Bitcoin open interest in perpetual futures peaked in October at nearly five times the level seen at the asset's November 2021 all-time high, according to Joao Wedson, Founder and CEO of Alphractal. Traders, funds, and high-frequency desks have increasingly favored leveraged positions over spot exposure. Current positioning shows long positions at 72.4%, valued at approximately $25.72 billion, with shorts at 27.6%, worth around $9.79 billion.

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, has outlined a valuation framework for digital asset treasury companies, arguing most should trade below net asset value. He identified illiquidity, operational expenses, and execution risk as key discount factors. Only firms consistently increasing crypto-per-share through debt issuance, lending, derivatives, or discounted acquisitions can justify premium valuations, according to Hougan.

Bitcoin traded at $87,372 as its Sharpe Ratio approached zero, a threshold last seen three times since 2019. Each prior occurrence preceded multi-month trend shifts. Analysts say the metric signals improved risk-adjusted potential, though near-term volatility persists.

Decentralized finance lending totaled $40.99 billion at the end of the third quarter, a 54.84% quarterly increase, according to Galaxy Digital's research team. Combined with centralized platforms, total crypto-collateralized loans climbed to $65.37 billion, surpassing the previous record of $53.44 billion from Q4 2021. DeFi's market dominance over centralized venues rose to 62.71% by quarter-end.

A 10-month cross-border investigation traced criminal funds through Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, and KuCoin, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Researchers documented over $408 million in transfers from Huione Group to Binance between July 2024 and July 2025. OKX received more than $226 million from Huione in the five months following its February 2025 guilty plea for operating an unlicensed money transmitter.

Bitcoin dropped below $82,000 in one of its sharpest recent corrections, according to CryptoQuant. The Fear & Greed Index fell to 11, indicating Extreme Fear, while Short-Term Holder whales recorded $21.5 billion in unrealized losses. A new trading range is forming between $70,000 and $90,000 as the market seeks stability.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has submitted a confidential Form S-1 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The Wyoming-based platform secured $800 million in funding through two separate investment rounds, valuing the company at $20 billion.

Retail investors holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP have accelerated selling activity this week. Small BTC wallets reduced holdings by 0.36% over five days, ETH wallets under 0.1 tokens dropped 0.90% in a month, and XRP holders offloaded 1.38% since early November, according to Santiment. Despite the selling pressure, small investors across all three assets remain in profit, with average cost basis at approximately $92,000 for BTC, $3,000 for ETH, and $2.17 for XRP, Glassnode data shows.

El Salvador purchased more than 1,000 BTC valued at approximately $100 million during a market decline that pushed Bitcoin below $90,000, according to the country's Bitcoin Office. The acquisition brings the nation's total holdings to around 7,500 BTC. The purchase marks the country's largest single-day addition to date.