According to CoinGlass figures cited by Ted Pillows, Ethereum logged losses in nine of twelve months in 2025, its most persistent slump since 2018. As of early January 2026, ETH trades near $3,020, up 1.6% on the day and down 11.2% year over year, with technicians eyeing $3,000 and the 200-day average.

Bitcoin entered 2026 trading near $88,000, with analysts debating whether it will break out or remain locked in a broad range. Research from XWIN Research Japan outlines a base case in which BTC fluctuates mainly between $80,000 and $140,000, while technical signals point to a tightening triangle pattern that could trigger moves of about 15% once resolved. Despite modest recent price changes and macro uncertainty, corporate holders now collectively own more than 1 million BTC, suggesting underlying support even as upside may be capped.

On December 29, 2025, the company behind ticker MSTR disclosed buying 1,229 BTC at an average of $88,568. In the opening hours of 2026, Santiment flagged repeat whale purchases of 10 SOL or more, while CoinShares reported $7.5 million weekly and over $1.3 billion cumulative inflows into U.S.-listed Solana products since mid-October. Despite continued BTC accumulation, Santiment noted MSTR's stock fell nearly 50% in 2025, versus a 6% drop for Bitcoin.

On December 31, Lookonchain reported that former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes sold 1,871 ETH over the past two weeks and redeployed more than $6 million into Pendle, Lido, Ethena, and Ether.fi. Follow-up data showed additional buys of 4.86 million ENA (about $986,000) and 697,851 ETHFI (nearly $485,000), aligning with his stated rotation from ETH into DeFi.

On December 30, Santiment reported crypto trading activity sliding to 2025 lows, with Bitcoin and major altcoins posting their quietest two-week stretch since December 2024. Weekly volumes for ETH and SOL are down more than 50% versus last year's holidays. Bitcoin trades near $88,000, with one trader eyeing $90,600 resistance and $70,000–$65,000 support.

On December 29, long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff described a 14% plunge in silver prices as a buying opportunity while citing Bitcoin’s roughly 30% decline from its peak as proof it is a scam. Commentators and analysts challenged the inconsistency, arguing that both moves were driven by similar market forces and accusing Schiff of using flawed math and bias in his broader precious metals versus crypto narrative.

On December 29, Bull Theory said on X that Bitcoin’s late-2025 consolidation resembles mid-2020, when gold and silver rallied first and capital rotated into crypto later. With BTC near $87,000 after an over 30% slide from an October peak above $126,000 and gold around $4,550, the analyst sees a potential multi-fold move into 2026.

In the final network recalibration of 2025, Bitcoin's mining difficulty was set at 148.2 trillion, up from 109.8 trillion on January 1, 2025. This roughly 35% yearly increase underscores rising competition among miners and sustained investment in more efficient hardware, even as Bitcoin's price has fluctuated.

Crypto venture investment surged in 2025, peaking at about $10 billion in Q2 and staying near $8 billion in Q3 and Q4. Yet CryptoRank data shows many newly listed tokens now trade far below private-round valuations, with drops from $1 billion to around $285 million and from $400 million to $15–16 million.