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Ripple Global Partner Success Lead Luke Judges recently took the stage at the Solana Breakpoint event, explaining XRP's multichain vision.

In breaking news from the event, it was announced that XRP was coming to Solana, as Hex Trust and Layer Zero will bridge and issue wXRP, a 1:1-backed representation of the native XRP asset designed to support DeFi activity and cross-chain utility.

"New users, new demand, and market depth. Phantom users can now access XRP, and financial primitives like prediction markets and perps can now deeply embed XRP."-@Ripple exec @luke_judges on why Solana is an exciting place to launch XRP pic.twitter.com/Mn9NOzZPJd

— Solana (@solana) December 13, 2025

This move allows traders, holders and institutions to be able to utilize XRP within leading Solana DEXes, lending markets and liquidity protocols, while maintaining exposure to the underlying asset.

In addition, wXRP’s use case will expand beyond XRP Ledger and will be tradable with RLUSD on Ethereum and other chains that support RLUSD. WXRP expands XRP’s DeFi utility by making it usable on supported blockchains, starting with Solana, Optimism, Ethereum, HyperEVM and additional chains for future integration.

In today's session at the Breakpoint event, Judges puts the icing on the cake: "Phantom wallet's 20 million users can now access XRP, and perps can now deeply embed XRP."

The recent step comes in response to growing demand to use XRP across the wider crypto ecosystem and institutions, which Judges highlighted in his conversation.

XRP Ledger multichain vision

In a recent tweet, RippleX Head of Engineering J. Ayo Akinyele reveals his thoughts on XRP Ledger, saying that for years, his discussions with Ripple CTO David Schwartz had focused on building toward a multichain future.

According to Akinyele, the blockchain ecosystem is shifting, and it has become clear that assets and applications naturally operate across many networks. No single environment is where all activity will happen, and that is simply how crypto has evolved.

In this scenario, a robust mainnet, such as XRP Ledger, remains essential and nonnegotiable, adding that the base network anchors trust, providing the stability, security and predictable behavior that everything built on top of it relies on.

From the RippleX head of engineering's perspective, crypto’s next phase will not be defined by a single chain but by ecosystems that maintain strong foundation while enabling cross-chain innovation.

A total of $122 billion of liquidity in XRP, a Ripple-linked cryptocurrency and the fifth largest digital asset, might soon be able to seamlessly migrate to Solana (SOL). As announced by Solana Foundation's representative, a bridge between Solana (SOL) and XRP Ledger is on the way.

XRP liquidity to flow into Solana: Announcement

Solana Foundation is building a permissionless bridge to XRP Ledger to integrate Solana into the XRPFi ecosystem. The announcement was made by the Foundation's Vibhu Norby amid Solana Breakpoint 2025, the biggest Solana community conference.

In November, I unexpectedly became enemy #1 of the XRP Army.Through the resulting public learning process, I had a chance to meet many OG devs, core community members, memelords, and the team at Ripple itself, and I came to an understanding of the uniqueness of XRP as an asset,… https://t.co/BnfRhFQV6E

— vibhu (@vibhu) December 12, 2025

As explained by Vibhu in his X post, with this bridge, XRP will be available in Solana (SOL) dApps like a regular Solana-based asset. It means that XRP liquidity will be able to debut in every DeFi protocol on Solana (SOL).

Namely, XRP holders will be able to earn yield by lending their coins, act as liquidity providers with XRP-SOL and other pairs, buy tokenized stocks and RWAs, participate in prediction markets and much more.

The bridge will be launched using LayerZero and HexTrust tech developments with non-custodial design from day one:

And like any good bridge, your XRP on Solana is always redeemable 1:1 for XRP on the ledger itself. It is self-custodial from end to end.

As a result, the XRP community will be able to benefit from their holdings with no need for routing on centralized exchanges, Vibhu concluded.

Community shows moderate optimism

The announcement was met with general optimism by both the XRP army and the Solana community. Enthusiasts from both camps believe that XRP integration with Solana (SOL) will bring more users and liquidity to Solana DeFi.

As covered by U.Today previously, this September, XRP Ledger received one more mechanism of integration with Ethereum Virtual Machine blockchains.

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The first ever stablecoin that can be minted with XRP as a collateral went live on EVM L1 Flare. Thanks to Flare's DeFi Enosys, XRP-backed assets can be used in DeFi on EVM.

In the last 24 hours, Shiba Inu has seen more outflows than inflows into spot markets, a positivity for the dog coin even as the broader crypto market faces selling pressure.

The crypto market extended its drop early Saturday with over $307 million in leveraged positions liquidated.

While major cryptocurrencies, especially in the top 100, saw losses in the range of 2% and 8%, Shiba Inu saw lesser losses, down 0.51% in the last 24 hours to $0.000008355 and down 1.7% weekly.

According to CoinGlass data, Shiba Inu outflows from spot markets in the last 24 hours came in at $5.48 million or 656,287,425,149 SHIB, surpassing inflows at $4.98 million and yielding a negative inflow of $792,600.

