Cryptopolitan

Blockchain investigation firm TRM Labs has linked the ongoing cryptocurrency thefts to the LastPass breach that occurred in 2022. According to reports, the attackers have been draining wallets years after encrypted vaults were stolen and laundering the digital assets through Russian exchanges.

In 2022, LastPass confirmed that attackers had breached its systems by compromising a developer environment. The platform added that the criminals stole portions of the company’s source code and proprietary technical information. In another related incident, the hackers used the stolen credentials to breach the GoTo cloud storage firm, stealing LastPass database backups stored on the platform. For some users, the vault contained both stored credentials and cryptocurrency wallet private keys and seed phrases.

Cryptocurrency theft attacks linked to LastPass breach

During the breach, LastPass claimed that its vaults were encrypted. However, users with weak or reused master passwords were vulnerable to offline cracking, which TRM Labs believes has been ongoing since the breach occurred. “Depending on the length and complexity of your master password and iteration count setting, you may want to reset your master password,” warned LastPass when they disclosed the breach.

The link between the LastPass breaches and the cryptocurrency thefts was also confirmed by the United States Secret Service last year after the agency seized more than $23 million in crypto and said the attackers had obtained the private keys of their victims by decrypting vault data stolen in a password manager breach. Court filings also mentioned that there was no evidence that the victims’ devices had been compromised through malware or phishing.

In its report, TRM Labs connected the ongoing crypto theft to the abuse of the encrypted LastPass vaults stolen in 2022. Rather than the hackers moving swiftly to drain the entire wallets after the breach, the thefts have been carried out in waves, months or years after the incident occurred. It also shows that attackers have been gradually decrypting vaults and extracting stored credentials. In addition, the wallets were drained using similar transaction methods.

TRM Labs also mentioned that the method used during the breach showed that the hackers possessed the private keys before the thefts. “The linkage in the report is not based on direct attribution to individual LastPass accounts, but on correlating downstream on-chain activity with the known impact pattern of the 2022 breach,” TRM said. The platform noted that it created a scenario in which the wallet occurs in the future, rather than immediately after the breach happened.

TRM Labs highlights the use of Wasabi’s CoinJoin feature

The platform also mentioned that its research was initially based on a small number of reports, including several submissions made to Chainabuse, where users identified the LastPass breach as the method the hackers used to steal their wallets. The researchers increased their investigation, identifying cryptocurrency transaction behavior across other cases, eventually linking it to the data theft campaign.

TRM also added that it was able to trace funds even after the attackers mixed them using Wasabi wallet’s CoinJoin feature. CoinJoin is a Bitcoin privacy technique that includes all transactions from multiple users into a single transaction, making it harder to determine which input corresponds to which output. The feature obfuscates transactions without using a traditional mixing service.

After draining wallets, the hackers usually convert stolen assets to Bitcoin, route them through Wasabi Wallet, and attempt to hide their tracks using the feature. However, TRM mentioned that it was able to demix the Bitcoin sent using the CoinJoin feature by analyzing behavioral characteristics, such as transaction structure, timing, and wallet configuration choices. It was also able to match deposits with withdrawal patterns that matched the crypto theft.

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Global crypto phishing losses fell by more than 80% in the last year, according to new data from blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer. The total losses resulting from wallet drainer phishing attacks reached $83.85 million, affecting 106,106 victims worldwide.

According to Scan Sniffer’s 2025 phishing report, there was an 83% drop in stolen funds and a 68% reduction in victims compared with 2024, when phishing scams drained nearly half a billion dollars from more than 330,000 users. 

The Web3 security group said the reduction was likely a result of the mixed bullish and bearish market cycles last year, where phishing activity went up at peak market performances and fell when user engagement on blockchain networks dropped. 

Crypto market valuation declines ‘sends away’ phishing scammers

Per Scam Sniffer’s analysis and chart data tracking the first quarter, when markets were declining, losses stood at $21.94 million, affecting slightly over 22,000 victims. When markets began to recover in the second quarter, phishing losses declined to $17.78 million from about 21,000 victims.

Phishing losses and victims by month. Source: Scam Sniffer.

The third quarter was the most dangerous period for market participants because several assets had witnessed strong rallies, including Bitcoin, which peaked at $123,000, and Ethereum, which hit its all-time-high price at $4,946 in August. The price charge and bull market environment came with a surge in phishing activity, pushing losses to $31.04 million and impacting 40,000 victims. 

August and September alone accounted for 29% of total annual losses, making the quarter the most active for attackers. However, the last quarter of the year saw a pullback in phishing losses that fell to $13.09 million, by far the quietest part of 2025. 

Permit / Permit2 leads signature phishing theft methods 

The biggest single phishing theft last year resulted in a $6.5 million loss in September, where hackers made away with staked ether and wrapped bitcoin derivatives. The attackers used a method known as the Permit-style signature, a feat that made up 38% of losses among cases exceeding $1 million. 

Permit/Permit 2 signatures allow token spending approvals without direct transfers, which attackers take advantage of by disguising malicious permissions to appear as legitimate prompts and trick token holders into accepting them without question.

Other cases included a $3.13 million theft of wrapped Bitcoin in May using an approval escalation technique, and a $3.05 million loss of stablecoins in August through a direct transfer exploit. Yet, only 11 cases exceeded $1 million in the year, down from 30 the year before.

The data also showed a decline in the average loss per victim, which fell to $790, down from nearly $1,500 last year.

While the report focused on signature-based wallet drainer attacks, one of the most unforgettable cases occurred in February, when the Lazarus Group compromised a developer machine through a multisignature wallet provider within the Bybit crypto exchange. A malicious code was injected into a signing interface, enabling attackers to spoof legitimate approvals and steal approximately $1.46 billion.

Supply chain attacks were also among the most prevalent methods used, with attackers stealing developer credentials through phishing emails and injecting malicious code into open-source packages, backdooring hundreds of software libraries, and exfiltrating private information and security credentials.

Other campaigns phishing hackers used included compromised front-end interfaces, hijacked social media accounts, and spreading malware to steal private keys and authentication data. 

2025 closed with Google Task notification phishing abuse

In other news, the year ended with a sophisticated email phishing campaign in December, as hackers targeted more than 3,000 organizations in manufacturing by abusing Google’s cloud-based infrastructure.

Several users reported receiving emails that appeared as genuine task notifications, prompting recipients to complete an urgent “All Employees Task.” Victims who clicked buttons labeled “View task” or “Mark complete” were redirected to malicious pages hosted on trusted cloud storage services.

Because the messages were sent using legitimate application integration tools, they passed all major email authentication checks and walked past security gateways undetected. 

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Bitcoin (BTC) seems to be holding steady, forming a new bottom, but whether it is merely taking a breather before resuming a downtrend is a matter of debate among analysts. Against this backdrop, investors are beginning to weigh the merits of potential up-and-coming cryptocurrencies. Mutuum Finance (MUTM), which is currently in Presale Stage 7 at the price of $0.04, is expected to present potential returns of even up to 1000% to those who join the presale today. This new crypto is attracting attention duet to its utility. 

