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A long-dormant Shiba Inu wallet that on-chain watchers have tracked since the meme coin’s early days just pinged the market again — this time by sending a chunky clip of SHIB to an exchange.

According to posts from on-chain analyst 余烬 (@EmberCN), the address moved roughly 469 billion SHIB (about $3.64 million) into OKX roughly nine hours before the post hit X on Dec. 18, 2025.

Mega Whale Stuns Shiba Inu Community

In 2020, the “top whale” who bought 1.03 trillion $SHIB (17.4% of the total supply) using only 37.8 ETH ($13.7K), transferred 469 billion SHIB ($3.64 million) into #OKX 9 hours ago,” EmberCN wrote.

That “top whale” label is doing a lot of work here. The wallet is known for an almost absurd entry: buying roughly 103 trillion SHIB back in 2020 for just 37.8 ETH. Then the 2021 mania happened. At the cycle peak, that stake would have been worth around $9.1 billion. And the whale, famously, didn’t cash most of it.

EmberCN says the address still controls about 96.684 trillion SHIB, or roughly 16.4% of total supply, valued around $722–$726 million depending on the price snapshot used. “At the 2021 price peak, his 1.03 trillion SHIB was worth $9.1 billion. He has not sold the vast majority of these coins yet, and currently still holds up to 96.684 trillion SHIB (16.4% of the total supply), worth $726 million,” @EmberCN explained.

The reason traders care about “to OKX” is obvious: deposits to exchanges can be a prelude to selling, collateralizing, or rotating into something else. Still, a deposit is not a sale. Overall, it’s unclear whether the SHIB has been dumped yet.

Zoom out and it’s not the first time the wallet has stirred. EmberCN previously flagged activity in July 2023, describing transfers of 1.5 trillion SHIB split across three addresses (500 billion each) after a long dormant stretch.

On July 12, already alerted the Shiba Inu community when he posted: “After being dormant for 610 days, he made another move: 4 hours ago, he transferred 1.5 trillion SHIB to 3 addresses, with 500 billion SHIB ($3.75M) to each address. He bought 1.03 quadrillion $SHIB, and only sold 1.9 trillion SHIB ($18.79M) in 2021 at a price of 0.0000098. The remaining 1.01 quadrillion (17.2% of the total SHIB supply) is distributed across 17 addresses and held to this day, with a current total value of $760 million.”

So, is this “the” sell signal? Maybe. Maybe not. But when an entity sitting on 16.4% of supply starts routing size toward an exchange again, the market tends to stop scrolling.

At press time, SHIB was down 3.9% over the past 24 hours, more or less tracking the broader market wide pullback in the same window. On the chart, it’s not pretty: the current weekly candle has broken below a key support zone around $0.00000790.

That puts the Oct. 10 low at $0.00000680 back in play as the next obvious downside check. If that level gives way, traders will likely start eyeing the June 2023 low near $0.00000543 as the next major reference point.

A crypto analyst has issued a stark warning to the SOL community, predicting that the Solana price could crash below $5. The expert’s bearish thesis is based on an extensive review of US federal court documents, suggesting that ongoing legal challenges and potential flaws in the Solana blockchain could lead to the end of the cryptocurrency. 

Analyst Predicts Solana Price Crash And Annihilation

A crypto analyst who calls himself ‘NoLimit’ on X has released a report that has sent shockwaves through the Solana community. He shared court documents suggesting SOL could be nearing its end, with a potential price drop below $5 over the next two years. Currently trading at $122, this would represent a staggering 95.9% decline. 

In his post, NoLimit revealed that he had spent more than 12 hours analyzing court documents, claiming that the findings are highly concerning to Solana. The report highlights recent developments in a US federal court where a second amended class action complaint has been allowed to proceed. 

The analyst noted that the lawsuit involved Pump.fun, Solana Labs, and several other entities linked to the Solana ecosystem. He stated that the court’s decision to proceed shows there is enough evidence to pursue legal actions, putting SOL’s operations under significant scrutiny. 

The allegations focus on insiders seemingly gaining unfair advantages during meme coin launches. According to NoLimit, Plaintiffs claimed that Solana’s validator system and transaction-priority tools allowed certain players to buy tokens faster and cheaper. At the same time, retail investors were left at a disadvantage as prices exploded and collapsed minutes or seconds later. The analyst notes that many investors had experienced this same issue on Pump.fun. 

NoLimit disclosed that the lawsuit contends these outcomes, in which insiders sell for profit and retail loses everything, were not accidental but rather a result of the system. The complaint directly ties the alleged insider behavior to SOL, not just to the apps built on the blockchain. If this argument gains legal traction, the analyst notes that it could position the crypto network as a platform for risky coin launches, a host for bad actors, and a contributor to potential market manipulation. 

NoLimit also warns that if regulators or courts determine that these meme coin launches operate like unregistered securities or that Solana’s infrastructure enabled unfair access, the chain’s core narrative of being fast, cheap, and permissionless could become a liability. Such a development could scare off institutional investors and large-scale funds, possibly leading to the end of Solana. 

Solana Legal Troubles Put Market Trust At Risk

NoLimit warns that the most alarming part of Solana’s present legal issues is the potential impact on institutional confidence. According to him, nearly half of SOL’s circulating supply is controlled by ecosystem-linked institutions, insiders, early investors, VCs, and foundations. He emphasized that a mass sell-off from these holders could trigger a severe market reaction. 

The analyst highlighted that the key concern is what could happen if trust in SOL collapses. He stated that in crypto markets, trust drives prices, not fundamentals, and when it breaks, crashes can be substantial. Past cases like FTX, Luna, and Celsius show how quickly liquidity can disappear and valuations can plummet. 

Bitcoin experienced a sharp bounce above the $90,000 price mark, but this rise was brief and was cut short by the prevailing volatile market environment. With the persistent waning price action observed over the past few weeks, the once lucrative BTC on-chain moves are no longer paying off as profits have dropped sharply.

Profits From Bitcoin On-Chain Flows Falls

The current Bitcoin market is entering a noticeably different phase, and the evidence is starting to show it. A key on-chain metric indicates that the once-reliable rewards from transferring coins throughout the network are diminishing, suggesting that it is becoming increasingly difficult to profit from rapid price fluctuations.

