A Big Tech company will integrate a crypto wallet in 2026, and more Fortune 100 companies will start their own blockchains, crypto VC firm Dragonfly’s managing partner Haseeb Qureshi has predicted.
He also tipped that fintechs launching L1s to compete with public chains like Ethereum and Solana will fail to attract enough users.
In a post to X on Monday, Qureshi said much of the Fortune 100 adoption is likely to come from the banking and fintech sectors, with many leveraging the Avalanche blockchain and existing crypto toolkits like OP stack, Orbit, and ZK Stack. The setup would enable these networks to more private and permissioned while remaining connected to a public blockchain.
A number of Fortune 100 firms in the financial services industry have already built private blockchains, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and IBM — though many of these solutions are still in the testing phase or have only been used in limited ways.
Earlier this month, crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital predicted at least one Fortune 500 bank, cloud provider, or eCommerce platform would launch a layer 1 blockchain that settles more than $1 billion of real economic activity in 2026 and build a bridge for decentralized finance access.
Qureshi also believes one of the Big Tech companies that dominate online life — potentially Google, Meta, or Apple — will launch or acquire a crypto wallet in 2026 — a move that has the potential to onboard billions of users into crypto.
Public fintech chains won’t threaten Ethereum’s dominance
However, Qureshi isn’t bullish on new L1 blockchains built by fintech firms — arguing that they won’t attract sufficient users or capture enough network activity to challenge crypto-native networks like Ethereum and Solana.
“Despite the excitement around the recent crop of fintech chains, their metrics will underwhelm.” Daily active addresses, stablecoin flows, and RWAs—Tempo, Arc, and Robinhood Chain will underdeliver, while Ethereum and Solana will overdeliver.”
“Best developers will continue to build on neutral infra chains,” Qureshi added.
Bitcoin to top $150K but lose market share
When it comes to price forecasts, the Dragonfly executive expects Bitcoin to trade above $150,000 by the end of 2026, but tips that Bitcoin dominance will fall.
Galaxy Digital took a hard pass on making a solid prediction and said 2026 would be “too chaotic” to even guess, as the price could range anywhere between $50,000 and $250,000 by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, Qureshi expects the $312 billion stablecoin market to grow by 60% in 2026, with the current market leader Tether (USDT) seeing its dominance drop from 60% to 55%.
“AI agents will still not be ‘paying each other’ or spending any meaningful money in 2026,” Qureshi said, while also predicting that no effective solution will emerge to curb spambot proliferation on social platforms.
Luke Gromen still believes governments will rely on inflation and weaker currencies to manage heavy debt.
He is more cautious on Bitcoin in the short term and sees a possible move toward the $40,000 range in 2026.
His main red flags are Bitcoin lagging gold, trend damage on key moving averages and “quantum risk” headlines weighing on sentiment.
The takeaway is process-driven: Track the BTC-to-gold ratio, a simple trend filter and ETF flows instead of copying anyone’s trades.
Who is Luke Gromen?
Luke Gromen is a global macro analyst. He founded FFTT (Forest For The Trees) in early 2014 and publishes macro research for investors, including his Tree Rings product.
His core thesis is the “debasement trade.” In simple terms, when a country carries too much debt, it can make that burden easier to manage by allowing inflation to run and letting the currency lose purchasing power over time. This dynamic pushes some investors toward assets that are harder to create in unlimited supply, such as gold and, for many years, Bitcoin.
As of December 2025, Gromen has not abandoned the debasement view. What has changed, however, is his short-term outlook on Bitcoin (BTC).
On the RiskReversal podcast, he said BTC looks weak enough that a move toward the $40,000 range in 2026 is possible. He also described Bitcoin as a position that can be scaled down as conditions deteriorate and said gold and some equities currently express the debasement theme better than BTC.
He points to a few practical warning signs: Bitcoin lagging gold, breaks below key moving averages and growing discussion around quantum risk.
Understanding “debasement” the way Gromen uses the term
When Gromen uses the term “debasement,” he means the following: If a government carries too much debt, it can make that burden feel lighter over time by allowing inflation to rise and the currency to lose value. The nominal debt stays the same, but it buys less in real terms.
That outcome is what matters. In a debasement environment, people often look for assets that are harder to “print,” such as gold and sometimes Bitcoin because they are seen as better at preserving purchasing power than cash.
In short, Gromen’s base view is that debasement will trickle down into Bitcoin.
Gromen’s key point is also about time. He does not treat this as a quick trade with a clear end date. Instead, he sees it as a long process in which pullbacks can occur without meaning the broader thesis is finished.
Did you know? “Debasement” started as a literal trick. In ancient and medieval times, rulers reduced the precious metal content of coins to stretch the money supply, either by shaving tiny amounts off the edges of coins or by melting them down and mixing in cheaper metals. The coin still carried the same face value, but it contained less silver or gold, meaning people were effectively paid in “lighter” money.
