Из жизни альткоинов

Цифровой рубль может занять до 5% от объема безналичных платежей в течение следующих семи лет, заявила директор департамента национальной платежной системы Банка России Алла Бакина.

Leaders in crypto and tech are pushing back hard against a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax in California. The measure would hit net worth above $1 billion and would tax paper gains—assets counted even if they haven’t been sold.

Supporters say the money would pay for health programs and other public services. Based on official estimates, the plan could raise up to ~$100 billion from roughly 200 very wealthy residents.

What The Tax Would Do

According to the initiative’s fiscal outline, the levy would apply to net worth on January 1, 2026, and it targets unrealized gains — stocks, company stakes, and other holdings valued on paper.

Taxpayers could pay in one lump sum or stretch payments over five years, with interest if they choose the latter. For example, someone with $20 billion in assets would face about $1 billion in liability under a 5% rule. A resident with more than $200 billion could see a bill exceeding $10 billion.

A 5% theft of unrealized gains and assets taxes were already paid on is about the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard. I promise you this will be the final straw. Billionaires will take with them all of their spending, hobbies, philanthropy and jobs. Solve the waste/fraud issue. https://t.co/DKcNWni2kB

— Jesse Powell (@jespow) December 28, 2025

Industry Pushback And Warnings

Based on reports, several high-profile crypto firms and founders say the measure would drive people and money out of California. Executives named in coverage include Hunter Horsley, Jesse Powell, Chamath Palihapitiya, Nic Carter, Alexis Ohanian, and other tech figures.

I say this with no joy as a California resident:

Many who’ve made this state great are quietly discussing leaving or have decided to leave in the next 12 months.

More generally, one of the fascinating developments of this decade is people voting their views not with the… https://t.co/bTlBnsYdnY

— Hunter Horsley (@HHorsley) December 27, 2025

Their message is simple: large, sudden tax bills on paper wealth could force owners to sell stakes or move to other states, which they argue would cost jobs and investment in the local economy. Some say the rule would be especially tough on founders whose wealth is tied up in startups.

Supporters offer a different view. They argue the charge would target a small group—high net worth individuals—and provide funds for health care, education, and food programs without increasing taxes for middle-income families.

Representative Ro Khanna has been mentioned as a backer who sees the revenue as a way to strengthen public services.

Numbers And Unknowns

The math is clear in one sense: 5% of very large sums adds up quickly. Estimates put potential revenue as high as ~$100 billion. But collection is less certain.

Critics point to past cases where wealth taxes produced less money than forecast because some taxpayers relocated or shifted assets offshore. Valuing private companies and volatile holdings like crypto presents practical challenges, and that could make administration complex.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

Генеральный директор криптобиржи Coinbase Брайан Армстронг (Brian Armstrong) считает, что биткоин создает здоровую конкуренцию доллару США. По его мнению, первая криптовалюта подталкивает политиков к соблюдению финансовой дисциплины и в конечном счете способствует сохранению лидирующих позиций доллара.

В уходящем году стейблкоины так и не смогли полностью закрепиться в классическую финансовую систему и остались в «шаге от денег», заявили аналитики издания Financial Times.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says he will stop using X at the end of December, with a “digital twin” set to take over his account in January, an unusual handoff that reshapes how one of crypto’s most visible founders communicates with the Cardano community. “Five more days on X,” Hoskinson wrote in a Dec. 27 post. “Come January, a digital twin takes over this account—I’ll explain what that means on the first YouTube stream of the new year.”

Here’s Why The Cardano Founder Will Leave X

Hoskinson pointed followers to where he intends to be active next. “Where to find me: Midnight Discord for weekly AMAs, YouTube for livestreams, and the long-form writing I’ve owed myself for a decade,” he wrote, tying the shift to Midnight and to a renewed emphasis on longer-form communication.

The motivation, he said, is incentive design. “Why leave? X rewards outrage,” Hoskinson wrote, adding that “the work that matters—Africa, Basho, Midnight 1.0, Cardano governance—rewards building.” He framed it as a conclusion drawn from a full decade on the platform: “Ten years taught me which game is worth playing.”

The farewell also carried a sharper edge that nodded to the disputes he has been drawn into on X. “To everyone who made this decade worthwhile: thank you. To the rest: I won’t miss you,” he wrote. Hoskinson has been a prolific and often combative presence on the platform, frequently engaging critics directly and weighing in on Cardano’s technical direction, governance arguments, and broader industry controversies.

