Crucial Upgrade Alert Issued to XRP Ledger Validators: Details

Bitcoin analysis has mapped out key BTC price levels to watch going into the weekend, with a focus on the yearly open above $93,000.

Key takeaways:

• Key Bitcoin price levels above and below the spot price are here as BTC is about to close the week.

• The weekly close makes reclaiming $93,000 all the more important to confirm the recovery.

DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume has released its latest Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report in collaboration with Block Scholes, revealing cautiously optimistic signals in cryptocurrency markets following a volatile start to December.

The analysis examines market dynamics following December 1st's sharp selloff, triggered by hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan. Despite positive developments including Vanguard's opening of crypto ETF trading, derivatives data suggests traders remain cautious given that major cryptos are still trading well below all-time highs.

Key Highlights:

• Market Recovery Underway: BTC has recovered to a two-week high above $93,000, while ETH reclaimed the psychological $3,000 level following a sharp early-December selloff triggered by hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan. Positive catalysts including Vanguard's decision to open its platform for crypto ETF and mutual fund trading have supported the rebound.
• Subdued Downside fear: Options traders have significantly reduced their bearish positioning, with put-call skew premiums declining sharply from 10-13 percentage points at the start of the month to just 2-4 percentage points currently. This indicates traders are pricing crash protection with far less premium than just one week ago.
• Muted Leverage Activity: Open interest in perpetual futures has increased modestly during the recovery, though it remains well below pre-October 10, 2025 levels. The data suggests lower participation rates in leveraged positions, with recent selloffs showing no signs of liquidation cascades that typically characterize over-leveraged markets.
• The Fading Bear: Block Scholes' proprietary Risk Appetite Index indicates that while sentiment is shifting in a positive direction, market participants have not yet turned bullish. This cautious stance is unsurprising given that both BTC and ETH continue to trade significantly below their all-time high levels.

The report also spotlights Basic Attention Token (BAT), which has surged over 100% since 11 October to around $0.27, significantly outpacing the broader altcoin recovery. The Ethereum-based token, which powers Brave browser's privacy-focused advertising ecosystem serving over 100 million monthly users, has helped make social tokens the second-best performing sector over the past month, trailing only privacy coins.

For detailed insights, readers may download the full report.

#Bybit / #TheCryptoArk / #BybitLearn

About Bybit

Bybit is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 70 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit is redefining openness in the decentralized world by creating a simpler, open and equal ecosystem for everyone. With a strong focus on Web3, Bybit partners strategically with leading blockchain protocols to provide robust infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools, Bybit bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi, empowering builders, creators, and enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of Web3. Discover the future of decentralized finance at Bybit.com.

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JPMorgan analysts say the near-term direction of Bitcoin’s price now depends less on miner behavior and more on the financial resilience of Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, even as mining pressure and market volatility persist.

In a report led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the bank identified two forces currently weighing on Bitcoin. The first is a recent decline in Bitcoin’s network hashrate and mining difficulty.

The second is the growing market focus on Strategy’s balance sheet and its ability to avoid selling its Bitcoin holdings during the ongoing market downturn.High-Cost Bitcoin Miners Capitulate as Hashrate Slips and Margins Collapse

The decline in hashrate reflects a combination of China reiterating its ban on private mining activity and high-cost miners outside the country retreating as falling Bitcoin prices and elevated electricity costs squeeze profitability.

JPMorgan now estimates Bitcoin’s production cost at $90,000, down from $94,000 last month. The estimate assumes electricity priced at $0.05 per kilowatt hour, with every $0.01 increase adding roughly $18,000 to production costs for higher-cost miners.Source:

With Bitcoin trading near $92,000, JPMorgan said the asset continues to hover close to its estimated production cost, creating sustained selling pressure from miners.

As profits tighten, several high-cost producers have been forced to liquidate Bitcoin holdings in recent weeks to remain solvent.

Despite those pressures, JPMorgan said miners are no longer the key driver of Bitcoin’s next major move. Instead, attention has shifted to Strategy’s ability to maintain its Bitcoin position without being forced into sales.

Strategy’s enterprise-value-to-Bitcoin-holdings ratio currently stands at 1.13. That figure reflects the combined market value of its debt, preferred stock, and equity relative to the market value of its Bitcoin treasury. Source:

According to JPMorgan, the fact that the ratio remains above 1.0 is “encouraging” because it shows that Strategy is unlikely to face pressure to sell Bitcoin to meet interest or dividend obligations.

The company recently reinforced that position by creating a $1.44 billion U.S. dollar reserve through ongoing at-the-market equity sales.

The reserve is designed to cover dividend payments and interest expenses for at least 12 months, with the company targeting coverage of up to 24 months.

JPMorgan said the reserve significantly reduces the risk of forced Bitcoin sales in the foreseeable future.JPMorgan Sees $170K Bitcoin Scenario Despite Strategy’s MSCI Index Risk

Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation has slowed sharply in recent months, though it remains deeply exposed to price movements.

In November, it added 8,178 BTC in its largest purchase since July, bringing total holdings to roughly 650,000 BTC. Its basic market capitalization stands near $54 billion, with an enterprise value of about $69 billion.Source:

Markets are also watching an upcoming decision by MSCI on whether to remove Strategy and other digital-asset treasury companies from its equity indices. JPMorgan said the downside risk from exclusion is largely priced in.

Since MSCI launched its review in October, Strategy’s share price has fallen roughly 40%, underperforming Bitcoin by about $18 billion in market value.

JPMorgan estimates that an MSCI exclusion could trigger $2.8 billion in passive outflows, with as much as $8.8 billion at risk if other index providers follow suit.

Even so, the bank said further downside would likely be limited. By contrast, if MSCI keeps Strategy in major indices, JPMorgan said both Strategy and Bitcoin could rebound sharply toward pre-October levels.

Beyond corporate balance sheets, JPMorgan continues to point to broader crypto market structure for longer-term upside. The bank said perpetual futures deleveraging appears largely complete following record liquidations in October.

At the same time, Bitcoin’s volatility ratio relative to gold has improved, strengthening its risk-adjusted appeal to investors.

Based on those metrics, JPMorgan reiterated its volatility-adjusted comparison of Bitcoin to gold, which implies a theoretical Bitcoin price near $170,000 over the next six to twelve months if market conditions stabilize.

Notably, Bitcoin is currently trading about $68,000 below that level.

Network throughput and payment volume are two crucial areas where XRP continues to outperform the wider market. The XRP Ledger is still steadily operating above the $1 billion-per-day threshold in both payments and successful transactions, even though price action has moved deeper into a declining channel and threatened a retest of the $2.00 psychological zone. 

XRP's network is healthy

As a result, XRP is among the very few networks that sustain a billion-scale daily operational load, which is a crucial fundamental anchor that investors should not ignore. The on-chain data simultaneously displays two things. Payment volume spikes continue to be enormous; the most recent increase in value reached about 946 million XRP per day.  Chart by TradingView">

This keeps XRP well above the billion-range average that has been formed throughout November, even though it is less than the 2.2 billion mega-spike earlier in the month. Recent readings of successful transaction counts have exceeded 1.8 million per day, a level that has historically been associated with increased utility-driven activity rather than speculative noise. 

XRP's suppressed performance

For price, however, the chart presents an alternative picture. Every attempt to break above the 21-day EMA and midchannel resistance is thwarted, and XRP is still trapped inside a distinct declining channel. The moving averages stack bearishly at 21, 50, 100 and 200, and there is little momentum and stagnant volume. Put simply, the market is still unconvinced, 000even though the fundamentals are getting better. 

The implications of this disconnect for investors are complex. The chart remains pessimistic. When the channel's lower boundary is lost, XRP moves straight toward the $2.00-$1.90 range. When that zone is broken, it opens the door to $1.50 and ultimately $1.00. The fundamentals are still very positive. 

Sustained daily throughput of more than $1 billion in payments is not an insignificant accomplishment; it indicates scaled active ledger usage, which has historically preceded long-term recoveries. Fundamentals will not be immediately followed by price. XRP has a history of lagging market cycles and consolidating when utility metrics are rising.

EigenCloud will unlock about 36.82 million EIGEN tokens, which is 9.74% of all released coins, on January 1, 2026. This large release can add many new tokens to the market. If there are not enough buyers, the price may go down because there are more tokens to sell. Large unlocks often make traders worried about short-term price drops. However, if demand is strong or if the team has a plan to handle the unlock, the effect may be smaller. Traders should watch for higher price changes around this date. source