Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

On-chain data show large Bitcoin holders (100–1,000 BTC, dubbed “sharks”) sharply increased net purchases in late 2025 while BTC traded in a narrow range. Glassnode-derived metrics and estimates indicate these wallets accumulated up to roughly $23.5 billion of BTC in recent weeks, though totals vary with cohort definitions, custody reshuffles and price assumptions. Over the same six-month window, traditional safe-haven metals outperformed: gold rose ~38% and silver over 100%, while Bitcoin’s market cap fell about 17% from highs above $110,000. Price action has retraced from >$110k into a tight consolidation between roughly $85,000 and $92,000, with long-wick candles and compressed volatility signalling two-way trading and market absorption of prior selling. Net inflows into some U.S. spot BTC ETFs persist, pointing to continued institutional demand. Analysts caution on-chain accumulation can be skewed by exchange/custody address moves but say sustained buying by large wallets often reflects longer-term bullish positioning by smart money. For traders: large-wallet accumulation is a bullish structural signal for BTC, metals’ outperformance suggests capital rotated into safe havens (risk-off flows), and the current technical compression raises the odds of a decisive breakout or breakdown — watch support, resistance and ETF flows for triggers and liquidity dynamics.

Ripple released XRPL v3.0.0 and has opened five protocol amendments for validator voting through January 2026: fixAMMClawbackRounding, fixIncludeKeyletFields, fixMPTDeliveredAmount, fixPriceOracleOrder and fixTokenEscrowV1. These changes correct AMM clawback rounding, add identifying fields to ledger objects, restore DeliveredAmount metadata for MPT payments, enforce canonical asset-pair ordering for price-oracle entries, and fix escrow accounting for MPT transfers with fees. Collectively they improve oracle reliability, on-chain accounting and AMM behavior — reducing operational risk and improving price and risk-model inputs for traders. Separately, Ripple engineer Edward Hennis announced an on-ledger institutional XRPL Lending Protocol targeted for validator voting in January 2026. The protocol will use Single Asset Vaults, provide fixed-term/fixed-rate underwritten credit, and allow private or public contributions; intended use cases include market-maker inventory borrowing, PSP prefunding of merchant payouts and short-term working capital for fintech lenders. Traders should monitor validator votes, amendment activation timelines, oracle behavior after activation, MPT escrow flows and AMM liquidity shifts. The immediate amendments mainly reduce execution and accounting risk on XRPL; the prospective lending protocol is a structural change that could raise on-ledger demand for XRP and related stablecoins (e.g., RLUSD) if adopted, potentially affecting supply dynamics and yields.

Tokenized commodities — blockchain-backed digital representations of physical metals — have climbed to an estimated $3.93 billion after rising about 11% in the past month, driven by record highs in precious metals. Spot gold peaked near $4,530/oz and silver briefly hit $74.56/oz. RWA.xyz data show Tether Gold (XAUt) leads the market at roughly $1.74 billion and Paxos Gold (PAXG) follows at about $1.61 billion. Tokenized precious metals enable on-chain transfers outside traditional market hours, but pricing, liquidity and redemption remain tied to legacy markets and off-chain infrastructure. Ethereum dominates tokenized real-world assets (RWA), holding approximately 65% of tokenized RWA value (~$12.7B), with BNB Chain around 10.5% (~$1.85B). Standard Chartered projects tokenized RWA (excluding stablecoins) could expand to $2 trillion by 2028, with about $250 billion flowing into less liquid asset classes such as private equity and commodities. On-chain activity from RWAs is increasing Ethereum fees (Ethereum recorded ~$11.41M in fees over the past 30 days) but remains small versus stablecoins and fungible-token trading; chains dominated by stablecoins (Tron, BNB Chain, Solana) currently capture larger fee shares. For traders: rising tokenized commodity market caps and record metal prices signal growing institutional and retail interest, especially for Ethereum-based tokenized assets. Expect potential increases in on-chain trading volume and liquidity for XAUt and PAXG, greater correlation between crypto and precious-metal markets, and persistent counterparty and redemption risks tied to off-chain custodial and pricing mechanisms. Watch Ethereum activity and fee metrics for signs of growing RWA flow, and monitor liquidity/redemption terms of individual tokenized metal products before trading.

