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Recent options market settlement activity is significant, with the concentrated expiration data for BTC and ETH reaching record highs. Although the market is bullish, actual performance has been poor, with BTC and ETH prices declining. Market sentiment is pessimistic, as major institutions are repositioning, and it is expected that they may favor seller strategies for profit in the future.

Well-known crypto fund QCP Capital recently deposited 400 Bitcoin and 200 Ethereum into a major exchange. This transaction is considered an important institutional move that could influence market sentiment and is worth monitoring for subsequent institutional trading strategies.

The cryptocurrency market showed mixed performance yesterday, with the NFT sector dropping sharply by 7.38%; the AI and SocialFi sectors remained resilient, rising by 0.40% and 0.69% respectively; sectors such as DeFi, PayFi, and CeFi generally declined. The overall index showed varied gains and losses.

The article discusses the development trajectories of different public blockchains, pointing out that Solana has speed and upgrade advantages in the short term, but long-term competitiveness still depends on Ethereum's depth in technological reserves. Through data comparison, it shows the gap in market size between Solana and Ethereum, emphasizing their different evolution approaches: Ethereum is stable and validated, while Solana iterates rapidly. Both have their advantages and cater to different market needs.

【Blockchain Rhythm】Bitcoin early evangelist Erik Voorhees's wallet has once again made a major move. On December 25, on-chain data monitoring showed that he deposited 1,635 ETH into the THORChain cross-chain platform, amounting to approximately $4.81 million, with the purpose of exchanging for BCH. This veteran of cryptocurrency's every move has been closely watched by the community. This transaction is not small in scale and also reflects this seasoned player's ongoing adjustments to multi-asset portfolio allocation. From a steadfast Bitcoin holder to now operating flexibly across multiple chains, it is evident that the market landscape is constantly evolving.

The precious metals market has recently experienced a correction, with platinum, palladium, and silver becoming overbought, leading traders to take profits and exit. Funds are beginning to withdraw from overvalued assets and shift toward undervalued options like BTC and ETH, driving their rebound. This indicates that the market is self-repairing.

【Crypto World】Maple Finance just made DeFi history yesterday—a $500 million loan transaction, directly breaking the protocol's single financing record. Even more impressive, the total outstanding loans on the platform also surged to a new high, giving a strong finish to 2025.
Relayer Capital founder Austin Barack gave high praise. He pointed out that Maple Finance is becoming the most noteworthy growth model in the DeFi space, and the project's performance already demonstrates the activity level of the lending market. Interestingly, Barack also revealed that Relayer Capital, as an institutional investor, has listed Maple's native token SYRUP as one of its top core holdings with the highest certainty.
What does this reflect? First, DeFi lending

The EU's DAC8 directive came into effect on January 1, requiring crypto asset service providers to report user transaction information, forming a cross-border tax information exchange system. This directive runs in parallel with the MiCA regulation, and compliance is required separately. Service providers have a transition period until July 1 to achieve compliance; otherwise, they will face penalties. This will promote the standardization of the Web3 industry.

The AlphaNet testnet of XRP Ledger is launched, using the Dilithium algorithm to counter quantum computing threats and provide security for transactions and account data. Although it increases transaction data size and may impact performance, this move is highly attractive to large institutional users, enhancing competitiveness.

Grayscale has submitted updated registration documents for the spot Avalanche ETF, emphasizing optimization mechanisms and risk disclosures. Another institution is also pushing forward with the AVAX ETF application, making the competition fierce. Although the market once showed enthusiasm for ETF filings, recent investor sentiment has cooled, and AVAX prices have adjusted, reflecting increased market volatility.

