Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Two Ukrainian men, 19 and 45, were arrested in Ukraine after a 21-year-old Ukrainian living in Vienna was abducted, tortured for cryptocurrency wallet passwords, and left burned to death in a car. Hotel CCTV shows the victim confronted in the Sofitel SO/Vienna underground garage before being forced into a Mercedes. Police say assailants beat the victim, likely caused fatal head injuries, then doused him with gasoline and set the vehicle alight; his charred body was found on November 26 in the Donaustadt district. Investigators confirmed two crypto wallets were fully drained and recovered large sums of US dollars from one suspect. Border checks and footage indicate the suspects left Austria hours after the killing and were arrested three days later in Ukraine. Austria will not extradite them and has transferred the case to Ukrainian jurisdiction at Kyiv’s request. Security researchers note a sharp rise in violent “wrench attacks” and physical robberies targeting crypto holders in 2025, with dozens of similar incidents reported across Europe and North America. For crypto traders: the attack underscores growing physical security risks for holders as higher crypto values make individuals targets; traders should reassess custody practices, consider hardware wallets and insured custody, and monitor potential short-term selling pressure on assets tied to high-profile thefts.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has backed Predict.fun, a prediction market built on BNB Chain by former Binance employees and incubated/invested by YZiLabs. Predict.fun aims to solve a common inefficiency in prediction markets by paying yield on funds while positions remain open, reducing opportunity cost for longer-dated bets. At launch the platform shows two active markets, roughly $300,000 combined market volume, about 12,000 users and nearly 300,000 bets — substantially smaller than incumbents such as Polymarket (>$3bn lifetime volume) and Kalshi (~$587m). Predict.fun benefits from BNB Chain’s large active-wallet base and rising on-chain activity but faces constraints from limited stablecoin supply and liquidity on BNB Chain, which can affect market depth and slippage. The rollout comes as U.S. regulators tighten scrutiny of prediction markets (Connecticut recently issued a cease-and-desist to Kalshi for alleged unlicensed sports betting), adding regulatory risk. For traders, the yield-on-open-positions model lowers the carry cost of holding long-duration positions, but thin liquidity, execution risk and uncertain regulatory outcomes remain the principal concerns for market participants.

Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade has gone live on mainnet and begins a new twice-yearly hard-fork cadence aimed at scaling rollups. The upgrade activates PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling), allowing validators to sample smaller parts of blobs instead of downloading full blobs, which reduces duplicate transmissions and bandwidth use. Fusaka also formalises a “blob-parameters-only” (BPO) schedule to raise blob capacity without full hard forks. Blob capacity is scheduled to increase in two BPO steps: around Dec. 17 (from 6/9 to 10/15 blobs per block) and around Jan. 7 (to 14/21 blobs per block). Core developers and contributors, including Vitalik Buterin and Preston Van Loon, say this implements long-standing sharding and data-availability goals and should ease data bottlenecks for layer-2 rollups. Early signals include lower gas prices and smaller mempools; the upgrade is intended to improve L2 throughput and lower per-transaction data costs while preserving decentralisation and home staking viability. For traders: expect potential downward pressure on short-term gas fees and improved capacity for rollup activity, which may increase L2 usage and longer-term network utility for ETH.