With volatility decreases and participant behavior changes, BTC may be moving away from a trader-driven ecosystem. This development is spotted in the Bitcoin Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) Trend Signal metric. Bitcoin SOPR Trend Signal is a powerful metric that spots price regions where BTC has been moved at significant profit or loss.

In the past, this crucial indicator has produced precise signals for local highs and lows. As reported by Alphractal, an advanced investment and on-chain data analytics platform, the metric is currently experiencing a steady decline. A decline in the SOPR Trend Signal hints at BTC being moved with progressively lower profits or moving toward loss-making transfers.

Furthermore, Alphractal highlighted that a continued drop in this metric is typical of a bear market phase. However, a true bottom of the price could occur only when green signals appear on the chart. Currently, all indications on the chart suggest that it will take several months for this trend to be validated.

Joao Wedson, the founder of Alphractal, shared his insight on the decline, noting that it is part of the longstanding Bitcoin fractal cycle. Given that the factors influencing its market behavior have expanded, many believe that BTC’s cycles have changed and that this time it is different.

However, on-chain analysis offers a clear view of BTC continuously following its fractal cycle just as it did before. After his analysis of the trend, Wedson claims that nothing in the Bitcoin market cycle has changed so far.

According to the expert, BTC has been one of the most predictable investment assets in the ever-evolving cryptocurrency sector. Meanwhile, many continue to maintain that it must adhere to traditional markets, even though statistics do not support this.

BTC Unrealized Loss At 10%

After the pullback in price, Bitcoin’s unrealized losses are at a level that signals resilience rather than widespread distress. CryptoRank, a leading data analytics platform and crypto industry researcher, revealed that unrealized losses now make up 10% of market capitalization.

Despite the recent drop in Bitcoin prices, this implies that the vast majority of holders are still in profit, potentially contributing to hesitation toward further upside in BTC’s price. Interestingly, this lessens panic-driven selling pressure and signals that the market has already absorbed most of its negative risk.

Crypto pundit ChartNerd has revealed that the XRP price is currently at a critical support, where the altcoin is set to decide its potential next move. The pundit urged XRP investors to remain patient as they await economic headwinds that could impact the price action.  

Pundit Points Out Level XRP Investors Should Keep An Eye On

In an X post, ChartNerd pointed to the multi-month support at around $1.8, noting that over the last 13 months, the XRP price typically rallies into the trading range resistance when the altcoin approaches that support territory. The analyst’s accompanying chart showed that the altcoin could bounce from this range to above $3, as it had historically. 

However, ChartNerd noted that with economic headwinds such as the potential BOJ rate increase, he questioned if this time could be different. He advised investors to hold on to their hats as they await a decision on the altcoin’s next move. The price and the broader crypto market have notably declined ahead of a potential rate hike by the Bank of Japan. 

This move by the BOJ could cause a liquidity squeeze and also spark a sell-off among market participants, which is what XRP and other crypto investors look to be pricing in. However, several fundamentals still paint a bullish picture for the altcoin, including the fact that the XRP ETFs just crossed $1 billion in net assets. They have also yet to record daily net outflows since they launched last month. 

A Drop To As Low As $1.64 Is Still On The Cards

Crypto analyst CasiTrades has predicted that the XRP price could drop to as low as $1.64, likely the final low of this correction. She noted that the token is in the subwave Wave 3 down, with momentum and RSI making new extremes. The analyst added that the next key levels to watch are $1.73 for potential short-term relief and $1.64, which is the macro .618 support. 

CasiTrades stated that there is a chance that the XRP price reaches $1.64 directly in this wave 3 down without a relief first. She noted that there won’t be a need for a second test of the area as support if that happens. The analyst expects a strong bounce from $1.64 that would likely open the door for a powerful move back to as high as $3. 

CasiTrades also mentioned that she expects this to play out by December 19, with a major time fib landing there. She remarked that this is the market making its decision right at the final moment and that this correction will end very soon. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.84, down almost 4% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

A bold claim circulating within the crypto community opens up questions about the long-term positioning of XRP relative to Ethereum. The discussion was due to a post on the social media platform X from YoungHoon Kim, who publicly stated that XRP could surpass Ethereum in market capitalization by 2026. 

The prediction was presented as a personal opinion rather than financial advice, but it quickly gained traction due to Kim’s growing visibility in crypto discussions and his recent shift in tone to XRP. The timing of the statement, combined with a series of increasingly bullish remarks about the token, brings attention to whether such a scenario could realistically unfold.

XRP Flipping Ethereum By 2026: The Core Prediction

At the base of the conversation is Kim’s assertion that XRP could overtake Ethereum’s market cap within the next year. In his post, he directly compared the two assets, stating that XRP could surpass ETH by 2026.

According to MarketCapOf, in order for XRP to flip the current market cap of Ethereum, it would require not only a substantial price increase but also a push to new all-time highs at $5.64. This would require a sustained change in capital allocation across the broader market. 

XRP With The Market Cap Of ETH. Source: MarketCapOf

The possibility of XRP’s expanding institutional usage is a factor that could compress the valuation gap to Ethereum over time. Although the claim is speculative, the 2026 timeframe gives investors a clear timeframe through which XRP can meaningfully challenge Ethereum’s altcoin dominance.

From Bitcoin Advocacy To Direct XRP Accumulation

Kim, who claims to possess the world’s highest recorded IQ of 276, has frequently highlighted this distinction in his public profile. This is a detail that has added to the attention surrounding his recent statements on XRP. Furthermore, his recent comments have been a change from weeks of near-exclusive Bitcoin commentary to a pivot into XRP. In a previous post on December 12, Young Hoon Kim noted that he is only buying XRP from now on. Shortly before that, he also suggested that XRP has a strong chance of reaching a new all-time high before the end of the year.

In a separate post, he stated that XRP could reach $100 within the next five years. Although this statement is secondary to the Ethereum comparison, it adds important context to Kim’s broader thesis. A $100 XRP would likely require deep institutional adoption and XRP playing a central role in large-scale financial infrastructure. 

Some critics view price prediction and the claim of XRP’s market cap overtaking that of Ethereum in 2026 as too optimistic, even some of the most popular XRP analysts. One of the replies came from an X user known as BD, who claims to be the world’s most bullish XRP holder. He warned Kim to be careful of what he is saying. “If you are wrong, you will be the guy with the lowest IQ,” he said.