Why is it significant?

This remains significant as inflows might suggest deposits to exchanges with the intent of selling. Outflows are bullish for the price as it might suggest withdrawals with an intent to buy. Outflows might also hint at holders' intention to send the coins to cold wallets with the aim of keeping them for a longer time rather than immediately selling.

Outflows superseding inflows might suggest a slight advantage of buyers over sellers, but this has yet to translate to positive price action for Shiba Inu.

Shiba Inu's trading volume has dropped 6% in the last 24 hours to $105 million, according to CoinMarketCap data, indicating traders sitting on the fence, awaiting a decisive move in the market.

Shibarium gets prepped up for next upgrade

On Dec. 3, Ethereum underwent its second major hard fork in 2025, the Fusaka upgrade, which activated PeerDAS and slashed data costs. On Dec. 9, Polygon activated the Madhugiri hard fork, which slashed block times to one second while increasing throughput.

The two events remain significant for Shibarium, being an Ethereum sidechain, and it was designed after Polygon.

While Shibarium blocks once landed every two to five seconds, Polygon, its older sibling, has achieved one-second block time.

The Shiba Inu team targets by the end of Q2, 2026, full on-chain privacy and confidential smart contracts to arrive on Shibarium and Bone thanks to Zama’s fully homomorphic encryption technology.

Fully homomorphic encryption could make Shibarium the first major EVM chain to run smart contracts that remain encrypted end-to-end, turning transparent ledgers into private vaults.

Sellers are more powerful than buyers on the first day of the weekend, according to CoinStats.

DOGE/USD

The price of DOGE has fallen by 1.3% over the last 24 hours.

On the hourly chart, the rate of DOGE is about to break the local resistance of $0.1395. If it happens, the growth may lead to a test of the $0.14-$0.1410 range soon.

On the bigger chart, the price of DOGE remains under bears' pressure as it has not bounced off far from the support of $0.1332.

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As neither side is dominating, sideways trading in the narrow range of $0.1350-$0.1450 is the more likely scenario.

From the midterm point of view, the situation is similar. However, if a breakout of the $0.1332 level happens, the accumulated energy might be enough for a test of the $0.1250-$0.13 area by the end of the month.

DOGE is trading at $0.1392 at press time.

Lean Ventures, a Seoul-headquartered asset manager, has announced that it reached an agreement with NASDAQ-listed Vivo Federation to establish a $300 million fund with Ripple Labs shares. With this new vehicle, South Korean retail investors can get exposure to XRP with no need to buy the physical cryptocurrency.

$300 million Ripple Labs shares deal makes headlines in South Korea: What to know

According to a press release shared yesterday, Dec. 12, a new Ripple Labs shares fund has been launched by Lean Ventures, one of the biggest South Korean asset managers. The deal will be handled with the infrastructure of Vivo Federation, a blockchain unit of VivoPower International PLC.

VivoPower received approval from @Ripple for an initial tranche of Ripple Labs shares. With asset manager Lean Ventures, a new $300M fund has been created. Investors to gain exposure to Ripple & $XRP at a material discount to spot & target $75M in returns over 3 years.… pic.twitter.com/BoxcWwRQij

— 🌸Crypto Eri ~ Carpe Diem (@sentosumosaba) December 13, 2025

Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Lean Ventures will arrange for the establishment of a dedicated investment vehicle to acquire and hold an initial target of $300 million in Ripple Labs shares.

Lean Ventures has already canvassed interest from qualified South Korean institutional and retail investors and now increases its bet on digital assets.

VivoPower recently received written approval from Ripple Labs to purchase an initial tranche of Ripple Labs preferred shares and is now negotiating bilaterally to purchase additional Ripple Labs shares from institutional holders of Ripple Labs shares worth an estimated $300 million.

As part of the joint venture, Vivo Federation will receive a share of management fees and performance carry, which would target a net economic return for VivoPower of $75 million over three years based on an initial $300 million in assets under management.

Institutional investors can get exposure to XRP with discount?

As stressed by Adam Traidman, the chairman of VivoPower’s Advisory Council, the endgame goal of this cooperation is to provide more opportunities for investing in XRP and related products for the South Korean market:

We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with Lean Ventures, given its established status and reputation in South Korea. As we have noted previously, South Korea is a highly strategic market for Vivo Federation, given that it is the largest holder by value and number of XRP tokens in the world. With this dedicated investment vehicle, qualifying South Korean institutional and retail investors can gain exposure to Ripple Labs shares and, in turn, XRP at a material discount to the spot price.

Vivo Federation is the digital asset arm of VivoPower, focused on XRPL-based real-world blockchain applications and maintaining exposure to Ripple Labs shares and XRP tokens.

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As covered by U.Today previously, 21Shares, a U.S.-based asset manager, is preparing its ETFs on spot XRP for launch.

