Gate Research Institute: Ripple collaborates with AMINA Bank for cross-border settlement services | Securitize plans to launch an fully on-chain stock trading platform

Cryptocurrency Asset Overview

BTC (-1.10% | Current Price 86,423 USDT)

The crypto market remains under pressure, with market sentiment and derivatives data also indicating short-term downside risks. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price continued to fluctuate within the lower range, with $85,000–$86,000 forming the most important short-term support zone. From a daily chart perspective, Bitcoin is still operating within a clear downtrend channel, repeatedly encountering resistance near the upper boundary (around $90,000) and pulling back, further confirming that the bearish trend has not been broken, and the market is still dominated by sellers. Currently, the price is oscillating around $87,000, with both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages above $100,000 and trending downward, forming a significant medium-term dynamic resistance. Technical indicators show that MACD has formed another death cross, with momentum bars remaining below the zero line, indicating that downward pressure has not been fully released; the price is running along the lower Bollinger Band, with the bands narrowing significantly, implying volatility is continuously compressing and the market is building momentum for the next directional breakout. Under this structure, if the $85,000 support holds effectively, a technical rebound may occur in the short term; however, if this zone is broken, the price could further decline to the demand zone of $82,000–$80,000.

ETH (-3.83% | Current Price 2,834.46 USDT)

In the past 24 hours, Ethereum’s price broke below the key support level of $2,900 and continued its downward trend, briefly dropping near $2,800. From a daily chart perspective, the price has broken below the MA5, MA10, and MA30 moving averages, with short-term moving averages showing a clear bearish alignment; at the same time, the price is approaching the lower Bollinger Band, MACD has formed another death cross, indicating that downward momentum still dominates. Currently, ETH shows a brief stabilization around $2,830; if this area can be effectively defended, a short-term technical rebound cannot be ruled out, with the initial target being the previous resistance zone near $2,950. However, if the price further breaks below the $2,800 mark, support levels below will quickly shift downward, and the market may accelerate its retracement to the critical demand zone of $2,600. Overall, until ETH reclaims the $2,900 level, it remains in a weak consolidation and downward pressure structure.

GT (-1.64% | Current Price 10.12 USDT)

GT has recently weakened along with mainstream cryptocurrencies, with a short-term correction to around $10.10. The MA5, MA10, and MA30 are all showing a clear bearish alignment. From a daily chart perspective, GT is still attempting to stabilize near the $10 mark; although the MACD green bars have shortened, it still shows a golden cross, indicating that buying momentum is still insufficient and no effective reversal signal has formed. Trading volume has significantly decreased, reflecting reduced market participation; meanwhile, the Bollinger Bands are continuing to converge, with low volatility, indicating the market is in a pre-directional phase. Overall, before trading volume significantly increases and the price re-establishes above key moving averages, GT is more likely to maintain a low-range oscillation with limited short-term upward momentum.

Daily Gainers and Losers Tokens

Over the past 24 hours, the market overall continued to decline, with the Fear and Greed Index at 22, and the Altcoin Season Index at 19, indicating that risk appetite remains low. From the market structure, except for Bitcoin and stablecoins, most mainstream altcoins have fallen by 2–3%, with many sectors showing synchronized weakness, reflecting that funds are still mainly shrinking, defensive, and observing. In this pressured environment, a few tokens are still defying the trend and gaining strength, indicating the current focus of phase-specific capital. The following will analyze these tokens one by one.

H Humanity Protocol (+35.58%, Circulating Market Cap $176 million)

According to Gate data, H token is currently priced at $0.09751, up 35.58% in 24 hours. Humanity Protocol is a blockchain designed to counter Sybil attacks, specifically for secure, private, and decentralized identity verification. zkProofers play a key role by using zero-knowledge proof technology to verify human identities and earn the protocol’s native token $H as rewards.

The rise of H is a result of reallocation of funds after airdrops and technical rebound factors. After an exchange airdrop on December 3-4, the price plummeted 35% due to sell-offs, followed by a 354% surge in trading volume over the next 24 hours, indicating new buyers started accumulating near the support at $0.076. Traders may interpret the oversold RSI and MACD reversal from December 4 to 17 as contrarian buy signals. The price has re-established above the 7-day simple moving average ($0.067), triggering algorithmic buy orders.

GHST Aavegotchi (+21.17%, Circulating Market Cap $10.3 million)

According to Gate data, GHST is currently priced at $0.2027, up 21.17% in 24 hours. GHST is the native token of the Aavegotchi ecosystem, used for governance, staking, and participating in the creation and development of NFT ghost characters (Gotchi). Aavegotchi combines DeFi staking yields with gamified gameplay, building a sustainable NFT game and community governance system based on Polygon.

GHST’s rise is driven by demand from reward incentives and risk adjustments in exchanges. On December 5, Aavegotchi announced an upgraded reward scheme via a tweet, increasing rewards by 50% compared to November, boosting GHST’s usage demand. Locking rewards also reduced circulating supply, pushing prices higher. Additionally, an exchange resumed GHST deposits and withdrawals on December 12 after a 7-day suspension due to network delays, which caused 34% volatility; its resumption alleviated selling pressure.