Why he’s fading Bitcoin now
Gromen’s 2025 message is straightforward: The debasement theme can still be valid, while Bitcoin can still be a poor setup in the short term. That is why he talks about trimming BTC risk even as he remains bullish on the broader macro direction.
On RiskReversal, he argues that gold and some equities are expressing the debasement trade more clearly right now than Bitcoin. He also outlines a scenario in which BTC could slide toward the $40,000 range in 2026.
The first signal he highlights is Bitcoin priced in gold. He views it as a warning sign when BTC fails to make new highs relative to gold. The ratio adds important context. The number of ounces of gold needed to buy one BTC fell to about 20 ounces, down from roughly 40 ounces in December 2024. In his framing, this suggests that the “hard asset hedge” spotlight has shifted away from Bitcoin for now.
The second signal is technicals. He points to breaks below key moving averages as a reason the risk-reward looks less attractive. Not “Bitcoin is dead,” but rather that the chart is not rewarding heavy exposure.
The third is macro pressure and narratives, especially quantum risk. He points to rising chatter around quantum computing as another headwind. The topic keeps resurfacing in part because there have been proposals and discussions about moving Bitcoin away from older signature schemes as part of a longer post-quantum migration path.
He is not alone in being cautious, but he is also not speaking for everyone. Some Bitcoin-focused analysts push back strongly. Onchain analyst Checkmate and researcher Troy Cross have argued that this looks like selling into weakness and that the quantum angle is being treated more like an internet narrative than an immediate threat.
How to track Gromen’s signals
If you want to follow the idea without copying anyone’s trades, keep it mechanical. One approach is to check the same three signals each week: BTC versus gold, trend health and flows.
1) Start with BTC priced in gold as your “store of value” test
Gromen’s warning is less about Bitcoin priced in dollars and more about Bitcoin failing to lead against gold. If the BTC-to-gold ratio keeps sliding, it is hard to argue that Bitcoin is the primary “debasement hedge” right now, even if the long-term story remains intact.
2) Add a trend filter so you’re not guessing
A simple option is the 200-day simple moving average (200D SMA). It is widely used as a rough dividing line between long-term uptrends and downtrends because it smooths noise across roughly 200 trading days.
The point is not that the 200D SMA is magic. The point is to decide in advance what “trend damage” means so that you are not making emotional decisions on red days.
3) Use ETF flows as confirmation, not as the main signal
Flows will not explain every move, but persistent outflows alongside weak BTC-to-gold performance and a broken trend form the kind of a “three strikes” setup that, in Gromen’s framework, would justify reducing exposure.
A weekly check can be this simple:
BTC-to-gold: Improving or getting worse?
Trend: Above or below the 200D SMA?
ETF flows: Mostly inflows or outflows lately?
Did you know? The simple moving average (SMA) is the average of the last N closing prices — e.g., the past 200 days. It is called “moving” because each new day replaces the oldest day in the calculation, allowing the line to update continuously and smooth out short-term noise.
How to “fade BTC” without abandoning the debasement thesis
In Gromen’s framing, “fading Bitcoin” is simply about risk control. You can still believe in debasement while admitting that Bitcoin may not be the best expression of that view right now.
Here is one illustrative way he frames this thinking, presented for educational purposes rather than as a strategy.
1) Split your thinking into “core” and “tactical”
“Core” refers to what you are willing to hold through multi-year cycles.
“Tactical” refers to what you reduce when the setup breaks, based on relative performance and trend.
This is essentially rebalancing logic. A rules-based approach can reduce risk and may add a modest return benefit over time.
2) Define what would make you add BTC back
Keep it tied to the same three signals:
BTC-to-gold stops falling and starts trending higher.
Price repairs key trend levels: for example, moving back above the 200D SMA.
In higher-volatility, lower-correlation markets, the trade-off between how far you drift and how much you trade becomes more pronounced, meaning you may need wider bands and fewer forced moves. Wellington makes this point directly in its discussion of rebalancing trade-offs.
Quantum risk: Separating market fear from real timelines
Quantum risk matters for two reasons.
First, it is a real, long-term security issue. If powerful quantum computers ever become practical at scale, some of today’s cryptography would require upgrades.
Second, it is a short-term market narrative. Even if the technology is not imminent, headlines can still scare investors and prompt risk reduction. That is why it appears in Gromen’s list of reasons Bitcoin can look fragile in the near term.
If you want a calm baseline on timing, a16z crypto argues that the arrival of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer in the 2020s is highly unlikely.
However, moving large systems to post-quantum cryptography is operationally difficult and can take years. The National Institute of Standards and Technology finalized its first post-quantum cryptography standards in August 2024, publishing FIPS 203 (ML-KEM) for key exchange and encryption, along with FIPS 204 (ML-DSA) and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA) for digital signatures. Adoption across industries is expected to take significant time.
