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Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, predicts that Bitcoin will break its traditional four-year cycle and reach a new all-time high next year, The Block reported. He stated that the cycle has been broken by a weakening halving effect, a falling interest rate environment, and accelerated institutional adoption amid regulatory improvements. Hougan added that the proliferation of spot ETFs next year could lower volatility and the asset's correlation to stocks, creating a more favorable structure for investors.

Singapore-based digital asset platform StraitsX plans to issue its stablecoins, XSGD and XUSD, on the Solana (SOL) network next year, Cointelegraph reported. XSGD is pegged to the Singapore dollar, while XUSD is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Cryptocurrency analyst MAC.D predicted in a CryptoQuant contribution that macroeconomic indicators will likely determine the short-term direction of BTC. The analyst noted that while BTC rallied ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on rate cut expectations, open interest declined at the time, suggesting the rise was spot-driven. In contrast, during the recent price decline, both open interest and funding rates have risen, which MAC.D interprets as traders expanding their long positions. However, with major macroeconomic events scheduled for this week, including U.S. employment and inflation data and Japan's interest rate decision, the analyst concluded that these variables are poised to be the primary drivers of short-term price movements.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $87,000. BTC is trading at $87,035.43 on the Binance USDT market.

The supply of Bitcoin held by long-term holders has fallen to 14.3 million BTC, its lowest level in eight months, Cointelegraph reported, citing data from Glassnode. This figure, the smallest recorded since April, now accounts for 71.9% of the total circulating supply. Over the past 30 days, the amount of BTC held by this cohort, defined as those holding for over 155 days, has decreased by 760,000 BTC. Cointelegraph's analysis suggests this indicates sustained selling pressure from long-term holders. The outlet also noted that from a technical perspective, a break below key support levels could potentially lead to a correction for BTC down to $68,500.

An address presumed to belong to Lido (LDO) co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk sold 14,585 ETH ($42.71 million) over the past hour, Lookonchain reported.

KindlyMD (NAKA), a Nasdaq-listed company known for its Bitcoin investments, is at risk of being delisted for failing to meet listing requirements, CoinDesk reported. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company's stock has closed below $1 for 30 consecutive trading days. KindlyMD has until June 8, 2026, to regain compliance by having its stock close at or above $1 for 10 consecutive trading days. Failure to do so will initiate delisting procedures. On Dec. 15, KindlyMD's stock closed at $0.38, representing just 81.7% of its modified net asset value (mNAV).

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has launched its prediction market service, Gemini Predictions, throughout the United States after securing a license from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Cointelegraph reported. The service is operated through its affiliate, Gemini Titan, and is based on real-time execution and transparent trading.

Hacking attempts targeting South Korea's four major cryptocurrency exchanges have surged to a record 1.15 million so far this year, Financial News reported. According to data from South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, obtained by the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Jun-hyeon, the exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Gopax—faced 1,154,594 attacks through November. This figure is more than double the 576,318 attempts recorded in all of 2024. For comparison, the exchanges saw 1,128,079 attempts in 2023 and 268,419 in 2022.

Jack Yi, founder of LD Capital, stated on X that he remains highly confident in Ethereum's fundamentals. He noted that while liquidity has dropped significantly since the market crash on Oct. 10, the derivatives market is now driving price action more than the spot market. Yi believes recent price fluctuations are normal, falling within the expected range influenced by the four-year cycle and the Christmas season. While acknowledging the difficulty of timing an absolute bottom for spot investments, he views the current period as a suitable buying opportunity. From a medium- to long-term perspective in the era of on-chain finance, Yi considers ETH a core asset and also identified World Liberty Financial (WLFI) as a key portfolio component. He added that the investment thesis and data-driven strategies from his firm's previous research remain valid.

The recent sharp decline in Bitcoin's price has been attributed to forced liquidations of long positions in the futures market. According to XWIN Research Japan, a contributor to CryptoQuant, the timing of the price drop aligns perfectly with a surge in long position liquidations, indicating that the sell-off was driven by these events. The analysis explains that when the price falls below a key support level, long positions fail to meet margin requirements and are automatically liquidated. This process triggers market sell orders, which in turn intensifies selling pressure and causes further declines. XWIN Research Japan emphasized that liquidations are not merely a result of the price drop but a factor that amplifies it, noting that even a small initial dip can trigger a cascade of further liquidations. In this context, the current price movement should be seen as a structural deleveraging event rather than a collapse in demand. The contributor added that the price will gradually stabilize once most high-leverage positions are cleared. The next step for the market to watch is the scale of the leverage that has already been unwound and whether the market has returned to a more balanced state.