The project’s presale, coupled with a lending and borrowing platform, planned multichain expansion, and the availability of convenient means of buying MUTM tokens using credit cards, may ultimately facilitate a 10x growth. When compared to the current state of Bitcoin (BTC) whose potential is limited by the sheer size of its market cap, MUTM presents a scenario where early buyers may enjoy more rapid appreciation prospects. For investors searching for the next big opportunity, this crypto to buy now offers compelling early-stage potential.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction

Bitcoin (BTC) is stuck below $91K, although technical levels indicate budding break-out momentum. The charts are tightening, MACD just turned green, and prices have held all three short-term averages while testing above the mid-band of Bollinger Bands, suggesting a market that is range-bound and not crashing. Additionally, resistance at $85K appears steadfast, and a clean close above $91K would provide a strong break-out. Until then, BTC is range-bound, underlining that trading in established markets remains difficult and that large gains prove tough in mature markets. Meanwhile, breakout investment opportunity Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is quickly taking over the market.

Mutuum Finance Is Still Early at $0.04

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is still in a position that could be considered in an early valuation stage in its ongoing presale. Being priced at $0.04 with a projected launch price of $0.06, smart buyers are getting in prior to the public who are waiting for launch. The project has managed to raise more than $19.52 million in the first 7 stages of presale, where more than 18,650 investors have participated.

The current pricing is being regarded as early, since MUTM will launch at $0.06. This means stage 7 buyers get to benefit from a near 2x rise by the time of launch. In addition, the platform’s features support the potential for at least another 20x rise after market debut. This puts MUTM among this cycle’s most anticipated DeFi launches. While Bitcoin’s rally is limited by its huge market cap, MUTM offers untapped growth potential and smart investors are recognizing this opportunity.  

Passive Income for Users

One of the major aspects of Mutuum Finance is the mtToken model, which encourages users to lend their assets by offering them incentives. While conventional assets can only earn interest when withdrawn, the mtTokens offered by Mutuum Finance guarantee the investors the chance to earn profits instantly while still having liquidity at their disposal. This has made MUTM the top crypto to buy now and a must-hold in 2026.

Halborn Security Audit & Testnet Launch

One of the most recent developments for the project was to have their lending and borrowing contracts reviewed independently by Halborn Security. The audit suggestions have been incorporated, and preparations are underway for Mutuum Finance V1 to debut on the Sepolia testnet, which will mark the first time it goes public. Some features that will be included in the testnet are:

Liquidity Pools for Lending & Borrowing 

mtTokens signifying deposits and accumulated yields of users

Debt tokens representing borrowed positions

Automated liquidator bot for the management of under-collateralized loans

At first, the ETH and USDT tokens will be the main assets to lend, borrow, and use as collateral within the system. More assets will be included later, with MUTM set for multichain integration. The testnet enables users to engage with the system and provide feedback to optimize the system before the mainnet launch.

As Bitcoin (BTC) consolidates below $91K, offering little upside in an established market, the chance presented by Mutuum Finance (MUTM), in its early stage, is an uncommon occurrence. At the price of $0.04 during Presale Phase 7, with only $2,500 in, 62,500 MUTM tokens can be acquired, which can grow after presale to as much as $62,500, considering MUTM fetches $1 per piece. That’s a 25x ROI without having to lift a finger. Already, more than 18,650 investors are on board, and the project has raked in $19.52M, along with an exemplary mtToken model set to churn out passive income, offering realistic utility alongside the possibility for explosive growth.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://mutuum.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

As competition heats up in a market long dominated by Nvidia, FuriosaAI, a South Korean semiconductor startup creating artificial intelligence inference chips, plans to start producing its newest processor on a commercial scale this month.

Founded in 2017, the company is led by June Paik, a former Samsung Electronics memory-chip engineer. Paik began focusing on artificial intelligence about a decade ago while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered during a Samsung company soccer event. During months of rehabilitation, he took online artificial intelligence courses offered by Stanford University. After returning to work, Paik left Samsung to pursue an AI-related venture.

“I left with absolute certainty that I had to get into the AI space,” Paik said. 

According to Paik, the idea for FuriosaAI took shape after discussions with former colleagues at a computing conference in Seoul, where artificial intelligence was a central topic. He later partnered with a former Samsung colleague and an associate with experience in algorithms, and the company was launched the same year.

Furiosa chip demonstrates efficiency for large AI models

Furiosa’s current chip, designated RNGD, short for “renegade,” is aimed at the inference phase of artificial intelligence, which involves running trained AI models. Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) currently dominate the broader AI computing market, particularly in training large models, but startups such as Furiosa are targeting inference as a potential area of competition.

The company’s latest funding round values Furiosa at close to $700 million. Meta Platforms approached Furiosa about a potential acquisition last year, but no deal was reached. OpenAI demonstrated the use of a Furiosa chip at a recent event in Seoul. while LG’s AI research division is testing the chip and said it showed “excellent real-world performance.” Furiosa said it is currently in discussions with potential clients.

According to Paik, Furiosa’s chips deliver performance comparable to Nvidia’s sophisticated GPUs while drawing less power. This would reduce the overall expense of putting AI systems into operation. The technology sector shouldn’t depend so heavily on a single chip manufacturer for AI computing, Paik argues.

“A market dominated by a single player—that’s not a healthy ecosystem, is it?” Paik said.

Paik began his career at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where he worked on GPU design, before returning to South Korea in 2013 to join Samsung. There, he led a small team developing new memory-chip products.

Hanjoon Kim, now Furiosa’s chief technology officer, previously worked with Paik at Samsung and later joined him in founding the company. Kim said Paik emphasized rapid decision-making and long-term goals during Furiosa’s early development.

South Korea positions itself for AI and inference growth

With strong software capabilities and semiconductor knowledge from homegrown firms like Samsung and SK Hynix, South Korea is putting a lot of emphasis on AI development. The government has made the development of AI a top priority, hoping to become a technological leader alongside China and the United States. The government of South Korea arranged for Nvidia to finalize a significant GPU supply deal, while OpenAI recently opened an office in Seoul.

During Furiosa’s beginning years, Paik frequently cited “Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies,” a book popular in Silicon Valley. He used it to stress the importance of quick decisions and bold moves to dominate markets as an early entrant.

At Stanford’s respected Hot Chips conference in 2024, Paik introduced Furiosa’s RNGD chip during a keynote presentation, calling it an answer to what he termed “sustainable AI computing.” Paik shared information demonstrating the chip could operate Meta’s Llama large language model with power efficiency exceeding Nvidia’s top-tier chips by more than double.

“It was a moment where we felt we could really move forward with our chip with confidence,” Paik said.

Looking back now, Paik views his Achilles injury as a pivotal moment. “I think it could have been a blessing in disguise,” he said.

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Stock bears are turning up the heat on Trump Media as short sellers crowd into the trade after a sharp rally tied to a merger announcement, according to data from S3 Partners.

The surge in bearish bets shows traders are bracing for losses after a fast jump in the stock that followed a $6 billion deal tied to energy and artificial intelligence.

Shares of Trump Media climbed more than 30% after December 18, when the company said it would merge with Google-backed TAE Technologies in an all-stock transaction. The stock ran even harder right after the news, jumping as much as 63% over two trading days.

Since Cryptopolitan reported the announcement, short interest has jumped 31% to nearly 16 million shares, close to the highest level seen since October. After the stock rose another 4% on Friday to $13.77, those short positions were worth about $218 million in bets that the price would fall, according to data from Yahoo Finance.

