On Tuesday, Bitcoin traded around $88,224, up 1.12%, while Ethereum hovered near $2,967 as major altcoin volumes slid to their lowest levels of 2025. Over the weekend, BitMine Immersion Technologies staked 342,560 ETH, worth about $1 billion, tightening Ethereum's validator entry queue. At the same time, a proposed 5% annual tax on net wealth above $1 billion in California, including unrealized crypto gains, has raised concerns about capital outflows from the state's digital asset sector.

According to CoinShares’ latest fund flows report, digital asset products lost $446 million last week, while XRP vehicles attracted $70.2 million. Bitcoin funds recorded $443 million in outflows and Ethereum products shed $59.3 million, as Solana ETPs took in $7.5 million. U.S.-listed products saw $460 million in withdrawals versus $35.7 million of inflows in Germany.

Indian police in Hyderabad have arrested a former Coinbase customer support agent over an alleged role in the crypto exchange's data breach that began in December 2024 and exposed information for 69,461 users. Coinbase declined to pay a $20 million ransom, instead incurring $307 million in related costs and offering bounties while also facing a shareholder lawsuit over its handling of the incident.

According to on-chain data, Bitcoin wallets holding 10,000–100,000 BTC reduced balances by 36,500 BTC since the start of December. The coins moved or sold total roughly $3.37 billion as BTC traded in a choppy $85,000–$94,000 range. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was near $89,646.

Hilbert Group, a Sweden-based algorithmic crypto investment firm, has agreed to purchase high-frequency trading platform Enigma Nordic in a $32 million transaction. The deal combines newly issued shares and performance-based earn-outs, with Enigma required to generate $40 million in net income to unlock the full payout. Enigma has reported over 50 billion SEK (around $5.4 billion) in 2025 trading volume and a Sharpe ratio above 3.0, as Hilbert prepares to integrate the platform into its hedge fund and proprietary trading operations.

On December 19, 2025, the crypto market rose 1.6% to a $3.05 trillion capitalization, with total trading volume at $164 billion. Ninety of the top 100 assets advanced, and all top 10 coins gained; BTC was 1.4% higher around $87,906 while ETH climbed 4.1% to $2,953.

On 16 December, the article highlights XRP, Midnight and Sui while Bitcoin trades below 90,000. Over the past 24 hours, BTC fell 2.6% and is around 87,158. XRP recently retraced to about 1.92 after a seven-year high, while Sui touts high throughput and Midnight focuses on privacy on Cardano.

On December 15, a Form 8-K showed Strategy acquired 10,645 BTC between December 8 and December 14, spending $980.3 million at an average price of $92,098, funded via equity and preferred stock offerings. The firm's holdings rose to 671,268 BTC, and it recently set up a $1.44 billion cash reserve to cover dividend and debt interest obligations.

Stablecoin use in Venezuela is set to grow as the bolívar weakens and economic pressures persist. Stablecoins increasingly power daily payments and peer-to-peer rails, with over 38% of local crypto site visits directed to one global P2P platform. In the 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Venezuela ranks 18th worldwide.