Cointelegraph.com
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Cointelegraph.com - 22:04 Dec 27, 2025
Giving crypto companies and fintech startups access to accounts at the Federal Reserve is a hedge against debanking by commercial banks. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a pro-crypto United States lawmaker, said the recent proposal from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller to give crypto companies access to “skinny” master accounts would end debanking under Operation Chokepoint 2.0. Waller proposed the idea at the Payments Innovation Conference in October, allowing crypto and fintech startups, including payment-only banks, access to accounts at the Federal Reserve similar to the “master accounts” used by banks, but with restrictions. Lummis said: Operation Chokepoint 2.0 was described as a coordinated effort to deny banking services to crypto companies and their founders. More than 30 tech founders were debanked under the operation, according to venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 20:19 Dec 27, 2025
The low levels of internet search volume signal that retail investors are not interested in the crypto market, a stark contrast from January. Worldwide Google search volume for the term “crypto” is hovering above the 1-year low and has reached a 1-year low in the United States as 2025 comes to a close, indicating weak crypto investor sentiment. The Google search volume scale ranges from 0-100, with 100 indicating the highest levels of search volume. Worldwide search volume for “crypto” hit 26 on Monday, just two points above the 1-year low of 24. Worldwide search volume collapsed during the crypto market crash in April, due to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policy. US Google search volumes for “crypto” followed the same pattern but fell to a 1-year low of 26 on Monday. Mario Nawfal said: Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 18:20 Dec 27, 2025
Developing economies that lack entrenched financial market infrastructure will adopt tokenized real-world assets before developed countries. The tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market will continue to grow in 2026, fueled by adoption in emerging market economies, according to Jesse Knutson, head of operations at crypto exchange Bitfinex. Emerging market economies experience “friction” in capital formation and attracting foreign investment, Knutson told Cointelegraph Tokenizing real-world assets, the process of representing physical or traditional assets on blockchain networks, fixes this by enabling onchain capital formation and bypassing traditional financial intermediaries, he said. Kunston added: Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 12:24 Dec 27, 2025
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned that reopening the GENIUS Act would cross a “red line,” accusing banks of lobbying Congress to block stablecoin rewards and limit competition. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said any attempt to reopen the GENIUS Act would cross a “red line,” accusing banks of using political pressure to block competition from stablecoins and fintech platforms. In a Sunday post on X, Armstrong said he was “impressed” banks could lobby Congress so openly without backlash, adding that Coinbase would continue pushing back on efforts to revise the law. “We won’t let anyone reopen GENIUS,” he wrote. “My prediction is the banks will actually flip and be lobbying FOR the ability to pay interest and yield on stablecoins in a few years, once they realize how big the opportunity is for them. So it’s 100% wasted effort on their part (in addition to being unethical),” Armstrong added. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 12:15 Dec 27, 2025
Bitcoin’s resilient basis rate and options data suggest limited downside despite ETF outflows, while BTC waits for a catalyst that can help it reclaim $90,000. Bitcoin (BTC) bulls worry that institutional interest is weakening amid softer demand for BTC futures. However, other metrics suggest that the BTC price could avoid falling below $85,000. Key takeaways: BTC futures open interest fell to $42B, an eighth-month low, signalling a leverage flush rather than bearish bets. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:24 Dec 27, 2025
Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine has begun staking Ether after depositing nearly $219 million worth of ETH into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system. Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine has begun staking its Ether holdings depositing nearly $219 million worth of ETH into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) system. On Sunday, multiple wallets linked to Bitmine sent large Ether (ETH) transfers to a contract labeled “BatchDeposit,” onchain data from Arkham shows. The transfers totaled 74,880 ETH, a pattern typically associated with institutional staking setups that aggregate funds before validator creation. “The largest Ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) has finally started attempting to stake its held ETH to earn interest income,” EmberCN said in a post on X. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 06:54 Dec 27, 2025
JPMorgan has reportedly frozen accounts linked to Y Combinator–backed stablecoin startups BlindPay and Kontigo after flagging exposure to sanctioned jurisdictions. JPMorgan Chase has reportedly frozen bank accounts linked to two venture-backed stablecoin startups after identifying exposure to sanctioned and high-risk jurisdictions. The accounts belonged to BlindPay and Kontigo, two stablecoin startups backed by Y Combinator that primarily operate across Latin America, according to a report by The Information. Both companies accessed JPMorgan’s banking services through Checkbook, a digital payments firm that partners with large financial institutions. Per the report, the freezes occurred after JPMorgan flagged business activity tied to Venezuela and other locations subject to US sanctions. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 05:03 Dec 27, 2025
