With the launch of spot XRP ETFs, the XRP network is experiencing sharp jumps in on-chain payment volumes, including single-day transfers above 1 billion XRP and temporary surges of up to 1,000%. Historically, the price has lagged these bursts in activity before moving higher, and current market structure suggests that thin liquidity and rising transactional demand could enable rapid, outsized moves, even as any long-term rally remains uncertain.

On 21 December 2025, a discussion draft from Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford outlined proposed changes to how everyday crypto use is taxed in the United States. The plan would exempt up to $200 in qualifying stablecoin payments from capital gains calculations and allow certain staking and mining rewards to be deferred for tax purposes for as long as five years. The draft emphasizes routine payments and reward income rather than speculative trading, while maintaining anti-abuse rules and Treasury oversight.

On 19 December 2025, Metaplanet Inc., a Japanese Bitcoin treasury-focused company, began trading its new sponsored ADRs on the US OTC market under the ticker MPJPY. The Level I program, with Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as depositary and a 1:1 ADS-to-share structure, replaces prior unsponsored trading under MTPLF without changing total shares. The company says this setup aims to cut transaction costs, standardise US dollar settlement and broaden access for US investors seeking Bitcoin treasury exposure.

According to the article, Shiba Inu remains in a pronounced downtrend as the token trades below major moving averages and struggles to sustain any recovery. Around 81.5 trillion SHIB reportedly sit on exchanges, creating heavy potential sell pressure and limiting the impact of rallies despite a modest 500 billion SHIB reduction in reserves over the last year. The analysis suggests that, unless exchange balances fall sharply or demand strengthens, SHIB's price may continue to face early-ending rebounds and risk another downside move.

Pudgy Penguins' PENGU has traded in a descending channel since rejecting the $0.03 area, slipping to around $0.0092 and staying below multiple EMA levels. A whale address accumulated roughly 273 million PENGU worth about $2.55 million after the token dropped under $0.01, yet overall sell volume and bearish momentum indicators still signal downside risk around the $0.01 and $0.0104 levels.

Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox recently said he is bearish on Bitcoin because he believes its community culture has become closed to innovation and hostile to developers. He argued that even a strong technical design cannot survive if the surrounding culture rejects change, contrasting this with his goal of keeping Zcash highly open to evolution. His comments followed a dispute between Aleo CEO Alex Pruden and Bitcoin maximalist "Coinjoined Chris" over post-quantum security tools for Bitcoin.

The Ethereum Foundation has introduced a security-first roadmap for zkEVMs, defining three milestones through the end of 2026 that culminate in 128-bit provable security and strict proof size limits. Alongside these technical targets, Ethereum is promoting institutional adoption with an "Ethereum for Institutions" portal and highlighting its leadership in tokenized real-world assets and privacy technologies. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also warned that growing protocol complexity threatens trustlessness, prompting plans to simplify user interactions through smart contract wallets.

US Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford have released a discussion draft of the Digital Asset PARITY Act that would create a limited tax safe harbor for certain stablecoin payments. The bill would exempt regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin transactions under $200 from capital gains tax and offer an optional five-year deferral on staking and mining rewards. It also seeks to extend several existing securities tax rules to crypto assets and is slated to apply the stablecoin exemption to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.