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The total value locked (TVL) in real-world asset (RWA) protocols has surpassed that of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), making it the fifth-largest category in decentralized finance, Cointelegraph reported. According to data from DeFiLlama, the TVL for RWAs currently stands at approximately $17 billion, a significant increase from $12 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. At the beginning of this year, RWAs were not ranked among the top 10 categories by TVL.

A wallet believed to belong to crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital deposited 10 million USDT to Binance approximately six hours ago, The Data Nerd reported.

Investors holding over 1,000 BTC are leading the market's current buying pressure while small-scale investors are exiting, according to a Glassnode analysis reported by CoinDesk. Glassnode noted that these whales began accumulating in earnest after BTC formed a bottom near $80,000 in late November and have continued to buy even as the price trades below $90,000. Meanwhile, mega-whales holding more than 10,000 BTC, who bought aggressively in late November, have slowed their pace of accumulation but are not showing any significant selling activity. This behavior contrasts with the large-scale sell-offs seen when BTC previously reached the $100,000 level.

Digital asset investment products experienced a net outflow of $446 million last week, according to a weekly fund flow report from CoinShares. The firm noted that cumulative net outflows since Oct. 10 have reached $3.2 billion. Bitcoin investment products saw $443 million in net outflows, while Ethereum products recorded outflows of $59.3 million. Year-to-date, cumulative net inflows stand at $46.3 billion, a level similar to the previous year's $48.7 billion. However, CoinShares explained that total assets under management have risen by only 10% over the same period, suggesting that when actual fund flows are considered, investors have not realized profits.

Cointelegraph has highlighted three key factors to watch in the Bitcoin market this week. These include the release of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) December meeting minutes, which may offer clues on future interest rate direction. Another point of focus is the expansion of bullish BTC bets by large-scale investors on Bitfinex. Finally, the outlet noted that the current decline in BTC's price has been more gradual compared to previous market cycles.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $88,000. BTC is trading at $87,986.8 on the Binance USDT market.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $89,000. BTC is trading at $88,971.48 on the Binance USDT market.

Decentralized prediction market platform Opinion Labs announced that it has surpassed $10 billion in cumulative trading volume just 55 days after its launch. The platform's cumulative open interest has also exceeded $110 million. This figure ranks second only to Polymarket and is significantly above the industry average. For comparison, the open interest for other decentralized prediction markets such as Predict, Myriad, and Limitless stands at $10 million, $1 million, and $700,000, respectively.

Trading volume for tokenized silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has surged amid a continued rally in global silver prices, CoinDesk reported. According to data from RWA.xyz, the volume for the tokenized iShares Silver Trust (SLV) has increased by 1200% over the past 30 days. The number of holders has also grown by approximately 300% during the same period.

Bitcoin's recovery to the $90,000 level is more of a technical rebound than the start of new momentum, according to an analysis from crypto research firm Presto Research. Rick Maeda, a researcher at the firm, stated that the move was driven more by technical factors than by a distinct catalyst, The Block reported. He explained that breaking the clear resistance level at $90,000 triggered short covering and momentum-based buying. Maeda added that market liquidity has thinned due to reduced trading volumes during the year-end holiday season, causing Bitcoin's price to react sensitively to relatively small capital flows. Ahead of the new year, traders are watching to see if Bitcoin can maintain the $90,000 level on a daily basis.

The open interest for both BTC and ETH futures increased in December amid a sideways trend in the broader cryptocurrency market, according to an analysis by CryptoQuant contributor Crazzyblockk. The contributor noted that BTC open interest grew by $1 billion to $23 billion, while ETH open interest rose from $13 billion to $15 billion. The analysis added that across major exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX, investors have maintained or expanded their positions rather than liquidating them, suggesting that they are still betting on a market recovery.

Web3 social infrastructure project UXLINK announced via its official X account that it has completed its first monthly token buyback for December. The purchase, which followed the approval of a community governance proposal, involved 10 million UXLINK, equivalent to 1% of the total supply and valued at approximately $148,000. The proposal called for using a portion of the protocol's monthly revenue to buy back at least 1% of the token supply for a strategic reserve. Separately, UXLINK CEO Rolland announced plans to personally fund an additional buyback of another 1% of the total UXLINK supply from the open market.

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: 50.31% long, 49.69% short 1. Binance: 50.33% long, 49.67% short 2. OKX: 51.78% long, 48.22% short 3. Bybit: 50.82% long, 49.18% short

Asia-based Web3 research and consulting firm Tiger Research has released its forecast for 10 significant changes in the cryptocurrency market for 2026. The key predictions are as follows: 1. Institutional funds will concentrate on proven, major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as the market reorganizes around institutional players. 2. Projects that fail to generate actual revenue and establish sustainable business models will be forced out of the market, as compelling narratives alone will no longer be enough for survival. 3. Utility and governance-focused token models will lose their appeal to investors. Instead, mechanisms offering clear value return, such as buybacks and token burns, will become the core standard. 4. Mergers and acquisitions among projects will accelerate as the Web3 industry enters a mature phase, leading to a market consolidation dominated by a few winners. 5. Blockchain-based decentralized crowdsourcing for robot training data will expand, creating a new gig economy where individuals receive immediate compensation for their data contributions. 6. Traditional media outlets will adopt prediction markets to diversify their revenue models, transforming readers from passive consumers into active participants in news outcomes. 7. Traditional financial institutions will increasingly build their own proprietary chains to lead the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market, reducing their dependence on external blockchains. 8. The successful launch of Ethereum staking ETFs will, in turn, revive the BTCFi ecosystem by stimulating demand for additional yield from Bitcoin ETF investors. 9. As regulatory frameworks become clearer, fintech apps are expected to replace exchanges as the primary entry point into the cryptocurrency market. 10. Privacy-enhancing technologies will become essential infrastructure to protect the trading strategies of institutions managing large-scale funds.