Bitget has partnered with institutional staking provider Chorus One to offer staking and restaking for Monad, a high‑throughput, Ethereum‑compatible layer‑1 whose mainnet launched in November 2025. Chorus One — which secures over $3.5 billion in staked assets across 30+ chains and holds ISO 27001 certification — will run validator infrastructure and provide compliant staking tools and flexible unstaking (around 5.5 hours) for Bitget’s 120+ million users, including retail and institutional customers. The programme recorded early demand, with more than $6 million staked in the first week. The collaboration aims to expand validator capacity, improve geographic decentralisation and drive longer‑term stability and adoption in regions such as Asia‑Pacific and Africa by leveraging Bitget’s regional reach and Chorus One’s custody and validator experience.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor confirmed the company is engaging with index provider MSCI after MSCI opened consultations that could remove firms whose business models primarily hold cryptocurrencies from MSCI Global Standard Indexes by Jan. 15. MSCI said it may exclude stocks with large digital-asset treasuries (DATs); MicroStrategy’s MSTR was added to MSCI World in May 2024 after heavy Bitcoin accumulation. JPMorgan estimated exclusion could trigger $2–8 billion of index-related outflows; Saylor disputed the magnitude, calling the impact negligible while stressing MSTR is highly leveraged to Bitcoin moves. MicroStrategy reported a leverage ratio near 1.11 and said it could withstand deep BTC declines; CEO Phong Le said selling BTC would be a last resort if MSTR trades below net-BTC value and preferred dividends cannot be funded. To shore up liquidity, MicroStrategy created a $1.44 billion USD reserve (funded via an at‑the‑market offering) to cover at least 12 months of preferred dividends, with plans to expand coverage. Latest market context: BTC trading above ~$93,000 and MSTR showing modest premarket gains. Key trader takeaways: possible MSCI exclusion creates risk of forced index-related selling of MSTR; MSTR equity remains highly correlated and geared to BTC, implying elevated volatility; the company’s cash reserve reduces short-term dividend default risk but won’t prevent market-price pressure if index outflows occur.

Fin, a payments app founded by former Citadel engineers, raised $17 million in a seed round led by Pantera Capital, Sequoia Capital and Samsung Next to build a stablecoin-based cross-border payments platform for businesses. The app uses USD-pegged stablecoins to offer near-instant settlement, lower fees and faster cross-border transfers compared with traditional wire rails. Fin is targeting high-value flows such as import‑export and other B2B payments and plans a controlled pilot next month with select businesses to test UX, security and compliance. The funding will be used for hiring, product and infrastructure development and building compliance and security capabilities. Revenue is expected from transaction fees (priced below bank rates) and interest on stablecoin balances. Key risks include evolving stablecoin regulation, enterprise adoption hurdles and security/compliance requirements. The raise and high-profile backers signal growing institutional confidence in stablecoin payment rails and could accelerate on‑chain business payment adoption.

Franklin Templeton has launched a spot Solana ETF trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker SOEZ, offering regulated, brokerage-accessible exposure to SOL without direct custody or wallet management. SOEZ tracks the CF Benchmarks Solana Index and carries a 0.19% management fee; Franklin Templeton will waive fees on the first $5 billion in assets under management through May 31, 2026. The ETF targets advisors, retirement accounts and institutional portfolios that cannot hold spot crypto directly, and uses CF Benchmarks’ regulated pricing and institutional custody to simplify tax reporting and security. The approval follows rising institutional interest in high-throughput Layer‑1 networks and comes as SOL has rebounded from around $125 with analysts identifying a potential path toward $175. Market implications include possible inflows of institutional liquidity, improved SOL liquidity and market profile, and deeper on‑chain and derivatives activity — while risks remain from concentrated SOL price volatility, fund fees, and regulatory uncertainty. Traders should weigh fee structure, concentration risk and position-sizing before allocating capital. This is not investment advice.

Ethereum has activated the Fusaka network upgrade, its 17th major hard fork and a step toward a biannual upgrade cadence. The headline change is PeerDAS (EIP-7594), which lets validators sample blob data availability instead of downloading entire blobs, reducing validator CPU and bandwidth needs and enabling higher Layer-2 blob throughput. Fusaka raises per-block blob targets (typical target 14, max 21), adds a minimum blob base fee to prevent near-zero costs, and is expected to scale blob capacity roughly eightfold by January 2026 as throughput is cautiously increased. Network-level changes include a higher default block gas limit (EIP-7935) and optimizations to gas-limit dynamics to balance energy per transaction and DoS protection; native secp256r1 support for device/passkey signatures; EIP-7939 (“Count Leading Zeros Opcode”) to speed ZK proofs and improve quantum-resistance; and various caps and API tweaks that tighten block-data limits and curb expensive operations. Core developers prioritized a focused scope to meet the deployment schedule. Major industry participants and the Ethereum Foundation view Fusaka as a significant scalability milestone since The Merge. Developers are already planning the next upgrade, Glamsterdam, targeted for 2026. For traders: Fusaka lowers validator resource requirements and reduces Layer-2 settlement bottlenecks and blob-related gas costs, which can improve network throughput and developer activity — factors that tend to be supportive for ETH demand over the medium term. Key keywords: Ethereum, Fusaka, PeerDAS, EIP-7594, Layer-2, blob fees, scalability, secp256r1, EIP-7939.

