The post Ethereum Price Prediction 2026, 2027 – 2030: Can ETH Reach $10k? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

January has traditionally been a robust month for Ethereum (ETH). However, the year 2025 presented unique challenges, as ETH encountered new all-time highs alongside some bearish trends influenced by various macroeconomic factors. As the new year 2026 unfolds, there are encouraging signs of recovery, although the current Ethereum price prediction for 2026 remains mixed.

However, the past year has posed significant challenges that have raised important questions regarding Ethereum’s crypto trajectory. There is cautious optimism about a potential bullish cycle for 2026, should ETH manage to diverge from last year’s seasonal patterns. 

This bullish optimism is due to the Ethereum network, which underwent two significant technical enhancements last year, known as Pectra and Fusaka, resulting in improved scalability and reduced transaction fees.

Now, many are intrigued about where the ETH price could go next. This article covers Ethereum price prediction 2026-2030.

Ethereum Price Today

Cryptocurrency	Ethereum
Token	ETH
Price	$3,097.4993 1.54%
Market Cap	$ 373,852,283,579.05
24h Volume	$ 22,509,579,000.2227
Circulating Supply	120,694,873.1127
Total Supply	120,694,873.1127
All-Time High	$ 4,953.7329 on 24 August 2025
All-Time Low	$ 0.4209 on 21 October 2015

How Was the ETH Price in 2025?

In 2025, ETH demonstrated resilience, avoiding a major crisis, although its performance paled in comparison to the standout year of 2022, where only seven months closed in the red. Despite the absence of catastrophic events or high-profile bankruptcies in the crypto space, ETH experienced a significant drop, even amid record wallet activity.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, following Trump’s election win, ETH saw a remarkable rally of 74%, surging from $2,350 to over $4,100. However, the momentum faltered in Q1 2025 due to profit-taking in response to a series of macroeconomic developments. By April 2025, the price had plummeted nearly 66%, hitting a low of $1,345.

The landscape shifted with a surge in ETF demand from major players like BlackRock and an improving macroeconomic environment, which revitalized the market. This resurgence propelled ETH to an all-time high of $4,955, marking an impressive 254% increase. 

However, this bullish momentum proved difficult to sustain, and the price retraced to $2,750, reflecting a 44% downturn. Currently, conditions have lifted ETH back above the critical $3,000 mark. Maintaining this level is essential for a continued rally into 2026, and the outlook remains optimistic.

Ethereum Price Prediction 2026

The price of Ethereum (ETH) has experienced a substantial upward trend since 2020, showcasing impressive bullish momentum along its established trendline. After a series of market fluctuations, Ethereum has a trend of effectively eliminating weaker positions, allowing for a strong rally. 

Continuing this trend, there is potential for ETH to reach an all-time high (ATH) of $6,000 by 2026. This forecast is based on the assumption that it will maintain support around the $2,500 level, which has emerged as a critical trading range. If Ethereum can solidify its position within this range and attract sustained investor interest, the prospects for future gains look promising.

Ethereum price prediction 2027-2030

Year	Potential Low ($)	Potential Average ($)	Potential High ($)
2027	7,071.08	14,142.16	21,213.24
2028	10,606.62	21,213.24	31,819.86
2029	15,909.93	31,819.86	47,729.79
2030	23,864.90	47,729.79	71,594.69

Ethereum Price Forecast 2027

The Ethereum 2027 forecast expects the ETH coin price to make a new all-time high at $21,213.24. However, a correction based on market shortcomings may drive the ETH crypto to $7,071.08, with an average of $14,142.16.

ETH Price Prediction 2028

In 2028, the chances of Ethereum dominating the crypto market rise as the ETH price potentially makes a new high at $31,819.86. On the other hand, the altcoin might fall to $10,606.62, making an average of $21,213.24.

Ethereum Price Forecast 2029

Approaching its all-time high of $47,729.79 in 2029, the Ethereum price is expected to surpass the psychological barrier of $40,000. In case of a correction, $ETH may reach a low of $15,909.93, with an average price of $31,819.86.

Ethereum Price Prediction 2030

As per our Ethereum Price Prediction 2030, the ETH crypto price is projected to reach a new all-time high of $71,594.69 in 2030, with a potential low of $23,864.90 and an average price of $47,729.79.

Ether Price Prediction 2031, 2032, 2033, 2040, 2050

Based on the historic market sentiments and trend analysis of the largest altcoin by market capitalization, here are the possible Ethereum price targets for the longer time frames.

Year	Potential Low	Average Price	Potential High
2031	35,797.35	71,594.69	107,392.04
2032	53,696.02	107,392.04	161,088.06
2033	80,544.03	161,088.06	241,632.09
2040	~1,376,550	~2,753,110	~4,128,680
2050	~79,396,500	~158,793,000	~238,189,500

Market Analysis

Firm Name	2026	2030
Changelly	$5,375	$24,196
Coincodex	$3,816.62	$6,660.08
Binance	$3,674.52	$4,466.40

FAQs

The post Exclusive! Coinpedia’s 2025 Crypto Report Reveals Market Prices, ETF Growth, Hacks & Funding appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

1. Executive Summary

Key Themes of 2025

The year 2025 marked a structural transition for the crypto industry. Unlike prior cycles dominated by speculative excess, this period was defined by institutional integration, regulatory normalization, and infrastructure maturity. Major global asset managers, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, VanEck, Bitwise, and 21Shares, converged on a common thesis: crypto is increasingly driven by portfolio allocation, payments utility, and on-chain financial infrastructure, rather than retail-led boom-and-bust behavior.

Across institutional outlooks, digital assets were no longer framed as fringe alternatives but as parallel financial infrastructure increasingly embedded within the global financial system.

• Three dominant themes defined 2025:

• Bitcoin’s institutionalization via ETFs, creating regulated and scalable exposure
• Stablecoins are emerging as global financial rails for payments and settlement
• AI-enabled, agentic on-chain systems, signaling early-stage automation of financial activity

Market State vs Previous Cycles

The 2025 market cycle differed materially from prior boom-bust patterns such as 2017 and 2021.

Key structural differences observed in 2025:

• Lower volatility compression in Bitcoin
• A higher proportion of long-term holders
• Persistent institutional inflows via spot Bitcoin ETFs
• Stronger volatility-adjusted returns, though less explosive upside

Grayscale and Bitwise both emphasized that while price appreciation was more measured, risk-adjusted performance improved meaningfully, reflecting maturity rather than speculative frenzy.

Crypto’s Role in the Global Financial System

By the end of 2025, crypto assets increasingly serve distinct functional roles within the global financial architecture.

Function	Asset Class	Role
Portfolio Diversifier	Bitcoin, Ethereum	Non-sovereign store of value
Settlement Layer	Stablecoins	Payments, remittances, liquidity
Financial Infrastructure	DeFi, RWAs	Programmable financial services

BlackRock explicitly framed digital assets as “a parallel financial technology stack rather than an alternative asset class,” reinforcing their integration into traditional finance.

2. Macro & Regulatory Landscape

Global Macro Environment and Liquidity

The macro backdrop of 2025 was shaped by elevated uncertainty and gradual monetary transitions.

Key macro conditions included:

• Expectations of gradual monetary easing across major economies
  (U.S. policy rates at 3.50–3.75%, India at 5.25%, U.K. at 3.75%)
• Rising sovereign debt burdens, with U.S. debt exceeding $37.6 trillion
• Persistent geopolitical fragmentation, including trade conflicts and armed tensions

Against this backdrop, Bitcoin’s appeal strengthened as a non-sovereign, supply-capped asset, propelling it toward $126,000. Narratives such as “digital gold,” “hedge against inflation,” and “fix the money” gained renewed traction.

Key Regulatory Developments by Region

United States

The U.S. regulatory environment remained enforcement-heavy but structurally clearer by year-end.

