Ethereum Mainnet Activates Fusaka Upgrade; US SEC Chair Says Bitcoin Market-Structure Bill Nears Passage
Key crypto developments: Ethereum mainnet successfully activated the Fusaka upgrade (epoch 411392), introducing PeerDAS and R1/pre-confirmation optimizations that raise rollup data throughput by ~8x and prepare L1 for higher gas limits. US SEC Chair Paul Atkins told Fox News the bipartisan Bitcoin market-structure bill is close to passage, signaling potential regulatory clarity for BTC markets. Market activity: Ethereum spot ETFs saw $140M net inflows on Dec 3, while Bitcoin spot ETFs had $14.9M net outflows that day. Ethereum treasury purchases plunged — DAT treasuries bought 370k ETH in Nov vs. 1.97M in Aug (-81%). Institutional moves: Franklin Templeton launched a Solana ETF (SOEZ); Tom Lee reportedly bought $150M of ETH. Project & token news: Solana Mobile will issue SKR in Jan 2026 (30% airdrop); Beam (BEAM) added to Coinbase listing roadmap; Aave DAO removed USDS and DAI as collateral and raised reserve factors; Binance Alpha launched a second Humanity Protocol (H) airdrop; Arkham added multichain swap. Corporate/regulatory: YZi Labs served a remediation notice to 10X Capital over alleged mismanagement at BNC; Binance co-CEO highlighted focus on culture, systems and AI; Coinbase CEO said the firm is piloting projects with several major banks. M&A and funding: 2025 crypto M&A totals surpassed $8.6B (PitchBook); Ostium raised $20M; Antithesis raised $105M. Trading impact summary: Fusaka materially improves Ethereum scaling prospects, likely positive for ETH-related products and rollup throughput. Pending US market-structure legislation and ETF flows remain primary drivers for BTC price action in the near term.
Bullish
Technical and regulatory developments in this bulletin skew positive overall. Fusaka materially increases rollup data throughput (~8x) and improves L1 upgrade pathways — a clear positive for ETH demand, scaling narratives, and derivative/ETF products tied to Ethereum. Concurrent large net inflows into Ethereum spot ETFs reinforce buyer demand and institutional appetite. On the regulatory side, the SEC chair’s comment that a Bitcoin market-structure bill is near passage reduces policy uncertainty; if enacted, clearer market rules typically support institutional participation in BTC markets. Offsetting factors include a one-day outflow from Bitcoin ETFs and sharply reduced ETH treasury buys by some DATs, which could weigh on short-term liquidity. Historical parallels: major Ethereum upgrades (e.g., The Merge, Dencun) have tended to boost developer activity and positive sentiment, supporting ETH price over medium term. Regulatory clarity (e.g., approval or progress of ETF frameworks) has previously triggered sustained BTC inflows. Therefore, expect short-term volatility around ETF flows, headlines and liquidation events, but a medium-term bullish bias for ETH and neutral-to-positive bias for BTC if the market-structure bill lowers institutional barriers. Traders should watch ETF flows, on-chain rollup throughput metrics, and any legislative developments for Bitcoin to time entries and risk management.