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Recent fund flow data across US-listed crypto investment products is revealing a notable divergence in investor behavior, as Ethereum-focused funds continue to shed billions in capital, and XRP-linked products are recording steady inflows that now place them among the strongest performers in the Spot crypto ETF market. 

Data from SoSoValue shows that this divergence has persisted for the past month, showing that investors are beginning to favor XRP’s regulated crypto exposure over Ethereum.

Ethereum ETFs See Billions Exit In One Month

According to SoSoValue data, Ethereum Spot ETFs have experienced sustained capital outflows over the past four weeks, with cumulative net outflows since the beginning of November coming in at $1.725 billion. November alone accounted for $1.42 billion of those redemptions, making it the worst month for Ethereum ETF flows since the products launched in the US in July 2024.

The intensity of the selling was evident across several trading sessions during November, where  daily outflows exceeded $250 million on a few occasions. This negative momentum has carried into December with little sign of stabilization. Spot Ethereum ETFs have extended their outflow streak, with the most recent two trading days alone recording net redemptions of $224.78 million and $224.26 million, respectively. 

At the same time, Ethereum’s Spot price has struggled to gain traction. The continued ETF outflows have coincided with muted price action, with ETH failing to hold above $3,000.

Rather than seeing rotation between Ethereum products, the data shows capital leaving the Ethereum ETF complex altogether. This pattern means that investors may be reallocating funds away from ETH exposure into other assets, and XRP is showing the strongest conviction.

Spot Ethereum ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue

XRP ETFs Record $1 Billion In Consistent Inflows

The first U.S.-listed Spot XRP ETF was launched on November 23, and the momentum has been positive since then. At the time of writing, there are now five Spot XRP ETF issuers in the US, and they have yet to have a collective day of outflows. 

In contrast, XRP-linked spot ETFs have posted a full month of uninterrupted net inflows. This comes up to 22 consecutive trading days, with a cumulative inflow of $1.01 billion since launch. This, in turn, has pushed total assets under management to around $1.16 billion as of December 16. 

Spot XRP ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse described the growth of XRP ETFs as a signal of broader structural demand for regulated crypto products. He recently highlighted that XRP became the fastest crypto spot ETF since Ethereum to surpass $1 billion in assets under management in the US. This shows institutional crypto investors are switching sides from Ethereum to XRP. 

The divergence becomes even more pronounced when compared with Bitcoin, which has always dictated the pace of general inflows. According to data from SoSoValue, Spot Bitcoin ETFs are on a combined outflow of $3.915 billion since the beginning of November.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue

What makes these numbers more interesting is that they are coming at a period of bearish price action for the entire crypto market, with the XRP price even breaking below the $2 support level. 

Solana’s price may be slowly regaining upward momentum once again following weeks of bearish action due to the volatile condition of the broader cryptocurrency market. While the price may have displayed weakness during the period, the SOL network appears to be holding strong even with waning on-chain activity.

Interest In Solana Bolstering The Network’s Dominance

In the blockchain sector, many analysts consider the Solana network as the apex of all blockchains due to its robust and fast performance. According to recent data, the blockchain continues to stand out from the rest of the cryptocurrency market, even as the hysteria over meme coins slowly fades away.

CryptoRank, a leading crypto industry researcher and data analytics platform, shared the data in a recent post on the social media platform X. Short-term traders may be moving away from viral tokens, and speculative activity may have decreased, but Solana’s core indicators reveal a very different picture.

Interestingly, on-chain gambling and meme mania are frequently linked to SOL, but the network continues to outpace other chains in a fading meme market. This discrepancy indicates that Solana is well-positioned as market conditions change since its strength is increasingly based on fundamentals rather than speculation.

As seen in the data shared by the platform, Solana remains at the number 1 spot across most major blockchain metrics. This position highlights SOL’s resilience even as the meme narrative cools off and traders reduce their risk in the face of bad market circumstances. 

Given the fading meme narrative, the total daily Decentralized Exchange (DEX) traders have now dropped from their peak of almost 5 million to approximately 514,000. Despite this drop, the blockchain is still maintaining strong results, which shows that it does not rely only on memes.

Currently, CryptoRank states that institutions are demonstrating more attention and interest in SOL for tokenization. These large firms are including the blockchain in their platforms, which proves its increasing dominance.

SOL Leads In 2025 With The Most Traffic Market Share

After robust network usage, developer traction, and capital flows, Solana has secured the top spot in the Mindshare War in 2025. A report from CryptoRus reveals that SOL is the most talked-about blockchain in the world. 

According to CoinGecko’s data, it marks the second year in a row that the blockchain has come on top. The study examined interest in blockchain ecosystems using data from CoinGecko’s global web traffic between January 1 and December 14, 2025. Solana now controls about 26.79% of global crypto mindshare, which is more than that of Ethereum and Base networks put together.

CryptoRus highlighted that this is not price, nor narratives pushed by Venture Capitalists (VCs). Rather, this is where attention builders, users, and culture actually reside. “Mindshare comes before liquidity, attention comes before capital, and history shows whoever wins mindshare, eventually wins the cycle,” CryptoRus added.

XRP’s price action in recent weeks has been deprived of bullish momentum, and the derivatives market is also sending clear signals that traders are scaling back their exposure to the cryptocurrency. 

Data from on-chain analytics platforms like CryptoQuant and Coinglass across leverage and futures activity shows that speculative participation has thinned out considerably, with XRP’s leveraged trade ratio at its lowest point since November 2024.

XRP Leverage On Binance Drops To Multi-Year Lows

One of the clearest signals of the sentiment among traders comes from CryptoQuant data tracking the Estimated Leverage Ratio of XRP on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. 

The Estimated Leverage Ratio measures how much borrowed capital traders are using relative to exchange reserves. High readings of the ratio usually mean high activity trades where traders are willing to open positions. On the other hand, declining values indicate that traders are closing leveraged positions or avoiding them altogether. 

According to data from CryptoQuant, the estimated leverage ratio for XRP is currently sitting around 0.187, its lowest reading since November 2024. To put this in context, the estimated leverage ratio was at a 0.59 reading in July 2025, right when the altcoin was pushing toward new all-time highs and trading activity was at its peak.

Therefore, the current low means that the token has moved into a de-risking phase, and traders are prioritizing reduced exposure over aggressive upside bets. This is in contrast to the performance of Spot XRP ETFs, which have been on a streak of inflows. 

Futures Open Interest Collapses From July Highs

A similar story of crypto traders no longer betting big on XRP can be seen from the futures data from Coinglass. 

Data from Coinglass figures show that Exchange XRP Futures Open Interest is currently around 1.81 billion XRP, which is worth approximately $3.47 billion. This number is notable because open interest was around $10.94 billion in July during the cryptocurrency’s march to a new all-time-high price of $3.65. Therefore, the 68% decline from $10.94 billion to $3.47 billion is a massive contraction in speculative participation across derivatives markets.

Open interest tracks the total value of outstanding futures contracts and is also a direct gauge of trader engagement, comparable to the estimated leverage ratio. Rising open interest alongside price strength usually confirms bullish trend momentum, while falling open interest shows traders are closing positions and fading appetite for futures contracts. 