Major developments included:

• Approval and expansion of spot Bitcoin ETFs
• Appointment of Paul Atkins as SEC Chair
• Dismissal of major SEC lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance
• Formation of a dedicated SEC Crypto Task Force

Key legislation:

• GENIUS Act: Established the first federal stablecoin framework, mandating 100% reserve backing and transparency.
• CLARITY Act: Advanced through Congress to delineate oversight between the SEC and CFTC.

Banking regulators (FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve) reversed prior restrictive stances, enabling banks to engage in custody, trading, and stablecoin issuance.

European Union

The implementation of MiCA brought licensing clarity across the bloc.

Key impacts:

• Mandatory 100% reserve backing for EMTs and ARTs
• Strict audit, governance, AML, and KYC requirements
• Growth of compliant EUR-denominated stablecoins
• Higher institutional participation on regulated platforms

However, increased compliance costs pressured smaller startups, prompting some to consider relocating outside the EU.

Asia (Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea)

Asia continued to adopt divergent regulatory approaches.

• Japan approved its first JPY-pegged stablecoin and strengthened compliance frameworks
• Singapore operationalized Project Guardian for tokenized funds
• India maintained restrictive taxation (30% flat tax, no loss offsets), suppressing retail participation
• South Korea enforced the Virtual Asset User Protection Act (VAUPA) and advanced draft legislation under the Digital Asset Basic Act (DABA)

Middle East & Africa

The Middle East emerged as an institutional crypto hub.

Notable developments:

• UAE’s Federal Decree-Law No. 6 formally split oversight between monetary and investment assets.
• Dubai’s VARA introduced Asset-Referenced Virtual Assets (ARVAs) for RWAs.
• Full VAT exemption on crypto transactions in late 2025

In Africa

• South Africa enforced FATF Travel Rule compliance
• Saudi Arabia expanded its SAMA Regulatory Sandbox
• Nigeria refined its crypto exchange registration under SEC oversight.

Latin America

• Crypto adoption accelerated amid inflation and currency instability.
• Brazil finalized VASP licensing and advanced the DREX Digital Real
• Argentina legally recognized stablecoin-denominated contracts
• El Salvador expanded tokenized securities issuance under the Digital Assets Law
• Colombia exited its regulatory sandbox with permanent banking-crypto integration

Taxation, Compliance, and Enforcement Trends

• Taxation and Reporting
• A shift toward formalized global reporting frameworks became dominant.
• OECD CARF & EU DAC8 enabled cross-border crypto data exchange
• IRS Form 1099-DA mandated cost-basis reporting for U.S. taxpayers
• Global tax authorities increased audit activity.

Blockchain Analytics and Enforcement

• AI-powered tracing became standard for law enforcement
• Enhanced monitoring across bridges and interoperability layers
• Increased DeFi surveillance targeting identifiable control points

Sanctions enforcement intensified, with coordinated G7 actions and high-profile seizures linked to sanctions evasion.

Policy Outlook for 2026 and Beyond

Looking ahead, institutional consensus points toward incremental legalization rather than deregulation.

Key expectations include:

• Prioritization of stablecoins and RWAs
• Convergence around global standards (MiCA, GENIUS Act)
• Transition from framework-building to active supervision
• Increased enforcement against non-compliant entities

Bitwise anticipates the passage of U.S. market structure legislation via the CLARITY Act, providing long-term regulatory certainty over SEC vs CFTC oversight.

3. Global Crypto Market Overview

Total Market Capitalization & Liquidity Trends

The global crypto market in 2025 experienced uneven growth, characterized by strong headline rallies driven primarily by Bitcoin and stablecoins, rather than broad-based altcoin expansion. Liquidity conditions, regulatory clarity, and institutional participation shaped capital flows more than speculative retail activity.

Market Capitalization Timeline (Key Milestones)

Period	Total Market Cap	Change
Q4 2024 Low	$1.85T	–
Jan 2025 Peak	$3.65T	+90%
Apr 2025 Pullback	$2.38T	-35%
Late-2025 High	$4.27T	+79% from Apr
Jan–Dec 2025	$2.95T	-21% net decline

Despite headline highs, the net expansion from January to December 2025 remained muted, reinforcing the view that capital rotated rather than structurally expanded.

Liquidity & Structural Shifts

• Stablecoin supply grew to $295–300B, increasingly used for remittances and capital preservation during volatility
• Liquidity migrated from offshore exchanges toward regulated onshore venues (CME, EU/US exchanges)
• OTC desks recorded record institutional block trade volumes
• DeFi liquidity stagnated or declined following hacks and regulatory preference for CeFi rails
• Spot BTC & ETH ETFs introduced deep, regulated liquidity pools, stabilizing market drawdowns
• Bid-ask spreads tightened significantly for BTC/ETH but widened for illiquid altcoins

Bitcoin Dominance vs Altcoin Market Share

Bitcoin continued to consolidate its role as the primary institutional asset in crypto markets. While BTC dominance rose sharply in 2024, the pace moderated in 2025, signaling stabilization rather than aggressive capital rotation.

Dominance & Performance Metrics

• BTC dominance increase (Jan–Dec 2025): +5.5%
• BTC dominance increase (Jan–Dec 2024): +15%
• Altcoin market cap change (Jan–Dec 2025): -25%
• Altcoin market cap change (Jan–Dec 2024): +132%

Institutional capital remained concentrated in BTC and ETH, reinforcing a persistent flight-to-quality narrative.

Bitcoin Long-Term Performance

• Dec 2022 price: $17,200
• Oct 6, 2025 ATH: $126,200
• Dec 2025 price range:  $90,400
• Total rally since Dec 2022: +429%

Sector-Wise Performance

Layer 1s & Layer 2s

Ethereum’s scaling ecosystem entered a decisive consolidation phase in 2025. While over 50 rollups competed for activity, usage and liquidity concentrated sharply.

L2 Market Structure

• Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism processed  90% of all L2 transactions
• Base alone exceeded 60% market share
• L2 activity declined 61% since June

Ecosystem Stress & Consolidation

• Kinto shut down
• Loopring ended wallet services
• Blast TVL collapsed 97%
• Aave and Synthetix reduced L2 deployments due to weak liquidity

The Dencun upgrade reduced fees by  90%, triggering fee wars and margin compression. Only Base achieved profitability, generating  $55M in annual revenue.

Emerging Alternatives

• Appchains and high-performance platforms (e.g., Hyperliquid) absorbed migrating liquidity
• ETH-aligned designs (Linea, MegaETH) aim to re-anchor value capture to Ethereum
• Specialized networks (Lighter, Tempo) demonstrated sustainability through focused use cases

Centralized exchange-backed chains (Base, BSC, Mantle, Ink) increasingly dominated user onboarding, highlighting the distribution advantage of Web2 incumbents.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

DeFi advanced further into maturity in 2025, marked by institutional participation, clearer credit cycles, and improved product-market fit.

Key Structural Trends

• Growth in stablecoins and tokenized assets
• Expansion of DeFi lending and private credit
• ATH volumes on perpetual DEXs
• Muted spot DEX growth driven by chain rotation

Lending Market Leaders

Protocol	Loans Outstanding (2025)	Key Drivers
Aave	56.5% share of total debt	Deep ETH liquidity, multichain expansion
Morpho	$3.0B	Coinbase integration, Base dominance
Maple	$1.5B	Tokenized private credit, SyrupUSD

Aave expanded through Plasma and Linea integrations, while Morpho leveraged Coinbase distribution. Maple emerged as the fastest-growing lender by packaging institutional private credit into liquid, composable tokens.

DeFi in 2025 demonstrated durable equilibrium dynamics, laying the foundations for sustained institutional alignment.

Real-World Assets (RWAs)

2025 marked the breakout year for RWA tokenization, transitioning from experimentation to institutional-scale adoption.

