XRP may trade sideways in 2026 until bullish catalysts emerge: Analysts

The second half of 2026 will provide “more constructive conditions” for XRP to potentially surge, according to Nansen crypto analyst Jake Kennis.

The second half of 2026 will provide “more constructive conditions” for XRP to potentially surge, according to Nansen crypto analyst Jake Kennis.

Bitcoin reached new all-time highs in October, yet Jan3 founder Samson Mow has described the year as a “bear market” and anticipates a major bull run ahead.

A surge in stablecoins, tokenized RWAs and growing sovereign wealth fund interest could drive a major increase in Ethereum’s TVL in 2026, Sharplink’s co-CEO said.

Discounts and bundle deals were offered to mining operators, as 2025 ends on a bad note for the crypto market and the mining industry.

Fundstrat’s head of research said institutional tokenization supports a $7,000–$9,000 Ether price in early 2026 and a longer-term case for $20,000.

Stani Kulechov's comments followed an uproar in the Aave community about the relationship between the Aave decentralized autonomous organization and Aave Labs.

Bitcoin’s technical and onchain market structure was robust throughout 2025, but ever-shifting macroeconomic conditions eventually put a cap on BTC price. Will the trend shift in 2026?

Cryptocurrency markets experienced a modest recovery this week, but spot Bitcoin ETFs extended a five-day losing streak amid thin year-end liquidity.

The USX stablecoin briefly slipped below its dollar peg on Solana DEXs before recovering after its issuer injected liquidity into secondary markets.

Regulatory clarity in the United States and the likelihood of falling interest rates will push the crypto ETF market higher in 2026.

The mainnet rollout follows the Fermi testnet activation in November, further reducing block times on the layer-1 blockchain network.

In an exclusive Cointelegraph interview, the crypto analyst pointed to macro headwinds, muted sentiment and cycle dynamics shaping Bitcoin’s path into 2026.

Bitcoin and several major altcoins attempted to start a relief rally, but higher levels continue to attract strong selling by the bears.

As AI blurs the line between real and synthetic media, strategies for restoring user trust online are still taking shape as we enter 2026.

Tokenized commodities are increasing amid growing investor demand for more accessible onchain financial products, following new all-time highs for gold and silver.

The lowdown on how the switchover to ZK-proofs is expected to work this year as part of Ethereum’s plan to scale to 10,000 TPS.

Once a barometer of retail hype, memecoins are closing the year with shrinking liquidity, weaker participation and fading speculative momentum.

From hacks and macro shocks to stablecoin regulation and market-structure upgrades, 2025 reshaped how crypto operates and what mainstream adoption really means.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino warned that an AI sector correction could spill over into crypto markets in 2026, with some analysts projecting BTC to drop to as low as $65,000.

From McDonald’s to municipal taxes, Lugano is proving that Bitcoin adoption is not about predicting the future; it is about building the infrastructure to handle it today.

The malicious Trust Wallet extension has also been exporting users’ personal information, pointing to potential insider activity, according to cybersecurity company SlowMist.

Bitcoin simmered below resistance but teased a bullish breakout as the Asia trading session accompanied new all-time highs for gold and silver.

The failed vote highlights deeper tensions over token value capture, governance power and whether DAO structures can effectively manage protocol identity.

James Howells, who accidentally had his hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin thrown away, offered his advice to industry newcomers, veterans and skeptics in 2026.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is hovering at levels lower than during the shock FTX collapse in late 2022, despite Bitcoin trading at roughly five times the price.

If Ether manages to reclaim its all-time high in 2026, it may just be a “bull trap,” says crypto analyst Ben Cowen.

Grok makes X more truth-friendly as it often challenges users’ assumptions instead of confirming them, says Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Bitcoiners wanting to focus on short-term factors should be “fairly methodical and mathematical,” says Strategy CEO Phong Le.

The non-fungible token project owned by Luca Netz appeared on the Sphere’s exterior screens, with the animated display going live on Christmas Eve.

Prediction markets are moving into crypto’s mainstream as Crypto.com’s in-house market maker raises fairness questions and Coinbase doubles down on growth.

Headlines move crypto fast, but liquidity decides what lasts. Data from ETFs, stablecoins and onchain flows shows what really drives prices.