The weekend has started with a market fall, according to CoinMarketCap.

BTC/USD

The rate of Bitcoin (BTC) has declined by 2.45% over the last 24 hours.

On the hourly chart, the price of BTC has made a false breakout of the local support of $90,124. However, if a bounce back does not happen and the daily bar closes near that mark, one can expect a dump to the $90,000 area and below.

On the bigger time frame, there are no reversal signals so far. As the rate of the main crypto is far from the key levels, one should focus on the interim zone of $90,000.

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If a breakout happens, the accumulated energy might be enough for a more profound decline to the $88,000 range.

From the midterm point of view, traders should focus on the candle closure in terms of the $94,172 level. If it happens far from it, the correction is likely to continue to the $85,000 mark.

Bitcoin is trading at $90,179 at press time.

ZCash (ZEC), a privacy-centric cryptocurrency — an altcoin with obfuscated transactional data — is the best performer of this week amid the top 100 biggest cryptos. At the same time, it is highly unlikely that the privacy coin rally will return in 2025.

ZCash (ZEC) up by 28% in seven days, other privacy coins lagging

In the last seven days, ZCash (ZEC), a large-cap privacy coin, added almost 28% in price. Earlier today, it hit $368, which is the highest price level since Nov. 29. Meme cryptocurrency MemeCore (M), its closest rival, is only up by 23%.

In the last 24 hours, by contrast, ZCash (ZEC) performed weaker compared to the rest of the market. While the crypto segment benchmark is down by 2.7%, ZEC's price lost 5.6% on surging trading volume.

At the same time, competitive privacy coins Dash (DASH), Decred (DCR), MimbleWimbleCoin (MWC), Verge (XVG) are all in the red.

As covered by U.Today previously, ZCash (ZEC) was the central coin of the Q4, 2025 privacy coins euphoria. In just three months between mid-August and mid-November, ZEC's price surged by 20x.

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The local peak — $705 per ZEC coin on Nov. 17 — is the highest price for ZCash (ZEC) in almost seven years. The absolute ZCash (ZEC) price ATH was registered over $3,191 in October 2016.

Monero (XMR) dethrones ZCash (ZEC) and becomes biggest privacy coin again

Such an impressive run was catalyzed by institutional interest in ZEC. Backed by Winklevoss twins, Leap Therapeutics rebranded to Cypherpunk Technologies and became the first ever ZEC digital asset treasury company.

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Also, investing heavyweight Grayscale filed for the first exchange-traded fund in the U.S. backed by spot ZCash (ZEC) holdings.

ZCash (ZEC) even replaced Monero (XMR) as the largest privacy coin. However, this week, Monero's (XMR) market cap hit $7.6 billion, while ZCash (ZEC) dropped to $7.2 billion. Monero (XMR) and ZCash (ZEC) are the 26th and 26th biggest cryptocurrencies, respectively.

Although Solana has been on a downward trajectory, investors betting on the asset via Solana Funds have maintained resilience as the spot Solana ETFs have maintained a steady inflow streak for seven consecutive days.

According to data provided by Farside Investors, the Solana ETFs have maintained positive daily flows in recent sessions across the broad Solana ETF ecosystem.

While it appears that investors are pouring in less capital compared to the previous month, the funds have experienced steady but low daily performance, extending a seven-day inflow streak that has renewed momentum for the sector.

Solana ETFs near $700 million in inflows

The data further shows that the Solana ETFs have recorded nearly $700 million in cumulative flows since their emergence a few months ago.

This signals sustained institutional interest in the Solana ecosystem despite the unstable market conditions fueling high volatility across crypto markets.

This rapid growth is not a surprise as the ETFs have been seeing strong demand since the launch of the first Solana ETF. Per the data, the strongest single-day inflows were recorded shortly after launch.

Thereafter, daily inflows have moderated since then, highlighting growing confidence among investors seeking regulated exposure to Solana.

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While Bitwise has continued to dominate the sector, the huge growth in the overall inflows is all thanks to the strong contributions from Bitwise’s BSOL and Grayscale’s GSOL ETFs.

With the largest portion of the cumulative inflows coming from Bitwise, the fund had led the pack with $608.9 million in total inflows. This rapid growth witnessed by the Solana ETFs is largely attributed to its early traction and consistent demand since launch.

Furthermore, the Grayscale Solana ETF follows with $97.8 million, while Franklin’s Solana ETDhas attracted $54.8 million over the same period.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that all listed Solana ETFs currently offer staking exposure, a feature that continues to differentiate them from many traditional crypto investment products.

In a recent tweet, Ripple CTO David Schwartz shares a hilarious moment with Chris Larsen, Ripple chairman and co-founder, at an event, describing it as perhaps the funniest thing that has ever happened in his time at Ripple.

December continues to be a busy month for Ripple, having made key appearances at major crypto events, including Binance Blockchain Week, which was held in Dubai from Dec. 3 to 4. Ripple also participated in Fintech Abu Dhabi event, which was held from Dec. 8 to 11.

