The U.S. Senate voted to advance President Trump’s nominee, Michael Selig, to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In a package of confirmations, the U.S. Senate approved Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to run the FDIC, both with major potential reach into crypto.
XRP Ledger operators are staring down a familiar kind of “deadline drama” on Thursday, after one community tracker warned that a large chunk of XRPL servers are about to get amendment blocked, basically pushed to the sidelines until they upgrade. “In about ~10 hours 418 (!!) out of 999 XRPL servers will go DOWN as they become amendment blocked!” wrote X user Krippenreiter, adding that amendment-blocked rippled servers can’t “determine the validity of a ledger,” “submit transactions,” “process transactions,” or “participate in the consensus process.” Will This Impact The XRP Ledger? That sounds catastrophic if you’ve never watched XRPL governance do its thing. But the important nuance is right there in the name: amendment blocking is a safety feature, not a network failure mode. When new protocol rules activate, old software can’t reliably interpret ledgers anymore, so the network forces those servers into a non-participating state rather than letting them guess. Related Reading: XRP Price Falls To Critical Support Level, Is It Time To Panic? So does “almost half the servers” going amendment-blocked matter if activity spikes? “Not at all,” Krippenreiter replied to one user. “All dUNL validators are safe, so all ‘trusted’ validators will continue to validate as expected. (and behave under load)… For everything else there is ‘FeeEscalation’.” The point he’s making: consensus comes from a trusted validator set, and fee escalation is designed to push transaction costs higher as the ledger gets busy, throttling spam and overload attempts. Other XRPL watchers mostly treated it as routine maintenance, not an existential moment. “Is this unusual or dangerous? No. This happens almost every amendment cycle,” another user wrote, listing prior change windows and noting that lagging nodes typically upgrade later. The XRPL amendment process itself is built around a long lead time: an amendment needs sustained supermajority support from trusted validators for two weeks before it flips on. Related Reading: Best XRP Buy Zone? Analyst Breaks Down The Key Levels Still, the optics aren’t nothing. Having hundreds of public servers fall behind at once can be a real-world nuisance for wallets, explorers, and businesses that lean on third-party infrastructure. Even if consensus is fine, fewer up-to-date nodes can mean less redundancy at the edges — more brittle public endpoints, more support tickets, more “why is my transaction not going through?” posts. And there is a concrete upgrade path. XRPL.org’s release notes for rippled 2.6.2 describe a new fixDirectoryLimit amendment plus a critical bug fix — the kind of stuff you don’t want to procrastinate on if you run production infrastructure. The short version: no, XRPL isn’t “going down.” But if you’re still running old rippled in late 2025, the network is about to remind you that upgrades aren’t optional. At press time, XRP traded alongside the broader market wide sentiment, down -1.5% over the past 24 hours. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The delay in crypto legislation may prolong regulatory uncertainty, impacting market stability and innovation in the digital asset sector.
The post Trump’s crypto czar David Sacks says crypto market structure bill markup is set for January appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
XRP has a “number of reasons” that are attracting traditional investor dollars, which has helped to push XRP ETFs over $1 billion in assets, says CF Benchmarks CEO Sui Chung.
