Gate Research Institute: Bitcoin Fails to Hold the $90,000 Level | RWA Sector TVL Surpasses DEX

Cryptocurrency Market Overview

• BTC (-0.37% | Current price 87,393 USDT): Bitcoin remains within a narrow range of $86,000–$90,000, having been repeatedly resisted near $90,000 since mid-December. Recent price movements resemble a consolidation phase after volatility, rather than a trend continuation, with both bulls and bears temporarily balanced. Once the price effectively breaks through the key resistance zone of $90,000–$92,000, upward momentum is expected to reopen. On-chain structure shows Bitcoin gradually transitioning from the previous aggressive selling phase to a stabilization phase. Currently, a large number of spot buy orders, mainly from whales, are clustered around the current price, contrasting sharply with earlier pullbacks dominated by retail traders and a lack of major participants. Continuous participation by spot large holders usually indicates longer-term position building, especially in low-volatility, range-bound environments, implying that downside risk is marginally decreasing as strong capital gradually absorbs selling pressure. At the institutional level, Bitcoin spot ETF experienced net outflows of approximately $782 million last week, reflecting cautious risk appetite among institutions. If ETF funds shift back to sustained net inflows, it will be an important signal for market restart and trend confirmation.
• ETH (-0.35% | Current price 2,936 USDT): Recent Ethereum price movements show a clear market wait-and-see sentiment, with bullish momentum weakening but no effective dominance from bears. Over the past 24 hours, ETH failed to break the $3,000 mark and retreated to around $2,900, with trading volume increasing simultaneously, indicating intensified bullish-bearish competition, but buyers still struggle to sustain follow-through momentum. If subsequent buying can push the price above and stabilize at $3,000, Ethereum may start a new upward cycle; conversely, repeated failure to break higher could see the price retreat to around $2,900, with time being used to build momentum again. On-chain structure shows that exchange reserves of Ethereum have been decreasing most of 2025, but recently there are signs of a slight and continuous rebound. This change may indicate some traders are beginning to adjust positions for phase consolidation risks, or institutions are deploying in anticipation of potential volatility, warranting ongoing attention.
• Altcoins: Over the past 24 hours, altcoins generally weakened slightly, with XRP down 0.73% and SOL down 0.61%. The Altcoin Season Index stands at 20, indicating that although market risk appetite has slightly recovered from lows, overall sentiment remains extremely cautious.
• Macro: On December 29, the S&P 500 fell 0.35% to 6,905.74 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.51% to 48,461.93 points; the Nasdaq dropped 0.50% to 23,474.35 points. As of 8:00 AM UTC+8 on December 30, spot gold is priced at $4,332 per ounce, having sharply retraced from its all-time high, with a 24-hour increase of 0.01%.

Hot Tokens to Watch

( ZBT ZEROBASE (+61.82%, Market Cap $37.46 million)

According to Gate data, ZBT token is currently priced at $0.1704, up 61.82% in 24 hours. ZEROBASE is a decentralized infrastructure network using zero-knowledge proofs )ZKP### and trusted execution environments (TEE) to enable verifiable off-chain computations. It supports products like zkStaking, zkLogin, and ProofYield, connecting institutional DeFi, user privacy, and real-world asset strategies.

The main reason for ZEROBASE’s rise is sector rotation within privacy coins. Analysts point out that privacy technology will become a competitive advantage in 2026, and this project’s zero-knowledge proof architecture aligns with compliant DeFi needs.

( ONT Ontology (+21.34%, Market Cap $66.90 million)

Gate data shows ONT is currently priced at $0.07228, up 21.34% in 24 hours. Ontology is a next-generation public blockchain platform and distributed trust collaboration network, supporting a complete distributed ledger and smart contract system. Its architecture supports a public chain network, providing basic public chain services and enabling customized public chains for different applications via the Ontology blockchain framework, with interoperability through various protocol groups.

The rise in ONT reflects the combined effects of deflationary tokenomics and high-profile partnerships. On December 1, the Ontology community approved a proposal to reduce the total supply of ONG by 20%, while permanently locking assets worth 100 million ONG. This deflationary mechanism helps reduce selling pressure and aligns with Ontology’s roadmap for sustainable staking rewards. On December 4, Palantir launched the Chain Reaction AI platform in collaboration with Ontology, NVIDIA, and CenterPoint Energy. The partnership focuses on AI infrastructure for energy grids and data centers, utilizing Ontology’s decentralized identity solutions and enhancing Ontology’s reputation in Web3 infrastructure.