For Bitcoin, the developer ecosystem is already debating possible migration paths. One example is a Bitcoin-Dev mailing list thread describing an informational post-quantum signature proposal often referenced as Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360. In parallel, Bitcoin Optech maintains a dedicated “quantum resistance” topic page to track developments in this area.
The synthesis
Gromen’s message makes more sense if you separate the regime from the vehicle.
The regime call is debasement: High-debt governments have incentives to allow inflation and currency weakness to reduce the real burden of debt over time.
The vehicle call is tactical: He is questioning whether Bitcoin is the best way to express that view right now.
In his framework, Bitcoin can still fit the long-term debasement story. At the same time, it can be a position you trim when the setup worsens, especially if BTC is lagging gold, the chart is damaged and a noisy narrative like quantum risk is weighing on sentiment.
If you can track BTC vs. gold, a simple trend filter and a basic flow check, you can understand the call without turning it into hero worship or panic selling.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Crypto markets got more institutional and more regulated in 2025, but the familiar “altcoin season” many traders expected never fully arrived.
Bitcoin (BTC) hit fresh highs earlier in the cycle, yet much of the rest of the market lagged. Bitcoin was down approximately 7% year-to-date after an early-October sell-off, while the total market capitalization of altcoins declined by more than 46% in 2025, according to TradingView data.
BTC and others, year-to-date chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Even so, a handful of tokens managed to outperform during a year defined by selective risk taking and heavy scrutiny. XRP (XRP) drew fresh momentum from regulatory developments, Zcash (ZEC) rallied as interest returned to financial privacy, and Algorand (ALGO) got a boost from real-world tokenization efforts.
XRP gains as regulatory overhang eases
XRP was among the winners of the 2025 crypto market, outperforming most cryptocurrencies despite the absence of an altcoin season.
XRP surged over 35% in July, topping at a yearly high of $3.60 on July 23, recording an eight-fold price increase from the previous year’s low of $0.43 recorded on Aug. 5, 2024, TradingView data shows.
The token received significant tailwinds from growing regulatory clarity, including the initial reports about the end of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) long-standing lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
Ripple and the SEC ended their long-running dispute on Aug. 8, according to the company’s court filing, after submitting a joint letter asking the court to dismiss the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal, with each side bearing its own costs and fees.
“The market is clearly rotating toward assets that regulators can classify, institutions can model, and compliance teams can sign off on. XRP fit that profile better than most altcoins this year,” Alex Davis, Founder and CEO at blockchain ecosystem Mavryk Dynamics, told Cointelegraph.
He said the lifting of a multi-year regulatory cloud helped reopen the door to institutional participation.
The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, alleging the company raised $1.3 billion through unregistered XRP sales.
SEC vs. Ripple Labs legal dispute timeline. Source: Cointelegraph
The debut of the Canary Capital XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Nov. 13 sent another strong signal for institutional investors looking for altcoin exposure, according to Isaac Joshua, CEO of crypto startup platform Gems Launchpad.
XRP outshined most other altcoins due to three main reasons, including “regulatory clarity, new institutional inflows, and a growing perception of real-world usage,” he told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Looking into next year, if ETF demand remains strong and payment volumes keep rising, XRP may continue shifting from a speculative altcoin into a more established piece of global payment infrastructure.”
XRP ETFs generated $756 million in net positive inflows in their first 11 trading days.
Zcash rallies as privacy trade returns
Zcash also stood out in 2025, helped by renewed interest in privacy-focused crypto as regulators tighten oversight of transactions and identity.
Zcash went from a low-profile cryptocurrency to the most-searched by mid-November on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, surpassing both Bitcoin and XRP in terms of investor interest.
Zcash clocked an over 12-fold rally, rising from a yearly low of $48 to a high of $744 on Nov. 7, a month after the record $19 billion market crash at the beginning of October, TradingView data shows.
While Zcash managed to rise to a new yearly high in 2025, it failed to blitz its all-time high of $5,941 recorded nine years ago on Oct. 29, 2016.
Privacy-focused assets like Zcash outperformed the broader market due to a growing demand for “financial confidentiality” amid rising “surveillance” in the digital economy, according to Narek Gevorgyan, the founder and CEO of crypto portfolio management platform CoinStats.
“The recent momentum is driven more by structural factors—tightening KYC/AML rules on exchanges, increasing government scrutiny of crypto transactions, and renewed interest from institutions and developers in zero-knowledge technologies,” he said.
Launched in 2016, Zcash combines a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus model with zero-knowledge proof technology, enabling users to send either transparent transactions or fully shielded transactions where amounts and addresses are hidden.
In a sign of growing demand, the amount of ZEC tokens held in shielded addresses climbed to about 4.5 million coins from 1.7 million in 2025 as of Nov. 25, with 1 million tokens transferred in a three-week period.