The second half of 2026 will provide “more constructive conditions” for XRP to potentially surge, according to Nansen crypto analyst Jake Kennis. XRP’s price could continue consolidating into the new year, with a stronger upward trend dependent on more bullish catalysts, according to crypto analysts. “We maintain a view that the latter half of 2026 will provide more constructive conditions for risk assets in general, but in the short term, we have a slightly bearish tilt on altcoins until BTC consolidates or forms a bottom,” Nansen senior research analyst Jake Kennis told Cointelegraph. Kennis is holding off on specific price predictions for 2026, but pointed to several catalysts that could drive XRP’s (XRP) price higher, including potential spot ETF approvals, integration with global payment rails, and “increased efforts to make XRP a liquidity or bridge asset.” Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 02:54 Dec 27, 2025
Bitcoin reached new all-time highs in October, yet Jan3 founder Samson Mow has described the year as a “bear market” and anticipates a major bull run ahead. Bitcoin could be entering a bull run lasting into 2035, following what may have been a bear market over the past 12 months, according to Jan3 founder Samson Mow. However, other analysts have argued that Bitcoin’s (BTC) all-time high of $125,100 in October marked the cycle high and 2026 could be the start of a new bear market. “2025 was the bear market,” Mow said in an X post on Friday, adding that Bitcoin may be about to record a “decade long bull run.” Mow isn’t alone in his view of the year, with Bitcoin analyst PlanC echoing a similar sentiment. “If you made it through 2025, you made it through the bear market,” PlanC said in an X post on the same day. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 23:46 Dec 26, 2025
A surge in stablecoins, tokenized RWAs and growing sovereign wealth fund interest could drive a major increase in Ethereum’s TVL in 2026, Sharplink’s co-CEO said. Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) may surge ten-fold in 2026 as adoption expands across multiple use cases and institutional investors, according to Sharplink’s co-CEO Joseph Chalom. Sharplink Gaming is the second-largest public Ethereum treasury company, holding 797,704 ETH (ETH), worth roughly $2.33 billion at the time of publication, according to Ethereum Treasuries data. “The stablecoin market will hit $500B by the end of next year,” Chalom predicted in an X post on Friday, as the total stablecoin market capitalization currently sits at around $308.46 billion. A move to $500 billion would represent an increase of about 62%. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:39 Dec 26, 2025
Discounts and bundle deals were offered to mining operators, as 2025 ends on a bad note for the crypto market and the mining industry. Bitmain, the largest manufacturer of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), the machines used to mine proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, has reportedly slashed prices on several generations of mining hardware amid sector-wide turmoil for the mining industry. The company is offering bundle deals and discounts across the board, including on its S19 and S21 series machines that would have been considered “distressed sales” earlier in 2025 when Bitcoin (BTC) was rising in price, according to TheMinerMag. Even newer, flagship mining hardware like the S21 immersion-cooled ASICs were offered at discounts of $7 per terahash-second (TH/s), and some hardware bundles were auctioned off to mining operators that could “name their own price,” TheMinerMag said. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:15 Dec 26, 2025
Fundstrat’s head of research said institutional tokenization supports a $7,000–$9,000 Ether price in early 2026 and a longer-term case for $20,000. Ethereum’s growing role in institutional finance took center stage on CNBC’s Power Lunch this week, when Tom Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said Ether could climb to $7,000–$9,000 by early 2026 as Wall Street accelerates efforts to tokenize assets and move financial activity onchain. Lee said Ether’s (ETH) investment case is increasingly tied to its use as financial infrastructure, as Wall Street experiments with onchain settlement and tokenized securities. “Wall Street wants to tokenize everything,” Lee said, pointing to initiatives at Robinhood and BlackRock. The shift, he said, could bring efficiencies to traditional finance while anchoring real-world use cases on Ether. He added that Ether could eventually reach $20,000 as adoption deepens. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 20:00 Dec 26, 2025
Stani Kulechov's comments followed an uproar in the Aave community about the relationship between the Aave decentralized autonomous organization and Aave Labs. Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of Aave Labs, the main development company behind the Aave decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, denied claims that he recently purchased $15 million of Aave (AAVE) tokens to influence a controversial community vote that failed to pass. “These tokens were not used to vote on the recent proposal, and that was never my intention. This is my life's work, and I am putting my own capital behind my conviction,” Kulechov said. He also said that Aave Labs has not clearly communicated the economic alignment between it and Aave token holders. “In the future, we'll be more explicit about how products built by Aave Labs create value for the DAO and AAVE token holders,” he added. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 20:00 Dec 26, 2025