Ripple also indicated its participation at the Blockchain for Europe Summit at Brussels, Belgium, held Dec. 2 to 3, and Ripple Christmas Breakfast in London, U.K., on Dec. 11.

In one of such events, which had himself, Chris Larsen, employees of Ripple and its recent acquisitions in attendance, Ripple CTO David Schwartz recalls an awkward moment when a new employee from one of its recent acquisitions walked up to Larsen and asked, "So..What do you do at Ripple?"

Perhaps the funniest thing that has ever happened in my time at @Ripple happened yesterday. A new employee from one of our recent acquisitions walked up to @chrislarsensf at a company event and said, "So... What do you do at Ripple?"

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) December 12, 2025

Obviously taken aback by the question, Schwartz said he was "kind of busy laughing inside" describing the moment as being funny.

In response to an X user's question on what the Ripple chairman answered, Schwartz said, "But I think it went something like: Um. Well. I guess, I'm sort of the founder."

2025 was a watershed year for Ripple in its operations as it made four major acquisitions: GTreasury, Rail, Palisade and Hidden Road. Ripple has invested nearly $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem through strategic investments and acquisitions.

December turns out big for Ripple

On Dec. 11, Ripple revealed that it had completed the acquisition of Rail, with the potential of making Ripple Payments, the market's most comprehensive end-to-end stablecoin solution.

Earlier in December, Ripple announced it had closed a $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury, which marks a significant expansion into the multi-trillion-dollar corporate finance arena, a market many predict will lead the next phase of digital asset adoption.

In huge news for Ripple, according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple has received conditional approval from the OCC to charter Ripple National Trust Bank. This is a massive step forward — first for the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin, setting the highest standard for stablecoin compliance with both federal (OCC) and state (NYDFS) oversight.

XRP has recently reversed its upward move, returning back to the red territory amid the broad crypto market slowdown.

Following this negative price trend, XRP is at risk of losing the crucial $2 support level, posing the asset for a deeper decline that could see XRP retest levels not seen in months, according to recent data shared by popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez.

XRP risks retesting $1.20

Following XRP’s indecisive move, the analyst has warned that the leading altcoin could face a heavy price correction that could trigger a massive decline to $1.20 if it fails to hold support about $2.

Ali issued the warning following the recent price weakness that has seen XRP steadily face multiple corrections after failing to reclaim key resistance levels since the massive crash witnessed Oct. 10.

Furthermore, the analyst shared a chart revealing that XRP has formed a major support at $2, this marks the level where buyers have repeatedly stepped in to prevent deeper losses.card

While the chart further revealed XRP’s latest price action, which saw the asset consolidating just above the $2 level, it has raised concerns that selling pressure may be building.

As such, if XRP fails to hold momentum and break the $2 support, it could trigger a massive price decline of about 40%, retesting $1.20 again.

While XRP is showing no signs of a rapid resurgence soon, it appears that the asset may defy the bullish December trends witnessed in the past two years. Currently, the asset has recorded a nearly 6% decline for the month.

Nonetheless, the analyst further revealed that there is a chance of saving the situation, noting that a successful defense of the $2 zone could allow XRP to stabilize and attempt a recovery toward the $2.40-$2.60 range.

Bitcoin traded toward the lower portion of its recent trading range amid lingering concern about demand for risk assets. Bitcoin has remained in a loosely defined range between $95,000 and $85,000 for the past month as the crypto market remained in a weakened position following October's sell-off.

Bitcoin fell below $90,000 in the last two days, reaching as low as $89,257 on Dec. 11. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading down 1.96% in the last 24 hours to $90,581 as investors assess the Fed's latest rate cut.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in his post-meeting news conference that the central bank is "well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves," and signaled a slower pace of rate cuts ahead.

In positive developments, U.S. exchange-traded funds investing in Bitcoin saw a net inflow of $224 million on Wednesday, led by $193 million for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which is its highest in 30 days. Strategy bought 10,624 tokens worth $962.7 million in its largest acquisition since July.

Traders now face a mixed bag as to where the market is heading next.

Four key price levels outlined

In a recent tweet, crypto analyst Ali outlines four key Bitcoin price levels, citing the Bitcoin MVRV extreme deviation pricing bands, as the markets await what comes next.

While Bitcoin has risen back from a low of $80,524 reached in November, it still stands a risk of a turn lower and a retest and break of that level.

Bitcoin $BTC key levels:• Resistance at $99,000 and $122,000• Support at $76,000 and $53,000 pic.twitter.com/TBXVeT2EXI

— Ali (@alicharts) December 12, 2025

If this scenario plays out, support is highlighted next at $76,000, according to Ali's analysis. The next major support is expected at $53,000.

If Bitcoin's price reverses to the upside, resistance is pinpointed at $99,000 and $122,000, making these two price levels crucial to watch for Bitcoin's rise.

