| Token Icon | Coin | Current Price | 7D High | 7D Low | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bitcoin | $87,587.7 | $90,599.00 | $86,355.10 | -1.17% |
 |
Ethereum | $2,934.2 | $3,077.99 | $2,886.75 | -2.17% |
From December 21 to December 28, 2025 (UTC+0), the cryptocurrency market was in a typical Christmas holiday "lull," characterized by low-volume consolidation and cautious sentiment. The market is currently digesting the year's significant volatility (retracing from the year-high of $126k down to around $88k), with investors largely choosing to sit on the sidelines before the year ends.
As requested, I have excluded the detailed price table and focused on the key Bullish and Bearish news drivers for the week:
1. Market Overview: Positioning for 2026
The theme for this week was "Short-term Risk-Off, Long-term Build." While price action was weak due to the holidays, institutional players continued to make moves in stablecoins and compliance products (ETFs), signaling confidence for 2026. However, immediate risk appetite was suppressed by macroeconomic recession fears and security concerns.
2. Bullish Factors (The Good News) 📈
Despite the sluggish prices, news regarding infrastructure and compliance was strong, building a foundation for a potential future rebound.
- TradFi Giants Double Down on Stablecoins:
- SoFi & Coinbase: News confirmed this week that fintech giant SoFi has launched an enterprise-grade stablecoin, while Coinbase released a "white-label" stablecoin issuance product for banks and enterprises.
- PayPal & Visa: PayPal launched financial tools tailored for AI-native companies using stablecoins, and Visa further expanded its stablecoin settlement capabilities in the US.
- Ripple (XRP): Ripple’s USD stablecoin (RLUSD) officially surpassed a $1 billion market cap, entering the top 5 global USD stablecoins, signaling strong institutional adoption.
- New ETF & Compliance Movements:
- Avalanche (AVAX) ETF Filing: Asset management giant VanEck officially filed an application with the SEC for a Spot Avalanche ETF. This is seen as a major signal that traditional capital is looking beyond BTC, ETH, and SOL into high-performance L1 chains.
- XRP ETF Inflows: Despite the broader market correction, XRP-related ETPs/ETFs saw steady net inflows this week, suggesting institutions are not capitulating.
- Macro & Policy Speculation:
- Fed Chair Rumors: Rumors circulated that BlackRock’s CIO is being interviewed for the role of Federal Reserve Chair. Given BlackRock’s pro-crypto stance, the market interpreted this as a potentially massive long-term bullish signal.
3. Bearish Factors (The Bad News) 📉
Market sentiment was primarily weighed down by deteriorating macroeconomic data and security reports.
- Macro Gloom (Recession Fears):
- US Unemployment Spikes: Data released this week showed US unemployment climbing to 4.6%, the highest since 2021. Although inflation dropped to 2.7%, the weakening labor market heightened fears of a "hard landing" or recession, causing a sell-off in risk assets.
- Bank of Japan (BOJ) Hike: The BOJ raised interest rates to 0.75% mid-week, a multi-decade high. This tightened global liquidity and put pressure on Yen carry trades.
- Security & Regulatory Concerns:
- Annual Hack Report: Chainalysis released its 2025 review this week, highlighting that North Korean hackers (Lazarus Group) were responsible for over $2 billion in crypto theft this year (out of $3.4B total). This report dampened confidence among retail and outsider investors.
- USPD Exploit: A smaller stablecoin, USPD, suffered a contract exploit (approx. $1M loss), reminding the market that DeFi security risks remain.
- Key Exit: Reports emerged that pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis might be stepping down, raising concerns about losing a key legislative ally in Congress.
- Structural Market Pressure:
- Miner Capitulation: On-chain data showed a significant drop in Bitcoin hashrate (~4%) this week. This suggests that due to falling prices and high difficulty, some miners are shutting down or selling BTC reserves to cover costs. While usually a bottom signal, the immediate effect is increased selling pressure.
4. Summary
The week of Dec 21–28 passed without a catastrophic "Black Swan," but the combination of rising US unemployment and holiday liquidity drainage left the market without the energy to rally.
- For Long-term Investors: The VanEck AVAX ETF filing and the expansion of stablecoins (SoFi/Ripple) are the key takeaways.
- For Short-term Traders: The market is currently in a "choppy" zone with a downward bias.
