Из жизни альткоинов

Solana is set to flip Ethereum in revenue numbers for the first time ever. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko commented on this development, highlighting the gap between both networks while also questioning how they could sustain this trend. 

Solana On Course To Flip Ethereum In Yearly Revenue

In an X post, the Solana treasury company DeFi Development Corporation (DFDV) revealed that SOL is on course to surpass ETH in annual revenue for the first time. The company stated that this is not just a milestone but “instead a regime shift.” DFDV added that SOL stands as the revenue chain, where the decentralized applications (dApps) of tomorrow will live, scale, and breathe. 

The accompanying chart shows that SOL has recorded annual revenue of $1.4 billion year-to-date (YTD), while the Ethereum network has recorded $522 million. As DFDV noted, this marks a significant shift, given that ETH surpassed SOL in previous years. In 2024, Ethereum recorded an annual revenue of $2.5 billion, while SOL recorded $1.42 billion. 

Notably, Ethereum’s revenue is down around 90% in 5 years, while Solana’s revenue has increased around 5,000% in the same period. DeFiLlama data shows that dApps such as Pump.fun, Axiom, Meteroa, Jupiter, and Phantom have actively contributed to the revenue recorded on SOL. Meanwhile, the network has also generated base fees paid by users. 

Commenting on this milestone, Solana’s co-founder stated that it has been a “crazy year” and noted that whether open permissionless protocols can actually grow and maintain revenue remains an open question. Yakovenko further remarked that he believes the entire crypto market cap will continue to grow and, eventually, will have to be split by revenue. 

He also stated that Solana and Ethereum’s only shot at this is in the execution layer. Yakovenko explained that providing the best execution layer will mean global decentralized, low-latency, and high-throughput censorship resistance. 

“SOL Is Dying”

Amid Solana’s revenue milestone over Ethereum, DeFi maxi Scribbler has declared that Solana is dying. In an X post, he noted that over 30 million people were trading on the network each month between November last year and February this year. However, since then, the network has struggled to average 1 million traders monthly.  

This is likely due to the slowdown in meme coin trading on the SOL network, which gained it a lot of traction last year and at the start of this year, when U.S. President Donald Trump launched his meme coin, TRUMP. However, crypto commentator Marty doesn’t believe that this is the end for Solana, stating that equity traders and stablecoin users will replace the meme coin traders. 

Notably, Galaxy Digital and Forward Industries have tokenized their stocks on SOL, while the network is also seeing increasing activity in stablecoin transactions. Visa just recently announced plans to begin USDC stablecoin settlements on Solana for U.S. banks.

14–15 апреля 2026 года состоится Blockchain Forum 2026 — единственное мероприятие, которое соберет в Москве ведущие международные компании индустрии, спикеров и инвесторов.

Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg says the investor mix showing up in XRP ETFs is broader and more institutional than the market tends to assume, with interest coming from pension funds and insurance allocators who prefer a regulated, brokerage-native wrapper over the operational burden of spot.

“Usually when you launch a new ETF that hasn’t been in the market before, it’s usually retail adoption that happens first. So we’ve seen a lot of impact from the retail audience in the first week or two. And then we started getting calls from pension funds and insurance companies globally,” McClurg revealed.

He added: “And that’s the second market segment that we market to at Canary. But we’re seeing a lot of interest there. XRP is truly an asset that most of Wall Street and most of the global capital markets get. It’s easy to understand. It’s the rails for the financial system. So, of course, they’re very interested. But those are the two segments that we’ve seen a lot of interest from.”

Why XRP ETFs Are So Successful

McClurg made the comments in a Wealthion podcast interview with CoinFund President Chris Perkins, discussing Canary’s strategy in crypto ETFs and why single-asset products like XRP can pull demand from both US and international channels. The throughline was familiar to anyone who has watched ETFs reshape other markets: access and execution matter, and they often matter more than ideology.

“A lot of our clients are retail,” McClurg said, estimating “probably 20 to 30%” of flows are coming from retail channels based on visible brokerage activity. The larger share, he added, is currently coming from faster trading-oriented capital. “It’s probably about 70% — I don’t want to call it institutional, but it’s probably 70% fast money at the moment.”

Even so, McClurg’s view is that the stable end state for products like an XRP ETF is the advisor and allocator channel that already lives inside the ETF ecosystem. “ETFs are going to be probably primarily used by financial advisors,” he said. “Because they’re simple, they’re clean, they can hold them in their accounts, they can explain it.”