Coinbase (COIN) revealed on Wednesday its plans to roll out a suite of new products intended to transform the platform into a comprehensive financial application, including the addition of stocks, advanced trading tools, and prediction markets.

Brian Armstrong’s Vision

CEO Brian Armstrong envisions his platform as the go-to destination for a diverse range of trades, including stocks, streamlined futures, and perpetual contracts, as well as prediction markets through its partnership with Kalshi. 

The prediction market remains defined by Kalshi and Polymarket. However, Armstrong emphasized that the appeal of prediction markets extends beyond mere trading.

“When looking at economic indicators or elections, people utilize prediction markets to gauge what might happen next month,” he explained in an interview with CNBC. 

“While only about 1% of users approach it as an asset class for trading, a striking 99% leverage it to obtain insights—almost as an alternative to traditional media or entertainment,” Armstrong further explained.

Recently, Robinhood (HOOD) has demonstrated a similar trajectory by broadening its prediction markets into sports-style contracts resembling parlays and prop bets, marking this category as one of its fastest-growing revenue streams. 

New Outcome Trading And Tokenization Strategy

Coinbase also aims to introduce its form of outcome trading into a wider ecosystem, betting on the future of brokerage services as a unified platform blending traditional assets, derivatives, and blockchain capabilities.

This trading expansion is closely linked to the cryptocurrency exchange’s tokenization strategy, which aims to bring more traditional assets onto the blockchain, including equities. 

The company is launching “Coinbase Tokenize,” an institutional-grade infrastructure designed to support the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). Armstrong sees this expansion as a stepping stone toward a more significant goal. 

“Trading stocks is a good starting point,” he noted, adding that the ultimate aim is to facilitate the trading of tokenized equities. Achieving this, according to him, could democratize access for individuals globally and unlock new structures in the US market, enhancing professional futures tied to equity trading.

Coinbase Targets All Asset Classes 

For businesses and developers, Coinbase is broadening its appeal beyond retail trading; the company has announced that Coinbase Business will now be accessible to eligible customers in the US and Singapore, along with an expanded API suite encompassing services like custody, payments, trading, and stablecoins.

Armstrong articulates a broader thesis: crypto is not merely a niche but rather a vital upgrade to the entire financial system. He asserts that all major asset classes, including prediction markets, equities, commodities, and, eventually, real-world assets like real estate, will transition to blockchain systems. 

Additionally, Coinbase plans to introduce “custom stablecoins” for companies that require branded stablecoin solutions, while also highlighting its x402 payments standard, which aims to simplify stablecoin payments associated with web requests.

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

In a new bipartisan initiative to regulate the cryptocurrency sector, Senators Elissa Slotkin and Jerry Moran have unveiled the “SAFE Crypto Act,” which aims to establish a federal task force designed to address the increasing risks associated with digital asset scams.

New Task Force Proposed

The SAFE Crypto Act seeks to create a comprehensive task force that will bring together the Treasury Department, law enforcement agencies, regulators, and private-sector experts. 

As outlined in the Senators’ announcement, the task force will enhance local law enforcement capabilities, improving their tools for combating crypto-related scams. 

“It’s critical we protect Americans against scams in all industries, but especially cryptocurrency as it becomes more popular,” Senator Slotkin emphasized. She believes empowering local law enforcement with the necessary resources to tackle these scams is essential. 

Slotkin added, “This task force, established by the SAFE Cryptocurrency Act, will allow us to draw upon every resource we have to combat fraud in digital assets.”

Senator Moran echoed her sentiments, stating, “With fraud and other payment scams continuing to grow, protecting the financial security and well-being of Kansans is critical.” 

He noted that their legislation would strengthen coordination among governmental agencies, law enforcement, and the financial services sector as they work together to identify and combat cryptocurrency fraud. 

Highlights Of The SAFE Crypto Act

The text of the SAFE Crypto Act outlines several key purposes for the task force. It will examine current trends in financial grooming scams involving digital assets, identify effective prevention methods, and issue recommendations to enhance efforts against these fraudulent activities. 

A cross-sector approach will ensure that the task force’s recommendations encompass the entire spectrum of the issue, given that scams affect individuals across multiple jurisdictions and industries, including financial services, telecommunications, and technology.

The task force will also include insights from stakeholders with direct experience supporting scam victims as well as industry participants who can provide valuable information about organized crime networks involved in these scams. 

Their work will involve evaluating best practices for countering various methods used by scammers, including Ponzi schemes, money laundering activities, and fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

Additionally, the task force will be responsible for assessing international efforts to prevent scams involving digital assets and reviewing current scamming methods that target individuals through digital asset intermediaries. 

Furthermore, the task force will coordinate efforts to ensure that law enforcement can identify and pursue perpetrators of scams involving digital assets. It will consult with other relevant stakeholders, including state, local, and tribal agencies, as well as financial services providers. 

The task force will also determine whether additional federal legislation or resources would be beneficial in combating scams in the digital asset space.

Within one year of its establishment, the task force will submit a comprehensive report to various Senate and House committees, detailing its findings and recommendations. After the initial report, annual updates will also be provided to keep Congress informed of ongoing progress and emerging threats.

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

Ripple has published the first formal specification of the XRP Ledger’s Payment Engine, positioning it as a foundational upgrade for protocol safety as XRPL moves into a more feature-dense era. The document was released in partnership with formal methods firm Common Prefix and is intended to become a canonical reference for how payments and cross-asset value transfer behave on-ledger.

The motivation is straightforward, and Ripple does not sugarcoat it. XRPL has operated for more than a decade without downtime, but the team argues that a long track record is still not the same as provable correctness. In the DEV Community post published Dec. 17 under the RippleX Developers banner, the authors write that “to prepare the ledger for the next generation of complex features, we must move beyond empirical success to mathematical certainty.”

A Turning Point For XRP Ledger Security

That is the tone throughout: less victory lap, more engineering debt disclosure. For much of XRPL’s life, the C++ implementation (xrpld) has effectively acted as the only definitive source of truth for core behavior. Ripple’s post calls out a practical problem with that model: “The code tells us, in very precise C++ terms, what it does. It does not always tell us why.” In other words, when code is the spec, it becomes difficult to separate intentional design choices from historical behavior that simply persisted because nothing broke.