Other demand drivers included the latest Zcash halving on Nov. 23, 2024, which cut the block reward to 1.5625 ZEC from 3.125 ZEC, reducing daily new issuance to about 1,800 tokens from 3,600.
Algorand drew attention early in the year on signs of expanding real-world deployment.
ALGO rose by about 48% in three weeks, from $0.33 at the end of December 2024 to surpass a $0.49 yearly high on Jan. 17, according to TradingView data.
On Jan. 21, Algorand partnered with Enel Group, one of Europe’s largest electricity providers by number of customers, to enable Italian residents to purchase fractional shares of Enel’s solar farms and wind installations via tokenized Energy Utility Tokens.
Algorand’s real-world integrations “position the chain well for long-term relevance,” according to Lacie Zhang, market analyst at Bitget Wallet.
“These developments reinforce Algorand’s underlying technical strengths and its focus on enterprise-grade, environmentally aligned use cases,” she said.
“However, its poor yearly performance reflects a much broader structural trend rather than project-specific weakness,” said Zhang, attributing the wider altcoin sector’s underperformance to macro headwinds, including higher interest rates and Bitcoin’s “prolonged” dominance attracting most crypto liquidity.
“In this environment, strong technical progress has not translated into price performance,” she said, adding that Algorand and projects with real-world integrations will eventually recover, as investors shift from “speculation to utility-driven adoption.”
Despite the token’s poor performance after January, Algorand continued to see growing blockchain activity, as the amount of staked ALGO grew 28% quarter-over-quarter, to surpass 1.95 billion ALGO tokens in the second quarter of 2025, according to a Messari research report.
Algorand key metrics Q2 2025. Source: Messari
In March, Algorand launched AlgoKit 3.0, an improved developer tool kit seeking to offer enhanced tools for building on the network.
The network continues to work on developer tools, including the launch of AlgoKit 4.0, slated for early 2026. The new tool kit will introduce composable smart contract libraries and support for Rust, Swift and Kotlin.
A selective market heads into 2026
The gap between Bitcoin and the broader market left 2025 looking less like past cycle playbooks and more like a selective, fundamentals-driven market.
While some crypto enthusiasts may still expect an altcoin season due to previous historic market cycles, the current market structure suggests a maturing crypto landscape, where projects require fundamental underlying utility to gain more traction.
Crypto markets got more institutional and more regulated in 2025, but the familiar “altcoin season” many traders expected never fully arrived.
Bitcoin (BTC) hit fresh highs earlier in the cycle, yet much of the rest of the market lagged. Bitcoin was down approximately 7% year-to-date after an early-October sell-off, while the total market capitalization of altcoins declined by more than 46% in 2025, according to TradingView data.
BTC and others, year-to-date chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Even so, a handful of tokens managed to outperform during a year defined by selective risk taking and heavy scrutiny. XRP (XRP) drew fresh momentum from regulatory developments, Zcash (ZEC) rallied as interest returned to financial privacy, and Algorand (ALGO) got a boost from real-world tokenization efforts.
XRP gains as regulatory overhang eases
XRP was among the winners of the 2025 crypto market, outperforming most cryptocurrencies despite the absence of an altcoin season.
XRP surged over 35% in July, topping at a yearly high of $3.60 on July 23, recording an eight-fold price increase from the previous year’s low of $0.43 recorded on Aug. 5, 2024, TradingView data shows.
The token received significant tailwinds from growing regulatory clarity, including the initial reports about the end of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) long-standing lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
Ripple and the SEC ended their long-running dispute on Aug. 8, according to the company’s court filing, after submitting a joint letter asking the court to dismiss the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal, with each side bearing its own costs and fees.
“The market is clearly rotating toward assets that regulators can classify, institutions can model, and compliance teams can sign off on. XRP fit that profile better than most altcoins this year,” Alex Davis, Founder and CEO at blockchain ecosystem Mavryk Dynamics, told Cointelegraph.
He said the lifting of a multi-year regulatory cloud helped reopen the door to institutional participation.
The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, alleging the company raised $1.3 billion through unregistered XRP sales.
SEC vs. Ripple Labs legal dispute timeline. Source: Cointelegraph
The debut of the Canary Capital XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Nov. 13 sent another strong signal for institutional investors looking for altcoin exposure, according to Isaac Joshua, CEO of crypto startup platform Gems Launchpad.
XRP outshined most other altcoins due to three main reasons, including “regulatory clarity, new institutional inflows, and a growing perception of real-world usage,” he told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Looking into next year, if ETF demand remains strong and payment volumes keep rising, XRP may continue shifting from a speculative altcoin into a more established piece of global payment infrastructure.”
XRP ETFs generated $756 million in net positive inflows in their first 11 trading days.
Zcash rallies as privacy trade returns
Zcash also stood out in 2025, helped by renewed interest in privacy-focused crypto as regulators tighten oversight of transactions and identity.
