Bitcoin miner earnings fell from 562 BTC in mid-October to 502 BTC now, an 11% decline, according to Glassnode. With difficulty reaching a record 159 trillion in early November and miners’ net position changes turning negative (-3,555 BTC in late November and -487 BTC recently), profitability and wallet balances face mounting pressure amid volatile ETF flows.

XRP is under pressure at the $2 level after twice losing that support since the October sell-off. $1.3 billion in tokens moved off exchanges over the past month. Institutional ETF holdings have reached $945.49 million. Daily on-chain fees have dropped 89% and XRPL TVL has fallen to $70 million, pointing to weak network usage and a speculative tilt to recent accumulation.

On December 10, the Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 bps to 3.50–3.75% and outlined $40 billion of U.S. T‑bill purchases over the next thirty days. Bitcoin fell 2.14%, slipping under $90k as traders balanced added short‑term liquidity against longer‑term risks, including a potential pause in 2026 cuts.

Bitcoin whipsawed from $89k to $87k and then to $91k within a single four-hour candle, putting the $90k threshold in focus. Analysts said $171 million in long positions and $71 million in shorts were liquidated in that window, with nearly $500 million erased over 24 hours. Open interest has fallen $30 billion from a $94 billion October peak, signaling deliberate de-risking.

BitMine (BMNR) accumulated 2.44 million Ethereum tokens during Q3 2025, expanding its treasury by 1,495% as ETH climbed to $4,900. The company added another 900,000 ETH in Q4, yet Ethereum declined 26% despite continued institutional purchases.

The altcoin market displays potential bottom signals amid Bitcoin's consolidation phase. Open Interest across non-BTC/ETH assets climbed 1.85% to $17 billion. A trader opened a $300 million leveraged position across ETH, XRP, and HYPE, currently facing $20.64 million in unrealized losses.

Vanguard Group reversed its crypto stance on December 2, opening its platform to digital asset ETFs including Solana. SOL trades near $135, down 28% year-to-date, marking its worst annual performance since 2022. Despite price weakness, Solana's network processes 798.5 transactions per second with 12.8-second finality.

The cryptocurrency market lost $160 billion in value as Bitcoin dropped 4.3% to $86,000, triggering $637 million in liquidations with long positions accounting for 90% of the total. Data show MicroStrategy's market-to-net-asset value fell to 0.97× on November 22, with investors effectively paying less than $1 for each $1 of Bitcoin held by the company.

Large Bitcoin holders have repositioned after Q4 liquidations erased billions in market value. Data show whale outflows increased across BTC and XRP, while some investors opened leveraged short positions worth hundreds of millions during the downturn. On-chain metrics suggest accumulation activity may resume in the $85,000–$90,000 range.