Interestingly, the decline seen in this metric since July indicates that traders have largely exited leveraged positions rather than rotating from longs to shorts. 

A positive reflection from the combination of these two data points is that the token is no longer dominated by aggressive speculative flows, which lowers the risk of cascading liquidations, but it also removes a major source of bullish momentum for the cryptocurrency.

Bhutan has pledged up to 10,000 bitcoin — roughly $1 billion — to back the development of Gelephu Mindfulness City, a new special economic zone the crown is promoting as a hub for sustainable industry and jobs.

Reports have disclosed the allocation was announced on national day and framed as a long-term commitment to fund the city’s growth rather than a quick selloff of reserves.

King Announces Bitcoin Allocation

According to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the pledge is meant “for our people, our youth, and our nation,” and aims to make every Bhutanese “a custodian, stakeholder, and beneficiary” of the project. The statement linked the Bitcoin allocation directly to the government’s plan to support economic opportunity inside Gelephu.

Bhutan and Cumberland DRW have signed a multi-year MoU to build a responsible digital asset ecosystem in Gelephu Mindfulness City, guided by the vision of His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

The partnership focuses on sustainable digital asset infrastructure,… pic.twitter.com/IJR7t3oHYl

— gmcbhutan (@gmcbhutan) December 15, 2025

Plan For Digital Reserves

Based on reports, officials say the 10,000 BTC will be held with an eye toward preserving value while generating returns through careful, risk-managed strategies — not by liquidating the holdings immediately.

The government has also signed a multi-year memorandum of understanding with market maker Cumberland DRW to help build digital-asset infrastructure and explore reserve management, stablecoins, and renewable energy-based mining inside the zone.

City Details And Goals

The Mindfulness City covers a very large area and has been pitched as an economic response to youth emigration, low birth rates, and lagging jobs.

Reports from earlier coverage describe the plan as a mix of green energy, tech, tourism, and regulated finance, with space set aside for vetted businesses and infrastructure projects such as an airport and dry port. the project’s promoters present it as a way to create higher-value work without abandoning Bhutan’s environmental and social aims.

Partnerships And Practical Steps

Officials say the partnership with Cumberland will focus on building market access and institutional-grade operations for the city’s crypto activities, including experimenting with a national stablecoin and sustainable mining tied to renewable power. Local leaders have sought legal and investment partners to give investors a clearer route into the zone’s projects.

Global Implications And Risks

Analysts note this is one of the larger sovereign moves toward using bitcoin as a development tool, and the pledge raises clear questions about governance, transparency, and the possible exposure of state coffers to crypto price swings.

Reports flag both opportunity and risk: the funds could underwrite major projects, but they also require careful oversight to avoid losses that would hurt public services.

Featured image from Visit Bhutan, chart from TradingView

 

Seasoned Bitcoin Holders Are In Distribution Mode

Bitcoin’s price action is shifting, and so is the sentiment of investors, especially the long-term BTC holders. The development carries weight in the market because these holders are often considered the most patient and conviction-driven players in the crypto sector.

Following a research of the BTC Long-Term Holder Flow metric, IT Tech, an on-chain analyst and author at CryptoQuant, revealed that these investors are unloading their coins. This time, they are unloading into strength, triggering questions about BTC’s next price direction.

As seen on the chart, coins that have been hoarded for years are increasingly returning to the market during times of price strength rather than panic. Such a tendency suggests either the locking in of profits following an extended rise or a phase of strategic distribution among the cohort.

Furthermore, the chart shows a rise in long-term holders’ distribution in the 30-day time frame. According to the expert, this 30-day rise in LTH distribution is one of the biggest in the previous 5 years. Interestingly, these kinds of distribution often turn up near major tops, and not bottoms.

IT Tech highlighted that the long-term holders’ supply is currently rolling over from a record high. At the same time, spot trades are well above the realized price of long-term holders while old coins are locking in big profits, not capitulating.

A key takeaway outlined by the expert regarding the action is that it looks similar to late-cycle distribution and de-risking, instead of fresh accumulation. Due to the state of the market, IT Tech urges investors to adjust their risks, not their hopes.

BTC Whales Resume Buying Activity

Even with ongoing waning price action, major Bitcoin holders seem to be making a decisive move once again. After a period of strategic caution, these investors have resumed accumulation, indicating renewed interest and conviction in the flagship asset’s long-term prospects.

As reported by Marty Party, a macro analyst and the host of The Office Space, whales or large investors have scooped up over 54,000 BTC valued at $4.66 billion over the past week. This massive accumulation from deep-pocket investors raises the possibility that they are preparing for a more significant change in the market.

According to the analyst, this purchase in a weekly time frame marks the fastest accumulation pace ever recorded since 2012. Historically, heavy whale movement has influenced BTC’s next price direction, which means that the ongoing accumulation could pave the way for a short-term bounce if it extends.

At the time of writing, BTC’s price was hovering around $86,800, demonstrating a 0.27% increase in the past day. Its trading volume has turned bearish, falling by more than 12% within the same time frame.

The Shiba Inu ecosystem recently experienced a major leadership change after one of its key engineers left the project, surprising many in the SHIB community. Previously playing a major role in the network’s development, the Shiba Inu Engineer’s abrupt resignation sparked widespread discussion among community members, prompting questions about his next moves and the possible reasons behind his departure. 

Shiba Inu Engineer Announces Resignation 

The Shiba Inu community was stunned on Friday, December 12, after Johndoeshib, the Managing Engineer for the blockchain, announced his abrupt departure from the project. In his statement on X, he described his time at Shib.io as reaching a natural conclusion, expressing pride in the blockchain’s utility and the resilience of its supporters. 

During his tenure, Johndoeshib played a key role in developing the SHIB network’s infrastructure and supporting the growth of its community. He was known for providing key updates and relevant information about the blockchain on his official X account. Following the announcement of his resignation, he updated his X profile to reflect his new status as an “ex-Engineering Manager at Shiba Inu.” 

Johndoeshib also highlighted that although he is shifting his focus to new endeavors, he remains a long-term observer of SHIB and maintains confidence in the team’s decentralized vision. His quick exit from the crypto project sparked immediate reactions from community members. 

Shiba Inu developer Kaal Dhairya extended his best wishes and noted that Johndoeshib’s presence would be missed. The team behind OSCAR, a CTO token guided by Shiba Inu, publicly thanked the former SHIB engineer for his past contributions, calling him one of the most talented developers in the space and expressing excitement for his next ventures. 

Other community members questioned his departure, asking why he was leaving and what he meant by “a natural conclusion.” Many SHIB supporters took the time to acknowledge Johndoeshib’s impact on the blockchain network, wishing him success and highlighting his integrity. Some shared personal reflections on their interactions with him, describing the former Shiba Inu Engineer as a positive and reliable presence within the ecosystem. 