Zcash went from a low-profile cryptocurrency to the most-searched by mid-November on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, surpassing both Bitcoin and XRP in terms of investor interest.
Zcash clocked an over 12-fold rally, rising from a yearly low of $48 to a high of $744 on Nov. 7, a month after the record $19 billion market crash at the beginning of October, TradingView data shows.
While Zcash managed to rise to a new yearly high in 2025, it failed to blitz its all-time high of $5,941 recorded nine years ago on Oct. 29, 2016.
Privacy-focused assets like Zcash outperformed the broader market due to a growing demand for “financial confidentiality” amid rising “surveillance” in the digital economy, according to Narek Gevorgyan, the founder and CEO of crypto portfolio management platform CoinStats.
“The recent momentum is driven more by structural factors—tightening KYC/AML rules on exchanges, increasing government scrutiny of crypto transactions, and renewed interest from institutions and developers in zero-knowledge technologies,” he said.
Launched in 2016, Zcash combines a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus model with zero-knowledge proof technology, enabling users to send either transparent transactions or fully shielded transactions where amounts and addresses are hidden.
In a sign of growing demand, the amount of ZEC tokens held in shielded addresses climbed to about 4.5 million coins from 1.7 million in 2025 as of Nov. 25, with 1 million tokens transferred in a three-week period.
Other demand drivers included the latest Zcash halving on Nov. 23, 2024, which cut the block reward to 1.5625 ZEC from 3.125 ZEC, reducing daily new issuance to about 1,800 tokens from 3,600.
Algorand drew attention early in the year on signs of expanding real-world deployment.
ALGO rose by about 48% in three weeks, from $0.33 at the end of December 2024 to surpass a $0.49 yearly high on Jan. 17, according to TradingView data.
On Jan. 21, Algorand partnered with Enel Group, one of Europe’s largest electricity providers by number of customers, to enable Italian residents to purchase fractional shares of Enel’s solar farms and wind installations via tokenized Energy Utility Tokens.
Algorand’s real-world integrations “position the chain well for long-term relevance,” according to Lacie Zhang, market analyst at Bitget Wallet.
“These developments reinforce Algorand’s underlying technical strengths and its focus on enterprise-grade, environmentally aligned use cases,” she said.
“However, its poor yearly performance reflects a much broader structural trend rather than project-specific weakness,” said Zhang, attributing the wider altcoin sector’s underperformance to macro headwinds, including higher interest rates and Bitcoin’s “prolonged” dominance attracting most crypto liquidity.
“In this environment, strong technical progress has not translated into price performance,” she said, adding that Algorand and projects with real-world integrations will eventually recover, as investors shift from “speculation to utility-driven adoption.”
Despite the token’s poor performance after January, Algorand continued to see growing blockchain activity, as the amount of staked ALGO grew 28% quarter-over-quarter, to surpass 1.95 billion ALGO tokens in the second quarter of 2025, according to a Messari research report.
Algorand key metrics Q2 2025. Source: Messari
In March, Algorand launched AlgoKit 3.0, an improved developer tool kit seeking to offer enhanced tools for building on the network.
The network continues to work on developer tools, including the launch of AlgoKit 4.0, slated for early 2026. The new tool kit will introduce composable smart contract libraries and support for Rust, Swift and Kotlin.
A selective market heads into 2026
The gap between Bitcoin and the broader market left 2025 looking less like past cycle playbooks and more like a selective, fundamentals-driven market.
While some crypto enthusiasts may still expect an altcoin season due to previous historic market cycles, the current market structure suggests a maturing crypto landscape, where projects require fundamental underlying utility to gain more traction.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) end-of-year rally toward $90,000 appeared to be stalling due to a lack of demand and weak onchain activity. Still, a new technical setup suggested that momentum may increase once the BTC/USD pair breaks above $90,000.
Key takeaways:
Apparent demand and buying from US investors must recover to secure a new year rally for BTC.
Bitcoin must next take out immediate resistance at $90,000 to trigger a rally going into 2026.
Bitcoin apparent demand flips negative
Bitcoin’s apparent demand has flipped negative after falling to its lowest level since October, as traders and investors adopted a risk-off approach into the new year.
Capriole Investment’s Bitcoin Apparent Demand metric reveals that the demand for Bitcoin has dropped sharply over the last two weeks to -3,491 BTC on Monday, levels last seen on Oct. 21.
Bitcoin’s apparent demand has been positive since Nov. 6, peaking at around 18,700 BTC on Nov. 26, before reversing sharply as shown in the chart below. The negative value suggests declining demand.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s Coinbase Premium Index, which measures the difference in pricing between the BTC/USD pair on the largest US exchange, Coinbase, and Binance’s BTC/USDT equivalent, has also dropped sharply over the last two weeks.
The chart below shows that the index has tanked to the current value of -0.08 from 0.031 on Dec. 11.