Upbit’s 24‑hour trading volume rose to $13.39 billion (a 28.2% increase from the earlier report), driven mainly by KRW‑denominated pairs, according to Coinotag citing CoinGecko. XRP/KRW was the largest single KRW pair, accounting for about 10.38% of daily turnover. Other high‑volume tokens on Upbit during the period included 0G, BTC, ZKP and CPOOL. Earlier reporting had shown a decline in volume to $11.73 billion with XRP/KRW at a larger 17.61% share, indicating the market moved from a lower‑liquidity phase to a liquidity inflow between the two snapshots. For traders, the development signals concentrated activity in KRW markets and renewed liquidity on Upbit — factors likely to narrow intraday spreads, deepen order books for popular KRW pairs (notably XRP/KRW), and create KRW‑denominated arbitrage opportunities. Monitor order‑book depth and pair‑level volumes closely: rapid shifts in Upbit’s KRW liquidity can produce short‑term volatility and execution slippage for large orders, while sustained inflows could support tighter spreads and improved market resilience.

Ethereum (ETH) is trading around the critical $3,000 zone after recent consolidation and mixed flows across spot ETFs and derivatives. Early reports showed a rebound above $3,000 supported by renewed ETF inflows, whale accumulation (~14,618 ETH, ~$185M) and improved technicals, while later updates noted spot ETF outflows, large whale buys (single wallet ~$16.1M; reports of ~220,000 ETH bought in a separate week), and a concentrated $3.8B options expiry with max-pain near $3,000. Open interest rose, increasing leverage and liquidation risk in the $3,100–$3,200 area. Key levels: support $3,000, $2,960, $2,732; resistance $3,200, $3,270 (38.2% Fib), $3,520 (200-day MA) and higher targets toward prior highs if momentum continues. Short-term catalysts traders should monitor: spot ETF flows, whale accumulation and disclosures, options expiries and open interest, and daily closes above/below $3,000. Bull case: sustained daily closes above $3,000 with rising ETF inflows and continued whale accumulation could drive breakouts to $3,200→$3,270→$3,500–$3,520 and beyond toward prior highs. Bear case: failure to reclaim $3,000 or rejection near $3,200 may trigger corrections to $2,960, $2,850 or back to $2,732; a decisive breakdown below $2,732 points to a mid-term bearish trend. Longer-term bullish arguments cite large-scale accumulation and scheduled network upgrades (Glamsterdam and Hegota forks in 2026) as potential catalysts, but traders should weigh heightened volatility from options expiries and elevated leverage when sizing positions.

A supply‑chain attack on Trust Wallet’s Chrome browser extension (v2.68) was disclosed on 26 December 2025 after an official update injected malicious code that phished seed phrases and drained users’ wallets. Approximately $6.7–7.0 million across Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana was stolen from hundreds of addresses, with individual losses ranging from ~ $50,000 up to $3.5 million. On‑chain investigators (ZachXBT, Lookonchain and others) traced laundering routes through services such as ChangeNOW and FixedFloat and observed funds moving towards exchanges including KuCoin and HTX. Trust Wallet released v2.69 to remove the malicious code, advised users to uninstall v2.68, assume seed compromise and migrate assets to new wallets; mobile Trust Wallet and core private‑key infrastructure were reported unaffected. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed Binance (owner of Trust Wallet) will fully reimburse verified victims and said core systems remain secure. For traders: expect short‑term sell pressure and heightened caution around browser‑extension custody, possible exchange inflows as attackers cash out, and a spike in on‑chain monitoring activity. Actionable steps: monitor on‑chain movement and exchange deposit flows (KuCoin, HTX), avoid interacting with suspicious extensions, and advise affected counterparties to move funds to new wallets or hardware wallets. Primary keywords: Trust Wallet, Chrome extension hack, supply‑chain attack; secondary keywords: seed phrase theft, Binance reimbursement, wallet security.

USDC treasury addresses minted 90,000,000 USDC on the Ethereum network, as detected and reported on-chain by monitoring service Whale Alert. Earlier reports noted a 60,000,000 USDC mint; the later update indicates a larger 90M issuance. Reports provide no on-chain context about recipients, purpose, whether the mint corresponds to new fiat backing or internal treasury reallocation, nor any immediate redemptions or transfers. For traders: a sizable USDC mint increases stablecoin supply and on-chain liquidity, which can enable larger flows across DeFi protocols and exchanges. Without accompanying transfer or redemption data, the short-term price impact on USDC is unclear; market effects are more likely to show up as shifts in stablecoin availability and potential changes in lending/borrowing dynamics and stablecoin-based funding across DeFi. This update is informational and not investment advice. Primary keyword: USDC. Secondary keywords: USDC minting, Ethereum, stablecoin supply, Treasury.