29.8% of Bitcoin now held by major holders

In a recent analysis, Glassnode shared the composition of Bitcoin holdings by major holder type, which now totals 5.94 million BTC, or 29.8% of Bitcoin's circulating supply.

Public companies now hold 1.07 million BTC, while governments account for 0.62 million BTC. U.S. spot ETFs hold a cumulative of 1.31 million BTC, with 2.94 million BTC held on exchanges.

In December 2025, the free fall of ETFs on spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum has ended. While the segment is far from being back to rocketing, investors show interest again. At the same time, both classes of products still struggle to offset the losses of the super-bearish November 2025.

$341,000,000 inflow: Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs recovering from brutal November

By mid-December 2025, U.S. cryptocurrency ETFs demonstrate cautious signals of recovery. Inflows for both Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs are positive on one-month time frames. Spot Bitcoin ETFs registered $198 million in December inflows, SoSoValue data says.

BlackRock's IBIT was the most active ETF in December. In just 13 days, it accumulated almost $4 billion in equivalent growing total holdings from $66.26 to $70.12 billion.

The total volume of Bitcoin (BTC) allocated by ETFs exceeded $118 billion in equivalent, which totals 6.57% of the net Bitcoin (BTC) market capitalization.

The IBIT fund is responsible for about 60% of this segment, followed by Fidelity's FBTC and Grayscale's GBTC products.

Ethereum spot ETFs show even more impressive dynamics. In December 2025, they attracted $143.35 million in funds. BlackRock's ETHA outshined all competitors here.

The upsurge comes after November 2025, a devastating month for Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs.

Crypto ETFs AUM bounced from multi-month lows

In November 2025, the Ethereum ETFs scene lost $1.42 billion, while Bitcoin ETFs registered a $3.48 billion outflow. For Bitcoin ETFs, it was the second worst month in its two-year history, while for Ethereum ETFs it was an unprecedented disaster.

The pessimism of investors was triggered by the Oct. 10-11 flash crash, the anemic performance of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and the peak of the cycle being allegedly in.

At the same time, both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs are recovering step by step. In late November 2025, all indicators dropped to the lowest level since April, but in the first half of December, the situation slightly improved.

Shiba Inu burns have taken a downward trend in the last 24 hours, with less than 70,000 tokens burned.

According to Shibburn, 69,420 SHIB tokens were burned in the last 24 hours, marking a 62.96% drop from the past day, when 187,420 SHIB tokens were burned.

A lower amount of SHIB burned is noticeable on most days of this week, with less than a million burned on a few days. In the last seven days, a total of 54,584,068 SHIB tokens were burned, representing a 10.11% drop in weekly burn rate.

HOURLY SHIB UPDATE$SHIB Price: $0.00000832 (1hr -0.38% ▼ | 24hr -1.50% ▼ )Market Cap: $4,900,260,262 (-1.49% ▼)Total Supply: 589,246,093,860,680TOKENS BURNTPast 24Hrs: 69,420 (-62.96% ▼)Past 7 Days: 54,584,068 (-10.11% ▼)

— Shibburn (@shibburn) December 13, 2025

The drop in the burn rate metric coincides with the current indecision in the market despite a Fed rate cut this week.

Market uncertainty remains

The crypto market remains in a weakened position after enduring a weeks-long sell-off that began in early October with a major liquidation event, which wiped out nearly $20 billion in leveraged bets.

Crypto analytics firm Glassnode said various metrics point to a "mild bearish phase" in the market, defined by modest capital inflows outweighed by steady selling pressure from larger holders.

At the time of writing, SHIB was down 0.93% in the last 24 hours to $0.000008376 as the larger crypto market traded down early Saturday with $307 million in liquidations.

2026 shaping up to be massive

In a tweet, Coinbase Institutional indicated that the market's liquidity boost seems to be arriving sooner than expected, with reserve growth likely continuing until April 2026.

According to Coinbase, Fed's transition from balance sheet runoff to net injection is seen as "light quantitative easing" or "stealth QE" and may support crypto markets.

Coinbase predicts a less hawkish environment in the first nine months of 2026, deemed beneficial for cryptocurrencies.

Although BNB Chain is known for its strong on-chain activity, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has just confirmed the extent at which users are engaging with the network on a daily basis.

In a recent X post Dec. 13, Binance’s CZ revealed that the network is now seeing about 2.4 million daily users. This suggests that BNB Chain is one of the most actively used Layer-1 networks in the crypto ecosystem.

BNB Chain maintains speed despite high usage

The post received support from the crypto community as they have confirmed the network’s efficiency despite its large growing user base.

In agreement with CZ’s post, one of the commentators showcased on-chain data from BscScan, revealing cumulative BNB Chain addresses climbing steadily since 2020 and now approaching 700 million by December 2025.

While BNB Chain has been seeing this impressive growth for a long time, it has seen user adoption through multiple market cycles even during periods of weak market conditions.

