XRP balances on exchanges fell to an eight-year low in late December, reviving debate over whether scarce supply foreshadows upside or just thinner liquidity. Binance's XRP reserves slid to roughly 2.6–2.7 billion in mid-December 2025, levels last seen in July 2024, with prior troughs often followed by months of choppy or lower prices.

On Dec. 24, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs posted about $175 million in net outflows, capping five consecutive negative sessions. Data from Farside Investors and CoinShares indicates the cohort still holds roughly $113.8 billion in assets, has accumulated nearly $56.9 billion in net inflows since Jan. 2024, and recent weekly and monthly tallies show sizable global inflows even amid rotations.

Sentiment gauges show extreme fear, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index recording fear or extreme fear for more than 30% of 2025. Since mid-November, other trackers have read 10–25 out of 100, while Bitcoin fell about 30% after an October all-time high near $126,000 and many large altcoins slid up to 90% from their highs.

On Dec. 18, David Sacks said Sens. Tim Scott and John Boozman confirmed a CLARITY Act markup for January 2026. The article notes that key DeFi sections and the definition of "security" remain bracketed in Senate drafts, and most rules would be written over 360 days to 18 months after enactment.

After a year-long push to cut zkEVM proving latency, block proofs on Ethereum fell from around 16 minutes to 16 seconds with a 45-fold cost reduction, and most mainnet blocks now verify in under 10 seconds. On Dec. 18, the Ethereum Foundation announced that real-time proving goals have been met and unveiled a 2026 roadmap that prioritizes 128-bit provable security, explicit proof-size caps, and formal verification of recursion architectures. The new milestones require all zkEVM teams to adopt EF’s soundcalc tool, reach at least 100-bit provable security by May 2026, and hit full 128-bit security with sub-300 kilobyte proofs by the end of 2026.

On Dec. 17, Bitcoin jumped $3,000 in an hour to reclaim $90,000, wiping out $120 million in shorts, before falling to $86,000 as $200 million in longs were liquidated, swinging market cap by $140 billion in two hours. Glassnode's Dec. 17 analysis attributes the turmoil to thin liquidity, overhead supply between $93,000 and $120,000, and clustered December options expiries that are keeping price confined in an $81,000–$93,000 band rather than to excessive futures leverage.

On Dec. 16, Michael Saylor argued that quantum advances will harden Bitcoin rather than break it. The piece outlines standardized post‑quantum signatures and warns that exposed outputs, including roughly 1.7 million BTC in early P2PK, could be prime targets. It also highlights migration costs, potential fee pressure, and the need for broad coordination across the network.

In early January, Vanguard’s policy reversal and Bank of America’s new crypto guidance open spot Bitcoin ETF access to tens of millions of retail and wealth-management clients. At the same time, a Dec. 16 FDIC proposed rule under the GENIUS Act starts a 12–18 month path toward bank-issued payment stablecoins that may reach public chains by late 2026. This alignment of new distribution channels and a long-dated stablecoin framework could shape Bitcoin flows far differently in the first quarter than at the end of 2025.

Bitcoin slid under $85,000 overnight, triggering close to $600 million in long liquidations across the crypto market as traders positioned for a potential interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan this week. The move erased more than $218 million in Bitcoin longs and over $213 million in Ethereum longs while major altcoins, including Solana, XRP, BNB, Cardano, and Dogecoin, also posted notable 24-hour losses.