Why Bitcoin’s Four-Year Cycle Faltered — and What Comes Next

2025 proved disappointing for many cryptocurrency investors, as Bitcoin’s traditional four-year cycle delivered a more muted rally that failed to spill over into the broader altcoin market. According to crypto market maker Wintermute, the shift reflects a structural change rather than a temporary pause, leaving any recovery in 2026 dependent on several uncertain factors. In … Read more

Polygon Strikes $250M Coinme, Sequence Deal To Expand US Payments

Polygon Labs has agreed to acquire US-based crypto payments company Coinme and wallet infrastructure provider Sequence in deals valued at more than $250 million, Fortune reported on Monday. The acquisitions give the Ethereum scaling blockchain access to Coinme’s network of US money-transmitter licenses and fiat on- and off-ramps, alongside Sequence’s embedded wallets and cross-chain payments … Read more

Bitcoin-Gold Correlation Signals 50% or More BTC Price Gains by March

Bitcoin’s (BTC) 52-week correlation with gold reached zero for the first time since mid-2022 and may turn negative by the end of January. Key takeaways: BTC–gold divergence has historically preceded strong Bitcoin rallies. Liquidity trends and cycle fractals point to BTC leading the way with a $144,000–$150,000 price target. Past fractals show Bitcoin rallying after … Read more

What NFT Paris Cancellation Reveals About the NFT Market in 2026

Key takeaways NFT Paris’ cancellation highlights pressure on sponsorship budgets rather than just falling NFT prices. NFT activity continues in 2026, but volumes are lower, and demand is more price-sensitive. Conference economics often reveal market health in ways sales charts cannot. NFT usage is shifting toward utility and infrastructure, while hype-driven formats are fading. NFT … Read more

Monero Surges to Record as Privacy Coins Outperform

Privacy-preserving cryptocurrency Monero surged to a new all-time high on Tuesday as tightening digital asset regulations contribute to heightened investor demand for privacy coins. Monero (XMR) rose to a new all-time high above $687 on Tuesday, up around 14% rise over the past 24 hours, according to TradingView data. Monero has gained roughly 45% in … Read more

Spark Explained Like You’re Five

Some of you may remember an article I published years ago, Understanding Lightning Network Using an Abacus, which I wrote after it became clear to me that many people didn’t fully understand how Lightning works. At the time, my goal wasn’t to explain Lightning’s cryptography or implementation details, but to demystify the core idea behind … Read more

ZKsync Centers Privacy and Control in 2026 Institutional Roadmap

Layer-2 network ZKsync released a 2026 roadmap that puts privacy, deterministic control and native interoperability at the center of its strategy for institutional digital asset adoption. Its plan, published by Matter Labs co-founder and CEO Alex Gluchowski, frames zero-knowledge technology as a foundational infrastructure for regulated finance.  The roadmap follows a year of infrastructure delivery. … Read more