Ethereum plans two protocol-level upgrades in 2026: Glamsterdam (mid‑2026) and Heze‑Bogota (late‑2026). Glamsterdam targets throughput and node costs by introducing parallel transaction processing, a major gas‑limit increase (projected ~60M → 200M), and a shift toward ZK-based validation for validators. Early tests show multi-fold throughput gains (developer estimates range from severalx to orders of magnitude), with potential to reduce L2 congestion and lower fees. Heze‑Bogota focuses on privacy, censorship resistance and decentralization by reducing exposed transaction data and limiting reliance on centralized infrastructure while maintaining auditability. The upgrades are sequenced: Glamsterdam first to boost speed and capacity, then Heze‑Bogota to add privacy protections. Market context: ETH traded under $3,000 (~$2.8–$2.9k) at reporting, with $3,000 as immediate resistance; a technical indicator cited suggested a bullish close to 2025 and a strong start to 2026. Traders should monitor developer calls, testnet deployments, gas‑limit changes and ZK validation milestones. Realized benefits and any material price upside depend on successful implementations, testnet results, broader crypto market conditions and potential short‑term bearish pressures.

Solstice and Cor Prime executed the first institutional stablecoin-for-stablecoin repurchase agreement (repo) on a public blockchain, settling via Membrane’s post-trade infrastructure. The deal used tokenised USD stablecoins — one as collateral to borrow another — creating a collateralised short-term loan structure familiar to TradFi but settled atomically on-chain through smart contracts and identity-verified institutional addresses. Key outcomes: it proved technical feasibility for institutional-grade, on-chain cash-management primitives; reduced settlement times and counterparty risk through collateralisation and atomic settlement; and demonstrated a regulated-friendly model for custody, KYC/AML and auditability. Traders should note implications for capital efficiency (stablecoin holders can obtain liquidity without off‑ramping to fiat), 24/7 liquidity management, and potential reductions in fiat banking frictions. The pilot could accelerate development of decentralized repo markets and broader TradFi–DeFi integration, potentially unlocking trapped liquidity and changing institutional treasury operations if adoption widens.

Aave’s governance dispute escalated after an ARFC proposal to transfer brand assets (domains, social accounts, naming rights) from Aave Labs to the DAO was decisively rejected (≈994,800 against vs ~63,000 for) with a large abstention (~41%). The conflict followed community claims that Aave Labs rerouted front‑end swap fee flows when switching aggregators (ParaSwap → CowSwap), potentially diverting substantial revenue away from the DAO — estimates suggested up to ~$200k weekly. Founder Stani Kulechov defended Aave Labs, noting the DAO generated roughly $140M this year and saying his $10–15M AAVE spot buy was not used to influence votes. Market reaction was immediate: a major holder executed a programmed sell of ~230,000 AAVE (≈$38M notional), crystallizing heavy selling pressure after buying earlier at higher prices. AAVE price fell roughly 20% during the week (from high $180s to mid $140s), with perp funding turning negative and volatility spiking. Aave Labs has initiated an ARFC snapshot to resolve brand-control issues while pledging clearer communications on value delivery to the DAO. For traders: expect elevated volatility and downside risk in the short term — key support sits around $140–$142; a decisive break lower would likely accelerate exits, while governance clarity, a large buyer, or institutional fixes would be needed to restore confidence and remove the governance discount.

Trust Wallet confirmed a security incident in its Chrome browser extension version 2.68 after on-chain investigator ZachXBT reported multiple user wallets drained on Dec 25. The attacker injected malicious code in an extension update, draining approximately $6–7 million in user funds. Cybersecurity firm PeckShield estimated over $6M stolen, with roughly $2.8M still in hacker-controlled addresses and more than $4M moved to centralized platforms including KuCoin, HTX, ChangeNOW and FixedFloat. Binance co‑founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who holds a majority stake in Trust Wallet, said the company will cover losses for affected users. Trust Wallet advised web-extension users to disable the extension immediately, enable Chrome Developer mode to inspect, and upgrade to version 2.69 — mobile wallet users and other extension versions are not affected. Independent investigators are collecting theft addresses to trace on-chain flows; affected users should contact Trust Wallet support. Trader actions: check your Trust Wallet extension version, disable and update if on 2.68, move high-value assets to cold wallets, avoid interacting with suspicious extension prompts, and monitor on-chain flows and exchange deposits tied to the exploit.