Polymarket has launched a mobile app for U.S. users after receiving formal approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The approval establishes a clear legal framework for the prediction market platform to operate in the United States after prior regulatory uncertainty. The iOS app is rolling out via a waitlist with Android support expected soon. The app offers streamlined market access, real-time odds and sentiment updates, and enhanced compliance (likely including KYC/AML). Initial product focus is on real-money sports markets and odds trading, with plans to expand into proposition and election markets. Traders should expect higher short-term user activity and liquidity as regulated access increases and institutional participation becomes more feasible. At the same time, stricter regulatory constraints on market types, onboarding and reporting are likely to limit certain event offerings and impose operational overhead. The development also signals broader legitimization of prediction markets and may serve as a regulatory template for rivals, potentially increasing capital inflows into the sector.

ETHZilla has acquired a fully diluted 20% stake in AI-driven auto-finance startup Karus for $10 million ($3M cash + $7M in ETHZilla stock). The deal gives ETHZilla a board seat, governance rights and access to Karus’s AI underwriting engine — trained on 20 million+ historical auto-loan outcomes and used to evaluate over $5 billion in originations — plus Karus’s dealer, bank and credit-union distribution network. ETHZilla plans to integrate those models into its blockchain stack and issue tokenised auto-loan pools, targeting the first onchain offerings in early 2026. The partners intend to segment portfolios and offer fractional exposure to securitised auto loans, opening part of the roughly $1.6 trillion US auto-loan securitisation market to global and retail on-chain investors. ETHZilla projects adjusted EBITDA of $9–12 million per $100 million deployed in tokenised assets. The move follows rapid 2025 growth in tokenised fixed-income markets (tokenised Treasurys and private credit) and signals growing institutional demand for blockchain-settled, AI-underwritten RWA. Key SEO keywords: ETHZilla, Karus, tokenised auto loans, AI underwriting, on-chain credit, RWA tokenization.

Canary Capital’s spot Hedera ETF (ticker: HBAR) is now listed on Vanguard’s brokerage platform, offering ~50 million Vanguard clients regulated, custodial exposure to HBAR without crypto exchanges or self-custody. The Nasdaq‑listed fund holds physical HBAR with U.S. Bank as custodian and uses major HBAR venues for pricing. Since its early‑November SEC approval and listing, the ETF recorded roughly $82 million cumulative inflows and about $66.5 million net assets by Dec. 2. Vanguard’s rollout drove a spike in activity: HBAR token price rose ~9.1% intraday toward $0.145, the ETF unit climbed ~8.45%, and daily ETF flows added roughly 12.31 million HBAR (~$1.68M traded). The broader crypto market also rallied after the Fed ended quantitative tightening. However, HBAR futures open interest fell about 11% (from $131.9M to $116.5M), indicating reduced derivatives leverage despite rising spot demand. Technicals show a short‑term rebound from $0.1332 to $0.145 with a higher low and RSI in the mid‑40s, though price remains inside a longer‑term falling channel since July 2025; a sustained breakout above channel resistance (noted far above current levels) would confirm a stronger recovery. Key takeaways for traders: Vanguard listing expands the retail/institutional on‑ramp and may boost spot liquidity and demand, but watch ETF flows, spot volumes, on‑chain movements and futures open interest to distinguish transient listing-driven spikes from sustained accumulation. Primary keywords: HBAR, Hedera, spot ETF, Vanguard, ETF flows. Secondary/semantic keywords included naturally: Nasdaq listing, U.S. Bank custody, futures open interest, spot demand, trading volume.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said several of the largest U.S. banks are running pilot programs with Coinbase focused on stablecoins, institutional custody and trading integrations. Armstrong described the pilots as strategic opportunities for banks to evaluate governance, risk controls and settlement workflows; he did not name participating institutions or provide timelines or technical details. The pilots signal growing institutional engagement between traditional banks and crypto platforms and could expand on-ramps, liquidity and demand for regulated stablecoins if scaled into production. Traders should watch for potential increases in custody volumes and stablecoin flows that may support market liquidity, while remaining mindful of regulatory, operational and counterparty risks that could limit or delay wider rollout.

