According to Cointelegraph, the Bitcoin (BTC) network's mining difficulty, which determines the computational challenge of adding new blocks to the blockchain, saw a slight increase to 148.2 trillion in the final adjustment of 2025. This difficulty is expected to rise again in January 2026, with projections indicating an increase to 149 trillion on January 8, 2026, at block height 931,392, as reported by CoinWarz. The average block time currently stands at approximately 9.95 minutes, slightly below the target of 10 minutes. This suggests that the mining difficulty will likely increase to bring block times closer to the desired target. Throughout 2025, Bitcoin's mining difficulty reached new all-time highs, notably experiencing two significant rises in September during an uptrend in Bitcoin's price, followed by a dramatic market crash in October. An increase in mining difficulty implies that miners must invest more in computing and energy resources to stay competitive, adding to the challenges faced by operators in this capital-intensive industry. The difficulty adjustment plays a crucial role in maintaining network decentralization and stabilizing Bitcoin's price. By adjusting the challenge of mining blocks, the network ensures that blocks are not mined too quickly or too slowly, keeping the average block time close to the 10-minute target. This adjustment occurs every 2016 blocks, roughly every two weeks, based on the average block time. If blocks are being mined too quickly, the difficulty increases to maintain the target time, and vice versa. This dynamic adjustment prevents any single miner from dominating the network by rapidly increasing their mining capacity or adding excessive computing power, thereby preserving the network's decentralization. A potential threat to Bitcoin's network is a 51% attack, where a miner or group of miners could control the majority of the network's computing power, leading to centralization, double-spending, and undermining Bitcoin's core value proposition. Such an attack would have severe implications for Bitcoin's price. Even without a 51% attack, a miner with substantial computing resources could mine blocks at an accelerated pace, collect all block rewards, and sell the BTC, exerting downward pressure on Bitcoin's price. By dynamically adjusting the mining difficulty in proportion to the total computing resources deployed on the Bitcoin network, the protocol remains decentralized and protects Bitcoin's price by ensuring a consistent supply schedule.

The rising Bitcoin network mining difficulty ensures the network remains sufficiently decentralized but also makes life harder for miners. source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/btc-mining-difficulty-adjustment-2025-rise-jan?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Masters of Trivia ($MOT) joins CoinMarketCap and is selected for HundrED 2026, advancing its tokenized educational quiz platform with global recognition and scalable learning impact. source: https://catenaa.com/markets/cryptocurrencies/__trashed-4/

Bitcoin and the broader crypto market are showing clear signs of caution, not because of price alone, but because of what stablecoin flows and dominance are revealing beneath the surface. source: https://www.ethnews.com/bitcoin-enters-a-cautious-phase-as-stablecoin-dominance-stays-elevated/

Hyperliquid decentralized exchange has ended the year with more than 600k new users and $844M in revenue. source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hyperliquid-wraps-up-the-844m/

Michael Saylor has once again ignited speculation around another major Bitcoin purchase, posting a short but loaded message - “Back to Orange” - that many market watchers interpret as a familiar prelude to fresh accumulation by his company. source: https://cryptodnes.bg/en/michael-saylor-hints-at-another-major-bitcoin-purchase/

Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy Inc.  (NASDAQ:MSTR), stands as one of Wall Street’s most prominent Bitcoin (CRYPT source: https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49602277/michael-saylor-once-mirrored-warren-buffett-and-dr-doom-while-predicting-bitcoins-days-are-numbered-it-was-a-big-mistake?utm_source=cryptopanic.com&utm_campaign=partner_feed&utm_medium=referral

This week put crypto’s “safe-haven” narrative to the test. Here’s how some of your favorite coins fared. source: https://ambcrypto.com/crypto-market-weekly-review-28-december/

null source: https://x.com/cointelegraph/status/2005353118444265690

null source: https://x.com/cointelegraph/status/2005353116116422920

Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot on X, has been praised by Vitalik Buterin for giving unpredictable responses that challenge users’ political biases and promote more truthful interactions.

A massive hack has struck Trust Wallet, one of the most widely used crypto wallets, resulting in estimated losses exceeding $6 million.

Italy’s competition authority has ordered Meta to allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp while investigating possible abuse of its dominant position. Meta plans to appeal, saying the policy protects its systems, but regulators worry it could limit competition and innovation in the AI market.

Nvidia has announced a $20 billion acquisition of Groq’s core assets, a landmark move that strengthens its already commanding position in the artificial intelligence chip market and reshapes the competitive landscape for AI infrastructure.

Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, began serving a five-year federal prison sentence and shared a personal account of his first days, describing the intake process and adjusting to prison life just before Christmas.

The Philippines has escalated its crackdown on unlicensed cryptocurrency platforms, with internet service providers beginning to block access to major global exchanges, signaling a decisive shift toward stricter enforcement of local crypto regulations.

Pudgy Penguins projected its animated characters on the Las Vegas Sphere for a week-long holiday campaign, promoting its physical products rather than NFTs. The display helped the crypto-born brand reach mainstream audiences, supporting merchandise sales and boosting recognition despite a struggling NFT market.

Kraken has officially launched the Krak Card, a Mastercard crypto debit card for residents living in the EU countries and the United Kingdom. The Krak card would allow users to spend more than 400 cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies seamlessly.

Trust Wallet confirmed a security incident affecting version 2.68 of its Chrome extension after users reported unauthorised wallet drains following a recent update. The company told users to disable the extension and upgrade immediately, saying its mobile app and other versions were not affected while the investigation continues.

Kyrgyzstan has taken another step toward embedding digital assets into its financial system after cryptocurrency exchange Binance listed the country’s first som-pegged stablecoin, a move that signals growing state-level confidence in blockchain-based payments and infrastructure.