Ex SHIB Engineer Unveils New Venture After Departure

Two days after revealing that he was exiting Shiba Inu, Johndoeshib disclosed more details about the new venture he is pursuing. He has shifted his focus to HypeIt, a platform that provides software development, web design, and programming services. The former SHIB engineer stated that he is now working on building the new platform to support long-term growth and maximize benefits for the community. 

Johndoeshib encourages collaboration and feedback from the crypto community, inviting suggestions and interaction of ideas as the project moves forward. He emphasized creating an engaged, genuine audience through HypeIt, highlighting the potential for users to transform their content and online presence on the platform positively.

Russia’s crypto payment rumor mill just got another hard “no.” Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, said cryptocurrencies “will never” function as money inside Russia — and that if you’re paying for something domestically, it’s rubles or nothing.

“It must be understood that cryptocurrencies will never become money within our country. They can only be used as an investment tool. If you want to pay for something, you can only do so with rubles,” Aksakov said at a press conference hosted by TASS.

Russia Rejects Crypto Payments

That line lands because, for years, there’s been a steady drip of “maybe Russia will allow” crypto payments chatter — and it’s not always completely baseless. The country has been trying to route around sanctions pressure, and crypto keeps popping up in the conversation. When officials talk up “settlements” and “trade,” plenty of people hear “payments” and assume that means everyday retail use is next.

It isn’t. At least not in the way crypto Twitter likes to imagine. Aksakov’s comments track with the central bank’s position. Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina told lawmakers earlier this year that crypto can’t be used for domestic settlements, while also pointing to a separate experimental legal regime (ELR) that allows crypto to be used in foreign trade under controlled conditions.

That split — “no” at home, “maybe” abroad — is the whole story. Russia has been building carve-outs for cross-border use, including frameworks that allow exporters and importers to use crypto in international settlements under foreign trade contracts.

And officials have been unusually blunt about the motivation. In late 2024, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia had begun using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for international trade under a special legal regime. So yes, crypto gets used. Just not the “pay your landlord in ETH” version.

The other source of confusion is that policy tone has softened around investing — even while payment bans stay in place. In March that the central bank proposed an experimental program that would let “specially qualified” wealthy investors buy crypto, explicitly keeping the domestic payment ban intact.

And regulators have still shown they’re willing to swing a hammer at the retail plumbing when they want to, like the reported blocking of crypto-related services.

In other words: Russia’s message is basically “speculate if you must, trade if you’re authorized, settle cross-border if you’re inside the sandbox — but inside the country, the ruble stays the only checkout option.” And for anyone still clinging to the payment narrative: this was the door closing sound.

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.92 trillion.

More than 100 new crypto exchange-traded products could hit the market in 2026 after a recent rule change by the US securities regulator, a researcher at Bitwise said. According to Ryan Rasmussen, that drop in red tape will let firms file many more ETPs without the long, individual approval process that slowed launches in the past.

Regulatory Shift Lowers Bar

The SEC issued generic listing standards in October that remove the need for separate 19(b) approvals for qualifying crypto ETPs. That step cuts out a process some issuers had to wait through — a delay that could stretch to a 240-day clock under earlier practice.

Reports have disclosed that the number of crypto ETPs already sits above 300, based on data from Fineqia International, which shows the market is no longer limited to just a few funds.

LIVE NOW – 10 Crypto Predictions for 2026: $1M BTC, Wall Street Onchain & ETF Takeover@BitwiseInvest’s @Matt_Hougan and @RasterlyRock return with 10 big predictions for 2026.

We get into:

– The $1M BTC case and why the classic 4-year cycle might be dead. – A world where ETFs… pic.twitter.com/fgELVnu6Zu

— Bankless (@Bankless) December 16, 2025

Institutional Appetite

Market watchers say new listings make it easier for issuers. But easier access is not the same thing as strong buying. Bitfinex analysts warned in August that altcoins are unlikely to enjoy a major rally until ETFs that track assets beyond the largest coins are available and attract real money. Liquidity, investor interest, and clear use cases still matter a lot. An ETF wrapper does not fix those basic needs by itself.

Issuers Race To Expand Menus

Rasmussen said issuers can now plan a variety of products — spot crypto, index funds, equity-linked ETPs, smart beta strategies and momentum plays.

He compared the change to moving from a tiny menu to a much larger one, saying investors will have more choices about where to put money. He also noted it has been about 15 years since the Winklevoss twins first filed for a Bitcoin ETF, and yet only a handful of crypto ETPs are widely held today.

Many New Products, Few Big Winners

Expect a wave of filings. But expect concentration too. In the wider ETF market, most assets gather in a few large funds while many other listings see thin trading.

That pattern is likely to repeat in crypto: dozens of niche products may be launched, while a smaller group gathers most assets under management. Issuers get to plant flags quickly. Investors will sort the winners from the rest over time.

WOW. The SEC has approved Generic Listing Standards for “Commodity Based Trust Shares” aka includes crypto ETPs. This is the crypto ETP framework we’ve been waiting for. Get ready for a wave of spot crypto ETP launches in coming weeks and months. pic.twitter.com/xDKCuj41mc

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 17, 2025

Market Reaction Hinges On Demand

On Sept. 17, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said the rule change could trigger a “wave of spot crypto ETP launches.”

He added that clearer rules could lead to several similar products being rolled out around the same time, raising competition among issuers while making it harder for weaker funds to gain traction.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Рынок снова переключился из режима «вечный рост» в режим «все пропало». На этой неделе $BTC опускался ниже $90 000 на фоне ухудшения аппетита к риску: инвесторов напугали сигналы, что бум расходов на ИИ может приносить прибыль медленнее, чем ожидалось, а значит — давление на рискованные активы возвращается.

На этом фоне снова всплыл самый «токсичный» прайс‑таргет в крипте: $10 000 за биткоин. В медиа его активно продвигает Майк Макглоун из Bloomberg Intelligence — он связывает риск глубокой просадки с дефляционным сценарием после периода инфляции. Идея не в том, что «завтра будет $10k», а в том, что при переломе цикла рынок способен перегибать вниз так же агрессивно, как он перегибал вверх.

Но вот что многие обсуждения упускают: даже если вы верите в долгий рост $BTC, в коротком сроке вам все равно нужна инфраструктура, которая делает биткоин рабочим инструментом, а не только «твиттер‑тикером». Высокие комиссии, ограниченная пропускная способность и почти нулевая нативная программируемость — это банальная UX‑боль. И именно в этот раз «спасение» на рынке чаще ищут не в очередной мем‑истории, а в Bitcoin Layer 2 и инфраструктуре вокруг него (да, звучит менее азартно — зато гораздо практичнее). Проекты из этой ниши регулярно попадают в подборки лучших монет на 2025 год.

Отсюда логичный мостик к Bitcoin Hyper: если следующая фаза рынка будет про эффективность, скорость и приложения на биткоине, то проекты, которые дают $BTC нормальный слой исполнения, будут собирать внимание — даже если кто-то параллельно рисует страшилки про $10 000. В прошлых циклах похожая логика уже работала: когда рост замедляется, рынок начинает ценить то, что приносит реальную полезность.