The Coinbase premium is an indicator of demand from US retail investors, and a negative value indicates more selling pressure.
“The Coinbase $BTC Premium Index is still printing deep red bars, signalling that US selling pressure hasn’t lifted yet,” said analyst Mv_Crypto in a recent X post, adding:
“Until this metric recovers, approaching the long side requires extreme caution.”
As Cointelegraph reported, spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to bleed, recording $782 million in outflows last week, indicating risk-off appetite among institutional investors.
An increase in demand-side pressure, reinforced by a return of spot ETF inflows, is required for a sustained rally in 2026.
Zooming out, crypto analyst Jelle said a “potential hidden bullish divergence” on the monthly chart suggests an impending upward breakout.
“Bitcoin needs to end the month in the green to lock in; close above $90,360 and we’re golden.”
BTC/USD monthly chart. Source: Jelle
Captain Faibik shared a chart showing that the $90,000 level coincided with the upper trendline of a descending broadening wedge on the eight-hour timeframe.
A breakout from this pattern would lead to a rally toward the measured target of the wedge at $122,000.
“If the breakout is successful, January could be a bullish month.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Despite persistent outflows, XRP and Solana ETFs show resilience, attracting significant inflows amid a challenging market climate, according to CoinShares.
Digital asset investment products experienced significant outflows, with a total of $446 million exiting the market last week, according to CoinShares. This follows a broader trend of $3.2 billion in outflows since October 10th, suggesting that investor sentiment remains fragile despite year-to-date (YTD) flows being comparable to last year. The total assets under management (AuM) have increased by just 10% YTD, indicating limited positive outcomes for investors once flows are accounted for.
Regional Disparities in Digital Asset Flows
Regionally, the United States was the main focus of outflows, recording $460 million in departures. Minor outflows were also observed in Switzerland, totaling $14.2 million. Conversely, Germany emerged as a notable exception, attracting inflows of $35.7 million last week. This trend suggests that German investors are capitalizing on recent price weaknesses to accumulate positions, with Germany recording the largest inflows this month at $248 million.
XRP and Solana ETFs Attract Inflows
Despite the prevailing negative sentiment, XRP and Solana ETFs have managed to attract significant inflows. XRP saw inflows of $70.2 million last week, while Solana recorded $7.5 million in the same period. Since the mid-October ETF launches in the US, XRP and Solana have attracted $1.07 billion and $1.34 billion in inflows respectively, contrasting with the outflows observed in other major digital assets.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Face Continued Outflows
In stark contrast to the positive momentum of XRP and Solana, Bitcoin and Ethereum have continued to experience outflows. Last week alone, Bitcoin saw $443 million in outflows, while Ethereum recorded $59.5 million. Since the launch of the XRP and Solana ETFs, Bitcoin and Ethereum have cumulatively faced $2.8 billion and $1.6 billion in outflows respectively, highlighting the ongoing challenges these leading cryptocurrencies face in the current market environment.
For more detailed insights, visit the full report on CoinShares.
LINK price prediction shows potential 44% upside to $18.45 by March 2026, though short-term weakness may test $12.03 support before bullish reversal materializes.
LINK Price Prediction Summary
• LINK short-term target (1 week): $12.03 (-5.8%) as bearish sentiment persists
• Chainlink medium-term forecast (1 month): $13.88 (+8.7%) recovery expected
• Key level to break for bullish continuation: $14.89 immediate resistance
• Critical support if bearish: $11.61 strong support zone
Recent Chainlink Price Predictions from Analysts
The latest LINK price prediction data reveals a mixed but ultimately optimistic outlook for Chainlink. CoinCodex maintains the most comprehensive Chainlink forecast, projecting near-term weakness to $12.03 by January 1st before a recovery to $13.88 by late January 2026. Their longer-term view becomes decidedly bullish, with a LINK price target of $18.45 by March 2026, representing a substantial 44% gain from current levels.
CMC AI’s analysis provides additional bullish support, highlighting cross-chain adoption, whale accumulation patterns, and regulatory compliance as key drivers. The consensus among analysts suggests that while immediate pressure may push LINK lower, the medium to long-term trajectory remains positive, with most predictions converging around the $13-18 range over the next 90 days.
LINK Technical Analysis: Setting Up for Gradual Recovery
Current Chainlink technical analysis reveals a consolidation phase with emerging bullish signals. The RSI at 47.93 sits in neutral territory, avoiding oversold conditions that plagued LINK in recent months. More encouraging is the MACD histogram reading of 0.0571, indicating early bullish momentum despite the negative MACD line at -0.3388.
LINK’s position within the Bollinger Bands at 0.4952 suggests the token is trading near the middle band ($12.78), providing room for movement in either direction. The fact that price is holding above the lower band at $11.52 while testing the middle band resistance creates a defined trading range for the near term.
