Gate Research: Market Rhythm Led by the Holiday Window | Polymarket Builders Achieve New Peak

Crypto Market Overview

• BTC (+0.69% | Current price: 88,358 USDT): After two consecutive days of consolidation over the weekend, BTC edged up to around $88,300, reclaiming its position above the MA5, MA10, and MA30 moving averages. The short-term structure has shifted from weak to stable, with the moving average system showing a recovery-type bullish pattern. In terms of key levels, the $88,800–$89,500 range above remains a short-term resistance zone formed by dense previous highs and long upper shadows, and any upward breakout may require repeated consolidation. It’s worth noting that the market is currently in the overlapping window of the Christmas and New Year holidays, during which institutional participation from both Western and Asian markets has temporarily declined, leading to overall weak liquidity. In such a low-volume environment, price fluctuations are more easily amplified, and the credibility of trend breakouts is relatively limited. As a result, BTC is more likely to remain in a range-bound consolidation in the short term.
• ETH (+1.53% | Current price: 2,985.73 USDT): ETH has rebounded to the $2,980 level, with the short-term structure shifting from weak to strong. The moving average system is showing a recovery-type bullish alignment, and overall performance is relatively stronger than BTC. In terms of key levels, the area near $3,000 serves as a short-term resistance zone, formed by a concentration of previous highs and the psychological round number. Affected by the low-liquidity environment during the overlapping Christmas and New Year holidays, and with no significant increase in trading volume, the current rebound appears more like a technical recovery. The effectiveness of a breakout above the $3,000 level still requires multiple confirmations, and in the short term, price action may revolve around this level with repeated attempts.
• Altcoins: The Fear and Greed Index remains at 24, in the “Extreme Fear” range. During the overlapping window of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the low-liquidity environment has amplified emotional swings, and overall market sentiment remains cautious.
• Macro: On December 26, the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.03% to close at 6,929.94 points; the Dow Jones Index declined by 0.041% to 48,710.97 points; and the Nasdaq Index dropped by 0.086% to 23,593.1 points. As of 11:30 AM (UTC+8) on December 29, the spot price of gold is $4,540.9 per ounce, down 0.27% over the past 24 hours.

Trending Tokens

TOKEN TokenFi (+162%, Circulating Market Cap: $22.85M)

According to Gate market data, the current price of the TOKEN token is $0.00725, having surged over 160% in the past 24 hours. TokenFi (TOKEN) is an all-in-one asset tokenization platform launched by the Floki team, aimed at simplifying the creation and tokenization process for both cryptocurrency tokens and real-world assets (RWA). The platform adopts a no-code approach, allowing users to quickly issue tokens or digitize assets such as real estate and artwork through a WYSIWYG interface.

This round of TOKEN’s price increase appears to be more speculative in nature rather than driven by any sudden fundamental developments, as there have been no recent major announcements or product updates from the project. The surge may be attributed to market makers or large holders pumping the price. Coupled with its low circulating market cap, even small amounts of capital can trigger large price movements. Additionally, as early capital pushed the price up, TOKEN’s trading volume surged significantly, placing it among the top gainers on platforms like Gate. This leaderboard effect further amplified visibility and buying interest, attracting FOMO-driven capital chasing the rally.

TAKE OVERTAKE (+41.63%, Circulating Market Cap: $85.18M)

According to Gate market data, the current price of the TAKE token is $0.4593, up more than 40% in the past 24 hours. OVERTAKE (TAKE) is a peer-to-peer Web3 gaming asset trading platform built on the Sui blockchain, focusing on bridging Web2 and Web3 gaming economies by enabling true ownership and secure trading of in-game assets such as items, accounts, and virtual currencies.

The catalyst behind TAKE’s price surge may be the launch of the STAKEHOUSE staking system and the release of ecosystem incentives. Recently, OVERTAKE Labs introduced STAKEHOUSE—a unified platform for staking, trading, and referrals—which incorporates a “personalized identification” mechanism. This mechanism dynamically adjusts staking rewards based on users’ real contributions, trading behavior, and ecosystem participation. It has attracted a large number of users to lock in TAKE, temporarily reducing circulating supply and creating buying pressure in the short term.

