Today's Cryptocurrency News (December 26) | Trust Wallet attacked with a loss of $7 million; Uniswap's proposal to burn 100 million UNI approved

This article summarizes cryptocurrency news as of December 26, 2025, focusing on the latest Bitcoin updates, Ethereum upgrades, Dogecoin trends, real-time crypto prices, and price forecasts. Major Web3 events today include:

1. Q1 2026 Potential Altcoin Predictions: Chainlink, Litecoin, and Zcash May Experience Strong Technical Rebounds

Although the overall crypto market may enter 2026 with a correction stance, some altcoins have already shown positive signals in technical and on-chain data. Based on price structure, momentum indicators, and valuation models, Chainlink (LINK), Litecoin (LTC), and Zcash (ZEC) are expected to see relatively strong rebounds in Q1 2026, becoming potential targets for market recovery.

From a technical pattern perspective, Chainlink is in a long-term convergence phase. On the weekly chart, LINK has formed a clear triangle consolidation structure, with prices oscillating between $12–14, supported by a rising trendline maintained for two years. As volatility compresses, a directional breakout is often imminent. Meanwhile, LINK’s weekly RSI approaches 30, a long-term support zone that has historically marked bottom phases. If the price holds the trendline and breaks upward, the $23–24 range will become a key target zone in early 2026, representing about 90% potential upside.

On-chain data also supports LINK’s bullish outlook. Its MVRV Z-Score has fallen into an undervalued zone, indicating that the current market cap relative to realized value is not overheated. Historically, when this indicator is in the green zone, it often signals waning selling pressure and a mid- to long-term accumulation phase, increasing the likelihood of a rebound for Chainlink in Q1 2026.

For Litecoin, LTC’s recent movement mainly reflects a typical channel correction. Prices are around $75–80, near the lower boundary of a long-term ascending channel formed since the 2022 bear market. This zone has historically been a reallocation area for funds. The weekly RSI is also near 30, indicating decreasing downside momentum. As long as LTC remains above the channel support, its overall upward structure remains intact.

Target estimates suggest that once Litecoin stabilizes and rebounds in early 2026, prices could approach the upper channel boundary, around $170–180. On-chain indicators like the Pi cycle model also show a significant deviation from mid-term moving averages, and similar historical situations often lead to quick mean reversion, with a high probability of upward correction to the $80–100 range.

Zcash exhibits a more robust structural feature. After a rapid rise, ZEC did not undergo a deep correction but instead built an ascending triangle pattern at high levels. Prices are steadily rising supported by short- and medium-term moving averages, with $470–480 forming a clear resistance zone. This structure typically indicates sustained buying absorption of selling pressure. RSI remains above the midline, suggesting bulls still control the pace.

If ZEC effectively breaks above the triangle’s upper boundary in Q1 2026, technical targets could point toward $700 or higher. Overall, in a cautious market sentiment environment, LINK, LTC, and ZEC may lead the rebound due to their intact structures, valuation corrections, and reallocation of funds, making them key altcoin focuses in early 2026.

2. Ethereum’s Key Upgrades in 2026: Glamsterdam and Heze-Bogota to Reshape Performance and Censorship Resistance

2026 is seen as a milestone year for Ethereum. According to the current roadmap, Ethereum plans to complete two major hard fork upgrades: Glamsterdam in mid-year and Heze-Bogota at year-end. The core goals of these upgrades are to comprehensively enhance network speed, efficiency, and censorship resistance, laying a technical foundation for long-term scalability.

The overall focus in 2026 will be on parallel execution, increasing the Gas limit, and introducing zero-knowledge proof (ZK) mechanisms at the validator layer. These improvements aim to push Ethereum Layer 1’s theoretical processing capacity toward 10,000 transactions per second, while Layer 2 solutions could reach hundreds of thousands of TPS, supporting large-scale applications.

Glamsterdam is expected to be implemented around mid-2026. Its key change includes the introduction of a “block access list,” which specifies on-chain data accessed by each transaction, enabling multiple transactions to be safely processed in parallel across multiple CPU cores. This allows Ethereum to significantly increase throughput without aggressively raising the Gas limit, alleviating current performance bottlenecks.

