Bitcoin is trading around $85,000, with a muted response to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/economic-data/25/12/49478334/inflation-eases-to-2-7-and-wall-street-finds-some-breathing-room">softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>Cryptocurrency</td><td>Ticker</td><td>Price</td></tr><tr><td>Bitcoin</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a></td><td>$85,553</td></tr><tr><td>Ethereum</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ETH" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="ETH" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>)</a></td><td>$2,825</td></tr><tr><td>Solana</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SOL" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SOL" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/sol/usd">SOL</a>)</a></td><td>$119.45</td></tr><tr><td>XRP</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/XRP" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="XRP" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/xrp/usd">XRP</a>)</a></td><td>$1.82</td></tr><tr><td>Dogecoin</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/DOGE" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="DOGE" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>)</a></td><td>$0.1207</td></tr><tr><td>Shiba Inu</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SHIB" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SHIB" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/shib/usd">SHIB</a>)</a></td><td>$0.057071</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



Notable Statistics:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Coinglass data shows 154,181 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $504.89 million.       </li>



<li>In the past 24 hours, top losers include MYX Finance, Pump.fun and Aster.</li>
</ul>



Notable Developments:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-stock-ratings/analyst-color/25/12/49487538/coinbase-analyst-slashes-price-target-says-investors-miss-the-big-picture">Coinbase: Analyst Slashes Price Target, Says Investors &#8216;Miss The Big Picture&#8217;</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49480420/ethereum-bear-who-made-500000-shorting-eth-now-bets-1-million-against-it">Ethereum Bear Who Made $500,000 Shorting ETH Now Bets $1 Million Against It</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/25/12/49484457/sofi-launches-first-bank-issued-stablecoin">SoFi Launches First &#8216;Bank-Issued&#8217; Stablecoin</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49470263/bitcoin-adoption-slowing-due-to-perceived-quantum-risk-popular-analyst-says-what-matters-is-if-investors-can-sniff-the-peril">Bitcoin Adoption Slowing Due To &#8216;Perceived&#8217; Quantum Risk? Popular Analyst Says What Matters Is If Investors Can Sniff The Peril</a></li>
</ul>



Trader Notes: Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez <a href="https://x.com/alicharts/status/2001706022340063539">says</a> Bitcoin remains boxed in on lower timeframes, facing resistance near $89,900 and support around $85,400. A breakout could revive upside momentum, while a breakdown risks deeper losses.



Daan Crypto Trades <a href="https://x.com/DaanCrypto/status/2001734528428097646">notes</a> BTC has yet to sweep either its monthly high or low, a setup that typically resolves before month-end, making the current range increasingly tense.



Michael van de Poppe <a href="https://x.com/CryptoMichNL/status/2001735271205765147">adds</a> that despite bullish CPI data, Bitcoin failed to sustain gains. The $88,000 level remains the key hurdle; without a clean reclaim, downside pressure persists.



With the BOJ decision looming, risk assets are diverging, Nasdaq is pushing higher, gold is steady, but crypto continues to lag as traders brace for potential rate-hike volatility.



Read Next:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49477893/bitcoin-ethereum-solana-to-hit-all-time-highs-in-2026-bitwise-predicts">Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana To Hit All-Time Highs In 2026, Bitwise Predicts</a></li>
</ul>



Image: Shutterstock

Bitcoin Slides To $85,000 As Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Stare Into The Abyss

Bitcoin <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a> remains trapped in a volatile $85,000 to $90,000 range, struggling to sustain upside even after softer-than-expected <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49489829/inflations-down-but-so-is-bitcoin-why-btc-gets-sold-at-90000-every-time">inflation data</a>.



What Happened: Bitcoin's volatility is spiking ahead of a massive $23 billion options expiry next week, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. 



BTC briefly surged to $89,430 before reversing sharply and now sits roughly 30% below its October peak near $126,000.



Options markets are leaning bearish. 



Thirty-day implied volatility is near 45%, skew is negative, and traders are pricing downside risk into early 2026. 



Heavy put open interest around $85,000 (about $1.4 billion) could act as a magnet into expiry, while calls at $100,000–$120,000 signal only modest hopes for a relief rally.



These contracts represent more than half of Deribit's total open interest, amplifying the risk of sharp, liquidity-driven moves. 



Recent sessions have already seen violent swings, with over $130 billion in value changing hands within an hour.



Also Read: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49477893/bitcoin-ethereum-solana-to-hit-all-time-highs-in-2026-bitwise-predicts">Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana To Hit All-Time Highs In 2026, Bitwise Predicts</a>



Why It Matters: Bloomberg flagged two additional overhangs: hedging ahead of a Jan. 15 MSCI index decision that could pressure crypto-heavy treasury firms, and renewed call overwriting that may cap upside.



Bitcoin is on pace for its worst quarter since Q2 2022. 



As The Kobeissi Letter <a href="https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2001357941451165882?s=20">noted</a>, a $3,000 rally was erased within an hour, triggering $120 million in short liquidations, followed by $200 million in long liquidations on the reversal. 



That's a $140 billion market-cap swing in under two hours.



For now, leverage and liquidity hunts, not fundamentals, are driving Bitcoin's violent price action.



Read Next:&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49474201/bitcoin-defends-87000-while-ethereum-xrp-dogecoin-slide-ahead-of-japan-interest-rate-decision">Bitcoin Defends $87,000 While Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Slide Ahead Of Japan Interest Rate Decision</a></li>
</ul>

Bitcoin Whipsaws From $89,000 To $85,000, Liquidates $120M: What's Driving Volatility?

Bitcoin <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a> is back to $86,000 in volatile U.S. trading hours on Thursday, which saw inflation cool more than <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/economic-data/25/12/49478334/inflation-eases-to-2-7-and-wall-street-finds-some-breathing-room">expected in November</a>.



What Happened: Market commentatr The Kobeissi Letter <a href="https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2001673018012315782">highlighted</a> that U.S. core CPI fell to 2.6% year-over-year, the lowest since March 2021 and a sharp downside surprise versus expectations. 



The print marked one of the largest inflation decelerations since 2023.



Rate-cut expectations jumped following the data, though markets still price no move in January pending further confirmation. 



While inflation is slowing, prices are not falling, cumulative inflation since 2020 now sits at 25.2%, keeping consumer pressure elevated.



Risk assets initially reacted positively, with Bitcoin spiking to $89,000. 



The S&amp;P 500 <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SPY" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SPY" data-exchange="ARCA" rel="noopener">(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SPY">SPY</a>)</a> climbed to within 2% of record highs as investors look ahead to potential Fed leadership changes, fiscal stimulus, and what could be a volatile but opportunity-rich 2026.



The gains were reversed after mid-day as Bitcoin retreated back to $86,000 and the index falling back below 6,800 points.



Also Read: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49477893/bitcoin-ethereum-solana-to-hit-all-time-highs-in-2026-bitwise-predicts">Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana To Hit All-Time Highs In 2026, Bitwise Predicts</a>



What's Next: Michael van de Poppe <a href="https://x.com/CryptoMichNL/status/2001653929692533151">said</a> the CPI miss strengthens the disinflation narrative, calling it a clear tailwind for risk assets. 



With the Bank of Japan rate hike largely priced in, conditions may be forming for renewed risk-on momentum, including upside for Bitcoin.



Crypto trader KillaXBT <a href="https://x.com/KillaXBT/status/2001701447252263087">noted</a> that Bitcoin fully retraced its post-CPI rally, erasing initial gains despite the bullish data. 