Some of the commentators questioned how many of the 2.4 million daily participants are active builders and which of them are end users. Another commentator compared the volume to a city of users and developers engaging with the network every single day.

While they acknowledged BNB Chain’s adequate efficiency despite the high usage, they mentioned the high transaction throughput and low fees. Furthermore, users emphasized that fast execution, which is often provided by BNB Chain, makes building and using decentralized applications feel seamless.

However, a commentator mentioned that 2.4 million daily users is a strong metric, suggesting that it reflects a cooling phase in speculative retail activity around altcoins and meme coins.

While BNB Chain boasts of about700,000 new participants joining its network daily, activity is increasingly spreading across its DeFi protocols and NFT platforms.

With just 18 days to the close of 2025, Coinbase Institutional sheds light on market macro dynamics that might shape 2026.

In a tweet, Coinbase Institutional indicated that the market's liquidity boost seems to be arriving sooner than expected, with reserve growth likely continuing until April 2026.

This week, the Fed slashed its borrowing rate by a quarter-percentage point on Wednesday, taking it to a range between 3.5%-3.75%. This, according to Coinbase, was expected, with the central bank's plan to make reserve management purchases (RMP) of U.S. T-Bills over the next 30 days being constructive news.

Coinbase highlights a liquidity boost coming sooner, with reserve growth expected to continue till April 2026. The Fed's transition from balance sheet runoff to net injection is seen as "light quantitative easing" or "stealth QE," which, according to Coinbase, may support crypto markets.

Easing comes, tightening goes.The FED’s 25bp cut announcement came as expected this week, but their plans to make reserve management purchases (RMP) of US T-Bills over the next 30 days is constructive news, to say the least. Here’s the RMP breakdown:• Initial $40B… pic.twitter.com/aUrfphP26H

— Coinbase Institutional 🛡️ (@CoinbaseInsto) December 12, 2025

Coinbase predicts a less hawkish environment than expected, given the reserve management purchases (RMP) of U.S. T-Bills coupled with Fed funds futures indicating two cuts (50bps) in the first nine months of 2026, which is beneficial for cryptocurrencies.

Everything lining up for massive 2026

In a recent tweet, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley predicted that the current developments in the market are lining up for a massive 2026, adding, "It's stunning."

In light of this, the Bitwise CEO believes that the market has changed and matured, with the four-year cycle dead.

Horsley pointed out something that might come as a surprise, saying, "We will look back on 2025 and realize that it's been a bear market since February, masked by the relentless bid from DATs and Bitcoin Treasury Companies."

Markets in mildly bearish phase

The crypto market remains in a weakened position after enduring a weeks-long sell-off that began in early October with a major liquidation event, which wiped out about $19 billion in leveraged bets.

Bitcoin trades near the lower boundary of its recent trading range, with any increase in the price being met by selling from investors who bought the largest cryptocurrency near the all-time high reached in early October.

Crypto analytics firm Glassnode said various metrics point to a "mild bearish phase," defined by modest capital inflows outweighed by steady selling pressure from larger holders.

Following all the crypto market turbulence of recent weeks, XRP finds itself in a weird spot on the monthly TradingView chart, and the risk is not hidden in indicators or exotic patterns. It is structural. The price of XRP is creeping closer to the Bollinger midband at around $1.82, and if it dips below that, there is literally no floor.

It all goes back to November 2024. XRP shot up by about 283% in a fast and furious move, jumping across multiple price zones without taking a breather to form support cushions. That candle solved the upside problems fast, but it left the downside unfinished. When prices move that quickly over a longer time frame, they often skip the acceptance process. 

So, what's left behind is air.

10% lifeline for XRP price

On the monthly time frame, the Bollinger midband is the only clear anchor left. It is pretty close to the current levels, at less than 10% away. A controlled test can still keep the structure together, but a clean close below it would change the whole map. 

Once that level gives way, the chart does not really have any obvious reference points until much lower, which forces traders to fall back to weekly and daily structures that were not designed to handle a macro pullback.

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If XRP dips below $1.82, there is no guarantee of panic, but it does take away the last bit of monthly support — then, price discovery becomes defensive. XRP does not need any bad news to dip into that zone. It just needs gravity to finish what the vertical rally skipped.

SHIB is seated in an uncomfortable but intriguing position. It is obvious that prices are not rising. All of the major moving averages aggressively cap the daily chart's extended downward trend, which has lower highs and lower lows. The 100 and 50 EMAs continue to slope downward, serving as dynamic resistance, while the 200 EMA is still well above. It is premature to discuss a trend reversal before at least the 50 EMA has recovered.

Shiba Inu's short-term trend

However, the price is no longer falling. We are currently witnessing compression. By creating a shallow ascending structure at the bottom, SHIB has created a short-term hybrid of a descending range and falling wedge. This area usually marks the beginning of a relief rally or a sideways market bleed before another leg down.