That gap starts to matter more as new amendments arrive. Ripple points directly to a pipeline of complex features — including lending, DEX-related work tied to Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPTs), batch transactions, and permissioned DEX concepts — and warns that the number of possible system states expands quickly as new modules “weave into the decades-old logic of the ledger.”

The published specification is hosted on GitHub and labeled as work in progress, but it is already framed as a serious technical artifact: “a technical specification document intended for developers implementing or verifying XRPL payment system behavior.” It also spells out the heart of the system in plain language: the Payment Engine is what “figures out how value should travel and then carries out those moves,” enabling payments to draw across “trust lines, MPTs, order books, AMMs, and direct XRP.”

The deeper point, though, is what this enables next. Ripple’s post lays out a two-part target. First, a human-readable specification that reduces ambiguity and becomes the canonical reference for builders and researchers. Second, a machine-verifiable model — a mathematical representation of the spec — that can support mechanical proofs about system properties and whether proposed changes violate core safety guarantees.

It is also explicit about scope discipline. Ripple argues that specifying the entire ledger in one shot is not realistic: “It would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to specify the entire system at once.” So the work focuses on what it describes as the two most critical and complex components: the Payment Engine and the Consensus Protocol.

Consensus, in particular, is framed as non-negotiable infrastructure. Ripple describes it as “the heart of the ledger,” adding: “Its correctness is non-negotiable and underpins the safety and liveness of the entire network.”

The stated objective is to formally model the mechanism to prove properties such as liveness, safety, and finality. On timing, Ripple is clear that this is the starting line, not the finish. After publishing the Payment Engine specification, the team says it intends to begin formal verification work on the Payment Engine and the Consensus Protocol in 2026.

The closing line captures the direction of travel: “The shift from code-as-truth to mathematics-as-truth is underway.”

In the XRP community, the announcement landed with predictable euphoria. “Absolute freaking game changer! … Aerospace & military grade security incoming,” wrote XRPL validator and community member Vet, adding: “The XRP Ledger is receiving its first formal specification for the payments engine. By mathematically specifying key protocol components […] Basically, this is the enabler for the endboss of audits AND for other things like complex features or client diversity.”

At press time, XRP traded at $1.83.

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and a key witness in the FTX prosecutions, was quietly moved from federal prison to community confinement on October 16, 2025, with the transfer happening largely under the radar.

According to court records and media reports, the move comes after Ellison served about 11 months of a two-year sentence. Her projected early release date is February 20, 2026.

Transfer To Community Confinement

Based on reports, Ellison was moved out of the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut and placed under community confinement supervised by the US Bureau of Prisons.

Community confinement can mean home detention or placement in a residential reentry center, but the Bureau typically does not disclose exact housing details for individuals. The transfer was completed quietly, with officials offering only routine confirmation of custody status.

Former Alameda Research CEO and SBF’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison was transferred on Oct. 16 from the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut to community confinement, which may include home confinement or a halfway house, while remaining under federal custody. Ellison has…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 17, 2025

Ellison’s Time Behind Bars

Ellison was sentenced in September 2024 and began serving her sentence in November 2024. She has spent roughly 11 months in custody prior to the transfer.

The sentence she received reflected her guilty pleas to multiple federal counts tied to the collapse of FTX, and it was shorter than other prison terms handed down in the larger case.

Role In The FTX Case

Ellison pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges stemming from what prosecutors described as an $11 billion collapse that devastated customers and shook the crypto sector.

She cooperated with prosecutors and was a central government witness at the 2023 trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried was later sentenced to 25 years and remains in custody while his appeals proceed.

How The Move Is Handled

Transfers like this are handled under standard Bureau of Prisons procedures. The agency may shift inmates to community confinement for several reasons, including the remaining length of sentence, program needs, or space considerations at facilities.

Specific conditions — such as whether Ellison will serve time in a halfway house or under home confinement — are not being released for privacy and safety reasons, according to officials quoted in news reports.

 

Reaction And Next Steps

The transfer has renewed media attention on the FTX prosecutions and on how sentencing outcomes have played out for cooperating witnesses.

Some outlets have noted that Ellison’s cooperation with prosecutors did not prevent a prison term, while others point to the relatively brief time she will now spend in a secure facility.

Ellison’s projected early release on February 20, 2026 remains subject to Bureau of Prisons rules and any adjustments that could arise from administrative reviews.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView

Amid significant regulatory shifts under President Trump’s administration, Binance is gearing up to relaunch in the United States, potentially reducing the stakes held by its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ). 

Following years of legal hurdles that culminated in Zhao serving time in prison, his recent presidential pardon has revitalized the exchange’s prospects within the US crypto landscape.

Binance’s Path To Re-Establish US Operations

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Binance has been exploring options to restart operations for its American affiliate, Binance.US. This includes discussions of a recapitalization that could dilute Zhao’s majority stake, which has complicated the company’s efforts to expand in the country. 

At a recent Binance Blockchain Week event, Zhao expressed his commitment to transforming the US into a central hub for cryptocurrency, dubbing it “an emerging land for us.” 

His remarks came in the wake of a challenging period for Binance.US, which has seen its market share plummet from an impressive 35% to virtually zero since US regulatory bodies charged Zhao and the cryptocurrency exchange two years ago. 

Several states have also rescinded Binance’s licenses, while others, notably New York, never granted one in the first place. Supporters of the exchange believe that a forthcoming market-structure bill could establish a federal licensing regime, potentially altering the operational landscape for companies like Binance. 

However, Bitcoinist has continuously reported that the bill’s progress has stalled amid political divisions, casting doubt on its future. For now, the anticipated markup has been delayed until January 2026. 

The report suggests that if Binance were able to buy back some or all of Zhao’s holdings, it might consider new leadership and strategies to drive growth while leveraging political connections in Washington. Sources familiar with the situation emphasize a sense of urgency for the exchange to make critical decisions. 

Potential Partnerships With BlackRock 

In a separate effort to bolster its standing, the exchange is reportedly aiming for a closer partnership with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and issuer of the largest Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. 

This relationship could involve the utilization of BlackRock’s tokenized money-market fund to support trades on Binance. Discussions regarding enhanced financial ties between the two have included the potential development of additional products and revenue-sharing opportunities.

Additionally, Binance is looking to strengthen its relationship with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto venture co-founded by members of the Trump family. 