Ethereum is facing renewed selling pressure as the broader market struggles with fear, uncertainty, and growing bearish expectations. After weeks of weakness, many analysts are now openly calling for a prolonged bear market stretching into 2026, arguing that Ethereum remains below key structural levels and lacks strong momentum. Related Reading: From Cycles To Continuity: Why Bitcoin’s 4-Year Pattern May Be Breaking Bulls are attempting to defend the $2,800 mark, a level that has become critical for maintaining short-term confidence, but price action continues to reflect hesitation rather than conviction. Volatility remains elevated, and market sentiment is dominated by caution rather than optimism. Against this fragile backdrop, on-chain data reveals a notable divergence between price action and behavior from experienced market participants. According to data from Hyperdash, the Bitcoin OG, known for shorting the market during the October 10 crash, has once again increased his exposure to Ethereum. This trader, widely followed for his high-conviction and well-timed positioning, just added another 12,406 ETH to his long positions, signaling confidence at current price levels despite the prevailing bearish narrative. While retail sentiment weakens and analysts debate deeper downside scenarios, strategic accumulation by seasoned players suggests that Ethereum may be approaching a decisive phase. Whether this marks early positioning ahead of a recovery or a high-risk bet in a deteriorating market remains the key question ahead. A High-Conviction Bet Under Pressure Lookonchain reports that the Bitcoin OG continues to hold substantial, high-conviction positions across multiple assets, despite the ongoing market weakness. According to the latest data, his current exposure includes 203,341 ETH valued at approximately $577.5 million, 1,000 BTC worth around $87 million, and 250,000 SOL valued near $30.7 million. This level of concentration highlights a willingness to endure significant volatility rather than reduce risk in an increasingly uncertain environment. That conviction, however, has come with meaningful drawdowns. The wallet is now down more than $70 million from its peak. At one point, unrealized profits exceeded $120 million, but recent price declines have reduced that figure to less than $30 million. The swing illustrates how quickly market conditions can shift, even for traders with a strong track record and well-timed entries in the past. From a broader market perspective, this positioning reflects a sharp contrast between sentiment and behavior. While many participants have turned defensive and analysts debate the likelihood of a prolonged bear market, this wallet remains heavily exposed, suggesting a belief that current levels may still offer asymmetric upside. At the same time, the drawdown serves as a clear reminder that size and conviction do not remove risk in a structurally fragile market. Related Reading: Bitcoin Structure Turns Bearish As Structural Indicators Flip Negative Ethereum Tests Structural Support Amid Growing Pressure Ethereum’s weekly chart highlights a clear loss of momentum after the rejection near the $4,800–$5,000 region, followed by a sharp retracement toward the $2,800–$2,900 zone. Price is currently trading below the 50-week moving average and hovering near the 100-week MA, a level that historically acts as an important inflection point for medium-term trend direction. The failure to hold above the short-term averages confirms that sellers have regained control of the structure. From a trend perspective, ETH remains above the rising 200-week moving average, which continues to define the long-term bullish framework. However, the widening gap between the faster and slower averages has started to compress, signaling a transition phase rather than trend continuation. Volume has expanded on down weeks, reinforcing the idea that recent downside moves are driven by active distribution rather than passive consolidation. Related Reading: XRP Liquidity Dries Up: Futures Buy Volume On Binance Falls from $5.8B to $250M The $2,800 area now represents a critical demand zone. A sustained hold above this level would suggest that the correction is a controlled pullback within a broader range. Conversely, a weekly close below it would expose ETH to a deeper retracement toward the $2,400–$2,500 region, where the 200-week MA and prior consolidation converge. Overall, the chart reflects a market caught between long-term structural support and short-term bearish momentum. Ethereum needs a decisive reclaim of the 50-week moving average to neutralize downside risk and restore confidence in trend continuation. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Synthetix founder Kain Warwick expects other perpetual decentralized exchanges to follow Synthetix back to Ethereum, which is faster than ever.
