BlockBeats News reported that on December 29th Real World Assets reached $17 billion in TVL, moving ahead of decentralized exchanges to become DeFi's fifth-largest sector. The advance was linked to demand for tokenized U.S. Treasuries and private credit, while Ethereum remained the primary chain supporting RWA activity.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brett Knoblauch said in a recent year-end review that Bitcoin, trading around $87,660.94, is likely entering a "crypto winter" and could fall toward $75,000 in 2026. He argued that large institutions now dominate the market, supporting growth in areas such as tokenized real-world assets, which have reached $18.5 billion and may rise further. The firm also highlighted regulatory changes and the surge of decentralized exchanges and sports prediction markets as key shifts in the digital asset landscape.

In 2025, decentralized exchanges processed over $1.2 trillion in monthly perpetual futures volume, with Hyperliquid maintaining the largest share across the year. According to Coinbase Institutional, weekly perp trading climbed from under $150 billion to more than $300 billion by September and October, while systematic leverage nearly reached 10% before October liquidations cut it to about 4%. Coinbase also highlighted rising interest in equity-based perpetuals that could offer 24/7, tokenized access to traditional stock markets.

Nvidia finalized a $5 billion purchase of Intel common stock, acquiring more than 214.7 million shares at $23.28 each. The deal, announced in mid-September and cleared by U.S. antitrust agencies in early December, also aligns with plans to link Nvidia's AI stack with Intel CPUs over NVLink.

In the last week of 2025, the overall crypto market cap remains 7% below its $3.15 trillion peak, while the stablecoin sector has risen 25% year-to-date to $315 billion. At the same time, stablecoin inflows to exchanges have fallen from about $136 billion to roughly $70 billion since September, suggesting liquidity is cautious ahead of a macro-heavy week.

Stablecoin transfers in European time zones expanded in 2025, totaling 113.3 million transactions excluding December. Ethereum and Solana-based tokens saw strong uptake across the region even as rules tightened, while the ECB in November 2025 warned of financial stability risks. Monthly volumes peaked in January and February at 14.9 million and 13.7 million, respectively.

Digital asset investment products saw $446 million exit last week, bringing total outflows since mid-October to $3.2 billion and leaving year-to-date inflows at $46.3 billion against a modest 10% rise in assets under management. CoinShares data show Bitcoin and Ethereum products lost $443 million and $59.5 million respectively, while XRP and Solana ETFs drew $70.2 million and $7.5 million in new money amid diverging regional flows and a consolidating Bitcoin price near $87,800.

According to an investigation by TRM Labs, a coordinated group of Russian cybercriminals allegedly laundered more than $35 million in cryptocurrency stolen from LastPass users after the 2022 breach. The funds were moved through instant exchanges, Bitcoin mixers and Russian platforms including Audi6 and the OFAC-sanctioned Cryptex, with investigators using behavioral continuity analysis to trace the flow. The report indicates that wallet activity tied to the mixers showed operational links to Russia before and after the laundering process.