For crypto, he argued, the problem is not subtle.“Most of retail is trading crypto on an exchange and they’re getting charged massive fees,” he said. “We’re talking $100 a trade. Plus the spread.”

His point was not that ETFs are free, but that the ETF wrapper can compress costs and friction, particularly for investors who do not want to operate in exchange-native workflows. “When you think about an ETF… you’ve already won by buying an ETF when you’re talking about pennies spread… and then you’re only paying a 1% management fee,” he said.

McClurg also addressed a factor that tends to drive ETF flows in crypto regardless of narrative: basis. He argued the spot/futures spread can act as a lever for ETF demand, and by extension a source of incremental spot pressure when the trade is attractive.

“The basis trade is really what’s driving crypto ETFs at the moment,” he said, adding that outflows in bitcoin spot ETFs have, at times, coincided with the collapse of that spread. For XRP specifically, he suggested the dynamic has been supportive since launch.

“We’ve benefited from launching XRP,” he said, “because there’s a great basis trade there.” He went further, claiming the product has seen consistent net buying even as broader markets softened.

McClurg also highlighted the success of all spot XRP ETFs in the US. “Ever since the launch, even at a down market, there’s not been a single day of outflows,” McClurg said.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.92.

On Sunday, the Ethereum price retested the $3,000 mark after trading below the level for the past few days due to a volatile market environment. ETH’s price may be gradually regaining upside momentum, but other aspects are still experiencing downward pressure, such as the Open Interest (OI).

Sharp Drop In Ethereum Open Interest

In the current volatile state of the cryptocurrency landscape, the Ethereum derivatives market is signaling a key indicator. This crucial signal is coming from the ETH Open interest, which has witnessed a significant pullback in the past few months. According to the research from the advanced investment and on-chain data analytics platform Alphractal, the metric has dropped by half or 50% since August this year. 

A significant drop in this metric is a clear indication that trader positioning and risk appetite have shifted notably. Following a period of high leverage and aggressive speculation, the sharp collapse indicates that positions are being unwound, exposure is being decreased, and momentum is cooling across futures markets.

Alphractal highlighted that the Ethereum open interest is valued at roughly half of what it was in August 2025, suggesting a drastic decline in market risk. Such a move points to institutions and large whale holders who have closed leveraged ETH positions. The exiting of positions by big investors shows that they are reducing exposure and speculative pressure.

ETH’s open interest has also fallen sharply on cryptocurrency exchanges. After examining the Ethereum Open Interest distribution by exchange, Alphractal unveiled a 31% decline to $7.64 billion on the world’s largest exchange, Binance.

On Gateio, open interest is at $3.72 billion, indicating a 15% decrease, while HTX (formerly known as House) has fallen by 12.65% to $3.12 million. Furthermore, Bybit has $2.53 billion with a 10.25% drop, HyperLiquid has $2.51 billion with a 10.18%, and Bitget has $1.79 billion with a 7.25% decline.

With exchanges’ open interest dropping, this tells a compelling story of the current market structure. This outlines robust deleveraging across the Ethereum market and a lower probability of explosive moves in the short term. 

Typically, an atmosphere that is more cautious and protective implies stages of consolidation or preparation for the next trend leg. However, deep declines in open interest have historically frequently preceded significant structural changes, either a healthier reversal or a downward continuation with less leverage.

ETH Withdrawals From Crypto Exchanges Have Spiked

Ethereum’s open interest drop comes at a time of a massive drop in ETH supply on crypto exchanges. Currently, ETH withdrawals have reached their lowest levels since 2016, reflecting growing trader caution and dampened short-term sell pressure. 

As more ETH is taken out of exchanges and placed in long-term holding locations, the liquid supply keeps decreasing. While the supply decrease bolsters ETH’s volatility, it also encourages price pressure to rise.

Основатель Cardano Чарльз Хоскинсон (Charles Hoskinson) пообещал, что сайдчейн Midnight не ослабит основную сеть Cardano, а напротив, укрепит эту экосистему и расширит ее в десять раз.

Крупный криптоинвестор стал жертвой атаки с подменой адреса криптокошелька («отравление адреса», address poisoning) после вывода средств со счета на бирже Binance. О происшествии рассказал китайский криптоаналитик и инфлюенсер под ником @EmberCN.

Over the last few years, Cardano has fallen into the background when it comes to decentralized finance (DeFi) participation as the likes of Solana and XRP ramped up. Solana triggered the meme coin wave that swept the market for two years, and XRP continued to push into institutional adoption with deals and partnerships, as well as regulatory compliance, while Cardano lagged behind. That is, until recently, that an anticipated launch changed the tide in favor of Cardano.

