Solana price is down by a lot. The Solana chart has closed with red candles for 3 months straight, leaving many traders in disbelief over how bad the price action has been. When you zoom out, something feels off.

With only 11 days left in 2025, SOL is still set to surpass ETH in annual revenue for the first time. This is mainly due to the strong start of the year. In recent months, however, these metrics have declined significantly.

Total Solana traders are down 87% from the January highs, falling from 4.8 million active wallets to just 624,000.

Solana Price Prediction: What To Do When You Like Solana

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X saying he likes Solana, a nice gesture for a project going through a hard time. Thanks, Brian.

It is not surprising, though. Coinbase made every Solana-based coin tradable on the platform about a week ago. That move alone shows where Solana stands when it comes to adoption.

Solana is currently bouncing just to survive. It has been trading in the $144 to $120 range for a good while now. A move below $120 would mean breaking an 18 month support level for Solana, which is something bulls do not want to see.

The bounce pushed RSI back to neutral levels around 47, but if momentum does not pick up, a dip toward $100 becomes very likely.

This setup remains valid as long as Solana does not break above $144 and regain the momentum it showed earlier this year.

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) Might Be The Layer 2 Of Choice For 2026

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is starting to stand out as one of the few projects still building aggressively while the broader market struggles. Instead of competing with altcoins directly, Hyper is targeting Bitcoin’s biggest weakness: speed and usability.

Built as a Bitcoin Layer 2 powered by Solana-style performance, Bitcoin Hyper unlocks fast transactions, low fees, and full access to DeFi, staking, NFTs, and meme coins, all while staying anchored to Bitcoin’s security. Through the Hyper Bridge, users can move BTC onto the Hyper network and receive a 1:1 representation with near-instant finality.

This effectively turns idle Bitcoin into a productive asset, opening the door to yields, payments, and on-chain applications that were previously impossible on Bitcoin itself.

Early interest has been strong, with Bitcoin Hyper already raising over $29.6M from investors betting that Bitcoin-based DeFi will be one of the dominant narratives going into 2026. The project is also offering a 39% APY staking option for early participants, which has helped drive demand even during market weakness.

As capital rotates away from overextended altcoins and back toward Bitcoin-centric ecosystems, Bitcoin Hyper is positioning itself as a core infrastructure play rather than a short-term hype trade.

The post Solana Price Prediction: Can SOL Reverse The Massive 40% YoY Price Collapse? appeared first on Cryptonews.

The European Central Bank has confirmed that it will begin allowing blockchain-based transactions to settle in central bank money in 2026, as political attention increasingly shifts to the unresolved privacy questions surrounding the proposed digital euro.

In a statement released Friday, ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said the institution is preparing to make distributed ledger technology settlements possible within its existing monetary infrastructure next year.

At the same time, he said the ECB is continuing technical work on the digital euro, a central bank digital currency that would function as a digital form of cash across the euro area.

The move marks a concrete step toward integrating blockchain-based systems into Europe’s financial plumbing.

ECB Readies Digital Euro System, Puts Decision in Lawmakers’ Hands

Under the plan, transactions executed on DLT platforms would be able to settle directly in central bank money rather than relying on private intermediaries.

The ECB has argued that this is necessary to prevent fragmentation in tokenized markets and to ensure that new digital asset ecosystems continue to rely on a risk-free public settlement asset.

Cipollone said the digital euro infrastructure would also be designed to interact with other central bank digital currencies, allowing institutions to use it for cross-border payments.

He added that safeguards such as holding limits and the absence of interest payments would be built in to prevent large-scale shifts of deposits away from commercial banks, preserving their role in credit creation and monetary transmission.

The ECB’s technical preparations are largely complete, following a two-year preparation phase that ended in October 2025.

The project has now moved into a readiness phase, with the central bank selecting potential system providers and testing settlement mechanisms.

However, officials have stressed that the ECB cannot proceed without a legal framework approved by EU lawmakers.

ECB President Christine Lagarde stated this week that the central bank’s design work is finished and that responsibility now lies with political institutions.

If the legislation is adopted in 2026, pilot transactions using the digital euro could begin in mid-2027, with the ECB aiming to be ready for a first issuance in 2029.

ECB Promises Privacy, but EU Rules Complicate the Digital Euro Vision

As the timeline becomes clearer, the debate over privacy has intensified.

The ECB has consistently said it does not support a programmable digital euro that would restrict how users can spend their money.

It has also proposed an offline payment option that would allow low-value transactions to take place without being recorded on a central ledger, offering privacy protections comparable to cash.

