As 2025 comes to a close, the digital currency and crypto asset markets are reaching a critical juncture. Tomorrow, Digital RMB 2.0 will officially take effect, and this upgrade is significant.

Let's first look at the changes domestically. Shenzhen's "14th Five-Year Plan" explicitly states the need to steadily promote the research and application of Digital RMB, with a focus on expanding cross-border payments and supply chain finance scenarios. The most eye-catching feature is the interest calculation function — starting January 1, all real-name Digital RMB wallets will accrue interest at the bank's current account rate, with interest paid quarterly and included in deposit insurance, fully protected up to 500,000 yuan. This means your digital currency balance is both secure and earning interest, although anonymous wallets will not enjoy this benefit for now. Meanwhile, Shanghai's blockchain-enabled electronic document regulations have seen good results throughout the year; Digital RMB has been integrated into blockchain infrastructure, and large-scale applications for cross-border trade settlement and electronic document storage have been realized. Yangzhou even completed a multi-central bank digital currency bridge payment transaction of 25 million yuan in a single operation, setting a new record.

Turning to the crypto market, this year's trend can be summarized with one word: "volatility." By the end of the year, Bitcoin's price hovered around $89,500, up slightly 0.56% in 24 hours, but down 6% for the year, falling 29% from the October high of $126,000. Ethereum fared worse, priced at $3,020, with a 12% decline for the year. The total global crypto market cap closed at $1.79 trillion.

Interestingly, a series of institutional moves at year-end stand out. MicroStrategy recently increased its holdings by purchasing 2,138 Bitcoin at an average price of $97,800, bringing its total holdings to 393,000 BTC, a clear signal of bottom-fishing. On the stablecoin front, Tether and Circle issued a combined 2 billion US dollars in new supply in a single day, and liquidity for USDC and USDT remains ample. The ETF market hasn't been idle either; Bitwise submitted applications for 11 crypto ETFs, covering assets like TAO, TRX, and others. Grayscale also plans to convert Bittensor Trust into an ETF. All these actions point in the same direction: institutional investment in the AI + blockchain sector is accelerating.

Looking at the full-year performance, mainstream altcoins have on average fallen over 50%, but there are exceptions. XRP spot ETF has been a highlight of the year, achieving 29 consecutive days of net capital inflows, accumulating $1.15 billion in funding, which stands out amid the overall sluggish market.