5x Short $43.9M HYPE Whale Currently Up $9.68M, Funding Fee Yielded $77.5K

December 29, 2025 — Data shows the Real World Assets (RWA) sector has emerged as one of DeFi’s fastest-growing segments this year. Per DefiLlama, RWA now ranks as the fifth-largest DeFi category by Total Value Locked (TVL), having overtaken decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Currently, RWA TVL stands at ~$17 billion, up sharply from ~$12 billion in Q4 2024. DefiLlama notes RWA wasn’t even in the top 10 DeFi sectors at the start of 2025, marking its rapid shift from experimental niche to core DeFi infrastructure. Kronos Research CIO Vincent Liu says RWA’s growth is driven primarily by balance sheet demand, not conceptual experimentation. In a “higher rates for longer” environment, tokenized U.S. Treasuries and private credit have become attractive on-chain yield assets—while clearer regulation has also cut friction for institutional entry. Structurally, Ethereum remains the primary network for RWA issuance and settlement, with public chains like BNB Chain, Avalanche, Solana, Polyg

On December 29, a U.S. SEC filing reveals Intel sold 214.8 million shares to NVIDIA, with the transaction valued at $5 billion. Intel noted the issuance and sale were completed under a securities purchase agreement signed September 15, 2023 (per Jinse Finance). As previously reported by BlockBeats, NVIDIA announced on September 18, 2023, it would invest $5 billion in Intel (INTC.O) to support the struggling U.S. chipmaker—but did not grant Intel key chip manufacturing orders. The agreement also includes plans for the two firms to co-develop PC and data center chips, a potential risk to TSMC (TSM.N). Currently, TSMC manufactures NVIDIA’s flagship processors. NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company, could eventually shift this portion of its business to Intel. Meanwhile, AMD—Intel’s rival in the data center chip supply space—may also incur losses due to NVIDIA’s backing of Intel.

U.S. crypto-related stocks traded mixed in pre-market action on December 29, with the following moves noted: - MSTR: -0.03% - COIN: -0.16% - HOOD: -0.74% - SBET: +0.67% - BMNR: -0.11% - CRCL: -1.35% This rewrite uses concise, industry-standard phrasing common in U.S. financial pre-market recaps—replacing "crypto concept stocks" with the more widely recognized "crypto-related stocks," and formatting ticker symbols with clear percentage moves (a standard practice for quick market updates). The structure is direct and easy to scan, aligning with American news consumption habits for financial briefs.

As of December 29, per monitoring by The Data Nerd, the Galaxy Digital address transferred 10 million USDT to a Binance deposit address 6 hours ago—sparking "buy the dip" chatter in the community, though no token offering has been announced yet. Earlier today, the same address moved roughly 447 bitcoins to exchanges Bybit and Bitstamp.

UK fintech GSTechnologies Ltd (London Stock Exchange: GST) announced Wednesday (December 29th) it has acquired Polish virtual asset service provider Finferno Spó?ka z Ograniczon? Odpowiedzialno?ci? (Finferno Sp. z o.o.) for an undisclosed sum. The deal was funded with GST’s existing cash reserves and aims to expand the company’s digital asset footprint in Poland and Central Europe. Through the acquisition, GST will launch a new digital asset exchange and wealth management service in Poland—initially operating in pilot mode. (Source: Investing.com)

On December 29, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone warned in a post that Bitcoin could fall to $50,000 by 2026—and potentially drop another 90% to $10,000. “Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, launched in 2009, but it now faces millions of digital asset rivals,” McGlone noted. “In contrast, gold has just three competitors: silver, platinum, and palladium.” He predicts gold will climb another 10% by 2026, trading above $5,000 per ounce. McGlone added that 2026 will be a tough year for all asset classes. Gold’s relative outperformance “may signal a pullback in U.S. equities in 2026, with crude oil, copper, silver, and all risk assets facing headwinds.”