Volume analysis shows healthy activity at $28.1 million on Binance, though not exceptional. The 24-hour range of $12.32-$13.03 demonstrates contained volatility, with the Average True Range of $0.70 suggesting manageable price swings that support a measured recovery rather than explosive moves.
Chainlink Price Targets: Bull and Bear Scenarios
Bullish Case for LINK
The primary bullish LINK price prediction scenario targets $18.45 by March 2026, requiring a break above the immediate resistance at $14.89. This level coincides with the upper Bollinger Band at $14.04, making it a critical technical hurdle. Once cleared, the next major resistance sits at $16.80, representing the gateway to the longer-term target.
For this Chainlink forecast to materialize, LINK needs to reclaim the SMA 50 at $13.29 and sustain momentum above this level. The strengthening MACD histogram supports this view, as does the potential for cross-chain adoption catalysts highlighted by analyst predictions. A successful break of $14.89 would likely trigger algorithmic buying, accelerating the move toward $16.80 and ultimately $18.45.
Bearish Risk for Chainlink
The bearish scenario in this LINK price prediction centers on a failure to hold current support levels. If the immediate support at $11.74 breaks, LINK could quickly test the strong support zone at $11.61, which sits just above the 52-week low of $11.65.
A breakdown below $11.61 would invalidate the bullish medium-term outlook and potentially send LINK toward the $10-11 range. The distance from the 52-week high of -52.33% already reflects significant weakness, and further deterioration could extend this decline. Traders should monitor the SMA 200 at $17.57 as the ultimate bear market recovery target.
Should You Buy LINK Now? Entry Strategy
Based on this Chainlink technical analysis, the optimal buy or sell LINK strategy depends on risk tolerance and timeframe. Conservative buyers should wait for a clear break above $13.29 (SMA 50) before establishing positions, targeting the $13.88 medium-term forecast level.
Aggressive traders might consider accumulating LINK near current levels around $12.77, with tight stop-losses below $11.61. This approach capitalizes on the potential bounce from the middle Bollinger Band while limiting downside exposure. Position sizing should remain modest given the neutral RSI and mixed short-term signals.
For those following the longer-term LINK price prediction to $18.45, dollar-cost averaging between $12.00-$13.50 offers a reasonable entry strategy. Set stop-losses at $11.50 to protect against a breakdown scenario, representing approximately 10% risk from current levels.
LINK Price Prediction Conclusion
The comprehensive analysis supports a cautiously optimistic Chainlink forecast over the medium to long term. While the immediate LINK price prediction suggests potential weakness to $12.03, the technical setup favors a recovery to $13.88 within the next month, followed by a more substantial move to $18.45 by March 2026.
Key indicators to monitor include the MACD histogram for sustained bullish momentum, RSI movement above 55 for trend confirmation, and most importantly, LINK’s ability to break and hold above the $14.89 resistance level. This prediction carries medium confidence given the current technical setup and analyst consensus.
The timeline for this prediction spans 90 days for the full bullish scenario, though traders should expect volatility and potential retests of support levels before the uptrend fully materializes. Success depends largely on broader crypto market conditions and Chainlink’s continued progress in cross-chain infrastructure adoption.
For Animoca Brands co‑founder Yat Siu, 2025 will be remembered as “the Trump year,” not because US President Donald Trump saved crypto, but because the industry bet too heavily on him and mispriced everything from tariffs to rate cuts.
Trump was supposed to be crypto’s cheat code in 2025. Instead, Bitcoin (BTC) is limping into the year’s end, facing its fourth annual decline in history. Memecoin liquidity has been sucked into political side quests, and one of the sector’s longest‑running builders thinks the market over‑trusted the new president.
“If I had to give it a grade, I would say B-/C+,” Siu said. Traders treated Trump as if crypto were his “first child,” he says, when in reality, “we’re probably his third, fourth or fifth child, maybe even an eighth child.”
Trump’s priorities (tariffs, trade wars, fights over the Federal Reserve) hit risk assets hard, and Siu pointed out that when the president starts a tariff war, he’s “not thinking about what’s going to happen to the price of Bitcoin.”
He said crypto’s “Trump trade” didn’t play out in 2025 and that 2026 will force the industry to focus on compliance and real use cases. Animoca’s planned reverse-merger listing is his bet that public investors want an “altcoin proxy” once US rules are clearer.
If 2025 was Trump’s year, Animoca wants 2026 to be the year public markets finally get a liquid altcoin proxy. The company plans to go public via a reverse merger with Currenc Group, a Nasdaq‑listed fintech, on terms that would leave Animoca owning 95% of the combined entity. “Technically, on paper they buy us,” he said, “although we control that.”
The pitch is straightforward: MicroStrategy has become a leveraged public vehicle for Bitcoin exposure, but there is no equivalent for the long tail of tokens. “If you’re an investor and you want to have exposure to crypto, you definitely will need to have your Bitcoin … and then you have the swath of altcoins, and how do you get exposure to that?”