Lugano has expanded its Plan ₿ program so residents and merchants can pay and accept municipal invoices and everyday purchases using Bitcoin (on‑chain or Lightning) and USDT. Payments route over Lightning or are processed by Bitcoin Suisse and are immediately converted to Swiss francs, with an embedded ~1% FX/processing fee; the city does not hold crypto on its balance sheet. The MyLugano app offers up to 10% LVGA token cashback at participating merchants; LVGA can be spent on municipal services, creating a city‑backed circular payments loop. Over 350 merchants accept Lightning payments and the Plan ₿ Forum attracted more than 4,000 attendees in October 2025, indicating growing real‑world usage. For traders, the rollout increases localized, persistent utility demand for BTC (more hot‑wallet receipts and Lightning onboarding) while creating steady sell‑side conversion pressure as receipts are flipped to CHF. Near‑term price impact is likely limited — liquidity, ETF flows and funding rates remain dominant drivers — but the initiative strengthens structural demand and broadens use‑case narratives that can support long‑term price floors for BTC.

Crouton Digital, an institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure provider based in Riga, raised $1 million in strategic funding to expand validator operations, public and private RPC endpoints, archive nodes, Node-as-a-Service (NaaS) and institutional staking products across 45+ networks. The firm is shifting from a validator-focused operator to a full-spectrum Web3 infrastructure provider, emphasizing bare-metal, multi-region deployments, internal telemetry, dashboards and high-availability architecture to support low-latency, high-throughput, mission-critical workloads during congestion, upgrades and peak usage. Crouton participates in early validator alignment and support programs for next-generation and existing protocols including Monad, Starknet, Somnia Network, Story Protocol, IOTA and Walrus, aiding incentivized testnets, mainnet launches and governance activation. The company holds a verified AAA (VSP) reliability rating from Staking Rewards and has begun SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001 certification processes to meet institutional compliance expectations. Funding will be used to scale global multi-region validator operations, roll out RPC and archive node services, grow institutional staking offerings (delegation, white-label validators, reporting) and enhance observability and automated reliability tooling for protocols, funds, custodians and enterprise clients. Key SEO keywords: Crouton Digital, RPC nodes, Node-as-a-Service, institutional staking, validator operations.

Deribit processed a record $28+ billion notional options expiry on Dec 26, 2025, combining monthly, quarterly and annual settlements and removing more than half of the platform’s open interest (OI). Pre‑expiry platform OI was about $42 billion. Key figures: ~267,000 Bitcoin options expired (BTC notional ≈ $23.6B) with a put‑to‑call ratio of 0.35 and BTC maximum‑pain near $95,000; ~1.28M Ethereum options expired (ETH notional ≈ $3.71B) with ETH maximum‑pain at $3,100. The settlement concentrated post‑expiry OI into March contracts (roughly 30% of OI), shifting directional risk forward. Strike clustering moved BTC interest toward downside strikes (most concentrated at $75,000; large pockets at $80k–$85k) while call interest grows above $90,000. The expiry occurred amid low year‑end liquidity, elevated short‑term volatility and a crypto Fear & Greed Index in the mid‑20s, prompting institutional hedging and repositioning that likely amplified intraday price moves. For traders: watch clustered BTC put strikes at $75k–$85k for downside hedging flows, liquidity and liquidation risk around the $90k resistance band, and March expiries for near‑term directional gamma and order‑book squeezes. Large notional and low put‑to‑call ratio point to significant sensitivity to future expiries and heightened short‑term volatility; manage size, monitor order‑book depth and expiry rolls for trading and risk decisions.