After banking 25% profits, remaining exposure now risks a breakeven stop. 



If hit, focus shifts to $83,000 as the next key level.



Altcoin Sherpa <a href="https://x.com/AltcoinSherpa/status/2001682705453392030?s=20">says</a> Bitcoin is near a local bottom, with downside likely capped in the $75,000–$80,000 range.



Fundstrat's Tom Lee <a href="https://x.com/fundstrat/status/2001674730235940871?s=20">added</a> that the disinflation surprise boosts the odds of a year-end risk rally, supporting further upside across equities and crypto, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.



Read Next:&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49474201/bitcoin-defends-87000-while-ethereum-xrp-dogecoin-slide-ahead-of-japan-interest-rate-decision">Bitcoin Defends $87,000 While Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Slide Ahead Of Japan Interest Rate Decision</a></li>
</ul>



Image: Shutterstock

Inflation's Down, But So Is Bitcoin: Why BTC Gets Sold At $90,000 Every Time

Shiba Inu <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SHIB" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SHIB-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/shib/usd">SHIB</a>)</a> is seeing a resurgence in whale activity alongside a sharp spike in burn rates, setting the stage for heightened volatility as traders watch for <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/shiba-inu-price-prediction">a decisive move.</a>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>Cryptocurrency</td><td>Ticker</td><td>Price</td><td>Market Cap</td><td>7-Day Trend</td></tr><tr><td>Shiba Inu</td><td>(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/shib/usd">SHIB</a>)</td><td>$0.057304</td><td>$4.3 billion</td><td>-11%</td></tr><tr><td>Dogecoin</td><td>(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>)</td><td>$0.1289</td><td>$19.6 billion</td><td>-6%</td></tr><tr><td>Pepe</td><td>(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/">PEPE</a>)</td><td>$0.053951</td><td>$1.7 billion</td><td>-11.2%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



Trader Notes: Santiment <a href="https://x.com/santimentfeed/status/1998188098312929541">flagged</a> Dec.9 SHIB's largest whale-transfer day since June, coinciding with a 1.06 trillion SHIB net increase in exchange reserves, a setup that often precedes sharp price swings.



Statistics: Shibburn data shows 16.8 million SHIB were burned from the ecosystem in just two hours, thereby creating scarcity in supply.



Arkham Intelligence revealed a dormant wallet reactivated after a year, withdrawing 53.6 billion SHIB (about $418,500) from Coinbase on Dec. 15. 



Arkham Intelligence showed as <a href="https://x.com/santimentfeed/status/1998188098312929541">cited</a> by The Crypto Basic that the wallet had last been active in December 2024 and now holds SHIB as its dominant asset, with minimal other holdings.



The move comes amid heightened SHIB whale activity, with billions to trillions of tokens being both withdrawn from and deposited into exchanges this month. 



Despite this activity, SHIB remains weak near $0.00000774, still sharply lower year-over-year.



Another long-inactive whale <a href="https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/address/0x587979b5893Dc47B1130b6e443f3a5F8eA26Fae6">moved</a> a combined 933.3 billion SHIB through OKX after nearly two years of silence.



Read Next:&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49474201/bitcoin-defends-87000-while-ethereum-xrp-dogecoin-slide-ahead-of-japan-interest-rate-decision">Bitcoin Defends $87,000 While Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Slide Ahead Of Japan Interest Rate Decision</a></li>
</ul>



Image: Shutterstock

Shiba Inu Whales Awaken To Burn Billions In SHIB — What Do They Know?

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="https://contributor-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17195143/Bill-Tai.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-24187" srcset="https://contributor-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17195143/Bill-Tai.jpg 1200w,https://contributor-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17195143/Bill-Tai-300x169.jpg 300w,https://contributor-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17195143/Bill-Tai-1024x576.jpg 1024w,https://contributor-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17195143/Bill-Tai-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></figure>



Credit: Anna Tutova (Founder AI Crypto Minds) with Bill Tai, legendary angel investor.



I had a chance to meet with Bill Tai, a legendary venture capital investor known for his investments in numerous successful companies, including Canva, Zoom, Dapper Labs and Twitter, with 23 of them going public. Additionally, he is Co-founder &amp; Chairman Treasure Data and IPinfusion, Chairman Hut8Corp <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="HUT" data-exchange="NASDAQ" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/HUT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/HUT">HUT</a>)</a>, the third-largest bitcoin miner by stockpiled BTC.



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote>The world is a metaverse on Zoom.<cite>&#8211; Bill Tai, Legendary angel investor</cite></blockquote></figure>



Bill shares insights into his background, starting with his early days as an electrical and computer engineering specialist in Silicon Valley during its formative stages. He discusses his journey from investing in silicon-related companies to becoming a venture capitalist and his involvement in various waves of technology, including computer hardware, networking, and the internet. Bill also delves into his entry into the crypto and blockchain space, sharing his encounter with Bitcoin&#8217;s whitepaper and how he became an early believer in the technology. He further talks about his recent investments, with a focus on NFTs and projects supporting various social causes. Bill shares his perspectives on the future of crypto markets, the rise of decentralized social media, and the changing landscape of technological innovation beyond Silicon Valley.



Anna Tutova: Can you tell us about your background? How did you get involved in investing and as well, how did you get involved in the crypto and blockchain space?



Bill Tai: I was originally trained in electrical and computer engineering and was trained to design computer chips initially. I came out to Silicon Valley in the eighties, I was just lucky to be kind of there at the formative stages of the basic technology that would underpin everything else.



And I ended up entering silicon related companies, both of them ended up going public. I ended up becoming a venture capitalist in 1991.



I then took a few years off, started kiteboarding a lot. But when Web 2 started, I came back into the investing game. And in the middle of all that, in 1999, a friend of mine who was then CTO of Real<a href="https://twitter.com/philiprosedale"> </a>Philip Rosedale networks told me he wanted to take Neil Stevenson&#8217;s science fiction novel Snow Crash and build it in real life.



Anna: That was the first prototype of Metaverse?



Bill: He built Second Life. It was one of the main real physics-based motion metaverse. Philip introduced in it the Linden dollar. So, it was a digital currency in 2003.



So, when Bitcoin came out, I had already done a little bit of work on peer-to-peer networks, and I somehow stumbled across the White Paper on Thanksgiving weekend of 2010. I think I<a href="https://twitter.com/KiteVC/status/7601056028561408"> </a><a href="https://twitter.com/KiteVC/status/7601056028561408" rel="nofollow">tweeted</a>: «Is anyone else using this peer P2P currency, Bitcoin?», and it was like shouting into an empty room. There were no replies. There were literally no replies or likes, how could this be? This is so cool, but nobody cares.



But that led me on this journey to really understand and implement some of this stuff. And I ended up running into some of the people that would go on to found a company called Bitfury, which became a substantial portion of Bitcoin blockchain rewards at that time. And I was on board of it.



Anna: Was it more like an experiment and have they been believing in this technology from the beginning?



Bill: I had experimented with peer-to-peer networks in 1999-2000 to do some video content distribution. I believed in the underlying technology. I also believed in the digitization of currency from the Linden Dollar days at Second Life, the peer-to-peer underlying indelible accounting. The ability to have a currency that was not controlled by a single government was interesting. I did believe in the principles.



Anna: And can you share some of your recent investments? How actively do you invest?



