Crypto’s biggest gains in 2025 weren’t on price charts but in policy, 
institutions, and infrastructure, as regulatory reversals, Wall Street access, 
and onchain growth quietly reset the industry’s long-term trajectory, Pantera 
Capital argues. Pantera Sees 2025 as Crypto’s Structural Turning Point Pantera 
Capital published its December Blockchain Letter framing 2025 as the year of 
structural […]

Pantera Signals 2026 Crypto Breakout After 2025 Quietly De-Risked Markets

Crypto markets are entering a more regulated phase as governments expand 
coordinated data-sharing rules, signaling broader tax oversight while pushing 
digital assets closer to mainstream financial systems across multiple 
jurisdictions. 48 Jurisdictions Move Toward Crypto Data Sharing, Signaling End 
of Tax Secrecy Governments are escalating global coordination on digital asset 
taxation as transparency standards widen. […]

48 Countries Commit to Crypto Transparency as New Reporting Framework Takes Hold

Altcoin season was widely anticipated for 2025, but the reality has unfolded 
very differently. Instead of a broad-based rally, most altcoins suffered deep 
and prolonged drawdowns, erasing years of gains and forcing many investors out 
of the market. As 2026 approaches, sentiment around altcoins remains fragile. 
A growing number of analysts now warn that the worst may not be over, arguing 
that structural weakness, declining liquidity, and fading retail participation 
could drive another leg lower across the sector. Related Reading: Ethereum 
Liquidity Rebuilds On Binance: December Inflows Signal Strategic Repositioning 
Market data reinforces this cautious outlook. The Crypto Total Market Cap, 
excluding the top 10 assets—commonly referred to as the OTHERS index—has 
collapsed by more than 50% since December 2024. Market capitalization has 
fallen from roughly $451 billion to around $182 billion in just twelve months, 
highlighting the scale of capital destruction across mid- and small-cap 
tokens. This sharp contraction reflects aggressive de-risking, weak demand, 
and sustained selling pressure across the altcoin market. However, not all 
analysts are convinced the altcoin cycle is finished. A smaller group points 
to historical precedents, arguing that periods of extreme underperformance and 
investor capitulation have often preceded powerful altcoin recoveries. From 
this perspective, 2026 could mark the delayed arrival of an altcoin season—if 
liquidity conditions improve and capital rotation resumes. Altcoin Trading 
Activity Remains Elevated Despite Price Weakness A recent CryptoQuant report 
challenges the widely held belief that this cycle has produced “no altcoin 
season.” According to the data, centralized exchange trading volume for 
altcoins—excluding the top five assets—has reached levels significantly higher 
than those seen in previous market cycles. In other words, altcoins are being 
traded more actively than ever, even as prices remain deeply depressed across 
much of the market. This divergence between volume and price helps explain the 
prevailing confusion. While many tokens have lost a substantial portion of 
their value, on-chain and exchange data show that activity has not 
disappeared. Instead, the market has undergone a structural shift. Retail 
participation has largely faded after months of losses, with many smaller 
investors capitulating and exiting positions. Their absence, however, has not 
resulted in lower overall trading activity. CryptoQuant’s analysis suggests 
that altcoin dominance has increasingly concentrated among larger players. 
Whales and professional participants now account for a growing share of 
altcoin volume, using periods of low liquidity and weak sentiment to 
accumulate positions or actively rotate capital. From this perspective, the 
current phase may not signal the absence of an altcoin cycle, but rather its 
transformation. If whale-driven positioning continues and broader market 
conditions improve, these participants are likely to push prices higher to 
maximize returns. Related Reading: Bitcoin Miner Distribution Re-Emerges: BTC 
Enters A Fragile Price Phase OTHERS Market Cap Shows Prolonged Compression The 
OTHERS chart, which tracks the total crypto market capitalization excluding 
the top 10 assets, highlights the depth and duration of the ongoing altcoin 
correction. After peaking near $450 billion in late 2024, the market has lost 
more than half of its value, stabilizing around the $200–210 billion zone. 
This sharp contraction confirms that the altcoin market has experienced a full 
reset rather than a shallow pullback. From a technical perspective, the 
structure reflects prolonged compression. Price is currently oscillating 
around the 200-week moving average (red), a level that historically acts as a 
long-term equilibrium zone during transitions between bearish and recovery 
phases. The failure to reclaim the 100-week and 50-week moving averages 
suggests that upside momentum remains weak and that buyers lack conviction at 
higher levels. Related Reading: Bitcoin Supply In Profit Sets The Stage For 
Bullish Cross In Q1 2026 Volume dynamics reinforce this view. While periodic 
spikes appear during sell-offs and relief rallies, there is no sustained 
expansion in volume that would signal broad-based accumulation. This implies 
selective positioning rather than widespread risk appetite. Importantly, the 
market is no longer making aggressive lower lows, indicating that forced 
selling may be largely exhausted. However, the absence of higher highs keeps 
the structure neutral-to-bearish. For a meaningful altcoin recovery, OTHERS 
would need to reclaim the $260–280 billion range and hold above key moving 
averages. Until then, the chart suggests consolidation, dominance by larger 
players, and a market still searching for a durable bottom rather than the 
start of a classic altcoin season. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from 
TradingView.com

