December turned out to be more of a breather than a real retreat. Tax-selling pressures have been cooling off, market fundamentals are showing real improvement, and regulatory support seems to be gaining traction heading into 2026. The narrative shift matters here—while year-end price action might paint a cautious picture, the underlying conditions for major assets like Ethereum and Solana actually point to firmer footing. When you strip away the seasonal noise and seasonal liquidations, the structural setup looks increasingly solid. Regulatory tailwinds combined with strengthening on-chain metrics suggest crypto's foundation entering the new year could be far more stable than the charts alone would tell you.