RIVER River (+20%, Circulating Market Cap: $95.64M)

According to Gate market data, the RIVERE token is currently priced at $4.88, up about 20% in the past 24 hours. The River (RIVER) protocol is a chain-abstraction stablecoin system designed to unify cross-chain assets, liquidity, and yield without relying on traditional bridges or wrapped assets. Its core products include the omni-CDP stablecoin satUSD, as well as non-liquidation auto-yield strategy vaults like PrimeVault and SmartVault.

RIVER’s price increase leans toward being driven by product mechanism incentives. The Season 4 (S4) incentive program continues to gain traction, with River4FUN community events and Season 4 emphasizing staking RIVER, actual usage of satUSD, and user participation. These factors incentivize users to lock up supply and reduce selling pressure.

Alpha Insights

Polymarket Builders Weekly Trading Volume Surpasses $50 Million, Setting New Record

Recently, a clear inflection point has emerged within the Polymarket Builders ecosystem. On one hand, the number of Builders continues to expand — statistics show there are now over 70 Builders, with 10–20 new ones added each week in recent weeks. In terms of quantity, Builders have now surpassed Hyperliquid Builders as measured by Flowscan. On the other hand, the accumulation of Builders is now materially reflected in trading volume: for the first time in history, weekly trading volume from Polymarket Builders has exceeded $50 million, signaling the ecosystem’s transition from a tool and experimentation phase to a new stage capable of supporting scalable trading.

In terms of structure, internal differentiation among Builders is beginning to take shape. betmoar firmly holds the top position, accounting for nearly half of the volume. Meanwhile, PolyTraderPro, Stand Trade, and Polycule are competing within the “second tier,” collectively forming a landscape characterized by a concentrated top tier and an active mid-tier.

Notably, the ecosystem is still in an early-stage window of opportunity, meaning new entrants still have room to break through. For example, a new Builder called Preddy, which is still in a private phase, has already surpassed $3 million in weekly trading volume, ranking fourth for the week — showing clear differentiation in product positioning or user base.

Uniswap Governance Reaches Historic Moment with 100 Million UNI Tokens Burned

Uniswap, one of the largest DEXs on EVM networks, has recently taken a major step forward in governance. The community passed the “UNIfication” governance proposal, which has now been officially executed with a large-scale token burn. According to on-chain data, the Uniswap treasury has permanently burned approximately 100 million UNI tokens, worth around $590 million — marking the largest supply contraction event in UNI’s history.

Notably, the UNIfication proposal was passed with near-unanimous support, signaling a strong consensus among UNI holders to reshape Uniswap’s economic model. The proposal also includes activating the fee switch, whereby a portion of protocol revenue will be used for ongoing buybacks and burns of UNI, shifting from a one-time impact to a sustained deflationary mechanism. Following the massive burn, UNI experienced a short-term price surge, breaking above the $6 level alongside increased trading volume — reflecting market approval of the deflationary and revenue-linked value capture logic. As one of the largest on-chain protocols, Uniswap’s shift of UNI from a pure governance token toward an asset tied to deflation and revenue may also provide a viable path for other DeFi projects seeking sustainable value capture.

Solana Co-Founder Toly Predicts Stablecoin Market Cap Will Exceed $1 Trillion by 2026

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko (Toly) has released his predictions for 2026, with the most striking being his projection that the global supply of stablecoins will surpass $1 trillion next year. This forecast significantly exceeds the more conservative estimates from traditional financial institutions — for example, JPMorgan projects stablecoin supply to reach $500–600 billion by 2028.

In the same series of predictions, Toly also touched on broader technological trends beyond crypto: quantum computing and nuclear fusion will remain as distant as they are today, AI may solve a millennium-old math problem, hundreds of thousands of humanoid robots could be shipped, and SpaceX’s Starship might achieve two successful commercial flights. While these predictions go beyond the crypto space, they reflect a long-term perspective on the convergence of emerging technologies.


References

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/eth/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
• Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
• Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
• CoinGecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/cryptocurrency-heatmap
• Dune, https://dune.com/gateresearch/pmbuilders
• DLNews, https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/uniswap-dao-to-activate-fee-switch-and-burn-100m-uni-tokens/
  
  
  Gate Research is a comprehensive blockchain and cryptocurrency research platform that provides deep content for readers, including technical analysis, market insights, industry research, trend forecasting, and macroeconomic policy analysis.

Disclaimer
Investing in cryptocurrency markets involves high risk. Users are advised to conduct their own research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products before making any investment decisions. Gate is not responsible for any losses or damages arising from such decisions.