Hoskinson’s writing pivot is already underway. On Dec. 25, he published a long post titled “What the Horizon Kept” on his personal Blogger site, opening with a vignette in which “The old fisherman said, ‘The ocean’s too quiet,’” before moving into a surreal narrative about instruments failing, maps not matching reality, and an island appearing where none was marked. The site’s profile bio describes him, bluntly, as a “Guy who writes stuff that makes people angry.”

He also continued posting in a more typically terse mode in recent days. In one message, Hoskinson wrote: “Before Crypto and After Crypto. Friends don’t let friends do crypto.”

Before Crypto and After Crypto. Friends don’t let friends do crypto pic.twitter.com/129Odf4Ihj

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) December 28, 2025

Hoskinson has not provided details about the “digital twin” beyond promising an explanation in his first YouTube livestream of the year. For Cardano and Midnight followers, the near-term question is how that handoff works in practice, and whether the conversation he has historically driven on X consolidates on Discord, YouTube, and whatever long-form writing comes next.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.3779.

Гендиректор аналитической компании CryptoQuant Ки Янг Джу (Ki Young Ju) заявил, что биткоин находится в состоянии «сжатой пружины» — сейчас формируются условия для нового импульса актива.

After the Dogecoin open interest hit new all-time highs back in September, it has seen a significant crash, culminating in the open interest dropping to levels not seen since 2024. This was a reflection of the decline in market participation from investors due to the rapid drop in the Dogecoin price. However, the open interest seems to have put in a bottom, and there has been a recovery in this major metric, something that could carry positive implications for the meme coin’s price.

Dogecoin Open Interest Recovers Above $1.5 Billion

On December 19, the Dogecoin open interest fell below the $1.3 billion mark, following the decline in participation. But the performance so far suggests that this could be a possible bottom. The week following this bottom saw a significant spike in the open interest, as it jumped above the $1.5 billion mark, as shown on Coinglass.

Since then, the Dogecoin price interest has consistently come in above $1.5 billion, suggesting that crypto traders are moving back into the meme coin. This is because the open interest measures the total outstanding futures or options contracts for a particular asset, and as the open interest rises, it means investors are opening more positions on Dogecoin.

This carries a positive implication, going by historical performance, because times when the open interest has risen have often coincided with times when the price has seen a recovery. An example is the Dogecoin price reaching close to $0.3 back in September when the open interest rose to its current peak of $6.01 billion.

Given this trend, if the Dogecoin open interest continues to rise, then it is likely that the price will follow the same trajectory. Therefore, the DOGE price could be getting ready to mark a bottom, especially as the crypto market readies to usher in a new year.

Volume Refuses To Bugde

While the open interest has seen a recovery, the Dogecoin daily trading volume remains low. According to Coinglass data, the daily trading volume is sitting at one of the lowest points for the year 2025. This also plays into the fact that participation has been muted for the digital asset.

However, this muted volume is not relegated to Dogecoin lately, given that the entire crypto market has been in a bearish trend. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is currently sitting at a score of 24 at the time of this writing. This shows that there is Extreme Fear in the market, and it is a time when liquidity is low, leading to lower prices.

Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson has shared an interesting outlook for the crypto market in a recent YouTube interview by Altcoin Daily, projecting a major upside for Bitcoin in 2026 while also outlining a way capital flows into altcoins. His comments touched on institutional demand, decentralized finance, and why the next crypto market phase may soon decouple from Bitcoin.

Bitcoin At $250,000 And The Bridge Into DeFi

When asked about if he is still bullish on Bitcoin in 2026, Hoskinson said he expects Bitcoin to reach around $250,000 in 2026, pointing to persistent institutional demand as the core driver. 

This prediction is interesting, especially given the current context of Bitcoin’s price action, which is currently stuck below $90,000. It is also not a new stance for Hoskinson, who previously floated the same target during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

In the YouTube interview with Altcoin Daily, Hoskinson noted that the missing piece has been a credible way for Bitcoin’s enormous stored value to interact with the broader DeFi ecosystem. He explained that Bitcoin holders are very cautious about handing custody of their assets to third parties, which has limited how much BTC can be deployed productively.

The solution, in his view, lies in non-custodial credit systems. Hoskinson described a future where Bitcoin can be lent in a non-custodial manner to access stablecoins, which are then deployed across DeFi to generate yield. 

