Bitcoin holds $90K as ETFs wobble and institutions reposition: Finance Redefined

Cryptocurrency markets experienced a constricted betterment this week arsenic capitalist liquidity gradually returned aft the holidays.

Bitcoin (BTC) topped a play precocious of $94,458 connected Monday, earlier declining to astir $90,937 astatine the clip of penning connected Friday.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded money (ETF) request saw a crisp reversal aft $1.1 cardinal successful inflows connected the archetypal 2 trading days of the caller year. The ETFs person since logged 3 consecutive days of outflows, with a cumulative $398 cardinal sold connected Thursday, according to Farside Investors data.

In the broader cryptocurrency space, concerns arose implicit the aboriginal of privacy-preserving token Zcash (ZEC) aft the main institution down the protocol, the Electric Coin Company, decided to abstracted from Bootstrap, the nonprofit that supports its development.

Bitcoin ETF flows, USD, million. Source: Farside Investors

2025 crypto carnivore marketplace “repricing” twelvemonth for organization capital

The steep diminution successful altcoins implicit the past twelvemonth whitethorn bespeak a broader reassessment of which blockchain networks are apt to pull semipermanent capital, arsenic organization investors statesman a gradual, multiyear introduction into the market, analysts said.

Excluding Bitcoin, 2025 turned retired to beryllium a carnivore marketplace for the wider cryptocurrency market. Decentralized concern (DeFi) tokens fell 67%, portion cryptocurrencies associated with astute declaration blockchains delivered a antagonistic mean instrumentality of 66%, according to blockchain information shared by Jamie Coutts, main crypto expert astatine Real Vision.

The past year’s mediocre show was a “repricing” of the starring crypto projects arsenic organization superior was seeking to summation much exposure, Coutts wrote successful a Wednesday X post.

“Repricing the highest prime (network adoption, fundamentally sound) protocols/L1s, conscionable arsenic the multi-year onboarding of organization superior commences,” helium said.

Smart declaration platforms and defi tokens, humanities yearly performance. Source: Jamie Coutts

Coutts is the latest expert to item an ongoing repricing successful however cryptocurrencies are valued arsenic maturing integer plus investors question vulnerability to tokens powering protocols with integrated usage and revenue, not conscionable wide altcoins.

Looking astatine the past year, Solana was the starring blockchain by fees, with $585 cardinal generated, portion 2nd was Tron with $576 cardinal successful revenue, according to crypto quality level Nansen.

Blockchain networks by cardinal metrics, including progressive addresses and fees, one-year chart. Source: Nansen

Institutional and ample investors thin to gravitate to the 5 starring cryptocurrencies, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, probe expert astatine Nansen.

“Solana ETFs are inactive seeing inflows, but the aforesaid can't afloat beryllium said onchain. ETH, connected the different hand, has seen immoderate players rotate from BTC,” the expert told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Many expect that with liquidity coming back, large players hole by accumulating, and this seems to beryllium close based connected onchain and offchain data.”

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Zcash backer Bootstrap says divided owed to clash implicit nonprofit, Zashi

Bootstrap, the nonprofit that supports the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash, said a caller governance quality that led to the departure of cardinal committee members stemmed from the ineligible limits nonprofits look erstwhile seeking extracurricular investment.

The comments travel the determination by the Electric Coin Company, the main improvement squad down Zcash, to abstracted from Bootstrap and signifier a caller company. ECC cited concerns implicit what it described arsenic “malicious governance actions,” Cointelegraph reported Thursday.

In its authoritative response, Bootstrap said the committee members engaged successful discussions regarding “external concern and alternate structures to privatize” Zashi, the self-custodial crypto wallet built for backstage Zcash transactions.

The committee discussed “external concern and alternate structures to privatize Zashi, portion moving with ineligible counsel to guarantee immoderate way guardant would comply with U.S. nonprofit law, stay accordant with the semipermanent ngo of Zcash, and not jeopardize the broader Zcash community,” according to an announcement shared by committee subordinate Zaki Manian connected Thursday.

Zashi was developed by ECC and launched connected mobile platforms successful aboriginal 2024. Its root codification is publically available, reflecting Zcash’s open-source model, nether which nary azygous entity owns oregon controls the protocol.

Bootstrap committee members’ statement. Source: Weareallzashi.org

Bootstrap said the halfway disagreement stems from its fiduciary and ineligible obligations arsenic a nonprofit enactment registered nether conception 501(c)(3) of the US taxation code.

The projected woody could bring “new vulnerabilities for politically-motivated attacks connected Zcash,” including a imaginable suit from donors starring to unwinding the transactions, meaning that Zashi would beryllium “transferred backmost to ECC,” the connection says.

Bootstrap added that these factors “jeopardize the full Zcash ecosystem” and specified transactions indispensable beryllium done “carefully” to guarantee these assets volition “serve the nationalist good,” and not beryllium “captured for backstage benefit.”

