As Bitcoin continues to underperform in the fourth quarter of 2025, its 
investors have had multiple reasons to offload and shave off their holdings. 
Among these investors is a certain cohort, its short-term holders (STHs), who 
have been facing heat over an extended period. STH MVRV In Deep Red For 60 
Consecutive Days In a recent post on the X platform, market quant Burak 
Kesmeci revealed an interesting perspective regarding the current market 
condition for Bitcoin&#8217;s most reactive investors — the short-term holders. 
Kesmeci&#8217;s post revolves around the STH MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value) 
metric. For context, this metric compares the market value of BTC to its 
realized value, thus serving as a means to track whether Bitcoin&#8217;s short-term 
investors are, on average, in profit or at a loss. Related Reading: Bitcoin 
Whales Go Quiet On Binance As Inflows Collapse: Supply Shock Setup? A reading 
less than the neutral “1” level typically indicates that the STHs are in the 
red. Depending on the depth of this value, it could also foreshadow 
capitulation events. On the other hand, values above 1 reveal that short-term 
investors are in profit. The higher the value, the more probable it is for 
profit-taking events to follow. In his post on X, the online pundit shared 
that the STH MVRV has been in deep red territory for a full period of 60 days. 
Kesmeci explained that the flagship cryptocurrency’s short-term investors are 
now facing the highest level of “patience test” that they have ever witnessed 
throughout 2025. Notably, prolonged periods of negative MVRV readings have 
often correlated with heightened market stress. Seeing as the market’s most- 
reactive investor cohort is the one concerned, the Bitcoin price could witness 
the effect of capitulation-driven sell-offs. However, the opposite is also 
possible. In the scenario where bearish pressure eases off completely, 
prolonged negative readings could be a sign of imminent market stabilization. 
Bitcoin Stays Beneath 111-Day SMA — What This Means For Price To lend more 
weight to his on-chain revelation, Kesmeci also followed up with a key 
technical observation of Bitcoin&#8217;s price action. According to the analyst, 
Bitcoin has been trading below the 111-day simple moving average (SMA 111) 
within the same period. This alignment between on-chain and technical analysis 
thus functions to reinforce a clear narrative; Bitcoin is either currently at 
a consolidatory or corrective phase. This is contrary to the belief that the 
premier cryptocurrency might be at the start of a significant upward trend. 
Related Reading: Bitcoin Funds See Significant Net Outflows Heading Into Year- 
End – What’s Going On? From a broader perspective, Bitcoin&#8217;s future trajectory 
is not completely clear. Macro events, alongside renewed spot demand, could 
prove pivotal for the cryptocurrency in the future. This market phenomenon 
could determine whether BTC plunges deeper to the downside or begins its 
recovery journey. As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at around $87,380, 
with no significant movement in the past day. Featured image from iStock, 
chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Face Prolonged Pain As Key Metric Stays Red

Developing economies that lack entrenched financial market infrastructure will 
adopt tokenized real-world assets before developed countries.

Emerging market economies to drive RWA tokenization in 2026: Crypto exec

The actions would have been taken due to the high risk linked to lending 
services to these startups. Blindpay, one of the stablecoin startups affected, 
operates in Latin American countries, while Kontigo is focused on the 
Venezuelan market. JPMorgan Freezes Accounts From Stablecoin Startups Kontigo 
and Blindpay Stablecoin neobanks are once again under scrutiny by […]

JPMorgan Freezes Accounts From ‘High Risk’ Stablecoin Startups Kontigo and Blindpay

According to Sharplink co-CEO Joseph Chalom, Ethereum could see a major jump 
in total value locked (TVL) next year if certain onchain trends pick up. 
Chalom put a bold number on it: 10X TVL in 2026. That claim ties together 
rising stablecoin use, bigger tokenization of real-world assets, and increased 
interest from big financial groups. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forecasts For 
2026 Range From $65K To $250K As Sentiment Hits ‘Extreme Fear’ Stablecoin 
Activity On Ethereum Based on reports, the total stablecoin market stands at 
about $308 billion now and could grow to $500 billion by the end of next year, 
a rise of roughly 62%. Over half of all stablecoin activity — about 54% — 
happens on Ethereum. That math matters: more stablecoin flows on Ethereum 
tends to lift the protocol’s TVL because many of those dollars sit in smart 
contracts for swaps, lending, and liquidity pools. Sharplink Gaming holds 
797,704 Ether, worth roughly $2.30 billion at the time of publication, a 
signal that some public treasuries are already staking big bets on the 
network. Tokenized Assets Gain Traction Chalom also expects tokenized real- 
world assets to expand rapidly, forecasting a $300 billion market for RWAs in 
2026 and saying tokenized assets will 10X in AUM next year as funds, stocks, 
and bonds get wrapped onchain. In 2026, I believe Ethereum’s Total Value 
Locked (TVL) will increase 10X. Why and how? 🧵 Views ≠ investment advice. — 
Joseph Chalom (@joechalom) December 26, 2025 He points to rising interest from 
mainstream firms like JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock. Reports 
note that sovereign wealth funds may increase their Ethereum exposure by five- 
to tenfold, which could bring large, patient capital into tokenization 
projects and protocol deposits. Ethereum Price Action Ethereum was trading 
near $2,921 on December 25, 2025, giving the network a market value of about 
$352 billion, while 24-hour trading volume came in at roughly $11.47 billion. 
Over the course of 2025, ETH moved through a full market swing. It opened the 
year around $3,298, climbed to about $4,390 in August, and stayed below its 
record high of $4,942, before sliding back to the $2,921 area by year-end. 
Price swings were heavy, with annual volatility close to 140%. Technical 
readings show mixed momentum. The weekly RSI sits at 41.7, placing Ethereum in 
a neutral-to-bearish zone, while the daily MACD histogram remains negative at 
-0.15. Price action has also been boxed into a narrow band between $2,774 and 
$3,038. Futures data adds to the cautious tone. Total open interest stands 
near $37 billion, down 0.62% over the past 24 hours, pointing to reduced 
exposure from traders. Liquidation data shows more than $100 million in 
potential long liquidations clustered between $2,880 and $2,910, an area now 
seen as a key pressure point. Related Reading: Could XRP Make Trillionaires? 
Tech Firm Founder Thinks It’s Possible Market Signals And Risks Not everyone 
agrees that token flows will translate into quick price gains. According to 
crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen, Ether is unlikely to hit new highs next year 
given current Bitcoin conditions. That caution lines up with technicals that 
point to range-bound trading and with the fact that open interest has eased 
slightly. The liquidation cluster near $2,880–$2,910 shows where leveraged 
positions could be forced out, and that kind of stress can push price moves 
faster than fundamentals. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView

Big Bet On Ethereum: CEO Sees 10X TVL Growth In 2026

Bitmine deposited 74,880 ETH worth approximately $219 million into Ethereum&#8217;s 
Proof-of-Stake protocol, marking the company&#8217;s first staking operation. The 
move comes as the largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury company seeks yield 
generation from its 4.066 million ETH holdings. According to EmberCN…

Cryptocurrency price in ZAR