According to PANews, CoinGlass data reveals that the cryptocurrency derivatives market in 2025 experienced forced liquidations amounting to $150 billion. While this may appear as a crisis throughout the year, it is actually a structural norm in the marginal price market dominated by derivatives. Forced liquidation due to insufficient margin resembles a cyclical fee imposed on leverage. Within the context of an annual derivatives trading volume of $85.7 trillion (averaging $264.5 billion daily), liquidation is merely a byproduct of the price discovery mechanism led by perpetual swaps and basis trading. As derivatives trading volume increased, the open interest rebounded from the deleveraging trough of 2022-2023. On October 7, the nominal open interest in Bitcoin reached $235.9 billion, with Bitcoin prices touching $126,000 during the same period. However, record open interest, crowded long positions, and high leverage in small altcoins, combined with global risk aversion triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies, led to a market turning point. Between October 10-11, forced liquidations exceeded $19 billion, with 85%-90% being long positions. Open interest decreased by $70 billion within days, ending the year at $145.1 billion, still higher than at the beginning of the year. The core issue of this volatility lies in the risk amplification mechanism. Regular liquidation relies on insurance funds to absorb losses, while extreme market conditions trigger the automatic deleveraging (ADL) emergency mechanism, which inversely amplifies risk. During liquidity shortages, frequent ADL activation forces the reduction of profitable short and market maker positions, causing market-neutral strategies to fail. The long-tail market suffered the most, with Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeting 10%-15%, and most small asset perpetual contracts dropping 50%-80%, creating a vicious cycle of "liquidation - price drop - further liquidation." The concentration of exchanges exacerbated the spread of risk, with the top four platforms, including BN, accounting for 62% of global derivatives trading volume. In extreme conditions, synchronized risk reduction and similar liquidation logic led to concentrated sell-offs. Additionally, infrastructure such as cross-chain bridges and fiat channels faced pressure, hindering cross-exchange fund flows and rendering cross-exchange arbitrage strategies ineffective, further widening price disparities. Despite the $150 billion in liquidations throughout the year, it is not a symbol of chaos but rather a record of risk avoidance in the derivatives market. The 2025 crisis has not yet triggered a chain reaction of defaults but has exposed structural limitations reliant on a few exchanges, high leverage, and certain mechanisms, with the cost being concentrated losses. In the coming year, more positive mechanisms and rational trading are needed to prevent a recurrence of the October 10-11 events.

XRP is trading below critical technical levels after losing the $2 mark, a breakdown that has shifted market sentiment decisively toward fear. Bulls are struggling to find reliable support as price action weakens, and recent attempts at stabilization have failed to attract sustained demand. The loss of this psychological and structural level has left XRP vulnerable, with traders increasingly positioning defensively amid broader uncertainty across the altcoin market. Related Reading: Why $100,000 Is Bitcoin’s Most Important Resistance Level According to analysis shared by Darkfost, selling pressure on XRP has intensified materially over recent weeks source: https://www.newsbtc.com/xrp-news/xrp-selling-pressure-returns-investors-shift-from-holding-to-distribution/

null source: https://x.com/angrycryptoshow/status/2005775559180042423

Meta acquired Butterfly Effect, the company that develops the AI ​​app Manus, for billions of dollars. This is Meta's third-largest acquisition since its inception, after WhatsApp and ScaleAI. We understand that prior to the acquisition, Manus was raising funds in a new round at a valuation of $2 billion. "It was so fast I even doubted if it was a fake offer," said Liu Yuan, partner at ZhenFund and angel investor in Butterfly Effect. The acquisition negotiations were completed in an extremely short time, lasting only about ten days.

According to CME's "FedWatch": the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in January next year is 16.1%, and the probability of keeping interest rates unchanged is 83.9%. By March next year, the probability of a cumulative rate cut of 25 basis points is 45.4%, the probability of keeping interest rates unchanged is 47.7%, and the probability of a cumulative rate cut of 50 basis points is 6.9%.