These moves appear to have taken shape following Zhao’s pardon and signify the crypto company’s desire to recalibrate its presence in a more favorable political atmosphere.

To facilitate these efforts, Binance has promoted Yi He, Zhao’s partner, as a stabilizing force for the company. Over the past few months, she has assumed a prominent role, leading strategic initiatives and revitalizing Binance’s growth narrative. 

However, her elevation has sparked questions regarding the dynamics of power between her and Teng, the former regulator who has been instrumental in guiding the exchange’s outreach efforts.

At the time of writing, BNB, the exchange’s native token, is trading at $846. This represents a major correction of 38% over the past few months, following the cryptocurrency’s all-time high of $1,369. 

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

Two massive Ethereum transactions have just flowed out from FalconX, with Lookonchain linking them to ETH treasury company BitMine.

BitMine Has Received 48,049 Ethereum From FalconX

In a new post on X, on-chain sleuth Lookonchain has pointed out how BitMine appears to have acquired 48,049 ETH from a hot wallet connected to FalconX, an institutional digital asset trading platform.

The coins transferred through two transactions to two different wallets. The larger transfer involved 31,867 ETH, while the smaller one 16,182 ETH. In total, the tokens were worth about $140.58 million at the time that they were transacted.

The moves have come as Ethereum has plunged alongside the wider cryptocurrency sector, with its price dropping below the $3,000 level. Thus, it would appear possible that they are a sign of BitMine buying the dip.

Originally a Bitcoin mining-focused company, BitMine transitioned to being an Ethereum treasury vehicle under the leadership of chairman Tom Lee in June of this year. Since then, the firm has rapidly accumulated the cryptocurrency and has established itself as the “Strategy” of ETH.

On Monday, BitMine published a press release announcing that its holdings reached 3,967,210 ETH. So far, the company hasn’t made any official announcement of the latest buy, but if confirmed, it would take the total reserve past the 4 million ETH milestone.

The firm has set a target of 5% of the total circulating Ethereum supply. At present, the company still has some ways to go before this goal is hit, but at about 3.3% of the supply now sitting in its wallets, it has certainly made significant progress.

With holdings valued at more than $11 billion, BitMine is the second-largest cryptocurrency corporate holder in the world, only behind Strategy. Unlike Michael Saylor’s firm, however, the Ethereum hoarder has its treasury sitting in the red right now. Nonetheless, if the two blockchain transactions correspond to purchases, then it’s a sign that BitMine is still committed to accumulating more.

CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn has talked in an X post about how the Ethereum price has changed since BitMine started its accumulation spree. It’s visible in the chart that during the initial buying period, ETH witnessed some rapid growth.

Clearly, however, despite continued buying from the treasury company, the asset’s price first flatlined and then declined. “Big buys ≠ sustained momentum,” noted the analyst.

ETH Price

Ethereum managed to make a recovery to $3,400 last week, but the coin has once again gone through bearish momentum since then, as its price has returned to the $2,930 level.

A bipartisan bill introduced on Dec. 15, 2025 would form a national response to rising cryptocurrency fraud, aiming to give law enforcement and regulators new tools to stop scams as they happen.

According to the sponsors, the Strengthening Agency Frameworks for Enforcement of Cryptocurrency (SAFE Crypto) Act creates a coordinated federal effort to detect, track, and shut down illicit schemes that use crypto rails.

Task Force To Target Crypto Scams

The bill would set up a task force that pulls together Treasury officials, federal and local law enforcement, regulators, and private-sector experts to share intelligence and act quickly on threats.

Reports have disclosed that the legislation is pitched as a way to get real-time visibility on suspicious activity and to give local police better technical help when they investigate.

Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) are listed as the bill’s proponents. The measure appears in Congress under a title that would establish a “Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Cryptocurrency Scams,” and is referenced by bill number S.3428 in congressional records. As of Dec. 17, 2025, the full legislative text had not been posted on the Congressional site.

Public Education And Local Support

The sponsors say the task force will do more than hunt scammers. It will fund public awareness work so consumers can spot fake investment pitches, phishing schemes, and impersonation fraud.

Local law enforcement would get training and access to blockchain analytics tools, the backers say, so officers can follow illicit funds and identify criminal networks before victims lose large sums.

Industry figures quoted in the announcement said crypto fraud has been large and growing. According to one industry policy lead cited by the sponsors, “Over the last two years, we’ve tracked billions in scams and fraud across the crypto ecosystem.” That warning is a central piece of the case lawmakers are making for faster, coordinated action.

ngl a lot of memecoin etc scammers will probably end up shitting themselves if this goes hard, it fills a regulatory/enforcement gap that many probably assumed is permanent/long-term https://t.co/AdKlzVPh9D

— _gabrielShapir0 (@lex_node) December 16, 2025

Cybercriminals: Panic Mode

Gabriel Shapiro, general counsel at crypto investment firm Delphi Labs, said that if the SAFE Crypto Act is carried out effectively, it could leave crypto scammers scrambling to stay ahead of enforcement.

Shapiro added in a post on X on Tuesday that “scammers will probably end up sh*tting themselves if this goes hard,” stressing that the US attorney general, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the director of the US Secret Service would be among the senior officials leading efforts to pursue the bad guys.

Why Lawmakers Are Pushing Now

Lawmakers argue that criminals have grown more skilled at using decentralized systems and cross-border services to hide proceeds. The SAFE Crypto Act is being presented as a way to narrow that gap by making public and private responders work from a shared playbook. The initiative is part of a wave of digital currency-related policy moves being discussed in Congress this year.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin is struggling to break away from the bearish market structure that has been in place since late October. Despite several short-lived relief rallies, price action continues to reflect weakness, with bulls failing to reclaim key resistance levels or generate sustained momentum.

As uncertainty and fatigue spread across the market, many participants are questioning whether Bitcoin’s current behavior fits the traditional cycle framework that has defined previous bull and bear phases.

A recent analysis by Darkfost highlights a structural shift that adds important context to this debate. According to the data, the number of active Bitcoin addresses has been in a persistent decline since April 2021. Historically, bullish phases were characterized by a clear expansion in active addresses, as new investors entered the market and on-chain activity surged. This growth typically peaked near cycle tops, followed by a contraction during bear markets as participation dried up.

