Flow: Validator consensus has been achieved, and the network is now entering the recovery and testing phase

December 29 — Per Whale Alert (@whale_alert) tracking, the USDC Treasury burned over 51 million USDC on the Solana blockchain just 10 minutes ago.

On December 29, CryptoQuant analyst @Darkfost_Coc noted that the current market consensus has broadly turned bearish, based on an analysis of the market sentiment index (which incorporates media articles, on-chain data, and several other sentiment metrics). @Darkfost_Coc argues that when a widespread consensus forms, the market often reverses—proving the majority wrong. This dynamic was visible in the chart during two key periods: July–October 2024 and February–April 2025. The analyst also stated that the "index pessimism" phase may persist for some time, especially if the market enters a long-term bear market. The current cycle only entered this phase in early November; while the indicator leans bullish, maintaining caution and patience is critical in a bear market environment.

Dec 29: The Kobeissi Letter release coincided with a rally in precious metals (gold, silver), while Bitcoin traded sideways. As of this weekend: - Bitcoin-to-silver ratio dropped to 1104, lowest since Sept 2023; down 67% since May (silver has outperformed Bitcoin by a wide margin). - Bitcoin-to-gold ratio fell to 19, lowest since Nov 2023; down 50% from January. By contrast, these ratios stood at 680 and 9, respectively, at the 2022 bear market low.

On December 29th, Kong Jianping—former co-chairman of Canaan Inc. and current founder/chairman of Nano Labs—said in a post yesterday: “Bitcoin’s adoption logic is undergoing a fundamental shift. Past bull runs followed a clear path: Geeks → Programmers → Retail Investors → Mainstream Finance, with each rally driven by cognitive diffusion.” Post-2024, however, Bitcoin ETFs and institutional holdings have reshaped supply-demand dynamics. Some BTC is being turned into “silent assets” that don’t participate in short-term trading—similar to how gold became part of central bank reserves. When coins are locked up long-term, the number of willing short-term sellers drops, and price momentum will shift from “cognitive diffusion” to “supply contraction.” “The next Bitcoin rally may no longer need a new narrative or set of beliefs.”