US spot XRP exchange-traded funds have attracted $824 million in cumulative net inflows through Dec. 2, marking the strongest US launch for a non‑Bitcoin altcoin ETF. Canary Capital’s XRPC began trading on Nov. 13, 2025, and subsequent issuers rolled out products across major brokerages, creating the first regulated route for XRP exposure in traditional brokerage accounts. Daily large share creations (notable days: $243.05M on Nov. 14, $118.15M on Nov. 20, $164.04M on Nov. 24) required issuers to buy XRP for custody, reducing exchange-listed liquidity and tightening markets. XRP ETF inflows outpaced Solana spot ETFs, which logged $650.8M in the same period (XRP ahead by roughly $173M). Solana funds experienced some intraperiod outflows (for example, $13.55M on Dec. 1). Dogecoin ETFs saw minimal activity (~$2.68M). Vanguard’s decision to permit about 50 million brokerage clients to trade third‑party crypto ETFs, including XRP products, may sustain further inflows. At publication XRP traded near $2.18, up ~8.6% over 24 hours. For traders: growing institutional demand and ETF creation activity point to higher liquidity, potential price support for XRP, and tighter exchange liquidity that could increase short-term volatility. Primary keywords: XRP ETF, spot XRP ETF, ETF inflows. Secondary keywords: ETF share creation, exchange liquidity, Vanguard crypto access, Solana ETF, altcoin ETFs.

21Shares filed a fifth amendment to its S‑1 for a proposed spot Dogecoin ETF that would list on Nasdaq as TDOG. The latest filing confirms a 0.50% annual management fee (accrues daily, paid weekly in DOGE) and names key service providers: The Bank of New York Mellon (administrator, cash custodian, transfer agent), Anchorage Digital Bank and BitGo (additional custodians), Coinbase Custody Trust Company (primary custodian), Wilmington Trust NA (trustee), Foreside Global Services (marketing) and Cohen & Company (accounting). 21Shares plans to seed the fund with $1.5 million in DOGE before or at listing. TDOG will track the CF Dogecoin‑Dollar US Settlement Price Index, hold only DOGE (no leverage or active trading), and pass creation/redemption transaction fees to authorized participants. The amendment remains a delaying amendment pending an SEC 8(a) filing. The filing coincided with a roughly 9% intraday rise in DOGE, a ~35% rise in spot volume and an ~8% increase in futures open interest; early U.S. spot DOGE ETFs show modest inflows (Grayscale GDOG, Bitwise BWOW). For traders, the confirmed 0.50% fee, custodial and seed capital details clarify cost structure and institutional backing — factors likely to affect liquidity, premium/discount behavior and short‑term volatility around a potential SEC approval and Nasdaq listing.

