Trading

Santiment said on Tuesday that Bitcoin is underperforming gold and the S&P 500 since early November, with gold up 9%, the S&P 500 up 1%, and BTC down 20%. Analysts noted BTC was around $88,000 as of Wednesday, and believe 2026 could present an opportunity for crypto to narrow the gap.

Bitcoin entered the final part of 2025 after setting a new all-time high in October but has since dropped enough that the year could end with a negative candle. Analyst CryptoBullet argues that a red yearly close would mark a transition into a bear market rather than signal a breakdown of Bitcoin's four-year cycle. He points to a potential doji yearly candle near the $126,080 peak and expects a brief dead cat bounce and short altcoin rotation in early 2026 before a deeper correction.

Bitcoin fell below $88,000, then rebounded from the $86,700 support and climbed back above $88,000 and the 100‑hour Simple moving average. The BTC/USD pair now faces resistance around $88,500, $88,900 and $89,500, while key supports sit at $87,500, $86,700 and $85,000. A sustained move above $89,500 could open the way to the $90,200–$91,500 zone, whereas failure near $89,000 may trigger another drop.

Bitcoin closed 2025 at $88,242, about 6% lower for the year and roughly 30% below its early October peak near $126,000, amid heavy liquidations and renewed tariff concerns under U.S. President Donald Trump. Analysts project a short-term rebound in early 2026, with Citi Research citing potential $15 billion in ETF inflows and setting 12‑month Bitcoin scenarios between $78,000 and $189,000. Market watchers are also tracking MicroStrategy's balance sheet metrics and reserve fund, as well as long-term holder behavior and the fading impact of Bitcoin's historic four‑year cycle.

Humanity Protocol's H token climbed 15% on 29 December, pushing Open Interest from $48.5 million to $57.5 million before slipping back toward the $0.16 area. The price is currently oscillating between $0.15 and $0.18 as a 105.35 million H unlock scheduled for 25 January raises dilution concerns. Traders are watching support at $0.15 and Fibonacci levels at $0.112 and $0.083 as potential retest zones.

According to Steph is Crypto, XRP's 3‑week Stochastic RSI has reset to 0.00, a rare reading last seen at the 2022 bear‑market low, hinting at exhaustion of selling momentum. Altcoin Pioneers also notes a repeating ABC fractal from the 2016–2017 cycle, with the ongoing correction aligning toward the $1.87 region, fueling debate about a potential base before any sustained upside.

In 2025, Solana generated more than $1.5 billion in revenue, outpacing Ethereum and Hyperliquid while still keeping median transaction fees under one cent. SOL recently traded near $123.89 with about $6.46 billion in 24-hour volume, as traders focused on resistance at $129 and key technical levels heading into 2026.

In the week ending December 29, CoinShares data shows XRP investment products drew $70.2 million of new capital, making the token the most accumulated digital asset since US XRP ETFs launched in mid-October. Over the same period, Bitcoin and Ethereum products recorded outflows of about $443 million and $59.5 million respectively, contributing to cumulative withdrawals of roughly $2.8 billion from Bitcoin and $1.6 billion from Ethereum since those ETF launches. The divergence in flows highlights a rotation away from the largest crypto assets toward select alternatives like XRP amid ongoing market volatility.

An on-chain wallet known as "BitcoinOG" or "1011short" has shifted from its previously reported $197 million Bitcoin short on Hyperliquid to building a leveraged long portfolio across Solana, Ethereum and Bitcoin. Hypurrscan data shows the address opened 850 SOL perpetual longs within one hour on Dec. 25 around $123, funded by a net USDC inflow of roughly $291.5 million in December. The position now hinges on how funding costs and cross-asset correlations evolve, with scenarios ranging from a risk-on continuation to a correlation-driven drawdown.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission plans to cap individual voting-share ownership at 15–20% for Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, with mandatory divestments above the limit. Updated December 30, 2025 at 9:50 PM UTC, the proposal would affect stakes such as Song Chi-hyung's ~25% in Dunamu and Bithumb Holdings' 73%. Industry groups warn of market and property-rights concerns.