Short sellers stack bets after merger sends Trump Media shares higher

Trump Media is still losing money, and its shares are down almost 60% over the past 12 months even after the recent pop.

Right now, President Donald Trump owns 115 million shares, about 40% of the company, but after the merger closes, his stake would drop to roughly 20%.

Short interest near 16 million shares puts bearish positioning near levels last seen in October. The build came as the stock stayed volatile following the announcement. With the price still well below where it traded a year ago, some investors are betting the recent gains will not hold as the market absorbs the scale of the deal and the company’s ongoing losses.

Trump Media’s token plan increases exposure as America goes pro-crypto

At the same time, Trump Media said earlier this week it plans to issue a new token to shareholders, giving one token for each share held through a partnership with Crypto.com, and the token will operate on the Cronos blockchain.

Trump later said on Truth that the token holders could receive rewards tied to its products.

Chief executive Devin Nunes called the rollout “a first-of-its-kind token distribution” that will “reward Trump Media shareholders, and promote honest and open markets.” Devin also serves at the White House as chair of the Intelligence Advisory Board, where he advises the president on intelligence matters. The company said the tokens would be issued “in the near future.”

Founded in 2021, Trump Media has expanded its push into crypto while also moving into artificial intelligence and financial services. Despite that expansion, its shares have fallen more than 60% this year. The crypto plan adds to Trump-linked ventures that have already generated hundreds of millions of dollars and allegations of conflicts of interest from Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans.

Since returning to the White House in January, Donald has backed looser rules for crypto trading platforms and related businesses. The industry spent millions during the 2024 election cycle, backing candidates including him. Over the summer, he signed the country’s first major national crypto law, a step that folded crypto deeper into the financial system.

Still, investor appetite has cooled this year as traders pulled away from volatile bets. Bitcoin is on track for an annual loss after sliding from record highs set in October. Some Trump-linked bets have stumbled too. The TRUMP meme coin surged ahead of the January inauguration and quickly ranked among the most valuable tokens. Since then, it has lost more than 90% of its value.

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Crypto sentiment among investors and social media participants started the new year on a positive note, according to a Santiment analyst. According to the analyst, any upside movement in the market will depend on retail investors staying level-headed.

In a video published recently, Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan mentioned that for the market to see an upside, it needs retail investors to continue being a bit cautious, a bit pessimistic, and a bit impatient. Despite other crypto sentiment indicators pointing to fear among market participants, the analysts pointed out that Santiment’s social media data among investors and market participants points the other way.

Crypto kickstarts the new year with an impressive social chatter

According to Quinlivan, the signs are very positive at the moment, noting that it was always a bit of a concern in the past years. He mentioned that in this case, it might just be a metric that shows that we are gradually coming back from the holidays. Quinlivan also added that he is not particularly worried about any FOMO, adding that it could also enter the market if Bitcoin surges to $92,000 quickly.

Bitcoin is currently trading around $89,930 at the time of publication, up 1.77% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Quinlivan noted that a quick rise in Bitcoin’s price to reach this level will show the “true reaction from retailers.” “Are they starting to pour in money because they’re saying Bitcoin goes up? That would be bad,” he said. Retail euphoria in crypto markets has always pushed towards all-time highs or cycle peaks, and going by history, the market has dropped shortly after.

In addition, analysts have previously argued that when the market excitement gets too intense, the crypto market has always moved in the opposite direction to what most people expect. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a metric that measures the overall crypto market sentiment, posted a “Fear” score of 29 in its Saturday update. The Index has been hovering around the “Fear” and “Extreme Fear” region since early November.

Analysts predict a short-term rally for Bitcoin

January has always been a historic month for Bitcoin and Ethereum, with average gains of 3.75% for BTC and 19.07% for ETH, according to data from CoinGlass. Meanwhile, Cryptopolitan has reported that Bitcoin could face a difficult start to the new year after the premier asset gave back most of the gains it accrued in the past three months. The token dominated headlines in the early part of 2025, thanks to Donald Trump shining a light on it after taking back the White House.

However, some analysts have added that they expect Bitcoin to undergo a rebound, even if the recovery will not last. Citi analyst Alex Saunders has mentioned that near-term support could come from the expansion of crypto exchange-traded funds, which will continue to provide better access to retail and institutional investors. He highlighted that the prediction assumes adoption will continue and ETF inflows would reach $15 billion, but noted that the level can only sustain the prices for a short while.

Meanwhile, attention will remain on Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, as another beacon for price movement. According to JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the company’s enterprise-value-to-holdings ratio, which is above the 1.0 level, reassures the company that it would not consider selling its holdings during stress. “If this ratio stays above 1.0 and MicroStrategy can eventually avoid selling bitcoins, markets will likely be reassured, and the worst for bitcoin prices will likely be behind us,” Nikolaos said.

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Despite setbacks and prolonged legislative wrangling, a senior executive at Coinbase says the US Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act remains on course, reinforcing industry hopes for long‑awaited clarity in cryptocurrency regulation.

“I completely understand why this is taking longer,” Coinbase Institutional head of strategy John D’Agostino said during an interview on CNBC on Friday. Adding that it was the kind of bill that was more foundational to the growth of crypto, or any real asset class, and emphasized that it therefore made sense for the process to take some time.

The CLARITY Act, he said, was far more complicated than the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin legislation that was enacted into US law in July, as the two bills address different levels of the crypto ecosystem. 

While he conceded the Genius Act was “not simple, but transformative,” he added that it focused on areas such as stablecoin issuance and oversight, which are structurally easier to regulate than broader market structure bills that reshape how digital asset markets operate, interact with regulators, and protect investors.

Talent flight pressures US lawmakers to advance crypto rules

The comments came only a few weeks after White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks announced that the CLARITY Act could obtain approval as soon as January. Speaking on December 19, Sacks said the administration was now closer than ever to passing the groundbreaking crypto market structure legislation that President Trump had called for, and he believed lawmakers would get it done in January. 

D’Agostino also added that he was bullish on the CLARITY Act passing, citing greater global momentum to regulate cryptocurrency. He cited the European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and the United Arab Emirates’ own ongoing efforts to achieve regulatory clarity as signs of mounting pressure on the United States to act. He also acknowledged what he called an enormous exodus of talent from the US to other countries, and said such a trend could increase pressure on lawmakers to push through the CLARITY Act in 2026. 

Some of the urgency that was behind passing the Genius Act, he said, was designed to slow that drain of talent. Once lawmakers returned to session and were able to assess developments in the sector fully, D’Agostino said, a similar sense of urgency would arise, fueled by an anxiety that the United States would fall further behind in transformational technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Delays in the Clarity Act deepen uncertainty in crypto markets

CoinShares recently reported that crypto investment products experienced approximately $952 million in outflows during the week ending December 19, attributing the decline to delays in passing the CLARITY Act. 

The firm explained that prolonged regulatory uncertainty in the United States had led investors to become more cautious. At the same time, fears that large holders, often referred to as whales, would sell their assets had added to the pressure. According to CoinShares, this uncertainty has eroded confidence and led some investors to withdraw funds from crypto funds in the short term.

At the same time, veteran trader Peter Brandt said the possible passage of the CLARITY Act was unlikely to cause a major move in Bitcoin’s price. He said the legislation was important and necessary for the long-term health of the crypto market, but he did not see it as a major global event. Brandt explained that while clearer rules could help the industry grow over time, the bill was not something that would suddenly change Bitcoin’s value or immediately push prices much higher or lower.

