After reporting its fourth‑quarter results, Strategy’s leadership said the firm would withstand further Bitcoin (BTC) weakness, even as the token briefly approached $60,000 and MSTR stock fell to about $104. Founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le highlighted a $2.25 billion cash reserve against $888 million in annual preferred dividends and $8.2 billion of low‑ and zero‑interest convertible bonds, with Le noting Bitcoin would need to drop roughly 90% for the company’s BTC holdings to only match its debt. Both Bitcoin and MSTR later rebounded, with BTC around $69,256 and the stock climbing above $130, easing immediate pressure on Strategy’s balance sheet.

Bitcoin has dropped 50% from its all‑time high and recently touched $60,000, its lowest point since October 2024, signaling a new bear phase. Based on historical halving‑cycle timing and the Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) on‑chain indicator, analyst NoLimit expects the next major bottom to form between October and November 2026. He projects that Bitcoin could eventually fall into a $45,000 to $50,000 range by the end of 2026, which he views as the likely cycle low.

On Thursday, Bitcoin extended its sell‑off and briefly traded under $67,000, its lowest level since November 2024. Market analyst Hugo Crypto highlighted Stifel’s report projecting a potential move toward $38,000, while ETF data showed net outflows of about 7,925 BTC for the day and roughly 19,090 BTC over the past week.

Ripple said on Wednesday that its institutional prime brokerage, Ripple Prime, has integrated Hyperliquid to provide access to on‑chain derivatives liquidity and cross‑margining for DeFi positions alongside existing assets. Following the update, HYPE advanced toward the $35 area after a roughly 64% two‑week gain, while XRP declined about 20% over the past week.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $73,000 on Tuesday, briefly touching around $72,900, its lowest since November 2024. The token is down roughly 4% in 24 hours and about 15% over seven days, while Ethereum dropped 25% and XRP about 17% week‑on‑week. The sell‑off has widened across major cryptocurrencies.

Doctor Profit reiterated on 2026-01-?? that Bitcoin’s gold ratio pattern is nearing the 0.11 BTC-per-ounce level, which previously signaled market bottoms near $50,000 to $60,000. Michael van de Poppe countered that Bitcoin’s RSI versus gold and a depressed Z-Score hint at a looming rotation back into BTC despite the coin trading at $83,435 after 2.2% daily and 7% weekly losses.

Bitcoin extended its weekly decline on Thursday, sliding below the closely watched $85,000 mark even as US lawmakers advanced the CLARITY Act crypto market structure bill. During a sharp sell‑off, BTC fell by about $2,700, helping trigger roughly $803 million in crypto liquidations over 24 hours and leaving the price hovering near key technical support levels. Analysts warn that losing the $86,000 area on higher time frames could open the door to a deeper move toward approximately $82,500.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reports that on‑chain crypto money laundering ballooned from an estimated $10 billion in 2020 to over $82 billion by 2025, with Chinese‑language money laundering networks (CMLNs) emerging as a major driver of this surge. The report finds CMLNs handled about 20% of identified illicit on‑chain laundering in 2025 and processed $16.1 billion in criminal inflows, while their growth rate far outpaced centralized exchanges, DeFi services, and other criminal channels. Chainalysis also notes that these networks increasingly use Telegram‑based services and cryptocurrencies to move funds across borders for organized crime groups.

XRP has erased its early‑year advance and is trading near $1.90, while an analyst highlights a sharp contraction in tokens held on centralized exchanges. On‑chain data shows balances falling from about 4 billion XRP in early 2025 to roughly 1.5 billion by late December, a 57% annual decline alongside more ETF inflows since November 2025. The analyst outlines bullish, base, and bearish scenarios in which future ETF demand and exchange supply levels could push XRP toward $4–$5 or leave it stuck closer to the $1.50–$2.00 range through 2026.