​​2025 Fundraising Was Higher Than 2023-2024 Combined

Even though 2025 saw far fewer deals than 2024 or early 2023, it still managed to outperform those two years combined, reaching almost $35B.

In prior years, you could often track where the market was heading by the frequency of venture deals across sectors.

Now the signal is different. There are fewer rounds in major narratives, but a smaller group of funds is writing bigger checks into category leaders.

This view is supported by examples like Kalshi and Polymarket, which lead the prediction markets narrative, raising $1B and $2B, respectively.

At the same time, attention is shifting to projects with real revenue and clear business execution, not complex tech with unclear monetization models.

With this in mind, going into 2026 the focus should stay on a smaller set of projects that lead their narratives on measurable metrics, backed by fewer but larger VC rounds.

👉 cryptorank.io/funding-analytics

​​🔓 Top 7 Token Unlocks of the Upcoming Week

The following tokens with the largest unlock amount will be unlocked next week:

Rain - $302.86M
Brevis - $110.03M
Ethena - $41.88M
Stable - $13.56M
Linea - $7.44M
Mocaverse - $6.62M
Movement - $6.21M

👉 https://cryptorank.io/token-unlock

​​📈 Market Overview

The market kept trending higher, with BTC near $95K. Sentiment nears exiting Fear for the first time since early October supported by the biggest daily BTC ETF inflows in two months.

Bitcoin: $93,204 +0.8%
Ethereum: $3,216 +1.9%

Monday ETF flows:
BTC ETFs: $697M
ETH ETFs: $168M

Major alts followed the broader market, with LIT up 14% after its TGE and SUI rebounding 17% after a long downtrend. PUMP also showed a solid recovery, up 9% on the day as attention returned to memes.

Market Cap: $3.27T
Liquidations: $417M
Fear & Greed Index: 44 (Fear)
Altcoin Index: 24/100

👉 Latest News

- Polymarket will launch prediction markets for real estate prices.
- Lighter is starting buybacks funded by protocol fee revenue.
- Ledger suffered a data leak via the Global-e payment system.

👉 Small Cap Gainers

Cross The Ages +228%
雪球 +139%
Parcl +75%
DebtReliefBot +75%
REI +61%

👉 Recent Funding Rounds

- Boings Seed round led by Honey Capital
- Cango $10.5M PIPE round backed by Enduring Wealth Capital Limited
- Haven Seed round backed by Candaq

​​Major Asset Class Performance in 2025

Gold continued the rally that began in 2023, signaling a potential macro shift in global finance. Central banks have remained active buyers, reinforcing gold’s role as a strategic reserve asset amid geopolitical and monetary uncertainty.

The U.S. stock market also delivered positive returns in 2025, driven primarily by the AI boom and policy support for domestically focused companies under the Trump administration. Strong earnings expectations and capital inflows into technology-related sectors underpinned equity market performance.

In contrast, Bitcoin and Ethereum ended 2025 in negative territory. This underperformance reflects a sharp change in market sentiment over the year: early 2025 was fueled by post-election euphoria following Trump’s presidential victory, while the latter part of the year was marked by growing uncertainty due to mixed signals both within the crypto sector and the broader macro environment.

👉 https://cryptorank.io/price/bitcoin

​​Bitget Opens TradFi Trading To All Users

Bitget has opened its TradFi trading suite to the public after a high-demand private beta that attracted over 80,000 sign-ups.

During testing, gold (XAU/USD) recorded more than $100 million in single-day trading volume. Following the beta, Bitget launched public access to 79 instruments across forex, metals, indices, and commodities, all settled in USDT and available from existing accounts.

The rollout supports Bitget’s Universal Exchange (UEX) vision, combining crypto and traditional markets within a single trading environment and reflecting the broader shift toward multi-asset platforms.

👉 https://cryptorank.io/exchanges/bitget

​​Will Memecoins Come Back This Year?

Historically, a memecoin surge in crypto has been one of the short-term indicators of strong market conditions and higher risk tolerance among market participants.

At the very start of this year, crypto began to bounce, posting solid performance after a long downtrend and depressed sentiment. The same was true in summer 2024, when meme mania began.

This time, memes again followed the broader market and started to recover after repeated lows. The CryptoRank meme tag shows about 80% of coins in the green, and total market cap is up 35% in a week.

But are they really back?

Zooming out to the broader picture, overall memecoin performance is still around the June lows, even though many more coins have launched since then.

Still, attention is now concentrated on revenue-generating projects.

Ironically, gambling-related protocols are among the leaders, so memes likely won’t disappear entirely in the near future.

So it’s safe to say we’ll see countless meme pumps this year, but they’re unlikely to turn into long-term moves.

👉 cryptorank.io/categories/meme

​​A new record for prediction markets

In December, their cumulative spot volume hit $19.1B, betting the previous ATH by ~35%.