XRP is trading around $1.85, down ~15% in December, but analysts attribute the weakness to derivatives-driven pressure ahead of a large global options expiry included in a $7.1 trillion event. Market analyst Zach Rector warns that leveraged long liquidations tied to the expiry could push XRP briefly to $1.60–$1.70 as a short-term washout to clear leverage. Rector and other observers note ongoing structural demand: five U.S. spot XRP ETFs (Canary Capital, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, 21Shares) launched in mid-November and have recorded roughly $1.14B net inflows with AUM near $1.25B, absorbing selling pressure while BTC/ETH ETFs saw outflows. Ripple executives highlight XRP’s utility for liquidity and cross-border settlement, and institutional interest — plus potential adoption catalysts such as Japanese bank integrations (e.g., SBI) and FX volatility — could support medium-term revaluation. Social metrics show unusually negative retail chatter, historically a contrarian signal during institutional accumulation. Key signals for traders: (1) watch the global options expiry as a likely short-term volatility catalyst and possible stop-run that could create a buying opportunity; (2) monitor continued ETF inflows as a structural demand indicator; (3) expect potential short-lived shakeouts to $1.60–$1.70 before a medium-term repricing toward analyst targets of $3–$5 by 2026 if institutional flows and adoption persist.

Bitcoin (BTC) tested resistance near $90,000 as markets reopened after the holidays, trading up over 2% in Asian hours. Traders highlighted about $24 billion of bitcoin options set to expire around the Wall Street open — an event seen as a potential reset that could remove hedging pressure and allow more "organic" price discovery. Option-driven flows and short-term volatility contributed to more than $200 million in liquidations during the latest move. BTC is attempting to break a two-month downtrend that began in October; analysts say a confirmed daily close above current resistance could open a path to $95,000 and the $100,000 area near the 50-day moving averages (50-day SMA ≈ $91,458; 50-day EMA ≈ $92,651). On-chain commentators and traders expect improved market conditions in January as asset managers rebalance, which could support further upside. At the same time, precious metals extended rallies — gold and silver hit record highs in Asian trading, and silver briefly exceeded bitcoin by market capitalisation on some metrics. Key trading cues for crypto traders: monitor BTC daily close and acceptance above $95K, watch options open interest and expiry flows for reduced hedging pressure, and track 50-day moving averages as resistance near $91–93K and around $100K. This summary does not constitute investment advice.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is set to finish December 2025 in negative territory after losing roughly 14–14.5% so far this month. SHIB opened December near $0.000008385 and trades around $0.00000720–$0.00000717, requiring about a 16–17% rally to close the month positive near $0.0000084. December has historically been weak for SHIB (notable moves: −29.5% in Dec 2021, −13.5% in Dec 2022, +24.6% in Dec 2023, −21% in Dec 2024). Trading volumes remain muted for dollar value — under $100m — with one report showing a 13% 24‑hour uptick while another noted a 10% drop, reflecting light and inconsistent holiday liquidity. Market drivers cited include shortened trading hours, reduced retail participation, and defensive positioning around year‑end, which can amplify downside on thin volumes. Analysts flag potential upside from a Santa Claus Rally (last five trading days of the year plus first two of the new year) that could push SHIB toward near resistances at about $0.00000765, $0.00000843 and $0.00001125; failure to attract end‑of‑year flows would likely leave support near the $0.000007 range. Traders should watch end‑of‑year flows, volume contraction, and short‑term momentum for signals on whether SHIB avoids closing December in the red. This information is for market awareness and not financial advice.

Recent five-year data analysis shows Bitcoin (BTC) has limited trading activity and weak structural support in the $70,000–$80,000 range. Investing.com’s session-counting of CME futures open prices (weekstarts, weekends excluded) reports BTC logged just 28 trading days between $70k–$79,999 and 49 days between $80k–$89,999 — far fewer than the nearly 200 days seen in lower bands such as $30k–$49,999. CME futures data indicate stronger price memory and consolidation around $30k–$50k and $50k–$70k, while the $70k–$80k band remains one of the least engaged. Glassnode’s UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) corroborates sparse supply clustering in the $70k–$80k zone, suggesting few holders realize cost-basis there. Together, these on-chain and futures measures imply the $70k–$80k level lacks built-in demand and could be vulnerable to sharper moves if BTC retests it. For traders: low session-counts and weak URPD clustering signal higher short-term volatility and limited liquidity in that band; a sustainable re-test would likely require renewed on-chain accumulation or concentrated trading activity to build support. Keywords: Bitcoin, BTC, price support, CME futures, Glassnode URPD, UTXO, consolidation, volatility.