The Midnight (NIGHT) Token Launch That Changed Everything

Earlier this month, a new token rocked the crypto sphere as the Midnight (NIGHT) went live with its airdrop. At first, the token looked to be off to a slow start, crashing by over 90% from its launch $1.81 all-time high to reach below $0.025. This had made widespread news as airdrop claimers rushed to dump their tokens.

However, what seemed like a dead drop has begun to change, with the Midnight (NIGHT) token moving fast and taking the Cardano network along for the ride. As Bitcoinist reported, the token launch had essentially reignited interest in the Cardano blockchain, leading to over 122,000 transactions containing NIGHT tokens.

Midnight, which is a side chain of the Cardano network, focuses on investor privacy, leveraging the recent privacy narrative that has taken hold in the crypto market. With a large number of airdrop claimers having collected their tokens, and presumably sold, the token has begun to recover.

On Sunday, market reports showed that Midnight (NIGHT) was one of the best-performing altcoins in the market, rising over 30% in a 24-hour period. On the weekly chart, it showed a 44% increase, as its market cap rose above $1.5 billion again. However, that is not the thing that caught the Cardano founder’s eye.

Cardano Founder Trolls XRP And Solana With Midnight (NIGHT)

With the Midnight (NIGHT) token price soaring, there was a major spike in its trading volume, enough to catch the attention of Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson. Stakepool had taken to X (formerly Twitter) to share with the community that the Midnight (NIGHT) token had secured more trading volume than Solana and XRP combined.

Responding to this post, the Cardano founder pointed out that Midnight (NIGHT) was a native token of the blockchain and has managed more trading volume than both XRP and Solana combined. This is backed by data from CoinMarketCap, which shows Midnight (NIGHT) with a daily trading volume of over $6 billion, compared to $2.4 billion for XRP and $2.078 billion for Solana in the same time period.

However, Cardan itself continues to struggle, with $405 million in daily trading volume for the same time period. XRP and Solana are the 5th and 7th-largest cryptocurrencies in the market, with Cardano at 10th place, and Midnight (NIGHT) at 46th position.

Принятый в уходящем году закон о поставщиках услуг виртуальных активов позволил жителям Ганы торговать криптовалютами под надзором властей, объявил глава Банка Ганы (BoG) Джонсон Азиама (Johnson Asiama).

Биткоин способен принести своим владельцам ненужные проблемы. Кроме того, он уступает золоту как средство сохранения ценности, заявил в интервью на YouTube-канале Nikhil Kamath миллиардер Рэй Далио (Ray Dalio).

Гендиректор компании Maple Finance Сид Пауэлл (Sid Powell) заявил, что главным катализатором роста сектора децентрализованных финансов (DeFi) в ближайшие годы станет токенизированное частное кредитование.

Двое жителей Канады лишились в общей сложности $2,3 млн при инвестициях в криптовалюту. Она стали жертвами дипфейков, созданных злоумышленниками с помощью искусственного интеллекта (ИИ).

According to a post shared on X by Keith Grossman, president of crypto payments firm MoonPay, finance is heading toward an onchain future that could unfold over several years.

The view comes as large banks and asset managers begin product tokenization, a move that once seemed extreme but is now being treated as a practical step by major institutions.

Regulatory Signals Push Institutions Forward

Based on reports cited by Grossman, progress has accelerated because rules are becoming clearer. Legislative efforts, regulatory guidance, bank involvement and accounting standards are starting to line up.

That combination reduces uncertainty, which is often what slows large pools of capital. BlackRock has already launched tokenized funds, while Franklin Templeton is running tokenized money market funds on public blockchains.

Those actions suggest that tokenization is no longer confined to pilot labs or internal trials. It is being used with real assets and real clients.

Bank of America recently said that banks are heading toward a multi-year, onchain future. A few years ago, that would have sounded radical. Today, it sounds inevitable.

20+ years ago, I began my career in media and saw firsthand what happens when an analog industry collides with…

— Keith A. Grossman (@KeithGrossman) December 21, 2025

Tokenization: Big Players Making Their Presence Felt

Banks are also taking part. Citi, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have all been linked to onchain settlement tests, tokenized deposits and near real-time asset transfers.

These projects focus on reducing friction in back-end processes that have existed for decades. Settlement that once took days could be shortened to minutes if shared ledgers are used. That change alone alters how risk, liquidity and cost are managed across markets.

Grossman framed the moment as similar to earlier shifts in other industries. He pointed to how legacy media struggled when distribution moved online more than 20 years ago.

