Bitcoin’s latest market phase looks less like a pause and more like a pivot, as Cryptoquant researchers say onchain demand exhaustion is now signaling the early stages of a bear market, according to a new analysis.

Bitcoin’s price stands at $88,195 as of Dec. 20, 2025, giving the asset a market cap of $1.76 trillion while 24-hour trading volume registers at $37.07 billion. The session has respected a defined intraday band between $86,929 and $88,759, pointing to a market that is active but far from impulsive. In other words, bitcoin is awake, alert, and pacing the room, but it has not yet decided whether it wants coffee or chaos.

The Central Bank of Russia recently referred to the properties of bitcoin mining and how it could help strengthen the Russian ruble. Elvira Nabiullina, head of the institution, stated that it was still difficult to assess the contribution of the activity in this regard.

Authorities allege a sweeping crypto phishing operation that drained nearly $16 million from Coinbase users nationwide, underscoring how social engineering scams exploit trust, move funds across blockchains, and trigger aggressive enforcement by New York prosecutors.

Circle Internet Financial is scaling USDC by embedding the dollar-backed stablecoin into real-world payments, treasury, and software platforms worldwide, accelerating enterprise adoption and positioning digital dollars as core financial infrastructure.

Coinbase is escalating a high-stakes legal fight over prediction markets, arguing federal law — not state gambling rules — governs event contracts, a clash that could reshape U.S. financial innovation, regulatory authority, and market access.

Federal prosecutors moved to return seized cryptocurrency after a court ordered forfeiture tied to an elderly-targeted scam, clearing the way for restitution as authorities traced bitcoin and USDT used in a multistate fraud scheme.

The world tuned in this week as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) nudged its key short-term interest rate up by 25 basis points to 0.75%, a throwback level last seen in 1995. The central bank added that further hikes remain on the table if economic and price conditions line up with its projections.

Ripple strengthened its institutional crypto footprint by expanding a strategic partnership that boosts execution, clearing, and balance-sheet support, signaling accelerating demand from sophisticated firms for scalable digital-asset market infrastructure.

The cryptocurrency had recently stalled, but news of a TikTok U.S. joint venture buoyed equity markets and perhaps boosted bitcoin as well.

On Friday, Draftkings launched a standalone predictions app regulated under federal commodities law, formally entering the growing U.S. prediction markets sector and expanding beyond traditional sports betting into event-based contract trading.

Bitcoin and ether ETFs both moved deeper into negative territory as investor caution resurfaced, while solana and XRP continued to attract steady inflows. The session reflected a market still rotating selectively rather than exiting crypto exposure altogether.

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The EU convened to issue a 90-billion-euro loan ($105 billion) to support the Ukrainian cause against Russia during the next two years, which will be financed by most of the union countries. There was no agreement on leveraging Russian assets, as Belgium strongly opposed.

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