Bitcoin Whales Accumulate While Retail Traders Exit

Santiment has launched a new screener tracking yield farming projects by development activity, measured through GitHub repository data. **Top 10 Projects by Development Activity:** - DeFiChain ($DFI) - Aave ($AAVE) - Yearn Finance ($YFI) - Beefy Finance ($BFI) - Gearbox ($GEAR) - ApeSwap ($BANANA) - Alchemix ($ALCX) - Yield Basis ($YB) - Inverse Finance ($INV) - QuickSwap ($QUICK) The screener uses GitHub activity data to measure actual development work on projects, providing insight into which teams are actively building. This metric can serve as an indicator of project health and long-term viability. Santiment will provide monthly updates on ranking changes. The methodology focuses on repository activity rather than price action or social metrics. [Read the methodology](https://medium.com/santiment/a-different-look-into-blockchain-ecosystem-development-activity-f34f32180482) [Access the screener](https://app.santiment.net/screener/yield-farming-38761?utm_source=x&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=x_yield_farming_screener_b_020426?fpr=twitter)

Bitcoin fell to **$72.8K** following political uncertainty, but recovered after Congress passed a bill preventing a U.S. government shutdown. The volatility triggered **$30M in DeFi liquidations** across the ecosystem. **Key Points:** - Price dropped sharply before bouncing on legislative clarity - DeFi protocols experienced significant liquidation events - Market demonstrated continued sensitivity to regulatory developments The incident highlights ongoing volatility in crypto markets tied to government policy decisions. Santiment's analysis examines the price action and potential next moves for traders. [Read the full analysis](https://app.santiment.net/insights/read/deep-dive-government-shut-down-no-more-10519?utm_source=x&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=x_deep_dive_government_shut_down_no_more_b_020326?fpr=twitter)

In an unexpected market shift, precious metals experienced dramatic losses on Friday: - **Gold dropped over 8%** in a single day - **Silver plummeted more than 25%** - Bitcoin and altcoins remained relatively flat despite the turmoil This comes after weeks of speculation about whether profits from precious metals would rotate into cryptocurrencies. The sharp decline in gold and silver prices caught many market observers off guard, especially given recent all-time highs. **Context**: Just days earlier, gold had surged past $5,300 with a $35 trillion market cap, while the US Dollar Index fell to four-year lows. Markets had been debating whether traditional safe-haven assets would see capital flow into Bitcoin. The crypto market's stability during this precious metals crash suggests growing maturity and independence from traditional asset correlations.

**Major institutional shift underway** as traditional finance embraces crypto: - **Vanguard reverses stance**: $11 trillion manager now allows 50M+ clients to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana ETFs starting today - **Bank of America follows**: Will permit wealth advisers to recommend 1%-4% crypto allocation starting January 2026 - **SEC Chair Paul Atkins** announces crypto innovation exemption launching January 2026 for qualified firms **Market developments:** - Ethereum prepares major **Fusaka upgrade** for enhanced scalability - Tether mints **$1B on Tron**, signaling growing cross-chain liquidity - Trump to make major announcement Tuesday at 2 PM EST **Mixed signals persist:** - Grayscale predicts Bitcoin will break four-year cycle, reach new highs in 2026 - Critics question MicroStrategy's strategy as Tidal invests $60M in MSTR shares - Kevin Hassett named potential Fed Chair, adding policy uncertainty These moves signal **growing institutional acceptance** and mainstream crypto adoption, despite ongoing market volatility and regulatory questions.

**Ethereum maintains its position** as the top blockchain ecosystem by development activity for the second month running, according to Santiment data. **Current rankings** show: - **Ethereum** takes first place - **BNB Chain** holds second position - **Polygon** secures third place - **Optimism** and **Arbitrum** round out the top five The rankings track total development activity events over a 30-day period, providing insight into which ecosystems are seeing the most active building and coding work. **Previous data** from October 2024 showed all top 10 crypto ecosystems increased their development rates year-over-year, with Optimism leading growth at +45.6%. Developers and investors can monitor ecosystem activity using Santiment's [free development dashboard](https://app.santiment.net/dev-activity?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=twitter_ecosystem_dev_activity_dashboard_b_092325/&fpr=twitter).