Из жизни альткоинов

Выход американских компаний на нефтяной рынок Венесуэлы способен снизить цены на электроэнергию для майнеров биткоина, считают эксперты биржи Bitfinex. По их мнению, более дешевое и доступное электричество улучшит показатели прибыльности майнеров по всему миру.

С середины декабря крупные инвесторы накопили биткоинов на $5,3 млрд, а розничные трейдеры фиксировали прибыль. Это бычий сигнал, ведущий к росту курса первой криптовалюты, рассказали эксперты компании Santiment.

Семь крупнейших финансовых ассоциаций Китая выпустили совместное предупреждение о рисках, связанных с незаконной деятельностью в сфере виртуальных валют. Его подписали Национальная ассоциация интернет‑финансов Китая, Ассоциация банков, Ассоциация ценных бумаг, Ассоциация управления активами, Ассоциация фьючерсов, Ассоциация листинговых компаний и Ассоциация платежей и клиринга.

BitMine Immersion Technologies bought 32,977 Ethereum (ETH) in a move that grabbed investor attention and pushed its stock higher. The purchase was reported to be part of the company’s recent accumulation of crypto assets during the final week of 2025. BMNR shares rallied as traders reacted to the disclosure, with early session gains seen on US exchanges.

Fresh 32,977 Ethereum

According to a press release, BitMine now holds about 4.143 million ETH on its balance sheet. That amount was given as roughly 3.43% of the circulating supply, a large stake for a publicly traded miner.

The company’s total crypto, cash, and strategic investments were reported at about $14.2 billion. The fresh buy of 32,977 Ether adds scale to a position that is already substantial and has been built up over several months.

Staking And Treasury Numbers

Roughly 659,219 ETH in BitMine’s portfolio is currently staked. That portion is being used to generate yield while the firm holds the rest in custody, reports said. Company plans that were disclosed include expanding its validator operations under a program named the Made In America Validator Network, an initiative the firm expects to push forward in early 2026. The staking figure and the new purchase together show BitMine is balancing liquid holdings with income-producing assets.

Market Reaction And Upcoming Shareholder Vote

Market moves were quick. BMNR saw notable trading volume after the announcement, and pre-market figures showed gains around 4% in some sessions. Traders and institutional desks flagged the purchase as a reason for higher demand in the stock, while others said the move simply confirms that large players still see value in holding ETH.

The firm is also set to hold its Annual Stockholder Meeting on January 15, 2026, where proposals including an increase in authorized shares will be put to a vote. That meeting adds a corporate governance angle to the market story, since shareholders will weigh both the crypto strategy and broader capital plans.

Analysts say the next signals to watch are: daily flow in ETH markets, any fresh disclosures from BitMine about further buys, and volume patterns in BMNR trading. Reports indicate the company has been one of the larger active ETH buyers recently, and continued accumulation could keep interest alive among investors.

Price action in both ETH and BMNR will likely drive headlines over the coming weeks as markets digest the full impact of the new holdings.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Strategy has announced expansions to both its Bitcoin (BTC) and US Dollar (USD) reserves. Here’s how much the treasury firm has added to each.

Strategy Has Increased Both Its Bitcoin & USD Treasuries

As revealed in an X post by co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor, Strategy has added 1,287 BTC to its Bitcoin treasury. In total, this acquisition cost the company $116.3 million, according to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Strategy didn’t buy all of this stack in 2026; it purchased 3 BTC between December 29th and 31st, and 1,283 BTC between January 1st and 4th. After these additions, the firm’s Bitcoin reserves have grown to 673,783 tokens.

The BTC acquisition isn’t all that Saylor has announced. At the start of last month, the company started a new USD reserve as a way of making sure that dividend payments occur in time regardless of short-term volatility in the market. It has just made another expansion to this reserve.

Initially, the firm allocated $1.44 billion to the USD reserve, with a $748 million addition coming a couple of weeks ago. Now, it has raised it further by $62 million, taking the total to $2.25 billion. Strategy has funded this expansion and the latest BTC purchase using sales of its MSTR at-the-market (ATM) stock offering.

Strategy is currently by far the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the world, as the below table from BitcoinTreasuries.net shows.

The company’s 673,783 BTC stack is today worth $63.48 billion, more than 25% above its cost basis of $50.55 billion. Though, while Strategy has done well overall, 2025 wasn’t such a bright year for it.

The SEC filing states that the treasury firm closed December 31st with an unrealized loss of $5.40 billion on its digital asset holdings. The figure for the fourth quarter alone is even worse: an unrealized loss of $17.44 billion.

The bad 2025 is naturally a result of the bearish price action that Bitcoin and the wider digital asset sector faced between October and November. Nonetheless, Strategy still hasn’t sold any coins and its recent purchases suggest it’s committed to growing the treasury further for now.

In some other news, the Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw the highest amount of net inflows since October last week.

Spot ETFs are financial instruments that allow investors to gain indirect exposure to BTC’s price movements. That is, they allow traders a route into the cryptocurrency that’s off-chain. Some traditional investors and institutional entities prefer to invest into the asset this way.