Additionally, Glamsterdam will embed the proposer-builder separation (ePBS) mechanism directly into the protocol layer. This design reduces centralization risks during block construction, enhances censorship resistance, and paves the way for zero-knowledge proof-based validation methods. During this phase, the Gas limit is also expected to gradually increase, potentially reaching around 200 million per block after ePBS activation.

On the Layer 2 front, the 2026 upgrades are equally significant. Ethereum plans to increase the data capacity per block, providing more data for rollup networks. This will directly boost Layer 2 throughput, making it more suitable for high-frequency trading and complex applications. Interoperability improvements will also facilitate smoother asset and data transfers between different Layer 2 solutions.

The year-end Heze-Bogota fork emphasizes censorship resistance. Its key mechanism is the “fork choice inclusion list,” allowing validators to collectively ensure specific transactions are included in blocks, preventing long-term filtering or blocking. As long as a subset of honest nodes remains, this mechanism can safeguard Ethereum’s neutrality and permissionless principles.

Overall, Glamsterdam and Heze-Bogota will mark a critical step forward in Ethereum’s performance, scalability, and censorship resistance. While achieving 10,000 TPS may still take time, 2026 will undoubtedly be a pivotal year for Ethereum’s technological evolution, laying a solid foundation for future large-scale applications and ecosystem growth.

3. Trust Wallet Security Incident Update: Approximately $7 Million Affected, Officially Pledged Full Refunds

Trust Wallet has issued an update regarding the security incident involving the browser extension v2.68. According to current investigations, the affected assets amount to about $7 million. The official statement confirms that all eligible affected users will receive refunds, prioritizing user compensation and security support.

From the disclosed information, Trust Wallet is actively reviewing the incident’s cause and accelerating the refund process, including verifying affected addresses, confirming loss amounts, and arranging fund reimbursements. The official urges users to remain patient before the official refund procedures are announced and to stay tuned for further official notices.

Trust Wallet also reminds users to enhance security vigilance. Recently, malicious actors have exploited trending events via private messages, phishing links, or impersonation of customer support to induce users to disclose seed phrases or sign authorization. Trust Wallet explicitly states it will never contact users through unofficial channels, ask for private keys, seed phrases, or request transfers. Suspicious messages should be ignored and verified through official channels.

This incident highlights the importance of decentralized wallets managing plugin versions, permissions, and user security education. As Web3 wallets expand their use cases, browser extensions have become frequent attack targets. Users should pay close attention to source authenticity and permission disclosures when updating, authorizing DApps, or installing plugins.

Overall, Trust Wallet’s prompt response—confirming affected scale and promising full refunds—helps stabilize user confidence. Details on refund procedures, technical reviews, and security upgrades will be key focus points for the market and users. For those concerned about Trust Wallet security, v2.68 risks, and Web3 wallet asset safety, ongoing official updates remain the most effective preventive measure.

4. Lighter Team Announces Completion of Audit and Open-Source Release of Perpetual and Spot zk Circuits

On December 26, the Lighter team announced that its zk circuits for perpetual and spot trading have completed audits and are now open source. The team has released full verification code, allowing external independent validation of each order, cancellation, and settlement on Lighter Layer 2 on Ethereum. Developers can generate ZkLighterVerifier scripts via GitHub and verify consistency with deployed Ethereum contracts.

5. Russia’s Largest Bank Sberbank Exploring Crypto Collateralized Loans Amid Regulatory Countdown

As Russia’s crypto regulatory framework becomes clearer, Russia’s largest bank—Sberbank—is evaluating the possibility of launching crypto-backed loans. This move signals a shift from simple crypto trading to more complex crypto financial services like collateralized financing.

Sberbank’s Vice Chairman Anatoly Popov stated that the bank is ready to cooperate with regulators to build the infrastructure needed for crypto collateralized loans. He noted that the bank has the technical capacity but the timing depends on the ongoing regulatory development. If smoothly implemented, such products could be launched around the 2026 regulatory deadline.

This plan is part of Sberbank’s broader digital asset strategy. This year alone, the bank issued over 160 tokenized assets across real estate, oil, and commodities, continuously expanding Russia’s tokenized financial ecosystem.

