GM to all of you nutcases. It’s Crypto Nutshell #786 ringin’ in the year… 🎉🥜

We’re the crypto newsletter that’s more relentless than a survivor navigating a lawless wasteland where chaos rules… 🚗🔥

What we’ve cooked up for you today…

What’s in the Crypto Nutshell Portfolio?

BREAKING: Long-term holders turn net accumulators, easing a major bitcoin headwind

Long-term Bitcoin holders just stopped selling.

For the first time since July, long-term holders (LTHs) - entities holding BTC for at least 155 days - have flipped to net accumulation.

They've added roughly 33,000 BTC on a 30-day basis, according to data from checkonchain.

LTH selling has been one of the two largest sources of sell pressure this year, alongside miner capitulation.

During the 36% correction from October, LTHs sold over 1 million BTC - the largest distribution since 2019, when Bitcoin hit its $3,200 bear market low.

This cycle has seen three major LTH distribution waves:

Now the trend has finally reversed.

U.S. selling pressure persists

The Coinbase Premium Index hit -0.14 on December 30 - the weakest reading since February.

The index has been negative for 16 straight days. During that stretch, Bitcoin failed to close a week above $90,000.

A similar setup also played out in February. The premium crashed, Bitcoin dropped below $80,000, then recovered.

Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows continued in December for the second consecutive month, though withdrawals declined significantly since November.

Why this matters

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju confirmed: "Bitcoin long-term holders stopped selling."

Roughly 10,700 BTC shifted into long-term holding status in late December.

Analysts still believe that Bitcoin could drop below $80,000 if U.S. selling continues. But structurally, one of the two major sell pressure sources just flipped.

Miners capitulated weeks ago. Long-term holders stopped distributing.

If U.S. institutional demand returns - signalled by a positive Coinbase Premium - the path of least resistance shifts.

The setup is in place. We'll see in January whether it's enough. 🚀

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Grant Cardone hasn’t historically been a Bitcoiner.

He’s a real-estate billionaire, founder of Cardone Capital, and someone whose audience is built on property, cash flow, and old-school wealth building, not crypto Twitter.

That’s why his poll this week surprised people:

Bitcoin won by almost 4x.

Grant followed up with the real question:

Some critics immediately dismissed the poll, claiming Grant’s audience was “biased toward Bitcoin.”

That’s when Peter Schiff stepped in.

Peter Schiff is the most vocal gold bull and Bitcoin critic alive. He’s spent over a decade calling Bitcoin a bubble and gold the only real money.

So he ran the exact same poll.

Bitcoin still won by a wide margin, even with an audience that actively dislikes it.

So what gives?

If Bitcoin is the clear preference, why are gold and silver the ones ripping right now, printing all-time highs?

This is the part most people miss.

As we’ve been pointing out for months, Gold tends to move first when liquidity conditions shift.

Then Bitcoin tends to follow, usually with a lag of ~6 months.

We’ve seen this play out repeatedly.

Gold & silver lead. Bitcoin follows - violently. 💣

Today we’ll be taking a look the overall stablecoin supply.

Stablecoins are the backbone of crypto liquidity, used for seamless trading and instant cross-border transactions.

The chart below tracks the aggregate change in the total stablecoin market cap.

Two weeks ago, the total stablecoin supply sat at $270.73 billion.

Today it's $268.93 billion.

That's a $1.80 billion decrease in the past 14 days.

At first glance, that looks like weakness. But context matters.

Bitcoin's been grinding lower. Fear's elevated. ETF flows remain choppy.

And despite all that... stablecoin supply only dropped $1.8 billion.

Zoom out and the picture gets even clearer.

Stablecoin supply is still up $80.49 billion year-to-date.

Stablecoins aren't just digital dollars. They're dry powder.

Billions in ready-to-deploy capital, already on-chain, waiting for conviction to flip. 🔥

Recent Bitcoin crashes cry "manipulation" as on-chain data catches market maker dumping. Bitcoin's violent whipsaw drew accusations of manipulation, but the data reveals a market structurally vulnerable.

Ethereum Hits Record 8.7M Contract Deployments in Q4 2025. Ethereum set a quarterly record with 8.7 million smart contracts deployed in Q4 2025, driven by RWAs, stablecoins and infrastructure growth, Token Terminal data shows.

Grayscale seeks U.S. listing for Bittensor ETP in first institutional bet on decentralized AI. The filing marks the first attempt to bring TAO, Bittensor’s native token, to U.S. markets through a regulated investment product.

David Beckham-backed supplements firm quits Bitcoin buying strategy after raising $48 million. Bitcoin was changing hands at about $114,000 at the time of the announcement, but has since fallen to about $88,000.

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Select your answer below and you’ll be redirected to the results page. (answer explanation can be found after “Meme Corner”)

Because what would the crypto world be without its share of memes?

Trivia Answer: Around $1,200 🥳

The 400 UNI tokens were worth around $1,200 at launch (roughly $3 per token). At UNI's all-time high of $44 in May 2021, that same airdrop was worth over $17,000. It remains one of crypto's most valuable airdrops, rewarding anyone who'd used the protocol before September 1, 2020.

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