SnapShot 237

Hello SnapShotters,

As the crypto bears steer the downturn past its second month, traders and analysts are drawing comparisons between this late-2025 season and the 2022 cycle.

There are budding similarities in BTC’s price downtrend during the first two months of each episode, but the causes and the state of the market structure are markedly different: 2022 was defined by internal failures and cascading collapses, while 2025’s drawdown has been driven mainly by macro-level shocks — beginning with US President Donald Trump’s 100% tariff push on Chinese imports in October.

Today, institutional participation — via spot ETFs, fund flows, and global fintech platforms — has stretched towards mainstream status and acted as a buffer against retail-led capitulation. BTC’s pullback of roughly 30% from its US$126,000 peak remains materially shallower than the 50% decline seen by the third month of the 2022 bear market.

As highlighted in last week’s chart feature, Bitcoin’s Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) fell to its lowest level in months, a zone that has historically marked the exhaustion of aggressive profit-taking after strong rallies. While not predictive, past instances of similar SOPR compression have coincided with BTC stabilising in the short term.

ETF flows continue to fluctuate along with token prices. Last week, US spot BTC ETFs posted $287 million in net inflows, before reversing sharply this week with $357.6 million in net outflows. ETH ETFs followed a similar pattern, flipping from inflows to institutional withdrawals. 

In contrast, spot XRP ETFs crossed $1 billion in cumulative net inflows since launch, attracting capital even as XRP trades sideways in the $1.92 to $2.00 range.

Let’s check out the other major headlines in crypto.

News Snaps

🏛️ JPMorgan Debuts Tokenised Money Market Fund on Ethereum
The bank’s asset-management arm seeded a $100 million on-chain money market fund, with investor holdings represented by tokens and subscriptions available in cash or USDC. The launch adds momentum to tokenised real-world assets, as large financial institutions push traditional yield products onto public blockchains.

📊 Spot XRP ETFs Cross $1 Billion Inflow Milestone
US spot XRP ETFs have surpassed $1 billion in cumulative inflows since launching in November, diverging from BTC and ETH ETFs which saw net outflows on the same day.

🇦🇪 Crypto.com, LuLuFin Partner on Regulated Digital Asset Services
The partnership will see Crypto.com provide LuLuFin with access to its liquidity, advanced execution tools, and institutional-grade custody via Crypto.com Exchange, beginning in the UAE.

🏦 OCC Grants National Trust Status to Circle, Ripple, Paxos
US banking regulators conditionally cleared five digital asset firms to operate as national trust banks. Circle, Ripple, and Paxos secured approval for new trust charters, while BitGo and Fidelity Digital Assets will shift from state trust banks to national trust banks.

🪙 Ripple to Expand RLUSD Stablecoin Across Ethereum Layer-2s
Ripple plans to extend its $1.3 billion RLUSD stablecoin to Ethereum Layer-2 networks next year, going beyond the XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet and pushing towards a multichain stablecoin footprint across DeFi and payments use cases.

What’s Ahead

🗓️ CME Bitcoin Futures Head Into Year-End Expiry
CME’s front-month Bitcoin futures contract is set to expire on 26 December, marking the final major derivatives settlement of the year. The event typically sees position rollovers and rebalancing in regulated BTC markets.

Number of the Week

Source: CoinTelegraph

Chart of the Week

Ethereum Fees Slide Back to Pre-Bull Market Levels

Ethereum’s average transaction fees have trended sharply lower over the past year, returning to levels last seen before the 2020 to 2021 bull market.

After peaking multiple times during periods of heightened on-chain activity, fees steadily compressed through 2024 and into 2025.

Here are some other key insights:

• Structural fees peak during market stress or speculative surges, followed by increasingly muted rebounds.
• There has been a sustained downtrend since late 2024, with average fees now hovering near sub-$1 levels on a 7-day moving average.
• Volatility is lower than in prior cycles, suggesting fewer congestion-driven spikes despite continued network usage.

As of 14 December, 2025

Sources: BitInfoCharts, Crypto.com Research

Research & Insights

Tokenisation Moves Into the Core of Finance

This week’s DeFi and Layer-1/Layer-2 data show tokenisation edging closer to the financial mainstream. US regulators implicitly allowed DTCC’s Depository Trust Company to offer tokenisation services for certain securities on pre-approved blockchains, effectively bringing on-chain settlement into the core plumbing of TradFi.

Capital flows are also backing the legitimisation of tokenisation. Distributable real-world assets exceeded $18.6 billion, with Institutional Alternative Funds emerging as the fastest-growing segment, expanding by more than 11x year-to-date. Rather than chasing experimental DeFi yields, institutions are gravitating towards familiar structures — money market funds, treasuries, and regulated settlement rails — rebuilt on public blockchains.

JPMorgan’s tokenised money market fund on Ethereum, Visa’s USDC settlement pilot on Solana, and Interactive Brokers’ move to accept stablecoin deposits all point in the same direction.

🔍 Read the full research report for a closer look at tokenisation and RWA flows.

Crypto Trivia

Which blockchain was explicitly designed to allow state rollbacks in extreme cases, such as hacks or critical failures?

A) Solana
B) EOS
C) Bitcoin

Find the correct answer at the end of this newsletter. 👇

NFT Spotlight

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Byte Sized

Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake are the OG proofs that determine everything from energy use to network security, long before price matters. Learn about them in just under a minute.

CryptoIRL

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Security Tips

Europe Hit by US$760 Million Crypto Scam Fuelled by Deepfake Videos

A cross-border operation uncovered a Europe-wide crypto scam network that stole €700 million (US$760 million) from victims across the region.

Authorities say the group ran professional-looking trading platforms promising high returns, then used aggressive tactics to push victims into depositing more funds. Scammers posed as investment advisers, operated call centers, and displayed fake profit dashboards to appear legitimate. Deepfakes across videos, images, and messages were also used to add credibility to their claims.

Once victims stopped sending money, contact was cut and access to their supposed investments disappeared.

How to Safeguard Funds:

1. Be wary of unsolicited investment calls or messages — even if they sound professional.
2. Avoid platforms that pressure you to add more funds or promise guaranteed returns.
3. Check that any investment service is licensed in your country before depositing money.

Don’t let bad actors steal your festive cheer (and crypto) this year.

Crypto Trivia Answer

B) EOS ✅ 

EOS was built with on-chain governance that allowed block producers to freeze accounts and roll back state in exceptional circumstances. It was a deliberate trade-off that challenged crypto’s 'immutability at all costs' philosophy.

That's it for this week's SnapShot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.