КУПИТЬ BITCOIN HYPER

Как Layer 2 становятся стресс-тестом $BTC

Когда волатильность растет, капитал становится разборчивее. Инвесторы перестают покупать нарратив ради нарратива и начинают смотреть на то, где появится реальная активность: транзакции, комиссии, ликвидность, разработчики. Reuters как раз фиксирует сдвиг к более осторожным стратегиям и попыткам рынка «взрослеть» после резких движений.

Сейчас Bitcoin Layer 2 — это гонка сразу за двумя целями: масштабирование платежей и запуск полноценной on-chain экономики (DeFi, NFT, игры) вокруг биткоина, причем без потери доверия к базовому активу. У решений разные ставки: Lightning закрывает микроплатежи, rollup‑подходы обещают вычисления «вне L1», а нарратив BitVM подталкивает рынок к более сложным конструкциям без изменения консенсуса L1. Но пользовательский запрос один: «дайте скорость и комиссии уровня современных сетей, не ломая доверие к $BTC».

И вот тут Bitcoin Hyper появляется как одна из ставок на «биткоин с нормальной скоростью и программируемостью» — без необходимости убеждать людей, что им нужно отказаться от $BTC ради очередного L1. Звучит здраво. И именно такие утилитарные истории обычно и начинают «готовить» следующую ротацию цикла.

Почему Bitcoin Hyper может запустить новый цикл всего биткоина

Bitcoin Hyper продвигает понятную идею: модульная архитектура, где Bitcoin L1 остается слоем расчетов и доверия, а исполнение уходит в быстрый L2 с интеграцией Solana Virtual Machine. SVM — ставка на высокую производительность и привычный для разработчиков стек, особенно если нужно быстро запускать DeFi‑механику, NFT‑платформы или игровые dApp.

Ключевой мессадж проекта сформулирован максимально прямо: «первый Bitcoin Layer 2 с SVM‑интеграцией», который нацелен на ультра‑низкие задержки исполнения. Это важно по очень практичной причине: без быстрых смарт‑контрактов биткоин‑экономика почти неизбежно утекает в другие экосистемы — туда, где можно делать свопы, лендинг, стейкинг и более сложные стратегии без ожидания блоков и без боли из-за комиссий. А если следующий рыночный цикл действительно будет про полезность, то инфраструктура часто выигрывает у шума — мысль скучная, зато рабочая (и трейдеры, которые следят за такими сдвигами, обычно отмечают это первыми).

Интерес к истории подогревают и цифры из пресейла: проект уже собрал $29 556 732,75, а цена токена составляет $0,013435. Это не гарантия успеха — это просто маркер спроса. Выглядит любопытно и активность крупных кошельков: трекинг «китов» фиксирует две заметные покупки на общую сумму около $396 тыс., а крупнейшая сделка — примерно $53 тыс. от 19 ноября 2025 года.

Финальный штрих — стейкинг‑механика после TGE: заявлен высокий APY (без раскрытия ставки), моментальный запуск, 7‑дневный вестинг для пресейл‑стейкеров и фокус на вознаграждения за участие в комьюнити. Риск тут очевидный: без конкретных параметров доходности рынок будет требовать прозрачности, иначе ожидания легко превращаются в разочарование. Это не «минус проекта», а скорее проверка на зрелость коммуникаций — насколько команда Bitcoin Hyper готова раскрывать детали вовремя.

Michael Saylor tossed a compact bit of Bitcoin game theory onto X on Tuesday and it set off the predictable kind of fight: technical details colliding with ideology.

“The Bitcoin Quantum Leap: Quantum computing won’t break Bitcoin—it will harden it,” Saylor wrote, adding: “The network upgrades, active coins migrate, lost coins stay frozen. Security goes up. Supply comes down. Bitcoin grows stronger.”

Short version: if quantum ever becomes real enough to threaten today’s signature schemes, Bitcoin can upgrade. Coins that are actively managed move to new, quantum-resistant output types. Coins that aren’t—because the keys are lost, the owner is gone, or the UTXOs are simply abandoned—should effectively get stuck. Frozen.

Bitcoin Developers And Community React

That’s the part people latched onto, because it’s not just a technical question. It’s a social one. Who gets to decide which coins are “lost” versus “just old”? Jameson Lopp, one of the loudest voices pushing for practical quantum-readiness, basically said: yes, and welcome aboard. “I agree, lost coins should stay frozen. Glad to hear you’ll support my BIP!”

Then the counterpunch arrived fast. “We have no right to freeze another man’s bitcoin,” wrote Wicked (@w_s_bitcoin), arguing any attempt to lock legacy coins could spark a contentious chain split. He also floated a more narrative-friendly twist: what if Satoshi left early keys exposed as a “bounty” for quantum computers?

Lopp’s answer wasn’t sentimental. It was node-level realism. “On the flip side, every node runner has the right to refuse to accept coins they believe are most likely to have been stolen by a quantum attacker,” he wrote, framing it less as confiscation and more as a defensive filter to preserve the integrity of circulating supply. Later, he conceded the uncomfortable core: “Correct, the best you can do is come up with an extremely lengthy migration window.”

That “migration window” is doing a lot of work here. The draft proposal described by Lopp and co-authors (Christian Papathanasiou, Ian Smith, Joe Ross, Steve Vaile, Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Demers) sketches a three-phase path: first a soft fork that nudges (or forces) new sends into proposed quantum-resistant outputs, then a later rule change that makes legacy ECDSA/Schnorr spends invalid after a long deadline, and an optional third phase to recover unmigrated coins if the rightful owner can prove control through some new mechanism.

It sounds orderly on paper. It never is in practice. Because you can’t prove theft in Bitcoin’s older UTXOs. Wicked hammered that point: there’s “no way to prove whether older coins were stolen or just forgotten and then moved later by the rightful owner.” The fear, in his view, is basically supply paranoia dressed up as security.

Lopp didn’t deny the incentives. He leaned into them. “I can assure you that many entities in the industry care about supply shocks causing the value of their coins to plummet; businesses still use dollars as their unit of account.” And then, in a line that reads like a homework assignment for anyone who thinks this ends cleanly: “Your homework is to figure out the power dynamics…”

Outside the Bitcoin-only trench fight, other corners of crypto mostly reacted with a raised eyebrow. Nic Carter, a founding partner at Castle Island Ventures, demanded specifics: “Explain in detail how all of those things will happen […] Which core devs has microstrategy funded to work on the multiple hard and soft forks that will be required for this plan? Which quantum researchers?”

BitMEX Research pushed back on the “hardfork” framing. “What makes you think we need a hardfork?” it asked, arguing the transition could be painful without literally being a hard fork. Another account summed up the mood: “You can freeze coins with a soft fork.”

Then again—soft fork or not—getting broad social consensus to lock unmoved coins is its own nightmare. “The idea that there would be social consensus over locking unmoved coins is crazy,” one user wrote. “In 1,000 realities that doesn’t happen once.”

And, quietly, a reminder from Willem Schroe (Botanix CEO): “Yes, there are quantum developments but nothing remotely close to a breakthrough. That said, our current cryptographic solutions are not even remotely close to ready or battletested so quantum resistance work is definitely worth it. Very small risk but would have a big impact.”