Offline balances would be stored locally on devices or smart cards, enabling device-to-device payments without third-party validation.

These assurances contrast with broader regulatory trends in the European Union.

Recent EU proposals on data retention and anti-money laundering have raised concerns among privacy advocates, particularly as new AML rules are set to ban crypto accounts that allow transaction anonymization from 2027.

Critics argue that these policies risk undermining the privacy guarantees promised for a digital euro, even if the ECB itself does not seek access to user data.

Political negotiations are now underway as the Council of the EU agreed on December 19 on its negotiating position for the digital euro’s legal framework, clearing the way for talks with the European Parliament, which is expected to finalize its stance by May 2026.

ECB officials have described discussions among member states as constructive but have acknowledged that privacy, data access, and democratic oversight remain contentious issues.

Public interest also remains uncertain. An ECB consumer survey published in March found that many Europeans see little need for a digital euro and prefer existing payment methods, including cash and bank accounts.

While the ECB has said adoption levels would not threaten financial stability, it has acknowledged that public trust and education will be critical.

The post ECB Confirms DLT Transactions Coming in 2026 as Digital Euro Privacy Debate Heats Up appeared first on Cryptonews.

U.S. crypto regulation entered a new phase this week marked by a convergence with leadership changes and a visible retreat from the enforcement-heavy posture that defined the previous regulatory cycle.

From President Donald Trump’s openness to reviewing a high-profile crypto conviction to sweeping changes at the SEC, CFTC and Federal Reserve, the direction of travel is becoming increasingly clear: Washington is recalibrating its approach to digital assets.

Trump Shows Openness to Reviewing Samourai Wallet Case

Earlier this week President Donald Trump indicated he is willing to review a potential pardon for Keonne Rodriguez, founder and CEO of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai, who was sentenced last month to five years in federal prison on money laundering charges.

During an Oval Office session on Monday, Trump responded to a reporter’s question by acknowledging awareness of the case and instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine it.

While no formal review has been announced the remarks alone are notable given the broader context of crypto-related enforcement pullbacks under the Trump administration.

The Samourai case has become a flashpoint in debates over financial privacy, open-source software liability, and the limits of money transmission laws when applied to non-custodial tools.

Trump’s comments suggest the White House may be open to reassessing cases viewed by parts of the crypto community as regulatory overreach.

Senate Confirms Mike Selig as CFTC Chair, Clearing Leadership Logjam

In a parallel shift, the U.S. Senate confirmed crypto-friendly lawyer Mike Selig as the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ending months of leadership uncertainty at the derivatives regulator. The confirmation passed 53–43 as part of a broader slate of federal nominees.

Selig is widely viewed as supportive of clearer market structure rules for digital assets and a more predictable regulatory framework. His arrival is expected to accelerate rulemaking around crypto derivatives and spot market oversight, particularly as jurisdictional debates between the CFTC and SEC remain unresolved.

This confirmation also clears the way for Acting Chair Caroline Pham to exit the agency and move into the private sector.

Caroline Pham to Join MoonPay as Revolving Door Turns

Caroline Pham who has served as Acting CFTC Chair confirmed she will depart the regulator to join crypto payments firm MoonPay once Selig is sworn in. Pham wrote on X she looked forward to a smooth transition calling the future “bright.”

Her move shows the increasingly porous boundary between crypto regulation and industry, a dynamic likely to intensify as enforcement pressure eases and policy clarity improves. While such transitions raise perennial questions about the revolving door, they also reflect growing institutional confidence in the sector’s long-term legitimacy.

SEC Enforcement Retreat Accelerates Under Trump

Perhaps the most striking development came from a report indicating the Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped, paused, or dismissed nearly 60% of its crypto-related enforcement cases since Trump returned to office.

According to The New York Times while enforcement continues across traditional markets, crypto cases have been disproportionately affected. The shift is a sharp departure from the aggressive posture taken between 2021 and 2024, when the SEC pursued dozens of actions against exchanges, DeFi protocols, and token issuers.

The trend was reinforced this week by reports that the SEC has formally dropped its four-year investigation into Aave following what sources described as a “significant” defense effort. Together, the developments point to a reassessment of litigation-heavy regulation in favor of clearer rules.

Fed Reverses Crypto Banking Restrictions, Custodia Back in Focus

The Federal Reserve also moved to unwind prior crypto restrictions, withdrawing its 2023 policy statement that effectively barred banks from engaging in crypto-related activities and blocked Custodia Bank’s master account application.

Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said the reversal aims to support responsible innovation while maintaining safety standards. The move comes as Custodia continues to challenge its exclusion from the Fed system, amid broader scrutiny of “debanking” practices that sidelined crypto firms between 2020 and 2023.

The policy shift reopens the door for regulated crypto banks to access core financial infrastructure — a important step for institutional adoption.

Congress Targets Scams as Enforcement Focus Shifts

Even as agencies pull back from broad enforcement, lawmakers are signaling that fraud remains a red line. Senators Elissa Slotkin and Jerry Moran introduced the bipartisan SAFE Crypto Act naimed at combating crypto-related scams after reported losses hit $9.3 billion.

The bill proposes a dedicated federal task force to improve coordination between regulators, law enforcement, and the private sector, reflecting a more targeted approach: protect consumers from fraud.

A Regulatory Reset Takes Shape

Taken together, this week’s developments suggest a decisive pivot in U.S. crypto policy. Enforcement-first strategies are giving way to pardons, leadership changes, institutional access, and narrower fraud-focused oversight.

For the industry, the message is mixed but unmistakable: the era of blanket hostility is fading, but scrutiny is not disappearing — it is being reshaped.

The post Weekly Regulation Roundup: Pardons, Pullbacks, and a Pro-Crypto Reset in Washington appeared first on Cryptonews.

XRP-linked exchange-traded funds reached about $60 million in assets under management on December 17, according to market reports, even as XRP’s spot price slid.

At the time of reporting, XRP was trading around $1.86, down more than 8% in the last week. That gap between ETF growth and a falling spot price has left some investors puzzled.

ETF Flows And How They Work

According to Chad Steingraber, the way ETFs operate helps explain the disconnect. ETF shares trade on exchanges like regular stocks during market hours.

Fund managers then tally net flows at the end of the trading day and arrange purchases of the underlying XRP after the market closes. Because of that timing, ETF inflows do not always translate into instant buying pressure on the spot market.

Officially crossed $60Million!

Record day! https://t.co/Nub2m5MK0Y pic.twitter.com/xg2zgecq24

— Chad Steingraber (@ChadSteingraber) December 18, 2025

Institutional Processes Take Time

Based on reports, part of the picture is the nature of institutional decision-making. Large funds tend to move slowly. They run checks, review risk, and take time to approve new positions.

That process can take months or longer. So an increase in ETF AUM can reflect careful planning and staged capital allocations rather than a rush of short-term bets.

On charts, XRP has been under pressure for months. Traders watching longer time frames point to a steady downtrend and multiple warnings of a broader pullback since mid-year.

The token has slid about 12% over the past month. Support between $1.80 and $1.90 is now being tested. A sustained break below $1.80 would likely shift focus to $1.60, and then to a wider support band near $1.30 to $1.40 if selling continues.

While $60 million sounds meaningful, that sum is small compared with AUM levels seen in larger crypto ETFs, and it may not be enough on its own to move markets.

ETF structures differ, too. Some managers may hedge, use staged buys, or employ other tactics that change how and when they add XRP to reserves. These operational choices can mute any immediate impact on price.

Among top cap assets, here are the amount of non-empty wallets on each network currently:

Ethereum $ETH: 167.96M Bitcoin $BTC: 57.62M Tether $USDT: 9.63M Dogecoin $DOGE: 8.13M XRP Ledger $XRP: 7.41M Cardano $ADA: 4.54M USD Coin $USDC: 4.39M ChainLink… pic.twitter.com/ciRBUp4GxE

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 18, 2025

Meanwhile, reports show that the number of non-empty wallets on the XRP Ledger has been climbing. Santiment has highlighted rising counts of addresses holding some XRP.

Over the past month, while the token fell in price, on-chain wallet activity suggested accumulation by some holders. That pattern raises questions about whether larger buyers are quietly adding to positions.

For now, markets show mixed signals. ETF AUM growth points to rising institutional involvement over time. Price action, however, signals caution.

Traders and investors will be watching whether end-of-day ETF purchases increase demand on the spot market, and whether the $1.80 level holds.

The coming days and weeks may help reveal whether AUM gains translate into broader buying or if technical pressure continues to dominate.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Ripple’s U.S. dollar–backed stablecoin RLUSD has reached a $1 billion market capitalization just one year after launch, marking another milestone for XRP and the broader Ripple ecosystem. The milestone was highlighted by Ripple executive Jack McDonald, who pointed to a combination of regulatory compliance, institutional infrastructure, practical usage, global expansion, and multichain interoperability as the key factors driving RLUSD’s growth. Together, these developments justify the stablecoin’s rapid ascent.