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Ripple (XRP) is stuck in a range and is yet to regain key levels due to lack of momentum in price. While short-term gains seem unlikely for traders in XRP, other alternative crypto coins with long-term growth opportunities within the DeFi crypto sector are under consideration. Mutuum Finance (MUTM), which is in Presale Phase 7 priced at $0.04 presently, is one coin within this category. While most other cryptocurrencies are mere speculative instruments for traders, Mutuum Finance is developing a new-age lending and borrowing system. 

The project’s presale uses dynamic pricing, where the token costs higher with every new phase. Investors buying today are guaranteed a profit even before the MUTM token enters the open market. The presale stages increasing in price makes this DeFi crypto project conducive for early investors looking for the next big thing in the market. 

Ripple (XRP) Displays Weak Structure 

Looking at Ripple (XRP) from a high-timeframe standpoint, it can be observed that it now exhibits a weaker chart pattern, having created many bull traps. The price now finds itself back within the lower part of its channel and even breached it, leaving little space for an upside movement. Though a short-term rebound towards the middle part of its channel at levels of $2.3-$2.5 might not be difficult, overall technical analysis concludes that a possible scenario will find it retest levels of $1.7-$1.4 if another shakeout for BTC takes place. A new bull turn will require a confirmed close over $2.8, which has not happened yet, making only range trades feasible at the moment.

Mutuum Finance Presale Traction

While XRP has been displaying poor market performance, Mutuum Finance is making headlines as the best crypto to buy during its fast-paced presale. The project has breezed through Presale Phase 6, entering Presale Phase 7, which is also filling up fast. Presale Phase 7 is very crucial as it is the final stage where buyers can acquire MUTM for only $0.04, making it a standout DeFi crypto opportunity.

Since the presale started, Mutuum Finance has accumulated $19.52 million, and the total number of MUTM token holders now reaches 18,650. The token price has already experienced a 300% appreciation in price compared to the Phase 1 price of $0.01. But analysts say this is just the beginning for this DeFi crypto. Here’s why:

Buy-backs and Staking

Buyback and staking in Mutuum Finance is intended to aid the MUTM coin by giving it a value-correlated presence in the market. From the revenue generated by the platform, a part will go toward the purchase of MUTM tokens available in the open market, which will then be redistributed to stakers. This rewards long-term commitment to the project to ensure more token growth. 

MUTM has become an attractive asset for investors who seek to enjoy the benefits of a DeFi crypto with inherent thrusts of value. Buying today at $0.04 means enjoying presale growth by the time MUTM hits $0.06 at launch, as well as additional gains as adoption grows post-launch and tokens buybacks build more value. Early analyst predictions say MUTM could reach $0.50-$1 shortly after launch. This puts current buyers in a position to reap 1150%-2400% gains. A $500 investment today could grow to as much as $12,500 if this growth materializes. However, waiting until MUTM goes live to buy could shrink this profit margin by $4500 to just $8000 assuming the investor catches the $0.06 listing price. MUTM’s presale rewards those who get in early.  

Protocol Resilience

Mutuum Finance focuses on effective risk management. Each supported asset is assigned specific loan-to-value (LTV) limits and liquidation thresholds, adjusted based on asset volatility. Stable assets like ETH and USDT can have LTVs of up to 75% with an 80% liquidation threshold, while more volatile tokens are capped at around 40% LTV with tighter liquidation triggers. 

As a borrower, a $10,000 ETH deposit allows you to borrow up to $7,500, while still retaining full ownership of your ETH. This provides flexibility by allowing borrowers to access liquidity without selling their assets. If ETH later gains 100%, the borrower still benefits from that upside while having used the asset as collateral for a loan. Lenders, on the other hand, receive mtTokens minted 1:1 to their deposits. For instance, 10,000 USDC mints 10,000 mtUSDC. The mtUSDC then accrues yield, typically ranging between 10–15% APY. This structure creates a win-win situation for both lenders and borrowers. 

By ensuring the platform remains consistent and stable, Mutuum earns the trust of the users, which attracts higher levels of capital inflow, as well as consistent activity on the platform. The higher the level of confidence in the platform, the higher the level of use, which enhances the value of the token itself.

In a season where Ripple (XRP) finds itself struggling to keep up, the clear choice for growth is Mutuum Finance, costing a mere $0.04 in Presale Phase 7. With a considerably large pot of $19.52 million in funding, 18,650 unique holders and a strong DeFi ecosystem, MUTM combines early-stage success with utility, making it the best crypto to buy right now. 

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://mutuum.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

A dominant narrative about Bitcoin whales quietly hoarding BTC and bracing for a breakout has been upended by new on-chain analytics, which instead hint there is ongoing distribution among the largest holders — potentially dampening near-term bullish sentiment.

Despite recent headlines proclaiming that large BTC wallets have been aggressively buying the dip, deeper blockchain data reveals a more nuanced reality.

The head of research at the platform, Julius Moreno, cautioned that what appears to be whale accumulation is actually exchange-related activity inflating perceptions of buying. Exchanges frequently reorganize funds into other wallets, thereby increasing the number of wallets with massive balances.

Moreno commented on X: “No, whales are not buying an enormous amount of Bitcoin. Most BTC whale data out there has been ‘affected’ by exchanges consolidating a lot of their holdings into fewer addresses with larger balances. This is why whales seem to have accumulated a lot of coins recently.”

Blockchain analytics firms report that long-term Bitcoin holders — wallets that have held their BTC for extended periods — have shifted back into net distribution after a prolonged accumulation phase.

Moreno says Bitcoin is still distributing their assets instead of accumulating 

Moreno noted that adjusted data show that large holders are still in distribution mode, and not accumulation. The data also shows a continued drop in whale holdings, alongside falling balances among 100–1,000 BTC addresses, suggesting ETF outflows persist.

Large holders typically make significant changes in the Bitcoin price; however, the market structure is adapting with the introduction of US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have become substantial market participants. Aside from questions about whale accumulation, sentiment among long-term BTC holders has improved, as indicated by other onchain metrics.

According to Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, long-term Bitcoin holders have once again begun buying after suffering the biggest selling period in years. The trend suggests that the recent selling pressure on BTC might be beginning to ease. The recovery of Bitcoin remains tentative, although downside pressure to date hasn’t forced prices back to the sub-$80,000 range seen in November. BTC is currently trading just above the $90,000 mark.

Nonetheless, Bollinger Bands, a key volatility gauge, suggest that a major price swing may be imminent.TradingView data shows Bitcoin’s Bollinger Bands—the volatility bands set two standard deviations above and below the 20-day moving average—have tightened to under $3,500, the narrowest since July.

Back in late July, a Bollinger Band squeeze capped a two-week consolidation between $115,000 and $120,000, marking the start of a three-month price expansion that ranged from $100,000 to $126,000. A similar pattern emerged in late February, with Bitcoin consolidating between $94,000 and $98,000 before a Bollinger Band squeeze preceded a decline to $80,000.

Kim says Bitcoin will surpass $270,000 by February 2026

The social media predictor and self-proclaimed world’s smartest man, Kim, recently predicted that BTC could jump past $270,000 within a month next year. According to reports, the predictor cited both the growth and fragility of fiat currencies as reasons for his optimistic outlook, noting Bitcoin’s historical volatility and sensitivity to macroeconomic trends.

