PAX Gold pricePAXG

2025 turned out to be the year that effectively rewrote the rules of the game on the crypto market. After a period of caution and selective bets, institutional capital began to return — not chaotically, but systematically. The market experienced increased volatility, but it was this volatility that created new opportunities: money shifted from short-term speculative narratives to more mature and proven assets. Clearer signals from regulators in key jurisdictions and macroeconomic pressure forced funds to look for alternatives to traditional instruments, and for the first time in a long time, the crypto industry looked like a full-fledged segment of the financial market. In this context, CryptoRank has compiled a rating of the 2025 Top Gainers Above $500 Million Market Cap — assets that demonstrated growth in 2025 not due to a low base, but in conditions of large capitalization and stable liquidity. These parameters are key for institutional investors: liquidity reduces entry and exit risks, scale complicates manipulation, and a mature community and history of audits form the basis of trust. In this article, I will take a detailed look at the top 5 coins on this list and explain why 2025 was the moment when institutional players stopped watching from the sidelines and started acting again.  𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐆𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬? Zcash ( $ZEC ) — +861% Zcash is a decentralized cryptocurrency focused on privacy that uses zk-SNARKs technology. It allows transactions to be confirmed without revealing information about the sender, recipient, or amount, combining security and anonymity.  Results for 2025: Growth: +861% (CoinRank) Capitalization: ~$8.38 billion (CoinDesk) Liquidity: $24.6 million on major exchanges (Live Coin Watch) Key events (December 2025 – January 2026): Bitwise Zcash ETF: The application to create a spot ETF became the main growth driver. Cypherpunk Holdings: increase in ZEC reserves as “digital gold with privacy.” Grayscale Zcash Trust: renewed interest from institutional investors. Forecast for 2026: Analysts expect market consolidation and maturity. If the ETF is approved, ZEC's capitalization could grow to $12–15 billion, and the price could fluctuate between $450–530 with peaks of $550–600. The main risk is regulatory pressure in the EU and Asia. WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) — +131% WBT is WhiteBIT's native coin, which provides holders with bonuses: discounts on trading fees, referral commissions, and benefits such as zero fees on certain tokens and priority AML checks. 2025 results: Growth: +131% (CoinRank), ATH > $60 Capitalization: ~$12.48 billion (CoinDesk) Liquidity: $4.13 million on individual pairs; total volumes > $100 million (Live Coin Watch) Key partnerships (December 2025 – January 2026): WhiteBIT x Crassula: development of infrastructure for financial institutions. S&P Dow Jones Indices: inclusion of WBT in five crypto indices. WhiteBIT US: entry into the US market. Forecast for 2026: Given the partnership with leading companies such as Crassula and inclusion in the S&P Dow Jones indices, capitalization growth to $18–20 billion and a price of $90–130 can be predicted. WBT continues its transformation from an exchange coin to an infrastructure asset, combining the advantages of cryptocurrency with the reliability of traditional finance. Monero (XMR) — +123% Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses ring signatures and stealth addresses, making transactions virtually impossible to trace. Results for 2025: Growth: +123% (CoinRank) Capitalization: ~$8.35 billion (CoinDesk) Liquidity: $11.7 million (Live Coin Watch) Key events (December 2025 – January 2026): Seraphis & Jamtis Testnet: final testing of new addressing protocols. Quantum Resistance Upgrade: preparation for quantum-resistant cryptography. Hardware Wallet Support: Ledger and Trezor updates. Forecast for 2026: Despite competition from Zcash, Monero remains a favorite among “ideological” investors. Capitalization may grow to $10–12 billion, and the price may rise to $420–550. The main risk is regulatory pressure in the EU. OKB — +118% OKB is the native coin of the OKX exchange and the X Layer network, which is used for commission discounts, participation in Jumpstart projects, and as gas in X Layer. Results for 2025: Growth: +118% (CoinRank) Capitalization: ~$2.41 billion (CoinDesk) Liquidity: $2.83 million (Live Coin Watch) Key partnerships (December 2025 – January 2026): Standard Chartered x OKX: mirroring collateral for institutional clients. OKTChain → X Layer: completion of DeFi protocol migration. Polygon CDK integration: increasing transaction speed to 5,000 TPS. 2026 forecast: OKB is often referred to as OKX's “digital oil.” Thanks to the deflationary effect and institutional partnerships, capitalization could double to $4.5–5 billion, and the price could reach $140–170. PAX Gold ( $PAXG ) — +67% PAXG is tokenized gold, where each token is backed by 1 troy ounce stored in Brink's vaults. The issuer is the regulated company Paxos. 2025 results: Growth: +67% (CoinRank) Capitalization: ~$1.68 billion (CoinDesk) Liquidity: $31.63 million (Live Coin Watch) Key events (December 2025–January 2026): OCC oversight: the first gold token under OCC oversight. WEEX futures listing: launch of futures up to 100x. DeFi expansion: Aave & Maker Pools — PAXG as the main collateral for stablecoins. Forecast for 2026: PAXG remains a “safe haven” in the world of tokens. Capitalization may grow to $2–2.5 billion, price — to $4,500–4,700, with stable spreads. 2026 may become the year of full tokenization of gold and derivatives. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 2025 marked the “great return” of institutional capital. This was driven not only by the maturity of the industry, but also by macroeconomic pressures: inflation remained at 2.7-3%, and Fed rates fell as expected, making traditional instruments less attractive. Funds began to view digital assets as an important diversification tool, and spot ETFs with over $60 billion in volume and the growing role of Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset created a powerful “domino effect” for liquid altcoins with a market capitalization of over $500 million. A key factor has been the shift in the regulatory paradigm in the US and EU. MiCA in Europe and the GENIUS Act in the US have provided clear rules of the game, opening up opportunities for banks to offer real asset custody and tokenization services. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 In 2026, the market will enter a phase of “fundamental maturity”: volatility will increasingly depend on corporate reports and the actual use of protocols, rather than speculation. The mass tokenization of gold and derivatives (such as PAXG) is gaining momentum, and capital will be concentrated in liquid assets, while speculative projects will take a back seat. Geopolitics and recession risks remain major challenges, but for the crypto market, this is a chance to finally establish itself as a “digital haven” for capital.