This cycle, however, looks markedly different. Even during periods of strong price performance since 2022, active addresses have failed to recover meaningfully and continue trending lower. This divergence suggests that Bitcoin’s market structure may be evolving away from a retail-driven, on-chain participation model toward something more concentrated and institutionally influenced.

As Bitcoin attempts to stabilize after weeks of downside pressure, understanding these structural changes is becoming critical. The decline in active addresses may not simply signal weakness, but rather a transformation in how Bitcoin is held, traded, and valued in this cycle.

Active Addresses Signal A Structural Shift In The Market

The analysis suggests that despite Bitcoin’s strong price performance since 2022, on-chain participation continues to deteriorate. Active addresses are once again approaching the lowest levels observed during this cycle, highlighting a growing disconnect between price action and network activity. At the peak in April 2021, Bitcoin recorded roughly 1.15 million active addresses. Today, that figure has nearly halved, sitting near 680,000, a contraction that cannot be ignored.

This decline is difficult to attribute to a single cause. Instead, it likely reflects a combination of structural changes in how Bitcoin is held and accessed. One contributing factor appears to be the rise in inactive addresses. While precise classification criteria vary, the broader trend points toward a stronger long-term holding mentality, where coins remain dormant rather than actively transacted on-chain. This behavior reduces visible network activity without necessarily implying bearish conviction.

At the same time, a portion of market participants may have shifted away from direct on-chain usage altogether. Centralized exchanges, custodial platforms, and financial products such as ETFs offer exposure to Bitcoin without requiring on-chain interaction. As a result, demand for block space declines even as capital allocation to Bitcoin remains significant.

Taken together, the sustained drop in active addresses suggests Bitcoin’s market structure is evolving. The network is becoming less retail-driven and more concentrated, reinforcing the idea that traditional cycle metrics may be losing some of their explanatory power in this environment.

Bitcoin Price Tests Long-Term Support as Structure Weakens

Bitcoin continues to trade under pressure, with the chart highlighting a clear deterioration in market structure. After failing to sustain prices above the $100K–$110K zone earlier in the year, BTC has entered a corrective phase marked by lower highs and heavy selling momentum. The recent move toward the $87K area places price directly on a critical demand zone, closely aligned with the rising long-term moving averages.

From a trend perspective, the loss of the short- and medium-term moving averages is significant. The blue and green averages have rolled over, acting as dynamic resistance rather than support, reinforcing the bearish bias.

Price is now hovering just above the red long-term moving average, a level that has historically defined the boundary between bull market corrections and deeper bearish transitions. A clean breakdown below this zone would materially increase downside risk toward the low-$80K region.

Volume behavior adds further context. Selling pressure expanded notably during the sharp drawdown from the highs, while recent bounce attempts have occurred on comparatively weaker volume. This suggests that dip-buying interest remains cautious rather than aggressive. Structurally, the market appears to be consolidating after distribution, not building a strong base yet.

In the near term, holding the $85K–$88K range is crucial. A failure to defend this area would confirm a broader trend shift, while reclaiming the $95K–$100K region is required to neutralize the current bearish structure.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Cardano has moved to resolve a governance bottleneck by ratifying an on-chain vote to restore its Constitutional Committee (CC) to functional capacity, a procedural step that matters because the CC is required to evaluate constitutionality and ratify many categories of governance actions, including upgrades, budgets, and parameter changes.

Intersect, which coordinates parts of Cardano’s governance process, said on X: “On the 7th day of GA… We hit the Epoch’s end. DReps at 80%. Stake pools supporting- It looks like we have a new CC. Ratified. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, voted, and wrote rationales,Santa has been notified.”

Why The Cardano Governance Was Stuck

Cardano’s governance model is tripartite: delegate representatives (DReps), stake pool operators (SPOs), and the Constitutional Committee. The CC plays a gatekeeping role: it judges whether on-chain actions are constitutional and ratifies decisions needed for the network to adapt.

That mechanism stalled after an unexpected mid-term departure left the CC below its minimum operational size. The Cardano Atlantic Council retired mid-term in epoch 597, opening a seat and reducing the committee below quorum. The consequence was that the Cardano CC could not ratify key actions, even as the chain continued to operate normally at the protocol level.

The vote asked DReps and SPOs to ratify a newly elected CC member and restore the committee to full capacity. The candidate, Cardano Curia, was selected off-chain through a DRep vote using the Ekklesia tool, with on-chain ratification required to formalize the result.

The governance materials described the restoration as bringing the CC back to seven members and activating a clarified alternate-member process to handle future vacancies with less disruption. Approval thresholds were set at 67% from DReps and 51% support from SPOs. Intersect’s update indicates those thresholds were met as the epoch ended.

Why This Was Treated As Urgent

The vote was framed as more than housekeeping because an undersized CC effectively blocks major governance flows. Without quorum: Treasury withdrawals couldn’t proceed, the Critical Integrations Budget could not pass, hard forks could not be ratified, delaying network upgrades and several categories of governance actions were blocked, leaving only a limited subset able to move forward.

There was also a timing element: delays risk actions expiring, which would force a repeat of the voting process and extend the governance backlog. With the restoration ratified, Cardano’s governance process can resume normal throughput — reopening the path for upgrades, budget approvals, and protocol changes that depend on a functioning Constitutional Committee.

At press time, Cardano traded at $0.38.

Bitcoin is once again testing investor conviction as it struggles to reclaim the $90,000 level, a price zone that has now become a clear psychological and structural barrier. After weeks of choppy price action and repeated failures to sustain upside momentum, sentiment across the market has shifted sharply.

Fear and apathy are increasingly dominant, with a growing number of analysts and participants beginning to call for a broader bear market. For many investors, the narrative has changed from buying dips to questioning whether the cycle has already peaked.

This deterioration in confidence is occurring alongside renewed selling pressure from large, well-capitalized players. According to data from Arkham, two wallets linked to Matrixport deposited a combined 4,000 BTC, worth approximately $347.56 million, into Binance today.

Matrixport is a large digital-asset financial services platform founded by former Bitmain executives, offering products including crypto lending, structured products, asset management, and custody solutions.

Such large inflows to exchanges are closely watched by the market, as they often precede distribution or hedging activity, particularly during periods of heightened uncertainty. While not every deposit translates directly into spot selling, the timing of these transfers adds to the growing sense of caution.