Much like the spot on-chain demand, spot ETFs have also faced weak netflows since October, but last week diverged from the recent trend with net inflows of $458.77 million.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $94,200, up 8% over the last seven days.

After a challenging year in 2025 for the altcoin sector, optimism is growing among investors for the potential of an early altseason in 2026. This speculation includes not only established altcoins but also memecoins that struggled throughout the past year. 

Understanding Altcoin Cycles

In a recent post on social media site X (formerly Twitter), analysts from Bull Theory delved into the critical elements required for an altcoin breakout this year.

One significant point highlighted is that altcoin cycles do not emerge randomly. Historically, they tend to commence once Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have bottomed and subsequently begin to break out. 

For instance, in the fourth quarter of 2016, the ALT/BTC ratio hit its lowest point before experiencing a breakout, leading to a robust altcoin rally in the first half of 2017. 

A similar pattern emerged in late 2020, resulting in substantial gains for altcoins in early 2021. This established a clear trend of a bottom followed by a breakout, with altcoins subsequently outperforming Bitcoin. 

ALT/BTC Ratio Shows Signs Of Recovery

Currently, the ALT/BTC ratio has been stuck in a downtrend for nearly four years. Technical indicators suggest a potential turnaround; the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at its most oversold level in history, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is turning green for the first time in 21 months, hinting at a potential bullish crossover. 

These signals suggest that the downtrend may have reached its bottom in the fourth quarter of 2025, setting the stage for a possible breakout reminiscent of earlier altcoin runs.

The analysts also drew attention to the connection between these assets and the equity market, particularly the Russell 2000 index, which recently broke above its previous all-time high. This index reflects broader risk appetite among investors and has historically served as a precursor to altcoin rallies. 

In both late 2016 and late 2020, a breakout in the Russell was followed by significant altcoin gains. Now, as the Russell 2000 has broken out again in the fourth quarter of 2025, it mirrors patterns observed just before previous altcoin surges.

Improvement In Market Conditions 

Despite these promising indicators, some may wonder why this cycle appears delayed. Many investors anticipated a setup for an altcoin season in 2024, but the analysts note that key triggers were absent during that time. 

Factors such as a contracting Federal Reserve (Fed) balance sheet, tight liquidity, and low risk appetite dampened enthusiasm. However, conditions began to improve toward the end of 2025, suggesting that while the cycle may have shifted, it is still very much intact.

Ultimately, analysts at Bull Theory conclude that the anticipated altseason is approaching based on the fact that the ALT/BTC ratio appears to have bottomed out in Q4 of 2025, the Russell 2000 has achieved a breakout in the same period, liquidity has improved, and greater regulatory clarity is expected heading into 2026.

Ethereum (ETH), the market’s leading altcoin, is trading at $3,200, having recorded gains of almost 10% over the past seven days. However, this has been outperformed by XRP, which recorded a notable 21% gain during the same period. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Japan’s Finance Minister has shared her stance on crypto assets and the importance of stock exchanges in supporting the transition to a growth-oriented economy that opens up public access to digital assets.

Japan Enters Its ‘Digital Year’

On Monday, Japan’s Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama endorsed the country’s efforts to integrate crypto assets and blockchain technology into the local financial markets, outlining her policy stance to support Japan’s development as an asset management nation, asserting that “there is still room for growth in shifting from savings to investment.”

In her New Year’s address at the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) Grand Opening Ceremony, celebrated on January 5, Katayama declared that 2026 would be the “Digital Year” for the nation.

The Finance Minister pointed out that 2026 “is a turning point” for overcoming deflation, emphasizing the “importance of responsible, proactive fiscal policy and concentrated investment in growth sectors.”

Notably, Katayama has previously shared a positive approach to crypto and the Web3 sectors, the reports added. Last year, she declared that “with robust governance, the crypto asset and Web3 sectors can develop significantly, and the future is very bright.”

Local news media outlets reported that the Finance Minister expressed her support for integrating crypto assets into stock exchanges on Monday, highlighting the importance of existing financial infrastructure to increase exposure to crypto-related services.

“For citizens to benefit from digital assets and blockchain-based assets, the role of commodity and securities exchanges is crucial,” she stated.

During the New Year’s address, she also discussed the future of crypto-related investment products in Japan, underscoring how “In the U.S., ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are expanding as a means for citizens to hedge against inflation.”

Despite the success of US spot ETFs, Japanese regulators have been cautious about digital asset-based funds. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has repeatedly expressed reservations about the investment products.

Nonetheless, Katayama suggested that similar initiatives to those of the US would be pursued in Japan, signaling a potential launch of crypto-based investment products this year.

She concluded her statement by declaring her support for the efforts carried out by exchanges in Japan to develop trading environments “utilizing such cutting-edge fintech and technology.”

2026 Framework To Reshape Local Crypto Landscape

Over the past few years, Japanese authorities have been working to review their regulatory system and develop policies for customer fund safety and innovation in a more reliable industry.