Bill: I was the first investor in Zoom video and helped catalyze what became Canva. CNBC has this list every year of the 50 top disruptors disruptive private companies. Of that 50 in the top ten I&#8217;m the backer of three: Lineage logistics(No. 9 in 2023), Canva(No. 5), Dapper Labs(No. 9 in 2022). With the last there is crypto representation in the top ten most disruptive companies per CNBC.



I&#8217;m a co-founder of two NFT projects that have some traction. One is called<a href="https://www.metagood.com/"> </a>Metagood and another one is OnChainMonkey. MetaGood is a catalyst for collective action by communities that are interested in supporting different things that have actually originated with my investment in Dapper Labs. When I funded them, I could see the power of marketplaces around CryptoKitties, and I asked Dapper Labs to create for me a special edition crypto kitty that I could auction off to support an ocean charity. So, they created<a href="https://medium.com/bounties-network/the-honu-kitty-supporting-ocean-conservation-the-crypto-way-ef1042e58c50" rel="nofollow"> Honu Kitty</a> for me, and I launched it at one of my Blockchain summits that I was doing and still do with Sir Richard Branson on his island, Necker BlockchainSummit.org. Ultimately it was sold for about 50,000 USD. It was the first ever NFT for Ocean Charity.



In 2021 I put together Danny Yang, who used to run the Stanford Bitcoin Meetup groups in 2013, and Amanda Terry, who was a Twitter X NBC type person, to create Meta Good. The companies created an OnChainMonkey NFT collection, which is also the first ever fully on-chain collection all in one transaction.



Anna: What are your thoughts on decentralized social media, as you are an early investor in Twitter?



The soil is ripe for the planting of those kinds of seeds to create more decentralized versions where you, as the individual, have a little bit more sovereign identity, a little bit more control over your own data set, and can steer the marketing of that data on an opt in basis and possibly actually get rewarded for your own participation in that.



Anna: You&#8217;re from Silicon Valley and I guess you mostly invest into companies as well based in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley has been always considered the capital of technological innovations, but now there are different centers of innovation, it shifts as well. Beats a lot of people still complain about the quality of life now in Silicon Valley, in San Francisco, and so on. Do you see any other centers of innovation emerging?



Bill: You know, technology is truly becoming decentralized in a way. I think most of the good that advanced development comes from economically advanced countries. But I think it&#8217;s no longer innovative. As we&#8217;ve gone to the expression layer on the UI, it started to expand everywhere and data science started to span everywhere.



Anna: And you as well mentioned that currently you don&#8217;t have any managers, assistants. You manage everything on your own. What&#8217;s your usual day schedule? What you&#8217;re interested in, focused on? Where do you find the companies you invest into and how do you select whether to invest or not?



Bill: I&#8217;d say my life completely changed about ten years ago, when Eric Yuan, who ended up founding Zoom. asked me to fund him and I said yes on the spot.



When Zoom was born, I had this network of my friends around the world, who are techies, and we use it to communicate. It&#8217;s an odd story, but companies like Canva(the last valuation &#8211; $42 billion). I literally met Melanie when she was a young 20 something woman making essentially high school yearbooks out of her living room. And now she&#8217;s running this company that&#8217;s over $3B in revenue. And it&#8217;s been profitable for years. So how does that happen out of a little town like Perth that&#8217;s literally on the other side of the planet? Because I went there on a kiteboard trip.



So, a lot of my network is this group of technical people. There were some very prominent technical people like Sergey Brin and Larry Page that learned to kite board before Google went public. So, whether it&#8217;s Elon Musk or Drew Houston who started Dropbox, or Jamie Siminoff that started Ring, or Melanie that started Canva, or Eric that started Zoom, they&#8217;ve all been involved somehow in my kiteboarding community at one time or another.



And so, I find a lot of my companies through just my personal network. And I think because I&#8217;ve been able to effectively live on Zoom, I&#8217;ve had a competitive advantage.



I think there&#8217;s a certain construct for starting building and operating a group of people that are not in the same place, and you can still get a lot done. I think it&#8217;s a different operating style that is available to people today because the world is a metaverse on Zoom.



Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#8217;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Bill Tai: The Kiteboarding VC With No Office, Who Funded Zoom, Twitter, Canva, And Bought Bitcoin Early. Here's How He Spots Winners Now

SoFi Technologies, Inc <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SOFI" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SOFI" data-exchange="NASDAQ" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SOFI">SOFI</a>)</a> on Thursday launched SoFiUSD, a fully reserved <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/25/12/b49475553/sofi-launches-fully-reserved-stablecoin-to-power-financial-infrastructure-for-banks-fintechs-and-e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. dollar stablecoin</a> issued by SoFi Bank, N.A.



It enabled the company to act as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms.



Partners can leverage SoFi's bank-grade infrastructure to move money faster and more efficiently.



Also Read: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/movers/25/11/48784402/sofi-becomes-first-us-bank-to-let-you-buy-bitcoin-right-from-your-checking-account" rel="noreferrer noopener">SoFi Becomes First US Bank To Let You Buy Bitcoin Right From Your Checking Account</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SoFiUSD Offers Faster, 24/7 Transactions</h2>



As the first national bank to provide open access to a stablecoin and related infrastructure, SoFi brings regulatory oversight and reliability to companies integrating stablecoin products.



Operating on a public, permissionless blockchain, SoFiUSD allows partners to transfer funds 24/7 with near-instant settlement at minimal cost, helping them manage liquidity confidently while offering faster, more transparent services.



SoFiUSD will also be available to all SoFi members in the near future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Stock Performance</h2>



SoFi stock gained over 60% year-to-date backed by its digital banking ecosystem, attracting members with diverse products, improving profitability through diversified revenue.



On December 5, SoFi stock dropped after the company priced a public offering of 54.5 million shares at $27.50 each to raise roughly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/movers/25/12/49226677/sofi-prices-1-5-billion-stock-offering-investors-worry-about-dilution" rel="noreferrer noopener">$1.5 billion before fees</a>.



SoFi plans to use the net proceeds to strengthen its capital position, improve capital management efficiency, and fund growth opportunities.



As of September 30, the company held about $3.25 billion in cash and equivalents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Strong Earnings and Outlook</h2>



In October, SoFi reported third-quarter revenue of $949.63 million, surpassing estimates of $886.17 million, and adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share, above the 8-cent forecast.



The company raised its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to $3.54 billion from $3.38 billion and increased its adjusted earnings forecast to 37 cents per share from 31 cents, both exceeding analyst expectations.



SOFI Price Action: SoFi Technologies shares were up 4.99% at $26.52 at the time of publication on Thursday, <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/pro/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Benzinga Pro data</a>.



Read Next:



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<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/25/12/49414415/ai-chipmaker-nvidia-just-released-open-source-models-for-ai-agents" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI Chipmaker Nvidia Just Released Open Source Models For AI Agents</a></li>
</ul>



Photo via Shutterstock

SoFi Launches First 'Bank-Issued' Stablecoin

Something interesting is happening in the usually quiet world of U.S. Treasury markets. Traditional asset managers who spent years dismissing cryptocurrency are now building products that live entirely on blockchains. The twist? They&#8217;re tokenizing the safest asset class in existence: government debt.



When BlackRock Inc. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BLK" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BLK" data-exchange="NYSE" rel="noopener">(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BLK">BLK</a>)</a> puts Treasury bills on Ethereum through its <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/Opinion/25/12/49156858/why-tokenized-treasury-markets-are-becoming-a-new-safe-haven-for-investors">BUIDL fund</a>, it&#8217;s not chasing trends. The wall between traditional finance and crypto is being carefully dismantled, starting with Treasuries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why This Happened Now</h2>



Throughout 2025, short term Treasury yields hovered between 4% and 5%. Meanwhile, stablecoins like USD Coin and Tether held over $309 billion in collective value, earning nothing for holders. The companies issuing these stablecoins earned billions parking reserves in Treasuries, but holders got zero.



