Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine, stated in an article on the X platform that many institutional investors typically exit the market during the final holiday trading period of the year, shifting market dominance to algorithmic and bot trading programs. This, coupled with year-end selling driven by tax avoidance needs, contributes to the market dynamics in the last few days of December. Previously, when BitMine disclosed its purchase of 44,463 ETH last week, Lee also pointed out that as the year-end holidays approach, overall market activity tends to decline, and tax-avoidance selling can exert temporary downward pressure on cryptocurrency and related stock prices. This impact is typically most pronounced between December 26th and December 30th, and BitMine is adjusting its market strategy based on this seasonal characteristic.

Trader CBB posted on the X platform that people spent months promoting a certain token, but the token's valuation failed to break $3 billion within 24 hours of its launch after being fully diluted, and he called the token a pure junk coin.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Bitmine (@BitMNR) has staked an additional 118,944 ETH, worth $352.16 million. Currently, Bitmine has staked a total of 461,504 ETH, with a total value of $1.37 billion. In addition, a newly created wallet received 32,938 ETH from FalconX, worth $97.8 million; this address likely belongs to Bitmine.

How wrong were the 2025 BTC price predictions? Jinse Finance reports that analysts gave very high expectations, but the market did not follow suit.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has gone out of her way to back the bipartisan digital asset market structure legislation that she has played an active role supporting and shaping of throughout the year. Her recent post from December 30, 2025 reiterates that: “Our market structure legislation enables public-private partnerships to combat illicit finance. With our […] source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/sen-lummis-market-structure-illicit-finance/

The valuation of new tokens will be significantly compressed in 2025, with the infrastructure and gaming sectors experiencing the most significant declines.

"Solana has now entered a crucial phase of consolidation following an impressive surge of 1,350% in its value. This significant price movement has drawn considerable attention from investors and analysts alike. In this article, we will examine the current market trends and analyze what the latest chart patterns reveal about Solana's potential future trajectory." source: https://blocknews.com/solana-enters-a-critical-consolidation-after-a-1350-rally-here-is-what-the-chart-shows/

Bitcoin’s latest drawdown is raising familiar fears, but on-chain data suggests this phase looks very different from a true bear market breakdown. According to a CryptoQuant analysis using adjusted Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL), the current correction reflects a redistribution of conviction rather than widespread capitulation. source: https://www.ethnews.com/bitcoins-pullback-isnt-capitulation-on-chain-data-shows-a-market-reset/

The cryptocurrency market has sharply underperformed traditional assets in recent months, trailing both precious metals and equities. But analysts say 2026 could mark a turning point, with crypto positioned for a potential “catch-up” rally as capital rotation, liquidity shifts and whale behavior begin to change.According to market intelligence firm Santiment, Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have lagged gold and stocks since November — yet historical patterns suggest the gap may not persist.Crypto Underperforms as Gold and Stocks RecoverSince the start of November:Gold is up 9%S&P 500 has gained 1%Bitcoin is down roughly 20%, trading near $88,000The divergence reflects a broader shift in investor behavior during late 2025, as market participants favored traditional hedges amid macro uncertainty.“Bitcoin and crypto remain notably behind other major asset classes,” Santiment analysts said in a recent post, adding that this lag historically creates room for future catch-up once sentiment and liquidity reverse.Gold and Silver Dominate the Debasement Trade in 2025Precious metals have emerged as the clear winners of the so-called “debasement trade” this year — a strategy that favors hard assets expected to preserve purchasing power during periods of fiscal strain and loose monetary policy.Gold is up nearly 70% year-to-dateSilver has surged roughly 150%Bitcoin is down about 6% over the same periodGold’s rally has been especially notable from a technical perspective. According to The Kobeissi Letter, the metal has remained above its 200-day moving average for approximately 550 consecutive trading sessions, the second-longest such streak on record, surpassed only by the post-2008 financial crisis period.This strength reflects sustained demand for traditional stores of value as investors hedge against inflation, currency debasement and geopolitical risk.Why Bitcoin Lagged — and Why That Could ChangeBitcoin bulls had widely expected the debasement trade to propel BTC higher in 2025. Instead, Bitcoin peaked near $126,000 in early October before retracing sharply, falling below $90,000 by year-end.Analysts argue the underperformance stems less from structural weakness and more from timing and positioning.“Gold has been leading Bitcoin by roughly 26 weeks,” said Lewis Harland, portfolio manager at Re7 Capital. “Gold’s consolidation last summer closely resembles Bitcoin’s pause today. Historically, Bitcoin tends to follow — but with greater torque.”In past cycles, Bitcoin has often lagged macro hedges initially, only to outperform once liquidity conditions improve and speculative capital returns.Whale Behavior Signals Potential Inflection PointOn-chain data suggests the groundwork for a shift may already be forming.Santiment reports that large Bitcoin holders (whales) slowed accumulation during the second half of 2025, while smaller wallets increased buying activity — a pattern often associated with late-cycle distribution.“Historically, the strongest transitions from bear phases to bullish ones occur when large wallets begin accumulating while retail capitulates,” Santiment analysts noted.Importantly, long-term Bitcoin holders have stopped selling for the first time in six months, with holdings stabilizing after declining from 14.8 million BTC in July to roughly 14.3 million in December.Early Signs of Capital Rotation Back to CryptoSome market observers believe capital rotation is already underway.Garrett Jin, former CEO of BitForex, pointed to rising on-chain activity as an early signal. Data from Nansen shows active Bitcoin addresses increased 5.5% in 24 hours, even as transaction counts fell — a pattern often associated with accumulation rather than speculation.“The short squeeze in metals is over,” Jin said. “Capital is beginning to rotate back into crypto. Capital is the same — sell high, buy low.”Investor CyrilXBT echoed that view, calling the current environment “classic late-cycle positioning before a shift,” adding that markets often move before narratives catch up.2026 Outlook: Crypto Catch-Up Scenario Gains TractionPrediction markets appear aligned with the catch-up thesis. On Polymarket:Bitcoin holds a 40% probability of being the best-performing asset in 2026Gold sits at 33%Equities trail at 25%Analysts argue that if liquidity conditions ease and macro risks remain elevated, Bitcoin could resume its historical role as a high-beta hedge, outperforming both gold and equities once momentum turns.Crypto’s underperformance in 2025 stands in stark contrast to gold and silver’s explosive gains. But analysts say this divergence may be setting the stage for a powerful reversion.With whale selling slowing, long-term holders stabilizing, and capital rotation signals emerging, 2026 could offer crypto a chance to close the gap — or even overtake traditional hedges once again.As Santiment concluded: “The opportunity for crypto to play catch-up remains very much alive.”

