Bitcoin surprised the market by moving back above the $94,000 level over the weekend. Although the price pulled back slightly afterward, it is still holding near an important technical zone. This move is important because Bitcoin has not closed this strong on a weekly basis since mid-November. Last week’s close near $91,550 marked the highest …
Crypto asset manager Grayscale has begun distributing staking rewards to investors in its Ethereum staking exchange-traded fund.
Technically, BNB is compressed between rising support and a descending resistance zone near $910, indicating a balance rather than a clear direction.
Consumer use of crypto-linked payment cards continued to gain traction heading into 2026, following a sharp rise in spending volumes reported by Visa for 2025. Data from Dune Analytics shows that spending across Visa-backed crypto cards increased steadily throughout last year, a significant growth. Related Reading: XRP Is Setting Up For Its ‘Next Explosive Move,’ Analysts Say: Here’s The Target Across six Visa-partnered crypto card programs, total net spending rose from $14.6 million in January 2025 to $91.3 million by December. The increase represents a 525% jump over the year and reflects growing consumer comfort with paying directly from crypto wallets at traditional points of sale. The cards are issued by a mix of crypto payment platforms and decentralized finance projects, including EtherFi, Cypher, GnosisPay, Avici Money, Exa App, and Moonwell. ETH's price trends slightly to the upside on the daily chart. Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview EtherFi and Cypher Lead Visa Crypto Card Spending Among the tracked programs, EtherFi recorded the highest spending volume, accounting for $55.4 million in transactions during 2025. That figure placed it well ahead of Cypher, which ranked second with $20.5 million in total spend. The remaining card issuers posted smaller but consistent increases, suggesting broader participation across the ecosystem rather than growth driven by a single outlier. Monthly spending data shows a gradual rise throughout the year, with no major spikes or sharp reversals. Analysts say this pattern points to routine usage rather than one-off events. Commenting on the data, Polygon researcher Alex Obchakevich noted that crypto card spending increasingly reflects regular financial behavior, indicating that crypto-linked cards are moving beyond experimental use cases. Visa Expands Stablecoin Infrastructure Visa’s growing role in crypto payments has been supported by its expanding stablecoin infrastructure. The payments firm now enables stablecoin settlement across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar. This setup allows card issuers to convert crypto balances to fiat in real time during transactions, while still relying on Visa’s global merchant network. In December 2025, Visa also launched a stablecoin advisory team focused on helping banks, merchants, and fintech companies design and manage stablecoin-based products. The initiative highlights Visa’s view that blockchain-based settlement and programmable money are becoming more relevant to mainstream payments. Outlook for Crypto Card Usage in 2026 With spending volumes rising and infrastructure continuing to expand, crypto card usage is expected to grow further in 2026. While volumes remain concentrated in the U.S., Europe, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region, the steady increase suggests consumer crypto spending is becoming more normalized. Related Reading: Memecoin Strength Returns After Historic Market Decline: A Setup For A Comeback? How sustained this trend will be may depend on broader market conditions and continued integration between crypto platforms and established payment networks. Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
Regulatory clarity and expanding use cases beyond trading are setting the stage for deeper institutional participation in digital assets, the bank said.
Strive's strategic Bitcoin investments highlight a growing trend of asset managers integrating cryptocurrency for long-term capital growth.
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The trading platform is increasingly catering to advanced crypto traders with tools tailored to active, tax-aware users, its head of crypto said.
Bitcoin and altcoin prices have pushed higher, but Glassnode data shows spot trading activity has dropped to its weakest levels since late 2023.
Every once in a while, a claim surfaces that forces people to stop and rethink what they thought they understood. This week, one such claim came from a long-time macro observer who believes XRP was never meant to behave like an ordinary crypto asset. According to Dr. Jim Willie, XRP is not racing against banks. …
Bitcoin reached its highest levels in nearly a month as risk assets and precious metals headed higher on the US-Venezuela catalyst.
This week could be crucial for the crypto market. Several US economic reports and Federal Reserve comments are lined up, and they may decide whether Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP among other tokens continue rising or face fresh pressure. Right now, markets are not trading on hope or hype. They are reacting to economic data, what …
Mining stocks continue to trade as a high-beta play on bitcoin, even as many operators push to diversify revenue through AI.
Digital asset treasury companies — 2025's worst performers — were leading crypto-related stock gains.
Finance officials signal tax and regulatory changes aimed at bringing digital assets into the financial mainstream.
