economic dynamics and innovation trends.
The post El Salvador doubles down on Bitcoin and AI in 2026, challenging ‘boomer economies’ appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Talk of XRP reaching $100 began gaining momentum this cycle, following the resolution of the legal battle involving Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Interestingly, the attention in recent months has been toward XRP’s role in global finance and how this might have an effect on its price action. That trend has led to different interpretations of how the XRP price can trade at $100 in the near future. A notable interpretation was recently articulated by analysts at Bayberry Capital, who proposed on the social media platform X that $100 should be seen as a liquidity event number, not a price target tied to timing. Why XRP At $100 Is A Liquidity Event Bayberry Capital’s outlook on XRP price shooting up to $100 is based on how markets reprice assets once their function becomes essential. According to the private digital asset investment firm, infrastructure assets do not typically rise in smooth, incremental moves. They tend to be re-rated when the market recognizes that their utility has changed from optional to necessary. Related Reading: XRP Price To Rally 690% To $15 In Unexpected ‘Measured Move’ Most digital assets rely on attention and continuous inflows of new buyers. However, XRP was designed differently as a liquidity instrument built to move value efficiently across systems. When demand is dictated by settlement and transactional use, price dynamics change. In that setting, value can be pulled upward by usage itself, not just by sentiment. A liquidity event is a moment when an asset’s ability to be converted, transferred, or absorbed by the market changes materially and permanently. From this perspective, $100 is a natural price level for XRP to be at that point. Another element of the view by Bayberry Capital is the absence of a deadline for this to happen. The liquidity event where the XRP price is priced at $100 is not defined by a specific year. Instead, it depends on direction. If global finance keeps moving toward faster settlement and digital liquidity rails, assets built for that purpose will undoubtedly be repriced accordingly. How This View Connects To Other $100 XRP Predictions Bayberry Capital’s commentary exists alongside a broader set of long-term views that started after XRP’s legal clarity, its push to new all-time highs in mid-2025, and the different partnerships and acquisitions made by Ripple to increase the utility of XRP. Related Reading: XRP Sees 80% Spike In Major Metric, Why This Matters For Price Appreciation Since then, several analysts and commentators have discussed scenarios where XRP could eventually trade at $100, with the proposed factors often tied to use in global settlement and institutional demand. Figures such as Zach Rector, crypto commentator 24hrscrypto, world’s highest IQ claimant Young Hoon Kim, and BarriC have all been linked to $100 XRP price scenarios over the coming years. These views are always debated by critics, particularly on market cap considerations, but they share a common assumption that XRP would need to function as a global payments infrastructure in order for this to happen. Featured image from Peakpx, chart from Tradingview.com
Digital asset treasuries, altcoin ETFs and bitcoin’s famed year‑end seasonality were meant to supercharge prices. What came instead was the worst drawdown since 2022's crypto winter.
Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) surprised the crypto market on New Year’s Eve with a sharp rally of nearly 20% in just 24 hours. LUNC token price climbed to around $0.000045, with its market cap hitting close to $250 million. The sudden move left many traders asking what triggered the rally and whether it has real …
The UK has officially started one of its biggest crackdowns on crypto tax evasion. As of January 1, 2026, the government began enforcing the OECD’s Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF), rules to prevent crypto tax evasion and improve transparency in the market. Failing to obey the rule will result in a hefty fine and strict legal …
If you followed Bitcoin ETFs day to day in 2025, you probably developed the same habit everyone did: you checked the print at night, read one sentence about “risk-on” or “risk-off,” then tried to map a clean story onto a messy market. The problem is that daily flows are noisy by design. They're the residue […]
