On Thursday, January 8, nearly $150 million in leveraged crypto long positions were liquidated within a single hour as Bitcoin slid below $90,000. Data shows $88.23 million in longs were cleared around 7:00 a.m. (UTC) and another $57.02 million at 8:00 a.m. (UTC), contributing to $464.44 million in total liquidations over 24 hours that affected more than 137,000 traders. Bitcoin accounted for $66.53 million in wiped positions versus $33.78 million for Ethereum, while the overall crypto market value fell from $3.21 trillion to $3.09 trillion.

Bitcoin (BTC) entered 2025 on relatively solid footing, but according to the provided data it struggled through the first quarter, then surged to fresh all‑time highs above $126,000 in October before reversing sharply in Q4. With BTC trading at $92,640 on January 5, 2026, down 5.82% year-over-year from $98,000 on January 5, 2025, a hypothetical $1,000 investment at the start of 2025 would now be worth between roughly $945 and $975 depending on the exact entry date.

According to Finbold, Solana advanced above $132 with a bullish trendline near $135, its highest level since December 12. The MACD histogram turned positive at 1.87 and the 7-day RSI hit 74.7, while AI models projected an average $139.05 by January 31, implying a 2.9% upside.

On Thursday, January 1, 2026, Ripple executed its routine monthly escrow, releasing 1 billion XRP and placing 700 million back into long-term escrow. The remaining 300 million was allocated for liquidity and ecosystem needs. By Friday, January 2, XRP traded near $1.91 after a 2.74% daily gain, with circulating supply at 65.78 billion and 34.18 billion held in escrow.

In December 2025, Midnight (NIGHT) launched on Cardano and reached a $1 billion market cap in its first week, with 15% of supply set to enter circulation through March 2026 and a Q1 2026 "Kūkolu" phase planned. On December 31, 2025, Trump Media disclosed a shareholder token on Cronos with Crypto.com, one per DJT share, with more rollout details expected in 2026.

As 2025 winds down, four sub-$0.10 tokens are in focus for early 2026: Midnight (NIGHT), VeChain (VET), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE). At publication, prices were $0.076, $0.015, $0.000007, and $0.000003 respectively, alongside notes on Ethereum–Cardano interoperability progress, technical rebounds, and rising derivatives activity.

On Wednesday, December 24, BlackRock moved 2,292 Bitcoin worth about $200 million and 9,976 Ethereum valued around $30 million to Coinbase Prime before partially buying back 499 BTC and 1,511 ETH. The asset manager currently holds roughly $77.6 billion in crypto, mostly in Bitcoin and Ethereum, while both coins trade below key resistance levels during a broader market downturn.

Around $23.6 billion in Bitcoin options are scheduled to expire on Friday, December 26, representing the largest BTC options expiry to date. CoinGlass data as of December 23 shows heavy call positioning between $100,000 and $120,000 and notable put interest near $85,000, with max pain around $96,000. Bitcoin trades near $87,800 and could see heightened volatility as contracts lapse during a typically low-liquidity holiday week.

ChatGPT 5.2 sets out a 2026 investment outlook spanning equities, fixed income, commodities, and crypto. It anticipates uneven but positive growth, cooling inflation, selective equity gains anchored by AI, lower bond yields, resilient credit, strength in metals like copper, a stable oil backdrop, and a maturing crypto market under clearer regulation, with Japan and parts of Europe presenting value.