The social media personality has made several Bitcoin forecasts in the past that have not held up. He predicted in November that Bitcoin would more than double to $220,000 within 45 days, pledging any future profits toward church construction, yet the price surge never materialized.

In addition to his bullish calls, Kim said BTC could replace the US dollar by 2026, labeling the current low as a short-term, manipulation-driven discount. 

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Chairman Jerome Powell’s term at the Federal Reserve ends in May, but he still has a separate seat as a governor that runs for two more years after that.

Powell has, in his persistent classiness, refused to share whether or not he plans to stay on, opting to instead say the answer to that question is “irrelevant at the moment.”

Cryptopolitan had earlier reported that at December’s press conference, Powell said, “I’m focused on my remaining time as chair. I haven’t got anything new on that to tell you. Please move on.”

Wall Street can’t decide what it feels about Fed’s board math and Trump’s influence

Like most other places on earth, numbers decide power at the Fed, and the Board of Governors has seven seats, with three already filled by allies of President Donald Trump, who has made it embarrassingly clear that he does not like Powell.

He spent a lot of time last year publicly insulting the Fed chair and telling Americans that he is to blame for their economic woes. Not the president of the free world himself.

In June, Trump posted on Truth that:-

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, and his entire Board, should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to the United States. They have one of the easiest, yet most prestigious, jobs in America, and they have FAILED — And continue to do so. If they were doing their job properly, our Country would be saving Trillions of Dollars in Interest Cost. The Board just sits there and watches, so they are equally to blame. We should be paying 1% Interest, or better!”

If Powell leaves when his chair term ends, Trump would gain an instant majority on the board.

That math matters for the Open Market Committee, which sets rates. Trump has also said publicly that any future chair must agree with him or “will never be Fed Chairman.”

If the board voted together, which is not guaranteed, the president would gain a clearer path to ultra-low rates.

But the Federal Reserve Act does appear to allow a board majority to remove individual regional bank presidents who oppose rate cuts. Legal experts debate whether cause is required. Jerome remaining on the board, even without a majority, could complicate any effort to remove dissenting voices.

This type of question has not come up in decades. Former chairs like Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen left the board quietly before their governor terms expired. Ben went on to the private sector. Janet later took another government role. The fact that this is even a debate now shows how different the political climate has become.

Fed watchers interviewed by CNBC allegedly described the decision as personal and professional. After 13 years at the Fed, including eight as chair, Jerome is seen as ready for life outside public office. He plays golf, enjoys music, and recently became a grandfather. During much of his tenure, he faced steady public criticism from Trump, who first appointed him to the role.

Powell could face a legal battle with Trump administration but Fed history is on his side

Most observers believe Powell will leave the Fed entirely in May. None rule out a short stay. Only one chair ever stayed on as a governor after stepping down. Marriner Eccles did so in 1948. As a governor, Marriner later helped secure the 1951 Treasury-Fed accord, which ended the Fed’s duty to hold rates down and strengthened central bank independence.

Another factor sits with Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Trump fired Lisa over an alleged mortgage fraud claim. She has denied the allegation. Courts paused the firing. The Justice Department has not filed charges. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on January 21, with a ruling expected later.

If the court removes Lisa, Trump would gain a board majority immediately. The bigger issue is whether the ruling gives the president broad power to remove other governors. In that scenario, Jerome could face direct pressure next.

Some of the fear assumes the worst. Governors do not always follow the president who appointed them. All three Trump-appointed governors recently voted to reappoint all 12 regional bank presidents to new five-year terms. The board still holds removal power, but the vote showed independence can still exist.

There is also talk that Powell may be using silence as leverage. By refusing to say what he will do, he could be keeping options open based on who Trump nominates next. There is no proof of that thinking. Jerome has stayed largely apolitical on fiscal matters and has not responded publicly to repeated insults from the president.

Several Fed observers say staying on would draw even more political pressure and break recent tradition. Leaving would avoid that outcome. Another theory is simpler. Powell may see his refusal to answer as a basic exercise of independence, showing that the law gives him the right to decide his exit on his own timeline and announce it when he chooses.

America’s national debt crossed $38.5 trillion in the opening month of 2026, pushing past a level the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget once expected around 2030.

The negative rally traces back to pandemic-era spending that flooded the economy with federal cash as officials tried to keep businesses open, workers paid, and markets steady during the crisis.

Huge figures no longer shock the system. Prices across the economy are higher, and long strings of zeroes now show up everywhere from grocery bills to government ledgers.

In 2026, another line item joins that list. Annual interest payments on the national debt are reaching the trillion-dollar range, locking in a costly reality for the federal budget.

Uncle Sam’s interest cost is surging crazily as borrowing piles up

In 2020, as COVID spread, the US federal government paid $345 billion in interest. Six years later, that cost has nearly tripled. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has described this pace as the new norm.

At this point, the United States owes lenders about $38.4 trillion, and servicing that balance now consumes a massive share of federal revenue.

Elected officials across parties keep talking about shrinking the debt, and 2025 followed that familiar script. President Donald Trump, now back in the White House, signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last summer.

The package combined tax cuts with new spending and carried a $3.4 trillion cost spread across ten years, reinforcing Washington’s appetite for constant borrowing.

Trump has laid out several ideas to deal with the growing tab. He has said tariffs could help pay it down and that proceeds from his golden visa program could offset some borrowing.

He has also argued that faster economic growth would ease pressure by improving the debt-to-GDP ratio and that the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, would trim spending and reduce future borrowing needs.

Not everyone sees those steps as enough. Economists do not expect any administration to reverse the debt quickly, but many expected tougher action. Kush Desai, the White House deputy press secretary, pushed back.

“America’s debt-to-GDP ratio has actually declined since President Trump took office, and as the administration’s pro-growth policies of tax cuts, rapid deregulation, more efficient government spending, and fair trade deals continue taking effect and America’s economic resurgence accelerates, that ratio will continue trending in the right direction,” Kush said.

He added, “That’s on top of the record revenue that President Trump’s tariff policies are bringing in for the federal government.”

Tariffs and DOGE deliver cash but barely dent totals

Warnings from major figures have grown louder in recent years. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chief executive, has called the situation the “most predictable crisis” in history. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, has said it could lead to an “economic heart attack.”

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, has said the issue demands an “adult conversation.”

The White House points to results so far.DOGE’s public tracker says it has cut $202 billion from government costs.

That equals $1,254.66 per taxpayer. Even so, the math remains brutal. Debt per person now sits just over $108,000, showing how small those savings look next to the total.

Tariffs have also brought in money. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reported that tariff revenue jumped from about $7 billion last year to roughly $25 billion by late July. The inflow is rising, though opinions differ on whether consumers or foreign exporters carry the burden.

Per Cryptopolitan’s calculations, $25 billion equals less than 0.07% of the national debt. If every dollar of current tariff revenue went straight toward paying it down, it would still take nearly 120 years to clear the balance.

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The chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, Tom Lee, has urged shareholders to consider a proposal to increase the firm’s total number of shares from 50 million to 50 billion. This change, according to the chairman, may be essential for future stock splits, as Ether’s price has a significant impact on the company’s value.

