Ethereum

The market is attempting to steady after sharp swings, with total capitalization around $3.01 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin is near $89,100 and up about 1.1% over the past 24 hours, while Ethereum trades close to $3,030. Sentiment remains guarded, with the Fear & Greed Index at 29 and altcoin participation muted.

Ethereum rebounded above $2,950 and now trades over the 100-hour Simple Moving Average. Resistance is noted near $3,020 and $3,050, with a stronger barrier at $3,080; a breakout could target $3,150 and then $3,220–$3,250. Failure to clear $3,050 would refocus supports at $2,950, $2,915, $2,880, and $2,840.

On December 22, 2025, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson warned that rushing post-quantum cryptography could slow blockchain networks and increase costs. He said the necessary tools exist but are inefficient today, urging developers to track benchmarks including NIST's 2024 standards and DARPA's 2033 decision point.

Ethereum's mainnet is currently handling between $90 billion and $100 billion in daily stablecoin transfers, with monthly volumes reaching as high as $2.82 trillion in October 2025. Over the past three months, Solana's on-chain SOL-USD activity has matched or exceeded the combined spot volumes of Binance and Bybit, as stablecoin markets on both chains grow and segment between USDT on Ethereum and USDC on Solana.

On December 21st, trader Captain Faibik, known for previously calling a major Bitcoin price drop, argued that the recent crypto correction has ended and a new bull phase is approaching, with BTC potentially reaching $120,000. Analysts are also tracking altcoin strength via the Total 3 market cap and highlighting Ethereum, Solana, Chainlink, Ethena and Bitcoin Hyper as standout opportunities based on on-chain data, technical setups and institutional interest. Whale accumulation, ETF inflows and a $30 million Bitcoin Hyper presale are among the key metrics underpinning these bullish outlooks.

MoonPay president Keith Grossman says tokenization will remake finance faster than digitization reshaped media. He cites institution-led pilots and regulatory milestones, including an SEC/CFTC joint statement in September and SEC approval for DTCC in December. The RWA market cap is nearly $19 billion excluding stablecoins, and DTCC handled about $3.7 quadrillion in 2024.

In 2025, Ethereum has dropped roughly 12% YTD even as its Mainnet settles about $90–100 billion in stablecoin transfers per day. According to OnChainHQ’s Leon Waidmann, most flows are USDT and USDC for payments, treasury moves, and settlement. Charts shared on X indicate whales are adding near the realized price, signaling confidence despite weak price action.

US spot Ethereum ETFs registered more than $600 million in net outflows over the past week. BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust ETHA saw about $470 million withdrawn, while Fidelity FETH and Grayscale ETHE posted roughly $35 million and $49 million. ETH traded near 2,975 dollars with little change over the last day.

On 21 December 2025, Mercado Bitcoin released a study showing Brazil's average crypto investment per user now exceeds $1,000, with typical holdings around 5,700 Brazilian reais. The report also highlights rising diversification, stronger stablecoin usage, and that digital fixed-income products distributed roughly $325 million to investors in 2025.

The Ethereum Foundation has introduced a security-first roadmap for zkEVMs, defining three milestones through the end of 2026 that culminate in 128-bit provable security and strict proof size limits. Alongside these technical targets, Ethereum is promoting institutional adoption with an "Ethereum for Institutions" portal and highlighting its leadership in tokenized real-world assets and privacy technologies. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also warned that growing protocol complexity threatens trustlessness, prompting plans to simplify user interactions through smart contract wallets.