In December, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party published their upcoming FY2026 Tax Reform. As reported by Bitcoinist, the 2026 tax reform will introduce significant changes to the existing taxation system.

These changes, long requested by Japanese investors, are set to address the categorization and regulation of crypto assets, reclassifying them as financial products.

The proposal signals a shift from the assets’ previous treatment as speculative assets by Japanese financial authorities. Based on this, the reform is also studying the introduction of a separate taxation system for crypto income.

The current progressive tax system, where digital asset gains can be taxed at up to 55%, would be replaced with a system like the one used for stocks, with a flat 20% tax on crypto income.

Venezuela may have quietly built a Bitcoin stash of roughly 600,000 to 660,000 BTC. That number would be worth about $56 billion to $67 billion at recent prices, intelligence reports cited by Whale Hunting analysts Bradley Hope and Clara Preve disclose.

The said accumulation began around 2018 and involved swaps from gold sales and oil deals priced in stablecoins, then converted to Bitcoin. Some stories tie the chatter to recent political developments in Venezuela, saying the claims have stirred fresh attention on the nation’s finances and on Bitcoin markets.

Public Records Tell A Different Story

Based on reports from public blockchain trackers and treasury listings, the picture is far less dramatic. Official on-chain wallets linked to Venezuela’s government show about 240 BTC — roughly $22 million at current rates.

How The Numbers Were Said To Work

Reports that pushed the big number mentioned several methods of accumulation. Gold sales from state mining areas were named. Oil shipments priced in USDT or other crypto were mentioned too.

Some accounts also suggest seized mining equipment and opaque trading channels were used to move value into Bitcoin over years. If any of that is true, then large sums could be off the books and hard to trace.

Market Reaction And Political Buzz

Bitcoin’s price has been sensitive to the story. Traders watched moves above $92,000 closely as the rumor spread. Some headlines linked the claims to geopolitical tensions and to questions about whether foreign authorities could seize or freeze any such reserve if it existed.

Reports note that such a seizure would carry legal and diplomatic complications. US President Donald Trump’s recent comments on regional security further stoked interest in how geopolitical events and crypto markets can intersect.

Why Skepticism Is Still Needed

Investigative limits matter. Blockchain data is public, but wallets can be obfuscated through mixers, custodial services, or private keys held across many accounts. That makes absolute proof difficult without cooperation from those who control the coins or from an audited disclosure. Until verifiable custody records, independent audits, or clear on-chain links are produced, the numbers above should be read as unconfirmed claims rather than settled fact.

Huge If True, Unproven Now

Based on reports and on public trackers, Venezuela’s official, proven Bitcoin holdings remain small compared with the headline figures. The 600,000–660,000 BTC claim is dramatic; it would reshape market math if proven. For now, it is a high-impact rumor that needs concrete proof.

Maduro’s Capture

US forces recently carried out an operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, heightening geopolitical tensions in the region. Reports suggest the move has renewed interest in Venezuela’s alleged Bitcoin holdings and oil, with analysts watching closely for any impact on global crypto markets. The full consequences of the raid and Maduro’s capture are still unfolding.

Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView

Violent “wrench attacks” against crypto holders, physical robberies and kidnappings meant to force victims to hand over coins, appear to be rising in absolute terms and trending more severe, according to a new visualization built from a long-running incident database maintained by security researcher Jameson Lopp.

Dragonfly partner Haseeb Qureshi said he analyzed Lopp’s dataset and built an interactive dashboard to stress-test a question many traders and builders have been asking quietly for years: is simply holding crypto becoming physically more dangerous? “You’re not imagining it: the number of attacks has been increasing over time,” Qureshi wrote on X. “Not only that, the attacks are getting more violent.”

The dashboard breaks reported incidents into five severity bands — Minor, Moderate, Serious, Severe, and Fatal and the distribution skews heavily toward the sharp end of the spectrum. Of 269 categorized incidents shown, 137 (51%) were labeled “Serious,” 57 (21%) “Severe,” and 13 (5%) “Fatal,” with the remainder split between 39 (14%) “Moderate” and 23 (9%) “Minor.”

The year-by-year bars show the later years carrying a larger share of “Severe” and “Fatal” outcomes than the early history of the dataset, with 2025 appearing as the highest-incident year on the chart.

Qureshi’s analysis also puts a number on the most intuitive driver: price. Charting incidents against total crypto market capitalization, he reported a simple regression with an R² of 0.45 — implying roughly 45% of the variation in reported violence is explained by market cap alone. In plain terms, higher prices coincide with more attacks.

But the more consequential question for everyday holders is not raw counts; it’s risk per person. Because comprehensive “number of crypto users” data is hard to pin down, Qureshi used Coinbase monthly active users as a proxy, and separately normalized incidents by market cap to approximate attacks per dollar of wealth.

The resulting “normalized attack rates” chart tells a less linear story: per-user attack rates spiked in earlier market eras (notably around 2015 and again in 2018), then fell sharply after 2019, before ticking higher in the most recent observations. “So is that it?” Qureshi asked. “Proof crypto is becoming more physically dangerous?”

