Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index Drops to 20, Market Still in "Extreme Fear" Territory

Dec. 26: QCP Capital has deposited 400 BTC and 200 ETH into Binance, per Onchain Lens monitoring.

**Caroline Ellison Scheduled for 2026 Prison Release; SEC Confirms Bankman-Fried Remains Incarcerated** Federal Bureau of Prisons records dated December 26 show former Alameda Research co-CEO Caroline Ellison is set to be released from federal prison on January 21, 2026. Ellison was transferred from a Connecticut prison to home confinement in October. On December 20, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a litigation notice stating former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried remains in federal prison on fraud charges. Executives including Ellison (who led Alameda under Bankman-Fried’s oversight) have agreed to a settlement, which is pending court approval. Other signatories to the settlement are FTX Trading’s former CTO Zixiao Wang and former FTX co-head of engineering Nishad Singh. (Source: The Block)

On December 26, Cointelegraph reported that stablecoin market capitalization has topped $310 billion—hitting a key milestone and representing 70% growth over the past year. This growth isn’t just another sign of a crypto bubble; it signals a fundamental shift in the global digital asset landscape. The report cites three main drivers of the stablecoin’s rapid expansion: global adoption in payment apps, institutional demand, and decentralized finance (DeFi) development. Additionally, multiple industry analysis models project stablecoin supply will reach $20 trillion by 2028 as major financial institutions integrate stablecoins more broadly. These forecasts hinge on stablecoins evolving from a transactional tool to a universal digital cash layer, with use cases spanning e-commerce, cross-enterprise payments, embedded finance, and beyond.

On December 26, Pacifica—Solana’s perpetual futures trading platform—completed this week’s point distribution, which primarily goes to qualified active addresses based on user trading volume. Trader Ron (@Ron521520), who has already received his points, noted his past seven-day trading volume was around $17,850, netting him 7 total points—equivalent to roughly $2,550 per point. Per a community-led analysis site for Pacifica, the platform’s points program is set to run for 22 weeks through February 5, 2026, with a total distribution of ~220 million points. Assuming a 25% airdrop token ratio per point and a $1 billion fully diluted valuation (FDV), each point is estimated to redeem for ~1.136 tokens, valued at roughly $1.09 apiece. (Note: This is community speculation only; Pacifica has not confirmed the data’s validity.) Users can now use Coinbob Pacifica (@CoinbobPAC_bot)—a blockchain data analytics and copy-trading tool built exclusively for Pacifica—to one-click copy high-fr

Dec 26 — Crypto analyst Murphy noted that Bitcoin’s on-chain cost basis distribution chart shows notable supply concentrations (large volume bars) at $87,000 and $84,500, outpacing other price levels. Excluding Coinbase’s wallet restructuring on Nov 22, at least half of the real turnover for the 1.12 million BTC in the $83,300-$84,500 range should be deducted. Thus, $87,000 stands as the highest volume bar and strongest support level in the on-chain structure. Historically, a large supply concentration forming a sizeable volume bar in a narrow price range signals an impending market direction shift. Supply stacking reflects bull-bear divergence, and when tension reaches a critical point, a clear winner emerges. Murphy believes the current on-chain structure points to a bullish outlook: as long as the volume bar’s key support holds, the market’s direction will become clearer.

On December 26th, PeckShield monitoring showed that stablecoin USX on the Solana blockchain briefly depegged, with its secondary market price temporarily dropping to $0.1. After Solstice injected liquidity, the USX price has recovered to $0.94.