In 2026, investors are repricing scarcity across Bitcoin, gold and silver by emphasizing narratives, market access, liquidity and portability. Bitcoin's fixed issuance now meets ETFs and derivatives, while gold's trust and collateral role and silver's industrial pull create distinct signals. This reframing influences pricing, hedging behavior and how capital circulates among scarce assets.

As of Dec. 30, 2025, the Financial Times said the rial had lost more than 40% of its purchasing power since June, falling to roughly 1.4 million rials per US dollar. Amid banking failures and political fallout, public debate in Iran turned to Bitcoin as a potential exit option beyond domestic monetary controls. Yet volatility, legal risk and uneven access curb broad adoption.

Crypto‑treasury stocks can drop harder than the coins they hold. Since October 2025, Bitcoin fell about 30% while "Strategy" shares slid roughly 57%. Premiums over NAV can compress into discounts, balance‑sheet leverage and convertible debt magnify losses, new issuance becomes dilutive, and equity‑market microstructure intensifies volatility compared with 24/7 crypto markets.

Michael Saylor urged governments to create regulated digital banks backed by Bitcoin reserves and tokenized credit, a proposal he presented during a keynote at the Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi. He detailed an 80/20 split between tokenized credit and fiat, a 10% liquidity buffer, and a 5:1 overcollateralization ratio, while acknowledging volatility and regulatory demands.

Bitcoin mining operations in China have recovered to approximately 14% of the global hashrate by October 2025, positioning the country as the third-largest mining hub behind the United States and Kazakhstan. The resurgence follows a nationwide cryptocurrency mining ban implemented in September 2021, when Chinese miners controlled roughly 65% of global Bitcoin computing power in 2020. CryptoQuant estimates the actual share may range between 15% and 20% of global capacity.

Unauthorized access to cryptocurrency exchange accounts requires immediate action to prevent permanent asset loss. Security protocols include securing all access points, documenting transaction details, and reporting incidents to exchanges and authorities. Blockchain tracking tools can trace stolen funds before they enter mixing services.

India's Madras High Court ruled that XRP qualifies as property under Indian law, marking the first formal recognition of a digital asset with legal ownership rights by an Indian high court. The decision arose from a dispute involving 3,532.30 XRP (approximately $9,400) frozen on WazirX following the exchange's July 2024 hack that resulted in $235 million in stolen assets. The court prohibited the exchange from reallocating the holder's XRP and ordered a bank guarantee of approximately $11,500 until the matter is resolved.