The Bitcoin ( ) $98K breakout just changed the market structure. Bitcoin broke above $95,000 resistance and briefly touched $98,000 this week after spending weeks stuck in a tight range. The move puts all eyes on the $94,500 to $96,000 zone-what was resistance is now the line that separates continuation from consolidation. Bullish catalysts are also aligning: Bitcoin ETF inflows have surged past $1.7 billion in the past week, exchange balances keep falling toward multi-year lows, and momentum indicators are rebuilding.
On Wednesday, the original cryptocurrency surpassed $97,000 for the first time in two months and is up more than 6% in the last week. The jump in Bitcoin came after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued a remarkable statement that accused President Donald Trump's administration of directing a baseless criminal investigation at him in order to intimidate the agency. Meanwhile, the price of gold and other precious metals shot up as investors fled towards safe haven assets.
Stratum V2 (Stratum Reference Implementation) Much of Bitcoin mining still relies on outdated communications protocols that prevent individual miners from choosing the transactions they mine. This leaves block construction in the hands of mining pools, exposing the network to censorship risks. Stratum V2 solves this fault by enabling home miners to build their own block templates. HRF funding will support software developer bit-aloo 's full-time work improving Stratum V2 through performance testing, integration work, and code maintenance, helping individuals regain autonomy within existing pool structures.
Trading volume over the past 24 hours totaled approximately $52 billion, reflecting heightened market participation as price pushed higher. Bitcoin's total market capitalization rose to $1.88 trillion, also up about 3% on the day, as the asset continues to assert its position as the dominant cryptocurrency. Bitcoin's circulating supply currently stands at 19,975,465 BTC, just under the protocol's hard-capped maximum of 21 million coins.
According to Powell, the DOJ served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment tied to his June 2025 testimony about a $2.5 billion plus renovation of Fed office buildings. Powell characterized the move as politically motivated, claiming it reflected pressure from the Trump administration to cut interest rates more sharply than the Fed's data‑dependent stance. President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Powell's performance and denied direct involvement in the DOJ action, though he has reiterated his dissatisfaction with the Fed's monetary policy. The widening dispute has rattled traditional markets, with U.S. stock futures sliding and safe‑haven assets like gold and silver surging to record levels.
The number of Bitcoin addresses (bitcoin whales) holding at least 100 BTC has climbed to a new all-time high, according to on-chain data from Bitcoin Magazine Pro, pointing to continued accumulation among large holders despite some recent bitcoin price dips and broader crypto market volatility. The metric tracks the total number of unique Bitcoin addresses with balances of 100 BTC or more - a cohort commonly associated with so-called "bitcoin whales,"
we are an application that helps people to buy and sell Bitcoin directly with each other, without any intermediaries, without KYC. Vexl works without custody, so peer-to-peer, but what's most important is that it is always within your own community, meaning we are not a global marketplace. We are basically a peer-to-peer notice board where you can connect with your first and second level degree of connections.
The risk-off tone has also spilt over to Ethereum. ETH ETFs registered USD 159 million in outflows, their largest daily withdrawal since mid-December, highlighting that the retrenchment is broad-based rather than Bitcoin-specific. On-chain data validate this negative bias. Over the past 24 hours, long liquidations were more than double those of shorts, painting a bearish scenario for the cryptocurrency. In parallel, the long/short volume ratio remained below 1 for multiple sessions, pointing to persistent selling pressure and limited conviction on the long side.
In 2026, scarcity is being repriced through narratives, market access and financial structures rather than simple supply limits. Bitcoin's scarcity is increasingly mediated by ETFs and derivatives, reshaping how it is accessed and priced in financial markets. Gold's scarcity is tied less to mining output and more to trust, neutrality and reserve management. Silver's scarcity reflects its dual role as both an investment metal and an industrial input.
The bill marks a reset rather than a clean break. Florida lawmakers floated broader crypto investment proposals in 2025, but those measures were withdrawn after facing resistance over scope and risk. The new framework narrows the focus and reflects a growing preference among Republican lawmakers for treating bitcoin as a reserve-style asset rather than a speculative trade.
Bitcoin is currently trading in a choppy range just above the 90,000 USD level, reflecting a fragile balance between monetary policy expectations, liquidity conditions, and global risk appetite. Recent US economic data indicate that the economy is still maintaining a moderate level of momentum. The manufacturing sector continues to contract as PMI remains below the 50 threshold, the labour market is gradually losing heat with weak ADP figures and declining JOLTS job openings, while the services sector continues to show relatively solid expansion. The market is therefore in a state of controlled slowdown.
