Crypto regulation in 2026: SEC’s ambitious agenda meets a more empowered CFTC

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has reignited debate around blockchain infrastructure after commenting on recent moves by traditional finance firms into tokenization. Responding to news around the Canton Network, Hoskinson said legacy finance is trying to recreate systems that XRP and Cardano-linked projects are already building, but at a much smaller scale.

Hoskinson argued that platforms like XRP and Midnight are designed from the ground up for Web3, while traditional institutions are only beginning to experiment. When asked what scale he was referring to, he pointed directly to the real-world asset market, saying the goal is a $10 trillion opportunity. 

According to Hoskinson, success in this space requires full end-to-end systems, strong partnerships, and active communities. “You can’t fake Cardano or the XRP community,” he added.

Why the timing matters

Hoskinson’s comments came just as Canton Coin jumped roughly 20% over the past week, clearly outperforming a mostly flat or weaker crypto market. Canton Coin’s rally stood out because it was driven by institutional infrastructure news rather than broad market momentum.

The move followed a December 17 announcement from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC, which revealed plans to explore tokenizing a portion of U.S. Treasury securities on the Canton Network. DTCC plays a central role in global finance, processing trillions of dollars in securities transactions every year. 

Why DTCC’s move is important

DTCC said the initial focus would be U.S. Treasury securities held through its Depository Trust Company unit. Rather than replacing existing systems, the goal is to see how tokenization can work within current market structures. DTCC’s leadership described the effort as a long-term roadmap that could eventually expand to many other regulated assets.

The total value of tokenized RWAs has grown sharply over the past 12 months, with U.S. Treasurys account for a large share of that expansion.

On one side are legacy financial players adapting blockchain to existing systems. On the other are networks like XRP and Cardano, which he argues were built from the start to handle global-scale tokenization. As institutions push deeper into real-world assets, the race may come down not just to products, but to who controls the infrastructure behind them.

XRP Ledger is showing a notable post-holiday signal that investors should not ignore. Active user count on the network recently peaked near 191,000, with current levels stabilizing around 170,000 and slowly creeping higher. This kind of activity expansion is not random noise — it reflects a measurable increase in on-chain participation at a time when the price remains compressed.

XRP's divergence

From a network perspective, rising active addresses usually precede volatility. Historically, sustained growth in user activity tends to either confirm an ongoing trend or front-run a reversal. In XRP’s case, price action is still locked in a broader corrective structure, but the divergence between user growth and muted price response is worth attention.

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On the price chart, XRP continues to trade below its major moving averages, with the 200-day average acting as a firm overhead resistance zone. The asset remains inside a descending channel, suggesting that bearish pressure has not fully dissipated. However, momentum indicators are stabilizing. RSI remains below overbought territory and is hovering in a neutral-to-weak range, which reduces the probability of immediate downside continuation driven by exhaustion selling.

Key levels matter here. On the downside, the $1.85-$1.90 region is critical support. This area has absorbed multiple sell-offs and is increasingly behaving like a short-term demand zone. A decisive break below it would invalidate most bullish recovery scenarios. On the upside, the first meaningful resistance sits near $2.10-$2.20, followed by a more structurally important level around $2.30-$2.40, where moving averages and previous breakdown zones converge.

XRP's important setup

What makes the current setup interesting is the mismatch between fundamentals and price. Exchange reserves are declining, open interest has cooled and funding rates are elevated but not extreme — conditions that reduce forced selling pressure. Combined with rising active users, this suggests positioning is cautious rather than euphoric.

Network activity alone does not move markets without liquidity follow-through. However, if user counts continue trending upward while price holds above key support, XRP could be building the base for a medium-term recovery rather than another leg down.

For now, XRP sits in a wait-and-see phase. Investors should track active addresses, exchange flows and whether price can reclaim the $2.20 zone with volume. If that happens, the post-Christmas surge narrative may turn into something more structural.

Crypto analyst Skipper has drawn attention to a significant development for XRP, even as it continues to trade below the psychological $2 level. Based on this development, the selling pressure could be easing for the altcoin, while ETFs continue to contribute to buying pressure as they maintain their inflow streak. 

Analyst Reveals XRP’s Stochastic RSI Has Hit 0.0

In an X post, Skipper revealed that XRP’s stochastic RSI has hit 0.0 for only the second time ever. This came as he noted that the altcoin has had a rough run, as it is down 35% in this quarter, 10% this year, marking its first yearly loss since 2022. The analyst added that XRP is also below the key $2 level. 

However, Skipper suggested that analyst Steph’s discovery about XRP’s Stoch RSI hitting 0.0 on the 3-week chart provides some optimism. He noted that this has only happened once before, which was in 2020, right before the altcoin bottomed at $0.28 during the Terra LUNA crash. 

Skipper also pointed to Steph’s statement that this could mean selling pressure is almost gone for XRP, though a quick bounce may not occur. The altcoin notably stayed flat for months in 2022 before it recovered. The analyst also mentioned that the drop in the stoch RSI marks cycle lows, not short-term trades. 

 While the selling pressure looks to be cooling, XRP continues to see significant buying pressure from the XRP ETFs, which marks a positive for the altcoin. SoSo Value data shows that these funds have recorded daily net inflows since they launched. As a result, they hold net assets of $1.25 billion, which is almost 1% of XRP’s market cap. 