RWA Market Growth (YTD)

Category	Start	End
Total Tokenized RWAs	$5.6B	$16.7B
US Treasuries	$3.9B	$9.2B
Commodities	$1.1B	$3.1B
Institutional Funds	$170M	$2.7B

BlackRock’s BUIDL ($2.3B AUM) emerged as core on-chain collateral, underpinning products from Ethena and Ondo. Tokenized gold (XAUT, PAXG) surged alongside gold’s +60.7% YTD performance.

Tokenization proved its value as a distribution technology, integrating seamlessly with DeFi lending, treasury, and yield strategies.

AI × Crypto Convergence

The convergence of AI and crypto emerged as a structural investment theme in 2025, driven by agent-based systems, decentralized compute, and programmable finance.

Key Developments

• Nearly $1B in venture funding into decentralized AI networks
• AI agents enabling autonomous portfolio management and DeFi execution
• Crypto rails providing trustless settlement, identity, and payments

Protocols such as Bittensor, World, Story Protocol, and Eigen Cloud addressed trust, provenance, and compute challenges. Payment standards like x402 and agent identity frameworks enabled machine-to-machine economies.

If even 1% of global fund assets adopt agentic strategies, this represents $1T+ in AI-managed capital.

Top Performers & Underperformers (Top 100)

Rank	Asset Name	Performance (12M)	Category / Primary Driver
Top Performer	PIPPIN	+6,151%	AI-Agent Memecoin (Solana)
Top Performer	AB (Newton)	+3,591%	Ecosystem Utility / Stablecoin Integration
Top Performer	ZEC (Zcash)	+735%	Privacy Sector Re-rating / NU 6.1 Upgrade
Top Performer	XMR (Monero)	+130%	Default Anonymity / Defensive Positioning
Top Performer	OKB	+108%	Exchange Utility (OKX Ecosystem)
Worst Performer	Optimism (OP)	-85.0%	Layer 2 Saturation / Token Unlocks
Worst Performer	FET (ASI)	-83.3%	AI Infrastructure Correction
Worst Performer	STX (Stacks)	-82.9%	Bitcoin L2 Exhaustion
Worst Performer	Render (RNDR)	-80.9%	DePIN / Compute Sector Profit-Taking
Worst Performer	Virtual	-80.2%	Virtual Protocol / Metaverse Fatigue

CEX vs DEX Volume & Market Share

2025 marked a structural inflection point for on-chain derivatives.

2025 marked a structural inflection point for on-chain derivatives.

Perpetual Futures Market Share

• DEX-to-CEX ratio rose from 6.3% → 18.7%
• October recorded ATH on-chain derivatives volume

Perp DEX Leaders

• Hyperliquid: $3.0T annualized volume
• Lighter: Zero-fee model, Robinhood strategic investment
• Aster: Binance-aligned, lower fees, strong distribution

Competition intensified, narrowing the efficiency gap with centralized venues.

Spot DEX Dynamics

• Solana spot volume: -66.7% (Jan–Nov)
• BNB Chain spot volume: +4x growth
• DEX/CEX spot ratio remained below 20%

Retail speculation rotated rather than disappeared, reinforcing the maturity of spot DEX infrastructure.

4. Bitcoin Market Analysis

2025 Market Context: Institutional Success, Price Frustration

The global crypto market reached an all-time high of $4.3 trillion in 2025, driven primarily by Bitcoin and Ethereum. Yet price action told a more complex story. Despite landmark institutional adoption and improving regulatory clarity, crypto prices remained largely range-bound, with few sectors sustaining momentum. Even President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance and commitment to making the U.S. a “Bitcoin superpower” failed to prevent Bitcoin from ending the year lower, while Ethereum only marginally exceeded its prior cycle peak.

2025 became a year of contradiction: structural legitimacy versus cyclical stagnation.

Macro Shock: Trade Wars, Volatility, and Safe-Haven Rotation

Following Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. president, markets were shaken by the April 2, 2025 tariff announcement—”Liberation Day.” The policy imposed baseline tariffs of 10% on nearly all imports, with targeted tariffs exceeding 100%, the most aggressive trade action since World War II.

Markets reacted sharply:

• Equities and crypto sold off simultaneously
• Treasury yields spiked on instability fears
• Gold surged to historic highs

Bitcoin notably failed to act as digital gold during this shock, reinforcing its evolving identity as an institutional risk asset rather than a geopolitical hedge.

Is the Four-Year Cycle Broken?

Technical indicators suggest Bitcoin peaked near $126,000, reinforcing concerns that 2026 should historically be a corrective year. However, the traditional drivers of crypto cycles – halvings, rate cycles, and speculative leverage, which have weakened materially.

Instead, spot Bitcoin ETF approval in 2024 marked the start of a structural capital shift. Into 2026, allocations from Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch, and large wealth managers are expected to scale meaningfully. The post-2024 regulatory pivot further enables Wall Street and fintech firms to engage crypto markets with reduced friction.

Conclusion: Institutional demand is likely to outpace new supply, pushing Bitcoin beyond historical cycle constraints.

Volatility Compression and Asset Maturation

Bitcoin volatility continued its decade-long decline, falling below volatility levels seen in leading U.S. equities such as Nvidia. This compression reflects:

• Broader investor base
• ETF-driven capital stability
• Reduced reflexive leverage

Bitcoin is increasingly behaving like a macro financial asset rather than a speculative instrument.

Onchain Activity: Who Is Selling, Who Is Holding

Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) aggressively bought the dip from mid-November to mid-December:

• +42k BTC (+4% m/m)
• Aggregate DAT holdings: 1.09m BTC

This was the largest accumulation since July–August 2025.

Token Age Dynamics:

• Medium-term holders (1–5 years) reduced balances sharply
• Oldest cohorts (>5 years) remained largely intact

This indicates cyclical players exiting while long-term conviction holders remain firm.

Miner Stress and Hash Rate Compression

• Bitcoin mining economics deteriorated in 2025:

• Hash rate CAGR since 2020: +62%
• Electricity breakeven fell from $0.12 to $0.077 (S19 XP)
• Network hash rate declined 4% (30D MA), which is the largest drop since April 2024

Up to 400k mining machines went offline amid profitability stress and a potential 10% hash rate removal from China as power shifted toward AI workloads.

Why Falling Hash Rate Can Be Bullish

Historical data (since 2014):

• 180-day forward BTC returns were positive 77% of the time when hash rate growth was negative
• Average returns: +72% vs +48%
• Strategy outperformance: +2,400 bps

Hash rate compression has historically preceded periods of strong forward returns.

Exchange Balances and Self-Custody Trends

Exchange balances declined structurally, signaling a long-term holding behavior pattern for BTC & ETH.

• Bitcoin: 2.9m → 2.7m BTC in 2025
• Ethereum: 20.53m → 16.2m ETH

This shift toward self-custody signals long-term holding behavior and reduced sell-side pressure.

Bitcoin ETFs: Institutionalization Accelerates

By November 2025:

• Trading volume: $880B (+37% YoY)
• Net inflows: $16B
• AUM: $120B (+16%)

Issuer Breakdown:

• BlackRock IBIT: $70B AUM (59%)
• Fidelity FBTC: $17B
• Grayscale GBTC: $15.5B (continued outflows due to 1.5% fee)

Institutional participation broadened beyond hedge funds. Harvard increased its IBIT holdings by 257% to $442.8M, making it its largest disclosed U.S. equity position.

Ethereum ETFs: Adoption with Constraints

Ethereum ETFs reached $277B in cumulative trading volume and +$6.2B YTD AUM growth.

• BlackRock ETHA dominated with $11.1B AUM
• ETH ETFs averaged $1.2B daily volume, just 31% of Bitcoin ETFs

Lack of staking functionality remained a drag. Grayscale became the first to enable staking in October, but most ETH ETF holders still forgo  2.98% annual staking yield.