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According to Farside Investors data, US investors put close to $32 billion into US crypto exchange-traded funds in 2025 even as markets lost steam late in the year. Related Reading: Crypto Headed For A $10 Trillion Future? Hoskinson Says RWA Is The Key Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew the biggest share, with $21.4 billion in net inflows. That is smaller than the $35 billion that poured into Bitcoin ETFs in 2024. Blackrock Dominates Flows BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, IBIT, accounted for most of the activity. Reports show IBIT took in about $24.7 billion. That makes its inflows roughly five times larger than the nearest rival, Fidelity’s FBTC. Market watchers noted IBIT ranked near the top among all ETF flows, placing behind only a few broad index funds and a big treasury bond fund. If IBIT’s number is removed, the wider spot Bitcoin ETF group actually finished the year with about $3 billion in combined outflows. Grayscale’s Bitcoin product lost nearly $4 billion on the year. Bitcoin’s price was lower than at the start of 2025; it began the year around $93,500. Ethereum Interest Strong But Cooling Based on reports, interest in Ethereum ETFs was real, but the momentum looks uneven. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust, ETHA, sits at nearly $12.6 billion in inflows. Fidelity’s FETH follows at $2.6 billion, while Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust ETF holds about $1.5 billion. Still, public on-chain data showed little renewed demand for spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in the last month of the year, suggesting flows may slow into 2026. Ether ETFs benefited from being new and giving investors a regulated way to own ETH, but recent days have seen quieter buying. Spot Ether ETFs, which only became widely tradable after their July 2024 launch, gathered $9.6 billion in their first full year. Spot Solana ETFs, launched in late October, added $765 million through year end. Altcoin ETFs Show Curiosity, Not Frenzy Litecoin and XRP ETFs also began trading in the latter half of the year, giving investors more choices for regulated altcoin exposure. The sums are small compared with Bitcoin and Ether. Solana’s $765 million is an example of early interest that has not yet turned into a large, steady stream of assets. These products are being tested by the market. Related Reading: Gold And Stocks Ran Ahead, But Bitcoin May Close The Gap In 2026 Global Flows Tell A Different Story Industry trackers reported that crypto ETFs listed worldwide experienced $2.95 billion in net outflows in November, and there was about $179 billion invested in crypto ETFs globally at the end of that month. Regulators and exchanges moved faster this year under new SEC leadership that was more open to approvals, which in turn helped institutional adoption in the US. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Tether closed out 2025 with an 8,888 BTC purchase, increasing its disclosed Bitcoin holdings to more than 96,000 BTC.
Anthony Scaramucci says a friendlier US policy mix: rate cuts, looser financial conditions, and a renewed push for crypto legislation could set up 2026 as a better tape for “quality” altcoins, even after what he described as an unexpectedly bruising 2025 for the sector. In a Dec. 31 interview with Altcoin Daily, the SkyBridge Capital founder framed 2025 as a year where positioning and sentiment broke down under selling pressure he said he didn’t anticipate. “There’s probably $4.6 billion of whale selling this year into the ETF demand,” Scaramucci said, arguing that the deleveraging event around Oct. 10 amplified the move. “There was a massive amount of deleveraging. It impacted some of the market makers. It forced a liquidity crisis,” he added, describing a 30% drop as “garden variety” for bitcoin, but still a surprise for traders leaning bullish. Scaramucci said he now sees the setup improving precisely because sentiment turned so negative. “We were tilted to the bulls, we’re now decidedly very bearish,” he said, claiming his internal “bull meter” sits around 13 or 14 out of 100. The flip side, he argued, is that incremental good news, less large-holder selling, steadier ETF inflows, or regulatory progress, could matter more than usual. Related Reading: Crypto Hacks Swipe Nearly $3 Billion In 2025 Despite Fewer Attacks – Report A central part of Scaramucci’s thesis was that the market still expects US market-structure legislation to pass, and that the timeline matters. “I do think it is detrimental because I do think there is still a market expectation that it’s going to pass. I do think you need that clarity,” he said of the Clarity Act. Without it, he argued, serious tokenization efforts remain constrained by legal uncertainty: “Who’s going to spend the kind of money that you need to switch over the financial system if you’re not guaranteed that you’re going to be able to use it.” He also tied the policy fight to a broader economic claim: “There’s between, depending on how you measure it, there’s three and a half to $4 trillion dollars worth of transaction verification expenses in the global economy per year… If you could get that down, let’s say you cut it in half, you could unleash a $2 trillion capital spend in other areas of the economy or just better wages for people.” Related Reading: RWA Tops Crypto Narratives In 2025: CoinGecko Reports 185% Growth Pressed on odds of passage before the midterms, Scaramucci