Lee noted that BitMine’s share price is keeping up with Ether’s price. To effectively forecast future values, the executive carefully observed the ETH/Bitcoin ratio. 

Based on his argument, if, by any chance, BTC achieves a peak of $1 million, ETH would secure an all-time high of $250,000. At this point, Lee asserted that this rise would significantly increase the price of BitMine’s shares to highs he anticipated would be unreachable for many retail investors.

Lee demonstrates a strong commitment to increasing the total number of BitMine’s shares

In 2025, BitMine started as a Bitcoin mining and holding firm. Later, after careful consideration, the company shifted its focus to embracing an ETH treasury strategy. However, sources pointed out that BitMine continues to conduct some Bitcoin operations. 

Regarding his prediction, Lee declared that if ETH attained a peak of $250,000, BitMine shares could encounter an implied cost of approximately $5,000 each. Reports stated that this price is costly for several regular investors. To support this claim, the chairman mentioned that not everyone desires stocks to be priced at $500, $1,500, or $5,000; instead, a large group of individuals wants shares to be priced around $25.

Meanwhile, apart from this finding, Lee also acknowledged that if ETH reaches an all-time high of $250,000, BitMine would be required to carry out a 100:1 stock split to maintain the share price at $25. With the move in place, the firm’s shares are expected to increase the total number to 43 billion.

In a statement, Lee mentioned, “Right now, there are 426 million shares available. We aim to increase the authorized share count to 50 billion. However, that doesn’t mean we will actually create 50 billion shares; that’s just the highest number we want.” 

Reports highlighted that Lee is referring to the unit bias issue. Unit bias, in the basis of finance,  is the psychological tendency for investors to prefer owning whole units of an asset (like a whole Bitcoin or share) over fractions, or to equate a low price per unit with better value, even when the total investment value is the same or a fractional amount of a pricier asset is a better investment. 

Lee’s idea faces criticism 

Regarding Lee’s proposal to increase the total number of BitMine’s shares, reports pointed out that several users shared negative responses to this suggestion on X.  Some argued that it is unwise to raise the limit of authorized shares because this act would dilute the stock.

This discussion made headlines, sparking controversy among individuals in the crypto ecosystem. One user remarked, “Tom, this seems shady and silly to raise the share count just because the stock could hit $500. You should wait until next year when it’s not in such bad shape.”

Nonetheless, despite these concerns, recent reports highlighted that BitMine purchased approximately 32,938 ETH on Tuesday of this week for more than $102 million, based on current prices. Notably, as of December 2025, BitMine’s treasury had expanded to more than 4 million ETH, valued at over $12 billion. The firm also began staking ETH to generate income.

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Big moves in the crypto are hardly initiated through big announcements. They typically begin when change of structure transpires beneath the surface. Supply tightens. Usage plans become clear. The first movers get ahead of the general market. The move has already been made in large part by the time it makes headlines. One DeFi crypto is entering the setup stage. It is still in the early stages but the pieces are beginning to fall into place. 

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Progress and Core Vision

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a new crypto and it has been growing since early 2025. The presale opened at $0.01 and has been going through planned steps. The token price went to $0.04, with the beginning of Phase 7. This move is a 300% growth compared to the first stage.

Mutuum Finance has raised over $19.5 million. The holder count has grown to 18,650. These numbers depict multi- sensitivity as opposed to central ownership. Out of the entire 4 billion tokens, 45.5% has been set aside to the presale. More than 820 million tokens have been sold already.

Mutuum Finance is a DeFi being developed to be a lending platform in the crypto sector. The protocol will accommodate two lending markets. This enables users to give assets to earn money when another one takes loans on definite conditions. This is aimed to establish predictable lending behavior rather than speculative behavior.

How mtTokens Drive Value and V1 Launch

The launch of V1 will be a significant achievement of Mutuum Finance. As per official words, V1 will enable the main functions of the protocol on lending. At this point, MUTM is no longer in development but it is entering into live operation phase.

An important part of such a system is mtTokens. Such tokens mark the involvement of the users in the lending pools. Users who provide assets are given a token of their share in the pool called the mtTokens. These mtTokens increase in value as the demand to borrow increases due to the activity of protocols.

This is a model that analysts tend to consider as the basis of an enduring increase in prices. As the usage grows so does the token demand. According to the latest participation tendencies and the imminent V1 release, a few analysts provide a list of situations that refer to 750%  upside over the next two years, assuming growth in adoption will be as anticipated.

Security and Participation Signal

The issue of security has been considered as a fundamental requirement. Halborn Security has reviewed Mutuum Finance. The CertiK token scan scored 90 out of 100. To the same end, there is also a bug bounty program that has been introduced with a value of $50,000.00 to motivate continued code testing. These will minimize protocol risk and raise confidence of the participants. This layer would be important to a DeFi that is based on lending.

The participation cues are important, as well. Mutuum Finance has a 24 hour leaderboard that uses activity to reward participation. This system is not based on a one time contribution. Entry is also increased by card payment access. This has aided in the growth of the base of holders and diversified participation with crypto native users.

The Reason This Arrangement is Under Observation

When wondering what crypto to purchase at present or what crypto to invest in and grow in the long run, installations such as this one tend to become prominent before the multitude. Mutuum Finance is a combination of presale momentum, following utility, formal token economics, and sound security practices.

The presale is advancing. Phase 7 came with an almost 20% price increment. Supply is tightening. V1 is approaching. Plans about infrastructure are well stipulated.

When analysts are simulating possible scenarios they tend to seek consistent timing, structure and participation. In MUTM those aspects are beginning to overlap. Near mid 2026, Mutuum Finance is emerging not as the hype as a new crypto, but as a DeFi crypto that has its execution. That is the arrangement that is being followed by many market watchers.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is taking a decisive step following the revelation of a major security breach affecting the Flow (FLOW) blockchain.

Binance announced that it will delist some Flow trading pairs and add FLOW and other volatile tokens to its “Watchlist.” This label was introduced to notify users about elevated risk profiles.

According to a Friday announcement, Binance stated that it would eliminate nine spot trading pairs from the exchange, effective Saturday, including one for FLOW/BTC. In a separate notice, the company included FLOW and three other tokens on its monitoring tag list.

Flow hack exposes vulnerabilities and sparks market turmoil

On December 27, 2025, the Flow network was hacked by a hacker who exploited a weakness to mint fraudulent FLOW tokens, sparking a rapid sell‑off and liquidity crisis on exchanges. The hack is said to have shaved about 40% off Flow’s market price in the immediate days after the attack. 

The label is applied to tokens that exhibit “notably higher volatility and risks compared to other listed tokens,” the exchange stated, noting that the monitoring flag indicates the risk of tokens no longer meeting listing requirements.

Binance stated that the decisive moves followed “recent reviews” of the tokens, but did not explicitly mention the Flow exploit on Saturday. Reporters reached out to the exchange for comment on the exploit, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

In a preliminary post-mortem report on the exploit, Flow said it was “concerned by one exchange’s handling of this incident,” referring to an “AML/KYC failure” that allowed the hackers to deposit the stolen FLOW tokens, convert some to Bitcoin, and withdraw the funds. Some users speculated that, based on Flow’s description, the unnamed exchange could have been Binance.

Restoration underway as exchanges and developers respond

As of Friday, the Flow Foundation noted that it was working on fully restoring the blockchain ecosystem as part of a plan to address the $3.9 million exploit. According to the platform, the only steps remaining in the plan were to address user account restoration and remediate fraudulent tokens.