Whether current demand can absorb this supply and stabilize price will likely determine if this phase becomes a deeper correction—or the start of a more prolonged bearish regime.

Exchange Inflows And What They Mean For Bitcoin

Large Bitcoin deposits to exchanges are almost always interpreted by the market as a bearish signal, since they increase the immediate supply available for sale. In most historical cases, sharp spikes in exchange inflows have preceded periods of downside volatility, reinforcing the perception that whales are preparing to distribute into liquidity. However, some investors urge caution when reading this data in isolation, as not every exchange transfer results in spot selling.

In certain scenarios, large inflows can be linked to internal treasury management, collateral rotation, or the opening of hedged derivatives positions rather than outright liquidation. Institutions may move Bitcoin to centralized venues to post margin for futures or options, allowing them to hedge downside risk without selling their underlying holdings.

In other cases, funds prepare liquidity for over-the-counter settlements or cross-exchange arbitrage, activities that do not necessarily translate into sustained selling pressure on the spot market.

Looking ahead, Bitcoin’s price action over the coming months will likely depend on whether these inflows are followed by a clear increase in realized selling volume. If demand continues to absorb supply near the $85K–$86K zone, the market could transition into a prolonged consolidation phase, allowing sentiment to reset.

However, if exchange balances continue to rise alongside weakening spot demand, downside risks remain elevated. In that scenario, Bitcoin may revisit lower support levels before any durable recovery can begin.

Price Tests Critical Long-Term Support

Bitcoin’s higher-timeframe structure shows a clear loss of momentum after failing to hold above prior highs. On the weekly chart, BTC is now consolidating around the $86,000–$87,000 zone after a sharp rejection from the $110,000–$120,000 region. This area has become a critical demand zone, as price is currently hovering near the rising 200-day moving average, which historically acts as a key trend filter during cycle transitions.

The short-term structure remains fragile. Bitcoin is trading below the 50-week moving average, which has started to roll over, signaling weakening upside momentum. Meanwhile, the 100-week moving average is still trending higher and sits below the current price, suggesting that the broader macro trend has not fully broken but is clearly under stress.

From a price-action perspective, BTC is forming a lower high relative to the previous cycle peak, while volatility remains compressed. This often precedes a larger directional move. If bulls fail to defend the $85,000 support decisively, the next downside targets sit near the $78,000–$80,000 region, where previous consolidation occurred.

Conversely, any structural recovery would require a reclaim and weekly close above $90,000, followed by sustained acceptance above the 50-week average.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Hyperliquid (HYPE) is slowly approaching a decisive governance moment as analysts and market participants reassess the protocol’s long-term outlook against the backdrop of a proposed large-scale HYPE token burn.

After months of declining prices and heightened volatility across crypto markets, attention has shifted from short-term price action to structural changes that could improve HYPE’s supply dynamics and investor expectations.

At the center of the debate is a governance proposal by the Hyper Foundation to formally treat all HYPE held in the Hyperliquid Assistance Fund as permanently burned. While these tokens are already locked in an address without a private key, the vote seeks to codify their removal from performance.

If approved, the decision would mark one of the most significant supply reductions in the protocol’s history, removing more than 37 million HYPE, over 10% of circulating supply, through a validator-backed consensus.

Governance Vote Puts Hyperliquid Supply Structure in Focus

The Assistance Fund accumulates HYPE through an automated mechanism that converts trading fees generated on Hyperliquid’s perpetuals exchange into the native token. These tokens sit in a system address that has never been controlled by a private key, making them inaccessible unless a protocol-level upgrade is authorized.

Under the current proposal, validators are being asked to establish a binding social consensus that no such upgrade will ever occur. Voting is stake-weighted, with validators signaling their positions by December 21, and final results are expected on December 24.

Approval would effectively lock in a more restrictive supply model, preventing the Assistance Fund from being used for grants, liquidity support, or emergency measures in the future.

The proposal follows earlier, unadopted discussions around broader supply cuts in 2025, suggesting a renewed effort to clarify HYPE’s long-term monetary framework rather than pursue incremental adjustments.

Market Reaction and Longer-Term Outlook

Hyperliquid (HYPE) has stabilized near the $26 level after several days of losses, with market data suggesting the proposed burn is not yet fully priced in. Futures open interest has climbed above $1.5 billion, and funding rates have turned positive, pointing to growing bullish positioning ahead of the validator vote.

In contrast, spot market activity remains muted, as trading volumes have edged lower and technical indicators continue to reflect lingering bearish momentum.

Beyond short-term price action, analysts are increasingly focused on Hyperliquid’s longer-term valuation framework. Cantor Fitzgerald has cited the protocol’s fee-driven and deflationary design as a potential driver of sustained growth, projecting billions in annual fees if adoption expands.

From this perspective, the Assistance Fund burn is seen as a test of whether stricter supply discipline can help rebuild confidence, with the vote outcome likely shaping how Hyperliquid’s economic model is evaluated into 2026.

Cover image from ChatGPT, HYPEUSD chart from Tradingview

Grayscale, one of the world’s largest digital asset managers, outlined its 2026 Digital Asset Outlook, projecting that the Bitcoin price could reach a new all-time high in the first half of 2026. The forecast is based on structural changes in market design, expanding institutional participation, and broader macroeconomic forces. These developments form the foundation of Grayscale’s view that capital structure and demand dynamics will define Bitcoin’s next market phase.

Institutional Capital Redefines The Bitcoin Price Growth Curve

A central pillar of Grayscale’s outlook is the transition of Bitcoin from a retail-led asset to an institutionally supported financial instrument. The firm argues that the market is entering a phase where large allocators, including asset managers, advisory platforms, and long-term capital pools, are no longer evaluating Bitcoin as an experiment but as a portfolio component. This shift fundamentally alters demand behavior, replacing short-term trading flows with measured, strategic allocations.

Grayscale highlights that regulatory progress and clearer market rules are reducing friction for institutions that previously remained sidelined. As operational and compliance barriers fall, capital that once avoided digital assets due to uncertainty can now enter with greater confidence. This gradual but persistent inflow model creates sustained upward pressure on price rather than sharp, unstable spikes.