So overall, none of this is about quantum tomorrow. It’s about Bitcoin deciding what it is when faced with a threat that can’t be patched with vibes. The tech path is hard. The politics might be harder.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $86,761.

Top meme coins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have slipped into the background of recent times, giving room for other unexpected candidates to shine. Over the last week, there have been some interesting rallies in the meme coin space, but none from the usual suspects. Instead, meme coins, which were believed to be long dead, have seen a revival, with prices more than doubling in 10 days. This report takes a look at the two meme coins that have dominated the sector over the last few weeks.

PIPPIN Climbs The Ranks Of Meme Coins Very Quickly

Like other meme coins, PIPPIN saw an initial run-up following its initial launch back in November 2024, and as attention shifted to the next shiny meme coin, it died a slow death. By 2025, the coin was all but forgotten before its shocking revival in November 2025.

As data analytics platform Bubblemaps shared, there seemed to be a coordinated accumulation trend from a number of connected wallets. Between October 24 and November 23, 50 wallets, funded from the HTX exchange in very tight timeframes, had received similar amounts of Solana (SOL).

Once received, the wallets, which previously had no enchain activity, then proceeded to buy the PIPPIN token. By the time the buying was done, the wallets had bought up $19 million worth of PIPPIN, giving them control of half of the meme coin’s supply.

What followed was what has been referred to as a coordinated pump, causing the meme coin to rise 1,000%, or 10x, in the space of one week. However, PIPPIN did not stop there and has since risen by more than 2,000% since then, with its market cap crossing $400 million to new all-time highs. CoinMarketCap data shows a 146% increase in the last week alone, making it the top performer among the leading meme coins and putting it ahead of the likes of FARTCOIN and FLOKI.

JELLYJELLY Doubles In One Week

Another of the meme coins that seemingly came back from the dead is JELLYJELLY, whose initial rally had shocked the market. Just like PIPPIN, JELLYJELLY’s rise had also begun with a coordinated accumulation among a number of wallets. Bubblemaps reported this back in November, showing that seven wallets had withdrawn 20% of the meme coin’s supply from the Gate and Bitget exchanges.

With the accumulation done, the JELLYJELLY price had risen by more than 600% to reach a new all-time high just short of $500 million back in early November. The price had then retraced, reaching below $100 million, but has seen another revival this week.

CoinMarketCap data shows the JELLYJELLY price rose 143% in one week, to put it above the $100 million market cap level once again. This makes it the second-best performer behind PIPPIN among the top 30 meme coins over the last week.

As concerns about the potential risks posed by quantum computing to the cryptocurrency landscape grow, the Solana Foundation has taken new measures by announcing a collaboration with Project Eleven, which specializes in post-quantum security.

Solana’s Focus On Long-Term Security 

In a Tuesday press release, the Solana Foundation outlined its commitment to fortifying the cryptocurrency’s ecosystem against the implications of quantum computing. 

Through this initiative, Project Eleven has conducted a comprehensive threat assessment and successfully prototyped a functioning testnet utilizing post-quantum digital signatures. 

Under their engagement, Project Eleven undertook a risk analysis to evaluate how forthcoming breakthroughs in quantum computing could impact various facets of Solana’s infrastructure. Areas scrutinized included user wallets, validator security, and the foundational cryptographic assumptions that underpin the network. 

Moreover, Project Eleven has implemented a working post-quantum signature system on a Solana testnet, demonstrating that quantum-resistant transactions can be both practical and scalable.

Matt Sorg, VP of Technology at the Solana Foundation, emphasized the organization’s approach: “Our responsibility is to ensure Solana remains secure not just today, but decades into the future.” 

He noted that the culture of innovation within the Solana ecosystem would continue to thrive with the upcoming release of a second client and an advanced consensus mechanism this year. 

Alex Pruden, CEO of Project Eleven, echoed this sentiment, stating, “Solana didn’t wait for quantum computers to become a headline problem. They invested early, asked the hard questions, and took actionable steps today.” 

Industry Leaders Urge Speedy Action

Solana’s stance comes amid alarming reports indicating that quantum computers could potentially undermine blockchain security by developing algorithms capable of deciphering private keys. 

This scenario raises significant concerns for any digital assets operating on blockchain technology that rely on digital signatures, making them vulnerable to quantum hacking. As such, industry experts are actively exploring various measures to bolster cryptocurrency networks against these threats. 

Doug Finke, Chief Content Officer at Global Quantum Intelligence, pointed out that several groups are integrating the three post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms established by NIST into their platforms. 

He emphasized the uncertainty surrounding when a sufficiently powerful quantum computer might be developed, raising the stakes even further. Finke stated, “What’s worse, if an unfriendly party does develop such a computer, they may not let anyone know about it.”

Currently, several cryptocurrencies have already begun incorporating quantum-safe cryptography into their architecture, including Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL), Cellframe, and Bitcoin Quantum from BTQ. 

Among those issuing warnings about the looming threats from quantum computing are notable figures such as Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Capriole Investment founder Charles Edwards, and representatives from major firms like BlackRock and Google.

Yakovenko has urged the Bitcoin community to accelerate efforts to implement quantum-resistant upgrades. He believes there is a 50% chance of a significant quantum breakthrough occurring within the next five years, further emphasizing the need for vigilance.

At the time of writing, SOL is trading at $127, which is a 6.7% decrease in price over the past seven days. Compared to the all-time high of $293 reached earlier this year, SOL is trading at almost 56% below this threshold. 

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

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin Inter-exchange Flow Pulse (IFP) has rapidly been going down recently, a sign of cooling derivatives interest.

Bitcoin IFP Has Witnessed A Plunge Recently

In a new post on X, CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn has talked about the trajectory that the Bitcoin IFP has been following recently. The IFP refers to an on-chain indicator that measures the BTC flows taking place between spot and derivatives exchanges.

When the value of this metric is going up, it means investors are ramping up transactions to derivatives platforms. Such a trend can be a sign that demand for speculation is on the rise.

On the other hand, the indicator witnessing a decline implies fewer coins are traveling from spot exchanges to derivatives ones. This kind of trend can suggest traders are lowering their appetite for risk.

Now, here is the chart shared by Maartunn that shows the trend in the Bitcoin IFP and its 90-day moving average (MA) over the past decade:

As is visible in the above graph, the Bitcoin IFP was witnessing an uptrend in the last few months of 2024, but with the start of this year, a reversal in the indicator occurred. The switch to a downtrend meant that its value slipped below the 90-day MA, something that has historically signaled bearish conditions.

Over the course of 2025, the IFP has continued its downward trajectory, but lately, the decline has accelerated, indicating that derivatives interest is cooling off fast.

Two cycles ago, the IFP sliding below its 90-day MA led into the 2018 bear market. In the 2021 bull market, the bear signal on the IFP was initially followed by the second half of that bull run, but then the 2022 bear market took over as the metric failed to recover.

