Trends in the Crypto Asset (Cryptocurrency) Market and Notable News (Early December 2025)

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Trends

Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering around $90,000. It briefly fell to around $80,000 during last fortnight’s major drop, but then showed a strong rebound. Last week it again rebounded near $85,000, tracing a pattern of higher lows in the near term.

・The level reached in this downturn is approximately the same as April this year.

・Some analysts say the current drop correlates with the 2022 crypto market crash, with voices suggesting “the bottom might be near.”

・However, even if a bottom is near, the subsequent direction—whether the slump continues or a rapid rebound occurs—is unclear.

・As December begins, expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve has ended monetary tightening have grown, and how this will affect the cryptocurrency market is a major point of focus.

From a four-year cycle perspective, there is still room for upside, but to time market entry and accumulation optimally, it is necessary to continue monitoring the market closely.

Ethereum (ETH) Price Trends and Important Upgrades

Ethereum (ETH) is currently trading around $3,000. Like Bitcoin, it has been making higher lows, rebounding after dropping to $2,600 the prior fortnight, and holding near $2,700 last week.

? Recent Major Upgrade “Fusaka”

Ethereum is soon to implement the major upgrade “Fusaka.” This upgrade has drawn significant attention, to the point that even domestic cryptocurrency exchanges are temporarily suspending deposits and withdrawals.

The Fusaka upgrade aims to improve practical transaction performance on the Ethereum network, including Layer 2 solutions, and is expected to be a major advance for the platform.

? Major Market News and Topics

1. Vanguard begins handling cryptocurrency ETFs (Shift in stance)

・Asset management giant Vanguard Group announced on December 2 that its trading platform will allow trading of ETFs and mutual funds that primarily hold crypto assets (cryptocurrencies).

・As a result, ETFs and mutual funds that predominantly hold specific cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana will be tradable on Vanguard’s platform.

・Vanguard, previously wary of cryptocurrency exposure, changing its stance is positive news for the market.

・While the overall market is down, major assets described above are still viewed as relatively solid. (Personally, I’m curious about Dogecoin (DOGE)’s movements as well.)

2. Financial Services Agency concerns over “customer on-boarding to the exchange” (Best Execution Duty)

・The FSA has raised concerns that crypto exchange operators may be guiding customers toward the more profitable “exchange office” (brokerage) instead of the more appropriate channels.

・This is based on the need to verify whether the services offered to customers are appropriate from the perspective of the “Best Execution Duty” under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

・[Problems with the “on-boarding/retail” channel] The “brokerage” model involves purchasing coins at the issuer’s displayed price, unlike peer-to-peer exchanges. Even when claiming zero fees, the displayed price often includes a mark-up of several percent (for example, 5%), meaning users effectively pay high fees—a long-standing concern in the industry.

・In particular, many cases involve users paying unexpectedly high fees on user-friendly exchanges like BitFlyer and CoinCheck, which have beginner-friendly interfaces.

・Attention is focused on why the FSA has raised this issue now, and on the progress of inspections and countermeasures.

3. Market Analysis and Forecast by BitMEX Founder Arthur Hayes

・Arthur Hayes maintains a year-end Bitcoin price forecast of $250,000, citing the bottoming of liquidity and the end of quantitative tightening (QT) as reasons.

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Virtual currency market analysis [December 2]