Bitcoin’s technical and onchain market structure was robust throughout 2025, but ever-shifting macroeconomic conditions eventually put a cap on BTC price. Will the trend shift in 2026? Bitcoin’s 2024–2025 price action highlighted a disconnect between improving high-timeframe onchain structure and restrictive macroeconomic conditions. While crypto-native liquidity and supply dynamics strengthened during Bitcoin’s (BTC) 2024 rally, external variables, like elevated real yields and Federal Reserve balance sheet contraction, imposed valuation limits as the cycle progressed. Key takeaways Bitcoin rallied to above $100,000 from $42,000 in 2024 alongside rising stablecoin inflows and sustained BTC exchange outflows. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 19:00 Dec 26, 2025
Cryptocurrency markets experienced a modest recovery this week, but spot Bitcoin ETFs extended a five-day losing streak amid thin year-end liquidity. Cryptocurrency markets had a small rebound following last week’s dip, as investor activity wound down during the holidays. Bitcoin (BTC) fell to a weekly low of $86,561 on Tuesday, before bouncing back above $88,600 on Friday, according to TradingView data. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) demand remained weak, recording $175 million in outflows on Wednesday, which marked a fifth consecutive day of net outflows, according to Farside Investors. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 18:25 Dec 26, 2025
The USX stablecoin briefly slipped below its dollar peg on Solana DEXs before recovering after its issuer injected liquidity into secondary markets. USX, a Solana-native US dollar-pegged stablecoin, briefly traded below its peg on decentralized exchanges early Friday after heavy sell pressure overwhelmed available liquidity on Orca and Raydium, prompting issuer Solstice Finance to step in with liquidity support. In an X post on Friday, PeckShieldAlert showed USX briefly trading as low as $0.10 in secondary markets before rebounding, a move attributed to isolated trades executed during a period of extremely thin liquidity. Aggregated DEX data shows a less extreme move. A 15-minute USX/USD chart from GeckoTerminal’s Orca pool shows USX dipping to about $0.80, reflecting where most trading volume occurred, before recovering and stabilizing near $0.99 as liquidity returned. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 18:00 Dec 26, 2025
Regulatory clarity in the United States and the likelihood of falling interest rates will push the crypto ETF market higher in 2026. Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set to explode in 2026, with over 100 new ETF filings expected and billions of dollars in net inflows pouring into the investment vehicles, according to analysts. Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas forecast a base case of $15 billion in capital flows in 2026 and as much as $40 billion if market conditions improve. The US Federal Reserve is “probably” going to lower the interest rate in 2026, pushing net inflows toward the mid or upper limits of the estimate, Balchunas told Cointelegraph. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 17:28 Dec 26, 2025
The mainnet rollout follows the Fermi testnet activation in November, further reducing block times on the layer-1 blockchain network. The BNB Smart Chain’s Fermi hard fork has been scheduled for mainnet activation on Jan. 14, following about two months in the testnet phase. Fermi will lower the block interval to 250 milliseconds from 750 milliseconds to support “time-sensitive” applications that require sub-second block times, according to the BNB community’s GitHub page. The upgrade also introduces extended voting parameters to make up for the communication lag between nodes due to the shortened block times. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 17:01 Dec 26, 2025
In an exclusive Cointelegraph interview, the crypto analyst pointed to macro headwinds, muted sentiment and cycle dynamics shaping Bitcoin’s path into 2026. As Bitcoin (BTC) continues to underperform gold and major equity indices, investors are increasingly questioning whether this cycle is unfolding differently than expected. In a new interview with analyst Benjamin Cowen, we dig into why Bitcoin is lagging traditional markets, and why the current setup may feel strikingly similar to 2019. Cowen points out that while stocks and gold are responding positively to expectations around future monetary easing, Bitcoin appears far more sensitive to actual liquidity conditions rather than optimism alone. That distinction, he explains, helps clarify why BTC has struggled to gain momentum even as broader markets push higher. According to Cowen, Bitcoin often requires a clearer macroeconomic catalyst before it can outperform, and that catalyst may not yet be in place. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 16:04 Dec 26, 2025
Bitcoin and several major altcoins attempted to start a relief rally, but higher levels continue to attract strong selling by the bears. Key points: Bitcoin attempted to rise above $90,000, but sustained recovery may require institutional demand to pick up. While most major altcoins are struggling near their recent lows, Bitcoin Cash looks strong on the charts. Read more
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