Meanwhile, major Russian exchanges are preparing for regulatory implementation. Moscow Exchange and St. Petersburg Exchange have stated that once legislation takes effect on July 1, 2026, they will immediately launch regulated crypto trading services. The regulatory scheme distinguishes between qualified and non-qualified investors, with non-qualified investors facing trading limits, while qualified investors must pass risk awareness tests.

On policy, Russia’s official stance has shifted from cautious or resistant to “permitted under strict regulation.” Data shows that between 2024 and 2025, crypto trading volume in Russia reached approximately $376.3 billion, making it Europe’s largest crypto market. Growth in DeFi and ruble-pegged stablecoins further emphasizes the systemic importance of the sector.

Additionally, crypto mining’s role in Russia is being redefined. Illegal mining is now regulated, acknowledging its potential impact on the economy and ruble exchange rate.

Overall, as the 2026 regulatory deadline approaches, Sberbank’s exploration of crypto-backed loans reflects the banking sector’s interest in crypto asset financialization and indicates Russia’s crypto market accelerating from the gray zone toward compliance and institutionalization.

6. Analyst: Q4 Crypto Market Performance Worst in Years, Currently Favoring Seller Strategies

Greek.live macro researcher Adam posted on X: “26.7K BTC options are expiring, with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.35, max pain at $95,000, with a notional value of $23.6 billion. 128K ETH options are expiring, Put-Call Ratio of 0.45, max pain at $3,100, with a notional value of $3.71 billion.

This year’s expiration is the largest in history, with nearly $28 billion in options expiring. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have sharply declined in Q4, stabilizing only at year-end. BTC has fallen below the $90,000 mark, ETH below $3,000, with four consecutive monthly declines, and market sentiment remains subdued. Implied volatility, affected by declining volatility and holiday effects, shows average IV around 40% for BTC and 60% for ETH at major maturities, both moderate levels this year.

Over half of options are settled today. Before settlement, large-volume options trades and trading ratios increased, mainly due to repositioning needs. After settlement, quarterly options expiring in March hold over 30% of total open interest, mostly out-of-the-money calls. The Q4 market performance can be summarized as the worst in recent years.

7. CryptoQuant: Strategy Sold About $700 Million in Stocks Last Week, Causing Severe Dilution Effect

CryptoQuant analyst stated that Strategy sold approximately $700 million worth of stocks last week, causing significant dilution and leading to a continued decline in stock prices. The stock price has fallen about 70% from its all-time high. Increased market supply continues to pressure prices.

Despite this, the company invested $22.46 billion in Bitcoin in 2025, similar to 2024, far exceeding previous years’ investments. Analysts note that this leverage on the balance sheet incurs substantial costs.

8. Statistics: Total Nominal Liquidation Amount Reached $150 Billion This Year, “1011” Crash Has Systemic Significance

On December 26, according to Coinglass data, the total nominal liquidation amount across the crypto market in 2025 was about $150 billion, averaging around $400–$500 million daily. Most trading days saw liquidations in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions, reflecting routine margin adjustments and short-term position clearing under high leverage, with limited long-term impact on prices and structure. Systemic stress was concentrated in a few extreme events, notably the mid-October 10.10–10.11 deleveraging event.

9. Russia-U.S. Discuss Mining Bitcoin at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, Ukraine Excluded from Negotiations

Russian President Putin recently stated that Russia and the U.S. are in contact regarding joint operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, without involving Ukraine. A widely discussed detail is that the U.S. allegedly intends to use the plant’s electricity for Bitcoin mining. This news has sparked geopolitical and crypto sector debates.

According to Russian media Businessman, Putin disclosed this during a meeting with business representatives, mentioning that Moscow and Washington are exploring the possibility of supplying electricity to Ukraine via Zaporizhzhia. Putin also said Ukrainian technicians will continue working at the plant, provided they hold Russian passports. Since March 2022, the plant has been under Russian control, and its status remains highly contested.