That&#8217;s a $12 billion annual wealth transfer from stablecoin users to issuers. Once people did the math, the gap became obvious. Why hold a dollar token earning nothing when you could hold one earning 4%?



BlackRock introduced its BUIDL product in March 2024 to address exactly this problem. Daily dividends flow directly to digital wallets as new tokens. No intermediaries, no settlement delays, just automated yield distribution.



The fund now holds over $2 billion. Franklin Templeton <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BEN" data-exchange="NYSE" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BEN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BEN">BEN</a>)</a> manages over $700 million in a similar product. Hashnote&#8217;s USYC, which Circle Internet Financial acquired, holds around $1 billion. Total tokenized Treasury products across blockchains reach approximately $9 billion as of mid December 2025, according to <a href="https://app.rwa.xyz/treasuries" rel="nofollow">RWA.xyz data</a>.



That&#8217;s tiny compared to the $28 trillion Treasury market overall. But this market barely existed 18 months ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Asset Managers Actually Gain</h2>



Traditional money market funds employ armies handling subscriptions, redemptions, and dividend calculations. Tokenization automates most of that. Smart contracts handle distributions. Blockchain networks process transfers 24/7 without human intervention. BlackRock charges competitive fees between 0.20% and 0.50% on BUIDL while improving margins.



Distribution matters even more. Traditional managers rely on broker dealer networks. Tokenized products move across borders instantly, settle in minutes, and integrate directly into digital wallets.



A Singapore based hedge fund wanting Treasury exposure traditionally requires U.S. brokerage relationships and T+2 settlement. With tokenized Treasuries, they buy exposure in minutes and trade anytime. Markets never close when assets live on blockchains.



This appeals to crypto native institutions. Decentralized autonomous organizations can&#8217;t easily open bank accounts. Crypto exchanges need collateral without traditional custody. Tokenized Treasuries solve both while generating yield.



Binance announced in November 2025 it accepts BUIDL as trading collateral. When the world&#8217;s largest platforms integrate tokenized Treasuries into margin systems, that&#8217;s mainstream adoption.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Programmability Changes The Game</h2>



Tokenized Treasuries enable strategies previously impossible. In traditional finance, pledging Treasuries as collateral locks those assets with a custodian. On blockchains, smart contracts reference the same collateral across multiple protocols simultaneously. Your tokenized Treasuries can back a loan while simultaneously serving as trading collateral elsewhere.



DeFi protocols like Pendle let traders speculate on future Treasury yields by splitting positions into principal and interest components. This creates price discovery for interest rate expectations outside conventional futures markets.



Companies can program automatic rebalancing between tokenized Treasuries and operational stablecoins. Smart contracts execute instant conversions without manual intervention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Regulatory Clarity Enabled This</h2>



The SEC spent years evaluating how securities law applies to tokenized assets. That uncertainty kept major institutions sidelined. Things shifted in 2025 when guidance confirmed tokenized securities remain subject to existing frameworks.



The European Union&#8217;s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation provided similar clarity. Singapore and the UAE established specific licensing frameworks. This coordination removed the last major barrier to institutional participation.



JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/JPM" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="JPM" data-exchange="NYSE" rel="noopener">(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/JPM">JPM</a>)</a> launching a $100 million tokenized money market fund on Ethereum in 2025 reflects this regulatory comfort. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BK" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BK" data-exchange="NYSE" rel="noopener">(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BK">BK</a>)</a> now provides custody for multiple tokenized Treasury products.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Market Competition</h2>



BlackRock&#8217;s BUIDL leads at $1.8 billion but requires qualified investor status. Franklin Templeton&#8217;s offering has lower barriers but higher fees. Ondo Finance built products targeting DeFi integration.



Ethereum remains the primary settlement layer, but Solana <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SOL-USD" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SOL" data-exchange="CRYPTO" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/sol/usd">SOL</a>)</a> captured over $8 billion in tokenized Treasury exposure with faster transactions and lower costs.



Real world asset tokenization exceeded $18.5 billion across all categories as of December 2025, with <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/Opinion/25/12/49428379/real-world-assets-to-become-even-bigger-crypto-theme-in-2026-could-rwa-protocols-like-ondo-finance-finall">tokenization becoming a major theme</a> heading into 2026. Government debt dominates because regulatory clarity came easier for the safest asset class.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Managers Should Consider</h2>



Tokenized products offer operational advantages conventional structures can&#8217;t match. Firms building capabilities now gain distribution advantages as digital native investors grow.



But tokenization requires blockchain expertise, digital custodian relationships, and smart contract auditing. Smaller managers may struggle with required investments. Partnership models with platforms like Securitize offer solutions.



Custody needs careful attention. Digital custodians like Anchorage Digital, BitGo, Copper, and Fireblocks built institutional grade capabilities, but due diligence remains essential.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Path Forward</h2>



The $9 billion in tokenized products represents just 0.03% of total U.S. government debt. But this technology solves real problems for users needing yield without leaving blockchain ecosystems, wanting instant settlement, or requiring programmable collateral.



The stablecoin market provides a natural catalyst. Those $309 billion in non yielding tokens represent the obvious conversion opportunity. As yield bearing alternatives become accessible, capital will flow toward products generating returns.



Traditional money market funds managing over $7 trillion won&#8217;t migrate entirely, but institutions valuing 24/7 access will gradually shift. Even 1% migration would grow the tokenized Treasury market tenfold.



Blockchain technology is becoming foundational to financial markets through gradual integration. Tokenized Treasuries represent one of the first examples where traditional finance and crypto genuinely overlap. Asset managers comfortable operating across both worlds will have strategic advantages as this convergence accelerates.



Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#8217;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

The Rise Of Tokenized Treasuries: How Blockchain Is Entering The Heart Of Financial Markets

Coinbase Global Inc. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/COIN" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="COIN" data-exchange="NASDAQ" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/COIN">COIN</a>)</a> just made a bold play that changes the trading platform game. The crypto exchange announced Wednesday at its System Update event in San Francisco that it&#8217;s launching traditional stock trading, complete with 24 hour access five days a week and zero commissions. Translation? Coinbase wants to be your one stop shop for everything from Bitcoin <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a> to Apple Inc. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/AAPL" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="AAPL" data-exchange="NASDAQ" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/AAPL">AAPL</a>)</a> shares.



But here&#8217;s the real question: Can a crypto focused platform actually compete with Robinhood Markets Inc. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/HOOD" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="HOOD" data-exchange="NASDAQ" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/HOOD">HOOD</a>)</a>, which already owns this space? And more importantly, what does this mean for where you park your trading account?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The David Vs. Goliath Setup</h2>



Let&#8217;s start with the uncomfortable truth. Robinhood&#8217;s market cap sits at roughly $107 billion right now, while Coinbase clocks in around $66 billion. That&#8217;s a 60% valuation gap, and it exists for a reason. Robinhood has years of experience executing stock trades, a massive user base that trusts it for equities, and it&#8217;s already integrated crypto without messing up its core business.



