On December 20, 2025, BitMex co-founder Arthur Hayes argued that altcoin season is continuous and that many traders overlook the true winners. He cited Hyperliquid's move from $2–$3 to $60 and Solana's rebound from about $7 in 2022 to nearly $300 early this year. The Altcoin Season Index stood at 35, indicating conditions not yet consistent with an altcoin season.

On 18 December, Solana slipped below $120 as network revenue and weekly active addresses retreated to yearly lows. Despite fading retail participation, large holders bought tens of thousands of SOL and spot ETFs registered $11 million in net inflows, helping price rebound into the $122–$145 range with improving momentum signals.

Ethereum developers have set the name "Hegota" for the network's second planned 2026 hard fork, which will follow the Glamsterdam upgrade. The lead feature for Hegota has not been chosen, and the chain operates on a twice‑yearly release cadence. Glamsterdam is expected in the first half of 2026, with Hegota slated for later that year.

On 19 December, Bitcoin Cash rose by about 10% in 24 hours, with derivatives activity and growing leverage driving most of the move. Open Interest in BCH perpetual futures increased to roughly $786 million, while funding rates turned positive as shorts lost around $2.54 million. At the same time, spot investors sent nearly $3.93 million in BCH to exchanges to sell, leaving the rally to confront key resistance zones near $598–$606 and around $651.

Solana’s price rebounded 6% on Friday, climbing toward $126 after previously slipping below the key $120 support and raising concerns about a deeper slide toward $100. An analyst from The Motley Fool pointed to the Solana Foundation’s quantum-resistant testnet and Mangoceuticals’ plan to invest $100 million in SOL as major drivers of the recent strength. Despite these catalysts, technical indicators still lean bearish, with key moving averages above current levels and resistance expected around $133–$138 and $144–$147.

Chiliz CHZ surged nearly 24% in the last 24 hours, trading around $0.0376. The move follows a DeFi update on Chiliz Chain and a monthlong CHZ Frenzy campaign on MEXC that drew over 140,000 users with zero fees and bonuses. Trading volume jumped more than 500% to about $231.5 million.

Uniswap is holding a final governance vote on its Fee Switch Activation Proposal from December 19 to December 26. If approved, a two-day timelock would precede a burn of 100 million UNI and the activation of v2 and v3 mainnet fee switches, affecting LP earnings. UNI was $5.31 with a $3.35 billion market cap on December 20, 2025, per CoinMarketCap.

On Thursday afternoon, SOL slid nearly 9% to an eight-month low of $116, then bounced Friday by 7.7% toward $125. Analysts including Crypto Batman, Crypto Scient, and Rekt Capital cited support around $120–$123 and liquidity near $175–$190, while warning any upside could be limited if the monthly close falls below $123.