Silver climbed to a record $75 per ounce in early Friday trading, extending its 2025 gain to 158% amid heavy vault inflows and concerns over potential US trade curbs. Gold moved closer to its $4,525 per ounce peak as investors sought safety, while US pressure on Venezuela's oil sector and President Donald Trump's announced strike on a terrorist group in Nigeria rattled broader markets.

The Uniswap protocol's fee switch proposal, called UNIndication, received backing of nearly 125 million UNI tokens with only 742 against, leading to activation of the mechanism on Ethereum mainnet. Under the plan, Uniswap Labs will burn 100 million UNI after a two-day lock-up, while UNI traded around $5.79 with a market cap near $3.65 billion on December 26, 2025 and had risen 17.62% over seven days.

The crypto market is moving quietly during the holiday period, with low volatility and calm trading activity as several major assets form different technical setups. Shiba Inu has been sliding for weeks into oversold territory, while XRP shows early structural signs of recovery and Bitcoin trades in a narrow range with falling volume. These diverging patterns could shape how traders position themselves going into the new year.

China's Guangzhou Futures Exchange will from December 29 restrict non-futures firms to opening 300 lots per day in designated platinum and palladium contracts and raise the minimum opening size to two lots. The move comes after platinum surged to $2,377.50 and palladium jumped more than 85% this year, while Shanghai silver spiked to $80 per ounce and China's main silver fund hit its 10% daily limit down.

On December 25, Bitcoin briefly fell under $87,000 during thin Christmas trading as ETF withdrawals and weak liquidity pressured prices, according to XWIN Finance. Its Trend Index printed 34/100 and the Fear and Greed Index hit 24. Net outflows were about 2,900 BTC (~$251 million), while Ethereum funds remained net negative on the week.

In the U.S. economy, large-cap firms such as Amazon and Nvidia are reporting billions in profits and fresh stock highs, while many small businesses are cutting staff and hours. Recent data show companies with fewer than 50 workers have shed 120,000 jobs in November, even as S&P 500 companies recorded a 12.9% rise in net income in the third quarter of 2025. Owners across retail, restaurants, and promotional goods say tariffs, inflation, and weaker demand are squeezing margins and forcing painful staffing decisions.

In August 2025, the SEC announced a joint stipulation related to Ripple's case, which the summary frames as key context for XRP. For December 2026, ChatGPT outlines price zones: Bitcoin at a $150,000 base case with $190,000–$220,000 upside, XRP at $4.50 with $8–$12 in a bull case, and PEPENODE at 10x–25x from a $0.012112 baseline. The outlook references a 2025 spot ETF inflow estimate of $22.1 billion.

From March to October 2024, Bitcoin traded between $50,000 and $74,000 before a 56% post‑election rally that coincided with a sharp rise in futures open interest. Spot ETF inflows of about $35 billion in 2024 and roughly $22 billion in 2025, together with a 50% drop in stablecoin exchange inflows, showed how sustained capital and liquidity, rather than headlines alone, shaped Bitcoin's breakouts and consolidations. Long-term holders realizing over $1 billion per day in profits and a halving of the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio further constrained upside in 2025 despite bullish narratives.