Coinbase&#8217;s announcement sent its shares up about 1% in after hours trading Wednesday. Interestingly, Robinhood also climbed 1.5% after hours, which tells you the market isn&#8217;t panicking about Coinbase stealing Robinhood&#8217;s lunch money anytime soon.



The timing matters though. Coinbase shares have dropped nearly 8% over the past month as crypto tumbled, even though the stock&#8217;s still slightly positive for the year. When Bitcoin tanks, Coinbase&#8217;s revenue evaporates because the company makes most of its money from trading fees. Stock trading gives them a hedge against those painful crypto winters that gut their business every few years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Tokenization Play Everyone&#8217;s Missing</h2>



Here&#8217;s where things get interesting, and frankly, where Coinbase&#8217;s real bet lives. CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC that traditional stock trading is just the opening move. What he actually wants is tokenized equities, stocks that live on blockchain networks instead of through traditional exchanges.



Think about what that could mean. Stocks trading 24/7, not just during market hours. Near instant settlement instead of waiting two days for your trades to clear. Lower costs because you&#8217;re cutting out middlemen. It&#8217;s the kind of market structure change that could actually matter, not just another incremental improvement.



Coinbase is already seeking SEC approval for blockchain based stocks. Early next year, they&#8217;re rolling out perpetual futures for stocks, available outside the U.S. These are derivatives that don&#8217;t expire, a concept the crypto world pioneered that&#8217;s now crossing over into traditional finance.



But here&#8217;s the catch, and one analyst nailed it. Brian Huang from Glider, a Coinbase backed portfolio manager, questioned why Coinbase isn&#8217;t just building tokenized stocks from day one. If tokenization is the future, why launch traditional stock trading that looks exactly like Robinhood? His take: regulatory realities probably forced Coinbase&#8217;s hand. Getting SEC approval for tokenized equities is still a heavy lift, even with a more crypto friendly administration coming in.



So we&#8217;re getting the bridge product first while Coinbase builds toward what they really want to launch. Makes sense strategically, but it also means Coinbase is competing on Robinhood&#8217;s turf with Robinhood&#8217;s playbook rather than using their supposed advantage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What You Actually Get From This</h2>



Enough big picture stuff. What does this mean for your actual trading account?



The convenience factor is real. If you&#8217;re already on Coinbase trading crypto, you can now buy Tesla Inc. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/TSLA" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="TSLA" data-exchange="NASDAQ" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/TSLA">TSLA</a>)</a> shares in the same app using the same login. No more juggling Robinhood for stocks and Coinbase for Bitcoin. Your whole portfolio lives in one place, which simplifies tax reporting and account management.



24 hour trading five days a week matters more than you&#8217;d think. Bad news drops at 2am and tanks your stocks? You can sell immediately instead of watching helplessly until 9:30am. That&#8217;s genuinely useful for anyone who works weird hours or just wants more control over when they trade.



Zero commissions are table stakes now, not a competitive advantage. Both platforms offer this, so execution quality becomes what matters. Robinhood&#8217;s gotten heat over the years for its order routing, especially during the GameStop chaos in 2021. Coinbase has a chance to compete on transparency here, but they&#8217;ll need to prove they can handle volume without the platform falling over.



The feature war benefits you. Wednesday&#8217;s announcement included way more than just stocks. Coinbase integrated Kalshi for prediction markets, letting you trade on election outcomes, sports results and economic indicators for as little as $1. They launched Coinbase Advisor, an AI tool that helps build portfolios and explains how news affects your holdings. They rolled out improved futures trading and direct Solana token swaps through Jupiter.



These additions force Robinhood to respond with its own innovations, which means better tools and more features for traders on both platforms. Competition works.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Valuation Gap Tells The Story</h2>



That $40 billion difference in market cap between Robinhood and Coinbase isn&#8217;t arbitrary. The market&#8217;s telling you something.



Analysts have been cutting Coinbase price targets recently. Barclays dropped theirs to $291 from $357. Mizuho cut to $280 from $320. The concern? Bitcoin ETF flows have weakened significantly, with BlackRock Inc.&#8217;s <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BLK" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BLK" data-exchange="NYSE" rel="noopener">(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BLK">BLK</a>)</a> iShares Bitcoin Trust seeing over $2.7 billion in outflows over five weeks. Standard Chartered even slashed its end of 2025 Bitcoin price target to $100,000 from $200,000.



When institutional money leaves Bitcoin ETFs, it creates a vicious cycle for Coinbase. Lower Bitcoin prices mean less trading activity. Less trading means lower revenue. Lower revenue means analyst downgrades. It&#8217;s ugly, and it&#8217;s why diversifying into stocks makes so much sense for Coinbase&#8217;s business model.



But diversification and execution are different things. Robinhood&#8217;s proven it can deliver. Coinbase is still proving itself outside the crypto world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Should You Care?</h2>



Honestly, probably not yet. Don&#8217;t rush to move your entire portfolio to Coinbase based on Wednesday&#8217;s announcement. Watch how they execute over the next few months first.



Test the platform with small positions. See how order execution compares to what you&#8217;re getting elsewhere. Check if the platform stays stable during volatile market days. Look at whether the AI advisor actually helps or just generates generic advice.



The real value here isn&#8217;t Coinbase suddenly becoming better than Robinhood overnight. It&#8217;s the competitive pressure forcing both platforms to improve. More features, better tools, aggressive pricing. That benefits you regardless of which platform you ultimately prefer.



Here&#8217;s what actually matters for your decision making. If you&#8217;re deep into crypto and already use Coinbase for that, the convenience of managing stocks in the same app might be worth it. The 24 hour trading is legitimately useful if you work nights or travel internationally. The prediction markets and AI advisor are interesting additions that might become valuable once they mature.



But if you&#8217;re happy with Robinhood and mostly trade stocks with occasional crypto on the side, there&#8217;s no compelling reason to switch right now. Let Coinbase prove itself first.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Bigger Picture</h2>



Financial markets are changing faster than most people realize. The line between crypto and traditional assets is blurring. Tokenization is moving from concept to reality. Platforms are racing to build infrastructure for this new financial system, and regulations are slowly catching up under a more crypto friendly administration.



Coinbase&#8217;s announcement is one step in that evolution. Whether it succeeds in becoming the everything exchange depends entirely on execution. Can they deliver stock trading that actually competes with established platforms? Can they navigate the regulatory maze to launch tokenized equities? Can they manage multiple complex businesses simultaneously without dropping the ball?



Those are open questions. What&#8217;s not in question is that competition benefits traders. You get more choices, better features and platforms that have to fight harder for your business. Use that to your advantage. Test both platforms. Move your money to whoever serves you best. The switching costs are low, so there&#8217;s no reason to be loyal to a platform that&#8217;s not delivering.



Keep watching how this plays out over the coming months. The trading platform wars just got more interesting, and you&#8217;re the one who wins when companies are fighting for your attention.



Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#8217;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Coinbase Takes On Robinhood With Stock Trading: What The Everything Exchange Means For Your Money

Crypto analyst Taiki Maeda has opened a $1 million short on Ethereum <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="ETH" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ETH-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>)</a>, arguing its recent strength is driven by artificial, incentive-led buying rather <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/ethereum-eth-price-predictions">than genuine demand</a>.



What Happened: In his recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lvRHZaCTR4">podcast</a>, Maeda stated that he entered the ETH short near $3,133, claiming that the altcoin is being propped up by "Digital Asset Treasury" (DAT) buyers, not organic inflows.