“What was initially projected as a sequential, multi-day process has been executed in parallel, restoring both Cadence and EVM [Ethereum Virtual Machine] functionality while maintaining surgical precision in removing fraudulent assets and preserving legitimate transaction history,” said Flow

The delisting news follows the scrapping of a proposal from earlier this week that included a rollback of the blockchain, which it halted amid criticism from many users. According to the platform, it expected to release a comprehensive post-mortem report on the hack “within 48 hours” with “complete ecosystem restoration expected this week.”

In an official update, Binance stated that it had traced and frozen the hacker’s remaining funds held on its platform to protect users, while urging the Flow project team to provide a detailed post-mortem of the exploit. Binance also emphasized that if the Flow team implements any recovery mechanism, exchange wallets should be excluded from such rollbacks to prevent complicating user balances.

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Financial markets began the new year just like they ended the old one, heading up. Stock prices climbed during January’s first trading session, keeping alive a trend that ran through most of last year.

Things stayed positive throughout the previous year. Excitement about artificial intelligence, lower inflation, and central banks stepping in kept the rally going. Trade fights, global tensions, and expensive stock prices? Investors shrugged those off. The takeaway was simple enough: taking risks paid off.

But what really stood out wasn’t just the gains themselves. It was how everything rose together. Stocks went up. Bonds went up. Credit spreads got tighter. Commodities climbed even as inflation cooled. The profits came from all directions and kept coming. By year’s end, financial conditions had loosened to nearly their easiest levels of the whole year. Stock valuations climbed and investors seemed to agree on what was driving it, economic growth and AI.

When you look at global stocks, bonds, credit, and commodities as one big picture, the previous year delivered the strongest combined performance since 2009. That was the year markets were in crisis mode and governments had to step in big time.

All this moving together made diversification look almost too easy. Which is actually the problem. It masked how much depends on those same conditions sticking around. When investments that are supposed to offset each other all go the same direction, you’re not as protected as you think. Sure, returns stack up. But there’s less room for things to go wrong.

Wall Street still betting on same playbook

Wall Street analysts are still banking on the same things, massive AI spending, solid economic growth, and central banks cutting rates without lighting the inflation fire again. Forecasts from more than 60 firms show pretty broad agreement that those conditions are still in place.

Thing is, markets have already baked in a lot of good news.

“We are assuming that the torrid pace of valuation expansion we have seen in some sectors is not sustainable nor repeatable,” said Carl Kaufman, a portfolio manager at Osterweis, referring to AI and nuclear-related stocks. “We are cautiously optimistic that we can avoid a major collapse, but fearful that future returns could be anemic.”

The numbers tell the story. U.S. stocks returned about 18%, marking three years in a row of double-digit gains. Global equities did even better at roughly 23%. Government bonds climbed too, global Treasuries were up nearly 7% as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates three times.

Volatility dropped hard and credit markets followed suit. Bond market swings recorded their steepest annual decline since after the financial crisis. Investment-grade spreads tightened for a third straight year, leaving average risk premiums below 80 basis points.

Commodities got in on the action. A Bloomberg index tracking the sector rose about 11%, with precious metals out front. Gold hit one record high after another, helped by central bank buying, easier U.S. monetary policy, and a weaker dollar.

Inflation remains the wildcard that could flip everything

Inflation’s still the big wild card. Price pressures eased through most of the previous year, but some investors warn that energy markets or policy mistakes could flip that around fast.

“The key risk for us is whether inflation finally returns,” Mina Krishnan at Schroders told Bloomberg. “We envision a domino of events that could lead to inflation, and we see the most probable path beginning with a rise in energy prices.”

You can see the disconnect beyond just markets. As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, the world’s 500 richest people added a record $2.2 trillion to their fortunes last year. Meanwhile, U.S. consumer confidence fell for five months straight through December.

Old-school Wall Street strategies made a comeback too. The 60/40 portfolio, splitting money between stocks and bonds, returned 14%. An index tracking the risk parity strategy jumped 19% for its best year since 2020.

Most investment managers aren’t sweating it yet. They say economic momentum and policy support are strong enough to justify higher prices.

“We are looking to spend as much cash as possible to take advantage of the current environment,” said Josh Kutin, head of asset allocation for North America at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. “We really are not seeing any evidence that we should be concerned about that downturn in the immediate future.”

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Rivian Automotive reported disappointing 2025 delivery figures on Friday, delivering 42,247 electric vehicles throughout the year. This represents an 18% decline from the previous year and falls short of analyst expectations of 42,500 deliveries. 

The autonomous driving industry is experiencing a decline in consumer interest due to high costs. Automakers are reporting low sales after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired in September last year.

How was Rivian Automotive’s 2025 performance?

Rivian delivered 42,247 EVs in 2025, down 18% from 2024 and missing analyst expectations of 42,500 units. The California-based automaker delivered 9,745 vehicles in the fourth quarter alone, narrowly missing Wall Street’s prediction of 10,050 units. During the same period, Rivian produced 10,974 vehicles at its Normal, Illinois, manufacturing facility.

Elon Musk’s Tesla also had a rough year as Cryptopolitan reported that the EV maker posted disappointing delivery numbers for 2025. The situation for American EV makers is compounded by the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit at the end of September 2025 effectively increased prices for consumers and choked off demand across the industry.

The premium vehicles such as the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV that Rivian sells at high prices are usually the first to go when economic volatility hit consumers.

Rivian implemented efficiency measures at its Illinois manufacturing facility, attempting to streamline its production processes and reduce costs. The company is also simplifying vehicle components

Rivian needs to demonstrate that it can achieve sustainable profitability, as investors are no longer as patient with unprofitable EV startups as they were during the EV boom in 2020-2021.

Will Rivian launch more products?

Investor attention is increasingly focused on Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV that is scheduled to begin deliveries in the first half of 2026. The vehicle is expected to target a lower price point than the company’s current vehicles.

This smaller SUV is expected to compete directly with Tesla’s Model Y, which is currently one of the best-selling EVs globally. The R2 could significantly expand Rivian’s customer base by appealing to consumers who want the brand but cannot afford the R1 series vehicles.

Rivian plans to release its complete fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results on February 12, after market close. The company’s CEO RJ Scaringe announced that point-to-point automated driving would come to Rivian vehicles sometime in 2026.

Rivian launched Universal Hands-Free in December, which is part of Rivian Autonomy+ that begins charging $49.99 per month or a one-time $2,500 purchase in February 2026. The company held an AI and Autonomy Day in early December, where it showcased its hands-free highway assist and navigation technology.

In the United States, November 2025 new EV sales totaled 70,255 units, down 41.2% from a year earlier, with EV share of total sales falling to 5.4%, the lowest since April 2022.

Despite these short-term headwinds, analysts project that U.S. EV sales could reach 2.25 million by the end of 2025.EVs are expected to account for 11.8% of sales in 2026.

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Stani Kulechov, founder of  Aave, says his company will share profits with token holders. This comes as his research firm and the group running the protocol argue over money and control.

Kulechov put out a blog post Friday about the plan. Aave Labs will split revenue from work done outside the main protocol with people who own AAVE tokens.