When a Bitcoin owner wants to generate yield from their holdings, they typically go to a third party. That middleman is usually a stablecoin issuer or exchange like Tether or Coinbase that allows the holder to swap their Bitcoin for collateral-in the form of stablecoin or wrapped BTC-to be used in lending protocols like Aave. Now a Stanford professor named David Tse is promoting a new alternative to those systems.
Returning more than 30,000% over this time frame, investors who have stuck with the world's largest digital asset have seen their initial investment grow 300x over such a time frame. Those sorts of returns are abnormal, to say the least. But the reality is that this growth has been possible thanks to a prevailing idea that more and more capital will continue to flow toward blockchain technology, which provides the ability for users to transfer value across borders in a very low-cost manner, with investors benefiting from price appreciation by storing these tokens offline in cold storage (a strategy that's worked, despite various signifiant downturns in the past).
The bitcoin price traded through a wide range last year. According to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, bitcoin rallied above $126,000 during mid-to-late-year advances fueled by ETF inflows and optimism around U.S. regulatory clarity. Those highs did not hold. By the fourth quarter, tighter financial conditions and elevated real yields weighed on risk assets. The bitcoin price slid sharply from its peak and ended the year near $87,000. It is on track for its first full-year decline since 2022.
Artificial Intelligence AI adoption is rapidly growing, and some of the biggest conversations this year have been on how it will shake up the workplace and reimagine economies. In October, the Reuters Institute carried out a survey in six countries and found that the proportion of respondents who said they used a generative AI system such as ChatGPT jumped from 40 percent to 61 percent this year. As governments try to regulate the fast-growing
Prenetics Global Limited said it has ended its bitcoin purchasing program and will redirect its capital and strategic focus entirely toward IM8, its fast-growing consumer health and longevity brand co-founded with David Beckham. The Nasdaq-listed health sciences company said it ceased daily bitcoin purchases on Dec. 4, following approval from its board of directors, and will not pursue future acquisitions of the cryptocurrency.
Having reached a high of $126,000 in October 2025, Bitcoin ( ) has declined to approximately $87,000, rekindling the debate: Is this a mid-cycle correction or the start of a bear market? Bitcoin's mid-cycle correction-the 31% drop-falls within the historical 25-40% range typical of bull market resets. The current correction has analysts split on Bitcoin's next move-some say the reset is near its completion and others argue a deeper correction is still unfolding beneath the surface.
Cowen points out that while stocks and gold are responding positively to expectations around future monetary easing, Bitcoin appears far more sensitive to actual liquidity conditions rather than optimism alone. That distinction, he explains, helps clarify why BTC has struggled to gain momentum even as broader markets push higher. According to Cowen, Bitcoin often requires a clearer macroeconomic catalyst before it can outperform, and that catalyst may not yet be in place.
The Bank of Russia has set out a new framework to regulate cryptocurrencies, proposing tiered access that would allow everyday investors to buy digital assets alongside professional market participants, while maintaining tight controls on risk and usage. In a concept paper released Tuesday and submitted to the government for review, the central bank said both qualified and non-qualified investors would be permitted to acquire crypto assets, but under different rules, limits and testing requirements.
After dipping below its 50-day moving average, shares of Nvidia ( NASDAQ: NVDA) are just starting to regain some lost momentum. Up about $2 in premarket, it's oversold at triple bottom support dating back to September. From its last traded price of $174.14, we'd like to see NVDA initially retest $200. Not only is Nvidia still riding Micron's earnings and guidance, but it's also still riding a Barclays upgrade to a buy rating thanks to the likelihood of further AI spending. "We are OW as the company has long-term sustainable growth led by a large lead in GPUs for AI in DC, with further Edge opportunities (autos, robots, etc.) and a competitive moat around a large portion of the market," said the firm, as quoted by CNBC.
The bitcoin price could climb to $143,000 next year as continued adoption through exchange-traded funds and a more accommodating U.S. regulatory backdrop draw new capital into the market, according to a new forecast from Citi. Analysts at the Wall Street bank set $143,000 as their base-case target for the bitcoin price over the next 12 months. They outlined a bullish scenario that places the price above $189,000, while their bearish case sees the bitcoin price falling to around $78,500 if macroeconomic conditions deteriorate, according to MarketWatch reporting.