🏦🇺🇲 Federal Reserve Minutes Are Out: Is the Gold Rush Just Beginning? 📈 Gold and silver stayed steady as the market absorbed the Fed’s latest meeting minutes. The Fed remains split on the timing of rate cuts, but the outlook for precious metals is shining brighter than ever. The Highlights: 🔻 Gold’s Resilience: After a record peak at $4,560/oz last week, gold is holding strong near $4,345/oz. Experts are targeting $5,000/oz in 2026—this could be just the start. 🔻 Silver’s Surge: Silver jumped 5% today to $76.20/oz, driven by booming industrial demand and safe-haven buying. 🔻 The Fed Factor: Policy uncertainty sparks volatility, but the trend leans toward lower rates soon—great news for assets like gold and silver that don’t yield interest. With geopolitical tensions rising and rate cuts possibly on the way, many investors wonder: Is this the last dip before a historic bull run? 🚀 $XAUT $PAXG

According to Coingecko data, the total market capitalization of tokenized gold assets has exceeded 4.2 billion US dollars, with a growth of approximately 147% in the past six months. Tether's XAUT has a total market value of approximately 2.24 billion US dollars, while Paxos's PAXG has a total market value of approximately 1.5 billion US dollars, with the two accounting for approximately 89% of the market share. Each XAUT and PAXG token is backed by a 1:1 physical reserve of gold. According to market data, the intraday increase in spot gold is approximately 1.1%, currently at 4326.5 US dollars per ounce. At the beginning of 2025, spot gold was at 2624 US dollars per ounce, marking an increase of nearly 65% during the year. A recent analysis by Morgan Stanley stated that with continued rate cut expectations and a resurgence in the weakening of the US dollar index, the price of gold is predicted to rise to $4800 per ounce by the fourth quarter of 2026. $XAUT $PAXG

Tokenized commodities are nearing $4B as gold hits new all-time highs. Onchain gold is booming: • XAUT: $1.74B • PAXG: $1.61B Investors want real assets with crypto rails — 24/7 trading, faster settlement, fractional access. RWAs are no longer a narrative. They’re quietly becoming infrastructure.

BlockBeats News, December 24th, according to Hyperinsight monitoring, in the past 6 hours, the "20 Million Bandit" (0x880a) has been continuously closing short positions for ETH, HYPE, and other multiple currencies. Currently, the ETH short position is approximately $68.3 million, with an average price of $3132, and a liquidation price of $3767; the HYPE short position is approximately $41.97 million, with an average price of $31.7, and a liquidation price of $34.27. Its total short position is approximately $111 million, currently holding the largest short position in ETH and HYPE on Hyperliquid. This address has been engaging in high-frequency multi-currency arbitrage trading for a long time, with an average holding period of about 20 hours. Since October, it has realized a profit of over $104 million with a capital of about $20 million, and today it has already made a profit of $1.3 million. Previously, the address's position was mainly concentrated in the short direction of currencies such as PUMP, PAXG, and HYPE, accounting for 83.6% of the total position. Recently, the focus has shifted to ETH and HYPE shorts, with the two together accounting for 98.6%.