Bitcoin’s Evolving Narrative

By 2025, Bitcoin had fully transitioned into a:

• ETF-wrapped reserve asset
• Institutional treasury allocation
• Derisked portfolio component

With $120B in ETF AUM and 1.09m BTC held by DATs, Bitcoin became structurally embedded within global finance, even as it lagged gold during acute macro stress.

5. Spot & Derivatives Crypto ETFs

Bitcoin ETPs now hold over $140B, representing 7% of total supply, making them the largest single category of long-term holders.

Retail participation remains dominant:

• 73% retail / 27% institutional ownership of BTC ETP shares
• Enabled by broker access, IRAs, 401(k) eligibility, and low minimums

Regulatory breakthroughs accelerated product launches:

• Generic listing standards removed case-by-case SEC filings
• Solana ETFs (with staking) exceeded $600M inflows within months
• XRP, Dogecoin, and others followed

By late 2025, 120+ crypto ETP applications awaited review in the U.S.

Globally:

• UK lifted retail bans
• Luxembourg allocated 1% of sovereign fund to BTC ETFs
• Pakistan and Czech Republic explored national BTC reserves

Crypto ETPs are rapidly becoming the default global investment wrapper for digital assets.

ETF Approval Timeline

For over a decade, the SEC rejected crypto ETFs. However, after a court ruling, they allowed bitcoin ETFs to launch in January 2024, followed by Ethereum ETFs six months later. In October 2025, the SEC published standard listing rules for crypto ETFs, leading to the launch of Solana ETFs (with staking) that quickly attracted over $600 million. This was soon followed by XRP, Dogecoin, and Chainlink products.

7. DeFi: On-Chain Finance in 2025

Decentralized finance continued its structural advance in 2025, with decentralized exchanges (DEXs) capturing a growing share of global spot trading activity. Year-to-date, DEX volumes reached $4.53 trillion, equivalent to 16% of centralized exchange (CEX) volumes, which totaled $29.04 trillion. This marked the third consecutive year in which DEX volume growth outpaced that of CEXs, up from 10% in 2024 and 8% in 2023.

Daily activity reinforced this trend. Average daily spot DEX volume increased from $7.04 billion in 2024 to $13.51 billion in 2025, representing a 92% year-over-year increase. Activity peaked during periods of heightened speculation and volatility, including January’s memecoin surge which briefly setting a monthly record of $556.52 billion and again in October, when volumes climbed to $563.74 billion amid the largest deleveraging event recorded on October 10, 2025.

Shifting Blockchain Market Share

Ethereum no longer dominates on-chain spot volume as it did in prior cycles. Over the last three months of 2025, Solana (26%) and BNB Chain (20%) emerged as the leading venues for spot DEX trading. 

In 2024, spot DEXs averaged a 36% daily turnover rate. In 2025, turnover nearly doubled to 63%, meaning each dollar of liquidity supported almost twice as much trading activity. This increase was primarily driven by lower transaction costs and improved blockchain scalability, which expanded the universe of economically viable arbitrage and microstructure strategies.

Leading DeFi Tokens

Excluding major base assets such as ETH, SOL, and BNB, the leading DeFi-native tokens by relevance and activity in 2025 included:

• Uniswap
• Hyperliquid
• 1inch
• PancakeSwap
• Aerodrome
• Morpho
• Maple

8. Stablecoins and On-Chain Payments

In 2025, stablecoins became the dominant growth vector across crypto and fintech. Nearly every major crypto company pivoted toward stablecoin-focused strategies, while traditional fintechs actively integrated stablecoins into remittances, treasury operations, and payments.

Remittances and Treasury Adoption

Large remittance providers including Remitly, Zepz, Western Union, and MoneyGram that announced stablecoin integrations, signaling a shift toward faster and lower-cost cross-border payments. At the enterprise level, multinational companies began using stablecoins for internal and partner transfers, with firms like Starlink and Stripe reportedly moving millions of dollars daily. Infrastructure providers such as Beam (Modern Treasury) and Rail (Ripple) were acquired to accelerate adoption.

Stablecoin Issuance and Market Expansion

Following 50% year-over-year growth in 2025, stablecoin supply is projected to double in 2026, exceeding $600 billion in AUM. Growth is expected to be driven primarily by platform-specific stablecoins including USDH, CASH, and PYUSD rather than general-purpose tokens. Issuance increasingly relies on institutional-grade platforms such as Bridge and Anchorage, contributing to a more democratized market structure.

Payments and Merchant Adoption

Stablecoins accounted for approximately 40% of BitPay’s total payment volume in 2025, up from 30% in 2024. Usage of USDC on BitPay increased 35% year-over-year, with stablecoins now widely used for retail purchases, vendor payments, affiliate payouts, and large settlements. Notably, 95% of stablecoin transactions on BitPay occurred on Ethereum and Layer-2 networks, with BitPay processing over 600,000 stablecoin transactions annually, primarily in USDT and USDC.

9. Crypto Fundraising: 1,179 Rounds in 2025

The crypto fundraising sector experienced significant growth in 2025, with notable changes in investor behavior reflected in the ongoing capital deployment in Web3 projects. According to CryptoRank, undisclosed funding rounds led the market, accounting for 28.7% of the total 1,179 funding rounds. 

Seed funding rounds followed, making up 23.6% with 279 rounds, while strategic rounds accounted for 22.0% with 259 rounds. Series A rounds comprised 10.7% with 126 rounds, and pre-seed rounds represented 9.5%. 

In contrast, Series B funding rounds held a 2.9% share, angel rounds reached 1.8%, and Series C rounds accounted for just 0.8%. Overall, the increase in funding across the crypto market indicates growing investor confidence despite market volatility.

10. Global Crypto Adoption in 2025

Crypto adoption in 2025 shifted decisively toward real-world utility. Regulatory clarity from frameworks such as MiCA in the EU and the GENIUS Act in the U.S., alongside spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, boosted institutional trust and drove a 50% increase in U.S. transaction volumes.

Key global adoption statistics include:

• 580 million global crypto owners (up from 562m in 2024 and 420m in 2023)
• 34% year-over-year growth in ownership
• 55% of new users onboard via fintech and mobile banking apps
• 38% cite fiat on-ramps as the largest barrier to entry
• 41% cite off-ramp speed as the biggest unmet need
• 74% of institutional investors plan to increase digital asset exposure in 2025

11. NFTs, Gaming, and Digital Ownership

NFT markets continued to contract in 2025. Total annual NFT trading volume declined to $5.5 billion, significantly below 2024 levels. Activity became increasingly concentrated on Ethereum and a small number of high-profile intellectual properties.

Market share shifted sharply among platforms. By late 2025:

• OpenSea exceeded 67% market share, with over $1.4 billion in annual volume
• Blur’s volume declined over 73%, with market share falling below 24%

A notable development was the issuance of fungible ecosystem tokens by leading NFT brands:

• Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
• Doodles (DOOD)
• Azuki (ANIME)

These launches aimed to expand liquidity and engagement beyond static NFTs, though price performance reflected the challenges of sustaining cultural token momentum.

15. Security, Hacks, and Crypto Crime

Crypto security deteriorated significantly in 2025, with total losses reaching approximately $3.4 billion, driven largely by a small number of major incidents.

The Bybit Breach

On February 21, 2025, a $1.5 billion Ethereum theft marked the largest crypto hack on record. The attack exploited a supply-chain compromise, deceiving signers during a routine wallet transfer. ETH prices fell 15% within 48 hours, prompting widespread reassessment of multisig and signing practices.

Law enforcement responses improved markedly. In October 2025, the U.S. DOJ seized $15 billion linked to a global scam network, while $40 million of Bybit funds were frozen within weeks.

Emerging defenses emphasized quantum readiness, cryptographic diversification, and operational safeguards, including migration to Taproot addresses, hybrid post-quantum cryptography, and elimination of blind signing practices.