said it should be “north of 50%,” arguing Democrats have learned there is “no anti-crypto voter,” while crypto-aligned spending can be decisive in tight races. Scaramucci’s Top-3 Altcoins And Bitcoin Prediction Asked for his current top-three altcoins, Scaramucci named Solana first, followed by Avalanche and Telegram-linked TON. “My three top coins then would be Solana, it would be Avalanche and believe it or not… it would be the Telegram token known as Ton,” he said, while acknowledging he has been early or wrong on timing. He said he first bought TON at $7.50, averaging near $4.00, while saying it was trading around $1.50 at the time of the interview, but still sees it as a token that could be used across Telegram’s network as it grows. On why Solana sits at No. 1, Scaramucci kept it simple and comparative: “Cheap, low cost, very fast, easy to use, easy to develop on,” he said, adding he’s “not an Ethereum negative person” and expects “a multicoin world.” Macro is the other pillar. Scaramucci expects “two to four interest rate cuts” next year and argued a president facing midterms will want growth optics. “He’s going to flood the zone with capital. He’s going to drop interest rates. He’s going to try to perk up the economy,” Scaramucci said. “That bodes well for the stock market… for the altcoin market… and… for crypto.” For bitcoin, he stuck with his $150,000 call—“I’m off by a year, I think”—and said he recently “bought more Bitcoin” for his family, betting that ETF flows and easier policy can overpower the hangover from 2025’s whale-driven selling. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.94 trillion. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The crypto market welcomed 2026 with an unusual and dramatic event. CZ’s dog Broccoli(714) memecoin built on BNB Chain has seen a nearly 1200% gain today. What initially appeared to be a surprise rally quickly turned into suspected hacking volatility. In the midst of this chaotic situation, a savvy trader made a $1 million profit. …
A trader claimed to have made $1 million by timing a long-short trade after spotting abnormal activity by a market maker account on Binance, while the exchange denied any security breach.
Following the 2012 halving, Bitcoin surged to end the following year at a new high; and a similar pattern played out in 2016 and again in 2020.
BlackRock has further separated itself from competitors in the crypto ETF market in 2025, with its Bitcoin and Ether funds, IBIT and ETHA, accounting for the majority of net inflows.
From Ross Ulbricht’s pardon to Ripple’s SEC victory, here’s a list of crypto’s most celebrated turnarounds this year and what they mean for the year ahead.
Coinbase’s head of research said the forces that drove crypto in 2025, such as regulation, ETFs, stablecoins and tokenization, will only get stronger in the coming year.
Robinhood's giveaway strategy may enhance user engagement and brand loyalty, potentially boosting its market position and user base growth.
The post Robinhood distributes $1.5M in Bitcoin for New Year celebration after XRP, ETH and SOL rewards appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Tether's growing Bitcoin reserves highlight its strategic shift towards crypto-backed stability, potentially influencing market dynamics and trust.
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As Ethereum (ETH) is set to end the year on a disappointing note, some market observers have shared an optimistic outlook for the altcoin’s start-of-year performance, suggesting that an early 2026 breakout remains possible. Related Reading: Crypto Hacks Swipe Nearly $3 Billion In 2025 Despite Fewer Attacks – Report Ethereum Holds ‘Equilibrium Level’ Ethereum is attempting to end the year above a crucial area following its recent sideways action. Notably, the cryptocurrency has been in a downtrend for the past three months, currently recording a 27.8% decline from its Q4 opening of $4,145. ETH has been trading sideways over the past several weeks, hovering within the $2,800-$3,000 price range. During this period, the King of Altcoins has failed to hold above the upper boundary on the weekly timeframe despite multiple attempts to break out. Amid this performance, market watcher Crypto Batman recently noted Ethereum is trading around the mid-zone of a multi-year bullish channel, which he named “the equilibrium level.” This zone has historically acted as both a strong support and resistance point for Ethereum, he explained, making it the crucial area to hold as we approach the monthly and yearly closes. Despite the recent price action, Crypto Batman suggested that “given how ETH rallied from $1,500 to $4,600, this current move looks like nothing more than a bullish retest to that equilibrium, likely forming the next higher low.” Similarly, analyst Cas Abbé affirmed that the leading altcoin’s structure remains “incredibly bullish” even with the recent volatility, highlighting ETH’s uptrend line on the higher timeframes. According to the post, the