Santiment's Brian Quinlivan said in a YouTube video published Saturday that Ethereum's social sentiment has dropped to levels similar to those before its 2025 surge. He pointed to the Aug 23 move back to the 2021 peak of $4,878 after an April low of $1,472 and a near 70% four-month climb. Ether traded around $3,089, roughly 36% below its high, amid broader risk aversion.

XRP has maintained a crucial support band between $1.60 and $1.84 through most of 2025 while exchange balances have fallen to levels last seen in August 2018. Glassnode data shows XRP reserves on exchanges slid from 3.76 billion to about 1.6 billion tokens between October 8 and this week, amid large outflows often linked to institutional accumulation and reduced selling pressure. Analysts suggest holding the $1.78 zone could open the way for a potential move toward $3.79, although losing this level may keep the asset trading sideways.

On Christmas Day, a coordinated exploit against Trust Wallet's browser extension version 2.68 led to around $7 million in user losses, with the company urging an urgent upgrade to version 2.89. Security researchers said the backdoor was prepared from early December, while Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao pledged that affected users would be fully compensated. The incident has intensified debate over wallet security and potential insider involvement across the crypto industry.

In the month leading up to December 15, Bitcoin's network hashrate fell by 4%, a development VanEck analysts Matt Sigel and Patrick Bush characterize as a historically bullish contrarian signal for future price action. Since 2014, Bitcoin has recorded positive 90-day forward returns 65% of the time after a 30-day hashrate decline, compared with 54% when hashrate rose, and negative 90-day hashrate growth has preceded positive 180-day returns 77% of the time with an average gain of 72%. Bitcoin trades around $88,400, while mining profitability is shifting as electricity breakeven costs drop and roughly 1.3 gigawatts of capacity in China allegedly shut down, with some energy potentially redirected toward artificial intelligence demand.

Bitcoin demand growth slipped below trend from early October 2025, pointing to a potential bearish turn. This cycle saw three distinct demand waves, ETFs reduced holdings in Q4 2025, and price remains under the 365‑day moving average near $98,172. Derivatives funding rates fell to their lowest since December 2023, signaling weaker leveraged long appetite.

The FDIC released a 38-page proposal setting out how FDIC‑supervised banks could issue payment stablecoins through subsidiaries under the GENIUS Act. The plan outlines approval criteria spanning reserves, redemption, governance, and safety and soundness, and is open for public consultation before further rule-making. If approved, the FDIC would serve as the primary federal regulator for those subsidiary activities.

Ether fell to $2,621 on Nov. 21, down 45% from its October high of $4,758, and hovered near the realized price of wallets holding more than 100,000 ETH. It rebounded 23.5% to about $3,238 on Nov. 22, while analysts highlight historical patterns and technical setups that point to potential moves toward $5,000–$5,800.

Western Union unveiled a digital asset initiative targeting economies with severe inflation. CFO Matthew Cagwin presented the strategy at the UBS Global Technology and AI conference, detailing plans for a "stable card" and proprietary digital coin to protect remittance recipients in countries like Argentina, where inflation has exceeded 250%.

Japan's government and ruling coalition have endorsed a comprehensive overhaul of cryptocurrency taxation, proposing a uniform 20% rate on digital asset gains. The Financial Services Agency introduced the plan in November and intends to submit legislation to the Diet in early 2026. The reform would align crypto taxation with equities and investment trusts, which currently face the same 20% rate.