On his telling, not quite. Coinbase MAUs, he noted, expanded dramatically over the decade, while normalized attack rates did not rise proportionally, suggesting a meaningful “population effect” behind the higher headline totals. Still, the per-user line has moved up from its post-2019 lows, roughly back toward the levels seen during the 2021 cycle, even as the “attacks per $ of market cap” line remains comparatively flat in recent years.

Geography adds another uncomfortable layer. A regional table in the dashboard shows Western Europe (73 attacks) and North America (64) as the two largest buckets by incident count, with Asia-Pacific also substantial (53). But the most lethal outcomes cluster elsewhere: Latin America shows a 21% fatality rate and Africa 17%, versus 0% in North America. Qureshi underscored that point directly: “Notably, there have been 0 fatalities in North America ever,” he wrote, adding that the “lion’s share” of fatalities are in Latin America and Africa.

Lopp, who has maintained the underlying “Bitcoin Wrench Attack” archive for years, has warned the workload and frequency are becoming harder to treat as isolated incidents. “When an event goes from being rare to happening every few days, it’s no longer newsworthy — it’s just a fact of life,” he wrote in a Dec. 21 post cited in the thread, while inviting others to help maintain the database.

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $3.12 trillion.

Big Four accounting firm PwC has reversed its cautious stance on crypto after regulatory developments related to the space in the United States.

PwC Has Softened Its Stance On Crypto

According to a report from the Financial Times, PwC has changed its strategy around digital assets following the new laws passed by Donald Trump’s administration. PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC in short, is a multinational professional services network headquartered in London. It provides services such as audits, tax planning, and business consulting to companies worldwide.

PwC is the second-largest firm of its kind and part of the Big Four accounting firms. Previously, the British company steered clear of crypto-related work in the US like other Big Four firms, but it seems that stance has now changed. The shift has come as the US has made advancements in its crypto regulatory framework. Among the new laws is the Genius Act, which regulates stablecoins, digital assets pegged to a fiat currency like the US Dollar (USD).

“The Genius Act and the regulatory rulemaking around stablecoin, I expect, will create more conviction around leaning into that product and that asset class,” said Paul Griggs, senior partner at PwC US, in an interview with FT.

Griggs added that PwC has been pitching companies on how they can use digital asset technology, with stablecoins as a means of improving payment systems’ efficiency, cited as one example.

PwC and other Big Four firms budging on crypto showcases the legislative momentum that the industry has had recently, with traditional finance increasingly unable to ignore the sector. Stablecoins, in particular, have been witnessing growing adoption. Beyond the American Genius Act, this class of digital assets also attracted regulatory attention in other parts of the world.

Hong Kong introduced a stablecoin issuer licensing framework last year, while Japan observed the launch of its first yen-based token. In Europe, major banks have come together to work on a euro-pegged coin, aiming to challenge the sector’s USD dominance. The positive regulation in 2025 meant that the space witnessed some sharp growth, with the market cap exploring new records, as data from DefiLlama shows.

The sector hasn’t been unaffected by the wider slowdown in crypto since October, however. From the above chart, it’s visible that the stablecoin market cap has seen consolidation in the last few months.

Nonetheless, while other parts of the market have shrunken, these fiat-tied tokens still have their combined market cap sitting at $307 billion today, which is very close to the all-time high (ATH).

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $92,900, up nearly 6% over the last week.

Solana (SOL) has entered 2026 with renewed attention from traders as its price stabilizes above the $130 technical area. After weeks of sideways movement, SOL has pushed higher, reclaiming levels that had previously capped upside attempts.

Related Reading: 600,000 Bitcoin Allegedly Held In Venezuelan Shadow Reserve: Report

The move comes amid broader strength across major cryptos and follows a period where Solana’s on-chain activity and network upgrades have reshaped how the market views the asset. With price holding above a critical support zone, market participants are now watching whether momentum can sustain a deeper recovery.

Solana Price Holds Above Key Levels as Momentum Builds

Solana (SOL) is currently trading above the $135 mark, extending gains of just over 1% in the past 24 hours. The price has successfully defended the $130–$135 zone, an area that previously acted as resistance during consolidation.

A break above $132 and the 100-hour simple moving average signaled a short-term trend shift, allowing buyers to push the price as high as $138 before a modest pullback.

Technical indicators point to improving momentum. The Relative Strength Index remains above 50, suggesting buying pressure outweighs selling interest, while the hourly MACD continues to strengthen in bullish territory.

A rising trend line around $135 now serves as near-term support, with additional downside protection near $130. Failure to hold this level could expose SOL to a deeper retracement toward $128 or $120, but for now, the structure favors stability.

On the upside, resistance remains clustered between $138 and $145. A sustained close above $145 would likely open the door to a move toward the $150–$155 range, a zone last tested during previous rally attempts.

On-Chain Activity Signals a Structural Shift

Beyond price action, Solana’s on-chain metrics continue to draw attention. In 2025, the network processed roughly $1.6 trillion in on-chain spot trading volume, accounting for about 12% of total spot activity across crypto markets.