16. 2026 Outlook: Scenarios and Catalysts

The long-term outlook for digital assets in 2026 is underpinned by a widening imbalance between institutional demand and net new supply. Since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, these vehicles have collectively accumulated 710,777 BTC, absorbing a material share of circulating supply. This structural dynamic is expected to intensify.

In 2026, institutional access to crypto ETFs is set to expand further across jurisdictions and distribution channels. As a result, crypto ETFs are projected to purchase more than 100% of the annual net issuance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, implying that incremental demand will increasingly need to be met through secondary market liquidity rather than new supply. This dynamic represents a fundamental shift from prior cycles, where speculative retail flows dominated marginal price action.

Prediction Markets Enter Their Second Act

Prediction markets emerged as one of the most unexpected breakouts of the previous cycle. In 2024, Polymarket reached a peak of $500 million in open interest during the U.S. presidential election before sharply retracing to approximately $100 million. While some market participants view this as cyclical election-driven activity, the underlying trajectory suggests otherwise.

By 2026, Polymarket is expected to surpass its prior all-time high, driven by broader market diversification rather than reliance on a single political event. Activity has steadily expanded into sports, pop culture, crypto-native markets, and macroeconomic forecasting. With the U.S. midterm elections approaching and political engagement rising globally, the platform is positioned to operate at sustained, high utilization levels throughout the year.

Bitcoin’s Correlation Regime Shifts Lower

Bitcoin’s relationship with traditional equities remains structurally distinct. Analysis of rolling 90-day correlations shows that Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P 500 has rarely exceeded 0.50, the commonly accepted boundary between low and medium correlation.

Looking ahead to 2026, this correlation is expected to decline further relative to 2025. The primary driver is the increasing dominance of crypto-specific catalysts like regulatory clarity, ETF inflows, institutional adoption, and onchain financial activity.These drivers were at a time when equity markets face headwinds from valuation constraints and slowing near-term economic growth. This divergence reinforces Bitcoin’s evolving role as a macro-uncorrelated asset rather than a leveraged proxy for risk equities.

Stablecoins Move From Breakout to Infrastructure

Stablecoins experienced a decisive breakout in 2025. Outstanding supply reached $300 billion, while monthly transaction volumes averaged $1.1 trillion over the six months ending in November. The passage of the GENIUS Act and sustained institutional capital inflows further legitimized the sector.

In 2026, the focus shifts from adoption to utility at scale. Stablecoins are expected to:

• Integrate directly into cross-border payment networks
• Serve as collateral on derivatives and futures exchanges
• Appear on corporate balance sheets for treasury management
• Compete with credit cards in online consumer payments

The continued rise of prediction markets is also likely to create incremental stablecoin demand. Higher transaction volumes should directly benefit the blockchains that settle these payments including Ethereum, Tron, BNB Chain, and Solana as well as key infrastructure and DeFi protocols such as Chainlink.

Tokenization: The Next Structural Shift

While stablecoins demonstrated clear product-market fit in 2025, they represent only the opening chapter of a broader transformation. The next phase of crypto adoption will be defined less by speculative trading and more by the digitalization of financial infrastructure, with tokenization at its core.

As the narratives of digital gold (Bitcoin) and digital dollars (stablecoins) mature, they are laying the foundation for large-scale migration of traditional assets onto blockchains. Bitcoin continues to anchor the hard-money thesis amid global monetary debasement, while stablecoins increasingly link banks, corporations, and consumers through real-time settlement.

Together, these systems establish the credibility, liquidity, and settlement rails required for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to scale meaningfully in 2026. As cash becomes tokenized, it is logical to expect that those digital dollars will seek yield-bearing and investment opportunities, creating a direct bridge between digital money and digital capital markets.

AI Shifts From Automation to Economic Amplification

The most compelling AI-driven businesses are no longer focused solely on cost reduction or task automation. Instead, they are amplifying the core economics of their customers. In contingency-based legal models, for example, firms only earn revenue when cases are won. AI platforms such as Eve leverage proprietary outcome data to improve case selection, increase win rates, and expand client capacity.

This represents a structural shift in software value creation. AI systems increasingly align with customer incentives, driving revenue growth rather than incremental efficiency gains alone. In 2026, this model is expected to proliferate across industries, creating compounding advantages that legacy software platforms will struggle to replicate.

17. Investment Implications & Asset Class Winners (2026)

The investment landscape heading into 2026 reflects the maturation of a truly multichain crypto economy. In 2025, infrastructure providers such as Dune onboarded more than 40 new networks, expanding coverage to 100+ chains. This rapid expansion did not merely reflect experimentation; it underscored the industry’s shift toward specialization, composability, and ecosystem-level differentiation.

Rather than a single dominant chain, 2025 highlighted how value accrues to networks that combine distribution, cost efficiency, regulatory alignment, and real economic throughput. The ecosystems below represent the clearest examples of where adoption, capital, and application-layer activity converged positioning them as potential beneficiaries in 2026.

High-Growth Ecosystems to Watch

Abstract

Abstract emerged as a standout consumer-focused ecosystem in 2025, driven by wallet adoption and gaming-native engagement. The Abstract Global Wallet (AGW) surpassed 3.3 million deployments, making it one of the most widely adopted smart contract wallets in the market.

Gaming acted as the primary growth catalyst. GigaVerse, winner of the Games’ Choice Award at the GAM3 Awards 2025, generated 550 ETH in marketplace volume, demonstrating sustained on-chain player engagement. Beyond gaming, Abstract attracted mainstream brands, including Red Bull, which launched its “In the Moment” digital collectibles series to commemorate key moments from the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Arbitrum One

Arbitrum One reinforced its position as a leading Ethereum Layer 2 by attracting sustained capital and institutional-grade applications. Total Value Secured continued to climb, signaling deep trust in the network.

A defining development was the expansion of Robinhood Stock Tokens on Arbitrum, which evolved into a $10M+ on-chain equity rail enabling European users to access over 900 U.S. stocks and ETFs under the EU’s MiFID II framework. By October 2025, Arbitrum hosted $10.6 billion in stablecoin market cap, processing more than $150 billion in stablecoin volume.

Base

Base delivered one of the strongest usage metrics of the year, reaching 18.2 million daily transactions on November 18, 2025. Importantly, growth was paired with decentralization progress. Base entered Stage 1 of Vitalik’s decentralization framework, introducing permissionless fault proofs and a decentralized Security Council.

Performance improvements further strengthened the ecosystem. Flashblocks enabled near-instant transaction responsiveness ( 200 ms), while Coinbase launched a unified multi-chain web wallet integrating assets, NFTs, DeFi, trading, and creator tools. This is deepening Base’s role as the primary on-chain entry point for retail users.

Berachain

Berachain’s Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) model emerged as a unique incentive-driven approach to ecosystem growth. In 2025, over $31 million in incentives were distributed, encouraging validator competition and liquidity provisioning.

Kodiak Perps became a flagship application, posting $600 million in 90-day trading volume, supported by PoL incentives and Orderly’s liquidity. User adoption accelerated rapidly, with 3.6 million active wallets since launch.

BNB Chain

BNB Chain remained one of the most economically active networks in 2025. In November, it averaged 2.4 million daily active addresses, accounting for  24% of daily active users across tracked chains.

DeFi expansion was led by Aster, a decentralized perpetuals exchange featuring MEV resistance, privacy-preserving order flow, and yield-bearing collateral. Aster surpassed $400 million in TVL and achieved trading volumes that exceeded competitors such as Hyperliquid.BNB Chain also saw RWA TVL exceed $800 million, reinforcing its position as a hub for tokenized assets and on-chain credit. A 95% reduction in base gas fees materially improved accessibility, while the chain captured 79.3% of DEX trading volume at its peak in June 2025.

