Cryptocurrency markets continued to consolidate this week after last week’s rebound. Bitcoin stayed above the $90,000 mark while investor sentiment remained cautious, with the CoinMarketCap Fear & Greed index inching up from 20 to 25.
Traders are focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this Wednesday for clues on policy heading into 2026. The CME FedWatch tool now puts the odds of a 25 basis point cut at about 87%, up from roughly 62% a month ago.
Ethereum treasury activity slows, large buyers step in
Monthly purchases by Ethereum digital asset treasuries (DATs) have fallen roughly 81% over the past three months, sliding from about 1.97 million ETH in August to roughly 370,000 ETH in November, according to Bitwise. Bitwise senior research associate Max Shennon characterized the pattern as an ETH DAT bear trend.
Still, a handful of big corporate and institutional players are continuing to accumulate. BitMine Immersion Technologies has become the largest corporate Ether holder after buying about 679,000 ETH, roughly $2.13 billion, over the past month. That acquisition represents about 62% of its stated goal to hold 5% of ETH supply, per StrategicEthReserve data. BitMine also reportedly holds about $882 million in cash, indicating potential for further purchases.
Citadel pushes SEC to tighten rules on tokenized stocks
Market maker Citadel Securities urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to apply stricter oversight to decentralized finance platforms that enable trading of tokenized U.S. equities. In a letter to the SEC, Citadel argued that DeFi developers, smart contract contributors, and self-custody wallet providers should not receive broad exemptive relief when facilitating tokenized-share trading, saying such activity likely meets definitions of exchanges or broker-dealers under securities laws. The proposal drew criticism from segments of the crypto community and innovation advocates.
Arthur Hayes warns Monad may be a high-risk VC-driven token
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes cautioned that Monad, a new layer-1 blockchain, could plunge as much as 99%, labeling it a high fully diluted valuation, low-float VC coin. Hayes told Altcoin Daily that large gaps between fully diluted valuation and circulating supply can fuel early pumps followed by steep selloffs as insider tokens unlock. Monad raised about $225 million from Paradigm and launched with an airdrop of its MON token, which has risen roughly 40% since launch.
Crypto lending market expands, led by more transparent firms
Galaxy Research reports the aggregate crypto loan book reached nearly $25 billion outstanding in Q3, up more than 200% since early 2024 and the largest level since Q1 2022, though still below the $37 billion peak. Galaxy says the market is increasingly dominated by more transparent players such as Tether, Nexo, and Galaxy, marking a shift away from the less transparent lenders of past cycles.
Portal to Bitcoin raises funds and launches atomic OTC desk
Bitcoin-native interoperability protocol Portal to Bitcoin raised $25 million in a round led by JTSA Global and unveiled an Atomic OTC desk aimed at instant, trustless cross-chain settlement for large block trades. The firm positions its technology as enabling Bitcoin to serve as a settlement layer for global assets without bridges, custodians, or wrapped tokens.
DeFi market snapshot
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies ended the week lower. Canton (CC) posted the biggest weekly drop among the top 100, down about 18%, followed by Starknet (STRK), down roughly 16%. Total value locked in DeFi continues to be tracked by providers like DefiLlama as the sector evolves.
Thanks for reading this week’s DeFi and crypto update. Check back next Friday for more developments and analysis.