Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, warned that the most severe stagflation crisis since the 1970s will occur in 2026, a phenomenon where high inflation coexists with economic recession that will severely impact the global economy. He predicted that both stocks and long-term bonds will fail, with only a few assets such as gold, silver, real estate, and distressed debt surviving, and that gold prices will reach $5000 per ounce.

The year 2025 is a dramatic collision of narrative and reality for the crypto assets industry, marking a significant divide in wealth. Despite Bitcoin's price retreating about 6% from its peak earlier in the year, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows a stark contrast in the fortunes of industry leaders: stablecoin giants have emerged as the biggest winners, with Circle founder Jeremy Allaire's wealth soaring by 149%, and Tether chairman Giancarlo Devasini's net worth rising 60% to $13.2 billion; meanwhile, the once-prominent "BitShares" pioneer Michael Saylor saw his fortune shrink by 37%, and the Winklevoss twins' wealth plummeted by 59%. Behind this wealth reshuffle lies a profound reflection of the industry's transformation from reckless growth to compliance and foundational services.

The Central Bank of Russia has officially announced a new regulatory framework proposal aimed at legalizing and regulating cryptocurrency transactions, marking a fundamental shift in the country's attitude towards Crypto Assets. According to the proposal, starting in 2026, ordinary Russian citizens will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies on regulated platforms after passing a risk assessment, but non-accredited investors will have an annual limit of 300,000 rubles (approximately 3,300 USD). This framework not only paves the way for existing Financial Institutions in the country to provide encryption services but also explicitly allows residents to purchase Crypto Assets abroad and transfer them back to domestic platforms for the first time. This strategic shift from "a complete ban" to "a combination of control and facilitation" is an acknowledgment of the reality of domestic crypto usage and may open new pathways for capital flows under the backdrop of sanctions.

Bitcoin (BTC) continues its weak decline, temporarily reported around $87,750 on December 24. The United States' GDP for the third quarter grew at an annualized rate of 4.3%, exceeding market expectations. The Central Bank of Russia plans to open up cryptocurrency investments, setting new rules to differentiate investor levels. Ethereum ETF has ended a period of outflows, while XRP products have reached new highs in several weeks.

The Central Bank of Russia has submitted a draft concept for regulating the Crypto Assets market to the government, considering abandoning the definition that limits access to Crypto Assets to only accredited investors. The new regulations adopt a dual-track design, allowing non-accredited investors to purchase high Liquidity Crypto Assets worth up to 300,000 rubles (approximately $3,800) through intermediaries after passing a test each year, while accredited investors can invest without any limits. The relevant legislation is expected to be completed by July 2026, and from July 2027, legal responsibilities will be imposed on illegal intermediaries.

A technical article published on blog.can.ac disassembled the Hyperliquid binary file through reverse engineering, accusing it of having a $362 million funding gap and other 9 serious issues, bluntly stating that it is a Centralized Exchange disguised as Blockchain. In the face of FUD, Hyperliquid personally stepped in to reconcile accounts, not only successfully clarifying the funding security issue but also rarely pumping its competitors Lighter and Aster.

In 2025, asset performance showed a historic divergence, with gold reaching a new high of $3,700 per ounce, U.S. stocks continuing to rise driven by AI giants like Nvidia, while Bitcoin oscillated around the $100,000 mark, significantly underperforming the former two. On the surface, this appears to be a difference in price fluctuations, but the deeper logic is the systemic reconfiguration of energy allocation, geopolitical factors, and capital flows.

The Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek AI is regarded as a strong competitor to ChatGPT, recently releasing a 2026 Crypto Assets price forecast that has drawn attention. The model predicts a target price for Bitcoin of $180,000 to $250,000, and a target price for XRP of $3.50 to $5.00 based on macroeconomic factors, technical indicators, and Fundamental Analysis.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed on Monday that Salvadoran authorities are negotiating the sale of the state-owned Bitcoin Wallet Chivo, and that "progress is going smoothly." This is one of the key conditions for the $1.4 billion loan agreement provided by the IMF in May. As of now, El Salvador holds 7,509 Bitcoins, worth approximately $659 million at the time of publication, and this Bitcoin game between the IMF and Bukele is entering a critical moment.

The price of Bitcoin has fallen to around $87,450, down about 1.2% in the last 24 hours. This pullback is attributed to the U.S. Q3 GDP data exceeding expectations with a rise of 4.3%, far surpassing the market expectation of 3.3%, raising concerns among investors about a slowdown in the Federal Reserve's rate cut pace. The Crypto Assets fear and greed index has dropped to 29, indicating that the market has entered a state of fear, while the alts season index is only 17, suggesting that funds are withdrawing from high-risk assets.