Bitcoin DeFi & Modular Ecosystems (BOB, Boba, Celo, Flare, Fuel)

• BOB expanded Bitcoin DeFi, reaching $152 million in TVL, with 733 BTC deployed via Solv Protocol, making it the fourth-largest Solv-supported network.
• Boba achieved rapid user growth, peaking near 22,000 DAUs in October. Lynx, its gasless perps DEX, generated $683 million in combined trading volume, accounting for a significant share of ecosystem activity.
• Celo became the leading transport layer for native USDT, scaling daily USDT transactions from 1 million to 6 million in under a year. Mento’s local-currency stablecoins processed $5.6 billion across 5.3 million transactions.
• Flare emerged as the dominant XRPFi ecosystem, with 60M+ FXRP locked and $124 million TVL, 80% allocated to DeFi use cases.
• Fuel Network posted one of the sharpest usage inflections, with daily transactions rising from under 100k to over 7 million, driven by Reactor DEX, which surpassed $120 million in cumulative volume.

Asset Class Winners by Theme (2026)

Theme	Likely Beneficiaries
Institutional ETFs	BTC, ETH, SOL
Stablecoin rails	ETH, TRX, BNB, SOL
Tokenization / RWAs	ETH L2s, BNB, Arbitrum
Bitcoin DeFi	BTC-adjacent chains (BOB, Flare)
High-throughput apps	Base, Solana, Fuel
Consumer crypto	Wallet-centric chains (Abstract, Base)

Strategic Implications for 2026

The market is no longer rewarding chains solely for narrative alignment. Capital is increasingly flowing toward ecosystems that demonstrate:

• Persistent on-chain economic activity
• Real-world integration (payments, equities, RWAs)
• Scalable, low-cost execution
• Regulatory compatibility

As crypto transitions from speculative cycles to financial infrastructure, asset performance in 2026 is likely to be driven less by beta and more by differentiation.

The post Ex-CFTC Acting Chair Declares 2026 the Year Institutions Go All-In on Crypto appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Crypto has spent years on the edge of institutional adoption. According to former Acting CFTC Chair Caroline D. Pham, that waiting period is almost over.

Speaking from the New York Stock Exchange on Taking Stock, Pham said 2026 will mark the moment when crypto, tokenization, and blockchain move from testing to full-scale institutional use.

“Increased institutional adoption in crypto and blockchain technology for 2026” will depend on firms that can “scale responsibly and be compliant – especially with KYC, AML, and other important protections,” she said.

Institutions Have Been Preparing for This Moment

Pham, who recently transitioned to the private sector as CLO at Moonpay, pushed back on the idea that Wall Street is new to crypto. She said major financial institutions have been working behind the scenes for nearly a decade.

“Institutions have been working on blockchain technology, tokenization, and crypto as an asset class since at least 2017 – sometimes even 2016,” she explained, referencing years of pilots and internal testing across banks, asset managers, and exchanges.

What held them back wasn’t lack of interest but uncertainty.

Regulatory Clarity Changed the Timeline

That uncertainty began to fade over the past year, according to Pham, as U.S. regulators started sending clearer signals.

She pointed to the White House Crypto Report, the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint,” and the SEC’s “Project Crypto” as key steps that helped align crypto with existing market rules.

“The rules are technology-neutral,” Pham said. “It’s just a different format – from paper to electronic to now digital.”

In other words, crypto doesn’t need a new rulebook. It needs the old one applied properly.

Compliance Will Decide Who Wins

Pham was clear about what separates crypto firms that scale from those that struggle.

“It is going to be those who understand how to be regulatory compliant… and who know how to be that trusted infrastructure partner to regulated institutions,” she said.

Governance, risk controls, and existing legal frameworks matter more than speed or hype.

Why 2026 Is About Choice

Looking ahead, Pham said institutions will have multiple paths into crypto, rather than a single, forced model.

From futures exchanges to securities platforms and state-level frameworks, 2026 will be about “choice and access to markets.”

After years of groundwork, institutional crypto is here to stay.

The post This Altcoin Is Rebounding After Months of Compression—Are These Early Signs of a Bigger Move? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

After months of muted price action, memecoins are showing early signs of life. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain locked in consolidation, select high-beta tokens are starting to outperform. Leading the move is the PEPE price, which is attempting a recovery from a prolonged compression phase. The question traders are asking now is simple: is this the start of renewed memecoin mania, or just a short-term sentiment bounce?

PEPE Price Action: Recovery From Long-Term Support, But Trend Still on Test

PEPE is attempting a rebound after pulling back to a rising long-term trendline, which has acted as dynamic support since mid-2024. Price is currently stabilizing around 0.0000051–0.0000052, a zone that has repeatedly attracted buyers in the past. This area now serves as the make-or-break level for the ongoing recovery attempt.

From a momentum perspective, RSI (14) has rebounded from the lower band and is hovering near the 40 zone, suggesting selling pressure is easing but bullish momentum is not yet dominant. Meanwhile, the MACD remains below the zero line, though downside momentum is slowing—a typical early sign seen during basing phases rather than confirmed reversals.

Structurally, PEPE remains capped below the 0.0000110–0.0000115 resistance zone, which aligns with a prior range high and horizontal supply. A decisive weekly close above this level would confirm a higher-low structure and open the door toward the 0.000020–0.000025 region. On the downside, failure to hold the trendline support below 0.0000048 would invalidate the recovery setup and risk a deeper retracement toward prior demand.

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• Also Read :
•   Chainlink vs. Hyperliquid—Who Will be the DeFi Leader in 2026? Here’s What Charts Say!
•   ,

Memecoin Check: PEPE Is Not Moving Alone

PEPE’s bounce is notable, but it doesn’t exist in isolation. Other major memecoins are also stabilising or pushing higher:

• Dogecoin has held key support levels, often acting as the liquidity and sentiment barometer for the entire memecoin space.
• Shiba Inu has shown improved price acceptance after an extended decline, hinting at renewed retail participation.
• Smaller high-beta names are seeing short bursts of volume, signalling selective risk-taking, not broad euphoria.

This matters because memecoin rallies that are sustained tend to show cross-token participation, not isolated pumps.

What This Says About Market Sentiment

Historically, memecoins outperform when traders grow comfortable taking risks while majors pause. The current setup fits that pattern. Bitcoin dominance remains firm, volatility in large caps is compressed, and traders are probing the edges of the risk curve.

That said, this does not confirm a full-blown AltSeason. Instead, it suggests an early shift in psychology—from capital preservation toward opportunistic trading. Without confirmation from higher market-wide volume and continued stability in Bitcoin, memecoins remain vulnerable to sharp reversals.

Conclusion: A Tactical Signal, Not a Mania 

PEPE price recovery, alongside improving structure across select memecoins, signals that risk appetite is cautiously returning. This is an early sentiment shift, not a declaration of memecoin mania or AltSeason. For traders, memecoins are once again acting as a sentiment probe—rewarding disciplined momentum plays while punishing late, emotional entries. Until volume expands and key resistance zones are reclaimed, this remains a tactical trade environment, not a sustained speculative cycle.

FAQs

The post US Crypto Regulation in 2026: Key Laws, SEC Changes, and What Comes Next appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

After years of regulatory confusion, the US crypto industry enters 2026 with clearer direction than ever before. A mix of legislative deadlines, new rules, and political shifts is beginning to define how digital assets will be regulated, traded, and used across the country.

Under President Donald Trump’s second term, Washington has taken a noticeably more supportive stance toward crypto. Industry-friendly regulators are now in key positions, pressure on major crypto firms has eased, and banks finally have clearer approval to offer crypto custody services. Together, these changes have set the stage for what could become a defining year for US crypto policy.

January Could Break the Deadlock

The year opens with strong momentum. In January, the US Senate is expected to restart hearings on long-pending crypto market structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act. The bill is designed to settle the long-running dispute between the SEC and the CFTC by clearly outlining which agency oversees different parts of the crypto market.

White House crypto adviser David Sacks has said the bill is closer to passage than at any point in the past. If approved early in 2026, attention would quickly turn to how regulators implement the rules, shifting the focus from political debate to real-world compliance.