Building RLUSD Into A $1 Billion Trusted Asset With Ripple And XRP

RLUSD’s rise to a $1 billion valuation on its first anniversary was shaped by deliberate structural decisions before launch. Ripple designed the stablecoin to operate within U.S. regulatory frameworks, combining state-level licensing with federal oversight via the OCC’s conditional approval of its national trust bank charter. This dual-layer compliance gave financial institutions immediate clarity on governance, reserve management, and operational standards, paving the way for quick adoption.

As institutional demand grew, RLUSD issuance expanded in line with actual usage, helping it surpass the $1 billion market cap in November 2025 and secure a position among the top five USD-backed stablecoins globally. Confidence in the stablecoin was reinforced through robust infrastructure choices: Ripple selected BNY Mellon to custody RLUSD reserves, while Deloitte’s independent attestations provided transparency into its backing and operational controls. These measures strengthened institutional trust and enabled RLUSD’s steady expansion into professional financial environments.

Moreover, within Ripple’s ecosystem, RLUSD complements XRP by providing a regulated dollar instrument for settlement, liquidity management, and institutional treasury functions, while XRP continues to support cross-border transfers and on-chain liquidity. Together, two assets form an integrated framework that has underpinned RLUSD’s expansion and milestone achievement.

Institutional Adoption And Global Market Integration

Beyond compliance, RLUSD’s growth has been driven by practical adoption and real-world financial usage. The stablecoin serves as a 24/7 off-ramp for tokenized products, including funds issued by BlackRock and VanEck, allowing smooth movement between tokenized assets and traditional cash positions. Its role extends into capital markets activity, with repo trades and money market fund operations enabled through partnerships with global banks and asset managers, embedding RLUSD directly into institutional workflows rather than peripheral use cases.

RLUSD’s international footprint has expanded alongside its domestic adoption. Recognition in financial hubs such as Dubai (DFSA) and Abu Dhabi (FSRA) enables cross-border operations while maintaining regulatory consistency. Ripple has also extended RLUSD across multiple layer-two blockchain networks, including Optimism, Base, Ink, and Unichain via Wormhole’s NTT standard, increasing interoperability and access to liquidity throughout the ecosystem.

By its one-year anniversary, RLUSD has established itself as a core component of Ripple’s financial infrastructure, demonstrating that trust, compliance, structural design, institutional adoption, and cross-chain expansion can drive rapid, sustainable market growth while achieving a top-five USD stablecoin status.

Expanding the stablecoin yield prohibition to include the application layer is an anti-competitive practice, industry advocacy groups say.

FDIC reveals a path for bank-issued stablecoins under the GENIUS Act as corporate BTC treasuries expand, Anchorage buys Securitize’s RIA arm and Bhutan taps reserves.

In its annual predictions report, Galaxy’s analysts said onchain dollar transfers could process more volume next year than the US bank system that handles payroll and bill payments.

DraftKings launches a prediction markets app in 38 states, setting the stage for future crypto-linked contracts under a regulated US derivatives framework.

Bitcoin and several major altcoins are attempting to start a recovery, but negative investor sentiment, combined with selling at the range highs, is preventing the formation of a stronger bull trend.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed proposed final consent judgments today seeking officer-and-director bars against three former FTX executives who testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, with Caroline Ellison facing a decade-long prohibition, while Gary Wang and Nishad Singh would receive eight-year restrictions.

The filings in Manhattan federal court formalize settlement terms for executives who cooperated extensively with prosecutors during Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial but still face permanent securities law injunctions.

Ellison, Wang, and Singh agreed to permanent injunctions barring future violations of federal antifraud provisions, along with five-year conduct-based restrictions, according to SEC Litigation Release 26450.

The proposed judgments require court approval before taking effect.

Notably, the latest SEC enforcement action was conducted by Amy Burkart alongside investigators Devlin Su, Ivan Snyder, David Brown, Brian Huchro, and Pasha Salimi under the supervision of Laura D’Allaird and Amy Flaherty Hartman from the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit.

FTX Executives Consent to Permanent Securities Fraud Injunctions

The SEC’s original complaints alleged that from May 2019 through November 2022, the executives participated in raising over $1.8 billion from investors through false claims about FTX’s safety measures and risk controls.

Prosecutors charged that Bankman-Fried, Wang, and Singh exempted Alameda Research from automated risk mitigation while granting the trading firm unlimited access to customer deposits.