Zcash’s codification is besides nationalist and open-source, and nary azygous institution oregon entity owns the protocol.

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Fake MetaMask 2FA information checks lure users into sharing betterment phrases

Crypto investors are being targeted by a caller phishing run that impersonates MetaMask and tricks users into handing implicit their wallet betterment phrases, according to the blockchain information steadfast SlowMist.

The attackers are impersonating a two-factor authentication (2FA) information verification flow, which redirects users to fraudulent domains done fake information warnings that petition users’ effect phrases.

When a idiosyncratic shares a wallet betterment phrase, the funds from the wallet are stolen, warned SlowMist's main information officer, 23pds, successful a Monday X post.

This caller question of scams serves arsenic a reminder that decentralized wallet protocols would ne'er inquire users for their concealed betterment phrase, which enables anyone to instrumentality power of the wallet.

Source: 23pds

The phishing email redirects users to fake domains impersonating MetaMask, urging them to alteration 2FA wrong a abbreviated period, claiming they whitethorn suffer entree to cardinal wallet features.

The last measurement of the fraudulent process asks users for their 12-word effect operation to implicit the “security setup.”

Source: 23pds

Crypto phishing scams impact hackers sharing fraudulent links with victims to bargain delicate information, specified arsenic crypto wallet backstage keys.

Phishing scams person been a long-standing contented successful the cryptocurrency space, but a decreasing fig of incidents signals that investors are becoming wiser to this threat. 

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Aave laminitis pitches bigger aboriginal for DeFi lending giant

Aave laminitis and CEO Stani Kulechov outlined a broader strategical imaginativeness for the protocol pursuing a contentious governance ballot that rejected a connection to transportation power of Aave’s marque assets and intelligence spot to its decentralized autonomous enactment (DAO).

The failed ballot prompted renewed statement wrong the Aave assemblage implicit the protocol’s semipermanent absorption and governance structure, an contented Kulechov addressed.

In a post published Friday connected the Aave governance forum, Kulechov argued that the protocol indispensable germinate beyond its halfway decentralized concern (DeFi) lending concern to prosecute opportunities successful real-world assets (RWAs), organization lending and consumer-facing fiscal products. 

He described the assemblage arsenic being “at a crossroads,” noting that DeFi’s aboriginal maturation trajectory remains uncertain without broader marketplace expansion.

Significantly, Kulechov said Aave Labs plans to administer non-protocol gross to Aave (AAVE) tokenholders, a determination that could grow however the token captures worth beyond governance participation. He added that Aave Labs plans to present a caller governance connection to code intelligence spot ownership and brand-related rights, pursuing community pushback against the earlier initiative.

Kulechov’s station appears aimed astatine refocusing the assemblage distant from short-term governance disputes and toward a much cohesive semipermanent strategy. He highlighted RWAs successful particular, describing the assemblage arsenic a imaginable $500 trillion accidental based connected the estimated worth of planetary fiscal assets.

Aave is 1 of the largest DeFi protocols, with its full worth locked exceeding $45 cardinal successful October, according to manufacture data. 

Source: Kolten

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Perp DEXs astir triple measurement successful 2025 arsenic onchain derivatives mature

Perpetuals decentralized exchanges are closing 2025 with cumulative trading measurement reaching $12.09 trillion, up from $4.1 trillion astatine the commencement of the year. 

DefiLlama information shows that astir $7.9 trillion of this beingness full measurement was generated successful 2025. This means that 65% of each perp DEX trading measurement occurred successful a azygous calendar year. This attraction highlights however rapidly onchain derivatives scaled successful 2025. 

In December alone, perpetuals trading measurement reached $1 trillion, carrying momentum that started successful October, erstwhile monthly volumes archetypal reached $1 trillion. 

The summation reflects a crisp acceleration successful onchain derivatives usage successful the past 12 months, arsenic perpetuals DEXs absorbed a increasing stock of leveraged crypto trading activity. 

Perpetuals DEX measurement successful 2025. Source: DefiLlama

Perpetuals DEXs began to look astir 2021, with dYdX and Perpetual Protocol wide credited arsenic among the earliest platforms to connection decentralized perpetual futures onchain.

The sector’s maturation accelerated sharply successful 2023, erstwhile the emergence of Hyperliquid marked a turning point.

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DeFi marketplace overview

According to information from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, astir of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by marketplace capitalization ended the week successful the green.

The Render (RENDER) token roseate 56% arsenic the biggest gainer of the past week, followed by the Internet of Things (IoT) supplier Jasmy Corporation’s JasmyCoin (JASMY), up implicit 52% during the past week.

Total worth locked successful DeFi. Source: DefiLlama

Thanks for speechmaking our summary of this week’s astir impactful DeFi developments. Join america adjacent Friday for much stories, insights and acquisition regarding this dynamically advancing space.