Momentum indicators show this uncertainty. The RSI is stuck in the middle of the 40s, displaying neither strength nor panic. Although there are still sellers, they are no longer as aggressive.

Shiba Inu flows

On-chain flows are the crucial part. A one-day net exchange outflow of about 192.6 billion SHIB is not insignificant. That is a significant withdrawal of liquidity from exchanges, and it usually indicates transfers to cold storage or accumulation rather than getting ready to sell. In the past, sustained rallies on SHIB have only occurred after several days of negative exchange netflow. This is consistent with that early pattern.

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What matters is the context. The price was still low when this outflow took place. This implies that instead of chasing candles, buyers are quietly absorbing supply. Although it lessens the pressure to sell right away, there is no assurance of an increase.

The likelihood of a brief bounce or squeeze rises if this behavior persists into the weekend, particularly if overall market conditions do not worsen. The primary invalidation is clear. The bullish implications of the outflow would be negated by a clear breakdown below the present consolidation base.

On the plus side, SHIB must recover and maintain the 50 EMA. Any higher move would still be a countertrend rally without that.

In summary, SHIB is not yet bullish, but it is also no longer blaringly weak. Instead of capitulation, the exchange outflow points to astute money positioning. A relief rally is possible if volume increases and price does the same. If not, more sideways movement should be anticipated before the market makes a move.

The composition on the market is far from being bullish enough, and unfortunately, it seems like things will not get better in the near future. Some assets show recovery possibilities, but it might not be for a long time due to the lack of bullish-side liquidity.

XRP should be ready

One of the more intriguing structures currently on the market is being subtly established by XRP. When you zoom out and consider the context, the chart presents a different picture, even though price action still appears significant at first.

Over the past few weeks, XRP has been engaging in systematic, time-consuming accumulation rather than panic-selling. Since the October breakdown, XRP has been trapped in a descending channel on the daily chart. The price is currently in the $2.00-$2.05 range, which is close to the channel's lower boundary. This area has already undergone numerous tests and, crucially, is still intact.

It appears that sellers are running out of steam because each dip into this range has been met with absorption rather than follow-through selling. The structure of the moving average supports that opinion.

The trend is currently technically bearish because XRP is trading below the 50- and 100-day EMAs, but the gap between the price and these averages is no longer growing. This compression typically comes before a volatility expansion, and following a prolonged decline, the odds begin to lean toward a bounce instead of another rash leg down.

Here, volume behavior is important. With every subsequent push lower, selling volume has been decreasing, and volume spikes are increasingly correlated with upside candles. Weak hands leaving and stronger hands quietly entering the market without pursuing further price increases is classic accumulation behavior.

This narrative is also supported by the RSI. For weeks, it has been stuck in the mid-40s and will not go into extremely oversold territory. That indicates that although downside pressure is present, it is under control. RSI typically stays below 40 during protracted bear markets.

Ethereum's turning point

Ethereum is at a technical turning point once more, and the way the market is currently structured indicates that it is getting ready for another push rather than collapsing right away. ETH has stabilized above the $3,000 psychological zone following a dramatic corrective phase from the highs, and it is currently working to gradually recover lost ground.

On the daily chart, the declining short-term trend structure and the 50-day EMA have created a dense resistance cluster that the price is pushing back into. The market appears cautious in this area, since ETH has already been rejected once. However, the way the price is acting is more important than the actual rejection.

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The moving averages present a conflicting but positive image. The 100-day EMA is serving as dynamic support just below the current price, while ETH stays above the 200-day EMA, maintaining the larger bullish structure. The 50-day EMA is currently the biggest barrier.

Volume supports this theory. Compared to the October breakdown, selling pressure has significantly decreased, and participation in recent upside candles has improved. Although that volume is not euphoric, it is sufficient to imply that distribution is not controlling this range.

The RSI is in the low-to-mid-50s, which indicates neutral momentum with potential for growth. Attempts to continue a trend usually start here rather than at this point.

The next course of action for investors is probably binary. A rise toward $3,800, and possibly $4,000, becomes feasible if ETH breaks through the 50 EMA and stays above $3,400-$3,500. Expect rough consolidation between $3,000 and $3,400 as the market gains momentum if it is rejected once more.

Shiba Inu circling around

Shiba Inu is once again circling the $0.000008 region, and the price action indicates that this level is evolving into more than a short-term stop despite the ugly overall trend. Although SHIB has been under constant pressure for months, the most recent structure indicates a change from free-fall to controlled compression, and that is important.

SHIB is creating a tiny ascending structure on the daily chart following a violent sell-off. The macro bias is still bearish because the price is still below all major moving averages, but it is crucial to note that the downward momentum has considerably slowed. Since sellers were worn out by the severe October breakdown, SHIB has been forming higher lows, while volume continues to decline. That is not capitulation, rather, it is traditional stabilization behavior.

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A rising local trendline is currently challenging the short-term descending pressure, indicating the possibility of an impending volatility expansion. The first real indication that bulls are taking back control would be a clean break and hold above $0.0000085.