DTCC’s move to bring US Treasurys onchain highlights growing institutional momentum behind tokenized real-world assets.

Post-halving stress is reshaping Bitcoin mining. As margins compress, miners turn to AI, HPC and consolidation to survive heading into 2026.

Emerging markets are finally accessing finance, with a $310-billion stablecoin market showing that adoption is not hype. Here is what this milestone actually means.

BTC may fall to $70,000 and ETH to $2,400 if the Fed pauses rate cuts in the first quarter of 2026 and inflationary pressure persists.

Quantum computing won’t break Bitcoin in 2026, but the growing practice of “harvest now, decrypt later” is pushing the crypto industry to prepare sooner rather than later.

A prison letter from Keonne Rodriguez has reignited debate over crypto privacy tools, developer liability and executive clemency.

The coming year will see perfect parallel processing, big increases in the gas limit and number of data blobs, and 10% of Ethereum’s network switching to ZK.

Crypto derivatives trading surged to $86 trillion in 2025, averaging $265 billion per day, as Binance captured almost 30% of global volume, CoinGlass reported.

Zhao urged the blockchain industry to adopt new security measures, including scam address blacklist, after an investor lost $50 million to an address poisoning scheme.

Market data showed shrinking participation across NFTs, with fewer buyers, sellers and transactions signaling fading speculative interest.

Bitcoin ETF performance remained negative on Christmas Eve as a short final US trading session produced another $175 million in net outflows.

Crypto hackers took social engineering to a whole other level this year, and advances in artificial intelligence mean scams are about to get even harder to detect.

Elon Musk added that “triple-digit” economic growth could even be possible by 2030; however, some Bitcoiners worry about a 2026 bear market.

The number of crypto deals reportedly skyrocketed this year and hit a record total value of $8.6 billion, led by Coinbase’s record-breaking acquisition of Deribit.

Some Polymarket users reported that their accounts had been breached and drained, which the prediction market blamed on a third-party provider.

Dragonfly’s Rob Hadick says “there’s a lot of room” in crypto for more than one blockchain as networks race to win market share of tokenized assets.

Blockchain tokenization is radically expanding the definition of money, enabling anyone to trade, save and spend in virtually any asset they like, says Kraken’s Mark Greenberg.

Venture partners such as Pantera, Hash3 and Variant look back on a year of regulatory shifts and uneven markets, outlining crypto’s biggest winners and losers in 2025.

The listing follows Kyrgyzstan’s passage of crypto legislation, the launch of a new US dollar–pegged stablecoin backed by physical gold and plans to build a national crypto reserve.

Bitcoin options markets remain tilted toward bears despite US investors’ expectations of economic stimulus injections and semi-bullish outlook for 2026.

As crypto, governments and Big Tech converge on digital identity, selective disclosure and zero-knowledge proofs are emerging as a privacy-first alternative to surveillance systems.

ETH options data shows investors increasing downside protection as the year-end $6 billion options expry approaches, signaling caution.

In 2025, non-fungible tokens were reshaped by falling volumes, cultural repositioning and a growing focus on real-world use cases.

Offchain Labs increased its ARB holdings, signaling long-term conviction in Arbitrum as governance token prices slump and layer-2 competition intensifies.

Bitcoin and several major altcoins turned down from their overhead resistance levels, signaling that the bears continued to sell on rallies.

The former Alameda Research CEO, subject to intense public scrutiny for her role in FTX's collapse and association with Sam Bankman-Fried, will be released in January.

Whales have accumulated over $2 billion in Ether, as derivatives positioning skewed 70% net long with leverage at record highs. When will ETH price break out?

Discover the five governments that simplified crypto licensing in 2025, from the GENIUS Act in the US to the EU’s MiCA passporting regime.

XRP social sentiment hits extreme fear levels, a setup that has sparked sharp rebounds in the past, but XRP faces stiff resistance in its recovery path.

Hong Kong’s FSTB and SFC will introduce licensing requirements for virtual asset dealing and custody firms, expanding the city’s policy push that already includes a stablecoin licensing blueprint and tokenization guidance.

Crypto enters 2026 with mature infrastructure; now DApps must prove real utility, win users without incentives and compete directly with Web2.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov is facing criticism after a $10 million AAVE purchase ahead of a key DAO vote, as critics raise concerns over voting power concentration.

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