On Monday, Bitcoin successfully reclaimed the $93,000 mark, spurred by a wave of renewed optimism that has also revitalized altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL), all of which are experiencing recoveries not seen in nearly a month. According to data from CoinGecko, Bitcoin has recorded a weekly surge of 7%, while Ethereum and Solana have outperformed the leading cryptocurrency with increases of nearly 9% during the same period. Notably, XRP has taken the lead, boasting a significant 15% uptrend. Large Holders Drive Bitcoin Surge A key driver behind this recent surge, especially for Bitcoin, can be attributed to large holders, or “whales,” who have acquired approximately 270,000 BTC in the last 30 days, amounting to roughly $23 billion. Related Reading: Dogecoin Price On The Brink Of A 9,000% Rally To $10? What Historical Performance Shows Market analyst NoLimit highlighted this crucial development in a recent social media post, noting its significance: this accumulation represents 1.3% of Bitcoin’s total supply and marks the largest net buy from this group in 13 years. However, NoLimit asserts that this doesn’t imply that Bitcoin will see an immediate surge in its value. It indicates that long-term investors are aggressively positioning themselves even while the broader market sentiment remains mixed. Will BTC Establish A Macro Lower High? In the short term, though, market analyst Rekt Capital warns that despite Bitcoin hovering just above $93,400, it has closed its 12-month candle below the $93,500 mark. This suggests that the $93,500 level is likely to act as resistance moving forward. Historical patterns across four-year cycles indicate that such resistances can hinder price movement for an extended period, often resisting for up to three years before being breached in the next Halving year. Related Reading: Venezuela, Geopolitical Risk, And Bitcoin: What On-Chain Data Really Shows Should Bitcoin indeed be in the early stages of a bear market, this could imply that prices might surpass the $93,500 resistance in the coming months only to establish a macro lower high before continuing their downward trajectory. According to Rekt Capital, the sustainable breakout above this resistance is more likely to occur in the next halving year in 2028. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
The crypto market enters 2026 at a crucial point, no longer triggered by hype, but instead by institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and the smooth integration of digital assets into traditional finance systems. While Bitcoin finished 2025 near flat despite a bullish year for traditional assets like gold and silver, institutional adoption surged, ETF inflows totaled …
The partnership could democratize real estate investment, offering broader access and flexibility, potentially reshaping traditional market dynamics.
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BitMine now holds over 4.14 million ETH after its latest acquisitions — nearly five times its closest Ethereum treasury company competitor.
Bitcoin’s structure has turned bullish, yet traders are split on whether $100,000 could mark a bull expansion or bear continuation.
The crypto-based betting platform is expanding beyond politics and macro with real estate markets tied to daily housing indices.
Downtime can have knock-on effects across decentralized finance and other onchain applications.
Mining profitability also declined last month, with daily block reward revenue down 7%, and 32% year-on-year.
Bitcoin was designed as a decentralized monetary network with no single point of control, but the structure of its ownership is quietly evolving. As issuance declines and liquidity thins, a growing share of the BTC circulating supply has been moving into the hands of powerful financial institutions, resulting in a steady accumulation that reshapes the dynamics of the BTC market, liquidity, and long-term distribution. Does Institutional Adoption Change Bitcoin’s Purpose? The financial-industrial complex is in the process of centralizing as much Bitcoin as possible. Crypto investor Simon Dixon has revealed on X that institutions want to accumulate BTC as a useful tool for managing the final capital outflow squeeze once it is ready, following its Western asset-stripping operations. Related Reading: Why The 2025 Close Below $100,000 Is Terrible For The Bitcoin Price As BTC is a proof-of-work, accumulating it does not grant governance control or long-term price discovery. However, the accumulation does provide the tools needed to manage short-term price action. Institutions are in the accumulation phase, and they want self-custody for themselves and institutional custody for everybody else. Therefore, they can channel large capital flows into BTC while preserving an exit tool for sovereign wealth. This is similar to how the British Empire utilized tax haven islands as escape valves. According to Simon, BTC is one of their exit strategies for managing sovereign wealth in a world where custody of vast gold reserves requires trusted custodians. Nothing has changed in terms of how to prepare, and the strategy remains to own more BTC in self-custody this month than the previous month. Any price suppression now is an opportunity; it won’t last. Furthermore, the financial-industrial complex will engineer volatility through instruments like MicroStrategy and its derivatives ecosystem to margin-call as much BTC as possible while building more leverage tools. This isn’t about crypto, but a Silicon Valley liquidity grift, which is a way to supplement VC returns with added liquidity layered on top of private equity. Crypto is a technical industrial complex operation to build out the digital control grid. Why Bitcoin As A Financial Lifeboat The lesson of Venezuela is the best advertisement for Bitcoin ever created. Investor Fred Krueger noted that those who still had Bolivars in 2016 when hyperinflation began had a clear chance to accumulate BTC when it was trading below $1,000. Instead, they lost absolutely everything. Related Reading: Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Dump Is Over: On-Chain Data Just Flipped In 2018, when the regime rolled out the Petro, buying BTC instead would have delivered over 30% in returns. That altcoin that represented oil was limited and was shelved in 2024. This is the lesson for the BRICS. “Maduro and his inner circle probably owned very little BTC, believing they would remain in power forever, but a lot of them are regretting that today,” Fred noted. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Led by Chairman Tom Lee, the company now holds 4.14 million ether (ETH), or 3.4% of the total supply.
Bitmine's growing Ethereum stake and MAVAN rollout could significantly influence the crypto market's dynamics and regulatory landscape.
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CME's overall average daily volume across asset classes hit an all-time high of 28.1 million contracts, with crypto being a key contributor.
Polygon (POL) joined Cronos (CRO) as a top performer, rising 8% from Friday.
Starknet faces its second major outage since the Grinta aupgrade, halting block production for hours amid ongoing investigation.
Strategy bought 1,283 BTC for $116 million, lifting holdings above 673,000 BTC, while reporting a $17.4 billion unrealized Q4 loss in an SEC filing Monday.
The bank said it is 'selectively constructive' on brokers and crypto companies heading into 2026.