Chainalysis told CryptoSlate that in 2025 stablecoins comprised 84% of the $154 billion in illicit crypto transaction volume, overtaking Bitcoin as the preferred asset for criminal use. The report also highlights DPRK-linked hacks totaling $2 billion and Russia’s ruble-backed A7A5 token moving $93.3 billion within its first year, while illicit activity remained under 1% of the crypto economy.

On Jan. 6, MSCI decided to keep Digital Asset Treasury Companies like Strategy in its global equity indices for the February 2026 review but froze key share-count metrics for these stocks. The move removes the risk of forced passive sell-offs yet severs the automatic buying mechanism that previously supported Strategy's large-scale Bitcoin-funded equity issuance model.

At the start of 2026, XRP has become the best performer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, rising 28% since the beginning of the year to $2.37, its highest level since November 2025. Spot XRP ETFs in the U.S. have attracted more than $1 billion in cumulative inflows since launching on Nov. 13, while exchange balances have fallen to multi‑year lows and on‑chain liquidity metrics and derivatives data point to strong institutional participation.

On Jan. 5, Bitcoin rose above $94,000, its highest in more than a month, and is up over 3% year‑to‑date. Large holders are accumulating while smaller wallets take profits, and derivatives metrics show reduced leverage; renewed ETF inflows and options positioning suggest improving institutional demand.

On New Year's Day, trader Vida reportedly earned over $1.5 million by trading around an abnormal $26 million bid wall on Binance for the small-cap token BROCCOLI714. Vida shifted from an arbitrage hedge to directional longs and later shorts as Binance's circuit breakers distorted spot-futures prices and the bid wall disappeared. The episode raised questions about the source of the orders and how the exchange's risk controls functioned under extreme conditions.

In 2025, Ethereum posted record network activity, yet ETH fell 10% year-to-date under $3000 and the ETH/BTC ratio dropped 6%. Layer-2 revenues totaled $129.17 million, with only around $10 million paid to the mainnet, leaving $119 million to operators; Base generated more than $75 million, nearly 60% of the sector. The Dencun upgrade cut fees and weakened burn-driven support for ETH.

In 2025, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) bought about 225,027 BTC, lifting its treasury to roughly 672,497 BTC. The firm ended the year with a $48.3 billion market cap against a $59.2 billion valuation for its Bitcoin holdings, while short interest reached 29.14 million shares on Dec. 15. Post-halving issuance was estimated at 164,000 coins.

CoinShares said XRP investment products drew about $70.2 million in the final week of December 2025, lifting monthly inflows above $424 million, while Bitcoin and Ethereum funds saw $25 million and $241 million in outflows. CryptoSlate data showed XRP near $1.87 and down 15% for the month as US-listed spot products, launched mid-October, amassed over $1 billion in net inflows, tightening tradable supply via custodial cold storage.

For the first time in six months, Ethereum's validator entry line exceeds exits. According to the Ethereum Validator Queue tracker, about 734,299 ETH await activation with a nearly two‑week delay, versus roughly 343,179 ETH in the exit queue with a six‑day wait, after BitMine submitted 342,560 ETH over the past 48 hours.