He points to a specific entity, BitMine <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BMNR" data-exchange="NASDAQ" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BMNR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BMNR">BMNR</a>)</a>, allegedly purchasing roughly $300 million of ETH weekly, as the key marginal buyer behind ETH's relative outperformance. 



This price-insensitive accumulation is cited as the primary reason ETH has outperformed other altcoins.



According to Maeda, SEC filings suggest this buying is tied to executive compensation, with bonuses and equity grants contingent on ETH accumulation and price targets ahead of a Jan. 15 board meeting.



He frames the current setup as capital rotation, not new inflows, noting ETH traded near $1,600 the last time Bitcoin <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a> was around $85,000.



Also Read: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49477893/bitcoin-ethereum-solana-to-hit-all-time-highs-in-2026-bitwise-predicts">Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana To Hit All-Time Highs In 2026, Bitwise Predicts</a>



What's Next: Maeda expects Ethereum to fall towards what he considers its "fair value," potentially much lower, once the incentive-driven buying ends after Jan. 15.



He flags two risks converging on that date: the expiration of BitMine's bonus conditions and a separate Strategy <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MSTR" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="MSTR" data-exchange="NASDAQ" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MSTR">MSTR</a>)</a> deadline that could spark broader risk-off sentiment.



While bullish on Ethereum's technology, Maeda warns that token value is disconnected from fundamentals and urges investors to fade the "Q4 altseason" narrative. 



His takeaway: when temporary buyers disappear, "gravity wins."



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Ethereum Bear Who Made $500,000 Shorting ETH Now Bets $1 Million Against It

Asset management firm Bitwise expects 2026 to be a breakout year for crypto, with Bitcoin <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a>, Ethereum <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="ETH" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ETH-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>)</a>, and Solana <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SOL" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SOL-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/sol/usd">SOL</a>)</a> all pushing to new all-time highs as institutional forces reshape the market.



What Happened: In its 2026 Outlook, Bitwise <a href="https://x.com/BitwiseInvest/status/2001307117249016148">argues</a> the traditional four-year crypto cycle is fading. 



Institutional adoption, spot ETF flows, on-chain growth, and a pro-crypto regulatory shift are now more powerful drivers than halving's or leverage-fueled boom–bust cycles.



Bitcoin, the firm says, is on track to become less volatile than mega-cap tech stocks like Nvidia, reflecting a broader, more institutional investor base. 



ETFs are accelerating Bitcoin's transition into a mainstream, de-risked asset, and that trend should intensify in 2026.



ETFs Absorb Supply As Institutional Demand Surges



Bitwise's core thesis is that ETFs will buy more than 100% of the annual new supply of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. 



Bitcoin ETFs have already absorbed nearly twice the amount of BTC mined since launch.



With firms like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Vanguard opening ETF access, institutional demand is expected to overwhelm new issuance. 



Bitwise also predicts half of Ivy League endowments will gain crypto exposure, following early moves by Brown and Harvard—an important signal given the $870 billion endowment pool.



The firm also forecasts over 100 new crypto-linked ETFs in the U.S., ushering in an "ETF-palooza" as regulatory clarity improves.



Crypto Equities, Polymarket Lead The Next Wave



Crypto equities are expected to keep outperforming traditional tech. While major tech stocks are up around 140% over three years, crypto equities are up over 500%, driven by revenue growth, M&amp;A, and regulatory tailwinds.



Bitwise also sees Polymarket open interest hitting new all-time highs, surpassing 2024 election levels as it expands beyond politics into sports, culture, and macro markets. 



On-chain vaults—often called "ETFs 2.0"—are expected to double in assets as Wall Street capital moves on-chain.



Also Read: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49474201/bitcoin-defends-87000-while-ethereum-xrp-dogecoin-slide-ahead-of-japan-interest-rate-decision">Bitcoin Defends $87,000 While Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Slide Ahead Of Japan Interest Rate Decision</a>



What's Next: Bitwise expects Bitcoin's correlation with equities to fall further in 2026. As regulation, ETF flows, and institutional adoption take centre stage, crypto-specific fundamentals, not stock market swings, should increasingly drive performance.



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Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana To Hit All-Time Highs In 2026, Bitwise Predicts

Bitcoin is holding firm near $87,000 as traders stay cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan interest rate decision; liquidations stand at $545.09 million over the past 24 hours. 



Bitcoin ETFs saw $457.3 million in net inflows on Wednesday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $22.4 million in net outflows.



BTC Has Survived Much Worse



Michael van de Poppe <a href="https://x.com/CryptoMichNL/status/2001571533471219866">said</a> most traders are sidelined into the BOJ event, warning that crowded expectations could lead to a surprise move. A clean break above $88,000 would signal renewed bullish momentum.



Crypto trader Jelle <a href="https://x.com/CryptoJelleNL/status/2001591885463449934">highlighted</a> Bitcoin's resilience, noting the asset is down roughly 36% from cycle highs, its deepest pullback so far this cycle, yet mild compared to historical drawdowns.



Ted Pillows <a href="https://x.com/TedPillows/status/2001572894845923499">said</a> Ethereum is retesting $2,800. Holding that level could open a push toward $3,000, while a breakdown risks a move to $2,500.



Peter Brandt <a href="https://x.com/PeterLBrandt/status/2001345282047660177">flagged</a> a potential double top on XRP, keeping the near-term bias bearish unless the pattern fails.



Satoshi Flipper <a href="https://x.com/SatoshiFlipper/status/2001604360149618964">noted</a> Solana is retesting descending channel support on the 4-hour chart; a breakdown could send price toward $145.



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td> Cryptocurrency</td><td>Ticker</td><td>Price</td></tr><tr><td>Bitcoin</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a></td><td>$87,270</td></tr><tr><td>Ethereum</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ETH" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="ETH" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>)</a></td><td>$2,852.20</td></tr><tr><td>Solana</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SOL" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SOL" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/sol/usd">SOL</a>)</a></td><td>$123.31&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>XRP</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/XRP" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="XRP" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/xrp/usd">XRP</a>)</a></td><td>$1.86</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



The meme-coin sector slid another 4% to $41.3 billion.



Crypto Tony <a href="https://x.com/CryptoTony__/status/2001600325678215290">said</a> DOGE only turns attractive if it reclaims and holds $0.128 as support.



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>Cryptocurrency</td><td>Ticker</td><td>Price</td></tr><tr><td>Dogecoin</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/DOGE" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="DOGE" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>)</a></td><td>$0.1258</td></tr><tr><td>Shiba Inu</td><td><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SHIB" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="SHIB" data-exchange="CRYPTO">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/shib/usd">SHIB</a>)</a></td><td>$0.057492</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



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Image: Shutterstock

Bitcoin Defends $87,000 While Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Slide Ahead Of Japan Interest Rate Decision

Chinese companies are tokenizing rare Huanghuali trees and other commodities in an effort to address liquidity issues facing various industries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Digital Tokens For Scarce Resources</h2>



Firms located on Hainan, a tropical island in China, are capturing images of Huanghuali trees, a scarce species of rosewood, to transform them into digital assets, as reported by Reuters.



Zhao Xiaobao, the Hainan representative for&nbsp;Geely Technology Group, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/GELYF" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="GELYF" data-exchange="OTC" rel="noopener">(OTC:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/GELYF">GELYF</a>)</a>, expressed that converting the Huanghuali into tradeable tokens could infuse much-needed capital into industries grappling with cash flow issues.



