The Bitcoin rally is showing strain as long-held coins return to circulation and inter-exchange liquidity fades. Price remains near cycle highs, but momentum and volume signals point to a likely consolidation phase in the near term. Without a pickup in cross-venue flows, sustaining further upside could be difficult.

USDT recorded $156 billion in transactions under $1,000, highlighting rising high-frequency usage alongside a seven-day moving average above $500 million. Tether is exploring a stock sale that could value the company near $500 billion, while pursuing a binding bid for Juventus, investing in AI robotics and compute, and, in Q3 2025, holding 116 tonnes of gold.

From 2024 through mid‑2025, investors are combining regulated Bitcoin ETFs with self‑custody. Multiple months saw $4B–$6B in spot ETF inflows, with net assets nearing $140B by July 2025, according to SoSoValue. AMBCrypto reported 171 negative days in 2025 and over 1 million BTC held by corporate treasuries.

Bitcoin is heading into the next Federal Reserve decision with thin liquidity and fragile leverage, as CME FedWatch data show an 87.2% probability of a rate cut to 3.50%-3.75%. CryptoQuant reports that exchange reserves have fallen from about 2.95M BTC to roughly 2.76M BTC, suggesting softer spot demand. Alphractal highlights that global liquidity remains stuck between $28 trillion and $30 trillion and points to a strong correlation between India and Bitcoin, while miner signals have turned bearish.

Ethereum processed nearly $6 trillion in stablecoin transfers during Q4 2025, with daily volumes exceeding $85 billion. The network's stablecoin supply climbed above $180 billion as median transaction fees fell to near-zero levels. Capital velocity reached record highs, driven by reduced costs and increased liquidity in decentralized finance applications.

Bitcoin has recorded 171 negative days in 2025, surpassing its long-term average of 170 days. Public companies now hold 1,059,453 BTC, with MicroStrategy controlling 650,000 BTC. The Fear and Greed Index has remained at 21 for five consecutive weeks, while 30-day volatility has reached 0.024.

Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade activates on December 3, introducing EIP-7594 (PeerDAS) to enhance rollup data verification and reduce bandwidth requirements. Open Interest stands above $17 billion with slightly positive Funding Rates, though ETH trades near $3,000 following a 43% decline. Network throughput recently hit an all-time high of nearly 33,000 TPS.

Bitcoin fell from above $89,000 to nearly $86,000 within one hour at the start of December, while Ethereum declined more than 5% in the same period. Total crypto market capitalization dropped from approximately $1.82 trillion to below $1.72 trillion, reaching its lowest level in recent weeks.

Several altcoins recorded significant price movements this week. AAVE climbed 13.5% as whale wallets accumulated $59.93 million in tokens since October, data show. Kaspa jumped 47.4% after breaking key resistance levels, while Ethena gained 22.85% ahead of a December 2 token unlock valued at $26.87 million. Zcash fell 18.6% and Memecore declined 35%.