Gateway to Learning

Over the past week, the crypto market has continued to trade in a range near key support levels. BTC and ETH both experienced several rapid rallies and pullbacks, but prices quickly returned to consolidation ranges, indicating that current price action is largely driven by existing capital repeatedly trading in a relatively thin-liquidity environment, with no clear entry of trend-driven incremental capital. At the same time, leveraged positioning has continued to unwind: options open interest (OI) declined overall and became highly concentrated around the December 26 expiry, with an estimated USD 26.5 billion in notional value set to expire. Spot trading volumes remain subdued, making prices more sensitive to marginal capital flows and further amplifying short-term volatility.

In November 2025, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization trended downward overall, as weak buying momentum, rising macroeconomic uncertainty, and cooling risk appetite jointly constrained any meaningful rebound. Stablecoin market capitalization across public blockchains remained highly concentrated, with Ethereum accounting for more than half of the total; fund flows pointed to increasing sectoral divergence, as chains such as Arbitrum and Starknet recorded notable net inflows. Meanwhile, the prediction market continued to expand rapidly, with Opinion’s monthly trading volume surging and quickly emerging as a third major player competing with Polymarket and Kalshi. The Web3 industry completed 53 financing deals totaling $2.67 billion, a sharp decline from October, signaling a phase of contraction and structural tightening.

Gate Research: On December 17, the crypto market continued its recovery, with major assets showing signs of structural rebound. Bitcoin stabilized above the $85,000 level and rebounded to trade around $87,500, where short-term momentum has improved but remains constrained by medium-term resistance. Ethereum recovered to the $2,950 area after its recent decline, though the pace of the rebound has been relatively moderate. Overall market sentiment remains cautious, but rotation within major assets is becoming increasingly evident. On the thematic front, PTB surged sharply amid growing narratives around Bitcoin application-layer expansion and institutional adoption. LIGHT gained strength on expectations tied to Lightning Network and RGB-related technical progress, while ARC rallied on renewed interest in AI agent infrastructure and developer-centric narratives. On-chain data show that short-term Bitcoin supply continues to shift toward long-term holders, while the slowdown in stablecoin growth signals a marginal