【BlockBeats】Recent policy developments have brought many positive signals. Eight departments jointly issued a document clarifying the acceleration of the international cooperation framework for digital finance. Among them, the most noteworthy is the cross-border application of central bank digital currency (CBDC) — this is not a new concept, but the implementation speed is indeed accelerating.
Specifically, multiple provinces and cities along the route are encouraged to participate in the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge project, which essentially means using central bank digital currency for cross-border payments. Countries and regions such as Thailand, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have become cooperation partners, with official endorsement for the cross-border use of digital renminbi in these areas. Especially, the digital renminbi cross-border payment pilot with Singapore has moved from the exploration stage to a more substantive advancement phase.
In addition to payments, cross-border e-commerce is also moving towards digitalization. Regions with conditions along the route are building cross-border e-commerce digital service platforms to connect with trade platforms in Singapore and other countries. From another perspective, this is laying the groundwork for digital assets, blockchain

[Block Rhythm] The merger and acquisition market in the encryption industry exploded in 2025. The total transaction volume soared to $8.6 billion, more than quadrupling from $2.17 billion in 2024, with a total of 267 transactions this year, a year-on-year rise of 18%. Behind these numbers, the shift in attitude of the U.S. government played a key role.
The Trump administration has prioritized digital assets as a national priority, taking swift action: appointing industry-friendly regulators, dismissing a slew of lawsuits against encryption companies, and launching a national-level encryption reserve program. These measures have directly sent market signals, prompting global capital to rush in for opportunities. Charles Kerrigan, a partner at law firm CMS, stated that with the implementation of new regulatory rules in the U.S., traditional financial institutions will accelerate their entry, while encryption companies will also engage in mergers and acquisitions to seize market positions.
Just look at those big transactions in 2025 and you'll know. A leading exchange.

On December 24, there are considerable disagreements in the prediction market regarding the recent trends of Bitcoin. Data shows that market participants who believe Bitcoin will fall below $80,000 in December account for a minority, with a probability of about 16%. If looking at a more pessimistic scenario—falling below $75,000, this probability is only about 5%. However, on the other hand, the voices optimistic about breaking above $100,000 are also similar, with roughly a 5% probability. Overall, the market's expectations for Bitcoin are still relatively cautious, as most seem to believe that extreme market conditions will not occur in the short term.

The Web3 security situation is severe, with losses reaching $3.35 billion in 2025 and over 700 attack incidents. Hacker attacks are more professional, with average profits rising to $5.32 million. Supply chain attacks incur the largest losses, while phishing attacks are the most frequent. Ethereum has suffered 310 attacks, resulting in a loss of $1.698 billion. Vulnerabilities in Private Key management and identification are frequently exploited, emphasizing the importance of security awareness.

[Block Rhythm] The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed a lawsuit against a large-scale encryption investment fraud case, involving at least $14 million. This action targets three so-called encryption trading platforms and four investment clubs, which are accused of coordinating fraud aimed at American retail investors.
The accused platforms include Morocoin Tech Corp., Berge Blockchain Technology Co. Ltd., and Cirkor Inc., while the associated investment clubs are AI Wealth Inc. and Lane Wealth.

At the Web3 annual conference held in Seoul, a well-known exchange lab released an interesting piece of news - it plans to launch a virtual asset payment card in 2026.
It sounds simple, but thinking about it, it's quite bold: directly connecting your crypto asset wallet with a card, allowing you to buy coffee or take the subway without complicated conversions, just swipe the card and it's done.
The Chief Strategy Officer stated the core goal at the meeting - to make the cryptocurrency payment experience as smooth as traditional bank cards. This is not a pipe dream; they have already begun testing on a small scale, and the next plan is to gradually expand the scale.
In simple terms, this is trying to bridge the last mile between Web3 assets and real-world consumption. If it can truly be implemented, it would have significant implications for the entire ecosystem. The shift of crypto payments from "high-end" to "everyday option" may really be coming.

On December 23, on-chain data shows that USDC Treasury burned 50 million USDC on the Ethereum network. This burn operation means that the total supply of USDC in circulation has been reduced accordingly, which typically reflects adjustments in the reserve management strategy of the stablecoin issuer. Such on-chain actions are worth following for users holding and trading USDC, as large burn events often impact market liquidity and the market expectations for the stablecoin.