American Bitcoin Corp (co-founded by Eric Trump) experienced a sharp equity sell-off after a partial private-placement lockup expired. The December 2–3, 2025 unlock allowed early investors to sell restricted shares from a June 2025 private placement, producing heavy volume, multiple trading halts and an intraday drop of roughly 40% from about $3.58 to $1.80 (later reports showed intraday swings and a close near $2.33 in earlier coverage). The move came despite Bitcoin (BTC) rallying over 7% to around $91,600, underlining that crypto rally did not protect the stock against concentrated selling and thin liquidity. Company background: spun out from Hut 8 (which holds roughly 80% of ABC), the Trump family holds the remaining stake; Eric Trump said he will not sell and called the volatility “expected.” Financials and operations: Q3 revenue $64.2m, net income $3.5m; by July 2025 ABC had mined ~215 BTC and raised about $220m for BTC purchases. Trader takeaways: the event highlights concentrated ownership, scheduled lockup expiries and liquidity risk in Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miners and treasury-accumulation plays. These factors can cause abrupt equity moves independent of Bitcoin’s spot performance — traders should downsize positions, widen stop rules, and monitor remaining insider lockups (notably a 180-day window until March 2026 for many insiders) and large shareholders (Hut 8) for potential future supply shocks.

Crypto Fight Night (CFN) has appointed BC.GAME as the event’s Exclusive Gaming Partner for the December 5, 2025 show. BC.GAME launched a dedicated CFN hub on its homepage offering official pre-fight betting markets for the full card, including win markets, total rounds and method-of-victory options. The 2025 card centers on a WBC Middle East title fight and includes heavyweight bouts, a women’s match and appearances by Web3 figures. The partnership aims to merge live boxing with crypto culture by centralizing schedules, markets and bet types on a crypto-native platform, enabling users to preview the card and place pre-fight bets. CFN co-founder Rahul Suri framed the collaboration as creating an integrated fight-and-gaming experience and on-chain community engagement. BC.GAME is presented as a multi-asset, crypto-native gaming ecosystem supporting live events and sports betting products. The announcement is a paid post and not investment advice.

Unlimit, a London-based payments fintech founded in 2009, on December 2 launched a non-custodial stablecoin clearing hub that combines decentralized exchange mechanics with Unlimit’s global payments network. The platform offers gasless, zero-commission stablecoin swaps and direct fiat cash-outs to more than 150 local currencies across 200+ markets via a single interface. CEO Kirill Eves framed the service as a digital-dollar conduit and emphasised that Unlimit does not custody user funds, positioning the product as a bridge between DeFi and traditional banking rails and aiming to reduce fragmentation in stablecoin on‑ and off-ramps. The hub targets merchant and consumer use cases by simplifying conversion and cross-border payouts. The announcement follows broader market moves around stablecoins and payments (for example Klarna’s KlarnaUSD and other fintech initiatives) amid a large stablecoin market cap. Primary keywords: Unlimit, stablecoin hub, non-custodial stablecoin clearing house. Secondary/semantic keywords included naturally: DeFi banking bridge, fiat on-ramp, gasless swaps, cross-border payouts, payment network.

The U.S. Department of Justice seized tickmilleas.com after an FBI probe found it was a fake crypto trading platform run from the Tai Chang (Casino Kosai) compound in Kyaukhat, Burma. The site presented fabricated dashboards, fake transaction logs and coached victims on how to transfer funds, causing multiple users to lose money within weeks of the domain’s registration in early November 2025. Authorities described the operation as a “compound scam” — organised fraud run from enclosed compounds — a model that has spread across Burma, Cambodia and Laos. After FBI alerts, Google and Apple removed related mobile apps and Meta shut more than 2,000 social accounts used to funnel victims to the fake platforms. The DOJ also linked Tai Chang to previously sanctioned groups and organised-crime networks and stressed coordinated action with platform providers to disrupt transnational crypto fraud. For traders: this takedown underlines continued enforcement risk around on‑ramps and illicit platforms, the importance of verifying counterparties and apps, and a rising regional trend of organised ‘compound’ scams that can produce rapid, concentrated victim losses and reputational shocks for related crypto services.

