Noticed that Bitcoin rebounded from the 86,000 mark in recent days. Currently, the price is around 74,300, although the overall trend still looks bearish — a series of lower highs and lows stretching back from autumn. It appears to be early signs of a bearish reversal. What’s interesting — despite the volatility, open interest in futures remains stable at $22.6 billion. Funding rates are mostly neutral, but the options market signals demand for short-term protection. In terms of daily liquidation size — about $744 million, with most of it coming from longs. Implied volatility for near-term contracts has increased to 41.5%, higher than for long-term contracts. But what surprised me — altcoins showed relative resilience. Ether fell by 1.31%, but XRP is holding up better. Privacy and metaverse tokens actually increased — Axie Infinity dropped by 1.03%, although it previously showed sharp jumps. The altcoin index is outperforming the Bitcoin-oriented index, although the overall market still suffers from low liquidity after the October crash. Movements are becoming more volatile in both directions — traders are navigating thin order books.

I just came across an interesting observation from the folks at BlackRock. Their head of the Asian iShares division spoke at a conference in Hong Kong and shared figures that make you think about the scale of what could happen in the cryptocurrency market in the coming years. Here's the gist: even if just a modest 1% of traditional investors' portfolios in Asia shift into cryptocurrencies, it could mean an inflow of about 2 trillion dollars. Sounds crazy? But if you do the math — the region has around 108 trillion in family wealth, so the numbers add up. And this is with a conservative approach to asset allocation. What’s important here? BlackRock has already demonstrated how this could work in practice. Their spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT, launched in early 2024, became the fastest-growing ETF. It currently manages nearly 53 billion dollars. And interestingly, Asian investors make up a significant part of these flows — not just Americans are buying in. In the region, there’s currently a wave of expansion for crypto ETFs. Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea — everywhere there’s movement toward more open offerings. But the folks at BlackRock emphasize an important point: products are only half the story. Investor education and proper portfolio strategy are also needed. Without that, even accessible tools won’t work. By the way, about real-world crypto usage: Rakuten has integrated XRP into its payment app for 44 million users. People will be able not only to store but also to spend XRP through bonus points. This is no longer just speculation — it’s an attempt to embed crypto into everyday life. XRP is currently trading at around $1.36, although in a broader context, it remains in a downward trend. But such integrations are exactly what can change market perception. Overall conclusion: the volume of capital in traditional finance is huge. For a serious shift, mass adoption isn’t necessary — a small reorientation is enough. And it seems this process has already started, especially in Asia. It’s worth paying closer attention to this region.

I noticed an interesting move: the UAE, under the flag of its royal family, has already accumulated around 6.8 thousand Bitcoins through its own mining, which is approximately $450 million. At the current price, they’re sitting on unrealized profits of about $344 million. It seems they’re in no rush to sell. Unlike Western countries, which mainly get Bitcoins through confiscations, the UAE is building a strategic digital reserve through industrial mining. A partnership with Marathon Digital (теперь MARA Holdings) and Zero Two gave them 250 megawatts of capacity, and they keep producing about 4.2 BTC per day. Even with the price falling from the peaks at the end of 2025, the infrastructure is running at full capacity. What’s interesting is that while most miners were forced to sell due to market weakness, the UAE, it seems, is doing the opposite. They accumulate during periods of decline. This looks more like a long-term game than speculation. Separately about XRP: I saw that it’s rising amid strong volume and accumulation by large players, but overall it’s still in a downtrend. Although the integration into the Rakuten payment app for 44 million users is serious, it could be a foothold for real-world crypto usage.