The encryption analysis company Alphractal warned that the surge in views of the Satoshi Nakamoto Wikipedia page is highly correlated with Bitcoin market cycle turning points, with price falls typically occurring after peaks in the Satoshi Nakamoto narrative, with a probability of 73%. Recently, due to reports on U.S. strategic reserves and the transfer of 80,000 Bitcoins from dormant wallets, Satoshi Nakamoto has joined the ranks of the 11 richest people in the world. After the spike in Wikipedia traffic, it has declined, with Bitcoin currently consolidating between $93,000 and $94,000.

Best crypto to buy now: Bitcoin at 87,520 dollars gains institutional backing despite 4% YTD drop. PAX Gold surged 64% with gold stability. Solana has 670 million dollars ETF inflows yet trades at 125 dollars. This evaluates optimal 100 dollars allocation.

Samson Mow, known for his $1M Bitcoin prediction, says mark December 26 (UTC+8). Bitcoin hovers at $87,000 due to options gamma hedging. Once December options expire, Samson Mow expects volatility to return, potentially pushing prices toward $110,000-$112,000 if $100,000 breaks.

On December 22, the Ghana Parliament passed the "Virtual Asset Service Provider Bill," officially recognizing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading as legal, ending years of legal gray area. Official statistics show that about 3 million Ghanaians have engaged in cryptocurrency trading, accounting for 17% of the adult population, with an annual trading volume reaching 3 billion dollars. The new law requires operators to obtain a license and be subject to Central Bank regulation, while individual traders will not face criminal liability.

The Central Bank of Taiwan recently issued a stern warning regarding the US dollar stablecoin, pointing out that if widely circulated, it would form a "shadow forex market," allowing businesses or individuals to circumvent the current Exchange Settlement reporting mechanism, weakening the Central Bank's control over cross-border capital movements, and thus impacting the stability of the New Taiwan Dollar Exchange Rate. In a recent speech, Central Bank Governor Yang Jinlong compared stablecoins to a modern version of "wildcat banking," implying their private issuance, regulatory Arbitrage, and potential instability.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Waller expects that the interest rate should be cut by 100 basis points in 2026, lowering the rate from the current 3.5%-3.75% to 2.5%-2.75%, but the US stock market has no reaction to this. As Bitcoin falls below 85,000 USD, the exchange rate of the Chinese Yuan against the US Dollar breaks 7.0315, appreciating over 5.3% compared to April. China's trade surplus reaches 1.18 trillion USD, setting a new historical high, with foreign capital accelerating the purchase of RMB assets for hedging.

Chen Chong, Chairman of the New Generation Financial Foundation, sharply criticized Taiwan's stablecoin policy, stating that the Financial Supervisory Commission's "financial institution first" approach ignores market realities. Chen pointed out that the issuance of stablecoins in Taiwan should meet two major requirements: having a large scale of USD liquidity and a clear cross-border remittance payment demand on the business side. Observing the current situation, supply chain finance centered around large technology companies is the most powerful, but if Taiwan does not allow companies to issue, technology companies may turn to other countries.

The well-known Privacy Coin Zcash has recently shown a key technical game pattern. After failing to effectively break through the psychological resistance level of 450 USD, the ZEC price fell back to around 419 USD, with a single-day fall of nearly 8.5%. However, what is more noteworthy is that its daily chart is forming a classic ascending triangle pattern, which is often seen as a bullish continuation signal. Technical Analysis indicates that if it can confirm an upward breakout with increased Trading Volume, ZEC is expected to initiate a rally targeting around 650 USD, with a potential rise of up to 60%. The current price is firmly above the key MA support at the weekly level, and a decisive showdown of bulls and bears determining the short-term direction has already begun.

After Trump entered the palace, he signed an executive order to take real action against habitual offenders of zero-dollar purchases: any city that implements "zero bail" will have their federal funds cut off, and the Department of Justice will prosecute habitual offenders on federal charges. On December 5, eight teenagers from Philadelphia stole $2,217 worth of merchandise from a sporting goods store in Florida. The sheriff held a press conference to publicly display high-definition headshots, with each facing two felony charges, carrying a maximum sentence of 7 years. California's Proposition 36 passed with a support rate of 70.4%, treating third-time offenders as felons.

IOSG founder reviews the market in 2025, revealing a historic turnover: long-term holders have cumulatively sold 1.4 million BTC (worth 12.117 billion USD), all absorbed by institutions, while retail investors' microtransactions fell by 66% and large transactions rose by 59%. This is not a Bear Market, but a paradigm shift in dominance from retail investors to institutions, with the first half of 2026 being a golden window for policy and institutional allocation.