cryptocurrency has not only held its ascending trendline over the past eight months but also bounced after each retest, suggesting that a rebound could be possible if this level continues to hold on the higher timeframes. ETH Breakout In Early 2026? Crypto Jelle also shared a bullish outlook for Ethereum, affirming that the altcoin looks strong on the macro chart. “If price can push towards $4k from here, I doubt bears can hold it down again,” the analyst wrote on X, adding that “It might finally be time for ETH to shine again next year.” Market observer Trader Tardigrade underscored a giant Inverse Head and Shoulders pattern on ETH’s weekly chart. Per the post, the cryptocurrency has been forming this bullish pattern for the past two years, with the neckline currently located around the $4,950-$5,000 mark. Notably, the left shoulder and head developed during the Q3-Q4 2024 and Q2-Q3 2025 rallies. Meanwhile, the Q4 2025 correction has started to form the pattern’s right shoulder, which signals that the altcoin could rise to the neckline area in the next few months, and potentially aim for higher levels if the pattern continues to develop. In the shorter timeframe, Man of Bitcoin noted that Ethereum could see a breakout in the first week of 2026. The analyst pointed out a one-month symmetrical triangle formation on ETH’s chart, where the price has been “getting squeezed between both trendlines.” Related Reading: Solana Bearish Formation Hints At Major Correction Until Mid-2026 – Here’s The Target While the altcoin continues to compress between these levels, a break from the pattern becomes more likely, leading the market watcher to suggest a 15%-20% breakout toward the $3,400 resistance. As of this writing, ETH is trading at $2,977, a 1.2% increase in the weekly timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Session’s Chris McCabe and Alex Linton tell Cointelegraph that AI-integrated devices could bypass messaging encryption, creating privacy and security issues.
A cryptocurrency analyst has explained how XRP could be at risk of a drop toward $0.80 based on the data of some on-chain indicators. XRP Has Seen Bearish Developments In On-Chain Data In a new thread on X, analyst Ali Martinez has talked about why XRP may be at risk of seeing a decline to the $0.80 level. “First, network activity has cooled sharply,” noted Martinez. There are many ways to gauge network activity, but the analyst has used the Active Addresses on-chain indicator. Related Reading: Bitcoin Coinbase Premium At Rare Discount As US Demand Weakens This metric keeps track of the total number of addresses that are taking part in some kind of transaction activity on the blockchain every day. A chart shared by the analyst earlier showed a drawdown in this metric for XRP. Generally, a decline in the metric is a sign of a drop in interest around the asset. “Daily active addresses have fallen to roughly 38,500, pointing to fading participation and interest,” said Martinez. Another on-chain indicator has also shown a development recently: the supply held by the whales. Whales refer to the big-money investors of the market who carry significant amounts in their wallets. As the below chart shows, these investors participated in selling of about 40 million tokens recently. Due to the massive size of their holdings, whales are considered to be influential entities on the network, so their behavior could be relevant for the cryptocurrency. As these massive hands have been selling on the XRP blockchain recently, it’s possible that the coin could feel a bearish effect. If nothing else, the trend reflects that the asset’s key investors are showing weaker confidence. Finally, the analyst has shared a chart for the cryptocurrency’s UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD). This indicator basically tells us about the amount of supply that investors last purchased at the various price levels that the coin has visited in its history. From the chart, it’s visible that a notable amount of supply has its cost basis at the $1.77 level, which isn’t too far below the current XRP spot price. It’s possible that if the asset retests this level, these investors who purchased there could show some kind of reaction. When the market mood is bullish, this reaction tends to be dominated by buying. Given the current sentiment in the digital asset sector, however, the support may not be sufficient. “If selling pressure continues, XRP risks losing the $1.77 support,” explained Martinez. “A breakdown there opens the door to the next major support zone near $0.80.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Retail Optimism Returns To End 2025—What Usually Follows? This support zone near $0.80 is currently the largest demand zone beyond the $1.77 level. XRP Price At the time of writing, XRP is floating around $1.86, unchanged from one week ago. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Amir Zaidi’s return signals a strengthening of crypto oversight as the agency prepares for new digital asset laws.