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Cointelegraph has highlighted three key factors for the Bitcoin market this week. First, a key indicator tracking the asset's bull-bear cycle has dropped to a multi-year low. Second, the Coinbase Premium has turned negative, suggesting a weakening of demand from U.S. institutional investors. Finally, on-chain indicators show that oversold conditions are easing, potentially creating the conditions for a short-term rebound.

Bitcoin margin long positions on the Bitfinex exchange have swelled to their largest level since early 2024, Coindesk reported. The total currently stands at approximately 72,700 BTC, a significant increase from around 55,000 BTC in early October. This level is comparable to the period just before BTC reached its peak of $73,000 in March of last year. However, the report noted that in past cycles, a surge in margin long positions has often served as a contrarian indicator. While major market bottoms have previously coincided with large-scale investors reducing their long positions, no such bottoming signal has yet emerged in the current market.

Andrei Grachev, co-founder of DWF Labs, announced on X that the firm has successfully completed its first test transaction involving physical gold. He stated that the transaction, which involved a 25 kg gold bar, proceeded smoothly. Grachev added that DWF Labs plans to expand its Real World Asset (RWA) business to include physical silver, platinum, and cotton, aligning with the company's vision to play a key role in the RWA market.

Digital asset investment products saw net outflows of $952 million last week, ending a three-week streak of inflows, according to a weekly fund flow report from CoinShares. Bitcoin investment products experienced $460 million in net outflows, while Ethereum products saw $555 million withdrawn. CoinShares attributed the outflows to several factors, including delays in the implementation of the U.S. crypto market structure bill (CLARITY Act), prolonged regulatory uncertainty, and increased selling pressure from large-scale investors.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Sei (SEI) starting at 3:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23 to support the network's transition.

Crypto bank Anchorage Digital has announced its acquisition of Securitize for Advisors, a registered investment advisor (RIA) platform operating under the security token firm Securitize. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Through the acquisition, Anchorage Digital plans to integrate its institutional custody infrastructure with Securitize's advisor-focused platform to expand its range of digital asset services for RIAs.

Ethereum Layer 2 project Taiko has announced a partnership with Avalon Labs, a Bitcoin on-chain financial services platform. Under the agreement, the two companies will deploy real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure for institutional investors on the Taiko network. Avalon Labs plans to build out features on Taiko including lending contracts, institutional-grade oracle data integration, and stablecoin issuance capabilities. Taiko stated that its strengths include an Ethereum-based rollup structure, an architecture that eliminates centralized sequencer risk, and transaction finality of under two seconds. The project added that it provides on-chain infrastructure that allows institutions to meet requirements for both regulatory reliability and decentralization.

Metaplanet, a publicly listed Japanese company that has incorporated Bitcoin as a key corporate asset, has approved the issuance of dividend-paying preferred stock, Cointelegraph reported. The move signals a shift from a growth-focused model to a traditional capital strategy that includes income-generating securities. Following the approval, Metaplanet can reclassify its capital reserves to fund preferred stock dividends and share buybacks, and the issuance limit for its Class A and B preferred shares has been doubled. The Class B shares have been specifically approved for issuance to overseas institutional investors. According to the report, this structure is seen as a strategy to offer a new type of Bitcoin exposure to global institutions that are reluctant to hold BTC directly or invest in volatile common stock. The company recently began trading on the U.S. OTC market and established a subsidiary in Miami as it works to attract global capital by localizing a U.S.-style Bitcoin strategy within Japan's regulatory environment.

Binance announced it will list five new spot trading pairs—ADA/USD1, ASTER/USD1, LUNA/USDC, LUNC/USDC, and ZEC/USD1—at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 24.

A number of UK-listed companies that pursued Bitcoin accumulation strategies are now facing significant unrealized losses after buying the cryptocurrency at high prices, The Telegraph reported, citing its own analysis. The analysis found that 13 publicly traded British firms purchased a total of 4,300 BTC at an average price of $113,105. With Bitcoin's price falling to $87,000 last Friday, these holdings are down 22% from their average entry point. Including a sale by Satsuma Technology, an AI infrastructure firm listed on the London Stock Exchange, these companies have incurred losses of approximately £79 million ($99.5 million). The report also noted that Smarter Web Company (SWC), a UK-based web developer that adopted a Bitcoin reserve strategy, has also recorded losses, with its stock price plummeting by around 90% from its peak.

An address presumed to belong to Bitmine, starting with 0x1b6, has withdrawn 13,412 ETH ($40.58 million) from Kraken, Onchain Lens reported.

Binance announced on its official website that it will list the KGST/USDT spot trading pair at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 24.

Web3 social infrastructure project UXLINK has initiated a governance proposal to use a portion of its revenue for token buybacks, the project announced on X. The proposal calls for using monthly revenue to purchase at least 1% of the total UXLINK token supply, which would then be held in a strategic reserve. UXLINK stated that despite its stable growth and monthly profits, the project's intrinsic value is not fully reflected in the market. It added that the proposal is a sustainable mechanism based on a firm belief in the project's future. The vote is scheduled to conclude on Dec. 27.