Top 3 projects by volume last month:

🥇 Kalshi – $7B
🥈 Opinion – $6.7B
🥉 Polymarket – $5.3B

👉 https://cryptorank.io/tags/predictions

​​📉 Market Overview

The crypto market fell 0.14% in the past 24 hours, consolidating after a 7% weekly gain. Price action reflects derivatives unwinding and mixed signals from ETF flows and macro factors.

Bitcoin: $92,773 -0.52%
Ethereum: $3,254 +1.16%

Tuesday ETF flows:
BTC ETFs: -$243M
ETH ETFs: +$115M

Altcoins are lagging Bitcoin, with ASI index sitting at 27. Of notable moves, ZK fell 16%, META lost 9%, pulling back from recent ATH, while BEST rose 25%.

Market Cap: $3.27T
Liquidations: $428M
Fear & Greed Index: 42 (Fear)
Altcoin Index: 27/100

👉 Latest News

- Equity Perps markets are now live 24/5 on Lighter
- Morgan Stanley’s files applications for Bitcoin/Solana ETF
- Wallet Migration bug present in Bitcoin Core wallet 30.0 & 30.1

👉 Small Cap Gainers

ChainBounty +106.8%
雪球 +78.9%
Destra Network +50.8%
Chintai +35.6%
Mossland +27.3%

👉 Recent Funding Rounds

- xAI $20B Series E Round backed by NVIDIA, Cisco Investments, Fidelity, MGX, Qatar Investment Authority, and others
- Habittrade Series A round led by Newborn Town
- Zenchain $8.5M Funding round led by DWF Labs

​​Bitcoin in 2025: From Speculative Cycles to Macro-Driven Volatility

In 2025 Bitcoin’s price action was much more fluctuative and macro-linked than in previous cycles, marking a departure from speculative momentum toward an asset influenced by institutional flows, regulatory milestones, and broader risk sentiment.

Bitcoin climbed to new all-time highs above $126K, driven by spot ETF inflows, strategic reserve narratives, and dovish rate expectations. However, it did not sustain that peak, pulling back into the $80K–$90K range by year-end.

👉 https://cryptorank.io/price/bitcoin

25% faster pages ≠ frontend magic

ChangeNOW achieved it by fixing crypto data structure with CryptoRank API

Case study:
👉 cryptorank.io/insights/analytics/changenow_cryptorank_api

XRP is the leading token by positive mentions in 2025

The strong July run secured the top spot for Ripple’s token, pushing it ahead of BTC, with SEI following.

On the negative side, MELANIA, BELIEVE, and KDA were anti-leaders due to poor performance and shutdowns.

👉 https://cryptorank.io/performance

2025 Crypto Recap: From Niche to Institutional

In 2025, crypto became more macro-driven and institutional than ever. From ETFs and RWAs to prediction markets and on-chain perps, this recap explains the shifts shaping crypto into 2026.

Read the full analysis:
👉 cryptorank.io/insights/reports/crypto-playbook-2025

📉 Market Overview

The market fell 2.6% over the last 24 hours, as Bitcoin recorded its largest daily ETF outflows since November at $486M. Crypto is now moving sideways, with rotation between majors and no clear new catalyst in sight.

Bitcoin: $90,215 -2.64%
Ethereum: $3,119 -4.08%

Wednesday ETF flows:
BTC ETFs: -$486M
ETH ETFs: -$98M

META token lost another 20%, while last year’s top performer, ZEC, is down 20% since the start of the year.

Market Cap: $3.17T
Liquidations: $440M
Fear & Greed Index: 28 (Fear)
Altcoin Index: 45/100

👉 Latest Research

- CryptoRank 2025 recap: Market Analysis
- CryptoRank 2025 Recap: Milestones and Events
- AI is becoming the energy threat

👉 Small Cap Gainers

World of Dypians +97.6%
Frax Finance +63.2%
zkPass +45%
Torch of Liberty +31.6%
United States Crypto Reserve +28.2%

👉 Recent Funding Rounds

- Ubyx Strategic round backed by Barclays
- Babylon $15M Funding round backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto)
- Tres finance $130M M&A round backed by Fireblocks

​​How 2025 Shaped Ethereum Price

2025 was a pivotal year for Ethereum, shaped by both internal developments and broader macro events. The network saw two major protocol upgrades, alongside legislative initiatives that influenced the wider crypto landscape, where Ethereum remains the core infrastructure for DeFi.

In the short term, Ethereum’s price movements were largely driven by macroeconomic and regulatory factors. Technical upgrades primarily play a long-term role, strengthening Ethereum’s scalability, resilience, and the overall maturity of its ecosystem.

👉 https://cryptorank.io/price/ethereum

Stablecoins Grew Up in 2025, Risk Did Too

Stablecoins became core financial infrastructure in 2025, but stress events revealed how much hidden risk sat behind “safe” yield. This piece breaks down what changed, what broke, and how top projects are redesigning yield with transparency and risk isolation.

👉 https://cryptorank.io/insights/analytics/stablecoins-grew-up-in-2025-risk-did-too

​​Perp volumes more than tripled in 2025

The sector shifted from a near-monopolistic setup dominated by Hyperliquid into a highly competitive field.