If the yield generated exceeds the cost of credit, Bitcoin holders gain predictable passive returns without sacrificing control of their holdings. Once such mechanisms mature, trillions of dollars in Bitcoin value could gradually spill into altcoins, and this will provide a stronger foundation for real-world adoption across the altcoin sector.

Solana Versus Ethereum As 2026 Nears

Hoskinson also shared his perspective on the comparison between Ethereum and Solana, explaining that the difference comes down to how each network can grow from here. He said Ethereum is, in many ways, a victim of its own success. After years of growth, it has become a huge ecosystem that is naturally harder to move and adapt quickly.

Solana, on the other hand, is a faster-moving chain that can experiment and adopt new ideas more easily. According to Hoskinson, Solana may be better positioned for growth over the next few years due to its tighter leadership and more agile development approach. Still, he was careful to give Ethereum its due credit, noting that it continues to carry much of the foundational work among altcoins and DeFi.

When asked about Cardano and Midnight, Hoskinson said his optimism is rooted in different fundamentals for each, although Midnight still has much more room to grow. Cardano focuses more on long-term infrastructure and research-driven development, but Midnight represents something new for the industry. 

Midnight is a recently launched partner chain created by Cardano’s creators, and it functions as a complementary network to Cardano. In the interview, Hoskinson described Midnight as part of a fourth generation of cryptocurrency design, positioning it as a first mover that could capture a big market share if development and adoption move quickly enough.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine has started staking its Ether tokens, depositing roughly $451 million worth of ETH into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) system on Saturday, December 27. This appears to be a fresh strategy from the digital asset treasury (DAT) firm, which has managed to stay relevant in a nascent, uncertain sector of the cryptocurrency industry.

How Much Would BitMine Make From Ethereum Staking?

In the early hours of Saturday, December 27, on-chain analyst EmberCN revealed that BitMine has finally started attempting to stake its Ether holdings to earn interest income. The largest Ethereum treasury firm deposited 74,880 ETH (equivalent to $219 million) into an Ethereum PoS contract.

In a later, separate transaction, BitMine went on to deposit 79,296 ETH (worth about $232 million) into Ethereum PoS staking. This brings the firm’s total stake in the ETH network to 154,176 ETH (roughly $451 million) in the past day and so far.

EmberCN added in the post on X:

They [BitMine] now hold 4.066 million ETH, with an approximate APY of 3.12%. If all of it were staked, they could earn about 126,800 ETH in interest over a year, which at the current price of $2,927 would be worth $371 million.

Earlier in November, Bitmine had disclosed its plans to start Ether staking in 2026’s first quarter through a dedicated in-house setup called the Made-in America Validator Network (MAVAN). At the time, the Ethereum treasury firm stated it had selected three institutional staking providers for a pilot program, using a small portion of its ETH to test performance, security, and operational quality before scaling.

Meanwhile, the treasury firm has not stopped accumulating Ether tokens despite the not-so-optimistic signs in the crypto market. The recent buying spree took BitMine’s Ethereum holdings to a whopping 4.066 million ETH.

As it appears, staking presents an opportunity for the largest corporate ETH holder to earn passive income from its Ethereum holdings, especially as the general market continues to underperform. With crypto prices in a downward trend, shares of most DATs have not been able to enjoy the required tailwind to soar to new heights.

BMNR 2025 Price Recap 

As of this writing, the BitMine stock (ticker: BMNR) is valued at around $28.31 per share, closing with an almost 4% decline on the last trading day. A broader look at the stock shows that the past few months have been rough for the digital asset treasuries sector.

According to data from TradingView, BMNR’s value has dropped by nearly 43% in the past three months. However, its is worth noting that the stock has grown by almost 2.5x in the past year.

Хакер взломал блокчейн Flow Network и вывел из сети $3,9 млн. Это вызвало панику среди трейдеров, которые стали агрессивно продавать токен FLOW, уронив цену актива.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs suffered heavy withdrawals over the Christmas week as investors pulled about $782 million from the products, according to data from SoSoValue.

Bitcoin’s market price stayed roughly near $87,000, even as the funds lost cash. The drop trimmed total net assets in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs to about $113.5 billion, down from levels above $120 billion earlier in December.

Major Funds Lead The Withdrawals

Friday was the worst single day of the stretch, when ETFs recorded a combined $276 million in net outflows. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for nearly $193 million of that exit, while Fidelity’s FBTC lost about $74 million.

