According to ChainCatcher, crypto analyst Murphy shared insights on social media regarding institutional traders' perspectives on the current market conditions. Murphy noted that traders are leveraging their positions by using $85,000 in-call options to go long while simultaneously selling put options to collect premiums. This strategy indicates a belief that even if adjustments occur, $85,000 is seen as a buying opportunity rather than the start of a significant downturn. Additionally, Murphy observed a substantial amount of put options being sold at the $90,000 level, suggesting that some investors view this as a short-term support point. Furthermore, there is a notable increase in both call and put options being purchased near the current price, indicating that traders are preparing for significant market volatility ahead.

According to ChainCatcher, Arkham data reveals that at 14:39, a total of 2,100 ETH was transferred from one anonymous address, beginning with 0x3c9E, to another anonymous address, starting with 0xC191.

BeinCrypto recently announced the results of its 2025 industry awards, with Bitget winning two awards: "Best Brand of the Year" and "Best Centralized Exchange." In BeinCrypto's 2025 selection process, the judging panel comprehensively evaluated global platforms based on dimensions such as technological stability, asset transparency, market depth, user experience, and industry contribution. Bitget's overall performance across these key indicators was recognized by the judging panel. These two honors reflect the industry's high affirmation of Bitget's core values ​​in brand influence, product innovation, security standards, user experience, and market growth.

The x402 payments protocol, incubated by Coinbase and designed for autonomous machine-to-machine payments, has released its V2 upgrade following six months of real-world deployment. Since its initial rollout, the protocol has processed more than 100 million payments across APIs, AI agents, and web services, momentum that directly shaped the enhancements introduced on December 11, 2025. source: https://www.ethnews.com/coinbases-x402-payments-protocol-releases-v2-with-multi-chain-and-ai-ready-upgrades/

According to BlockBeats, Chinese crypto analyst Ban Mu Xia has provided insights into Bitcoin's daily chart, highlighting the formation of a golden cross involving the MA5, MA10, and MA30 moving averages. This technical pattern has established a support zone between $90,500 and $91,300. For those who have previously invested in Bitcoin at the $89,000 to $90,000 range, potential profit-taking points are identified at $98,000, $103,300, and $112,500. These levels should be adjusted based on market dynamics. However, these profit-taking points are no longer considered suitable entry positions for buying Bitcoin due to the low risk-to-reward ratio.

According to BlockBeats, Brennan Watt, Vice President of Core Engineering at Anza, discussed a proposal at the Solana Breakpoint conference that could significantly reduce account rent costs on the Solana network. The proposal, SIMD-0389, suggests lowering the account creation rent by tenfold, with the potential to expand this reduction to a hundredfold. Account rent on the Solana network refers to the storage fee required for an account to permanently store data on the blockchain. Anza's analysis of the security deceleration mechanism indicates that this change was discussed at the recent SolanaConf. It could lead to the recovery of billions of dormant SOL, facilitating broader adoption while maintaining network security.

Coinbase has released version 2 of the x402 protocol. This version optimizes upon version 1, expanding from a single-call payment to a unified internet payment layer.

According to ChainCatcher, Arkham data reveals that at 14:20, 47.51 BTC, valued at approximately $3.21 million, was transferred from Cumberland DRW to an anonymous address starting with bc1qkgt.

According to ChainCatcher, analysts from First Abu Dhabi Bank have highlighted that the U.S. interest rate outlook is at a critical juncture in the coming months. They emphasize the need for global markets to prepare for various potential outcomes. The bank anticipates that the Federal Reserve's additional rate cuts in 2026 will not exceed 50 basis points. The annual interest rate trajectory will largely depend on inflation trends, labor market performance, and the development of internal and external policy risks.

According to PANews, Matrixport's weekly report indicates that the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting results largely met market expectations, yet the dot plot failed to provide clear guidance on future policy paths, increasing uncertainty about the pace of upcoming changes. Despite this, the impact of these uncertainties on current asset prices remains relatively limited. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's cautious stance, coupled with early signs of a weakening labor market, suggests a shift in the macroeconomic environment compared to earlier this year. The report highlights that Bitcoin has, for the first time in this bull market, fallen below a key long-term trend level, with its movement resembling patterns seen around previous midterm elections. Although discussions about the Federal Reserve potentially resuming balance sheet expansion have intensified, overall liquidity in the crypto market remains tight, and retail trading activity has yet to show significant recovery. Political factors may also not be fully reflected in market sentiment and trading behavior. Amid these intertwined factors, the market is transitioning from a single trend scenario to a more complex structure. During this phase, the importance of position management and risk control is notably heightened. The report maintains its previous assessment that, even if the current market conditions are not defined as a bear market, there is a significant probability that the consolidation phase will continue.

Bitcoin's in a tricky position right now, but recovery may be coming soon. source: https://ambcrypto.com/bitcoin-price-prediction-what-are-btcs-breakout-odds-after-whales-take-a-step-back/

Fintech 3.0 will coexist with traditional finance for many years, but its development direction is already clear. Stablecoin infrastructure is expected to become a core component of global finance.

The implementation of CARF is expected to further enhance the tax transparency of Hong Kong's cryptocurrency market, impacting trading platforms, custodians, individual investors, and traditional financial intermediaries.

The U.S. Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) received a "no action" letter from the SEC, authorizing it to launch a new service for tokenizing custodial assets such as stocks and bonds to accelerate the adoption of digital assets.

Farcaster, a star project that raised $180 million and was valued at nearly $1 billion, announced a strategic shift. What lessons can we learn from this?

Why is it that the same strategy is a legend when it works for Strategy, but a joke when others try it? In an era where AI narratives are crushing everything like freight trains, is Bitcoin still the best safe haven for assets?

The Federal Reserve's shift to easing will spill over globally. Emerging markets will benefit from a weaker dollar, but the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan may follow suit with interest rate cuts. Crypto assets may become beneficiaries of liquidity.

Jinse Finance launches its daily cryptocurrency and blockchain news bulletin, "Jinse 8 AM," issue 2906, providing you with the latest and fastest news on the digital currency and blockchain industry.

机器人 AI 可以像人类一样有自己的账户进行货币支付。AI Agent 支付的底层 Infra，x402 协议究竟是什么？为什么 Google、Visa 都在积极布局 x402 赛道？

17 Observations on Crypto Trends in 2026 by Several Partners of the a16z Crypto Team