Ethereum Foundation co-director Tomasz Stańczak said in a recent interview that 2026 priorities include faster finality and institutional privacy, backed by a 50‑person privacy cluster and a six‑month roadmap launched in 2025. The push builds on tools like Kohaku and protocols such as Railgun, with Vitalik Buterin urging further progress toward private, censorship‑resistant DeFi.

Lighter, a privacy-focused perpetual DEX on Ethereum, saw about $250 million withdrawn from the platform a day after its LIT token generation event, with net outflows near $101 million. Perpetual trading volumes on Lighter dropped from $66 billion to $31 billion between late November and late December, while LIT's price slid 32% from $3.30 to $2.20 before rebounding to $2.60 amid mixed analyst views and slightly bearish derivatives positioning.

In 2025, Pumpfun’s PUMP token on Solana fell 78%, while a 6‑month whale holder shifted 750 million PUMP worth $1.47 million, locking in a 51% loss. Despite weekly buybacks consuming all protocol revenue and a single 1.46 billion PUMP buyback, speculative interest plunged 85% as Open Interest slid from $1 billion to $142 million, leaving the 16% price recovery and MACD golden cross dependent on reclaiming the 50-day Moving Average.

Bitcoin ended 2025 with a 6.2% annual loss, lagging behind gold and the S&P 500, while on-chain and ETF data pointed to weakening demand and mixed sentiment. Tether strategic advisor and former White House digital assets executive Bo Hines argued that betting against Bitcoin in 2026 is unwise, as some analysts see a bottoming phase and potential bullish catalysts ahead.

U.S. spot XRP ETFs launched in mid-November and saw no outflow days in 2025, amassing $1.16 billion in netflows and $1.27 billion in net assets. Standard Chartered's April note set a $8 target, yet on-chain estimates point to about $18.6 billion in new capital needed as whales turned net sellers, leaving price near $2.

Bitwise has filed with the SEC for 11 new U.S. spot crypto ETFs focused on altcoins, with a 60% direct asset allocation and 40% in derivatives and other ETPs. Despite strong 2025 inflows into products tied to assets like XRP and SOL, prices have mostly stayed subdued, and analysts warn the ETF segment may be getting crowded.

In Q4 2025, privacy coins led by Zcash emerged as top performers, with ZEC up over 600%. ZEC spiked more than 1000% in October to $751, then fell to $320 by early December; at press time it traded near $539. A pseudonymous analyst argues a shrinking float could support a move toward $1,000.

Bitcoin's long-term holder and U.S. spot ETF selling pressure eased in December after heavy outflows since July, improving demand but leaving price action unstable below $90K. Options positioning shows significant hedging around $80K–$83K and even $75K, while upside bets cluster near $88K and $94K, suggesting a muted path under $95K into early 2026 as key January events add volatility.

Strategy's MSTR fell 2.15% to a 2025 low of $155.32 on 29 December, extending a 71% decline from its 2024 peak of $543 and returning to the $100–$180 range. Bearish factors include potential MSCI index removal and ongoing stock-funded Bitcoin purchases, while recent price targets of $465–$485 from analysts suggest lingering optimism.