Entities linked to alleged Mt. Gox hacker Aleksey Bilyuchenko moved another 1,300 BTC worth about $114 million to unknown exchanges over the past week. Since October, these addresses have sold 2,300 BTC and still hold 4,100 BTC valued near $360 million, indicating an ongoing, controlled distribution.

Anthropic's Claude AI published projections for Solana, XRP, and Sui as 2025 nears its end, flagging potential volatility around Christmas that could carry into early 2026. It sets bullish ranges at $275–$400 for SOL, $5–$8 for XRP, and $4–$7 for SUI, while mapping bearish consolidation zones linked to macro headwinds and technical levels.

Wintermute warns the expected altcoin rally has stalled, with retail capital rotating back to Bitcoin and Ethereum as dominance rises and liquidity thins. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin fell 1.12% below $87,000 and Ethereum slipped 1.5% near $3,000, while liquidations hit roughly $600 million Monday and $400 million on Wednesday and Thursday. Bitcoin ETFs saw $650.8 million in outflows over four days and Ethereum funds recorded $95.52 million in net outflows.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) fell over 66% year-over-year in 2025 and, according to the analysis, printed its first weekly death cross while slipping below support that had held since early 2023. Trading near $0.00000706 (about -3%), oscillators show weak momentum, and analyst Nebraskangooner says SHIB is "dead" unless it reclaims $0.00000135.

Bybit will phase out services for users classified as Japanese residents starting in 2026, following formal warnings from Japan's Financial Services Agency in March 2023 and November 2024 over unlicensed operations. The exchange, currently the second-largest globally by trading volume, has already stopped new registrations from Japan and is asking users to complete Identity Verification Level 2 by January 22, 2026 to confirm their residency status.

As 2025 nears its final week, DeepSeek AI outlined bull and bear price paths for Bitcoin, XRP, and Solana. The model's upside scenarios target BTC at $180,000–$250,000, XRP at $3.50–$5.00, and SOL at $400–$600, while bearish cases envision BTC at $56,000–$70,000, XRP at $0.35–$0.60, and SOL at $50–$80.

Michael Selig was sworn in as the 16th chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after Senate confirmation on December 18, taking over as acting chair Caroline Pham left the agency after nearly four years. During her final year, Pham advanced initiatives such as spot crypto trading on CFTC-registered futures exchanges, a digital asset collateral pilot, and no-action relief for four prediction markets, while Selig has pledged to guide the regulator through a period of rapid technological change.

On 22 December, analysts pointed to XRP, Solana and Ethereum as standout crypto opportunities ahead of a potential 2026 uptrend, with technical gauges showing oversold or corrective conditions. XRP has corrected around 50% from its peak, SOL trades well below Ethereum's valuation despite higher reported revenue, and ETH remains significantly off its 2025 highs while holding key support zones.

Russia’s central bank has recognized that large-scale Bitcoin mining is supporting the ruble, while senior officials seek to record it as an export item in national trade statistics. Despite formal legalization on November 1, 2024 and tax rates of up to 30%, extensive gray-market mining, electricity theft, and bribery continue, leading to budget losses estimated in the billions of rubles even as banks test regulated digital-asset products.