Grayscale’s GBTC saw more modest redemptions during the same period. Friday also marked the sixth straight day of outflows — the longest streak since early autumn — with more than $1.1 billion draining out across that run.

Seasonal Pressure Or A Bigger Shift

According to Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, holiday moves and thin market depth can cause short-term withdrawals as desks close for the holidays.

He expects institutional flows to come back when trading desks reopen in early January and thinks a shift toward Fed easing in 2026 — markets are pricing roughly 75–100 bps of cuts — could lift demand for ETFs.

Based on reports from Glassnode, however, the trend looks broader than holiday noise: the 30-day moving average of net flows into US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs has been negative since early November, signaling sustained outflows by institutional players.

Metals Take Center Stage

Meanwhile, gold and silver enjoyed a banner run while crypto saw pullbacks. Gold futures climbed above $4,550, hitting multiple records this year. Silver topped $75 per ounce and has gained about 150% year-to-date.

That rally has prompted some investors to reallocate away from crypto. Market experts like Louis Navellier said that with central banks active in the metal markets and volatility lower, gold has attracted flows that might otherwise have gone into digital assets.

Outspoken critic Peter Schiff wrote on social media that Bitcoin’s inability to rise alongside other risk assets raises doubts about its near-term upside.

What This Means For Institutional Demand

ETFs are widely watched as a proxy for institutional appetite. Based on the latest figures, institutions appear to be pulling back after a period when they were a key driver of crypto markets.

The divergence between rising precious metals and a modest decline in Bitcoin — about 6% year-to-date — has reinforced that view. Some of the selling likely reflects rebalancing and cash needs during the holidays. Some of it may reflect a rethinking of risk allocation by large allocators.

Reports suggest flows could normalize when trading activity returns to normal after the holiday break. If rate markets continue to price in easing and bank-led crypto infrastructure becomes easier for big investors to use, ETF inflows might resume. For now, the flow data points to a cautious institutional stance, even as Bitcoin’s price holds at elevated levels.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Одна из крупнейших азиатских финансовых групп Mirae Asset начала переговоры о покупке южнокорейской криптобиржи Korbit — четвертой по величине в стране. Сумма предполагаемой сделки оценивается в диапазоне от 100 млрд до 140 млрд южнокорейских вон ($70–100 млн).

Операционный директор криптобиржи Bitfinex Джесси Кнутсон (Jesse Knutson) уверен, что рынок токенизированных активов (RWA) продолжит расти в 2026 году, а за следующее десятилетие его общая капитализация может вырасти до нескольких триллионов долларов.

Крупнейший в мире производителей оборудования для майнинга, китайская компания Bitmain начала уменьшать стоимость новых и устаревших ASIC. Об этом свидетельствуют акции в социальных сетях и внутренние прайс‑листы, которые были разосланы клиентам.

Полицейские задержали семь работников компании «Россети Московский регион», которых подозревают как соучастников деятельности нелегальных майнинг‑ферм на территории Подмосковья. Задержанные занимают должности от электромонтеров до ведущего инженера.

Гендиректор криптобиржи Coinbase Брайан Армстронг (Brian Armstrong) заявил, что попытки банков заставить законодателей пересмотреть закон о регулировании стейблкоинов (GENIUS) «переходят красную линию» и говорят об использовании банкирами политического давления для устранения конкуренции со стороны криптокомпаний.

The Ethereum price looks set to end 2025 with a double-digit loss, but its start to the new year appears to be the more worrying subject. A prominent on-chain analyst has identified crucial price levels that could decide ETH’s future in the next few months.

3 Critical Support Zones For ETH Price

In a new post on the social media platform X, Alphractal CEO and founder Joao Wedson warned the market of the potential risk of seeing the Ethereum price below the $2,000 mark again. According to the on-chain analytics expert, the price of ETH is currently holding on to three critical on-chain support levels.

Firstly, Wedson highlighted that the MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value) Z-Score, which offers insights into when an asset is overvalued or undervalued, suggests that the Ethereum price is sitting exactly on its final support cushion. According to the crypto founder, a failure of this level could see the price of ETH suffer an aggressive downside move.

Wedson also mentioned that the Market Cap Growth Rate, which reflects the real expansion of Ethereum’s market capitalization over time, is testing a critical structural support level. The Alphractal CEO revealed that breaking below this support would suggest weakening capital inflows, signaling the potential imminence of downside pressure.

