Ether Unlikely to Reach New Highs in 2026: Crypto Analyst

Ethereum is unlikely to hit new highs in the coming year, given the current conditions for Bitcoin, says crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen. “If Bitcoin truly is truly in a bear market, which is what it feels like, it would be kind of hard for Ethereum to go up there,” Cowen said on the Bankless podcast…

South Korea’s BC Card Completes Stablecoin Payments Pilot for Foreigners

South Korean payments processor BC Card has completed a pilot project that enabled foreign users to pay local merchants using stablecoins. BC Card’s pilot project was announced Tuesday and was conducted with blockchain company Wavebridge, wallet provider Aaron group and cross-border remittance provider Global Money Express. The companies had foreign users convert their stablecoins held…

Bitcoin Market Fundamentals Strong In 2025: Strategy CEO

Bitcoin’s market fundamentals have stayed strong in 2025, despite the asset’s price and sentiment declining toward the end of the year, says Strategy CEO Phong Le. “The fundamentals of the market this year for Bitcoin couldn’t be better,” Le told the “Coin Stories” podcast on Tuesday, emphasizing that he doesn’t care too much about its…

Hong Kong’s SFC, FSTB target 2026 legislation for virtual asset dealer and custodian rules

Hong Kong plans to complete proposals to regulate virtual asset dealers and custodians and introduce the rules to the city’s Legislative Council in 2026, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said Wednesday. The proposals, developed after a two-month public consultation that drew more than 190 responses,…

3 Bitcoin Signs Pointing to a BTC Market Bottom

Bitcoin (BTC) may establish a local bottom after dropping by over 35% from its record high of around $126,200 established two months ago, based on a mix of technical and on-chain indicators. Key takeaways: Momentum, miner capitulation and liquidity indicators point to fading selling pressure. Macro liquidity suggests a BTC recovery could begin within the…

ETH Whales Accumulate as Supply Tightens Near $3K

Ether (ETH) has experienced renewed accumulation from large whales over the past few days, despite the price being compressed under $3,000. However, recent onchain and futures data indicate growing pressure for a potential breakout.  Key takeaways: Large whales added over $2 billion worth of ETH in recent days despite muted price action. Exchange supply is…

Pudgy Penguins Bring NFT Characters to the Las Vegas Sphere

Pudgy Penguins ran an animated display on the Las Vegas Sphere during Christmas week, projecting its penguin characters across the venue’s exterior screens. In a post on X, Pudgy Penguins said its animations went live on Christmas Eve on the exterior of the Las Vegas Sphere, a popular domed venue wrapped in high-resolution LED panels…

Glamsterdam and Hegota Forks, L1 Scaling

The coming year is set to be crucial for Ethereum scaling. In 2026, the Glamsterdam fork will bring perfect parallel processing to the chain and ratchet up the gas limit to 200 million, up from 60 million today. A significant number of validators will switch over from reexecuting transactions to verifying zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs instead….

Russia’s Central Bank Signals Shift Toward Retail Crypto Access

The Bank of Russia put forward a policy proposal that would allow non-qualified investors to buy certain cryptocurrencies. According to a Tuesday announcement, the central bank’s proposal would allow both qualified and non-qualified investors to buy most crypto, but with limitations. Non-qualified investors would be limited to a yet-to-be-defined set of liquid crypto after passing…

What Drove BTC and Crypto in 2025?

Crypto markets are often explained through narratives. Political developments, regulatory headlines, institutional adoption and cycle-based expectations dominate the price action during volatile periods. These narratives influence positioning and sentiment, but over the past year, price sustainability has been dictated more by measurable capital flows, liquidity conditions and onchain behavior than by headlines themselves. Key takeaways:…