DL News has identified six cryptocurrency companies to watch for potential initial public offerings (IPOs) next year. The list includes: 1. Kraken: Targeting an IPO in the first half of 2026 with a valuation of $20 billion. 2. Consensys: Working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on an IPO, valued at $7 billion. 3. BitGo: Aiming for a first-quarter 2026 IPO with a valuation of $1.75 billion. 4. Animoca Brands: Expected to list on Nasdaq next year with a valuation of $6 billion. 5. Ledger: Also targeting an IPO in 2026. 6. Bithumb: Aiming for a listing on the South Korean stock market.

Trend Research, a subsidiary of LD Capital, has purchased an additional 11,520 ETH, worth approximately $34.93 million, according to Lookonchain. The on-chain analytics firm noted that Trend Research has been continuously borrowing USDT to fund its ETH acquisitions and now holds a total of 600,000 ETH, valued at $1.83 billion. Trend Research began accumulating ETH last November when the price was at $3,400.

Zerobase (ZBT) surged approximately 55% in five hours, triggering a total of $1.2 million in forced liquidations across major exchanges. According to data from Coinglass, the majority of these were short positions. The token is currently trading around 270 won ($0.19) on the South Korean exchange Upbit amid a short-term spike in trading volume. ZBT's market capitalization is approximately $44 million.

South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone announced that they have added Flow (FLOW) to their delisting watchlists. The exchanges cited potential risks to users, referencing virtual asset trading support guidelines that take into account past security incidents such as hacking.

The Flow (FLOW) Foundation, which recently suffered a $3.9 million hack, has withdrawn its plan to roll back the chain. In an announcement on X, the foundation said it will instead pursue an isolated recovery plan developed in consultation with bridge, exchange, and infrastructure partners. Under the new plan, there will be no network rollback or transaction reprocessing, and over 99.9% of all accounts are expected to operate normally once the network restarts. Accounts that received tokens generated by the hack will be temporarily restricted. The foundation explained that the recovery will proceed in stages, with the fraudulent tokens being transparently burned on-chain following verification by a forensics agency. Bridges and exchanges will resume operations after confirming stability. The foundation's initial announcement of a network rollback had drawn criticism from some in the community, who described it as a unilateral decision made without prior communication.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has issued new guidelines for the development and improvement of the digital yuan, the 21st Century Business Herald reported. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the central bank will further strengthen the digital currency's infrastructure and governance by including it in deposit reserves and classifying wallets by liquidity. Additionally, the PBOC will establish a digital yuan management committee and operate a center for its domestic and international operating systems to ensure continuous management and supervision.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $90,000. BTC is trading at $90,000 on the Binance USDT market.

The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - ETH: $28.6 million liquidated (80.75% shorts) - BTC: $26 million liquidated (88.83% shorts) - SOL: $10.34 million liquidated (87.88% shorts)

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $89,000. BTC is trading at $89,072.21 on the Binance USDT market.

South Korea's Financial Security Institute (FSI) has undergone a reorganization to expand its team dedicated to the security of digital assets, including stablecoins, Yonhap News reported.

According to Tokenomist, major token unlocks for this week (Dec. 29 - Jan. 4) include: Dec. 29 - 7:30 a.m. UTC: HYPE unlocks 9.92 million tokens ($251.68 million), 2.87% of circulating supply. Dec. 30 - 12:00 a.m. UTC: SVL unlocks 234.81 million tokens ($7.11 million), 3.06% of circulating supply. - 12:00 a.m. UTC: ZORA unlocks 166.67 million tokens ($7.09 million), 4.17% of circulating supply. - 9:00 a.m. UTC: KMNO unlocks 229.16 million tokens ($11.65 million), 5.35% of circulating supply. Dec. 31 - 12:00 a.m. UTC: OP unlocks 31.34 million tokens ($8.57 million), 1.65% of circulating supply. Jan. 1 - 12:00 a.m. UTC: GPS unlocks 707.87 million tokens ($3.47 million), 24.30% of circulating supply. - 12:00 a.m. UTC: ZETA unlocks 44.26 million tokens ($3.17 million), 3.88% of circulating supply. - 4:00 a.m. UTC: EIGEN unlocks 36.82 million tokens ($14.39 million), 9.74% of circulating supply. Jan. 2 - 7:00 a.m. UTC: ENA unlocks 40.63 million tokens ($8.45 million), 0.56% of circulating supply.