A similar trend has been witnessed this year as well, with Bitcoin exploring new all-time highs (ATHs) despite the IFP suggesting bearish conditions. The recent acceleration in the indicator’s downtrend, however, has been accompanied by a bearish period in the asset’s price. Only time will tell whether this is a repeat of the pattern from the last cycle, or if risk appetite will make a comeback among investors and the IFP will reverse course.

In some other news, the Bitcoin treasury companies have seen their holdings go up recently, despite the drawdown that the market has faced, as pointed out by Glassnode co-founder Rafael in an X post.

From the chart, it’s apparent that since Bitcoin started declining from its ATH above $126,000, the treasury companies have still continued a net upward trajectory. “Not seeing much of the alleged forced selling here despite some equities trading below mNAV,” noted Rafael.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $87,500, down over 7% in the last week.

Global payment giant Visa has announced the launch of stablecoin settlement in the United States using Circle’s USDC on the Solana Blockchain. The expansion follows the company’s ongoing efforts to modernize its settlement layer and be at the forefront of the emerging sector.

Visa Expands USDC Settlement To The US

On Tuesday, Visa unveiled the expansion of its stablecoin settlement service to financial institutions in the US, allowing local issuer and acquirer partners to settle with Visa in Circle’s USDC for the first time.

In the statement, the payments giant highlighted that issuers will benefit from faster fund movement over blockchains, seven‑day availability, and enhanced operational resilience across weekends and holidays “without any change to the consumer card experience.”

Initial participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which have started settling with Visa in USDC on the Solana blockchain. Meanwhile, a wider rollout in the US is planned through 2026.

In addition, Visa shared its plan to utilize Arc, a new Layer 1 blockchain developed by Circle, which is currently in public testnet, for USDC settlement within its network and to operate a validator node once Arc goes live.

The global payments giant underscored that the launch marks a significant milestone in the company’s stablecoin settlement pilot program and strategy to modernize its settlement layer, which underpins global commerce.

Notably, Visa first experimented with USDC settlement in 2021 and became one of the first major payments networks to pilot stablecoin settlement using USDC in 2023. Now, Visa has reported more than 130 stablecoin-linked card issuing programs in over 40 countries.

Last month, the company announced the expansion of its stablecoin settlement in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) with a partnership with crypto infrastructure company Aquanow.

“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it – they’re preparing to use it,” affirmed Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships, Visa.

“Financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations. By bringing USDC settlement to the U.S., Visa is delivering a reliable, bank‑ready capability that improves treasury efficiency while maintaining the security, compliance and resiliency standards our network requires,” he added.

Meanwhile, Circle emphasized the importance of integrating fully reserved stablecoins into institutions’ settlement flows. Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle, noted that “it helps card-issuing financial institutions modernize treasury and unlock new services while retaining the transparency and trust that USDC is known for.”

Visa’s New Stablecoin Advisory Unit

This week, Visa also announced the launch of its Stablecoins Advisory Practice (SAP) service by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) for insights and recommendations to guide banks, fintechs, merchants, and businesses on market fit, strategy, and implementation.

The new stablecoins advisory unit is set to offer a suite of services “designed to guide strategy and implementation amid the growing prevalence and stability of stablecoin infrastructure and emerging regulatory standards.”

Notably, it will provide training and market trend programs, including a new Visa University course, strategy development, market entry planning, use case sizing, go-to-market planning, and Technology enablement for stablecoin integration.

Visa affirmed that it recorded a $3.5 billion stablecoin settlement volume as of November 30, which has led businesses to its new Stablecoins Advisory Practice for growth opportunities.

Matt Freeman, senior vice president at the Navy Federal Credit Union, stated that “Stablecoins may represent an opportunity to enhance speed and lower cost in payments, so with the support of Visa, we are evaluating how this technology could fit into our broader strategy to deliver meaningful value to our 15 million members worldwide.”

United States President Donald Trump said he would review the case of Keonne Rodriguez, a co-founder of the Samourai Wallet, and signaled he might consider clemency.

According to reporters present at a White House exchange, Trump said he would “take a look” and asked that the matter be examined by the Attorney General.

The comment came after federal prosecutors secured guilty pleas and later sent Rodriguez to prison.

Statement On A High-Profile Sentencing

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Rodriguez and a co-defendant, William Lonergan Hill, pleaded guilty to charges tied to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business and related conspiracy counts.

Reports have disclosed that the service was linked to more than $230 million in criminal proceeds. Prosecutors said those transfers were connected in their factual recitation to narcotics trafficking, darknet markets, cyber intrusions, frauds, sanctioned jurisdictions and other criminal activity.

Sentencing And Legal Outcomes

Based on court filings and public notices, the guilty pleas were entered in late July 2025 and sentencing took place on November 19, 2025.

The Department of Justice has also pursued forfeiture tied to the amounts it described in court, and fines were assessed at the time of sentence.

These actions were carried out by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who handled the investigation and prosecution.

Responding to Trump’s remarks, Rodriguez said “This President knows all about lawfare.”

I have always said that the most challenging aspect of getting a pardon for me and Bill would be getting the attention of @realDonaldTrump. He is very busy with many people competing for his attention. Today, thanks to the journalist at Decrypt, the President is aware of our… https://t.co/lmYljfFax9

— Keonne Rodriguez (@keonne) December 15, 2025

Trump Pardon: How A Presidential Review Might Move Forward

The process for clemency typically involves the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department, which vets petitions and may seek input from prosecutors and judges.

The president, however, has broad constitutional authority to grant pardons or commutations for federal offenses.

In this case, press accounts say the president asked that the Attorney General examine the matter, which could lead to a formal review of any clemency petition.

Political And Public Reactions

Reports have varied in tone, with some outlets focusing on the scale of the funds prosecutors said were moved — $237 million — and others highlighting the unusual nature of a president publicly saying he would “look into” an active clemency matter shortly after sentencing.

Legal experts note that public comments from a sitting president can speed attention to a case, but they do not guarantee relief.

Opinions among commentators are mixed; some urge careful review while others stress that federal sentences reflect convictions from established court processes.

Featured image from Bloomberg via Getty Images, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin has lost the critical $90,000 level and is now hovering near the $86,000 area, a zone that is quickly becoming the last meaningful support in the current structure. The recent decline has unfolded with little resistance from buyers, as bullish participation has largely disappeared from the market. Momentum-driven demand has faded, spot buying remains weak, and rallies are consistently being sold. As a result, a growing number of analysts are openly shifting their outlook toward a bear market scenario.

According to a recent report by on-chain analyst Axel Adler, conditions beneath the surface reinforce this pessimistic view. Derivatives positioning remains firmly negative, indicating that short sellers continue to dominate short-term market dynamics.

At the same time, market sentiment metrics have fallen to levels historically associated with major capitulation phases. Fear is widespread, confidence is fragile, and risk appetite across crypto markets is clearly deteriorating.

The combination of negative futures positioning and extreme investor fear creates a challenging environment for Bitcoin. Rather than signaling an immediate bottom, these conditions suggest that selling pressure remains structurally embedded in the market.