) ZRX 0xProject (+27.80%, Market Cap $145 million)

Gate data shows ZRX is currently priced at $0.1636, up 27.80% in 24 hours. 0x is an open-source protocol for peer-to-peer trading, facilitating ERC20 token transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. It aims to serve as an open standard and modular framework to promote interoperability among decentralized applications (DApps), including decentralized exchanges.

The rise in ZRX is mainly driven by investor sentiment, with a tweet mentioning that a ZRX/USDT exchange contract trade gained 320% leverage, likely attracting many follow-traders. 24-hour spot trading volume for ZRX surged by 489%, reaching $118.8 million, with a trading volume-to-market cap ratio of 0.74, indicating high market activity.

Alpha Insights

RWA Sector TVL Surpasses DEX, Ranks as the Fifth Largest DeFi Sector

On December 29, the Real-World Assets (RWA) sector became one of the most prominent growth areas in DeFi by 2025. At the start of the year, RWA was not even in the top ten DeFi sectors by TVL, but now it ranks fifth, surpassing DEXs. Currently, RWA TVL is about $17 billion, a significant increase from approximately $12 billion in Q4 2024. The growth is mainly driven by balance sheet demand; in a high-interest-rate environment, tokenized US Treasuries and private credit have become attractive on-chain yield assets, and clearer regulations have lowered institutional entry barriers. Structurally, Ethereum remains the primary platform for RWA issuance and settlement, with permissioned networks like Canton Network dominating institutional participation.

This trend indicates DeFi is evolving from a “trade-driven” to a “balance sheet-driven” ecosystem, with institutional capital favoring compliance, stable yields, and risk control, reshaping the on-chain landscape. As interest rates stay high and native on-chain yields converge, more funds are flowing into tokenized government bonds and private credit products with predictable cash flows and real assets backing. Additionally, as gold and silver prices strengthen, tokenized commodities are attracting more capital. RWA is expected to shift from a “yield narrative” to macro-level assets and neutral collateral in 2026.

Bitcoin failed to hold above $90,000; the New Year’s market still awaits demand revival

Bitcoin’s rally to $90,000 at year-end slowed down due to insufficient demand and weakening on-chain activity. Recently, Bitcoin’s apparent demand (market buy demand minus new sell supply) has turned negative, dropping to around -3,491 BTC, the lowest since October, reflecting risk aversion during the year-end phase. Analysts suggest that only if BTC re-establishes above $90,000 and demand recovers can a new rally in early 2026 be initiated.

The market’s contradiction lies in the disconnect between long-term bullish expectations (such as some analysts’ predictions of a bull market in 2026) and short-term demand weakness. Catalysts needed to bridge this gap include ETF funds re-entering net inflows or macroeconomic shifts boosting risk appetite. If demand does not pick up in time, Bitcoin may continue to oscillate between $84,000 and $90,000, with potential deeper corrections. The true trend depends on dual confirmation from capital and sentiment.

Silver prices soar to record highs, tokenized silver trading volume explodes

Interest in silver is accelerating toward tokenized markets. Amid continuous record-high silver prices with phase fluctuations, on-chain trading activity and futures/ETF markets are heating up simultaneously. Data from RWA.xyz shows that tokenized iShares Silver Trust (SLV) transfer volume increased by over 1,200% in the past 30 days, with holders rising by about 300%, and net asset value nearly up 40%.

The upward movement in silver prices is driven by supply constraints, structural demand growth, and favorable macro conditions. The surge in tokenized silver volume reflects investors’ growing preference for low-threshold, divisible, 24/7 tradable assets. This shift further reinforces RWA’s role in defensive allocations, helping improve liquidity foundations and institutional acceptance of tokenized commodities.
References:

• Gate, [https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT]###https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT###
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Cointelegraph, https://cointelegraph.com/news/rwas-surpassed-dexs-defi-tvl
• Cointelegraph, https://cointelegraph.com/news/btc-price-pauses-90k-what-will-trigger-new-year-rally
• CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/29/tokenized-silver-volumes-explode-as-metal-s-price-rises-to-record

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