See Also: <a href="https://benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49382277/mark-cuban-called-meme-coins-musical-chairs-a-year-ago-as-2025-ends-the-floors-dropped-from-under-most-including-his-favorite-dogecoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Cuban Called Meme Coins &#8216;Musical Chairs&#8217; A Year Ago: As 2025 Ends, The Floor&#8217;s Dropped From Under Most—Including His Favorite, Dogecoin</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Game-Changer?</h2>



The company has plans to generate $13 million through&nbsp;an initial tranche of tokens&nbsp;to be introduced&nbsp;in Hong Kong in the&nbsp;forthcoming&nbsp;months. Each tree will be&nbsp;assigned a distinct value based&nbsp;on its size and quality,&nbsp;which will subsequently be divided into multiple tokens.



If successful, this would mark one of the world&#8217;s first attempts at tokenizing real-world assets that are biological in nature.



Interestingly, the digitization process is not limited to trees. A range of Chinese goods, including fine tea and high-end baijiu liquor, are also being converted into digital assets.



Tokenization, a technique for converting real-world assets into <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/22/06/27681090/what-is-tokenization-and-how-can-companies-create-their-own-token">blockchain-based tokens</a>, has emerged as one of the hottest decentralized finance narratives in the last year or so.



Analysts believe real-world asset tokenization has e<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/Opinion/25/12/49428379/real-world-assets-to-become-even-bigger-crypto-theme-in-2026-could-rwa-protocols-like-ondo-finance-finally-trade-evenly-with-bitcoin">merged as the key institutional focus in 2025</a>, with BlackRock and JPMorgan actively developing projects in the sector, and expect it to grow bigger in 2026.



Read Next:&nbsp;



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Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Neuro</a>&nbsp;and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/apis?utm_source=benzinga.com&amp;utm_campaign=article-bottom" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"></a>



Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Nature's NFTs? How These Companies Fractionalize Rare Woods From Trees For Global Trade

Cryptocurrency analyst&nbsp;Willy Woo&nbsp;expressed concerns Wednesday over the perceived quantum risk affecting Bitcoin&#8217;s <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a> adoption.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quantum Vulnerability Affecting Taproot Adoption?</h2>



In an X post, Woo pointed out a significant decline in Taproot adoption, from 42% to 20%, since 2024.



The <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/what-is-bitcoin-taproot-upgrade">Taproot upgrade</a>, activated in November 2021, was meant to improve the privacy and efficiency of the network, particularly for complex multi-signature transactions.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">&quot;Quantum risk is 20 years away&#8230;&quot; This misses the point. What matters NOW is whether investors see risk and are selling. PERCEIVED RISK is enough to stop adoption. <a href="https://t.co/DMlaMq20ze">https://t.co/DMlaMq20ze</a>&mdash; Willy Woo (@woonomic) <a href="https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/2001310349379678223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



However, Woo deemed the upgrade, one of the most significant in recent history, as &#8220;quantum vulnerable.&#8221; 



Interestingly, Jameson Lopp, a well-known Bitcoin security expert, had also found Taproot addresses as susceptible to quantum attacks in March.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Not reusing addresses in general is currently the best protection against quantum attacks. As well as not using Taproot addresses, which expose the public key.&mdash; Jameson Lopp (@lopp) <a href="https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1901333507265151278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FUD Or Genuine Concern?</h2>



Woo challenged the narrative that quantum risk is 20 years away, stating that &#8220;perceived&#8221; risk is enough to stop adoption.



&#8220;What matters NOW is whether investors see risk and are selling,&#8221; the analyst added.



A section of X users, including cryptocurrency veteran Fred Krueger, accused Woo of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt, stating that solutions will be implemented in due course.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">there are solutions and they will be implemented. Stop with the FUD&mdash; Fred Krueger (@dotkrueger) <a href="https://twitter.com/dotkrueger/status/2001311290426577271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



See Also:&nbsp;<a href="https://benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49447424/bitcoins-death-cross-looks-scary-until-you-realize-what-happened-last-time" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin&#8217;s Death Cross Looks Scary Until You Realize What Happened Last Time</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Is Bitcoin Prepared For Quantum Challenges?</h2>



Woo&#8217;s arguments follow statements by influential figures in the cryptocurrency space downplaying the impact of quantum computing on Bitcoin.



Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of&nbsp;Strategy Inc., said earlier this week that quantum computing would not weaken Bitcoin, <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49440904/michael-saylor-says-quantum-computing-will-make-bitcoin-stronger-not-break-it-whats-his-reasoning">but rather make it more resilient</a>.



The Bitcoin bull argued that the network would undergo a quantum resistance upgrade, resulting in the migration of active BTC, while lost BTC would "stay frozen."



Similarly, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49413295/quantum-computing-will-not-meaningfully-influence-crypto-prices-including-bitcoin-in-2026-predicts-grayscale">report</a>&nbsp;by digital asset management firm Grayscale suggested that quantum computing would not significantly impact cryptocurrency valuations in 2026. The report acknowledged a long-term risk to blockchain cryptography but deemed it unlikely to &#8220;meaningfully&#8221; influence the market.



Lopp estimated in October a "greater than 50% chance" that it will take at least another decade before a quantum computer,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/06/45773090/the-quantum-threat-to-cryptocurrency-why-we-need-to-act-now" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">powerful enough to decode a Bitcoin public key to find its corresponding private key</a>, becomes a reality.



Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $86,440.93, down 0.50% in the last 24 hours, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard?_gl=1&#x2A;380nj0&#x2A;_ga&#x2A;MTEyOTAyOTcxMy4xNzEzMzY0NTYy&#x2A;_ga_V7ZK73W7N0&#x2A;MTcxNDk4MzIzMi42LjEuMTcxNDk4OTE0Ni4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data from Benzinga Pro</a>.



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<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49469070/peter-schiff-predicts-bitcoin-headed-to-50000-says-strategy-stock-could-tank-50-hard-to-find-a-chart-that-looks-worse">Peter Schiff Predicts Bitcoin Headed To $50,000, Says Strategy Stock Could Tank 50%: &#8216;Hard To Find A Chart That Looks Worse&#8230;&#8217;</a></li>
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Neuro</a> and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.



Photo by Frame Stock Footage via Shutterstock<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/apis?utm_source=benzinga.com&amp;utm_campaign=article-bottom" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>

Bitcoin Adoption Slowing Due To 'Perceived' Quantum Risk? Popular Analyst Says What Matters Is If Investors Can Sniff The Peril

Dogecoin <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="DOGE" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/DOGE-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>)</a> extended its losses on Wednesday, mirroring a <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49468625/bitcoin-ethereum-xrp-dogecoin-decline-ahead-of-consumer-inflation-data-release-exhausted-market-needs-to-hold-this-key-level-says-analyst">broader decline </a>across the cryptocurrency market.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DOGE Sees Massive Liquidation Of Bullish Bets</h2>



The world&#8217;s largest memecoin by market capitalization fell over 4% in the last 24 hours, worse than Bitcoin <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a> and XRP <a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="XRP" data-exchange="CRYPTO" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/XRP-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/xrp/usd">XRP</a>)</a>. Dogecoin&#8217;s trading volume surged 47% to $1.42 billion, suggesting high selling pressure.



Speculative activity on the coin weakened, with open interest in DOGE futures falling 4.34% in the last 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/BitcoinOpenInterest">according </a>to Coinglass. Over $5.60 million in DOGE&#8217;s long positions were wiped out in the same period.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DOGE&#8217;s Historical Support</h2>



Meanwhile, Ali Martinez, a popular cryptocurrency technical analyst and trader, highlighted some of DOGE&#8217;s key historical support levels, with the $0.074 level seeing the most action.



