Bitcoin's long-term holder and U.S. spot ETF selling pressure eased in December after heavy outflows since July, improving demand but leaving price action unstable below $90K. Options positioning shows significant hedging around $80K–$83K and even $75K, while upside bets cluster near $88K and $94K, suggesting a muted path under $95K into early 2026 as key January events add volatility.

Strategy's MSTR fell 2.15% to a 2025 low of $155.32 on 29 December, extending a 71% decline from its 2024 peak of $543 and returning to the $100–$180 range. Bearish factors include potential MSCI index removal and ongoing stock-funded Bitcoin purchases, while recent price targets of $465–$485 from analysts suggest lingering optimism.

Bitcoin has traded below $90,000 since mid-December, with resistance near $94,000. On Dec 26, open interest fell roughly 50% after expiry, while options skews turned negative across tenors, signaling hedging. U.S. spot ETFs saw $5.5 billion of outflows in late 2025, even as cumulative inflows stayed only 9% below an October $62 billion peak.

Flow Network has moved forward with an "isolated recovery" strategy after a $3.9 million exploit, abandoning its earlier full-chain rollback proposal due to pushback from partners and exchanges. Validator consensus on a software upgrade has been reached and testing is underway, with a phase 1 deployment to restore wider chain operations and restrict addresses allegedly tied to the hack once tests conclude. Following the breach, the FLOW token fell over 40% to $0.1.

Monero’s price climbed about 7%, moving from $432 to above $460 during the Q4 2025 Santa rally, while Bitcoin’s eased dominance allowed altcoins a relief move. Analysts noted that XMR’s thin liquidity, low volumes and an impending MACD Death Cross could drag the token back toward the $400–$420 support area and the 50-day Moving Average, where previous bounces in Q4 had started. If this support holds, they anticipate the next upside leg could target around $470, but a sustained breakdown below the 50-day MA would invalidate this bullish setup.

Cardano’s ADA returned to the $0.32–$0.36 support after the late‑2025 rout and then rallied 10% from $0.34 to $0.37. RSI bullish divergence and a MACD golden cross indicate momentum could continue if bulls reclaim the $0.42 50‑day MA, with $0.50 highlighted as the next upside level.

On 27 December, Zcash surged 17% to $515, extending its monthly recovery to 43% and reversing about half of its Q4 losses. At the same time, ZEC's perpetual futures volume hit $2.9 billion, overtaking Solana and giving it roughly 7% of the market, while privacy coins led 2025 narrative returns. Analysts noted growing demand for shielded transactions, with shielded ZEC supply reaching 5 million, and suggested that if current momentum is maintained, prices could target $600 or $750, though a drop below $450 might undermine the rebound.

In late 2025, crypto breaches escalated as Chainalysis tallied $3.4 billion in losses for the year. During Christmas week, Trust Wallet disclosed a $7 million Chrome-extension breach, while DeBot confirmed a $255,000 theft traced to a server in Japan; OKX's Star Xu cautioned that DEX bots and custodial wallets heighten risk.

Bitcoin short sellers have strengthened their positions after a 23% Q4 price drop, while U.S. spot ETF demand and CME Open Interest have fallen to levels last seen in 2024. With basis trade yields dropping from near 10% in early 2025 to around 5%, traders are eyeing possible moves toward $80K on the downside and liquidations near $88K–$90,600 if price spikes.