This represents a sharp increase from just a few years ago, when Solana played a minor role in trading flows.

The shift highlights a broader trend toward high-throughput blockchains as traders and applications prioritize speed and lower transaction costs. Growing stablecoin usage and decentralized exchange activity on Solana have helped anchor liquidity on-chain, reducing reliance on centralized platforms.

Network Upgrades Support the Broader Outlook

Solana’s technical progress also underpins the recent price resilience. The rollout of the Firedancer validator client aims to improve transaction processing and network stability, addressing concerns linked to past congestion and outages.

Alongside increased block space and compute capacity, these upgrades are designed to support higher activity without significant fee pressure.

As Solana expands across payments, NFTs, gaming, and prediction markets, its usage base has become more diversified.

Related Reading: Crypto Payments Hit A Turning Point With Visa Card Use Up Over 500%

While short-term volatility remains part of the landscape, the combination of defended support, improving technical signals, and strengthening fundamentals suggests momentum has shifted modestly in Solana’s favor.

Cover image from ChatGPT, SOLUSD chart from Tradingview

The Bitcoin price has already crashed by more than 32.5% from last year’s all-time high above $126,000, toward the $85,000 region. Although the cryptocurrency has recovered slightly and is now trading above $90,000, a crypto analyst has forecast another major price crash in 2026. According to the forecast, Bitcoin could decline by 50%, following trends observed in previous cycles, potentially hitting a bottom near $40,000. 

Bitcoin Price Set For 50% Crash

Bitcoin could face another price correction as technical indicators continue to signal a strong bear market. Market expert CryptoBullet warns that Bitcoin’s bear market behavior is not over, with a deeper pullback aligning with long-term on-chain trends. 

CryptoBullet bases his outlook on Bitcoin’s Realized Price, a metric that reflects the average price at which all circulating coins last moved. He explained that this level acts as a key reference during bear markets and has historically marked zones where price eventually breaks down before forming a bottom. 

Looking at past cycles, he noted that Bitcoin has consistently fallen below its Realized Price during bear markets. The drawdowns reached 66% in 2011, 48% in 2015, 35% in 2018, and 33% in 2022, indicating a consistent tendency for prices to fall below this level. Due to this repeated decline, the analyst believes the next bear-market crash will follow the same pattern, triggering a 50% drop to $40,000 for Bitcoin this year.

 Another major factor supporting CryptoBullet’s analysis is Bitcoin’s declining volatility over time. He noted that the gap between market price and Realized Price has steadily narrowed, shrinking from a 66% deviation in 2011 to roughly 33% in 2022. 

Because of this trend, the analyst does not expect the bear market this year to be as severe as the downside observed in past cycles. Instead, he estimates Bitcoin could fall by 24% to 31% below Realized Price, placing its likely bottom in the $40,000 to $43,000 range.  

Extreme Bear Market Scenario

With the Realized Price currently near $56,000, CryptoBullet has also cautioned that Bitcoin could decline even further to below $40,000 this year. The analyst noted that if the market repeats the 2022 bear market, a 33% drop below Realized Price would place Bitcoin near $37,400. 

He added that by the third quarter or fourth quarter of 2026, Realized Price could fall deeper to $53,000 or $54,000, which could result in a similar 33% crash, pushing Bitcoin closer to $35,000. The analyst has stated that $35,000 represents the most extreme downside he can reasonably see this year based on historical behavior. The accompanying chart also reflects this view by highlighting previous bear-market crashes that occurred after the price slipped well below the Realized Price line.

The first week of the year has not been unkind to the market, with Ethereum (ETH) entering 2026 with a mixed narrative that reflects both progress and restraint. On one hand, the network is pushing through long-standing technical limits and seeing broader real-world usage.

On the other hand, market data indicate continued selling pressure, which has kept price action subdued. Together, these trends suggest Ethereum is less in decline than in transition, balancing structural growth against a cautious market environment.

Technical Progress and Network Upgrades

Recent comments from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have drawn renewed attention to the progress on the blockchain trilemma, which is the challenge of balancing decentralization, security, and scalability.

According to Buterin, upgrades such as Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) and zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs) have moved this goal from theory into live conditions on the mainnet.

PeerDAS, introduced with the Fusaka upgrade in December, reduces the burden on validators by allowing them to verify data availability through sampling rather than processing full datasets. This improves scalability while maintaining accessibility to participation.

At the same time, zkEVMs have reached an early operational stage, with proof generation times falling sharply and verification costs dropping significantly. While still in alpha, these systems are expected to assume a larger validation role between 2027 and 2030, following further security enhancements.

Alongside performance gains, Ethereum’s roadmap is shifting toward protocol safety. The Ethereum Foundation has set a target of achieving 128-bit provable security by late 2026, indicating that recent speed and cost improvements are now being matched with increasingly stringent security goals.

Ethereum (ETH) Adoption Shifts Toward Utility

Beyond core protocol work, Ethereum’s usage metrics point to expanding adoption. Stablecoin transfer volume on the network exceeded $8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, nearly doubling from earlier in the year.