The Federal Reserve's December dot plot shows a significant divergence of opinion regarding the magnitude of interest rate cuts in 2026, with analysts predicting that one or two rate cuts could impact the momentum of cryptocurrency growth.

According to Odaily, BNB Chain has announced its technical roadmap for 2026, highlighting significant milestones for 2025. The network aims to achieve zero downtime under high-load conditions, with continuous growth in transaction activity, stablecoin volume, and real-world assets (RWA). Drawing from past experiences in reliability, speed, cost efficiency, and fairness, BNB Chain has outlined its technological evolution for 2026. In 2025, BNB Chain plans to implement multiple hard forks, including Pascal, Lorentz, Maxwell, and Fermi, to reduce block time from 3 seconds to 0.45 seconds and finality time to 1.125 seconds. Network bandwidth is expected to increase to 133 million Gas per second, maintaining stability during peak periods such as meme coin trading surges and BNB price highs. The network's total value locked (TVL) is projected to grow by 40.5% year-on-year, with daily transaction volumes peaking at 31 million and stablecoin market capitalization reaching approximately $14 billion. RWA scale is anticipated to exceed $1.8 billion. The roadmap for 2026 indicates that BNB Chain will continue to optimize the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) as an EVM transaction chain, advancing a dual-client strategy. The Geth client will ensure stability, while a Reth-based client will serve as a high-performance engine. Core objectives include achieving 20,000 transactions per second (TPS), sub-second finality, and further reducing Gas costs through software layer optimizations. The network will introduce higher-performance execution engines, parallel execution, and storage capabilities to address the growing state size. On the infrastructure front, BNB Chain will enhance its scalable database architecture with multi-layer sharding and distributed processing to mitigate state bloat. At the application level, a privacy framework and AI agent middleware will be introduced to simplify the development of advanced applications. In the longer term, BNB Chain is designing a next-generation transaction chain, aiming for near-million TPS and millisecond confirmation between 2026 and 2028, enhancing decentralization and security through a hybrid on-chain/off-chain computing architecture. The official summary states that the roadmap is based on real-world production experience, with core goals focused on ensuring long-term sustainability in performance, reliability, and fairness as the network continues to expand.

The Nexus Foundation announced the upcoming launch of its ecosystem token, NEX. This token will support high-quality projects within the ecosystem, and NEX node holders will have priority access to airdrops and allocations of ALPHA series tokens. Furthermore, the Nexus ecosystem incorporates the Synarch Protocol and integrates DAO governance principles to further enhance its decentralized ecosystem structure. According to the official introduction, the NEX ecosystem aims to provide high-quality projects with services such as incubation, exchange listing, market capitalization management, IDOs, market exposure, and liquidity optimization through technological resources.

BitMine snared another 32,938 ETH on Tuesday as end-of-year tax-loss sellers and bots kept prices down, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said. source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmine-buys-98-million-ether-tax-sellers-offload-assets?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

For Web3 practitioners, don't just focus on Silicon Valley and Hong Kong. Nestled between the deserts and the sea in North Africa, Morocco, this undervalued piece of the puzzle, may just be the missing piece on the global map.

In 2025, the global cryptocurrency market entered an unprecedented battle of liquidity harvesting and defense. As market liquidity dried up, the profit-making model shifted from the early post-listing selling model to the pre-listing harvesting model.

SoftBank has transferred a final $22 billion to OpenAI, completing its $41 billion investment and securing around 11% ownership in the AI company. The funding will support OpenAI’s massive infrastructure plans, including partnerships with Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and the $500 billion Stargate project with Oracle.

Binance has confirmed a temporary suspension of Visa and Mastercard withdrawals which would hit Ukraine users hard after the exchange discontinued its partnership with former fiat payment partner Bifinity UAB in 2026. While

Meta's acquisition of Manus may mark a new phase in the AI ​​competition, centered on ecosystem integration.

The investment environment in 2026 is optimistic, with the tail end of monetary easing remaining strong. However, history reminds us that easing cycles will eventually end, and adjustments will be inevitable at that time.

Prenetics has stopped buying Bitcoin and will no longer add to its crypto holdings, choosing instead to focus its capital on growing IM8, the nutrition brand co-founded by David Beckham. The company will keep its existing 510 Bitcoin but says IM8’s strong revenue growth offers a clearer path to long-term value.