Ethereum

Sberbank is piloting DeFi tools and expanding regulated crypto-linked investments, with total issuance around 1.5 billion rubles. Executives outlined the approach at the "FI Day. AI & Blockchain" conference in Moscow, while the bank engages the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring on qualified investor access to digital assets.

Ripple said in a press release it will expand RLUSD to Ethereum in 2026, running a "trial" on Optimism, Base, Ink, and Unichain via Wormhole. The move brings an existing $1.3 billion supply deeper into Ethereum’s Layer 2s, while ETH recently slipped below $3,000 with key support eyed near $2,800 and risk toward $2,500.

On December 16, 2025, the SEC under President Trump concluded a four-year investigation into Aave Labs, a case dating back to 2021. Aave founder Stani Kulechov announced the closure on X, and soon after, a governance proposal urged AAVE holders to assert DAO control over the Aave brand, domains, social channels, and developer gateways.

A YouGov poll for the UK Financial Conduct Authority reported that the share of UK adults holding crypto dropped to 8% in 2025 from 12% in 2024, based on interviews conducted between Aug. 5 and Sept. 2. Despite fewer holders, more respondents reported larger crypto positions, with many owning Bitcoin and Ether, and a notable minority holding Solana. The data was released the same day the FCA opened consultations on new rules for exchanges, staking, lending and DeFi.

Invesco and Galaxy Digital launched the staked Solana ETP QSOL on Monday, listing it on the Cboe BZX U.S. equities exchange with 17,500 SOL in custody valued at $2.19 million and a 0.25% total expense ratio. Crypto ETF flows diverged the same day, with Bitcoin spot ETFs seeing $357.69 million in outflows and Ethereum $224.78 million, while Solana products recorded $35.2 million in net inflows.

Bitcoin moved toward the $85,000 area during Monday’s global session and hovered near $87,000 after a 3.6% daily decline. Altcoins fell harder, with ASTER down about 12%, ENA 9%, SUI 8%, and HYPE 7%. Social chatter spiked, yet classic capitulation signals remain limited, keeping traders watchful rather than fearful.

Dogecoin has lagged the broader crypto market in the current bull cycle, recording the weakest year-to-date performance among the top 10 coins while several smaller meme tokens have rallied. Analysts highlight five alternatives—Fartcoin, Pepe, Pippin, Maxi Doge, and Pepenode—which feature low to mid caps, high trading volumes or presale inflows, and in some cases staking rewards or on-chain activity that could support stronger upside into 2026. These projects span Solana- and Ethereum-based ecosystems and are being accumulated by so-called smart money investors looking for higher risk-reward opportunities.

JPMorgan's asset management arm is rolling out its first tokenized money market fund on the Ethereum blockchain, seeding the private MONY fund with $100 million before opening it to qualified investors. At the same time, traders are tracking Ethereum price levels around $2,600 as key downside support and $3,600 as a major resistance zone that could signal a breakout toward higher targets.

On December 15, 2025, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee confirmed it would postpone markup of crypto market structure legislation to early 2026. Bitcoin fell over 4% in the past 24 hours, briefly touching $84,000 and stabilizing near $85,800, while total crypto market capitalization slipped to $2.93 trillion.

As 2026 approaches, this overview highlights Liquidchain, Zcash, and Bittensor as projects with notable technical and market developments. Liquidchain's Layer-3 design and a presale price of $0.01255 stand out, while Zcash faces mid-December ETF uncertainty alongside protocol upgrades. Bittensor completed its first halving, reducing daily issuance from 7,200 to 3,600 TAO amid rising institutional participation.