Futures Positioning And Sentiment Signal Deep Stress

Adler explains that the Bitcoin Positioning Index provides a clear view of who controls the derivatives market. The indicator aggregates changes in open interest and funding rates to identify the dominant direction of futures positioning.

At present, the index sits at -4, firmly in negative territory. This reading corresponds to a bearish regime and aligns with an active downtrend signal. Visually, the chart is dominated by purple bars over the past four weeks, highlighting sustained pressure from short positions and a lack of bullish conviction in derivatives markets.

Negative positioning combined with falling prices confirms that bears remain in control of short-term market dynamics. According to Adler, a meaningful regime shift will only occur if the index returns above zero and the price consolidates above local resistance levels. Without that confirmation, downside risk remains elevated.

The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index reinforces this bearish backdrop. The index, which tracks market sentiment from extreme fear to extreme greed, has fallen deep into the extreme fear zone and well below the 25th percentile.

The 30-day SMA has dropped to 20, while the 90-day SMA sits near 32, signaling persistent sentiment deterioration since September. While extreme fear alone does not guarantee a reversal, its alignment with negative futures positioning suggests that selling pressure is structural rather than purely emotional.

Bitcoin Tests Critical Support As Downtrend Persists

The chart shows Bitcoin trading under sustained technical pressure after failing to reclaim higher levels. Price has decisively broken below the medium-term moving averages and is now consolidating around the $87,000–$88,000 zone, a level that previously acted as support during the mid-cycle advance. The rejection from the blue moving average signals that bullish momentum has weakened significantly, while the downward slope confirms a loss of trend strength.

More importantly, Bitcoin is now hovering just above the red long-term moving average, a level that historically acts as a key structural support during broader corrections. The recent bounce from the $85,000–$86,000 area suggests that buyers are still present, but the response lacks conviction. Volume remains muted compared to earlier distribution phases, indicating hesitation rather than aggressive accumulation.

Structurally, the sequence of lower highs since the $120,000 peak remains intact. Until Bitcoin can reclaim the $92,000–$95,000 range and hold above the declining mid-term average, downside risks persist. A clean loss of the long-term support could expose deeper retracement levels toward the low $80,000s.

In the short term, this price behavior reflects a market in repair mode. Bitcoin is no longer trending, but it has not yet shown the strength required to invalidate the corrective structure.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Quantum risk has been getting louder in the Bitcoin conversation over the past few months. The question is whether that noise translates into price pressure in 2026.

Grayscale’s answer, in its updated 2026 Digital Asset Outlook: “Dawn of the Institutional Era” (last updated Dec. 15), is essentially no. Quantum belongs on the risk register and in the research pipeline, not on the list of themes the firm expects to steer Bitcoin’s valuation next year. In its view, it’s not “likely to move prices” in 2026.

Why The Quantum Computer Threat Won’t Move Bitcoin Price In 2026

That call matters because the quantum debate arrived while the market is already looking for new failure modes — everything from “the four-year cycle is dead” to renewed anxiety about large holders distributing supply. Grayscale’s framing is simpler: the threat is real in theory, but the relevant timelines don’t line up with a 2026 trading horizon.

The firm lays out the core concern in plain terms: “Theoretically, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could derive private keys from public keys, which could then be used to create valid digital signatures to spend users’ coins. Therefore, Bitcoin and most other blockchains — and virtually everything else in the economy that uses cryptography — will eventually need to be updated for post-quantum tools.”

The key word is eventually. Grayscale points to expert estimates suggesting a machine capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography is “unlikely before 2030 at the earliest.” That pushes 2026 into a preparedness bucket: more research, more coordination, more work on mitigation — but not a year where markets suddenly apply a quantum discount because a lab headline hit the wires.

Grayscale makes that explicit. “However, expert estimates suggest a quantum computer powerful enough to break Bitcoin’s cryptography is unlikely before 2030 at the earliest. Research on quantum risk and community preparedness efforts will likely accelerate in 2026, but this theme is unlikely to move prices, in our view,” the firm writes.

In the report’s taxonomy, quantum sits closer to “high attention, low near-term impact” than to a true 2026 catalyst. Grayscale groups it with other heavily discussed trades that may not drive returns on a one-year view, including the digital-asset-treasury (DAT) narrative that had its Michael Saylor copycat phase in 2025.

The broader outlook is firmly “institutional era” in tone. Grayscale expects 2026 to extend structural shifts in how digital assets are owned and allocated, driven by macro demand for alternative stores of value and an improving regulatory backdrop that reduces frictions for large investors. In that context, the firm is calling for Bitcoin to set a new all-time high in the first half of 2026, while arguing the classic four-year halving cycle is becoming less dominant as spot ETPs and slower-moving portfolio allocation play a bigger role.

That’s also why quantum looks like a mismatch for the 2026 price question. If the marginal buyer is an allocator working through due diligence checklists, the market’s response function changes. Those investors do not ignore tail risks — but they also tend not to liquidate positions on long-dated, low-probability scenarios unless the timeline becomes immediate.

Grayscale highlights one other, quieter point that fits the institutional framing: Bitcoin’s supply schedule. The report notes investors can be “highly confident” the 20 millionth bitcoin will be mined in March 2026 — a predictable, verifiable milestone that speaks to the protocol’s rule-based issuance.

So will quantum computing suppress Bitcoin in 2026? Grayscale’s base case is no — not because the problem is imaginary, but because it isn’t close on the timeline markets usually need before they reprice risk. For next year, the firm expects the bigger drivers to look familiar, even if they arrive in more institutional packaging: rates, regulation, ETP plumbing, and steady absorption of BTC into mainstream portfolios.

Quantum remains a theme to track. Just not, in Grayscale’s view, the theme that sets the price in 2026.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $87,184.

Ethereum is trading below the $3,000 level as selling pressure continues to weigh on the broader crypto market. After weeks of unstable price action, ETH has failed to reclaim key psychological and technical levels, reinforcing a fragile market structure.

Sentiment remains decisively bearish, with fear and even apathy starting to dominate trader behavior. Volatility has compressed, participation has thinned, and many analysts are increasingly pointing toward a prolonged bear market scenario extending into 2026.

This lack of conviction is not limited to retail participants. According to data shared by Lookonchain, two large whales dumped a combined 14,000 ETH, worth approximately $40.82 million, in just the past two hours. Such aggressive selling during already weak conditions adds pressure to an asset that is struggling to attract sustained demand.

While isolated whale activity does not define the broader trend on its own, timing matters. Large distributions during periods of low liquidity often amplify downside moves and reinforce negative sentiment across the market.

Ethereum Whale Selling Meets Long-Term Conviction

Arkham data shared by Lookonchain reveals fresh evidence of large-scale selling as Ethereum trades under sustained pressure. Address 0x2802 sold 10,000 ETH, worth approximately $29.16 million, at an average price of $2,915.5 through decentralized exchanges.

Shortly after, another whale, 0x4c0A, offloaded 4,000 ETH, valued at around $11.66 million, distributing the sale across multiple centralized venues, including OKX, Binance, KuCoin, and Gate. The timing and coordination of these moves reinforce the current bearish tone, particularly as liquidity remains thin and broader market sentiment leans defensive.