Altcoin Season Setup Advances: CEX Volume Hits Cycle Highs Despite Price Weakness

The recent lawsuit against DeFi Technologies has raised alarms in the crypto 
industry. This governance expert says brace yourself for more claims.

Inside the DeFi Technologies lawsuit—and why more crypto companies could be next

Jake Claver, a renowned XRP promoter and CEO of Digital Ascension Group, is 
again leaning into a familiar XRP thesis: behind-the-scenes institutional 
adoption, NDAs, and “domino” catalysts, only days after analyst Zach Rector 
publicly criticized Claver’s failed “$100 XRP by end of 2025” prediction as 
misleading. $100 XRP Only Delayed, Says Claver In a post on Jan.1, Claver 
responded: “Timelines always get extended,” and added: “I should know this by 
now from all that we&#8217;ve built in the past 3 years, working with partners and 
regulators. I&#8217;m sure Ripple and many others have felt and still feel the same 
way after 13.5 years. The Domino Theory still stands, Real world events will 
play out, and XRP will become the backbone of markets in the future.” In a 
series of posts spanning Dec. 27 through Jan. 1, Claver argued that “real 
world events will play out, and XRP will become the backbone of markets in the 
future.” A Jan. 1 post focused on Ripple’s non-disclosure agreements, which 
Claver described as a signal that large counterparties are already preparing 
to build with XRP. Related Reading: Expert Says XRP ‘Haters’ Miss The Bigger 
Picture: Here’s What It Is “Ripple signing over 1,700 non-disclosure 
agreements probably isn&#8217;t random,” he wrote. “These most likely cover talks 
with major players—governments, global banks, payment networks, big 
universities, and Fortune 500 firms—all laying the groundwork to use XRP. The 
pieces for mass adoption have been falling into place behind the scenes for 
quite a while.” Earlier posts pressed the same point with higher conviction. 
On Dec. 28, Claver claimed: “Major institutions are stacking up XRP behind the 
scenes while keeping the public in the dark. The current price is merely a 
shadow of what&#8217;s coming. When XRP transforms into the foundation of 
international finance, today&#8217;s hesitation will become tomorrow&#8217;s regret. In my 
opinion, nothing in crypto space offers this level of certainty and potential 
for massive returns.&#8221; Related Reading: XRP At Risk Of A Drop To $0.80? Analyst 
Makes The Case On Dec. 31, he described XRP “as built to upgrade the existing 
financial system,” while adding that “blockchain isn’t just for storing value, 
it can power a faster, more open financial system. For that, you need high- 
performance infrastructure like XRP.” As reported on Bitcoinist yesterday, 
Rector’s criticism has been less about making bold forecasts than about the 
way they are delivered. Rector argued there was “no plausible scenario” for a 
roughly 5,000% move in the time window implied by the $100 call, and that the 
messaging leaned on suggestions of privileged insight rather than 
probabilistic framing. Rector’s allegations also extended beyond price talk 
into claims about XRP-focused funds associated with Claver’s orbit. “Jake and 
his scheme, his business has grown so big they’ve taken in so much XRP from 
our community,” Rector said. “There’s a massive discrepancy from what he’s 
saying publicly and what investors are telling me privately.” At press time, 
XRP traded at $1.89. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from 
TradingView.com

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