On the last day of 2025, the cryptocurrency market continues its year-end characteristic trend—sideways consolidation and light trading. Reflecting on this year's trajectory, after Bitcoin reached a historic high of $126,000 in October, the market experienced a significant correction. Although most mainstream assets failed to regain their peak by the end of the year, from a regulatory and institutional deployment perspective, the entire ecosystem is evolving toward "structural progress."

**Real-time Price Snapshot**

Bitcoin is currently fluctuating around $88,000-$88,700, with a 24-hour increase of about 1%. Since December, it has repeatedly attempted to break the $90,000 mark but has not succeeded, mainly trading within the $85,000-$90,000 range. Ethereum performed relatively steadily, maintaining between $2,900 and $3,000. Solana and XRP are trading within the ranges of $120-$130 and $1.86-$1.90 respectively. The total market capitalization is approximately $3 trillion, having evaporated over $1 trillion from the October peak.

**ETF Divergence Under Liquidity Dry-Up**

The end-of-year holiday effect is evident, with market liquidity drying up, leading to high volatility but unclear direction. From an ETF perspective, both Bitcoin spot ETFs and Ethereum spot ETFs recorded outflows, but interestingly, XRP and Solana ETFs attracted inflows against the trend—XRP led weekly inflows, indicating growing institutional interest in emerging tokens.

**Macro Background and Regulatory Recalibration**

Although the Trump administration is generally viewed as "crypto-friendly," macro factors such as tariff increases have impacted market sentiment, and even projects related to the Trump family have not been spared. On the policy front, in 2025, the US advanced the first federal-level crypto legislation, the "GENIUS Act," with a gradually improving stablecoin regulatory framework, and SEC enforcement efforts significantly scaled back. Meanwhile, China maintained a strict regulatory stance covering mining, stablecoins, and RWA sectors.

**Institutional Enthusiasm and Market Expectations**

Bitcoin spot ETFs performed well throughout the year, surpassing $30 billion in scale, though there was a noticeable outflow at year-end. ETFs for newly listed tokens like Solana and XRP received strong subscriptions. Looking ahead to 2026, most institutions believe the bull cycle may continue, with Bitcoin expected to retest previous highs. Notably, privacy coins like Zcash have recently shown relative resilience against declines.

**Overall**, the market is gradually transitioning from a "wild growth" phase to "mainstream compliance," with institutional participation continuously increasing. However, a disconnect still exists between price performance and fundamental support.