Since August, Ethereum open interest has fallen by about 50%, signaling a substantial deleveraging in the derivatives market and a broad reduction in leveraged risk. ETH is trading close to $3,040 while total liquidations hover around $48.5 million, with shorts contributing roughly $31.8 million and longs about $16.7 million. With leverage significantly reduced and volatility muted, Ethereum appears to be consolidating as traders wait to see how new leverage returns to the market.

During early Asia trading hours on Monday, Bitcoin climbed toward $90,000, printing an intra‑day high at $89,850, up 6.5% from a local $84,400 low. Analysts cite bullish derivatives—short‑liquidation dominance at -11% and a regime score near 16.3%—with chart setups eyeing resistance at $93,300–$100,000 and a measured target around $120,000.

According to ChatGPT, Ethereum is favored over Solana for 2026, with the AI model focusing on value capture, institutional alignment, and evolving layer-2 economics rather than raw activity. It highlights maturing rollups, rising blob-space demand, and constrained issuance for ETH, while noting year-to-date prices of $3,040 for ETH (down almost 9%) and $126 for SOL (down 33%) as of press time.

Bitcoin is maintaining key technical support around $86,500 while monthly exchange flows have climbed to roughly $10.9 billion, the strongest reading since May 2021. Analysts note that this combination of defended support and elevated on-chain activity may signal a turning point, with growing discussion around a potential move toward the $100,000 area as BTC attempts to clear resistance near $90,000.

Bitget reported that cumulative spot trading in its tokenized stock products has exceeded $500 million, with activity concentrated in major U.S. technology names such as Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, and Meta. In the first week of December, the exchange handled over $88 million in Ondo-issued tokenized stocks, accounting for around 73% of that segment's market flow, and has committed to zero-fee trading on these products through January 16, 2026.

Bitcoin moved near $90,000 while Ethereum reclaimed $3,000 amid a broader uptick in majors. BNB stayed above $860; NIGHT jumped 13% to $0.10 and HYPE rose 4%, whereas AAVE slid 11% and CC fell 21%. The total crypto market cap added $30 billion to $3.120 trillion on CG.

Ripple's Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, Reece Merrick, has reflected on the five years since the SEC filed its lawsuit against the company on Dec. 22, 2020, saying the experience strengthened the team and his conviction in Ripple's success. He highlighted that 2025 became one of Ripple's most ambitious years, with around $4 billion deployed into the crypto ecosystem, several major acquisitions completed and its RLUSD stablecoin greenlisted by Abu Dhabi's FSRA. Merrick now believes the outlook is brighter than ever for both Ripple and the broader digital asset sector.

Bitcoin slipped below $90,000, with a price snapshot at $89,756.05 after a run toward $120,000. Persistent macro uncertainty, a 2.7% CPI print, and a 10‑year Treasury yield near 4.17% are weighing on risk appetite, while uneven liquidity and growing ETF participation continue to shape institutional flows.