Crucially, Grayscale notes that institutional exposure to Bitcoin remains relatively small compared to traditional asset classes. From a portfolio construction perspective, this leaves significant room for expansion. Even modest increases in allocation percentages can translate into meaningful demand, especially given Bitcoin’s fixed supply. The firm views this imbalance between potential demand and limited issuance as a key reason price discovery is expected to continue upward into 2026.

Macro Pressures And Supply Dynamics Set The Stage For New Highs

Beyond institutional adoption, Grayscale’s outlook identifies macroeconomic conditions as a key driver shaping Bitcoin’s next phase of price expansion. Elevated sovereign debt, currency dilution, and persistent inflation risks are directing capital toward assets with transparent and finite supply. In this context, Bitcoin’s fixed issuance schedule reinforces its role as a macro-aligned asset.

This macro framing also underpins Grayscale’s reassessment of Bitcoin’s traditional four-year market cycles. As the asset integrates further into mainstream finance, the firm argues that historical, halving-centered models are losing relevance. In their place, Bitcoin’s valuation is increasingly influenced by liquidity conditions, market access, and investor behavior aligned with other macro-sensitive assets. This transition signals a market responding to structural inputs rather than repeating legacy patterns.

Supply dynamics further strengthen this view. As issuance slows and long-term Bitcoin holders retain more coins, market liquidity tightens. Combined with expanding demand channels, this creates an environment where price appreciation is supported by structural fundamentals rather than episodic surges.

Grayscale’s analysis indicates that these factors could drive Bitcoin to a new all-time high in early 2026. Considering the current all-time high of $126,198.06, the outlook positions the next phase of price discovery as a continuation of market maturation, supported by disciplined supply and macro alignment.

Solana (SOL) is approaching a decisive moment as its price drifts closer to the psychologically important $100 level, caught between weakening market momentum and a series of structural changes unfolding across the network.

Related Reading: Here Are The Meme Coins With Over 100% Rallies While Dogecoin And Shiba Inu Struggle

After more than a year trading within a broad range, recent price action suggests that the long-standing balance between buyers and sellers is under strain. At the same time, macroeconomic uncertainty and technical upgrades are reshaping how investors assess risk around the asset.

SOL has spent much of 2024 and 2025 oscillating between major support and resistance zones, but recent attempts to rebound have been increasingly shallow. Price is now hovering just above key demand areas, with traders closely watching whether these levels can continue to absorb selling pressure.

Solana Price Near Key Support as Bearish Signals Build

From a technical perspective, Solana has slipped toward the lower end of its multi-month range, from $145 to $120. Momentum indicators remain weak, with relative strength measures remaining below neutral levels and trend indicators indicating continued downside pressure.

Repeated failures to reclaim former support zones have shifted attention to the $120–$125 area, which has acted as a floor several times in recent months.

A decisive break below this band could expose SOL to a move toward the $100 region, where historical demand clusters sit. Some analysts warn that if selling accelerates and liquidity thins, the price could overshoot that level before stabilizing.

Others note that volume has declined alongside price, suggesting hesitation rather than panic, which leaves room for a short-term bounce if buyers step in.

Macro Signals Add to Uncertainty

Broader economic conditions are adding another layer of complexity. Rising U.S. unemployment and expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts have kept markets divided. Lower rates have historically supported crypto assets by improving liquidity, but mixed signals from policymakers have limited risk appetite so far.

For Solana, this means macro optimism has yet to translate into sustained inflows. Traders appear reluctant to commit heavily until there is clearer guidance from the Fed. A dovish shift could support a relief rally, while a pause in easing may reinforce downside risks and keep SOL pinned near current levels.

Network Resilience Meets Long-Term Transition

While price struggles, Solana’s network continues to evolve. The blockchain recently withstood one of the largest DDoS attacks recorded, maintaining transaction speeds with minimal disruption.

Separately, the Solana Foundation has begun testing post-quantum cryptographic signatures, signaling preparation for long-term security challenges.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Speculative Activity Cooling Fast: IFP Shows Steep Slide

These developments underline improving infrastructure resilience, but they have not yet offset near-term market pressure. For now, SOL’s outlook hinges on whether buyers can defend key support as macro conditions and technical signals converge. A clear break or rebound near $100 is likely to define sentiment into early 2026.

Cover image from ChatGPT, SOLUSD chart from Tradingview

XRP has recorded another win as institutional investors continue to adopt the altcoin. The CME exchange announced that it has rolled out another XRP product, which could boost its adoption and drive more inflows into its ecosystem. 

CME Launches Spot-Quoted XRP Futures

In a press release, the CME announced that it has launched Spot-Quoted XRP and SOL futures, which it stated will complement the existing Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ethereum futures already on the platform. The derivatives exchange further revealed that these products are available to trade across the four major U.S. equity indices. 

CME also noted that the Spot-Quoted XRP futures contracts allow investors to trade futures positions in spot-market terms with the added benefit of a longer-dated expiry. It is worth mentioning that the exchange had launched its XRP futures earlier this year, a product which it has on several occasions revealed has gained a lot of interest. 

CME specifically revealed that the XRP futures contracts were the fastest contract ever to reach $1 billion in open interest. Meanwhile, the exchange had, in October, rolled out options trading for the XRP futures amid the significant demand they were seeing. The launch of the Spot-Quoted product provides another boost for the altcoin, which could see more institutional flows into its ecosystem. 

XRP has also seen demand in the spot market as the spot ETFs recently became the fastest to reach $1 billion in assets since Ethereum. SoSo Value data shows that these funds currently hold $1.16 billion in net assets, which accounts for almost 1% of the altcoin’s market cap. These funds, as a group, have also recorded a cumulative net inflow of just over $1 billion, highlighting the demand for them in just over a month since the first XRP ETF launched.  

Ripple CEO Spotlights Institutional Demand For XRP

In an X post, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted institutional demand for XRP, noting that these funds have yet to record a daily net outflow since launching on November 13. These funds have also outperformed the Bitcoin and Ethereum products, as they continue to see mixed flows. Meanwhile, the Solana ETFs are behind in net assets, despite launching before XRP.

Ripple executive Reece Merrick also echoed a similar sentiment to Garlinghouse, stating that this was “clear institutional demand” for the altcoin. Meanwhile, the funds have also continued to see demand globally, with a CoinShares report revealing that XRP investment products took in $46.91 million last week. They have now recorded a month-to-date net inflow of $292 million, only behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.91, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

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.