Contrasting this, Ukrainian President Zelensky previously publicly expressed a desire to co-operate with the U.S. on operating Zaporizhzhia and emphasized it as one of the most difficult issues in the U.S.-Ukraine peace plan. International bodies like IAEA have repeatedly stated that decisions made without Ukraine’s involvement lack legitimacy.

Currently, Zaporizhzhia is not supplying power to the grid. All six reactors are in safe shutdown, relying on emergency diesel generators for cooling, with frequent power outage risks. Ukraine’s power grid is under severe strain, with over 5,000 missiles and drones launched by Russia since the conflict escalated, damaging infrastructure.

In this context, the “nuclear + Bitcoin mining” scenario is highly sensitive. Private intelligence firm Molfar estimates that a small amount of active mining in Ukraine consumes about 33 kW per hour, further stressing energy security concerns related to crypto mining.

The U.S. has not officially responded to discussions about Zaporizhzhia or Bitcoin mining. As topics like “Zaporizhzhia nuclear + Bitcoin mining,” “Russia-U.S. energy negotiations,” and “nuclear mining legality” continue to ferment, they are likely to influence geopolitical and crypto markets in the near future.

10. Key FTX Figures to Be Released: Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison to Be Freed in January

The latest records from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons show that Caroline Ellison, former co-CEO of Alameda Research, is expected to be released on January 21, 2026. This date is about 10 months earlier than her original sentence, renewing market attention on the FTX fallout and U.S. crypto regulation.

According to previous media reports, 31-year-old Ellison has been in community confinement since October 2025, indicating significantly eased incarceration conditions. She pleaded guilty in December 2022 to multiple fraud and conspiracy charges related directly to the collapse of FTX. The incident caused billions of dollars in customer asset losses and is considered one of the most severe systemic collapses in crypto history.

During the case, Ellison cooperated fully with U.S. prosecutors and testified against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). Bankman-Fried was convicted on multiple counts and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Ellison in September 2024, giving her two years and ordering the forfeiture of about $11 billion in assets. She officially began serving her sentence in November 2024.

Her early release is generally attributed to good behavior and high cooperation during incarceration, including assisting in FTX liquidation and investigations. FTX bankruptcy trustee and current CEO John J. Ray III stated that Ellison provided “highly valuable assistance” in recovering hundreds of millions of dollars, which helped mitigate investor losses.

Ellison has also agreed not to serve as an executive or director of any publicly listed company or crypto exchange for the next 10 years. Even after release, she remains under strict supervision.

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried continues to seek a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, claiming his conviction is politically motivated and criticizing the Biden administration’s “anti-crypto” stance. According to BOP records, if no changes occur, SBF is expected to be released in September 2044.

As Ellison nears release, the landmark crypto scandal of FTX is entering its final phase, but its long-term impact on industry compliance, regulation, and executive accountability continues to unfold.

11. Hyperliquid Foundation Announces Permanent Destruction of 11.068% of Circulating HYPE Tokens

On December 26, official sources announced that Hyperliquid Foundation has permanently burned 11.068% of HYPE tokens held in the aid fund system address. The governance vote used a staking-weighted consensus, with 85% of staked votes supporting burn, 7% opposing, and 8% abstaining.

12. Analyst: Last Month’s Predicted Market Trading Volume Exceeded $13 Billion, Setting New Record

Analyst Patrick Scott posted on X: “Last month’s predicted market trading volume exceeded $13 billion, more than three times the peak volume during the 2024 election cycle.”

Most trading volume was concentrated in Polymarket, Kalshi, and OPINION. Binary options are now applied in political speeches, sports events, and corporate earnings, becoming probability layers for world events and news.

13. Historical Review of Epic Option Expiry Market Trends: Volatility Significantly Amplified, Often Leading to Accelerated Unidirectional Moves

On December 26 at 16:00 (UTC+8), Bitcoin experienced the largest annual expiry in history at $23.7 billion. Past expiry periods’ market behaviors include:

2023-12-29 (annual expiry): Nominal value about $11 billion, max pain at ~$42,000.

Before expiry: Market was highly suppressed, with prices oscillating narrowly between $42,000–43,000.

After expiry: The “cage” of suppressed volatility disappeared, BTC rapidly surged in the following days, initiating a bullish move toward $48,000 in early 2024.