At the time, many firms tried to protect old revenue streams instead of adapting. Some survived by changing early. Others lost influence as new platforms took control.

Tokenization: Old Revenue Lines Face Pressure

In finance, the pressure point sits in areas such as reconciliation, clearing, settlement and custody. These roles have long supported steady margins, partly because they depend on complex and slow systems.

Reports have disclosed that software and shared protocols can now handle much of that work. As a result, some services may become cheaper and less profitable over time.

That does not mean banks disappear. According to Grossman’s view, they remain central players, much like they did after ATMs reduced teller roles or when voice-over-internet systems cut long-distance call costs for telecom firms.

The institutions stayed, but their shape changed. The same pattern is expected here. Banks may rely more on software, fewer manual steps and new forms of infrastructure control.

Tokenization is moving faster than expected, according to MoonPay president Keith Grossman. Banks and asset managers are testing tokenized funds and onchain settlement, signaling that what was once experimental is now becoming practical.

The lenders and other big players are among the firms pushing the shift, showing the trend is already under way.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

В течение следующих нескольких месяцев курс биткоина может упасть до $70 000, а если нисходящий тренд не прекратится, то котировки актива рухнут до $56 000, заявили эксперты платформы CryptoQuant.

Компании одного из крупнейших рынков страховых услуг Азии получат право инвестировать в криптоактивы и инфраструктурные проекты отрасли, заявили в Управлении по страхованию Гонконга (IA).

Прокуратура Бруклина обвинила 23-летнего местного жителя Роналда Спектора (Ronald Spektor) в организации масштабной схемы с использованием методов социальной инженерии, в ходе которой у 100 американских пользователей криптобиржи Coinbase было украдено около $16 млн.

В 2024 году выгоднее всего было майнить в Иркутской области. Теперь это Хакасия, где годовая стоимость потребленной электроэнергии для майнеров составляет 56 000 рублей, сообщило издание РБК со ссылкой на данные системы контроля энергетических расходов МТС EnergyTool.

Власти США сохранили курс на снижение ключевой ставки в декабре. Правда, криптовалюты никак на это не отреагировали и продолжили падать. А как обстоят дела на фондовом рынке у компаний, вовлеченных в индустрию цифровых активов?

Bitcoin mining may be providing incremental support to the Russian ruble, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said, while cautioning that the effect is difficult to measure because much of the sector still operates in a legal and reporting gray zone.

Bitcoin Mining May Support The Ruble

Responding to a question at a press conference, Nabiullina said it is “probably difficult to quantify” mining’s influence “because a significant part of mining is still in a gray area.” Still, she added that mining is “indeed one of the additional factors contributing to the strong ruble exchange rate.”

As Russian business news portal for RBC reported, her remarks come as Russian officials increasingly frame mining and crypto flows as macro-relevant, not just a niche tech or energy story. Earlier, Maxim Oreshkin, deputy head of the presidential administration, said ruble forecasts have been thrown off by the underestimation of financial flows tied to mining and cryptocurrency. In his view, the sector has effectively become a new export item that can influence the currency market, in part because it moves outside standard channels and therefore stays statistically “invisible.”

Nabiullina did not endorse a direct, one-to-one link between ruble strength and a sudden surge in mining. She stressed that mining did not appear in 2025, so it would be incorrect to attribute the ruble’s strengthening specifically to a sharp rise in mining activity this year. “This mining did not appear this year, so it is impossible to link the strengthening of the exchange rate specifically to the fact that it has somehow grown sharply,” she said. “There is probably some increase. Nevertheless, mining is indeed one of the additional factors contributing to the strong ruble exchange rate.”

Crypto Legislation Is Coming?

The central bank’s emphasis on measurement and legality is also tied to its broader push to “whiten” Russia’s Bitcoin and crypto market — bringing activity into a more formal framework where it can be monitored, constrained, and accounted for. Last week, first deputy chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin said it is now fundamentally important to “legalize” the cryptocurrency sector and called for laws governing crypto transactions to be adopted as soon as possible, including strict restrictions and prohibitions.

In parallel, the central bank is discussing rules for crypto trading with the Finance Ministry, Rosfinmonitoring, and other agencies. Under the approach described, crypto transactions would be conducted primarily through existing market participants operating under existing licenses, rather than through informal venues or bespoke structures.

Meanwhile, Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, clarified last week that cryptocurrencies “will never” function as money inside Russia or in global trade.

For crypto markets, the significance is not that Russia has officially “blamed” or “credited” mining for the ruble’s moves. It is that senior policymakers are increasingly treating mining-linked flows as an input into currency-market dynamics — while pushing for regulatory plumbing that would make those flows easier to see, categorize, and control.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $88,927.