ACT Act I: The AI Prophecy (+25.86%, Circulating Market Cap $24 million)

According to Gate data, ACT is currently priced at $0.02560, up 25.86% in 24 hours. Act I: The AI Prophecy is a blockchain project and ecosystem token centered around artificial intelligence, positioned as a collection of AI-driven decentralized applications and gameplay. The token is used for ecosystem incentives, governance participation, and community engagement, with its price often influenced by market sentiment and thematic hype.

Act I: The AI Prophecy (ACT) surged 25.86% in the past 24 hours, outperforming the overall crypto market’s -1.73%. This rally is also reflected in its 32.52% weekly increase, mainly driven by technical momentum. ACT has broken through the 7-day and 200-day moving averages, with RSI approaching overbought levels, and the MACD histogram turning positive on December 17, indicating accelerating upward momentum.

Hot Topics

Traditional financial giant EquiLend invests in Digital Prime, connecting $40 trillion asset pools with tokenized markets

On December 17, securities financing infrastructure leader EquiLend announced a strategic minority equity investment in regulated crypto financing service provider Digital Prime Technologies, aiming to connect approximately $40 trillion in traditional financial market funds with tokenized markets via its Tokenet institutional lending network. The partnership will focus on Digital Prime’s institutional-grade lending network Tokenet, supporting multi-custodian, multi-collateral lifecycle management, risk exposure monitoring, and institutional reporting. Future phases plan to introduce compliant stablecoins as collateral and more tokenized financial instruments.

EquiLend stated that this move aims to meet client demands for compliant, transparent, and governable workflows, enabling trading, clearing, settlement, and reporting processes to cover both traditional finance and digital assets. Their involvement indicates an accelerating trend of institutional capital opening to on-chain credit, clearing, and asset-backed trading mechanisms, potentially serving as a bridge for traditional assets entering the blockchain ecosystem. Overall, this cooperation is expected to improve efficiency in brokerage trading, financing, and securities lending, and promote the scalable development of compliant tokenized assets, fostering closer institutional integration between TradFi and DeFi ecosystems.

Ripple partners with crypto bank AMINA Bank to provide cross-border settlement services

On December 17, Ripple announced a partnership with Swiss crypto bank AMINA Bank, marking Ripple Payments’ first official adoption by a regulated European bank, a significant milestone. Through Ripple Payments, AMINA Bank can offer clients 24/7, minute-level cross-border fund settlements without relying on traditional correspondent banking systems. Ripple Payments also supports fiat and stablecoin channels (including Ripple USD, RLUSD), which is especially critical for crypto-native enterprises and digital asset-related businesses, helping to alleviate structural limitations faced by traditional banking systems in processing on-chain funds.

AMINA stated that this partnership will significantly reduce cross-border settlement friction and enhance its ability to serve digital asset companies and institutional clients. Ripple emphasized that this collaboration further strengthens the connection between fiat and blockchain payment rails, providing seamless, multi-currency payment and clearing experiences for institutional clients. Notably, AMINA was among the first banks to support RLUSD custody and trading. The implementation of Ripple Payments demonstrates that under high regulatory standards, blockchain payment infrastructure is accelerating into mainstream banking, setting an example for financial institutions across Europe and globally to adopt crypto payment solutions.

Securitize plans to launch a fully on-chain stock trading platform in early 2026

On December 17, tokenization service provider Securitize announced plans to launch what it claims will be the first fully compliant, fully on-chain stock trading platform for real listed companies in early 2026, further bridging traditional financial markets with Web3 infrastructure. Unlike “synthetic stocks” that track stock prices via derivatives or offshore structures, Securitize’s model provides full legal ownership, with shares issued directly by the issuing company and recorded in the official shareholder register. During trading hours, prices will align with mainstream exchanges and comply with the “National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO)” rule; outside trading hours, prices will be set by automated market-making mechanisms, enabling 24/7 continuous trading.

Securitize stated that on-chain stock holders will enjoy real shareholder rights, including dividends and voting rights, with assets self-custodied by users, avoiding private pledge of shares by intermediaries. However, for compliance reasons, related assets can only be transferred between approved whitelisted wallets. Overall, this service aims to combine traditional market regulatory frameworks with Web3 features, providing a compliant, around-the-clock on-chain trading experience, solving issues like low settlement efficiency and limited trading hours in traditional stocks, and promoting the integration and innovation of traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure.
References:

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• CoinGecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/cryptocurrency-heatmap
• The Fintech Times, https://thefintechtimes.com/ripple-payments-secures-first-european-bank-adoption-with-amina-bank-partnership/
• CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/17/tradfi-giant-equilend-backs-digital-prime-to-link-usd40-trillion-pool-with-tokenized-markets
• CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/17/securitize-to-offer-first-fully-onchain-trading-for-real-public-stocks-in-early-2026

[Gate Research Institute](https://www.gate.com/learn/category/research) is a comprehensive blockchain and cryptocurrency research platform providing in-depth content, including technical analysis, hot topics, market reviews, industry research, trend forecasts, and macroeconomic policy analysis.

Disclaimer Investing in cryptocurrencies involves high risks. Users are advised to conduct independent 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 resulting from such investment decisions.