A growing number of wealthy Americans are establishing family offices. These institutions offer a full range of services to the ultra-rich, including wealth management and personal affairs. They are large and operate discreetly, and their influence on Wall Street and the US economy as a whole is steadily increasing. Deloitte data shows that US family offices currently manage approximately $5.5 trillion in wealth, a 67% increase from five years ago; this figure is projected to reach $6.9 trillion this year and surpass $9 trillion by 2030. Deloitte also predicts that in the coming years, the assets managed by family offices will exceed those of hedge funds. Deloitte data shows that there are currently over 8,000 single-family offices globally, an increase of about one-third from 6,130 in 2019, and this number is expected to exceed 10,000 by 2030. Major banks and other financial institutions are eager to meet the diverse needs of family offices, while entrepreneurs and investment managers are vying for a share of the enormous wealth held by these wealthy families.

According to Odaily, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he is contemplating legal action against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, citing 'incompetence' as the reason. Trump also mentioned that his preferred candidate for the Federal Reserve Chair remains unchanged, with an announcement for the new appointee expected in January next year.

South Korea's BC Card partners with Base to test USDC payments, settling in Korean won through QR systems. source: https://coincu.com/news/bc-card-usdc-payment-test/

Cicely LaMothe, Deputy Director of the Corporate Finance Division at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has announced her retirement. She played a crucial role in crypto regulation over the past year, including issuing clarifications stating that Memecoin is not a security and outlining the SEC's regulatory stance on staking. LaMothe joined the SEC in 2002 and was involved in key work such as drafting registration and filing policies. Her departure comes in the second year of the SEC's more favorable approach to the crypto industry. During this period, the SEC approved listing standards for some crypto-asset-related ETFs, dropped several enforcement cases against prominent crypto companies, and advanced Project Crypto to update the regulatory framework for digital assets. In addition, the SEC confirmed that Nekia Hackworth Jones, Deputy Director of Enforcement for the Southeast, completed her term at the end of December.

The US dollar has lost more than 10% of its value in 2025 as an economist warns precious metals prices are sending a major warning on the global financial order. The US Dollar Index (DXY) has lost 10. source: https://dailyhodl.com/2025/12/29/us-dollar-loses-10-of-its-value-in-just-one-year-as-gold-and-silver-send-flash-warning-to-markets/

Japan is moving forward with a major overhaul of its crypto taxation framework, proposing a flat 20% tax on profits from digital assets under its 2026 tax reform plan. While this marks a significant reduction from the current 55% rate, the new policy currently applies only to a limited set of “specified” crypto assets, leaving many to wonder what that means.

OpenAI is facing lawsuits after a 16-year-old died by suicide, with claims that ChatGPT repeatedly discussed hanging and may have worsened his distress. The company is now introducing stronger teen protections, including safety alerts, age-specific guidance, and parental controls, to prevent harm and ensure younger users have safer, age-appropriate interactions.

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has partnered with LayerZero, a leading interoperability protocol, to enable native connectivity between Stellar and more than 150 blockchain networks. The integration allows assets—most notably USDC and other stablecoins—to move seamlessly across chains without relying on centralized bridges or intermediaries.

Hackers took control of Rainbow Six Siege, giving players billions of in-game credits and rare items, forcing Ubisoft to shut down the servers. The company is rolling back the affected accounts while allowing players to keep any items they used, and is gradually reopening the game.

Bitmine has made one of the most aggressive treasury moves in recent crypto history, committing hundreds of millions of dollars to Ethereum while simultaneously embracing staking as a long-term income strategy.

Mirae Asset Group is in talks to buy South Korea’s fourth-largest crypto exchange, Korbit, in a deal worth about 100 to 140 billion won ($70–$100 million).

Over $35 million in cryptocurrency stolen from LastPass users since 2022 has been traced to Russian cybercriminals using weak master passwords and laundering funds through mixers and Russian exchanges. TRM Labs found the thefts continued for years, showing that even encrypted vaults can be compromised if security practices are weak.

Coinbase has finally made its first arrest of one of the masterminds behind the exchange's customer data breach that exposed nearly 70,000 user accounts.

Global online interest in cryptocurrencies has fallen to its lowest levels as we approach the new year, with Google search data signaling a sharp pullback in retail attention as the market heads into 2026.

The Atlas memecoin, themed around US Vice President JD Vance’s pet dog, has nearly half of its supply controlled by 68 wallets showing signs of coordinated buying and potential insider activity. The token was heavily promoted by the influencer Whale Insider, raising concerns that retail investors could be at risk from price manipulation.