Investors holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC have accumulated an additional 54,000 BTC over the past seven days, bringing their total holdings to 3.575 million BTC, Cointelegraph reported, citing data from Glassnode. The report suggests that mid-sized investors and institutions are buying the dip as BTC has fallen approximately 30% from its peak. However, Cointelegraph also assessed that short-term downside risk remains due to continued selling pressure from long-term whales holding more than 10,000 BTC.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao advised on X that anyone who envies investors for buying cryptocurrencies at the bottom and holding through an entire market cycle should remember what those individuals did during such volatile moments. He has repeatedly emphasized the importance of a long-term perspective and patience, particularly in phases of expanding market volatility.

Cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo has signed a multi-year partnership with the Australian Open to become its official cryptocurrency partner, Decrypt reported. The deal will allow Nexo to advertise its brand in on-court coaching zones at major stadiums through the Nexo Coaches Pod.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that a resolution to the war in Ukraine is imminent, the Tass news agency reported.

Bybit has announced the delisting of four spot trading pairs: FRAG/USDT, BOMB/USDT, ULTI/USDT, and TRVL/USDT. The delisting will take effect at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23.

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Injective (INJ) starting at 11:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 18 due to a network upgrade.

South Korean exchanges Bithumb and Upbit have announced the delisting of Groestlcoin (GRS), effective at 6:00 a.m. UTC on Jan. 16. The exchanges stated that the Groestlcoin foundation's explanation regarding its investment warning designation was insufficient to resolve the underlying issues. Following a comprehensive review of the project's disclosures, viability, and sustainability, both platforms concluded that GRS no longer meets their criteria for continued listing support.

Amid Bitcoin's decline, 75% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are now trading below their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages, Coindesk reported. In contrast, only 29% of the top 100 stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index are exhibiting a similar bearish trend. Despite the deepening downturn, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates that only eight of these cryptocurrencies have entered oversold territory: PI, APT, ALGO, FLARE, VET, JUP, IP, and KAIA. This suggests that the majority of cryptocurrencies may have further room to fall.

Bybit has announced that it will delist spot trading for PELL, PURSE, and TRC at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23.

Two anonymous whale addresses, starting with 0x2802 and 0x4c0A, sold a combined 14,000 ETH ($40.82 million) over the past two hours, Lookonchain reported. One address sold 10,000 ETH ($29.16 million) on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) at an average price of $2,915.50. The other address sold 4,000 ETH ($11.66 million) across OKX, Binance, KuCoin, and Gate.io. According to CoinMarketCap, ETH is trading at $2,933.10, down 1.01% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin staking protocol developer Babylon Labs has announced a partnership with DSRV, a global validator and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). The two companies plan to focus on creating a BTCFi 2.0 environment that institutional investors can use with confidence. Babylon Labs enables the use of Bitcoin within the Ethereum ecosystem without requiring a bridge. Its native BTC staking protocol currently has 62,000 BTC staked. DSRV is a global validator that provides secure, professional services for institutions, leveraging its capabilities in custody and infrastructure operations.

Probable, an on-chain prediction platform incubated by BNB Chain-based decentralized exchange PancakeSwap (CAKE) and EasyLabs, will soon launch on the BNB Chain, according to an official blog post. The platform will offer prediction products on topics such as cryptocurrency price movements and global events, and will implement a zero-fee policy for initial trades. Probable has integrated the UMA Oracle System, which allows users to deposit crypto that is automatically swapped to USDT for immediate betting on prediction products.

OKX announced it will list LIGHT/USDT perpetual futures at 8:00 a.m. UTC today. The listing will support up to 50x leverage.

Singaporean payments infrastructure firm StraitX plans to launch two new stablecoins on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, CoinDesk reported. The new assets are XSGD, pegged to the Singapore dollar, and XUSD, pegged to the U.S. dollar. Both stablecoins will utilize Solana's x402 payment standard.