XRP Supercycle To Happen Next Year

Self-acclaimed largest IQ holder YoungHoon Kim stated in an X post that the XRP supercycle will happen next year. Kim had earlier predicted that the altcoin could reach $10 or higher next year, which would mark new all-time highs (ATHs). This looks to be based on his belief that “all crypto will eventually connect with XRP.”

In the meantime, crypto analyst Crypto King has stated that patience is key as XRP looks to reclaim key levels. The analyst noted that the price is holding just above the $1.85 critical support and that a strong bounce and a reclaim of $1.98 would signal a momentum shift. He added that if that price level breaks, the first upside target is the first resistance at $2.58. Meanwhile, there is also room for the altcoin to rally to as high as $3.66 next. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.86, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Following a pause on Christmas Day, Blackrock resumed selling, with Bitcoin and Ethereum being moved to Coinbase, according to on-chain sources.

According to Onchain Lens, BlackRock deposited 1,044 BTC worth $91.9 million and 7,557 ETH worth $22.41 million into Coinbase and might deposit further.

On Dec. 24, BlackRock deposited 2,292 BTC worth $199.8 million and 9,976 ETH worth $29.23 million to Coinbase Prime, Lookonchain reported.

Blackrock has often moved significant amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum to major crypto exchange Coinbase in recent months.

Although no official statements have been made by BlackRock, the shift of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase on a regular basis has often piqued the attention of the crypto market.

Bitcoin quietly setting up a multiweek move?

Bitcoin is headed for the fourth annual decline in its history, and the first one that did not coincide with a major scandal or industry meltdown. Bitcoin is now about 7% lower for the year. It was trading at about $88,692 at press time.

According to 10x Research, Bitcoin has spent several weeks now trading sideways, frustrating both bulls and bears, yet the forces shaping the next move seem to be quietly shifting beneath the surface.

10x Research highlighted a rare alignment between options positioning, with volatility shrinking as technical exhaustion begins to emerge, one which remains crucial at this point.

While capital flows seem lacking, opportunities have not yet disappeared, but just waiting for the right timing.

Amid year-end positioning, several overlooked signals are converging unusually, indicating that the market may be far closer to an inflection point than price action alone suggests.

Solana is currently eyeing the $140 milestone, as hinted by some key metrics. Specifically, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) shows an upward curve, indicating a possible Solana price reversal.

Can Solana hit $140 soon?

According to CoinMarketCap data, Solana is currently priced around $124, up 1.9% over the past 24 hours. Additionally, the trading volume increased by over 93.8% to $3.53 billion, as investors continued to accumulate the coin.

Further analysis of the price chart showed SOL holding the $118-120 support zone. This is a key psychological and historical level that buyers have defended in past corrections. 

Thus, if this level holds, it could trigger a short-term bullish correction, as sellers exhaust and the RSI avoids falling below 30.

Currently, the RSI is at 41.82, neutral-bearish territory. It suggests sellers have reduced selling pressure, but buyers have not fully stepped in yet. This could lead to a bounce if momentum shifts, as RSI often leads price reversals on trending markets.

Additionally, SOL has stabilized near $120 support levels, hinting at exhaustion, as volume spiked to new highs on recent lows.

For Solana to reach $140 from the current $124 level, it would require a price increase of approximately 13%. This is a modest rebound, given that SOL has an all-time high price of $295.

Solana ecosystem developments to watch 

Solana continues to attract DeFi and NFT projects due to its high-speed, low-cost network. 

A major upcoming catalyst that could trigger a future price rally is the upcoming integration between Solana and Cardano.

Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson and Solana Founder Anatoly Yakovenko have agreed to establish a cross-chain bridge between the two networks.

The bridge would allow Solana to get access to ADA holders' liquidity. At the same time, it would also increase the utility of ADA, allowing it to be used outside its own ecosystem.

Another factor to note is a potential holiday bullish rally into the Bitcoin market. Top cryptocurrencies, including Solana, often move with Bitcoin, which is up 1.3% today.

Hence, post-holiday liquidity could help lift sentiment for SOL, especially if institutions continue to increase their stake.

Notably, the Solana ETF has seen massive adoption since launching in late October.

Bitcoin just got the kind of chart setup that makes even confident dip-buyers check their leverage twice today. On the weekly chart, the price is around $88,690 and the market participants are better to stare at a death-cross setup with about two days left in the current candle.

This is less about drama and more about execution. The price of Bitcoin is sitting below two weekly moving averages - the 23-week and 50-week - shown on TradingView, near $101,870 and $106,528, so every bounce is running into sellers who missed the exit. 

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The shorter average is rolling over toward the longer one, and if it drops underneath it, the death cross gets confirmed, which is why there is sudden talk about downside scenarios again. 

From this point of view, there are really just two scenarios for cryptocurrency right now. 

Are these the only price scenarios for Bitcoin as of now?

If Bitcoin can climb back into the $101,870 to $106,528 band and hold it on a weekly close, the whole death-cross storyline loses oxygen and $107,155 becomes the next level to clear. 

If not, attention stays on $80,600 as the first real support, with $74,111 as the follow-up stop if sellers keep pressing. A weekly break under $80,600 would turn the debate from “dip” to risk management because the next highlighted level is the red $67,026 zone, where the 200-week moving average is currently stretching.

From $88,690, a 25% drop lands right around $67,000 - a meme number that can quickly become a reality. Bitcoin is not "cursed" with a death cross yet, but the chart is asking buyers to prove it, and the next few weekly closes decide whether this is a pause or the start of another leg down.