Mainly driven by liquidity rotation from memecoins, perps volume hit an ATH of $1.8T in October, retracing to $864M at the EOY.

Now, Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid is the leading trio with quite similar volumes. Meanwhile, past leaders, like Jupiter, dYdX, and GMX are currently behind in this race.

What's your main bet in the perps sector for 2026?

https://cryptorank.io/tags/derivatives

📈Market Overview

After a solid bounce earlier this week, the market turned choppy as sentiment slid back into Fear. Selling pressure came from faster BTC/ETH ETF outflows and renewed geopolitical risk.

Bitcoin: $90,913 +1%
Ethereum: $3,114 +0.1%

Thursday ETF flows:
BTC ETFs: -$400M
ETH ETFs: -$159M

The Altcoin Index jumped to a three-month high of 40 amid a rally in Chinese memecoins. Among major alts, the top gainers were POL (+17%), JASMY (+8%), and SYRUP (+5%).

Market Cap: $3.19T
Liquidations: $236M
Fear & Greed Index: 27 (Fear)
Altcoin Index: 40/100

👉 Latest Research

- CryptoRank 2025 recap: Market Analysis
- CryptoRank 2025 Recap: Milestones and Events
- AI is becoming the energy threat

👉 Small Cap Gainers

我踏马来了 +498%
Oort +63%
Yei Finance +40%
World Mobile Token +34%
LimeWire +31%

👉 Recent Funding Rounds

- Blackopal $200M Debt Financing round backed by MARS Capital Advisors
- Ubyx Strategic round backed by Barclays
- Babylon $15M Funding round backed by Andreessen Horowitz

​​Almost $2B in Stables Moved out of Core Chains in 24H

Amid market uncertainty and geopolitical risk, market participants are reallocating into lower-risk yield protocols on Ethereum, Arbitrum, or into CEX pools.

Overall DeFi inflows reached about $1.6M in a week, far outperforming any other sector.

Notably, Solana lost $1.3B in this rotation, with roughly 9% of its USDC supply burned in a day.

Read Our Recent Stablecoin Research👇
cryptorank.io/insights/analytics/stablecoins

BNB Chain Dethroned Tron by Stablecoin Active Addresses in 2025

Tron lost the leadership for the 1st time since 2021.

Monthly stablecoin addresses (Dec 2024 -> Dec 2025):

1. BNB Chain 7.8M -> 12.6M
2. Tron 8.5M -> 11.2M
3. Polygon 3.6M -> 5.1M
4. Ethereum 3.4M -> 5M
5. Solana 1.8M -> 3.4M

👉 https://cryptorank.io/blockchains

​​Why didn’t altseason come?

Many expected an altseason last year, but it never came. While some large-cap tokens did reach new ATHs (BNB, SOL, HYPE), most of them are now down 40–50%.

Let’s break down the reasons.

Reason 1 – Capital dilution

New narratives constantly replace old ones, and previous “runners” quickly become irrelevant. Every year, millions of new tokens enter the market, diluting attention and liquidity. A year ago, crypto aggregators tracked around 5.8M tokens; today, that number has grown to 29.2 million.

In this environment, even newly launched tokens struggle to hold their price. According to the research, only 15% of alts launched in 2025 are trading above their TGE price.

Reason 2 – Low float, high FDV launches

In 2025, launches of low-float, high-FDV tokens continued. There were fewer of them, but they still held back a broad altseason. With this launch structure, most of the upside goes to early and private investors, while secondary market buyers often end up as exit liquidity.

A small circulating supply at launch inflates valuations on thin liquidity, and later unlocks create constant sell pressure. VC sell pressure can be tracked using a dedicated dashboard on CryptoRank website.

Reason 3 – Competition with other instruments

A few years ago, altcoins were one of the few ways to grow capital quickly. Today, they are seen more as mid- to long-term investments and have to compete for liquidity with other instruments and sectors.

Early last year, a large share of retail capital moved out of altcoins, especially VC-backed tokens with high FDVs, and flowed into memecoins.

After a series of failures and scams, that liquidity left memecoins as well, but it did not return to altcoins, weakening the market further. While meme trading slowed, other sectors gained traction, most notably perps and prediction markets.

Their growing metrics show retail’s appetite for higher-risk instruments that offer faster returns when conditions are favorable. With this, altcoins are forced to fight hard for user attention and capital.

Can institutions help altcoins grow?

Yes, but only few of them. In 2025, institutional capital focused on targeted exposure to large, resilient assets. ETH, SOL, and XRP saw solid ETF inflows, while the emergence of DATs expanded regulated access to crypto assets.

ETF inflows supported the market from summer through October, but once outflows began, the trend reversed. In November, BTC ETFs saw $3.5B in net outflows, followed by another $1.1B in December.

Without renewed inflows of large capital, a recovery in altcoins and the broader market remains difficult.

Do you expect an altseason this year?