[Bitcoin Now] "Virtual Assets Trapped in a Box Range... Spotlight on the Clarity Act"

NH Investment & Securities forecasted on January 2 that the virtual asset market, currently trapped in a box range due to weakened investor sentiment, could be influenced by the growing attention to domestic and international regulatory discussions at the beginning of the year.

Yonhap News

According to NH Investment & Securities on January 2, Bitcoin continued to move sideways between $85,000 and $95,000 in December of last year. After the election of former President Trump, the virtual asset market rose toward the end of 2024, but on an annual basis in 2025, it generally recorded negative performance. The market capitalization of Bitcoin dropped to 5.8% of that of gold.

As the year came to a close, most digital asset-related stocks also declined. Robinhood, however, recorded strong performance last year. In contrast, most stocks such as Coinbase delivered results below expectations, even after the launch of the Trump administration.

However, it is expected that policy issues could once again become a variable in the market at the beginning of 2026. Hong Sungwook, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "If discussions on the Clarity Act gain traction early in the year, companies related to virtual assets could once again come into the spotlight."

He also explained that attention should be paid to domestic and international merger and acquisition (M&A) activities. Following the news of a merger push between Naver Financial and Dunamu, there was also news that Mirae Asset Group is seeking to acquire Korbit. These are cited as examples showing that traditional financial institutions and tech companies are beginning to make full-scale entries into the blockchain industry.

Researcher Hong said, "The market is likely to focus on the stance of the relevant authorities, and if these two cases are approved, M&A activity targeting digital asset companies will become even more active. At the same time, attempts by virtual asset exchanges to acquire financial institutions or tech companies could also increase both domestically and internationally," he predicted.