Wang and Singh wrote software that diverted FTX customer funds to Alameda, while Ellison directed misappropriated assets toward the hedge fund’s trading operations.

Bankman-Fried subsequently transferred hundreds of millions in additional customer funds to Alameda for venture investments and personal loans to executives, including Wang and Singh.

The three defendants consented to final judgments without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations.

Beyond permanent antifraud injunctions under Securities Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Securities Act Section 17(a), they accepted conduct-based restrictions that would prevent similar violations for five years.

Cooperation Yields Divergent Criminal Sentences Despite Securities Bars

Just days ago, it was discovered that Ellison completed approximately 11 months at Danbury Federal Correctional Institution before transferring to community confinement in October, with her projected release now set for February 2026.

Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced her to two years despite defense requests for probation, praising her substantial cooperation while maintaining that the fraud’s severity warranted incarceration.

During her September 2024 sentencing hearing, Ellison expressed deep remorse while holding back tears.

“On some level, my brain doesn’t even comprehend all the people I harmed,” she told the court.

Her attorneys had requested no prison time, but Kaplan rejected what he termed a “literal get-out-of-jail-free card” despite acknowledging her unprecedented cooperation.

Federal prosecutors emphasized Ellison’s critical testimony in their September sentencing recommendation, noting the “what” and “how” of the crimes would have been difficult to prove without her three days of trial testimony.

She revealed that Bankman-Fried instructed executives to invest billions in customer assets that had been secretly siphoned from FTX through Alameda Research.

Wang and Singh received time-served sentences with supervised release after testifying that Bankman-Fried directed the creation of an “allow negative” feature that granted Alameda nearly unlimited access to customer funds.

Both avoided additional prison time entirely following their cooperation.

FTX Bankruptcy Delivers Creditor Repayments Exceeding Original Claims

FTX’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan resumed distributions in May 2025, delivering between 119% and 143% to eligible creditors who completed verification requirements through designated service providers BitGo or Kraken.

Around 98% of affected users with claims under $50,000 received 119% of their declared funds under the bankruptcy court’s approved restructuring framework.

Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated at a low‑security Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in Los Angeles, serving his 25-year sentence following conviction on seven fraud and conspiracy counts.

Most recently, his November appeal hearing challenged the claim that he was “presumed guilty,” asserting that he was denied fair trial procedures.

At the same time, his family continues to seek presidential clemency, arguing that FTX maintained sufficient assets to repay all customers in full throughout the collapse.

The post SEC Seeks 10-Year Ban for Ellison, 8 Years for Wang and Singh appeared first on Cryptonews.

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund IBIT, has emerged as a notable outlier on the 2025 ETF flow leaderboard, ranking sixth by year-to-date inflows despite posting a negative return for the year, according to data highlighted by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.

IBIT is currently the only ETF among the top flow leaders showing a year-to-date loss, with returns down roughly 9.6%. Yet the fund has still attracted approximately $25.4 billion in net inflows, placing it ahead of a range of established equity and commodity products — including the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which is up more than 64% over the same period.

Investor Demand Signals Shift Toward Long-Term Allocation

The divergence between price performance and investor demand underscores a structural shift in how capital is engaging with Bitcoin exposure through regulated vehicles. Rather than reacting to short-term price movements, investors appear to be using periods of drawdown to accumulate positions via ETFs.

\Balchunas describes the trend as a “HODL clinic,” suggesting that longer-term allocators are increasingly driving flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, treating them as strategic holdings rather than momentum trades.

Equity ETFs Still Dominate, but Bitcoin Stands Out

By comparison, the largest inflows in 2025 have gone to broad-based equity ETFs such as Vanguard’s S&P 500 tracker VOO, which has drawn more than $145 billion in net inflows alongside a mid-teens return. Other top-ranking funds include large-cap and total market products such as IVV, VTI, and SPYM, all benefiting from strong equity market performance.

IBIT’s presence among these vehicles is notable given Bitcoin’s higher volatility and its relatively recent introduction as an ETF asset class.

Bitcoin ETFs Outpace Gold Despite Underperformance

The data also highlights a contrast with gold ETFs. While GLD has benefited from strong price appreciation in 2025, its inflows have lagged behind IBIT’s, indicating that performance alone has not been the primary driver of allocation decisions this year.

According to Balchunas, the more significant takeaway may be what IBIT’s inflows imply for future cycles. If a Bitcoin ETF can attract more than $25 billion in a year marked by negative returns, the potential for substantially larger inflows during a strong market environment could be considerable.

As spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to mature within traditional portfolio frameworks, flow data is increasingly being viewed as a leading indicator of long-term adoption. IBIT’s 2025 performance suggests that, even amid price weakness, investor conviction in regulated Bitcoin exposure remains resilient.

The post Bitcoin ETF IBIT Ranks Among Top 2025 Fund Flows Despite Negative Returns appeared first on Cryptonews.

Citigroup sets a Bitcoin price target of $143,000, citing renewed ETF interest and outlining scenarios for both growth and decline.

The post Citigroup sets Bitcoin’s base price target at $143,000 amid ETF demand appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

SolanaFloor app now available on Solana Mobile's dApp store, offering real-time news, data, and insights to Seeker device users.

The post SolanaFloor app launches on Solana Mobile’s dApp store appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Grayscale's 2026 outlook highlights 10 key themes marking the beginning of the institutional era for digital assets.

The post Grayscale predicts end of crypto’s four-year cycle as institutional era begins appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin continues to struggle below the $90,000 level as volatility remains elevated and market conviction weakens. Short-term price swings have failed to establish a clear directional bias, reinforcing a broader sense of uncertainty among traders and investors. While price remains historically high, internal market conditions suggest that underlying stress is building beneath the surface, particularly within the mining sector.

A recent analysis by Axel Adler highlights growing pressure on Bitcoin miners using the Miner Financial Health Index, a composite metric that assesses mining profitability relative to price. Readings above 80% historically signal excessive profitability and late-cycle conditions, while levels below 20% indicate financial strain and elevated risk for miners.

Currently, the index sits near 22%, once again approaching the Alert zone. This places miner profitability near one of its weakest levels since 2022, despite Bitcoin trading well above its summer 2022 price range. Similar conditions have typically appeared during post-correction phases or shortly after halving events, when revenue compression collides with high network difficulty.

This divergence between elevated price levels and deteriorating miner fundamentals raises important questions about the sustainability of Bitcoin’s current structure as the market searches for its next equilibrium.

Miner Economics Signal Growing Stress Beneath Bitcoin’s Price

Adler’s analysis further examines the demand–supply balance within Bitcoin’s mining economics, offering deeper insight into why miner profitability continues to deteriorate. This index tracks the ratio of transaction fee revenue relative to new coin issuance, effectively measuring how much users are willing to pay for blockspace compared to the rate of supply expansion. Historically, readings above 70% indicate strong demand and a risk-on environment, while levels below 30% reflect structural weakness.

Currently, the demand–supply balance sits near 38% on a 30-day average. While not yet in outright stress territory, the metric has declined steadily from local highs above 60%, placing it firmly in a neutral-weak zone.

This trend suggests that organic demand for blockspace remains subdued, with users showing little urgency to outbid one another through higher fees. For a clear improvement in conditions, Adler notes that the index would need to reclaim levels above 50%, likely requiring a surge in transaction activity or a meaningful on-chain catalyst.

This weakness is mirrored in absolute miner revenue. Bitcoin miner revenue, measured in US dollars and smoothed over seven days, has fallen to roughly $40 million after a recent peak. Although consistent with 2025 averages, this level remains well below revenue spikes seen during periods of heightened network activity.

With difficulty remaining elevated, declining revenues amplify pressure on less efficient miners, reinforcing the stress signaled by both profitability and demand metrics.

Bitcoin Price Struggles to Reclaim Key Trend Levels

Bitcoin’s price action on the daily chart reflects a market struggling to regain structural strength after a sharp corrective phase. BTC is currently trading around the $88,000 area following a rebound from recent lows, but the broader trend remains fragile. The selloff from the $120,000–$125,000 region marked a clear break in momentum, with price slicing below the short-term moving averages and triggering accelerated downside pressure.

Notably, Bitcoin lost the daily 50-day and 100-day moving averages during the decline, confirming a shift toward a bearish short-term structure. While the 200-day moving average continues to trend higher and remains intact, price is now consolidating just below it, turning this level into a critical zone of resistance. As long as BTC fails to reclaim and hold above this long-term trend line, upside attempts are likely to face selling pressure.

The sharp increase in sell volume during the breakdown contrasts with relatively muted buying volume on the rebound, suggesting that recent upside moves are corrective rather than impulsive. Structurally, Bitcoin is forming a lower-high pattern, which keeps downside risk elevated if support near $85,000–$86,000 fails.