Active addresses and daily transactions also reached record levels, reinforcing Ethereum’s role as a primary settlement layer for payments and tokenized assets.

Industry figures increasingly point to crypto-native neobanks as a key growth driver for 2026. These platforms combine self-custody, stablecoins, and yield products with familiar banking interfaces, lowering barriers for mainstream users.

Institutional participation in 2025, particularly through digital asset treasuries and staking-related structures, has helped lay the groundwork for this shift toward everyday financial use rather than short-term trading.

Market Pressure and Developer Momentum

Despite these developments, market flow data indicate that Ethereum remains under dominant selling pressure, reflecting a broader de-risking trend across cryptocurrency assets. This has limited upside and led to choppy price action, despite the emergence of positive narratives.

Similarly, developer activity tells a different story. An estimated 8.7 million smart contracts were deployed in the fourth quarter of 2025, the highest quarterly figure on record.

Taken together, Ethereum’s current signals point to consolidation rather than contraction. While market conditions continue to weigh on price, technical progress and rising adoption indicate the network is positioning itself for the next phase of growth once broader pressure eases.

Cover image from ChatGPT, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview

In a recent report by Bitcoin Magazine, it has come to light that the US Marshals Service (USMS), operating under the direction of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), has allegedly sold Bitcoin (BTC) forfeited by defendants Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, creators of Samourai Wallet.

Controversial Bitcoin Sale 

According to documents titled “Asset Liquidation Agreement,” which Bitcoin Magazine has obtained, the BTC forfeited by Rodriguez and Hill is either in the process of being sold or has already been sold. 

The document indicates an agreement where the defendants consented to relinquish Bitcoin valued at approximately $6.3 million, which amounted to little over 57 BTC at the time the agreement was finalized on November 3, 2025.

Interestingly, it appears that the Bitcoin transferred on November 3, 2025, did not enter the USMS’s custody directly. Instead, the cryptocurrency seems to have been sent straight to Coinbase Prime, likely for the purpose of sale.

Potential Implications For Crypto Regulation

This decision raises significant legal and ethical questions, particularly regarding compliance with Executive Order 14233. This Order stipulates that BTC acquired through criminal forfeiture—termed “Government BTC”—must not be sold and should instead be allocated to the established Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. 

If the USMS has indeed sold the forfeited Bitcoin, it indicates that they proceeded at their own discretion, potentially ignoring the legal mandate outlined in the Executive Order.

The Executive Order also specifies that “Government BTC” falls under the category of “Government Digital Assets,” and it mandates that agency heads cannot sell or otherwise dispose of these assets except under certain conditions, none of which apply to the cases of Rodriguez or Hill. 

With this controversy surrounding the sale of seized Bitcoin, the actions of the USMS could spark further debate about how the government manages seized digital assets. 

BTC has risen closer to $94,300 at the time of writing, representing a significant 3% increase in the last 24 hours and 8% increase in the last seven days. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Discussions around Ripple’s place in the global financial system have resurfaced after a market expert outlined what deeper access to the Federal Reserve’s (FED) master account could mean for the crypto company and XRP. The report outlines how direct integration with the FED could help Ripple frontrun institutional finance and position XRP as the supporting anchor to this framework. 

Ripple To Access FED Master Account With XRP

An XRP advocate, @UnknownDLT, has released a new post on X explaining how access to the United States Federal Reserve’s master account could expand Ripple’s role in global financial infrastructure. Rather than focusing on price action, the report explores how XRP could play a more infrastructural role in these systems, emphasizing the benefits of the FED’s transaction volume and institutional connectivity. 

According to the advocate, a FED master account would allow Ripple to connect directly to the central bank’s transaction flows. This would give the crypto company direct access to the core of US payment operations, reducing reliance on intermediary banks and third-party processors. 

The report also points to Ripple Prime, an institutional prime brokerage service, formed by the rebranding and acquisition of Hidden Road. @UnknownDLT has suggested that Ripple Prime could be a key driver of Ripple’s institutional access. He stated that Hidden Road could give the crypto company direct exposure to the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which underpins an estimated $4 quadrillion in transaction volume across equities, fixed income, and derivatives markets. 

Beyond traditional finance, the XRP advocate highlights Ripple’s rail as an entry point into the stablecoin sector. Ripple’s rail is said to provide access to roughly 10% of global stablecoin transaction volume, further embedding the crypto company within large-scale digital asset settlement activity. 

Within this broader framework, the altcoin is described as the base layer enabling these connections. @UnknownDLT frames XRP as infrastructure rather than a typical speculative digital asset, highlighting its role in Ripple’s growing institutional reach and as a bridge for cross-border and intersystem payments. 

Long-Term Vision In The Payments Sector

In a previous post, @UnknownDLT also shared a strong projection about the future role of XRP and Ripple in global payments. He stated that XRP is positioned to dominate the cross-border payments market while Ripple could emerge as the largest financial conglomerate globally. 