In the evolving landscape of blockchain technology, Solana has rapidly emerged as a platform not merely defined by its technical capabilities but by its broader implications for economic infrastructure. By enabling the class of decentralized applications, SOL is positioning itself as a high-performance blockchain and a foundational layer for the next-generation economic activity. Why Infrastructure That Enables Continuous Markets In an X post, crypto analyst Vibhu mentioned that Solana is no longer just a piece of financial technology, but a fully functioning economy. What exists on SOL today has gone beyond transactions and smart contracts. Related Reading: Solana Gains Institutional Momentum as New On-Chain Bond Deal and XRP Integration Build Hype According to the expert, there are dollars and native currencies, real-world assets, metals and rare minerals, energy market, information markets, manufacturing primitives, and global trade rails all operating in real-time on-chain. SOL also has politics, governance processes, divided factions, and ongoing debates about the leading network’s future. At this point, we are witnessing the birth of a country that lives entirely on the internet. Measured through economic output, SOL would rank around the 157th largest country in the world by GDP (Gross Domestic Product), comparable in size to nations such as Eswatini or Fiji. However, SOL is globally integrated by default, and from a forex and asset-flow perspective, it punches above its weight, integrating with the largest banks and financial institutions across the globe. Furthermore, SOL has withstood sustained network attacks from nation-state actors, defending itself with systems engineers instead of armies. Economically, SOL is already engaged in trade with countries like Bhutan, ranked 164, the Isle of Man, ranked 154, and even Kazakhstan, which ranks 49 in global economic standings. “Solana is a digital country, and I am proud to be a citizen,” Vibhu noted. Why Real-Time On-Chain UX Finally Works On Solana Solana continues to see key updates and integration that tend to bolster the network capabilities. Co-founder of TeamElevenX1 and Ambassador at Solflare, Kristofer_Sol, has highlighted that MagicBlock is quietly doing some of the most important work in the Solana ecosystem, pushing real-time SOL closer to true production scale. Related Reading: Solana Faces Critical Test Near $100 as Macro Pressure and Network Upgrades Collide At the center of this shift is the deep integration of compressed accounts into the Light Protocol inside Ephemeral Rollups, reducing rent costs by up to 200 times, while still functioning like a normal account for developers. The compression demo is already live, and real applications are actively using it today. Others like Rush Trade deliver faster trades, and Pixels achieve smooth, real-time pixel updates. Kristofer_Sol stated that this is what a scalable on-chain user experience actually looks like. With low-cost reduction and speed improvements happening without forcing developers to rewrite everything, MagicBlock is quietly removing the friction that has held back games, social apps, and consumer products on SOL. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said the CLARITY Act will reach the Senate next month for debate and amendment before a full vote.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has taken a notable step in reshaping how banks under its supervision can engage with crypto, reversing guidance introduced in 2023 that had sharply limited such activities. Related Reading: XRP Risks Double-Top Crash Toward $0.40, Peter Brandt Warns The decision reflects a broader reassessment inside the central bank about how regulation should adapt to financial innovation, especially as digital assets continue to intersect with traditional banking infrastructure. Under the earlier framework, uninsured state-chartered banks were required to follow the same constraints as federally insured institutions in order to remain under Federal Reserve supervision. That approach effectively barred some crypto banks from accessing core payment systems or Federal Reserve membership. BTC's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview What the Policy Shift Changes for Banks The new guidance establishes a formal pathway for both insured and uninsured banks supervised by the Federal Reserve to pursue certain innovative activities, including those related to cryptocurrencies. Institutions will still be required to meet supervisory and risk-management standards, but they will no longer be automatically excluded based on their business models. For uninsured banks, the implications are significant. Access to Federal Reserve membership would allow direct settlement through central bank payment systems rather than reliance on intermediary banks. This idea could lower operational frictions for crypto custody, settlement, and related services, potentially expanding the role of banks in digital asset markets without changing existing safety and soundness expectations. Custodia Case Highlights Regulatory Tensions The policy reversal has renewed attention on Custodia Bank, a crypto-focused institution whose application for a Federal Reserve master account was denied in part due to the now-rescinded guidance. Custodia CEO Caitlin Long has argued that the 2023 policy effectively blocked lawful access to the Fed’s infrastructure and welcomed its withdrawal as a correction of past regulatory overreach. Not all policymakers agree. Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr dissented from the decision, warning that loosening the framework could undermine a level competitive playing field and encourage regulatory arbitrage. Michael Barr’s position highlights the ongoing debate within regulatory circles over how to strike a balance between innovation and financial stability.r Broader Implications for Crypto Markets While the Fed’s move does not directly change how cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum trade, it may influence market structure over time. Easier access for banks could support deeper institutional participation, greater liquidity, and expanded custody and settlement options. Related Reading: Ethereum Risks Slide To $2,000 If December Closes Below This Level: Analyst For now, the shift signals a more flexible regulatory posture, one that acknowledges the rapid evolution of digital asset markets and the banks that seek to serve them. Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
Osborne began advising Coinbase in 2024 and has been critical of the UK government's lack of robust digital asset regulations.