The $0.0000095-$0.000010 zone, where the 50 EMA is presently located, could be SHIB's target if that occurs. Although it will be difficult to break through that barrier, doing so would already signify a significant change in attitude and organization.

RSI concurs with this view. It is still in neutral territory, neither oversold nor overheated, so momentum could increase if the price confirms. Crucially, the idea that bearish pressure is waning is supported by the fact that the RSI is no longer making lower lows.

Nevertheless, a turnaround is not assured. Both bulls and bears may become frustrated if SHIB is unable to break higher and remains stuck in a sideways range or slow bleed. However, the most important lesson is straightforward: $0.000008 is being actively defended, and SHIB is no longer rapidly declining.

Bitcoin OG increases aggressive long position on Ethereum

Long-time Bitcoin holderis going insanely bullish on Ethereum despite ETH price being in the red.

Ethereum long. A long-time Bitcoin holder (“1011short”) has significantly increased his Ethereum long, now holding 120,094 ETH.

According to Lookonchain, a Bitcoin OG is going massively long on Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, and even increasing his bullish bet on the cryptocurrency. The long-time Bitcoin holder who has previously held an Ethereum long position is now seen increasing it.

Far from liquidation. His liquidation price sits at $2,234.69, still well below ETH’s current price of $3,193.

According to Lookonchain, BitcoinOG (1011short) keeps adding more to his ETH long, increasing his position to 120,094 ETH. His liquidation price is at $2,234.69, which is still far from the current ETH price of $3,193.

This is in line with the recent accumulation stint seen among large ETH holders. According to Lookonchain, Tom Lee's Bitmine just bought another 33,504 ETH worth $112.06 million over the past six hours.

Ripple reveals New York as host city for Swell

Ripplewill be hosting back-to-back Swell events in New York.

Big announcement. Ripple announced that its annual Swell conference will be held Oct. 27–29 in New York City.

Ripple has just revealed that Swell, its major annual conference, will take place Oct. 27–29 in New York City.

"Not only are we returning to New York, but we’re also coming back bigger than ever and combining Swell and Apex to create a single, unified event," Ripple said.

Ripple’s annual Swell events have historically moved around major global financial and tech hubs. The first Swell took place in Toronto in 2017, followed by conferences in San Francisco (2018), Singapore (2019), and more recently in Dubai (2023) and Miami (2024).

First time. Hosting New York in consecutive years marks a first for Ripple’s flagship conference.

Hosting back-to-back New York events would be an unprecedented move for Ripple’s flagship conference. Swell 2025 in New York was one of the most talked‑about events of the year for the XRP community. It brought together heavyweights from traditional finance, regulatory circles, policymakers, and the fastest‑growing parts of the blockchain world.

DOGE trading activity surges ahead of key Fed decision

Dogecoinhas seen a 61% activity surge on spot exchanges as traders position ahead of crucial market catalyst.

Activity surge. Dogecoin spot-exchange activity jumped 61% as traders positioned ahead of a major Federal Reserve announcement.

Dogecoin has seen a 61% activity surge on spot exchanges as traders positioned ahead of one of the most consequential Federal Reserve decisions of the year.

The crypto market rose ahead of this macro signal, with most coins, including Dogecoin, trading in green. Dogecoin rose at the start of the week; the dog coin started rising from a low of $0.134 on Dec. 7 to reach a high of $0.153, before easing.

On the verge of breakout. Dogecoin has traded between $0.131 and $0.156 since Nov. 21; a confirmed breakout requires a close above $0.156.

Dogecoin rose for two days at a stretch from Dec. 8 to 9, as its price saw a relief rally after a slump in early December. The dog coin has traded in a range between $0.131 and $0.156 since Nov. 21. It will be watched next if Dogecoin breaks out from its current trading range, with a confirmed break above $0.156 required.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse hasreacted to the company receiving conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to create Ripple National Trust Bank. The top executive has described this as "huge news."

As reported by U.Today, the San Francisco-based enterprise blockchain firm received conditional approval alongside some other crypto firms.

It is a federal bank charter, which is the same type of charter that major U.S. banks operate under.

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In his celebratory social media post, Garlinghouse has stressed that the stablecoin becomes a fully regulated product at both the federal and state levels.

"What are you afraid of?"

Several major U.S. banking associations publiclycalled on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to block or slow down national trust bank charter applications from crypto firms.

These argued that the charters could give crypto firms competitive advantages without the same regulatory burdens.

The Bank Policy Institute, which represents dozens of major U.S. banks, opposed the applications from Ripple and Circle.

Garlinghouse took aim at the banking lobby in his social media post, noting that the crypto industry prioritizes compliance and trust.

"You’ve complained that crypto isn’t playing by the same rules, but here’s the crypto industry – directly under the OCC's supervision and standards – prioritizing compliance, trust, and innovation to the benefit of consumers. What are you so afraid of?" he asked.