January may also bring a major change from the Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has pledged to introduce an “innovation exemption,” allowing crypto startups to test new products under lighter requirements while meeting basic consumer protection standards. This could reduce legal delays that have slowed product launches for years.

Stablecoin Rules and Crypto Tax Changes Take Shape

Stablecoin regulation will be another major focus. The GENIUS Act, passed in 2025, created a federal framework for payment stablecoins, but many of its details still depend on follow-up rules. Regulators are expected to finalize licensing, custody, capital, and compliance requirements by mid-2026, which could reshape how dollar-backed stablecoins operate in the US.

Crypto tax rules are also under review. Lawmakers are working on proposals to reduce tax friction around staking rewards, crypto lending, and small everyday payments. Ideas on the table include de minimis exemptions for stablecoin transactions and clearer guidance on how lending income is taxed, with progress expected by late summer.

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• Also Read :
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•   ,

Federal and State Actions Add Momentum

Wider economic policy could also influence crypto markets. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May, and President Trump is expected to appoint a successor more open to interest rate cuts. A softer rate environment could benefit risk assets like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, although inflation remains a concern.

At the state level, regulatory activity is increasing. California’s Digital Financial Assets Law comes into force on July 1, requiring crypto companies serving state residents to obtain licenses. At the same time, states such as Texas are advancing Bitcoin reserve plans, pointing to growing government involvement in digital assets.

Midterm Elections Remain a Key Risk

The biggest unknown arrives in November. US midterm elections could reshape Congress and determine whether current crypto legislation keeps moving forward. While bipartisan support for digital asset regulation has improved, a shift in political control could delay or weaken unfinished reforms.

For now, 2026 stands out as the year when US crypto regulation moves from discussion to execution—bringing lasting changes to how the industry operates, grows, and earns trust.

FAQs

The post Bitcoin 2025 Price Predictions: How Wrong Were Crypto’s Biggest Names? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

For most of 2025, Bitcoin price predictions were pointing in one direction: higher. Calls for $150,000 and $200,000 became common as Bitcoin pushed deeper into price discovery. But when the year wrapped up, reality looked very different.

Bitcoin peaked at around $126,200 on October 7, 2025, then ended the year near $87,000, leaving the majority of forecasts badly off target.

The Bold Bitcoin Price Targets That Missed

Throughout the year, high-profile figures made aggressive calls. MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor repeatedly suggested Bitcoin was heading beyond $150,000. Robert Kiyosaki projected Bitcoin could reach $200,000, while venture capitalist Tim Draper maintained his long-standing $250,000 target.

Tom Lee of Fundstrat forecasted $150,000, JPMorgan analysts floated levels near $165,000, and Eric Trump publicly stated Bitcoin could eventually reach $1 million. In a podcast, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called for $200,000. VanEck’s research team predicted a Q1 peak of $180,000.

None of these projections survived the second half of the year.

Even analysts who later revised expectations lower were unable to account for what came next.

October’s Flash Crash Reset the Market

On October 10, Bitcoin plunged nearly $12,000 in minutes, a drop of roughly 10%. The move triggered over $19 billion in liquidations within 24 hours, while nearly $500 billion was wiped from the total crypto market cap.

From its October peak, Bitcoin fell around 30%, making most year-end price targets mathematically unreachable.

Why Bitcoin Forecasts Keep Falling Apart

Market commentary during the downturn pointed to a recurring issue: Bitcoin trades more on sentiment and leverage than on traditional valuation models. As noted in an analysis from Everything Money Plus, predictions often reflect speculation rather than a repeatable process.

The commentary emphasized that Bitcoin behaves more like gold or a currency, where short-term price targets “don’t mean much,” and discipline matters more than forecasts.

The Lesson 2025 Left Behind

Bitcoin didn’t fail to perform in 2025 – expectations failed to adjust. The year reinforced a familiar truth in crypto markets: bold predictions travel fast, but reality moves on its own terms.

Heading into 2026, traders and investors may be better served by price action and risk management, not chasing predictions.

The post XRP’s Long-Term Vision Is Becoming Clear — And SolStaking Reflects the Same Way of Thinking appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

One of the biggest misunderstandings around XRP has never really been about price.
It’s been about intent.

Recently, crypto commentary platform Cryptoinsight revisited a familiar criticism: that Ripple is selling XRP simply to fund traditional acquisitions. According to the analysis, that argument gets the surface right—but completely misses the philosophy underneath.

Ripple isn’t exiting XRP. It’s using capital to build the infrastructure that makes XRP indispensable over time.

That distinction matters—not just for XRP, but for how long-term investors think about value.

The Common Mistake: Confusing Short-Term Actions with Long-Term Strategy

It’s easy to look at asset sales or acquisitions and assume replacement.
Sell crypto, buy “real-world” assets. End of story.

But Cryptoinsight argues the opposite is happening.

Ripple’s acquisitions, liquidity venues, licenses, and institutional relationships aren’t substitutes for XRP. They’re support systems. They expand trust, throughput, and real settlement demand—so XRP can function at a global scale as a neutral bridge asset.

In other words, XRP isn’t the thing being sold.
It’s the thing being prepared.

That mindset reframes the entire discussion.

What This Means for Investors Right Now

Even as XRP’s long-term case strengthens, price doesn’t move on ideology alone. Infrastructure takes time. Adoption compounds slowly before it accelerates.

For long-term holders, that creates a familiar emotional gap:

“I believe in where this is going — but what do I do while waiting?”

That question isn’t unique to XRP.
And it’s exactly where SolStaking’s philosophy aligns.

SolStaking’s Core Idea: Productive Patience

SolStaking isn’t built on the assumption that markets always move quickly.
It’s built on the assumption that they often don’t.

Instead of trying to predict price, SolStaking focuses on one principle:
Capital shouldn’t sit idle just because the future takes time.

Much like Ripple uses real-world infrastructure to support XRP’s long-term role, SolStaking integrates real-world yield sources to support consistent income—without depending on short-term market moves.

Why SolStaking Resonates with Long-Term Thinkers

SolStaking appeals to investors who value structure over speculation.

Here’s why that philosophy resonates:

Predictable, Fixed-Term Cycles

Each contract has a defined duration, settlement date, and payout logic from the start. No surprises, no mid-cycle decisions.

Automation Over Emotion

Once activated, contracts run automatically.
No trading. No bots. No constant checking.
Just execution by design.

USD-Denominated Returns

Returns are calculated in U.S. dollars, not token price movement.
Whether XRP goes up or down in the short term, the contract outcome stays consistent.

Multi-Asset Flexibility

Support for XRP, BTC, ETH, SOL, USDT, and USDC allows users to stay diversified while maintaining long-term exposure.

Where Real-World Assets Come In

Just as Ripple integrates licenses, institutions, and infrastructure to strengthen XRP’s utility, SolStaking integrates real-world income sources to stabilize returns.

These include:

• Clean energy projects
• Income-producing real estate
• Robotics and industrial automation
• Public infrastructure
• Data center operations
• Select fixed-income instruments

The goal isn’t to replace crypto—it’s to support it through cycles.

Different systems, same logic.

Trust Is Part of the Product

Long-term strategies only work if trust is built in.

SolStaking emphasizes a security-first framework aligned with institutional standards:

• U.S.-registered operating structure
• Full segregation of user funds and operational capital
• Enterprise-grade infrastructure with continuous monitoring
• Custodian insurance underwritten by Lloyd’s of London

This isn’t about speed. It’s about durability.

The Shared Philosophy

XRP’s thesis is about becoming essential.
SolStaking’s thesis is about staying productive.

Both reject short-term noise in favour of systems that compound quietly over time.

For investors who understand that meaningful adoption—and meaningful returns—often require patience, that alignment feels natural.

Because sometimes, the smartest move isn’t to rush the future.
It’s to prepare for it—while earning along the way.