MetaMask has launched Transaction Shield, an opt-in premium protection for its browser extension that combines pre-signature on-chain threat screening with a refund promise when MetaMask’s checks incorrectly mark a malicious transaction as “safe.” Launched in early access on December 2, 2025, the plan costs $9.99/month or $99/year (annual discount) and includes a 14-day free trial for new users. Coverage reimburses up to $10,000 per month across a maximum of 100 qualifying transactions. Users must file claims within 21 days; approved payouts are typically processed in about 15 business days and paid in MetaMask’s dollar-denominated stable asset mUSD. Transaction Shield supports major EVM chains (Arbitrum, Polygon, Base, BNB Chain and reportedly Linea, Avalanche, Optimism, Sei) and is extension-only at launch, with mobile support scheduled later. The policy excludes losses from compromised keys/seed phrases, credential-phishing, protocol-level exploits and market losses (slippage/price crashes); it applies only when MetaMask’s screening mistakenly classifies a draining transaction as safe. MetaMask positions the product as a shift from passive warnings to a consumer-style guarantee amid rising crypto losses in 2025. For traders, the limited $10K monthly cap and 100-transaction ceiling may leave high-value users underinsured, but the clearer claims workflow, repayment timeline and multi-chain scope provide retail users a defined remediation path after approving malicious transactions that passed MetaMask’s checks.

Ten major European banks, including ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, have formed a consortium called Qivalis to develop a regulated euro-denominated stablecoin. Qivalis will be based in Amsterdam and has applied for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from De Nederlandsche Bank. Leadership includes Jan-Oliver Sell as head of operations and Howard Davies as board chair. The group plans to hire up to 50 staff over two years and reports having filled about one-third of initial roles. Target launch is the second half of 2026. Qivalis positions the token as a bank-backed, euro stablecoin to enable near-instant, low-cost settlements with early use cases in crypto trading and institutional settlement before broader retail payment adoption. The initiative is framed as a response to global digital payments competition, intended to strengthen euro liquidity, reduce reliance on dollar-pegged stablecoins and improve cross-border and market settlement efficiency in Europe. Key issues to watch: regulatory approval timelines across EU jurisdictions, reserve transparency and audit regimes, exchange and custody listings, and initial liquidity/market-making. Traders should monitor partner bank announcements, EMI approval progress, exchange listings and reserve attestations — events that will materially affect euro-denominated crypto liquidity and institutional flows.

US lawmakers pressed Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman on the Fed’s approach to stablecoins during an oversight hearing as the FDIC advances rule‑making under the GENIUS Act. The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act), signed in July, sets a federal framework for payment stablecoins and assigns supervisory roles to the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC and NCUA. Bowman said the Fed will issue rules for activities involving payment stablecoins and urged that Fed staff be allowed to hold small amounts of crypto for research and institutional understanding. Representative Stephen Lynch sought clarity on the distinction between “digital assets” and stablecoins. Acting FDIC Chair Travis Hill testified the FDIC will publish an initial supervision proposal for bank‑affiliated stablecoin issuers this month and follow with capital and liquidity standards early next year. Key GENIUS Act requirements include formal applications for bank‑linked issuers, national oversight, and rules for reserves, custody, redemption, capital and liquidity. Market observers note stablecoins process billions in daily transactions and typically maintain peg stability within about 1%, though past collapses (e.g., Terra in 2022) highlight systemic risk. For traders: expect greater regulatory clarity that may lift institutional participation but also raise compliance costs for issuers; FDIC and Fed rule timelines and language around “digital assets” versus stablecoins could quickly affect sentiment for fiat‑pegged tokens and banks’ crypto activity.

CME FedWatch shows market-implied odds that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the December meeting (around 89% probability) and a much smaller chance it will hold rates steady (~11%). Markets price a 66–67% chance of a cumulative 25bp cut by January 2026 and a 25–26% chance of cumulative 50bp easing by then; the probability of unchanged rates by January is under 8–10%. These probabilities come from futures pricing and are used widely to price interest-rate sensitive assets. For crypto traders, rising odds of Fed easing typically support risk assets by lowering short-term yields, strengthening carry and leverage strategies, and potentially boosting demand for higher-beta crypto like BTC and ETH. However, the market still prices a meaningful chance of larger or delayed easing, which can increase volatility in the near term and prompt rapid rotations between risk-on and risk-off positions. This is market data only and not investment advice.

