Bitcoin fell from above $89,000 to nearly $86,000 within one hour at the start of December, while Ethereum declined more than 5% in the same period. Total crypto market capitalization dropped from approximately $1.82 trillion to below $1.72 trillion, reaching its lowest level in recent weeks.

Several altcoins recorded significant price movements this week. AAVE climbed 13.5% as whale wallets accumulated $59.93 million in tokens since October, data show. Kaspa jumped 47.4% after breaking key resistance levels, while Ethena gained 22.85% ahead of a December 2 token unlock valued at $26.87 million. Zcash fell 18.6% and Memecore declined 35%.

Grayscale has launched the first U.S. spot exchange-traded fund tracking Dogecoin, offering investors direct exposure to the memecoin through regulated channels. The product arrives as Dogecoin maintains a $22 billion market capitalization, positioning it as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency. The ETF holds actual DOGE tokens rather than futures contracts, delivering pricing that mirrors spot market rates.

Ethereum is trading near a critical support level at $2,750, with analysts warning of limited downside cushion if this zone fails. Whale wallets have accumulated millions in ETH, including a recent $59.17 million purchase, while spot ETFs recorded approximately $500 million in net outflows. Open interest in Ethereum futures remains stable at $15.46 billion, suggesting leveraged traders have not initiated mass closures.

Eighty-three percent of major financial institutions now provide digital asset services, with tokenization emerging as the most widespread offering across firms including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, and the London Stock Exchange. Tokenized real-world assets are projected to grow from $0.6 trillion in 2025 to nearly $19 trillion by 2033, data show. The technology places bonds, funds, real estate, and credit products on programmable infrastructure, reducing settlement times and eliminating intermediary layers.

Exchange-traded funds tracking alternative cryptocurrencies have launched on major platforms with varied investor reception. Solana leads with over $700 million in total net assets and daily inflows exceeding $60 million on peak days, data show. XRP recorded a $240 million single-day spike on November 14, while Litecoin and Hedera show divergent early trading patterns.

Bitcoin has declined 33% from its all-time high entering December, with active addresses, whale transactions, and liquidity reaching their lowest levels in months. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $11.5 billion in trading volume as investors repositioned amid the selloff. The cryptocurrency is exhibiting signs of structural weakness, according to Alphractal.

Vitalik Buterin proposed at Devconnect in Buenos Aires that Ethereum should pursue greater ossification of its core protocol. The network now secures hundreds of billions in assets, making protocol stability increasingly critical. Corporate treasuries have accumulated substantial ETH holdings, with entities like BitMine Immersion Technologies holding 1,713,899 ETH valued above $5.27 billion.

Ethereum's validator exit queue has accumulated nearly 2 million ETH awaiting withdrawal over the next 35 days, while exchange reserves have fallen to 15.9 million ETH, the lowest level in three years. The Fusaka upgrade is scheduled for December 3, targeting enhancements in Layer 2 scalability, transaction speed, and validator performance.