On 29 December 2025, Bitcoin was reported to be in a fragile phase as on-chain metrics signaled stalling liquidity. According to Alphractal and CryptoQuant, exchange inflows of USDC and USDT fell from roughly $136 billion in early autumn to around $70 billion, indicating weaker deployable capital.

On 29 December 2025, DPRK-linked crypto hacking was described as a major revenue channel for Pyongyang. In the first half of 2025, operators extracted more than $2.17 billion in digital assets, and in February attackers drained nearly $1.5 billion in Ether from Bybit. Experts say evolving multi-chain laundering and broader industry coordination will shape the fight ahead.

On December 28, 2025, a public post by CryptosRus said 14 of the top 25 U.S. banks are building Bitcoin products. By December 29, 2025, signs of a measured pivot were visible, with institutions expanding ETF‑based access for high‑net‑worth clients while prioritizing trading exposure ahead of full custody.

On 29 December 2025 at 10:15, a fresh bearish debate on Bitcoin drew attention. According to Mike McGlone's online post on December 28, 2025, the post-2020 rally was liquidity-driven, with $50,000 seen as a transition rather than safety and $10,000 cited as a possible anchor. He frames deflation risk as a key headwind for risk assets.

On December 28, 2025, economist Peter Schiff warned Bitcoin may face a rapid downside as silver surged, signaling a potential rotation toward hard assets. The BTC–silver ratio has swung decisively, with silver up roughly 190% relative to BTC in four months. Silver also pushed beyond $79 per ounce in a near-vertical move of about ninety minutes.

Bitcoin has been consolidating between about $86,500 and $90,000 after a pullback of nearly 30% from its October peak above $125,000. Analysts such as Lyn Alden and Michaël van de Poppe see this as a structural reset, with $86,500 acting as key downside support and a reclaim of $90,000 potentially opening a path toward the $100,000–$105,000 area. While gold and silver have rallied to new highs in 2025, Bitcoin is showing compressed volatility and steady dip buying, suggesting a base may be forming without needing a correction in precious metals.

On 28 December 2025, US regulators were described as shifting from treating crypto as an outlier to formally integrating it into the financial system. Authorities are increasingly framing Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral, while granting select crypto firms conditional federal banking access and tightening standards for stablecoins. This policy evolution coincides with Bitcoin's volatile but ultimately record-setting price performance in 2025.

On 27 December 2025, Tom Lee argued that Ethereum is being valued as financial infrastructure as tokenization and stablecoin settlement expand on its network. He said ETH could reach $7K–$9K by early 2026 if institutional adoption persists, citing moves by firms like Robinhood, BlackRock, and DTCC plans tied to U.S. Treasury systems.

On 26 December 2025, Ethereum developers detailed a 2026 roadmap built around two separate protocol upgrades named Glamsterdam and Heze-Bogota. Glamsterdam is intended to raise gas limits, introduce more parallel transaction processing, and shift validators toward cryptographic proof-based verification, while Heze-Bogota is aimed at strengthening privacy, decentralization, and resistance to censorship.