A consortium of ten major European banks — BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, KBC, Banca Sella, SEB, DekaBank and Raiffeisen — has created Qivalis, an Amsterdam‑based joint venture to build a MiCA‑compliant euro stablecoin and payment infrastructure. Qivalis aims to secure an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Dutch central bank and target a mid‑2026 launch. The fully fiat‑backed token is designed for on‑chain, 24/7 payments, instant cross‑border settlements and programmable finance use cases (for example, automated settlements for tokenized securities). Jan‑Oliver Sell, formerly of Coinbase Germany, has been appointed CEO. Member banks plan to provide custody and wallet services and emphasise reserve transparency, regulatory compliance and integration with existing banking rails to boost euro liquidity in blockchain ecosystems. The move targets a wide market gap: euro stablecoin supply is roughly €670 million versus over $300 billion in dollar stablecoins, with Circle’s EURC (~€330m) and Société Générale’s EURCV (~€62m) leading the euro pool. Qivalis is constructing its governance framework and expects regulatory approval ahead of the planned 2026 debut.

Grayscale has launched the Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF (GLNK) on NYSE Arca, marking the first U.S.-listed exchange product that directly holds Chainlink (LINK) for investors. GLNK previously began as a private placement in February 2021 and traded on OTC markets from May 2022; the NYSE Arca listing upgrades the product’s market profile and brokerage accessibility. The announcement triggered a roughly 12% intraday rise in LINK price to about $13.40, reversing part of a year-to-date decline. GLNK provides regulated, brokerage-friendly exposure to LINK without requiring investors to custody private keys, but it is not an Investment Company Act (1940 Act) ETF and thus lacks some ETF-specific protections — it simply holds LINK for shareholders. For traders, important considerations include potential improvements to LINK liquidity, initial trading volumes for GLNK, and premium/discount dynamics versus NAV. Monitor ETF flows, spreads between market price and NAV, and short-term volatility as indicators of investor demand and price discovery.

Bank of America (BofA) has revised its wealth-management policy to permit Merrill, BofA Private Bank and Merrill Edge advisors to proactively recommend allocations of 1%–4% of client portfolios to regulated spot Bitcoin ETFs, effective January 5, 2026. Guidance will be tailored by risk tolerance and client interest in blockchain innovation — roughly 1% for conservative investors and up to 4% for more risk-tolerant clients. BofA’s CIO Chris Hyzy emphasized using regulated instruments, clear client disclosure of risks and volatility, and reliance on custody and operational improvements. The bank initially approved four spot Bitcoin ETFs as eligible recommendations: BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust. The policy replaces a prior restriction that barred advisors from initiating or recommending crypto exposure (clients could still buy crypto independently). The move follows similar 2025 policy shifts at major firms (Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard) and signals growing institutional acceptance that could channel substantial institutional and retail flows into spot-Bitcoin ETFs, boosting liquidity and mainstream access. For traders, the decision may increase demand pressure on BTC around and after ETF reporting and inflows, raise liquidity in ETF shares, and shorten the path for retail-to-institutional capital rotating into spot Bitcoin products; however, volatility and regulatory risks remain key considerations.