Onchain analytics provider OnchainLenz reported that a wallet labelled to QCP Capital moved 400 BTC (≈ $35.7M) and 200 ETH (≈ $597K) — roughly $36.3 million — into Binance. Large deposits to a major centralized exchange often increase sell-side liquidity and can presage short-term selling pressure, though such flows can also reflect custodial transfers, collateral posting, OTC settlement or portfolio rebalancing. Traders should treat this as a data point: monitor follow-up on-chain activity (withdrawals back to cold storage or onward transfers), Binance order-book and funding-rate changes, and broader macro and technical signals before taking positions. The transfer underscores institutional activity and tests market depth for BTC and ETH; if Binance absorbs the inflow without major slippage, it indicates demand resilience, whereas aggressive execution into the order book could produce short-term downside.

A major crypto derivatives expiry is unfolding: roughly 300,000 BTC in options (about $23.7B notional) are set to expire today, and combined with Ethereum options total BTC/ETH options exposure reaches approximately $28.5B. Large expiries concentrate derivatives positioning and typically force dealer rebalancing, delta hedging and exercise/assignment decisions that can amplify short-term price moves for BTC and ETH. Traders should monitor open interest concentrations, strike distributions, option skews and spot liquidity to anticipate potential pinning, short squeezes or volatility spikes around settlement. The event does not imply a fixed directional bias; outcomes depend on prevailing positioning and liquidity. However, market-maker adjustments and heavy hedging flows often create transient liquidity stress and larger intraday swings—factors important for leverage, stop placement and short-term strategies. This expiry is viewed as a notable liquidity milestone for the derivatives market and may inform near-term risk sentiment across spot, futures and perpetual markets.

The pieces argue that narratives (political events, regulation, institutional interest) spark volatility, but measurable capital flows and liquidity determine whether Bitcoin trends persist. After the 2024 U.S. election BTC rallied ~56% alongside a spike in futures open interest, yet weak spot demand prevented a durable uptrend. Spot BTC ETFs were a primary, quantifiable catalyst — roughly $35bn net inflows in 2024 and $22bn in 2025 — with price moves closely tracking ETF flow pace; momentum faded when inflows slowed or turned negative. Stablecoin inflows to exchanges, used as a proxy for deployable buying power, fell about 50% from recent highs, reducing market capacity to sustain narrative-driven rallies. On-chain metrics (realized profit-taking by long-term holders >$1bn/day on 7-day avg in July) show significant selling pressure, while higher real yields and shifts toward defensive assets (BTC/gold ratio decline) increase Bitcoin’s opportunity cost. Conclusion for traders: watch spot ETF flows, exchange stablecoin balances, futures open interest and realized selling — narratives can trigger moves, but sustainable rallies require persistent spot-led demand and ample liquidity. No investment advice.

Prediction markets are moving toward the crypto mainstream as major exchanges and institutions increase investment and operational involvement. Coinbase is acquiring on‑chain prediction startup The Clearing Company (deal expected to close in January), reinforcing its push into regulated prediction markets, tokenized assets and equities. Crypto.com is hiring quantitative traders to staff an internal market‑making desk that will buy and sell prediction contracts alongside external traders; the move aims to boost liquidity but raises questions about market structure, fairness and potential conflicts despite the firm’s claim that internal traders follow the same rules as outside participants. Bloomberg reports that JPMorgan is exploring crypto trading services for institutional clients, signalling deeper traditional‑finance integration and potential new liquidity sources. Separately, DWF Labs completed a 25 kg physical gold settlement as part of diversifying into real‑world commodities and hedging exposure. For traders: expect greater liquidity and product diversity in prediction markets and potential shifts in pricing as centralized market‑making ramps up. Monitor company disclosures on internal market‑making rules, Coinbase’s integration plans and any JPMorgan product announcements — plus regulatory and tax developments — which could affect market fairness, flows and volatility.