The expert also predicted that the XRP Ledger will handle the world’s highest volume of money transfers. He explained that the blockchain network was designed to support massive financial flows. As a result, widespread adoption is seemingly inevitable. Notably, the ledger can reportedly handle up to 1,500 transactions per second, settling transfers in just 3-5 seconds with minimal fees. 

@UnknownDLT has emphasized that his projections are not market hype or fear-driven speculation, but a plan that has been developing for more than ten years.

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XRP is quietly going through one of its most dramatic supply changes in years, and it is happening away from price charts and headlines. The real change is happening in crypto exchanges, as on-chain data shows a steady and persistent drawdown of XRP balances on these platforms. 

The latest data from CryptoQuant highlights just how pronounced this trend has become, with exchange reserves now sitting at their lowest level in several years.

Exchange Reserves Breakdown After Year-End

The pattern of XRP exodus on crypto exchanges is visible on major trading venues, particularly Binance, which accounts for a large share of XRP liquidity. The CryptoQuant chart tracking the amount of XRP held on crypto exchange Binance shows a clear back-and-forth movement through 2024 and 2025, which eventually culminated in a sharp drop into early 2026. 

Between 2024 and early 2025, centralized crypto exchanges collectively held well above 3 billion XRP in their reserves. That figure has since fallen to the 2 billion XRP range in late 2025, with some brief spikes that were quickly reversed. Interestingly, the most recent data shows that exchange balances have fallen further at the beginning of 2026.

However, XRP balances on Binance were still elevated as 2025 came to a close, holding steady above 2 billion XRP tokens through the final trading days of the year. At the time of writing, on-chain data from CryptoQuant shows that the total XRP has dropped to about 1.85 billion tokens, down from roughly 2.65 billion XRP on December 31, 2025. That represents an exit of nearly 800 million XRP from the exchange within the first five days of 2026.

Glassnode Data Shows Even Fewer Tokens On Exchanges

An even tighter picture of XRP’s exchange supply can be seen through Glassnode data highlighted on X by an account known as BULLRUNNERS. A chart shared on X by BULLRUNNERS shows that XRP balances across all exchanges may be far lower than many traders realize. 

Reacting to the data, the account noted that only 1.44 billion XRP is left on crypto exchanges. The chart shows a steep drop in XRP reserves from above 1.53 billion XRP to 1.44 billion XRP within the most recent trading sessions.

Reduced supply on exchanges can affect price reactions and is bullish for cryptocurrencies, at least in theory. Interestingly, XRP price’s action is starting to react to the outflows, amongst other factors, in the past 48 hours. 

At the time of writing, XRP is now back above $2 and is trading at $2.15. The significance of the ongoing exchange outflows becomes clearer when they are considered alongside the steady inflows into Spot XRP ETFs, which, so far, have not recorded a single day of net outflows since launch.

2025 was a remarkable year for XRP, as the altcoin experienced multiple milestones, including the launch of Spot ETFs and the conclusion of the Ripple vs. the US SEC lawsuit, which led to one of its significant rallies in the year. Although XRP has seen massive growth, analysts still believe that investing in the token in 2026 could still be considered early.

XRP Positioning In A Maturing Market

While XRP has been a topic of discussion in the cryptocurrency space for many years, mounting data indicate that an investment made in 2026 might still be in the early phases of its wider adoption cycle. 

This prediction made by Moon Lambo on the X platform is majorly focused on the demand for the altcoin and the substantial growth of the Spot XRP Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). With institutional use cases growing, regulatory clarity improving, and on-chain activity continuing to evolve, the XRP architecture is just now starting to take shape. 

Moon Lambo stated that the total net assets of all XRP ETFs have reached a whopping $1.37 billion. Interesting, the massive figure was achieved in less than 2 months after its launch, with only 5 spot ETFs live in the market. 

According to the expert, this indicates that ETFs have consumed roughly 0.7% supply in circulation in about 34 days, which also represents a 1.14% of the market cap of the leading altcoin. However, Moon Lambo expects the XRP Spot ETFs to continue in the next 3 to 10 years, and the 0.7% of supply held by the funds would become extremely larger.

The notable growth in the funds comes at a time when the cryptocurrency market is facing steady suppression due to the massive liquidation event that occurred on October 10. Since the event, Moon Lambo stated that the market sentiment continues to remain in extreme fear.

During the period, capital persistently flowed into XRP Spot ETFs despite the market volatility. At the same time, there have been several weeks of sharp withdrawals for Bitcoin and Ethereum counterparts.

2026 Might Mark The Beginning For Investors

The analyst also expects this type of demand to occur on the crypto native side of things, especially exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. All of this is taking place at a time when the altcoin’s fundamentals are stronger than ever. In such a scenario, Moon Lambo is confident that the price of the token will continue to rise.

Related Reading: Ripple Dev Says Get Ready For 2026, All The New Things Coming For XRP

Given its 14 years of existence, XRP is considered a clear winner in the ever-evolving crypto space. In spite of its remarkable growth over the years, the expert declares that those interested in the altcoin in 2026 are still early. “Even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, you’re early,” Moon Lambo added.