2024-03-29 (quarterly expiry): Nominal value about $15 billion, max pain at ~$65,000.

Before expiry: Market oscillated between $60,000–70,000 amid halving expectations, with high volatility and active hedging causing short-term suppression.

After expiry: Gamma hedging released, BTC quickly broke upward, pushing past $70,000 before halving, entering a bullish acceleration phase.

2024-06-28 (quarterly expiry): Nominal value about $17 billion, max pain at ~$60,000.

Before expiry: Market entered correction, prices hovered around $60,000, with increased selling pressure and gamma pinning effects.

After expiry: Short-term volatility increased, BTC initially dipped then rebounded, overall correction trend persisted, no immediate strong rally.

2024-09-27 (quarterly expiry): Nominal value about $18 billion, max pain at ~$62,000.

Before expiry: Influenced by Fed policies, prices ranged between $55,000–$65,000, with moderate liquidity and range compression due to hedging.

After expiry: Post-settlement volatility increased, BTC broke upward, with easing rate hikes expected to trigger a rebound toward ~$70,000.

2024-12-27 (annual expiry): Nominal value about $19.8 billion, max pain at ~$75,000.

Before expiry: Bullish peak, prices oscillated between $70,000–$80,000, call options dominated, upward pressure was weak, liquidity was thin during holidays.

After expiry: Hedging release continued the bull trend, BTC quickly broke above $80,000, year-end rally pushed prices higher.

2025-03-28 (quarterly expiry): Nominal value about $14 billion, max pain at ~$85,000.

Before expiry: Regulatory positives caused prices to oscillate around $80,000–$90,000, optimism mixed with short-term risks, gamma provided a floor.

After expiry: Volatility expanded, BTC broke above $85,000, initiating a strong rally toward $100,000.

2025-06-27 (quarterly expiry): Nominal value about $14.5 billion, max pain at ~$102,000.

Before expiry: Market sentiment mixed, large fluctuations.

After expiry: Short-term correction post-settlement, overall upward trend maintained, no extreme volatility observed.

2025-08-29 (quarterly expiry): Nominal value about $13.8–$14.5 billion, max pain at ~$116,000.

Before expiry: Holiday liquidity thin, prices oscillated around $110,000–$120,000, gamma traps intensified.

After expiry: BTC dipped briefly below max pain, then quickly recovered, volatility increased but rebounded fast, maintaining bullish trend.

2025-12-26 (today’s annual expiry): Nominal value about $23.6 billion, max pain at ~$96,000.

Before expiry: Market was thin due to Christmas holidays, gold prices rising, Bitcoin traded narrowly between $85,000–$90,000, gamma hedging strongly suppressed volatility.

After expiry: Expectation that “cage” will vanish, market volatility will significantly increase, possibly breaking above $90,000, with some analysts optimistic about approaching $100,000 or even starting a new year rally.

14. Uniswap Fee Switch Proposal UNIfication Passes with Overwhelming Support

The Uniswap protocol fee switch proposal UNIfication has been approved overwhelmingly. Voting results: approximately 125 million UNI in favor, 742 against. After a 2-day lock-up period, Uniswap Labs will burn 100 million UNI tokens and activate fee switch mechanisms for v2 and v3 on Ethereum mainnet, initiating the burning of UNI and Unichain fees.

15. Analysis: Tokyo Inflation Cooling Exceeds Expectations but Unlikely to Prevent BOJ Rate Hikes

According to Jin10 data, Tokyo’s inflation slowdown exceeded expectations, with pressures from food and energy prices easing. However, it is unlikely to stop the Bank of Japan from continuing rate hikes. The December Tokyo CPI excluding fresh food rose 2.3% YoY, slowing from 2.8% in the previous month.

This is the first slowdown since August, mainly due to easing food price increases and falling energy costs. Economists previously forecasted a slowdown to 2.5%. Overall inflation dropped from 2.7% YoY to 2.0%; core inflation excluding energy slowed to 2.6%. Tokyo’s inflation data is often a leading indicator for nationwide inflation.

Despite the slowdown, inflation remains above BOJ’s 2% target, so the central bank is likely to continue tightening policies.