Trust Wallet’s browser extension (v2.68) was compromised after a malicious update was published to the Chrome Web Store, allowing attackers to drain users’ crypto. Security firm PeckShield revised estimated losses from $2.8M to roughly $6–7M. The exploit affected BTC, Ethereum-compatible chains and Solana; about $2.8M remains in attacker-controlled addresses while most stolen funds were moved toward centralized exchanges (notably ChangeNOW, KuCoin and FixedFloat). Trust Wallet issued a patched extension (v2.69) and warned desktop users not to open the extension to avoid triggering the exploit. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said funds are "SAFU" and Binance will use its treasury to reimburse victims. Investigations are focusing on how a malicious extension update passed publishing controls — a likely release-pipeline or insider compromise. Trader actions: update or remove the Trust Wallet browser extension immediately; avoid interacting with suspected attacker addresses; monitor inflows to centralized exchanges for potential cash-outs. Binance’s reimbursement plan may reduce immediate sell pressure, but ongoing forensic/legal actions and funds routing to exchanges create short-term volatility risk. Keywords: Trust Wallet, browser extension hack, Binance, wallet security, reimbursement.

Decentraland (MANA) is assessed for price prospects from 2026 through 2030, with analysts examining whether the token can reach $1. Both articles reaffirm MANA’s utility as an Ethereum-based metaverse token used for LAND NFTs, governance and transactions, and update forecasts across conservative, moderate and optimistic scenarios. Short-term (2026) ranges sit roughly between $0.45–$0.85 assuming market recovery, platform growth and lower Ethereum fees. For 2027–2028, conservative projections are $0.55–$1.20 with optimistic scenarios that may breach $1 during strong bull cycles driven by VR/AR adoption, interoperability, and corporate partnerships. Long-term (2030) scenarios diverge: conservative $0.70–$1.20; moderate $1.50–$3.00; optimistic $3.50–$7.00+, contingent on sustained metaverse adoption, platform scalability (layer-2), improved tokenomics and major brand integrations. Key bullish drivers include rising daily active users, LAND sales, developer activity, technological upgrades (graphics, mobile access, layer-2 scaling) and interoperability. Primary risks are competition (e.g., The Sandbox), technological obsolescence, regulatory uncertainty, market saturation and macroeconomic headwinds. Traders are advised to treat MANA as speculative: monitor on-chain metrics (user activity, LAND transactions), platform KPIs, and partnership/news flow; consider dollar-cost averaging for long-term accumulation and active trading around catalysts. Conclusion: $1 is plausible within 2027–2030 under favorable execution and a broader crypto bull market, but significant execution and adoption risks mean the outcome remains uncertain.

This consolidated report reviews The Graph (GRT) as a core Web3 indexing protocol and updates price outlooks for 2026–2030. Key fundamentals: GRT is used for query fees, indexing rewards and delegation across multiple chains (Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum and others). Supply metrics: total supply 10 billion GRT, circulating ≈9.5 billion; ATH $2.88 (Feb 2021). Drivers of demand include dApp adoption, rising query volume and active subgraphs, cross-chain expansion, developer activity and potential institutional interest in Web3 infrastructure. Risks include technical scaling and execution, competition from alternative indexing solutions, regulatory uncertainty and macro crypto cycles. Price scenarios: near-term (2026) conservative $0.85–$1.25, optimistic $1.50–$2.00; 2027 ranges $1.20–$2.50 with possible breakout to $3.50 in a strong adoption case; 2028–2029 conservative $2.00–$4.00, optimistic $5.00–$7.00; 2030 wide band $3.00–$15.00 with most-likely $6.00–$9.00 if adoption continues. Trading guidance for crypto traders: use dollar-cost averaging, monitor network KPIs (query volume, active subgraphs, indexer/operator participation), diversify across Web3 infrastructure tokens, set realistic profit targets and stop-losses, and track protocol upgrades and on-chain utilisation metrics. Conclusion: GRT’s fundamentals are supportive but price remains highly sensitive to adoption rates, execution and broader market conditions; traders should manage risk and perform independent research. Primary keywords included: The Graph, GRT, GRT price prediction, Web3 indexing. Secondary keywords: decentralized indexing, subgraphs, query volume, tokenomics, protocol upgrades.