Solana tumbled below $120 to its weakest price since April, while SUI, DOGE and ADA also fell sharply.
A representative from Brazil's stock exchange, B3, said the stablecoin would be “a tool to enable trading in tokens," which it planned to offer in 2026.
Search engine giant Google has emerged as a silent architect behind Bitcoin miners' rapid pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI). Instead of acquiring mining firms, the Alphabet-owned company has provided at least $5 billion of disclosed credit support behind a handful of BTC miners' AI projects. While markets often frame these announcements as technology partnerships, the […]
The post Google is secretly bankrolling a $5 billion Bitcoin pivot using a shadow credit mechanism appeared first on CryptoSlate.
A recent study by the US Federal Reserve argues that despite periodic challenges, a lack of credible alternatives has kept the dollar at the center of global bond markets.
SOL falls behind multiple altcoin competitors as its onchain activity, fee and DApp revenues slump. Cointelegraph explains why.
The values that are baked into the foundations of crypto — privacy, self-sovereignty, decentralization — are eroding, and we’re running out of time to address the problem.
The firm's Enovum unit will deliver 40 megawatts of critical IT load in two phases at a campus in Madison, North Carolina, under a 10-year agreement.
The discussions follow Intercontinental Exchange's $2 billion investment in prediction platform Polymarket in October.
JPMorgan said stablecoin demand remains primarily driven by crypto trading activity, while growing use in payments may not materially increase supply.
Market analysts are closely watching the XRP price as recent movements test key support levels. A new technical analysis has highlighted a critical price zone that is currently helping contain further downside pressure on XRP. Over the past few months, the cryptocurrency has struggled to reclaim its previous highs, recently crashing below the $2 psychological level amid increased volatility and market uncertainty. XRP Key Support Contains Downside Risks Crypto analyst Skipper shared a new technical update on XRP this week, highlighting current market dynamics and a critical support level that could help prevent further downturns. The analyst noted that XRP recently broke below $1.93, signaling heightened selling pressure and ongoing market repositioning. Related Reading: XRP Mirrors 2016 Trend That Led To 69% Crash Before 110,000% Rally Notably, XRP’s decline below $1.93 comes amid broader market weakness, as the cryptocurrency has struggled to hold key levels. Spot market data show the cryptocurrency is currently trading at $1.85, reflecting a significant drop of about 2.7% in the last 24 hours and more than 7.8% over the past seven days. XRP’s choppy price action has also kept it pinned below many resistance zones. However, Skipper reveals that sustained trading below $1.88 keeps the cryptocurrency’s downside pressure intact in the near term. The analyst also notes that the next meaningful area where buyers may attempt to stabilize price sits around $1.85. Despite ongoing Spot ETF inflows since its launch in November, Skipper noted that XRP’s short-term price action appears more driven by technical positioning than fundamental developments. He also highlighted that XRP’s market supply has contracted significantly, dropping by 45% from approximately 3.9 billion tokens at the beginning of 2025 to about 1.6 billion tokens by December. This reduction in supply could influence XRP’s price dynamics and overall market scarcity. XRP Faces Continued Downtrend Amid Market Weakness In a subsequent post, Skipper reported that the XRP price fell 5% as the crypto market experienced fresh selling pressure with major altcoins extending recent declines. The analyst stated that the token had dipped to lows of around $1.81, reflecting growing investor risk aversion. Moreover, despite being one of the top-performing assets earlier in the year, XRP now risks slipping further. Related Reading: XRP Price On The Verge Of Another Crash, But There’s Still Hope According to Skipper, XRP has been in a steady downtrend since July 2025, with each price bounce weaker than the previous one. He emphasized that bulls must reverse this downtrend to restore a positive outlook, which would require XRP to rise above the $2.27 high from the last weak bounce in late November. The analyst also noted that in past cycles, when XRP breaks below the 50-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) and stays there for roughly 50 to 84 days, a strong rally typically follows. He disclosed that the price has now spent approximately 70 days below its 50-week SMA, placing it within the same historical window. Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com
