On December 18, 2025, PeckShield reported a crypto whale’s 1-of-1 multisignature wallet was compromised and about $27.3 million was stolen. Etherscan data showed the drainer moving 4,100 ETH in 100 ETH batches through Tornado Cash, and PeckShield said roughly $2 million in liquid assets remained under the attacker’s control.

Q1 2026 could usher in the next crypto bull run, thanks to Fed policy, interest rate cuts, liquidity, US Midterms, and the labor market.

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $457 million in net inflows on Wednesday, the largest daily total in more than a month. Fidelity's FBTC took in about $391 million and BlackRock's IBIT added roughly $111 million, lifting cumulative net inflows above $57 billion as institutions adjusted positioning amid changing US rate expectations.

India's competition regulator approved Coinbase's plan to take a minority stake in DCX Global, the parent of CoinDCX, on Wednesday. Coinbase resumed Indian user sign-ups last week after a two-year pause, and its latest funding disclosure was made in mid-October. CoinDCX previously reported a $44.2 million wallet-related breach in July with no customer funds affected.

On December 18, 2025, Bitcoin traded at $86,948.17 with a 57.6% dominance, according to Bitbo, after a 73‑day decline from its all‑time high pushed it into its most oversold state since 2023. Derivatives open interest sits near $27.4B, down from over $44B in early October, while repeated drops below $90,000 and swift sell‑offs suggest fragile sentiment.

On Dec. 17, veteran trader Peter Brandt shared a weekly XRP chart on X highlighting what he described as a potential double-top structure with a neckline around $2.00 and a measured move pointing toward roughly $0.40 if fully triggered. At the same time, another trader emphasized XRP’s weekly RSI near 33, a zone that has coincided with prior lows, while XRP was trading around $1.83 as the market weighed whether the breakdown below support will hold or reverse.

On Thursday, Ethereum fell below $2,850 amid a broader market pullback, while on-chain activity slid to a one-year low with active sending addresses near 170,000, according to CryptoQuant. Analyst Ali Martinez warned that a December close under $2,930 could precede drops toward $2,000 or even $1,100, and SoSoValue tracked nearly $225 million in spot ETF outflows Monday and $22.3 million on Wednesday.

On 18 Dec 2025, Itaú Asset Management, the investment arm of Brazil's largest private bank, outlined guidance for a 1% to 3% Bitcoin allocation in diversified client portfolios beginning in 2026. The firm frames Bitcoin as a separate risk bucket aimed at diversification, partial protection against Brazilian real depreciation, and exposure to potential long-term price appreciation.