Suspected Sonic Labs-Related Address Transfers 11.78 Million S Tokens to Binance, Valued at Approximately $5.55 Million

On December 29th, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty was adjusted upward by 0.04% to 148.26 trillion (T) in the year’s final adjustment on December 25th. Per CoinWarz forecasts, the next Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment is expected to occur on January 8, 2026, at block height 931,392, with the network’s mining difficulty projected to rise to 149 T. In 2025, BTC mining difficulty hit a new all-time high, posting two sharp increases during Bitcoin’s September bull run before a steep drop following the October 11th market crash.

December 29th — Spot silver skyrocketed in Monday’s early trading session, first breaching the $80-per-ounce mark before quickly pushing past $83/oz. The metal notched an intraday gain of over 5%, while its year-to-date advance has widened to $52.

As of December 29th, HTX market data shows the cryptocurrency market remains range-bound and volatile. Bitcoin is currently trading at $87,761, up 0.13% over the past 24 hours; Ethereum sits at $2,947.30, a 0.31% 24-hour gain. Total crypto market capitalization stands at $3.058 trillion, down 0.1% in 24 hours. ### Top-gaining altcoins (24h): - GMT: $0.0172 (+18.4%) - AT: $0.1871 (+17.4%) - GAS: $2.188 (+10.11%) - STRAX: $0.02144 (+8.67%) - T: $0.00935 (+6.38%) ### Top-losing altcoins (24h): - HOME: $0.01699 (-13.06%) - STORJ: $0.141 (-13.02%) - STO: $0.813 (-12.1%) - ZBT: $0.106 (-11.5%) - FLOW: $0.10 (-10.7%)

On December 29, a Bitfinex analyst noted that cryptocurrency ETF assets under management could double to $400 billion by the end of 2026, fueled by institutional adoption and new products for BTC, ETH, and other digital assets.

**December 29 Update: U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Hit Massive Holiday Outflows** Data as of December 29 shows U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded massive outflows during the Christmas period, with cumulative net outflows totaling approximately $782 million. Friday’s single-day net outflow hit $276 million—the highest of the holiday season. Specifically: - BlackRock’s BITO posted nearly $193 million in outflows on the day; - Fidelity’s FBTC saw around $74 million leave; - Grayscale’s GBTC faced modest but ongoing redemptions. As a result, total assets under management (AUM) for spot Bitcoin ETFs dropped to roughly $113.5 billion, falling below the $120 billion mark set earlier in December. Notably, Bitcoin’s price held steady around $87,000 despite the outflows, indicating the withdrawals were more likely driven by year-end asset rebalancing and reduced holiday liquidity—not market panic. Analysts add this marks the sixth straight trading day of net outflows for the E

On December 29, Indian police arrested a former Coinbase customer support employee in Hyderabad over his alleged role in an internal data breach Coinbase disclosed in May this year—marking the first known arrest in the case. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed the news. The breach dates back to December 2024. Investigations found cybercriminals bribed overseas customer support staff to gain access to internal systems, stealing sensitive data from 69,461 users. Stolen information included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and government-issued ID documents. The attackers demanded a $20 million ransom, which Coinbase refused to pay. Instead, the company launched a $20 million reward program (matching the ransom amount) to track down and apprehend those involved. In its Q2 earnings report, Coinbase disclosed the incident resulted in $307 million in expenses—covering user compensation, legal fees, and security upgrades. Coinbase is also facing a shareholder clas