Another instance to support the claim is that the great majority of the adoption that will take place has not yet happened. As a result, Moon Lambo predicted that the best is yet to come, suggesting that the token will undergo massive growth in the upcoming years.

Crypto pundit SMQKE has drawn the community’s attention to the possibility that the proposed digital euro is using XRP. This comes as the XRP Ledger continues to gain more utility, which is a positive for the altcoin. 

How The Digital Euro Has Ties To XRP

In an X post, SMQKE highlighted the ties between the proposed digital euro, which is expected to launch by 2029, and XRP. The DLT pilot program will allegedly be used to issue this Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Meanwhile, Axiology is the XRPL-based technological layer for the DLT Transactional Settlement System (DLT TSS), which indicates a potential connection between the digital euro and the token. 

Furthermore, SMQKE noted that the DLT is working on a secondary market for tokenized securities, which is also a positive for the crypto and the Ledger. Despite the ties between the digital euro and XRP, the European Central Bank (ECB) has yet to say whether it will launch the CBDC on any public blockchain, including the Ledger. 

The Ledger is already home to several stablecoins, including Ripple’s RLUSD and Circle’s USDC, which are natively issued on the network. Meanwhile, Schuman’s EURØP, a MiCA-compliant and euro-backed stablecoin, is also issued on the Ledger. The issuance of these stablecoins on the network is bullish for the token because it could boost the altcoin’s adoption as the native token of the Ledger. 

Notably, the Ledger developers are also working on several updates to help onboard institutions onto the network. This includes privacy tools to ensure that these institutions can move their funds on-chain without being monitored. These developers are also working to eliminate the risk posed by quantum computing by introducing quantum-resistant code on the Ledger. 

“The Global Financial System Is Running On XRP”

In an X post, crypto pundit Jake Claver declared that the global financial system runs on XRP and that big banks are quietly accumulating the altcoin because they know what is coming. He further noted that one the altcoin can power multiple cross-border transactions daily and that several companies will soon need it to survive in global trade. “The writing is on the wall. Get ready or get left behind,” Claver added.

However, popular community member Crypto Eri countered Claver’s statement, suggesting that banks do not need to hold the token for these transactions. She stated that Ripple facilitates ODL for payment providers using XRP in liquidity corridors. Crypto Eri further remarked that this includes an optional Ripple-managed wallet that the user dips into on demand without exposure to the altcoin. In line with this, she said that banks don’t quietly accumulate for payments but instead use the Ripple payments solution.

At the time of writing, the altcoin’s price is trading at around $2.13, up over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The broader cryptocurrency market seems to be slowly turning bullish, with the price of Bitcoin reclaiming the $92,000 mark after weeks of trading beneath the level. Despite a rebound, a key metric shows that massive BTC inflows to the Binance exchange have not yet slowed down as whale activity heats up.

Whale-Sized Bitcoin Inflows Hit Binance

While the market is regaining upside traction, Bitcoin is experiencing a persistent and notable shift in exchange activity. In a CryptoQuant quicktake, Maartunn, a market expert and investor, has outlined a steady uptick in flows to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and there are increasingly whale-sized transfers.

Typically, such movement of BTC raises questions about a potential sell-off, strategic positioning, or preparing for volatility. However, considering the current market state, these major players may be gearing up for the market’s next phase rather than sitting on the sidelines. 

Maartunn determined the shift in exchange activity after examining the Bitcoin Inflow Mean metric on the monthly time frame. The key metric shows the average BTC per inflow transaction, which is signaling that larger holders are now more active on the Binance crypto exchange. As seen in the chart, the Monthly Inflow Mean to Binance increased to 21.7 BTC in December 2025. 

It is worth noting that the metric has been rising in the last 2 years, moving from 0.86 BTC in early January 2024 to 21.7 BTC in 2026. To put into context, this growth represents a 34x increase in the average size of each deposit. Maartunn highlighted that this trend started accelerating in early 2024, just around the period the Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) were approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC). 

The timing suggests that larger organizations may have begun using Binance as an exchange alongside institutional adoption. However, this could just be a coincidence. As a result of the persistent inflow to Binance from large holders, the expert declares that the crypto exchange is poisoning itself as a key venue for whale flows.

BTC Purchase Firing Up Among Large Holders

Bitcoin accumulation among large holders or whales has also increased sharply lately. NoLimit, the analyst who predicted the Bitcoin bottom at $16,000 and its top at $126,000 in October 2025, reported that the cohort scooped up around 270,000 BTC, valued at roughly $23 billion over the past 30 days. This represents 1.3% of BTC’s total supply, and it is the largest net purchase from the investors in the last 13 years.

A key development in this buying activity is the period during which it is being conducted. Historically, this kind of whale concentration has occurred during uncertain times rather than at clear tops. While most individuals are preoccupied with other things and aren’t paying attention to inflows, this type of placement takes place quietly.

NoLimit stated that this does not mean that BTC gets to move upward tomorrow, but it does imply that investors with the longest time horizons are aggressively increasing their exposure. Meanwhile, investors in shitcoins are complaining about the coins not moving upward.