Buying a base‑layer token like Ether (ETH) or Solana (SOL) gives only limited access, he argues. Animoca’s answer is to position itself as a listed, SoftBank-style aggregator of altcoin upside, providing public market investors with a way to own a diversified slice of the altcoin and Web3 stack.
The firm has more than 620 portfolio companies and invested in roughly 100 new projects last year alone, Siu said, all of which are off its own balance sheet. In the 2024 financial year, Animoca reported unaudited bookings of $314 million, and the company has been EBITDA‑positive (profitable on its core operations, before loans and taxes) for four consecutive years.
Over time, Siu expects Animoca itself to be fully tokenized, transforming the company into a bridge between traditional equity markets and onchain ownership.
Siu’s bet on an altcoin‑proxy initial public offering (IPO) makes sense if the regulatory ground solidifies, and he sees key US legislation, including the Clarity Act and the GENIUS Act, as catalytic rather than existential.
“The phrase we like to use is ‘Tokenize or die,’” he said. Once companies have a clear framework for issuing, trading and supervising tokens, he expects a flood of incumbents to enter the market. “Crypto companies are happy to skate on the edge … but if you’re an established company, whether you’re public or private, why take the chance?”
He points to the way large brands responded when stablecoin rules firmed up in Washington, and suddenly, after years of hand‑wringing, “everyone is doing stablecoins.” And he expects the same pattern once the Clarity Act formalizes token classification and market‑structure rules next year.
Established issuers will launch tokens tied to their existing businesses because they finally have “legal certainty, which they didn’t have before.”
Here, real-world assets (RWAs) and tokenized securities serve as the bridge, as an industry expected to grow into the trillions by 2030. Animoca has already started cutting RWA partnerships, including a deal with Grow, a major Chinese asset manager, to work on tokenization and access to token markets for traditional clients.
Siu believes the next thematic shift is already in place. “The theme of institutionalization of crypto will continue,” he said, but 2026 will be about “new retail” entering under clearer rules and with products built around use, not just speculation.
Until now, he said — a trend that reached a peak during the memecoin season — so much was focused on the existing crypto trader and launching tokens and memecoins with platforms like Pump.fun.
In that environment, builders could launch a token and not worry about where the customer would come from, focusing on narrative instead of product, but now market conditions are forcing a reset.
The “memecoin madness” was capped off by Trump and Melania Trump‑branded tokens early this year, as Official Trump (TRUMP) slid more than 75% from its peak and Melania Meme (MELANIA) dropped around 90% from its peak, with hundreds of thousands of small wallets sitting on losses.
That, according to Siu, was “one heck of a vampire attack on the meme community,” leaving a lot of retail scorched and sucking liquidity out of the rest of the market.
As capital rotates away from pure speculation, the next wave will depend on products that solve real problems for gamers, creators and brands, pulling in users who never thought of themselves as “crypto people” in the first place.
With the Clarity and GENIUS acts laying down a path for compliant issuance, he argues that “2026 will be the year of the utility token because everyone will launch a token that has a use case, and we can talk about it.”
So, basically, crypto companies are growing up?
“They have to, they have to … We’re not the only company going IPO.”
Mirae Asset Group is in talks to acquire Korbit, South Korea’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, in a deal valued at roughly 100 billion to 140 billion Korean won ($70 million to $100 million).
The potential acquisition would be led by Mirae Asset Consulting, a non-financial affiliate of the group, which has reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding with Korbit’s major shareholders, according to a Sunday report from The Chosun Daily.
Korbit is primarily owned by NXC and its subsidiary Simple Capital Futures, which together hold about 60.5% of the exchange. SK Square owns an additional 31.5% stake.
Korbit holds a full operating license and compliance infrastructure, which could make it an attractive entry point for a major financial group seeking regulated exposure to digital assets.
According to CoinGecko data, Korbit’s share of South Korea’s crypto trading market remains marginal compared with its domestic peers. Of the roughly $1.21 billion in total 24-hour trading volume across six Korea-based exchanges, Korbit accounted for just $5.75 million, or well under 1% of total activity.
By contrast, Upbit dominated the market with more than $768 million in daily volume, followed by Bithumb at nearly $298 million and Coinone at about $135 million.
As Cointelegraph reported, Naver Financial plans to acquire Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, through a stock-swap transaction valued at about 15.1 trillion won ($10.3 billion). Under the deal, Naver Financial will issue 87.56 million new shares to Dunamu shareholders, making Dunamu a wholly owned subsidiary.
Shareholders of both firms will vote on the transaction on May 22, 2026, with the share exchange scheduled for June 30. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Naver Financial’s plan to acquire Dunamu was first revealed in September. At the time, it was reported that Naver Financial would launch a Korean won-backed stablecoin project, along with other digital finance initiatives, following the acquisition.