“Given the recent conversations in the community, at Aave Labs we are committed to sharing revenue generated outside the protocol with token holders,” Kulechov wrote. “Alignment is important for us and for AAVE holders, and we’ll follow up soon with a formal proposal that will include specific structures for how this works.”

Dispute over frontend fees sparks debate

The Aave community has been fighting over profit sharing and ownership questions. The whole thing started when a token holder asked why Aave Labs redirected frontend fees away from the Aave DAO. Aave Labs built the first version of the protocol, but the DAO mostly maintains it now.

The December proposal wanted to move all brand assets, domains, social media and copyright into a DAO-controlled entity. But details remain unclear about how Aave Labs would participate going forward. The centralized entity has handled most of the work and innovation, and nobody knows if the community can deliver the same results.

Other platforms like Cardano have moved to community ownership. For coins like Kaspa, the shift from leadership to community governance hurt the token price.

Push for expansion beyond crypto

Kulechov says both groups need to agree on where Aave goes next. He wants it to grow past crypto and get into real-world assets, consumer lending, and institutional loans.

“We believe the most effective path forward is to allow opinionated teams to build products independently on top of the permissionless Aave Protocol, while the protocol itself captures upside through increased usage and revenue,” Kulechov said.

His post also talked about fixing problems “with respect to branding.” Some people want Aave Labs to give the Aave intellectual property to the DAO.

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Trust Wallet’s browser extension has returned to the Chrome Web Store following a temporary removal forced by a sophisticated hack that compromised roughly $8.5 million worth of digital assets in December.

The platform posted on X, stating, “Version 2.71.0 is now available & includes customer service verification code support to help with the claims process.”

Trust Wallet’s chief executive officer, Eowyn Chen, called for calm on December 31, posting on X, “Some may have noticed that the @trustwallet Browser Extension is temporarily unavailable on the Chrome Web Store. We hit a Chrome Web Store bug while releasing a new version that includes a feature to help reimbursement claimants submit verification codes from their extension — this helps us better verify wallet ownership for affected users, separate from the hacker/scammer.

Google has acknowledged the issue and is escalating it internally. We hope to have it resolved soon.”

Chen also warned users to remain vigilant for fake versions of the extension.

Holiday attack drains thousands of Trust Wallet users’ assets

In the hack that occurred in December, attackers released a malicious version 2.68 of Trust Wallet’s browser extension on Christmas Eve. Unsuspecting users were stunned when their funds got drained during a roughly two-day period between December 25 and 26.

According to Trust Wallet, 2,520 wallet addresses were affected across multiple blockchain networks.

The crypto wallet platform also added that they have a high confidence that the exploit is linked to the November Shai-Hulud supply chain attack, which targeted the npm software registry and affected thousands of repositories industry-wide.

Security researchers noted that the attackers demonstrated sophisticated planning, having staged their infrastructure by December 8, more than two weeks before deploying the compromised extension.

White-hat security researchers attempted to mitigate the damage by launching distributed denial-of-service attacks against the attackers’ infrastructure, helping to limit the number of additional victims after the breach was discovered.

Trust Wallet initially released a version 2.69 to replace the compromised version 2.68, urging users to download it; however, that new version hit a bug, as Chen pointed out.

Fraudulent claims complicate reimbursement plan

Trust Wallet, which is owned by Binance but operates as a separate entity, assured users that only the browser extension was affected. It insisted that the mobile app versions were not affected throughout the incident.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed the company’s plan to fully reimburse all verified victims.

However, according to Chen, Trust Wallet had to revise its claims process to be more stringent after receiving over 5,000 claims despite identifying only 2,596 affected wallet addresses.

In an X post dated December 28, Chen acknowledged the irregular number of claim seekers, writing, “Our team is working diligently to verify claims; combining multiple data points to distinguish legitimate victims from malicious actors.”

Chen explained that the newly restored extension’s verification code feature will allow Trust Wallet to distinguish genuine claims from fraudulent or duplicate submissions.

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At some point in each crypto cycle, there is a shift in focus. It normally occurs when massive property goes decelerating and capital begins searching for the next dimension of expansion. These moments are not initiated loudly. They manifest themselves in the form of stable involvement, reduction in supply and increased infrastructure indicators.

This change is reemerging in 2026. One new DeFi cryptocurrency that is priced at only $0.04 only at the time is starting to enter the market conversation more frequently. Not in the form of hype, but as a programmed procedure toward implementation. 

The Presale of Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Has Shaped Up

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is now selling at $0.04. This price was launched with the initiation of Phase 7, which was preceded by an increase of close to 20%compared to the previous phase. The presale itself started in early 2025 and started at $0.01 at Phase 1.

The token has been in several systematic stages since its launch. MUTM has advanced into a 300% growth at a price range of $0.01 to $0.04. The initial price of the MUTM launch is set at $0.06 and this puts the Phase 1 participants in a position to appreciate at approximately 500 %.

The protocol has  already raised $19.45 million. It has increased the number of participants to 18,650 to the holder base. These figures indicate that this has dispersed widely and not a few who have dominated supply. Phase 7 is active and the remaining supply is tightening at an even faster rate than in previous phases.

Mutuum Finance also accepts card payments and this has enlarged access to crypto native users. There is a participation leaderboard displayed every day and 24 hours to encourage daily involvement, as opposed to high turnover.

The Protocol Level Overview

Mutuum Finance is a DeFi crypto that is aimed at lending infrastructures. This protocol is based on dual lending markets. This implies that it is the sustenance of two parallel systems that have clear rules.

One of the sides enables borrowers to provide assets to lending pools. These pools yield on the basis of the demand to borrow. The other side facilitates the lending agreements in a structured manner that has fixed terms. These systems, together with one another, are supposed to balance flexibility with predictability.

One of the major components of this design is mtTokens. These tokens indicate the share of lending in the protocol of a user. The development of usage causes accrual-based value to be reflected in the price of mtTokens that is in relation to actual protocol performance.

Security has not been an add on, it has been approached as a core layer. Halborn Security reviewed the project. Furthermore, one of the CertiK token scans showed a score of 90 out of 100. There is also a bug bounty system of $50,000 to serve as a motivation to keep on code testing.

Phase 7 and V1 Protocol Launch

Phase 7 is currently advancing. This coincides very well with the V1 launch developments. V1 will be able to trigger core lending functionality and open the protocol to live usage, according to official statements.

This combination matters. The supply is tightening now when utility is slightly about to be launched. In the past this overlap frequently occurred as a transition in the value of a token by the markets.

The indications of bigger allocations during recent phases have also been taken. Whale sized inputs imply increased confidence among the participants who have longer term horizons. Such allotments lead to still lower supply.

A Growth Story Heading Into Q1 2026

The best cryptocurrencies do not imply substituting it. It is being discussed as a serious option in another category. Mutuum Finance is not a meme coin, nor the copy of existing giants. It is establishing itself as DeFi crypto based on lending, flow of revenue and controlled growth.

MUTM is currently being valued at a point in the early stages of its roadmap at $0.04. The project is in build mode as it shifts to the execution with Phase 7 in progress, V1 approaching, and infrastructure layers matching.

Adoption and delivery will determine whether it will be as large as top 10 discussions allude. The fact is that the invisibility of Mutuum Finance is no longer as such. It is emerging as one of the cheapest crypto projects that are keeping the eyes of its market participants as the year 2026 nears.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance