Bitcoin traded at $87,115 on December 26, down 0.48% over 24 hours, while Ethereum fell 1.68% to $2,897 and Solana slipped below $120, HTX data show. Total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $3.021 trillion, down 0.6% in 24 hours, with about 300,000 BTC options contracts worth roughly $23.7 billion set to expire, bringing combined BTC and ETH options expiries to $28.5 billion, approximately twice the scale of the same period last year. Among altcoins, BIFI rose 78% to $238.4, ZBT gained 55.2% to $0.1557, and 0G climbed 29.3% to $1.034, while METIS fell 12.8% to $5.79, BANANA declined 12.05% to $7.14, and DOLO dropped 10.08% to $0.03811 over 24 hours.

BTSE Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mei said Bitcoin could retreat to $70,000 and Ethereum to $2,400 if the U.S. Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged in the first quarter of 2026, Cointelegraph reported on December 25. He noted the Fed ended quantitative tightening on December 1 and launched a "Reserve Management Purchases" program, buying about $40 billion in short-term Treasuries each month, which some analysts describe as a form of "stealth QE" that could support risk assets if it continues into Q1 2026. Under that liquidity scenario, Mei projected Bitcoin could rise to $92,000–$98,000, while Ethereum might reach $3,600, buoyed by L2 scaling improvements and stronger DeFi appeal. He added that more than $50 billion in ETF inflows and ongoing institutional accumulation would further bolster the market.