Over the latest trading week, the crypto market swung sharply as macro factors kept Bitcoin volatile and pushed risk appetite lower. Canton, Audiera and Uniswap led the upside with double‑digit percentage gains, while XDC Network, Hyperliquid and MemeCore ranked among the weakest performers. Several smaller altcoins recorded extreme moves in both directions, underscoring an environment of heightened speculation and fragile conviction.

Intel's shares rose 86% in 2025 amid $9 billion from the US government via the CHIPS Act, plus $5 billion from Nvidia and $2 billion from SoftBank, alongside Lip‑Bu Tan's appointment as CEO in March 2025. Entering 2026, the foundry remained loss‑making and lacked a major outside customer, with analysts warning Intel has 12–18 months to secure a 14A client.

Tokenized gold supply, including Paxos's PAXG, has climbed to about $1.5 billion, according to Token Terminal. Analysts debate whether Bitcoin's lag versus gold reflects a temporary safety rotation or a valuation gap, with the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio near levels seen at past market lows.

On December 21, 2025, Cleveland Fed President Elizabeth Hammack said rates should remain unchanged for months after three meetings cut a total of 0.75 percentage points. She cited inflation risks, noting the 2.7 percent CPI may be closer to 2.9 percent to 3.0 percent, and pointed to tariffs and higher input costs that could lift prices in early 2025.

Into the week's close, XRP is still trading above its monthly mid Bollinger Band, leaving a potential move toward about $3.6 on the table while defending the $1.82 area. Midnight (NIGHT), often framed as a "new Cardano" narrative play, has climbed roughly 40% over the past week, and Vitalik Buterin-linked wallets have been offloading BNB and other tokens into USDC and ETH amid a wider "crypto winter" tone. Traders are watching whether XRP can maintain this structure, NIGHT can clear $0.10 without losing key supports, and Buterin's wallets keep a defensive posture.

MSCI is reviewing whether to remove MicroStrategy and dozens of other listed companies with large digital asset holdings from its indices, with a decision expected by January 15. Analysts estimate this move could trigger up to $2.8 billion in outflows from MicroStrategy-linked funds and as much as $10–15 billion across affected firms, potentially impacting Bitcoin volatility and the viability of crypto-heavy treasury strategies.

On 21 December 2025, Mercado Bitcoin released a study showing Brazil's average crypto investment per user now exceeds $1,000, with typical holdings around 5,700 Brazilian reais. The report also highlights rising diversification, stronger stablecoin usage, and that digital fixed-income products distributed roughly $325 million to investors in 2025.

Coinbase argues that U.S. tax changes taking effect on January 1, 2026 could push bettors away from casinos and sportsbooks toward prediction markets. The law limits gambling loss deductions to 90% of losses against 100% of winnings, while some prediction-market contracts receive Section 1256 treatment that allows full netting and loss carryforwards.