In this week&#8217;s edition of the weekly recap, Visa partnered with Aquanow for 
regional stablecoin settlement expansion, China reinforced its prohibition on 
crypto, and the UK introduced comprehensive reporting requirements for 
cryptocurrency traders. Visa extends stablecoin settlement across emerging 
markets…

Visa expands stablecoin settlement to CEMEA, China reaffirms crypto ban, UK mandates crypto reporting | Weekly Recap

Strategy CEO Phong Le says Bitcoin would only be sold if the company’s stock 
falls below net asset value and funding options disappear, calling it a 
financial decision.

Strategy will sell Bitcoin as ‘last resort’ if mNAV drops, capital is unavailable: CEO

Sony launches innovative blockchain platform enabling fans to convert social 
media engagement into verifiable onchain influence for Japanese idol groups. 
Sony’s Soneium blockchain platform is revolutionizing fan interaction at the 
IDOL RUNWAY COLLECTION (IRC) 2026 festival by introducing an artificial 
intelligence (AI)-powered app that transforms social media activity into 
measurable fan contributions. The IRC APP, […]

Sony’s Soneium Transforms J-Pop Fandom With Blockchain and AI at Largest Idol Festival

Ethereum presently trades around $3,000 following a broader crypto market 
rebound in the last week. During this time, the market’s largest altcoin 
gained by 7.22%, providing a much-needed relief after an extended correction 
that dominated the majority of the last two months. As price stabilizes, 
crypto analytics platform XWIN Research Japan shares a forward-looking 
assessment of Ethereum&#8217;s outlook, especially considering developments in the 
futures market. Related Reading: 320 Ether On The Move: Bhutan Ramps Up Its 
Staking Game Ethereum Bulls Buy The Dip After Weak Position Exits Amid the 
widespread correction of the crypto market in Q4 2025, Ethereum&#8217;s prices 
crashed from $4,700 to as low as $2,900, representing a 38% price decline. 
XWIN Research Japan reports this price fall coincided with certain relevant 
developments in the futures market. In particular, Ethereum&#8217;s open interest 
across all exchanges dropped from $21 billion to around $17 billion in late 
November, as overleveraged long positions were closed down, forcing traders to 
open new positions with moderate leverage size. Meanwhile, funding rates 
stayed positive but declined to around 0.002, meaning that the dominant 
bullish sentiment from mid-2025 greatly reduced. Looking at on-chain data, the 
Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) is at 1.27, while Binance data shows it 
to be around 1.0, both values indicating Ethereum is in a neutral to fair 
value zone, suggesting a period of stability before the next major trend 
emerges. Meanwhile, the recent market recovery kick-started after ETH retested 
the realized price of whale addresses, indicating that large market players 
are bolstering their holdings. XWIN Research Japan supports this theory, 
noting that Ethereum Treasury BitMine has boosted its market holdings to 3.63 
million ETH. Additionally, a BlackRock client recently acquired tens of 
millions of dollars’ worth of ETH, further reinforcing the strength of current 
market demand. However, despite this robust market demand, ETH Spot ETF net 
outflows for November hit $1.42 billion, indicating there is significant 
selling pressure in the market. Related Reading: Ethereum Fusaka Will Be ‘The 
Most Bullish Upgrade’ Ever, Pundit Claims Ethereum Market Outlook At the time 
of writing, Ethereum trades at $3,003, reflecting a 0.22% loss in the past 
day. Despite its gains in the last week, the altcoin is still down by 22.34% 
over the last month, suggesting the majority of short-term holders are in 
losses. XWIN Research Japan explains that although the overleveraged position 
has been cleared out with market whales now ramping up their holding, Ethereum 
remains in a “bottom-building phase”. Therefore, investors should still 
anticipate a “choppy, sell-on-rally” price action in the short term. The 
analysts predict a major trend reversal with time as the current price area 
becomes increasingly attractive to investors for massive accumulation 
opportunities. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview

Ethereum Leverage Reset Complete – Time For Market Re-Accumulation?

The Bitcoin (BTC) market continues to stabilize around $90,000 following a 
significant price recovery in the last week. Before these recent gains, the 
maiden cryptocurrency had undergone a heavy market correction, dropping about 
36.10% from its all-time high of around $126,100. Amid the ongoing 
consolidation, the latest data on Bitcoin miner activity suggests the asset 
may have hit a local bottom with sights now set on a sustained uptrend. 
Notably, market analyst BorisD shares on the CryptoQuant QuickTake platform an 
insight that suggests Bitcoin likely formed a local bottom as it dipped to 
$80,000 during its recent correction phase. The expert explains that this 
theory is confirmed by Bitcoin miners recording an underpaid status, which has 
historically been a strong signal in confirming a local market bottom. For 
context, Bitcoin miners become underpaid when the mining revenue, i.e., block 
rewards + fees, falls below miners’ average operating costs, resulting in 
financial stress, forced selling, and capitulation of certain miners, possibly 
due to bankruptcy. Related Reading: Analyst Sets Bitcoin Next Target At 
$95k-$96k – Here’s Why Bitcoin Miners&#8217; Economics In Influencing Market Ends 
BorisD explains that Bitcoin miner profitability has been a consistent guiding 
metric in determining potential market tops or bottoms. For example, miner 
revenue in early 2024 reached intensely high levels as prices rallied 
strongly. This condition, created by a rise in transaction fees and block 
dollar value, allowed miners to become profitable to distribute supply to the 
market, thereby aligning early topping structures. By mid-2024, the market had 
created a pattern where capitulation zones often indicated local bottoms, and 
severely overpaid zones matched market tops with heavy liquidity outflows. 
Notably, this pattern held throughout late 2024, early and mid 2025, during 
which miners&#8217; revenue alternated between the overpaid and underpaid zone. As 
Bitcoin’s price struggled in Q4 2025, falling to around $80,000, BorisD 
explains that miners experienced another deep underpaid regime that completed 
a capitulation cycle, exhaustion of miner-driven selling pressure, but most 
importantly, confirmation of price local bottom. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s 
November Slump Could Trigger A 2026 Revival, Analysts Say Bitcoin Market 
Overview At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $90,898 after a minor 0.64% 
gain in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the daily trading volume is down 36.32% 
to $38.77 billion. According to BorisD, Bitcoin miners&#8217; profitability is 
expected to continue improving, provided the market price stays above $80,000. 
This dynamic, in turn, supports a continuation of upward price momentum, 
potentially pushing Bitcoin toward another market top. Although the present 
market cycle has displayed atypical behavior compared to previous ones, 
analysts remain broadly optimistic. Many expect Bitcoin not only to recover 
but to eventually surpass its prior six-figure valuation. Featured image from 
Investopedia, chart from Tradingview

Cryptocurrency price in AUD