Additionally, the crypto analyst noted that the Delta Growth Rate, a metric that measures the divergence between Realized Cap growth and Market Cap growth, which generates an on-chain alpha signal, is also at support. “A loss of this level would suggest speculative capital exiting the market, increasing the likelihood of a future capitulation phase,” Wedson added.

According to the crypto pundit, there is a huge likelihood that the Ethereum price falls below the $2,000 mark if these on-chain foundations break. An over 30% correction from the current price point is even more probable as supply pressure increases against declining demand heading into the new year.

The blockchain firm founder didn’t dismiss the idea of taking a long position in the Ethereum market at the current price levels, especially for investors with a higher risk appetite. At the same time, Wedson stated that the Ethereum price remains in a fragile position from a broader outlook.

Ethereum Price Overview

The price of Ethereum is currently down by more than 40% from its all-time high of $4,946. This record reflects the struggles of the second-largest cryptocurrency—and perhaps the broader market—in the final quarter of 2025. As of this writing, ETH is valued at around $2,940, reflecting no significant movement in the past 24 hours.

Крупнейший корпоративный держатель эфиров, компания BitMine Immersion Technologies впервые разместила в стейкинг 74 880 ETH на сумму около $220 млн. Эфиры были внесены с различных адресов Bitmine в контракт под названием BatchDeposit, выяснили аналитики Arkham Intelligence.

За последнюю неделю инвесторы вывели из спотовых биржевых фондов (ETF) на биткоин $782 млн, показали данные сервиса SoSoValue. Наиболее крупный однодневный отток за этот период зафиксирован в пятницу, 26 декабря, когда из биткоин-ETF было выведено $276 млн.

Against widespread expectations, the second term of Donald Trump as the US President has yielded a positive effect on Bitcoin’s price. While the flagship cryptocurrency has recorded an all-time high since Trump’s inauguration in January, the market has mostly been in consolidation and range-bound phase, with the broader picture still taking on a bearish form. Crypto analysis page XWIN Research Japan recently offered a comparative analysis with the post-election euphoria seen in 2016, to explain why the post-2024 price action is without enthusiasm.

Analyst Explains Why Bitcoin’s Structure Differs Sharply From 2016

In the Quicktake post on CryptoQuant, the research and education institution draws a critical comparison between the 2016 and 2024 post-election periods. Just after Trump’s victory in 2016, the crypto market operated within a low-inflation and low-interest-rate environment, one that is ideal for a market with growing liquidity. Also, the crypto market’s relatively small size allowed for quick accumulation of speculative liquidity. Hence, the market was able to get sufficient capital to serve as fuel for a prolonged, yet powerful, uptrend.

However, early 2025 saw a different market environment and dynamic. The year began and extended into a high-rate period, where financial conditions increasingly became crippling. Also, the larger market size (compared to the post-2016 election market), alongside increased participation among several investors, has structurally reduced the stand-alone importance of political events on price movements. Simply put, policy implementations can barely move Bitcoin’s price alone, especially when encumbered by more liquidity constraints.

LTH-SOPR Ratio Further Reflects Caution

XWIN Research Japan also references data obtained from the Bitcoin SOPR Ratio (LTH-SOPR/STH-SOPR), which reinforces the cautious stance among investors following Trump’s second inauguration. The Bitcoin SOPR Ratio deciphers market sentiment by comparing whether long-term holders are realizing profits more aggressively than short-term holders, serving as an important indicator of whether a price trend is driven by institutional conviction or speculative trading.

According to the research team, Bitcoin’s long-term holders (LTHs) are realizing their limited profits. Short-term holders, on the other hand, are trading within red territory. Historically, this condition is typically found when the market is about to embark on a prolonged journey of demand-supply adjustments.

Based on historical data, it becomes clear that Bitcoin is currently within a fundamentally bearish structure. Although XWIN Research elucidates that “as long as long-term holders maintain relative dominance and short-term holder selling is absorbed, downside may be supported,” but this came with a caveat that upside leadership would likely also remain restricted.

The analytics group further conjectures that a stable growth of Bitcoin ETF inflows, alongside a clear depreciation in LTH distribution, would be pivotal in rescuing BTC from its downward spiral. Until these happen simultaneously, bitcoin might remain in its current state of inertia, or — in the worst case — dive further south. At press time, Bitcoin holds a valuation of about $87,623, recording a slight 0.5% loss since the past week, and a 0.6% ascent since the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.