Bitcoin’s monthly MACD histogram flipped negative following a steep November drop, marking a bearish technical shift that historically preceded extended corrections. The sell-off was amplified by a macro shock — Japan’s 2‑year yield spike raised odds of Bank of Japan policy tightening — combined with a stronger US dollar and higher funding costs during a thin‑liquidity session. This triggered large exchange liquidations (over $564m of long positions in one session), cascading stop‑losses and a liquidity‑driven move downward. Additional pressure came from spot Bitcoin ETF outflows and rising US Treasury yields. Key technical supports: the trendline of 2023–2024 higher lows near ~$84.5k, then the April low around ~$74.5k and the 2021 high near ~$70k; a break of these levels would expose deeper downside. Ethereum also shows weakening structure (50‑day SMA crossing below 200‑day SMA — a “death cross”), suggesting risk of broader crypto weakness if Bitcoin fails key support. Analysts note extreme bearish positioning, which raises the potential for a large short squeeze should liquidity conditions reverse, but near‑term risks point to heightened downside volatility. Traders should watch: monthly MACD status, liquidity clusters above price (squeeze potential), ETF flows, Treasury yields, and the named support levels for stop‑loss and entry planning.

MicroStrategy (MSTR) said it raised a $1.44 billion U.S. dollar reserve to cover preferred-stock dividends and interest on debt, and revised its full-year profit outlook after bitcoin declined roughly 30% from its October peak. The announcement coincided with heavy trading in MSTR — volume surged to about 42.9 million shares, the busiest day since Dec. 20, 2024 — and pushed the stock down intraday (as much as ~12.5% in earlier reports) before settling down about 3.25% at $171.42. The company still holds roughly 650,000 BTC (about $56 billion at current prices) and said earnings could range widely, from a ~$5.5 billion net loss to up to $6.3 billion net income depending on bitcoin’s price. Critics flagged the capital raise as potentially dilutive and a sign MicroStrategy is prioritizing cash/Treasuries to meet dividend obligations instead of buying more bitcoin. For traders: the move reduces immediate pressure for MicroStrategy to liquidate BTC holdings but raises dilution and sentiment risk for MSTR shares; MSTR’s amplified correlation with BTC means equity liquidity spikes and corporate funding actions can intensify market moves in both the stock and bitcoin.

BlackRock executives including CEO Larry Fink and COO Rob Goldstein say asset tokenization—recording ownership on blockchain ledgers—could trigger the largest overhaul of market plumbing since the 1970s. Tokenization promises faster, 24/7 settlement, fewer intermediaries, fractional ownership and lower costs for stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities. BlackRock is actively building tokenized structures and has launched the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which reached $2.3bn AUM; the firm says tokenized assets grew roughly 300% in the past 20 months. Executives expect a multi-cycle, gradual transition that will begin with regulated use cases—private markets, real estate and alternatives—where illiquidity and fragmentation are biggest pain points. They stress the need for clear regulation, robust custody, interoperable infrastructure and operational resilience before tokenization can scale. For traders, the development signals growing institutional demand and infrastructure investment for tokenized products, potential improvements in intraday liquidity and price discovery, but also transitional risks and possible short-term volatility as new instruments, venues and regulatory frameworks emerge.

YZi Labs, the family office backed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, has filed to replace CEA Industries’ board after CEA’s pivot to become a BNB-focused public treasury coincided with an ~89% collapse in its share price from July. YZi — which led a $500m PIPE in August to support CEA’s BNB strategy — argues that CEO David Namdar and CEA management mismanaged the pivot through poor communication, weak marketing, halted outreach and potential conflicts of interest (including pursuing rival treasury deals). YZi seeks to void charter changes made since July, expand board nomination rights for large shareholders and install its own directors. CEA holds 515,054 BNB at an average cost basis of $851.29 (mNAV ~0.79x); BNB is ~40% below its record high but up ~24% year-to-date. The dispute highlights governance risks for token-backed treasuries and cultural friction between fast-moving crypto investors and traditional corporate governance. Traders should watch imminent shareholder votes, any board or management changes, legal challenges over bylaw amendments, and on-chain custody signals. Outcomes to monitor: a quick board replacement or clearer strategy could narrow the steep market discount on CEA’s BNB holdings and support BNB-linked flows; prolonged litigation or governance uncertainty may keep BNC shares depressed and weigh on BNB sentiment. Related sector moves: other treasury plays are reorganizing (e.g., a Yorkville merger involving CRO-focused treasury plans), underlining broader pressure on digital-asset treasury valuations during recent market declines.