Official Website: https://solstaking.com

Business & Cooperation: info@solstaking.com

The post Chainlink vs. Hyperliquid—Who Will be the DeFi Leader in 2026? Here’s What Charts Say! appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

The battle for leadership in the DeFi space is becoming increasingly clear as two major contenders trade very differently heading into 2026. Chainlink price and HYPE have both delivered strong performances over the past year, but recent price action suggests the balance may be shifting again.

HYPE price dominated much of 2025, briefly flipping LINK in market momentum as speculative interest surged across newer DeFi narratives. However, as market conditions tighten, it would be interesting to watch whether Hyperliquid sustains itself as the leader of the DeFi space or Chainlink regains its dominance. 

Chainlink Holds Firm as the Market Tests Conviction

Chainlink has quietly delivered one of the cleaner defensive structures among large-cap DeFi tokens. Despite the broader downtrend, LINK bounced decisively from the $10 zone and printed a strong green candle, signaling sustained buyer interest at long-term trendline support. Since then, the bulls have been holding firmly above the support, hinting towards a bigger move to be on the horizon. 

The recent downturn had dragged the LINK price below the rising parallel channel, but the bulls held the 200-day MA strongly, which is expected to revive a strong bullish momentum. The weekly RSI displays strength as it attempts a recovery before hitting the lower threshold. All these indicators signal a bullish move, but only the LINK price manages to break the support of the rising parallel channel. Once the token enters the pattern, a rise beyond $20 could be imminent. 

HYPE Price Faces Its First Real Structural Test

HYPE’s rise in 2025 was undeniable. The token delivered a sharp expansion phase, outperforming many peers even as competition intensified following strong entries from emerging DeFi players like ASTER. That move firmly established HYPE as a serious large-cap contender. However, current price action shows rejection at the golden pocket resistance, with bulls still struggling to flip this zone into durable support. While the broader trend remains constructive, the inability to reclaim this level cleanly suggests hesitation rather than acceleration at this stage.

Unlike LINK, HYPE seems to have been stuck under a strong bearish influence. The token is constantly printing lower highs and lows, while the current price action suggests a drop to 0.236 FIB at $20 could be on the horizon. The RSI is unable to break the descending trend line, which is acting as a resistance; besides, the draining OBV substantiates the bearish claim. Therefore, Hyperliquid appears to be poised for a continued pullback, while a rebound can be expected at the local support at $20. 

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• Also Read :
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What the Charts Are Telling Traders

The contrast between the two setups is clear:

• LINK is defending a multi-year trendline and showing strength during market weakness.
• HYPE is consolidating after a strong run but still needs confirmation above key resistance.

This does not invalidate HYPE’s longer-term potential. Instead, it highlights a short-term rotation in relative strength, where capital favors assets showing stability over those still resolving resistance.

Conclusion: Which Looks Better Right Now?

Both LINK and HYPE are likely to remain relevant throughout 2026, given their large-cap status and deep integration within DeFi. However, based on current price action alone, Chainlink presents the cleaner setup. Holding long-term support while printing higher-timeframe strength gives LINK a tactical edge for traders looking for asymmetric positioning.

HYPE’s 2025 rally was a major win, but until resistance flips into support, LINK appears better positioned for the next leg—not because of hype, but because the charts are doing the talking.

FAQs

The post Cardano (ADA) Price Jumps 8% Today as Whales Buy Return appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Cardano (ADA) has started 2026 on a positive note, rising nearly 8% today, moving above the $0.36 level and ranking among the day’s top altcoin gainers. This rise comes after a rough December, when ADA fell nearly 20%, leaving many investors cautious.

So, what’s driving Cardano’s price higher today?

CryptoQuant Data Shows Whale Buying

One of the clearest signals behind ADA’s rise comes from CryptoQuant data. Recent on-chain numbers show an increase in activity from large holders, often called whales. Both spot and futures data point to bigger orders entering the market.

When whales begin to buy again, it often signals growing confidence. According to CryptoQuant, market conditions are easing, and buy-side pressure is slowly increasing. This supports the idea that the current move is more than just a random bounce.

Beyond trading data, Cardano’s network is showing real signs of use. Transaction activity and wallet interactions have increased over recent days. This means users are actively using the blockchain, not just holding ADA.

Cardano DeFi TVL Shows Signs of Recovery

Another positive signal comes from Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem. According to DefiLlama, Cardano’s TVL increased by 4% in the last 24 hours, reaching about $178.9 million. This means more users are putting their funds into Cardano-based DeFi platforms.

When more money flows into DeFi, it usually shows growing trust in the network, which can also increase demand for the ADA token.

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Cardano Price Analysis

For several months, ADA has been moving inside a falling wedge pattern. This happens when the price keeps going down, but selling slowly becomes weaker. As the range gets tighter, it often means a big move is getting close.

Right now, ADA is holding near the $0.35 support level. This area is helping the price stay stable, and buyers are slowly stepping in, showing that selling pressure is easing.

Crypto trader Captain Faibik shared a chart showing ADA near the end of this falling wedge. He believes a breakout could happen if the price moves above the upper trendline.

As long as ADA stays above support, the setup remains healthy. If the breakout happens, the price could move toward the $0.52–$0.55 zone, which would mean nearly a 50% rise from current levels.

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The post Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Unveils 2026 Plan to Build an ‘Everything Exchange’ appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has outlined an expansive roadmap for 2026, signaling a major shift in how the company sees its future. No longer positioning itself as just a crypto exchange, Coinbase wants to become what Armstrong calls the world’s “number one financial app,” combining traditional finance, crypto, and on-chain infrastructure under one roof.

The plan is built around three core priorities that aim to move Coinbase beyond trading and into everyday financial utility.

Building an “Everything Exchange”

Coinbase’s strategy is the idea of an “everything exchange.” The company plans to expand globally into equities, commodities, and prediction markets alongside crypto. This would place Coinbase in direct competition with platforms like Robinhood and Interactive Brokers, while also challenging newer prediction-based platforms that gained traction in recent years.

Armstrong argues that users increasingly want a single dashboard for managing all financial assets. Instead of juggling multiple apps for stocks, crypto, and alternative markets, Coinbase wants to offer one unified interface where everything lives together.

Stablecoins as Everyday Money

Most importantly, the second pillar focuses on stablecoins, an area Coinbase sees as a long-term growth engine. After years of high interest rates highlighting the importance of stablecoin liquidity, Coinbase plans to aggressively scale payments and real-world usage.

The goal is to move stablecoins like USDC beyond trading pairs and into daily transactions, from small retail payments to cross-border business settlements. If successful, Coinbase would effectively operate as a global, crypto-native banking layer without traditional borders.

Base and the Push to Bring Users On-Chain

The third priority is Coinbase’s Layer-2 network, Base. Armstrong sees Base as a foundation for a consumer-friendly on-chain ecosystem, combining developer growth, scalable infrastructure, and simplified user experiences.

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Coinbase wants to attract top developers to build applications that feel intuitive rather than technical, while also improving how users interact with decentralized apps. The approach mirrors the Apple ecosystem model, where infrastructure and applications reinforce each other.

Addressing Token Listings and Market Freedom

Armstrong also addressed criticism around slow token listings on Coinbase’s centralized exchange. He emphasized that millions of assets are already accessible through decentralized exchanges, shifting responsibility for discovery to the blockchain itself.

He cautioned users not to view any listing as an endorsement, stressing that Coinbase is building an open marketplace rather than curating investments.

Crypto Reaction

Separately, longevity researcher Aubrey de Grey weighed in on ongoing discussions involving Armstrong and Richard Heart, urging collaboration despite differences. He highlighted their shared commitment to longevity research, noting that many PulseChain investors care deeply about the same mission and that cooperation could amplify impact.

Together, these developments point to Coinbase aiming not just to scale crypto adoption, but to reshape how people interact with money, technology, and long-term innovation by 2026.

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