Layer‑1 token prices posted sharp declines across 2025 even as on‑chain fundamentals showed resilience. Major year‑over‑year losses included TON (-73.8%), AVAX (-67.9%), SUI (-67.3%), SOL (-35.9%) and ETH (~-15.3%); BNB (+18.2%) and TRX (+9.8%) were among the few gainers. Token Terminal data highlighted divergent economic metrics: Tron led annual network revenue (~$3.5B), well ahead of Ethereum (~$305.3M) and Solana (~$206.8M). Fee generation was highest on Solana (~$699.9M), followed by Ethereum (~$549.3M) and BNB Chain (~$260.3M). Monthly active addresses remained elevated—BNB Chain (~59.8M), Solana (~39.8M), NEAR (~38.7M), Sei (~10.6M), Bitcoin (~10.3M) and Ethereum (~9.3M)—indicating sustained user activity despite price corrections. The reporting frames 2025 losses as market repricing and fading speculative premiums after October highs rather than structural failure: capital and activity are concentrating on economically productive chains. For traders, the key takeaway is that on‑chain metrics (revenue, fees, active addresses) can diverge from token prices and serve as indicators of relative value and resilience during risk‑off periods. Monitor Token Terminal and similar on‑chain dashboards to spot networks with real usage that may act as relative refuges or outperformers as markets transition into 2026.

Analyst Ben Cowen says Ethereum (ETH) is unlikely to make a new all-time high in 2026 unless Bitcoin (BTC) exits any bear market — ETH remains tightly correlated with BTC cycles. Cowen warns a rapid move toward ETH’s prior peak of $4,878 could be a bull trap that reverses sharply toward the $2,000 support area, exposing late buyers to losses. He also noted Ethereum is the only altcoin he considers capable of reclaiming its ATH eventually, while many smaller altcoins have “exhausted their momentum.” Other market voices cited broader downside risk for BTC and ETH: trader Peter Brandt projected BTC could fall to $60,000 by Q3 2026, and Fundstrat flagged a potential 2026 drawdown that could push ETH to $1,800–$2,000. Actionable takeaways for traders: monitor Bitcoin’s market phase closely; treat any swift ETH approach to $4,878 as a potential sell, hedge, or high-risk short opportunity; consider accumulating near $2,000 if you trust ETH’s fundamentals and dollar-cost averaging; avoid chasing smaller altcoins that lack momentum. Keywords: Ethereum, ETH, Bitcoin, BTC, all-time high, bull trap, $4,878, $2,000, altcoins.

Gold and silver reached fresh all-time highs in 2025 as a softer dollar, rising expectations for 2026 Fed rate cuts, increased geopolitical risk, and heavy central bank and retail buying drove safe-haven flows. Silver’s rally was amplified by extraordinary industrial demand from photovoltaics and electronics and tight supply, producing a macro-plus-industrial bid. Platinum and palladium also advanced. By contrast, Bitcoin traded rangebound and underperformed: year-to-date down modestly and roughly 30% below its October peak as investors rotated into lower‑risk assets. Crypto behaved like a high‑beta risk asset, correlating with equities and relying on speculative demand and ETF flows rather than industrial or physical demand. Analysts say Bitcoin needs clearer regulation, renewed institutional allocation, or macro scenarios that highlight on‑chain censorship resistance and programmability to regain momentum. For traders, monitor crypto ETF flows and regulatory signals, Fed guidance and dollar strength, and industrial demand indicators for silver; these will drive relative performance between hard assets and Bitcoin in the short term. If rate cuts and liquidity improvement materialize and risk appetite returns, crypto could follow; until then capital may favor precious metals.

A rapid BTC short squeeze over 24 hours forced roughly $116 million in crypto futures liquidations, with Bitcoin at the epicenter. BTC accounted for about $75.7M of the total, of which 75.95% were short positions, confirming a dominant short-squeeze driver that forced short-covering and amplified intraday volatility. Ethereum saw roughly $29.7M liquidated, with 52.48% longs—indicating mixed or corrective moves rather than a pure short squeeze for ETH. Solana recorded about $10.8M liquidations, 82.5% from longs, suggesting disappointed bullish bets and forced long exits. Earlier reports cited a slightly different distribution ($116M vs $112M total and different BTC/ETH splits), but both accounts agree the cascade removed high-leverage positions and heightened short-term volatility. Traders should note the event highlights leverage risk, low liquidity vulnerability, and funding-rate dynamics; recommended risk management includes sensible leverage, disciplined stop-losses (accounting for slippage), position diversification, and monitoring aggregate liquidation and funding-rate metrics across exchanges. Key keywords: BTC short squeeze, futures liquidations, crypto volatility, leverage risk.