For bulls to regain control, BTC must reclaim the 200-day moving average and establish higher highs. Until then, the chart favors consolidation or further volatility rather than a sustained recovery.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci said he still sees a path to Solana reaching $2,500 over a five-to-ten-year horizon, arguing that tokenization plus clearer US regulation could turn Solana into a core financial “rail system.”

Scaramucci made the remarks in an interview with SolanaFloor filmed during last week’s Solana Breakpoint conference and released on Dec. 18.

Why Solana Is Still Poised For $2,500

Scaramucci framed the $2,500 thesis as a long-duration bet that won’t play out cleanly. “It’s not going to come without… volatility,” he said, pointing to what he called a messy US regulatory year and sticky inflation as headwinds that “probably slowed down our trajectory.”

“If you had asked me at the beginning of the year” whether Washington would pass stablecoin legislation and “the market structure, the CLARITY bill,” he said he would have expected both. “That did not happen.” Still, he argued “the timing is still right,” with the caveat that price will likely remain jumpy until those macro and regulatory variables resolve.

To explain the patience required, Scaramucci leaned on a tech-investing analogy, recalling Amazon’s drawdowns by 90% before mass adoption. The lesson, in his words: stay with “great technology” through uncertain stretches because durable infrastructure eventually gets adopted.

Asked what surprised him most this cycle, Scaramucci singled out the Trump and Melania memecoins. He described their Solana launch as “a compliment to Solana” because it was selected for “ability to handle large scale large volume transactions with great certainty and finality.”

But he also argued the episode backfired on policy. “I think those coins slowed down the regulatory process in the US,” he said, suggesting that the optics of a US president entering the memecoin business created a political “foil” that opponents could use to resist crypto bills. “I think we would have gotten everything that we wanted this year had the president sort of stayed out of the meme coin business,” he added, calling it “short-term regulatory” damage.

He also claimed the memecoin surge “sucked out all the liquidity from a lot of the altcoins,” which he said “hurt the industry,” even as it showcased Solana’s throughput.

Tokenization Is The Endgame

Scaramucci’s core argument was simple: tokenization is coming, and Solana is positioned to host a meaningful share of it. He said Paul Atkins, whom he described as a longtime personal friend, delivered what Scaramucci considers an underappreciated prediction: “In 5 years all of our assets are going to be tokenized.” Scaramucci then pushed his own conclusion: “What’s going to be the number one rail system to tokenize on? It’s going to be Solana.”

He argued superior systems tend to win through adoption, not ideology. “If you have something that works better than something else, it gets adopted,” he said, comparing Solana’s trajectory to the internet’s jump from dial-up to today’s high-bandwidth reality.

He also flagged operational progress on the network. “I don’t want to jinx us,” he said, but suggested Solana had gone “two years now without any” downtime.

SolanaFloor challenged Scaramucci on why SkyBridge tokenized a $300 million fund on another chain. Scaramucci said it was “a very small fund,” and that a larger fund “will likely get tokenized on Solana.” He also rejected maximalism: “I don’t believe in chain monogamy,” he said.

His view is that “three or four chains” will win, naming Solana and Avalanche. He argued Avalanche can be attractive for certain compliance-driven deployments, while Solana is where “stocks and bonds are going to be tokenized” and where “the larger funds are going to be tokenized.”

Scaramucci also disclosed his personal positioning: “My largest personal position even greater than Bitcoin is my position in Solana and I have it all staked,” he said, adding he owns Avalanche and Bitcoin and holds a “very small position” in Ethereum.

Scaramucci tied the next leg of the cycle to US policy and liquidity. If the US passes market-structure rules next year, he said, prices should respond. If inflation cools and the Fed can cut more aggressively under a new chair, he argued that would add liquidity and reinforce a “positive flywheel.”

At press time, SOL traded at $125.

New reports have revealed that a billionaire Shiba Inu investor has transferred billions of SHIB tokens to a crypto exchange, setting the stage for possible market shifts. Typically, large exchange inflows of this size precede heightened market volatility as traders assess whether the move signals a distribution or a strategic repositioning. The outcome of this large-scale transfer could also influence Shiba Inu’s near-term price, which has been trending down for months.

Billionaire Shiba Inu Whale Moves 469 Billion SHIB

Blockchain analyst EmberCN was the first to report the large-scale movement on X this Thursday, highlighting that a top whale had transferred a significant amount of SHIB tokens to a centralized exchange. Fresh on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence shows that more than 48 hours ago, the anonymous whale had moved 469 billion SHIB, worth approximately $3.64 million, to OKX.