&#8220;$0.074 is the key support for Dogecoin. Over 28 billion tokens last changed hands there,&#8221; Martinez said.



Should DOGE revisit this level, it would represent a 41% drop from its current value. The memecoin last traded around this price in Feb. 2024.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">$0.074 is the key support for Dogecoin <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24DOGE&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$DOGE</a>. Over 28 billion tokens last changed hands there. <a href="https://t.co/D3Gqq2YjYN">pic.twitter.com/D3Gqq2YjYN</a>&mdash; Ali Charts (@alicharts) <a href="https://twitter.com/alicharts/status/2001215290529734896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



See Also:<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/04/44621245/gold-backed-cryptos-match-yellow-metals-highs-following-trumps-liberation-day-shock"> </a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/dogecoin-doge-price-prediction">Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Prediction 2025, 2026, 2030</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technical Indicators To Watch Out For</h2>



The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator, which compares two exponential moving averages of an asset, typically the 12-period and the 26-period, flashed a "Sell" signal for DOGE,&nbsp;<a href="https://in.tradingview.com/symbols/DOGEUSD/technicals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to TradingView.&nbsp;



The Bull Bear Power indicator, which measures the strength of buyers and sellers, flashed a "Neutral" reading, while the Relative Strength Index hovered just above oversold territory.



Price Action: At the time of writing, DOGE was exchanging hands at $0.1261, down 4.35% in the last 24 hours, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard?_gl=1&#x2A;380nj0&#x2A;_ga&#x2A;MTEyOTAyOTcxMy4xNzEzMzY0NTYy&#x2A;_ga_V7ZK73W7N0&#x2A;MTcxNDk4MzIzMi42LjEuMTcxNDk4OTE0Ni4wLjAuMA..">data from Benzinga Pro</a>.



Photo Courtesy: Akif CUBUK on Shutterstock.com



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Dogecoin 'Key Support' At Level Where 28 Billion DOGE Changed Hands, Says Analyst: What It Means For The Popular Memecoin

Renowned economist&nbsp;Peter Schiff&nbsp;predicted on Wednesday that Strategy Inc.&nbsp;<a class="ticker-link" data-ticker="MSTR" data-exchange="NASDAQ" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MSTR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MSTR">MSTR</a>)</a> shares will halve to $80 from the current $160, while setting a $50,000 downside target for Bitcoin <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BTC-USD" target="_blank" class="ticker-link" data-ticker="BTC" data-exchange="CRYPTO" rel="noopener">(CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Schiff Predicts Bloodbath For MSTR, Bitcoin</h2>



In an X post, Schiff expressed his bearish outlook on the world&#8217;s largest Bitcoin holding company. 



&#8220;It's hard to find a&nbsp;chart that looks worse than&nbsp;Strategy&#8217;s&nbsp;MSTR,&#8221; Schiff said. &#8220;At a minimum, the&nbsp;stock should drop to about&nbsp;$80, which is half its&nbsp;current price.&#8221;



Schiff also set $50,000 as Bitcoin&#8217;s &#8220;minimum target,&#8221; warning that MSTR&#8217;s drop won&#8217;t occur unless the leading cryptocurrency experiences a major decline first. 



For context, Bitcoin traded at these levels back in Feb. 2024.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">It's hard to find a chart that looks worse than <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24MSTR&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$MSTR</a>. At a minimum, the stock should drop to about $80, which is half its current price. It's hard to imagine MSTR dropping that much without a significant decline in Bitcoin as well. I'd say a minimum target for BTC is about $50K.&mdash; Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterSchiff/status/2001411758620053766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



See Also:&nbsp;<a href="https://benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49411946/tom-lee-predicts-10-15-downside-for-stocks-in-early-2026-here-is-why-the-ethereum-bull-sees-cryptos-best-years-ahead" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tom Lee Predicts 10-15% Downside For Stocks In Early 2026: Here Is Why The Ethereum Bull Sees Crypto&#8217;s &#8216;Best Years&#8217; Ahead</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What&#8217;s Next For MSTR?</h2>



Schiff has been <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49461667/peter-schiff-tells-michael-saylor-that-buying-bitcoin-while-mstr-trades-below-nav-makes-no-sense">highly critical of Strategy&#8217;s investment approach</a>, particularly its aggressive purchases of Bitcoin. He has questioned why the company continues to buy Bitcoin when its shares are worth less than the BTC holdings.



As of this writing, momentum-based technical indicators and moving averages suggested a &#8220;Sell&#8221; for the MSTR stock, <a href="https://in.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-MSTR/technicals/">according </a>to TradingView.



Strategy didn&#8217;t immediately return Benzinga&#8217;s request for comment on Schiff&#8217;s predictions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saylor&#8217;s Bitcoin Bet Under Pressure?</h2>



Strategy, often seen as a leveraged play on Bitcoin, has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49316019/strategy-warns-mscis-crypto-test-will-blow-up-index-stability-as-mstr-sits-60-off-its-lows" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">struggled lately</a>, with its market value of $49.01 billion sinking lower than the value of its BTC holdings, which amount to $58.17 billion. The stock has tumbled 57% in the last six months, outpacing Bitcoin's 17% decline.



Notably, the company announced a $1.44 billion reserve earlier this month, aimed at&nbsp;funding dividends and interest without relying on Bitcoin sales during downturns. 



Executive Chairman&nbsp;Michael Saylor&nbsp;said that the <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49138684/strategy-launches-1-44-billion-usd-reserve-to-power-its-bitcoin-reactor">firm could sell its Bitcoin</a> in the &#8220;best interest of shareholders.&#8221;



However, the challenges haven&#8217;t slowed down Strategy&#8217;s Bitcoin purchases. Earlier this week, the company reported a <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/25/12/49394474/strategy-buys-980m-in-bitcoin-but-one-crucial-mstr-metric-turned-red">purchase of 10,645 BTC for $980.3 million</a>, boosting its total holdings to 671,268 BTC.



Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $86,205.44, down 1.26% in the last 24 hours, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard?_gl=1&#x2A;380nj0&#x2A;_ga&#x2A;MTEyOTAyOTcxMy4xNzEzMzY0NTYy&#x2A;_ga_V7ZK73W7N0&#x2A;MTcxNDk4MzIzMi42LjEuMTcxNDk4OTE0Ni4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data from Benzinga Pro</a>.



Strategy shares rose 0.10% in after-hours trading to $160.54. The stock closed 4.25% lower at $160.38&nbsp;during Wednesday&#8217;s regular trading session.



The stock maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium and long terms. How does it compare with&nbsp;other Bitcoin treasury equities? Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/benzinga-edge-2#:~:text=Turn%20Market%20Chaos,when%20markets%20rebound" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings</a>&nbsp;to find out.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/benzinga-edge-2#:~:text=Turn%20Market%20Chaos,when%20markets%20rebound"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="962" height="185" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17211414/image-316.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1219123" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17211414/image-316.png 962w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17211414/image-316-300x58.png 300w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17211414/image-316-768x148.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px" /></a></figure>



Read Next:&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/bitcoin-price-prediction-oct-14">Bitcoin (BTC) Price Predictions: 2025, 2026, 2030</a></li>
</ul>



Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Neuro</a> and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.



Photo Courtesy: T. Schneider on Shutterstock.com<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/apis?utm_source=benzinga.com&amp;utm_campaign=article-bottom" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>

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