Overview
- Bitcoin hit an all-time high near $125,260 on October 6 before sliding to roughly $87,550 by late December, leaving small year-to-date losses and a quieter market tape.
- Stablecoins surpassed about $300 billion in market value and real‑world‑asset tokenization expanded, helped by Ethereum’s Pectra and Fusaka upgrades that improved scalability and usability.
- The United States announced a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to hold seized crypto, while new ETFs broadened access across assets including Solana, DOGE and XRP.
- Infrastructure and macro risks defined 2025, highlighted by Bybit’s reported $1.4 billion exploit, an October flash crash that triggered about $19 billion in liquidations, tariff shocks and a U.S. government shutdown.
- Analysts say 2026 will hinge on stablecoin adoption, ETF flows, regulatory clarity and liquidity, with Silicon Valley Bank and BlackRock upbeat on stablecoins as payments rails and Cantor warning of a possible early‑year crypto winter.