The transfer was reportedly split into two transactions: one for 468.982 billion SHIB and the other for just 5 million tokens. Following this, Arkham Intelligence revealed that the whale had executed another substantial transfer of 464.308 billion SHIB and 550,066 SHIB to OKX the next day. At the time, the value of these coins was about $3.48 million and $4.12 million, respectively. 

In his post, EmberCN referenced a 2023 disclosure revisiting an initial 2020 transaction by the same whale, which resulted in massive unrealized gains at the top. The blockchain analyst revealed that the whale had initially acquired 1.03 trillion SHIB in 2020 using just 37.8 ETH valued at around $13,700 at the time. This purchase represented roughly 17.4% of the total SHIB supply, making it one of the most profitable Shiba Inu trades ever recorded. 

At the peak of the 2021 bull market, the whale’s 1.03 trillion SHIB was valued at roughly $9.1 billion. Despite the explosive price rally, the investor largely maintained the position and avoided selling most of the holdings in the years that followed. Even after the SHIB price crash earlier this year, there were no official reports of whales moving funds to take profits. 

Current data indicates that despite its most recent 469 billion SHIB transfer, the whale still controls up to 96.22 trillion SHIB, accounting for about 16.4% of the total supply. At present market prices, these holdings are valued at roughly $707.3 million, underscoring the sheer magnitude of this whale’s holdings. EmberCN notes that the anonymous whale’s address history is fully visible on Arkham Intelligence, offering detailed insights into past transactions. 

Is The Whale Selling Or Repositioning?

Currently, it’s unclear whether the anonymous 469 billion- and 464.3 billion SHIB transfers were sold or simply repositioned. In most cases, transfers from a private wallet to exchanges are viewed as early signs of potential selling activity, especially when the volume is large. For transactions of this size, liquidating the tokens could influence Shiba Inu’s price dynamics.

The meme coin is already trading at $0.0000073, down 13.04% over the past week. So far, the market has yet to show a clear reaction to the whale’s transfer. Nevertheless, a potential market sell-off could have drastic effects on SHIB’s already weak market.

Given the heightened volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin has fallen below the pivotal $90,000 level, while Ethereum has dropped below the $3,000 price mark. Following the recent pullback, a key divergence has been spotted between the two leading cryptocurrency assets, which could shape the market dynamics.

A Growing Divide Between Bitcoin And Ethereum

As volatility in the cryptocurrency market grows, a crucial divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum is gaining strength, attracting attention in the sector. The report states that the long-running comparison between Bitcoin and Ethereum is about to reach a new stage.

On-chain data indicates a growing supply disparity between the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap. This divergence is a sign that Ethereum’s supply dynamics are changing more dramatically as a result of things like network activity, staking, and fee burning, whereas Bitcoin’s issuance and holder behavior remain consistent.

It is worth noting that this marks the second time in this current cycle that the development is taking place. In the coming months, investors may be compelled to reassess their positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum due to this growing disparity, which is beginning to alter market narratives.

Mignolet noted that buying liquidity is currently drying up. Meanwhile, the remaining liquidity is just moving around the market instead of growing. What this simply implies is that liquidity is slowing down, and in the absence of fresh inflows of new capital, the supply imbalance between Bitcoin and Ethereum cannot be fixed.

During past scenarios, this BTC and ETH supply imbalance has been corrected only through declines in the price of both assets. Interestingly, this is precisely what transpired when BTC was trading above the $100,000 mark. As seen on the chart, the same pattern is currently resurfacing, hinting at a potential shift in market dynamics and direction.

Mignolet claims that if fresh liquidity does not enter the crypto market, it may experience an extended period of consolidation or brief bounces. However, such moves would be pointless bounces, likely followed by further downward moves in the end.

BTC And ETH Set TO See Massive Rotation

Recent supply dynamics and capital flows are starting to align in a way that signals an impending massive rotation between Bitcoin and Ethereum. After examining the ETH/BTC chart, Melijn The Trader revealed that the pair is poised to experience its largest rotation in 8 years.

This rotation has the potential to completely change how capital flows between the two largest assets in the market over the next few months. According to the expert, the last time this rotation occurred, Ethereum saw a notable 50x upward move.

With the same trend resurfacing in addition to deeper liquidity and institutional firepower, a similar price explosion could repeat itself, which Merlijn believes will catch most crypto investors off guard. At the time of writing, CoinMarketCap’s data shows that BTC’s price was trading at $87,920 while ETH’s price was trading dangerously close to the $2,968 support level.