This crypto weekly wrap covers what was arguably the most policy-heavy week in recent memory. Regulators made big moves, Wall Street quietly doubled down on Ethereum, and altcoins bled harder than they have in five years. Here is everything that mattered.
US Crypto Regulation Is Closer Than Most People Realise
Two major regulatory signals dropped this week, and both point in the same direction.
First, CFTC Chair Brian Quintenz confirmed the crypto market structure bill is “on the verge” of being signed into law. His tone was direct: regulators want a permanent framework locked in before political winds shift again. The reference to “a second Gary Gensler” was pointed. They are building this to last.
Second, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins used his ETHDenver speech to outline a concrete agenda. The SEC plans to co-launch Project Crypto with the CFTC, clarify whether crypto wallets need to register under the Securities Exchange Act, and propose new rules allowing broker-dealers to custody non-security crypto assets, including stablecoins. An “innovation exemption” for tokenised securities is also on the table.
White House Backs Stablecoin Rewards – With Conditions
The White House held its third meeting with banking and crypto industry representatives this week. The administration expressed support for limited stablecoin rewards under the market structure bill, provided they do not cut into bank deposit businesses.
The debate is now centred on Section 404 of the bill, which amends last year’s GENIUS Act. Democrats are pushing for a ban on senior officials engaging in crypto dealings before they sign off. Negotiations are ongoing, but the direction is clear. Washington is building a framework, not blocking one.
Strategy and Bitmine Keep Stacking Despite Unrealised Losses
Strategy (MSTR) bought another 2,486 BTC last week at roughly $67,710 each, a $168 million purchase. The company now holds 717,131 BTC with an average cost basis of $76,027. That puts their unrealized loss at around $5.75 billion right now.
Despite that, Strategy confirmed it can cover all its debt obligations even if Bitcoin falls to $8,000. Michael Saylor added that the plan is to convert convertible bonds to equity over the next three to six years. This is a balance sheet strategy, not a short-term trade.
On the Ethereum side, Bitmine (BMNR) purchased 45,759 ETH at an average of $2,001, totalling $91.56 million. The company now holds 4.37 million ETH, the largest corporate Ethereum treasury in the world, currently sitting on an unrealised loss of $7.94 billion.
Wall Street Is Buying the ETH Dip Retail Won’t Touch
Here is the move that flew under most people’s radar. While Bitmine’s share price fell roughly 48% in Q4 2025, institutional investors went the other direction entirely.
According to 13F filings with the SEC, Goldman Sachs increased its Bitmine stake by 588%. Bank of America was up 1,668%. BlackRock added 166%. Morgan Stanley, the largest single shareholder, raised its position by 26% to over 12.1 million shares worth $331 million. ARK Invest increased holdings by 27% to more than 9.4 million shares.
That is not a coincidence. That is conviction buying at a discount. It is arguably the most important institutional signal in this crypto weekly wrap, and most retail investors missed it completely.
Ethereum’s RWA Market Hits $17 Billion – Up 315% Year-On-Year
Tokenised real-world assets on Ethereum mainnet crossed $17 billion this week, up from just $4.1 billion one year ago. Ethereum now accounts for roughly 34% of total on-chain RWA value across all blockchains.Â
BlackRock’s tokenised US Treasury fund BUIDL is leading that charge. JPMorgan is bringing yield-generating products on-chain too. The total stablecoin market cap on Ethereum has also crossed $175 billion, cementing its role as the primary institutional settlement layer.
The Ethereum Foundation separately released its 2026 protocol priorities this week. The three focus tracks are scaling L1 execution, improving cross-chain UX through native account abstraction, and hardening network security, including post-quantum work. The next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, targets H1 2026.
Altcoin Selling Pressure Hits a Five-Year Extreme
If your altcoin portfolio has felt heavy lately, the data backs that up completely.
CryptoQuant’s latest analysis shows the cumulative buy-sell spread for altcoins, excluding BTC and ETH, has dropped to negative $209 billion. January 2025 was the last point where supply and demand were roughly balanced. Since then, it has been 13 straight months of one-sided net selling.
Retail capital has largely exited. Capital rotation is complete. There are no signs of institutional accumulation in the broader altcoin market. Analysts are calling this structural, not cyclical. That is a meaningful distinction.
DeFi Projects Are Quietly Shutting Down
The altcoin pain has a real-world body count. Multiple DeFi protocols shut down in 2025. Linear Finance, zkLend, Loopring’s DeFi products, DELV, Kinto, and Minterest, among them. Reasons ranged from hacks and delistings to plain low usage and complete token liquidity collapse.
Many others are technically still running but earning under $3,000 in fees over 30 days. Projects like Wombat Exchange, Equalizer, SparkDEX, and HoneySwap sit in this category. That is not a business; that is barely keeping the lights on.
The DeFi space is going through a harsh but arguably necessary cleanup. The survivors will be leaner and more focused.
Kiyosaki: Biggest Crash Is Imminent; He’s Still Buying BTC and ETH
Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, posted this week that the market crash he predicted back in 2013 is now imminent. He holds physical gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, and plans to keep buying BTC as prices fall.
His reasoning is straightforward: Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply with near-full circulation makes panic selling look like a discount opportunity. Whether or not you share his macro outlook, Kiyosaki’s posts reach a massive global retail audience. That has a real effect on sentiment and buying behaviour.
Is the US crypto market structure bill actually close to passing?
Based on this week’s statements from the CFTC Chair, yes. The language used suggests it is a question of when rather than if, though Democratic demands around senior officials could still cause delays.
Why are Wall Street firms buying more Bitmine stock if the price dropped 48%?
Institutional investors often accumulate during price weakness when they have conviction in the underlying asset. The 13F filings confirm firms like Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Bank of America all increased positions significantly during Q4 2025.
Why are altcoins not recovering even when BTC holds steady?
CryptoQuant data shows 13 consecutive months of net selling across the altcoin market with no institutional accumulation signal yet. Retail has exited, and there is no fresh rotation coming in to replace it.
What happens to Strategy if Bitcoin drops much further?
Strategy says it can service all its debt even at $8,000 BTC. Saylor’s plan involves converting convertible bonds to equity over three to six years, giving the company enough runway to ride out deep drawdowns.
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Disclaimer:
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