Solana Falls 39%: Officially Worst Quarter of 2025

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase is considering offering cryptocurrency trading to its institutional clients, marking a significant expansion for a traditional financial institution expanding its digital asset services.

According to a Monday Bloomberg report citing a person familiar with the plans, JPMorgan Chase is assessing products and services in its markets division as part of a potential expansion into cryptocurrencies. The company’s plans were not public at the time of publication, but could include digital asset spot and derivatives trading.

The crypto trading services are in the early stages of development, in response to interest from the company’s clients amid the changing regulatory environment in the United States. The government under US President Donald Trump has enacted several policies favoring the crypto industry since January, including signing a stablecoin payments bill, the GENIUS Act, into law.

Despite the reported move deepening its ties to the digital asset industry, JPMorgan faced criticism from Strike CEO Jack Mallers, who in November claimed the company closed his accounts without explanation. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a December interview that the company does not debank customers based on religious or political affiliations.

If confirmed, the institutional client offering would represent a significant about-face on Dimon’s view on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin , which he said was only for “criminals, drug traffickers, money laundering, tax avoidance” in a 2023 hearing. He said in a July interview that he was a “believer in stablecoins” and saw the benefits of blockchain technology.

US bank not the only game in town on crypto offerings

French bank BPCE is also preparing to launch crypto trading for its retail customers. The move would make the financial institution one of the few banks based in the European Union to offer digital asset services.

BNY Mellon, another global banking giant, said in November that it had launched a money market fund to hold reserves for US stablecoin issuers. The move was in response to regulations under the GENIUS Act, requiring reserves for stablecoin issuers.

has disclosed that it now controls 3.37% of the total Ethereum token supply, marking a major milestone in its stated ambition to acquire 5% of all ETH—a target it refers to as the “Alchemy of 5%.”

The update was released on Monday as part of a broader announcement detailing the company’s rapidly expanding crypto treasury and capital market footprint.

As of December 21, Bitmine reports holdings of 4,066,062 ETH valued at approximately $2,991 per token, alongside 193 Bitcoin and $1.0 billion in cash. Including a $32 million equity stake in Eightco Holdings and other crypto assets classified as “moonshots,” the company’s total crypto, cash, and opportunistic holdings reached $13.2 billion.

Tom Lee()'s bought another 98,852 ($302M) last week and currently holds 4,066,062 ($12.42B). — Lookonchain (@lookonchain)

Ethereum’s circulating supply currently stands at roughly 120.7 million tokens, making Bitmine the world’s largest ETH treasury holder.Treasury Growth, Institutional Backing, and Market Liquidity

Bitmine’s ETH accumulation has accelerated sharply in recent months. According to the company, it added 98,852 ETH in the past week alone, pushing total holdings beyond the 4 million ETH threshold just 5.5 months after initiating its strategy.

Fundstrat Chairman Tom Lee said the pace of accumulation reflects Bitmine’s role as a bridge between traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure, particularly as tokenization and decentralized finance gain institutional traction.

The company reports that it leads crypto treasury peers both in the velocity of increasing crypto net asset value (NAV) per share and in the trading liquidity of its equity.

BMNR stock is now the 66th most traded stock in the United States, with an average daily trading volume of $1.7 billion over the past five days, ranking just behind Wells Fargo and ahead of Chevron among more than 5,700 listed U.S. equities.

Bitmine remains backed by a prominent group of institutional and strategic investors, including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Kraken, Bill Miller III, MOZAYYX, and personal investor Thomas “Tom” Lee.Upcoming Shareholder Meeting

Bitmine ranks as the number one Ethereum treasury globally and the second-largest crypto treasury overall, behind Strategy Inc., which holds more than 671,000 Bitcoin.

Beyond accumulation, Bitmine is advancing its “Made in America Validator Network” (MAVAN), a secure staking infrastructure platform expected to launch in early 2026.

The company will hold its annual stockholders meeting at the Wynn Las Vegas on January 15, 2026, inviting shareholders to attend in person as it outlines the next phase of its ETH-centric strategy amid what it describes as a transformational regulatory moment for U.S. financial markets.

Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.

Grab a coffee, because after weeks of consolidation, the pioneer crypto has reclaimed $90,000. Technical breakouts, looming options expiries, and ETF positioning are combining to set the stage for a potentially volatile yet bullish end-of-year run for Bitcoin price.

Crypto News of the Day: Bitcoin Breaks $90,000 Amid Technical Momentum and Year-End Market Dynamics

Bitcoin has climbed back above the $90,000 mark, reviving bullish momentum across the crypto market as technical breakouts, derivatives positioning, and ETF-related incentives align during thin year-end liquidity.

The move places Bitcoin at a critical crossroads, with analysts divided between expectations of near-term volatility and a broader push toward six-figure prices.

From a technical perspective, momentum appears to be turning decisively bullish, with the Bitcoin price establishing a key chart development on the daily timeframe. On the daily chart, Bitcoin is pushing out of a descending triangle that is morphing into a descending wedge. This is happening as momentum builds above the $90,000 level.

In technical analysis, descending triangle breakouts to the upside are often viewed as continuation signals, suggesting Bitcoin’s a budding recovery rally.

On-chain valuation metrics also indicate room for further upside, with Bitcoin’s realized price, an indicator reflecting the average price at which BTC was last transacted, sitting well below current market levels.

Historically, Bitcoin has encountered resistance near the mid-band and cycle peaks closer to the upper band. This suggests that while BTC is trading above fair value, it is still far from the levels typically associated with cycle tops.

However, short-term volatility risks are building, with a significant derivatives catalyst ahead. On Friday, 50% of Deribit’s open interest will expire, comprising approximately $24 billion in Bitcoin options and other contracts.

According to Nic Pucrin, CEO and co-founder of Coin Bureau, option traders may attempt to pin prices around Bitcoin’s max pain level of $96,000 to maximize losses for option holders. Such a dynamic could amplify price swings during low-liquidity Christmas trading hours.

Institutional positioning via spot Bitcoin ETFs is also shaping market psychology. According to Glassnode data, ETF flows are creating strong incentives for a year-end rally, with the average price of ETF buyers being around $83,000.

Against this backdrop, analyst Ran Neuner says Bitcoin could close the year very close to, if not above $100,000.

At the same time, liquidity dynamics suggest a key battle zone ahead, with Bitcoinliquidity building up around the $90,800 threshold. According to analyst Lennaert Snyder, a rejection from this area could trigger short opportunities unless Bitcoin can reclaim resistance near $94,000.

Looking beyond the immediate noise, analyst Michael van de Poppe framed the move as part of a larger cycle shift.

Whether altcoins outperform Bitcoin next, he added, could determine how this rally evolves in the weeks ahead.

Chart of the Day

Byte-Sized Alpha

Here’s a summary of more US crypto news to follow today:

• Ethereum hit harder than Bitcoin as $952 million exits crypto funds—Here’s why.
• What awaits Bitcoin in 2026? These old economic models may hold the answer.
• Why analysts believe altcoins are in the final stage of the bear market.
• Galaxy Digital issues 2027 Bitcoin forecast as 2026 outlook remains unclear.
• AAVE price slides 10% as DAO governance dispute triggers sell-off.
• Hyperliquid denies insider trading allegations as $1 billion HYPE burn vote approaches.
• Fed to inject $6.8 billion into markets in first repo since 2020 — Why crypto is paying attention.

Crypto Equities Pre-Market Overview

Crypto equities market open race: Google Finance

Dog-themed cryptocurrency Shiba Inu has seen a surge in open interest, which refers to the amount of unsettled positions in the derivatives market, over the last 24 hours.

According to CoinGlass data, Shiba Inu open interest reached $75.76 million in the last 24 hours, which translates to 10,346,899,754,165 SHIB. This represents a nearly 8% increase. Whereas Shiba Inu open interest has declined in prior days, the current increase marks a significant shift.

Rising open interest remains significant in a number of ways; it might suggest improving liquidity as new positions are opened, with conviction and participation returning to the markets once again.

This may not be far-fetched, as traders adjust positioning at the year's end heading into 2026. According to a recent report by 10x Research, while year-end liquidity still remains subdued across crypto markets, the implications might go well beyond quiet holiday trading.

Futures positioning, ETF flows and options markets are sending a coordinated signal about how traders are de-risking into year's end.

At the time of writing, SHIB was trading up 1.83% in the last 24 hours to $0.000007345 but still down 8.55% weekly.

Shiba Inu awaits big move on market

Following a sharp surge in Friday's session, Shiba Inu is trading within a range between $0.0000072 and $0.0000075 as the price awaits its next move on the market.

In a major milestone, Shiba Inu partner Zama has completed the Decentralized Key Generation (DKG) ceremony for its mainnet successfully.

This step generates the public encryption key for the Zama Confidential Blockchain mainnet, along with a distributed, secret-shared version of the corresponding private key, without any single party ever knowing the full secret. 

Binance's top-trader positioning data shows a slight long bias on Shiba Inu , with the account split moving just far enough to matter while actual exposure stays on the low side. 

According to the latest data, top trader accounts show 62.3% net long versus 37% net short, lifting the long/short ratio of those accounts to 1.65 — a big edge that signals clear preference for the meme coin.

The important thing to know is that the position's view is also pretty bullish. By open positions, the same group is clearly long at 67.9% long and 32.1% short, leaving the long/short ratio in positions at an epic 2.12. 

That is what you get when desks want optionality on a rebound and are ready to size up as long as the price of SHIB proves it can hold.

What's with Shiba Inu coin's price right now?

The spot price of the Shiba Inu coin is showing a similar level of cautious optimism. On Binance,  is trading around $0.0000073, and the last move is reading as a minor uptick rather than a breakout. 

If you look at the bigger picture, you will see a dip from the upper $0.0000078 area into the low $0.0000070s. Then, there has been some choppy back-and-forth, which looks like base building and inventory rebalancing instead of trend chasing.

For now the main area to watch for SHIB is whether the spot can hold at $0.0000072 and move above the $0.0000076 price point. That is where the top traders' account tilt might start turning into more significant positioning and higher liquidation risk. 

If $0.0000072 fails again, the flat position's ratio suggests top accounts can unwind without friction, and this bullish account skew can disappear fast.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is mulling offering cryptocurrency trading to its institutional clients, deepening Wall Street’s involvement in digital assets as demand for regulated market access continues to rise.

The bank is exploring what products and services its markets division could provide, including potential spot and derivatives trading, according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified because the discussions are not public.

JPMorgan has historically taken a cautious stance toward direct crypto exposure, even as it has built blockchain-based settlement tools and tokenization platforms. Offering direct trading access, even under an institutional-only framework, would represent a meaningful expansion of its digital-asset footprint.

The plans remain under internal assessment, and no final decisions have been made.

A growing shift across major banks

If adopted, JPMorgan would join a widening group of global banks expanding their crypto capabilities despite uneven regulatory clarity and prolonged policy uncertainty in the U.S.

Standard Chartered launched spot bitcoin and ether trading for institutional clients earlier this year, becoming one of the first major banks to offer direct access to crypto markets. Morgan Stanley has opened broader access to spot bitcoin ETFs for wealth clients and is preparing to enable direct trading of bitcoin, ether, and Solana through its E-Trade platform.

Citi has been exploring digital asset payment rails and stablecoin capabilities for institutional customers, including a partnership with Coinbase, while also evaluating potential stablecoin-linked products of its own.

Bank of New York has extended its custody and tokenization initiatives. It is set to hold dollar reserves for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, while Goldman Sachs continues to build its tokenization and digital-asset infrastructure through partnerships and industry consortia.

Together, the moves reflect a coordinated shift by major financial institutions to position themselves for long-term adoption, even as U.S. regulatory frameworks remain unsettled.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.