Lawmakers in the US have put forward a discussion draft that would ease tax reporting for small stablecoin payments and let some crypto earners delay taxes on staking and mining rewards.

According to reports, the plan was circulated by Representatives Max Miller (R-Ohio) and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.). The proposal aims to clear up rules that many say are confusing for everyday users and small businesses.

Stablecoin Safe Harbor For Small Payments

Based on reports, the draft would create a safe harbor for regulated dollar-pegged stablecoins when they are used like cash. Under the plan, capital gains on stablecoin transactions under $200 would be exempt from tax.

That $200 threshold is meant to stop everyday buys — coffee, tips, small fees — from triggering tax paperwork and capital gains calculations. The exemption would only apply to stablecoins issued by a permitted issuer and that keep a stable peg to the USD.

A Deferral Option For Staking And Mining Rewards

Reports have disclosed another major change: taxpayers could elect to defer taxes on staking and mining rewards. Instead of being taxed the moment rewards are received, a taxpayer could choose to defer recognition for up to five years.

After that period ends the rewards would be taxed as ordinary income at fair market value. The choice would be voluntary, and some taxpayers might still face tax when they sell or convert assets later.

Mark-To-Market And Wash Sale Provisions Also Included

The draft does more than just touch stablecoins and staking. It would apply wash sale rules to digital assets, which limits the ability to claim artificial losses by quickly repurchasing the same token.

It also creates a path to elect mark-to-market accounting for certain traders, which would treat their holdings as sold at year-end for tax calculations. These moves are meant to align crypto tax practice closer to other parts of the tax code and to reduce gaps the IRS says exist.

A Draft, Not Yet A Bill

Lawmakers described the text as a discussion draft and have been talking with stakeholders and committees. The measure has not been formally introduced as a bill, and changes could come as it moves through the House Ways and Means Committee. If enacted, the framework is written to take effect for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Featured image from Chainalysis, chart from TradingView

The investment landscape in 2025 has delivered an unusual outcome that few would have anticipated at the start of the year. Assets traditionally viewed as slow movers have risen as the clear winners, while the cryptocurrency market has quietly slipped to the bottom of the performance rankings. 

As the year draws to a close, data from across commodities, equities, and digital assets shows an imbalance in returns, revealing that cryptocurrencies now sit behind every major asset class in year-to-date performance.

Clear Split Between Traditional Assets And Crypto

The performance data for 2025 reveals a strong divergence between traditional markets and digital assets, with the gap widening as the year progressed. According to the figures revealed on the social media platform X by ‘Bull Theory,’ silver is the top-performing asset for 2025, posting gains of about 130% year-to-date. Gold is the second-best-performing asset of 2025, with an increase of about 65%, while copper has climbed close to 35%. These numbers reflect sustained strength across the commodities sector.

Equity markets are also currently trading in positive territory. The Nasdaq is up around 20% on the year, the S&P 500 has gained approximately 16%, and the Russell 2000 is higher by about 13%. 

The only negative numbers are from the crypto industry. In contrast, the crypto market sits at the bottom of the performance rankings. Bitcoin is currently down by about 6% from its 2025 opening price, Ethereum has declined around 12%, and the entire altcoin market (removing Ethereum) has suffered a much deeper drawdown of about 42%. Therefore, the crypto market is now officially the worst-performing asset class in 2025.

Chart Image From X. Source: @BullTheoryio

From Mid-Year Rally To Q4 Breakdown

The current weakness of the crypto market is very different from the optimism that dominated the beginning and middle of 2025. During that period, the crypto market experienced a powerful recovery that reignited bullish sentiment across the board. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and several large-cap tokens pushed to new all-time highs.

Bitcoin’s rally peaked in October, when it set its standing record of $126,000 after months of steady accumulation and strong momentum. Ethereum, on the other hand, registered a new all-time high of $4,946 in August, while XRP’s all-time high came earlier in July. XRP’s record price of $3.65 was the most notable, as it was its first time breaking into a new all-time high since 2018.

That bullish trend began to unravel as the fourth quarter got underway, starting with the crypto market flash crash on October 10. The decline has extended since then, and Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have now fallen into negative territory from their 2025 opening levels. 

Quarterly returns data shows that Bitcoin just recorded its worst fourth-quarter performance in seven years. The result is a year in which digital assets, despite a powerful mid-year rally, are closing out as the worst-performing major asset class.

Bitcoin Quarterly Returns. Source: @TedPillows On X

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView