Crypto prices pause as ETH buying and leverage demand draw attention
Bitcoin was flat near $87,000 while several crypto headlines pointed to fresh ETH buying, rising derivatives volume and new regulatory delays.
By Sofia Marchetti · Columnist
· 3 min read
Crypto majors were mostly steady, giving retail investors a quieter price tape while activity elsewhere in the market kept building. Bitcoin traded around $87,000, flat on the day, while ether rose 1% to about $2,975, according to market figures cited in the update.
Bitcoin dominance, a measure of bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market, held at 59.0%. That number matters because it shows whether capital is clustering in bitcoin or spreading into other tokens. BNB was up 1% at $855, while Solana was flat at $124.
One of the larger single-buyer headlines came from Tom Lee, who bought another $130 million of ETH for Christmas and still held $1 billion in cash heading into the new year, according to the update. ETH, the token that powers the Ethereum network, often draws attention from investors tracking decentralized finance, tokenized assets and stablecoin settlement activity.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund also reached two milestones: $100 million in dividends and more than $2 billion in assets. BUIDL is BlackRock’s tokenized money market-style fund, meaning ownership is represented on a blockchain rather than only through traditional fund infrastructure. For investors watching the overlap between crypto rails and traditional finance, asset growth in a product from BlackRock is a signal that tokenized funds remain a serious area of institutional interest.
Metaplanet added 4,279 bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 35,102 BTC. Companies that hold bitcoin on their balance sheets can give equity investors indirect exposure to bitcoin price moves, though that structure also ties the stock to company-specific risks and capital decisions.
Trading activity stayed strong in crypto derivatives. On-chain perpetuals topped $1 trillion in monthly volume as traders sought leverage. Perpetuals are futures-like contracts with no expiration date, and leverage lets traders control a larger position than their upfront capital would otherwise allow. That can amplify gains and losses, which is why high volume in perpetuals is often watched as a measure of risk appetite.
Security risks also remained in view. Unleash Protocol was hit by a $3.9 million exploit, with funds routed through Tornado Cash, according to the update. Tornado Cash is a crypto mixing service that can obscure the path of funds, which can make recovery and tracing efforts harder after an exploit.
Regulation added another point of uncertainty. South Korea’s crypto rulemaking was delayed as stablecoin provisions remained unresolved. Stablecoins are tokens designed to track the value of another asset, usually a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, and they are central to crypto trading and payments activity.
In mining, the CEO of Abundant Mining said bitcoin’s price swings have not slowed demand for mining. Mining is the process that secures the Bitcoin network and creates new bitcoin, and demand for mining services can reflect confidence among operators even when spot prices are volatile.
Outside the core market and policy headlines, REKT Drinks and WorldStarHipHop signaled a collaboration. The update did not include terms, timing or product details for the proposed tie-up.
This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.