South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which operates under the Financial Services Commission, has initiated sanction procedures against virtual asset exchange Korbit, Aju Business Daily reported exclusively. According to industry sources on Dec. 22, Korbit confirmed it received a preliminary notice from the FIU on Dec. 18 regarding violations of its anti-money laundering obligations. This notice is the first step in the process, which will be followed by a roughly 10-day period for hearing opinions before the FIU's Sanctions Deliberation Committee makes a final decision on penalties, including potential fines.

AI-focused blockchain project OpenLedger (OPEN) announced via X that it has received an investment in its OPEN token from Marblex, the blockchain subsidiary of KOSPI-listed South Korean gaming company Netmarble. The project added that the investment reflects Marblex's confidence in OpenLedger's potential to serve as a foundational infrastructure for data and AI transparency.

Cloud computing firm Northern Data has sold its Bitcoin mining division, Peak Mining, to three companies operated by Tether executives for up to $200 million, the Financial Times reported. The acquiring firms are reportedly run by Tether co-founder and Chairman Giancarlo Devasini and CEO Paolo Ardoino.

The following are the 24-hour long/short ratios for BTC perpetual futures on the top three global crypto futures exchanges by open interest: Overall: 50.53% long, 49.47% short 1. Binance: 49.69% long, 50.31% short 2. OKX: 49.8% long, 50.2% short 3. Bybit: 51.39% long, 48.61% short

Five anonymous whale addresses have deposited 8.84 million LIGHT, worth $8.2 million, to the crypto exchange Bitget over the past seven hours, according to Lookonchain. The token's price surged from $1.35 to $4.75 over the past three days before plummeting below $1 in the last two hours. Over the past 24 hours, LIGHT futures liquidations have reached $16.17 million, the third-largest volume after BTC and ETH.

A Uniswap (UNI) governance proposal titled "UNIFICation" is on track to be approved by the community. The proposal has garnered 69 million votes in favor, significantly exceeding the 40 million required for passage, with an approval rate nearing 100%. Key measures in the proposal include burning 100 million UNI, activating a fee on/off mechanism on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet, and burning the UNI collected through these fees.

Blockchain security firm CertiK has announced a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NEXUS to strengthen security and stablecoin infrastructure. The collaboration will target the NEXUS and CROSS ecosystems. Under the agreement, CertiK will work with NEXUS on several fronts, including smart contract security and audits, real-time on-chain risk monitoring, establishing a regulatory and compliance framework for Asia-based stablecoins, and upgrading core security infrastructure. Additionally, the two firms plan to jointly develop an Asia market entry strategy and will gradually expand their cooperation, with a focus on Web3 security and enterprise blockchain.

The Hong Kong Insurance Authority (HKIA) has released a legislative proposal that would allow insurance capital to be invested in cryptocurrencies and related infrastructure, Bloomberg reported. The proposal includes a 100% risk weighting for cryptocurrencies, while the weighting for stablecoins would depend on their underlying pegged assets. The plan is scheduled for public and industry consultation from February to April 2026, after which it will be submitted to the legislature. Bloomberg added that Hong Kong has been actively developing regulations to support cryptocurrency and stablecoin development as part of its push to become a digital finance hub.

Bitcoin is expected to bottom out in 2026 before rising to $150,000 in the next bull market, according to on-chain analyst Murphy. The analyst identified the $80,000 to $90,000 range as the strongest support zone, noting that 6.17 million BTC are currently held at a loss above $90,000, while 7.46 million BTC are in a profitable position below $80,000. Murphy stated that after a major liquidation event on Oct. 11, most top-sellers have already exited the market, and the remaining holders have entered a holding phase. The primary risk now is large-scale selling from profitable long-term holders (LTHs), who have been offloading their positions due to the four-year cycle theory and macroeconomic uncertainty. However, panic selling above the $110,000 level has largely subsided. The analyst added that despite the sell-off from LTHs, Bitcoin's price has not experienced a 50% crash typical of past cycles, which indicates strong underlying demand. If new buying pressure can absorb the 1.87 million BTC in the $80,000-$90,000 range without it becoming sell-side pressure, the outlook for next year is positive. Murphy concluded that the current market is a strong shakeout period and that an inflection point will arrive in 2026, paving the way for a rally to $150,000.

An Ethereum OG address starting with 0xccc staked 3,598 ETH, worth approximately $10.8 million, on the liquid staking platform Ether.fi about four hours ago, according to The Data Nerd. The address had held the assets for nine years.

The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - BTC: $49.14 million liquidated (62.66% shorts) - ETH: $47.23 million liquidated (67.34% shorts) - LIGHT: $16.31 million liquidated (51.43% longs)

Global cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has announced a comprehensive platform overhaul centered on enhancing benefits for its VIP traders. The update integrates fee structures, reward programs, and asset management functions into a unified, VIP-focused system. Operating under the slogan "Maximum perks, minimum fees," the revamped platform features a minimal fee structure as a core component, with rates up to 67% lower than major competing exchanges for equivalent trading volume tiers. VIP status, privileges, and benefits can be viewed instantly through the app's user interface. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen explained that the overhaul combines tangible benefits like lower fees, a clear privilege structure, and accessible tools for advanced traders into a single environment. The exchange stated that this initiative marks a strategic shift from volume-based competition to making the VIP experience a core element of its platform strategy.