Ethereum

Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER) positions itself as a Bitcoin Layer 2 integrating Solana's SVM to deliver faster, lower-fee transactions and smart-contract support. According to CryptoDnes, its presale has raised more than $29.6 million, with the token priced at $0.013445 for two more days before the next stage, and the protocol is expected to launch in 2026.

On December 20, 2025, the Museum of Modern Art added eight CryptoPunks to its permanent collection, recognizing the series' significance in digital and cultural history. According to CryptoPunks, the gift was facilitated by donors including Mara Calderon and ArtOnBlockchain, with additional contributions from collectors, and the collection continues to show steady market activity.

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.

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 December 20, 2025, Aster and Lighter were reported to be closing the gap with Hyperliquid's dominance in decentralized perpetual futures exchanges. Monthly perp volumes reached $252 billion for Lighter and $218 billion for Aster, while open interest stood at $1.7 billion, $2.4 billion, and $7 billion for Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid. In November, Lighter briefly led after a $68 million funding round.

Base, a Coinbase-incubated Ethereum L2, closed 2025 with $82.6M in revenue, $4.3B in DeFi TVL, and $4.8B in stablecoin value. Across April, July, and December 2025, it reached Stage 1 decentralization, cut block times to 200 milliseconds, and launched a Solana bridge via Chainlink CCIP. The year also brought onchain loans, yield options, DEX access, builder programs, and new developer toolkits.

Derivatives protocol Synthetix is migrating from Layer-2 networks back to Ethereum's mainnet after three years. Citing liquidity fragmentation, it plans to wind down deployments on Base, Arbitrum and Optimism by mid-2025, according to ainvest.com; SNX has fallen about 83% since late 2024. The return begins with a gated V3 soft launch.

In a new analysis, CryptoQuant's Arab Chain reports Ethereum's all-exchange supply ratio has fallen to about 0.137, marking one of the lowest readings since 2016. On Binance, the Exchange Supply Ratio slid to 0.0325, reflecting sustained outflows and thinner spot liquidity—conditions often associated with firmer price support.

A long-inactive Ethereum pre-mine address holding 2,000 ETH, valued at about $5.9 million, has moved again after more than a decade. The tokens were acquired during the first 14 days of the 2014 sale at a fixed rate of 2,000 ETH per 1 BTC, with the buyer paying exactly 1 Bitcoin (around $600). Other large wallets also reactivated on Dec. 1 and Dec. 10.

On December 19, Ethereum’s derivatives activity on Binance saw its Estimated Leverage Ratio climb to 0.611, while the Taker Buy/Sell Ratio rose to 1.13. These readings suggest buyers are paying market prices to enter longs and are using elevated leverage. ETH was trading just above $2,900 at the time, up over 3% on the day.