In the short term, such activity adds to downside pressure and fuels uncertainty among smaller investors, who often interpret whale selling as a signal of deeper weakness ahead. However, price action and sentiment do not tell the full story. Despite the drawdown, Ethereum’s fundamentals continue to strengthen at a pace rarely seen before. Institutional adoption is accelerating, not slowing.

Most notably, JP Morgan recently announced the use of Ethereum to launch its first tokenized money-market fund, a milestone that underscores growing confidence in Ethereum as a settlement and financial infrastructure layer. While markets may remain bearish in the near term, the divergence between price sentiment and fundamental progress is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Ethereum Price Struggles to Hold Key Weekly Support

Ethereum continues to trade under pressure on the weekly chart, with price now sitting around $2,950 after a sharp rejection from the $3,200–$3,300 region. This area previously acted as a key pivot zone and has now clearly flipped into resistance. The inability to reclaim it confirms that sellers remain in control of the medium-term structure.

From a trend perspective, ETH is consolidating around its 200-week moving average (red line), a historically important level that often determines whether corrections remain cyclical or evolve into deeper bearish phases. So far, this moving average is acting as dynamic support, preventing a more aggressive breakdown. However, momentum remains weak, and upside follow-through is limited.

The 50-week and 100-week moving averages (blue and green lines) are beginning to flatten and converge, reflecting indecision and reduced trend strength. Volume also remains muted compared to prior expansion phases, suggesting that neither strong accumulation nor capitulation is taking place at current levels.

Structurally, ETH remains in a wide consolidation range between $2,500 and $3,300. A weekly close below the $2,800–$2,900 area would expose downside toward the lower end of that range. Conversely, reclaiming $3,300 is required to reestablish bullish momentum. Until then, Ethereum remains technically fragile despite its long-term fundamentals.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

The market entered a sharper pullback this week after the Senate confirmed that a long-anticipated crypto structure legislation will not advance before the end of the year.

Related Reading: Crypto Market Structure Bill Stalled: Senate Banking Committee Pushes Markup To Early 2026

What many investors had hoped would be a closing act for regulatory clarity in 2025 instead became another extension of uncertainty, triggering risk-off behavior across digital assets and related investment products. The delay arrived at a fragile moment for markets grappling with growing sensitivity to policy signals from Washington.

Bitcoin slid below the $86,000 level, while the broader digital asset market shed roughly $140 billion in capitalization within hours. The total market value has fallen to around $2.93 trillion, its lowest level in several weeks, as traders reassessed regulatory timelines that now extend into early 2026.

Senate Pushes Crypto Market Structure Talks Into 2026

The Senate Banking Committee confirmed it will not hold a markup hearing on the crypto market structure billbefore Congress adjourns for the holidays.

While committee leadership says bipartisan negotiations are progressing, lawmakers acknowledged that time has run out to move the bill forward in 2025. Chairman Tim Scott’s office reiterated that discussions with Democratic counterparts are ongoing, with a markup now expected in early 2026.

The proposed legislation is designed to clarify how digital assets are regulated in the U.S., including defining the respective roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Under current drafts, the CFTC would oversee spot crypto markets, while securities laws would be more clearly applied to token issuers and intermediaries. Parallel efforts in the Senate Agriculture Committee, which also oversees the CFTC, have yet to reach a markup stage, further slowing the process.

Market Reaction Highlights Fragile Sentiment

The legislative setback quickly translated into market pressure. Bitcoin fell from near $90,000 to the mid-$85,000 range, while Ethereum dropped below $3,000. Additionally, the average crypto RSI fell to around 32, indicating that the market is within oversold territory.

Analysts pointed to elevated derivatives positioning and heavy open interest around key price levels as factors amplifying downside moves. Exchange-traded products reflected the shift, with Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs recording significant outflows as institutional investors reduced exposure.

Some market observers noted that unrealized losses have risen sharply, while funding conditions and leverage remain stretched, making prices more vulnerable to negative catalysts such as policy delays.

Regulatory Uncertainty Persists Despite Agency Actions

Despite the legislative pause, regulators have continued to act within existing frameworks. The SEC has issued staff guidance and hosted public discussions on how current securities laws apply to crypto activities, while the CFTC has taken steps to expand supervised spot market participation.

However, industry participants say these measures fall short of the comprehensive clarity the market structure bill is meant to deliver.

Related Reading: Terra Founder Do Kwon Could Face 30-Year Sentence In Potential South Korean Trial

The Senate’s decision reinforces a familiar pattern for crypto markets: policy delays translating into heightened volatility. With negotiations set to resume in early 2026, investors will be left to navigate another extended period where regulatory questions remain unresolved.

Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart on Tradingview

Although the anticipated crypto market structure bill, also known as the CLARITY Act, has not yet been passed into law, its proposed framework is already influencing conversations around how major cryptocurrencies could be classified and regulated in the future. 

The implications could be particularly significant for Ripple and XRP, as the Act introduces interesting standards that could determine whether a digital asset is treated as a security or a commodity under US law.

Reality Check Under The Clarity Act

US lawmakers are moving closer to finalizing digital asset legislation, and attention across the crypto market is increasingly turning toward the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly known as the CLARITY Act. 

At the heart of the CLARITY Act is an effort to replace interpretations of decentralization with clear criteria. One of those criteria is a supply concentration threshold, which states that no single entity or coordinated group should control 20% or more of a blockchain’s native asset supply for the network to qualify as mature.

A recent post on X by an XRP community member known as Arthur has brought focus to this issue. Arthur highlighted the proposed 20% ownership threshold embedded in the CLARITY Act’s definition of a mature blockchain, noting that Ripple’s compliance with this benchmark could push XRP firmly toward commodity status and is the only path to global adoption.

However, this provision directly intersects with Ripple’s escrow holdings. The payment currently controls about 40% of the total XRP supply through escrow mechanisms. This has long been a focal point in debates over decentralization and how much control Ripple has over XRP’s supply.

What This Means For Ripple And XRP

Under the CLARITY Act’s framework, reducing escrow control below the 20% threshold would help demonstrate that XRP no longer depends on a single issuer’s dominance. That would back up the claim that XRP functions as a decentralized digital commodity rather than a security tied to Ripple’s corporate actions. 

In order to comply with the Act, Ripple would need to find a way to slash its current XRP holdings by almost 50%. However, if the CLARITY Act is eventually passed in its current form, it does not automatically mean that Ripple would be forced into a direct sale of its XRP holdings, nor does it mandate that its XRP holdings will be handed over to another holder. 

What it does introduce is a clear structure. Ripple would need to demonstrate that it does not exercise control over XRP’s circulating or total supply if the cryptocurrency is to qualify as a mature blockchain asset under US law. 

How that outcome is achieved would largely be a tactical decision. Therefore, Ripple could pursue several paths to comply with the CLARITY Act without disrupting the price action of XRP.

Ripple releases 1 billion XRP tokens every month. On average, about 70% of these released tokens are always returned back into escrow.