JPMorgan highlighted rising engagement and monetization potential across both transaction and subscription products.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is approaching a sensitive phase as weakening investor demand, stalled ETF inflows, and growing sell-side pressure converge near a key price area. Related Reading: XRP Risks Double-Top Crash Toward $0.40, Peter Brandt Warns Once driven largely by retail enthusiasm, the meme coin is now trading closer to levels where a significant share of holders last acquired their tokens, raising questions about downside risk if confidence continues to erode. At the same time, isolated whale accumulation and long-term cost-basis data suggest the market is approaching a zone that could define the next major move. DOGE's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: DOGEUSD on Tradingview Dogecoin ETF Inflows Stall as Sentiment Softens One of the clearest shifts in Dogecoin’s recent market structure has been the loss of momentum in its exchange-traded funds. Data shows that the Grayscale and Bitwise DOGE ETFs have not recorded any inflows since December 11, with total inflows since launch standing at roughly $2 million. Combined assets under management are around $5.2 million, representing a negligible fraction of Dogecoin’s overall market capitalization. The muted response contrasts sharply with other altcoin ETFs, particularly XRP and Solana products, which have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in inflows. The lack of sustained interest has raised questions about the long-term viability of DOGE-focused funds, especially given their low revenue potential at current asset levels. More broadly, the ETF slowdown reflects a risk-averse environment, with the crypto Fear and Greed Index remaining in fear territory. On-Chain and Derivatives Data Point to Bearish Bias Beyond ETFs, on-chain metrics show declining participation from large holders. Wallets holding between 100 million and 1 billion DOGE have reduced their balances by over 1 billion tokens since early December. Similarly, the proportion of DOGE supply in profit has slipped to near 50%, suggesting fewer holders are sitting on unrealized gains. Derivatives markets reinforce this cautious outlook. Short positions now account for more than half of open DOGE derivatives, while over $5 million in long positions were liquidated in a 24-hour period. Open interest has also declined, pointing to reduced speculative appetite rather than aggressive dip-buying. Price Near Key Support as $0.10 Comes Into Focus Technically, Dogecoin is trading near the $0.123–$0.126 range, an area that has repeatedly acted as support since April. The price remains below key moving averages, with momentum indicators such as MACD and RSI signaling continued downside pressure. A decisive break lower could expose the psychological $0.10 level. Related Reading: Ethereum Risks Slide To $2,000 If December Closes Below This Level: Analyst Analysts have also projected deeper historical support near $0.074, where roughly 28 billion DOGE last changed hands. While a move to that level would require further deterioration in sentiment, current conditions suggest Dogecoin is approaching a cost-basis zone that could determine whether sellers remain in control or longer-term holders begin to step in. Cover image from ChatGPT, DOGEUSD chart from Tradingview
Guessing the direction of Congress is akin to long-range weather prediction, with so many variables in play, and the industry's fate depends on a break in the storm.
Bitcoin briefly clinched $90,000 after the November Consumer Price Index report showed a drop in US inflation, but the essential components for an extended rally remain elusive.
Crypto markets swung sharply Thursday following a softer-than-expected U.S. CPI print, which briefly lifted bitcoin above $89,000 during U.S. hours.
Data suggests that fears about Xinjiang-related Bitcoin mining have overstated the impact, with hashrate losses proving brief and driven partly by US power curtailments.
The decline occurred on volume that was 35% above the token's 30-day average.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The SEC's approval of generic listing standards for crypto ETPs on Sept. 17 cut the launch timeline to 75 days and opened the door to plain-vanilla products. Bitwise predicts more than 100 crypto-linked ETFs will launch in 2026. James Seyffart, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, backed the call but added a caveat: “We're going to […]
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