Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Spain will fully adopt the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and implement the DAC8 reporting directive, tightening licensing and transaction reporting for crypto platforms by 2026. From 1 July 2026, crypto service providers operating in Spain must hold full MiCA authorization from the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) or stop offering services; the CNMV already supervises more than 60 entities. Separately, DAC8 takes effect on 1 January 2026 and requires centralized platforms to report detailed transaction-level data — including user identities, wallet addresses and values — to the Spanish Tax Agency with no minimum thresholds. Major custodial exchanges (for example, Binance Spain and Kraken Ireland) must comply and are expected to deliver full user-data submissions by 2027, while self-custody wallets remain outside DAC8 reporting for now. Proposed Spanish tax-policy changes (including higher capital-gains rates and classifying digital assets as seizable) increase enforcement risk. Traders should expect higher compliance costs for centralized venues, likely market consolidation toward licensed providers, and greater on-chain and on-exchange transparency that may shift liquidity or user flows across jurisdictions. Key SEO keywords: MiCA, DAC8, Spain crypto regulation, crypto licensing, transaction reporting.

Bitcoin reached a nominal intraday high above $126,000 in October 2025, but Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn calculates the peak falls to about $99,848 when adjusted to 2020 US dollars using CPI — beneath the $100,000 real level. The analysis uses cumulative CPI inflation as a deflator and highlights that part of Bitcoin’s recent nominal gains reflect dollar depreciation rather than pure real appreciation. US CPI remained above the Fed’s 2% target (11-month annual rate ~2.7% in November) and the dollar lost purchasing power (~20% since 2020), with the US Dollar Index (DXY) down roughly 11% in 2025. These forces have pushed flows into scarce assets — Galaxy frames it as a “currency depreciation trade” that benefits Bitcoin and gold. Market participants noted a ~30% retracement after the October peak, with year-end trading in the $87k–$93k band in one earlier note; VanEck described recent pullbacks as healthy deleveraging and miner stress rather than structural crashes. Institutional accumulation—including corporate balance-sheet purchases—continued even as some exchange-traded product flows exited. Draft regulatory proposals in the US and Europe are adding short-term volatility; some analysts warn prices could revisit roughly $65,000 on regulatory or deleveraging shocks. Key datapoints: nominal peak > $126,000; inflation-adjusted peak ≈ $99,848; US CPI ~2.7% (Nov annualized); DXY ~97.8 (≈11% drop in 2025). For traders: prioritize monitoring CPI prints, Fed guidance, DXY moves and real (inflation-adjusted) price metrics alongside nominal charts; weigh position sizing against potential regulatory-driven volatility and periodic deleveraging.

Crypto.com has posted a job for a quant trader to run an internal market‑making desk for its sports prediction markets. The role will buy and sell contracts tied to sports outcomes, provide systematic liquidity, manage risk, and seek profit — effectively operating as an in‑house trading desk that can take the opposing side of customer bets. Crypto.com told Bloomberg the desk will not use proprietary customer order flow or data as a revenue source and said market makers get a brief technical advantage window (3 seconds) on sports markets. The move revives conflict‑of‑interest concerns — critics say exchanges trading against users can make prediction platforms resemble traditional sportsbooks rather than neutral exchanges. The decision mirrors scrutiny of other platforms (eg, Kalshi, Polymarket) and reflects a broader liquidity challenge in prediction markets; industry observers see internal market making as a practical response to thin order books. For traders, expect deeper institutionalised liquidity on Crypto.com’s prediction products but also higher scrutiny on transparency and fairness, which could affect user trust, order flow and platform volumes.

Bipartisan House momentum is building to change how the IRS taxes crypto staking rewards. Eighteen representatives led by Rep. Mike Carey asked the IRS to treat staking income on a realization basis — taxing rewards only when sold — to avoid what they call “double taxation,” reduce filing burdens, and encourage participation in proof-of-stake networks ahead of the 2026 tax year. Separately, Reps. Steven Horsford and Max Miller circulated a discussion draft of the Digital Asset PARITY Act proposing broader crypto tax reforms: a de minimis exemption for regulated stablecoin payments, up to five-year deferral for mining and staking income recognition, and extensions of wash-sale and certain securities tax rules to actively traded digital assets. Lawmakers asked the IRS to identify any technical constraints to updating guidance by end-2026. For traders, these proposals could materially lower immediate tax liabilities for staked assets, simplify reporting, and increase incentives to stake — potentially affecting supply dynamics and staking participation on proof-of-stake networks. Key SEO keywords: crypto taxation, staking rewards, IRS guidance, PARITY Act, proof-of-stake.

ETHZilla, the publicly listed crypto treasury firm that rebranded from 180 Life Sciences, disclosed in an SEC filing that it sold 24,291 ETH for $74.5 million (average ~$3,068.69 per ETH) to redeem senior secured convertible notes. After the disposal, the company holds roughly 69,800 ETH. The firm said it expects to use most or all proceeds to repay debt. ETHZilla has also pursued diversification through recent investments, acquiring stakes in Karus (20% fully diluted) and Zippy (15%). The sale reflects a wider trend among listed crypto treasuries trimming holdings amid price volatility to reduce leverage and shore up liquidity — similar moves have been made by other public firms such as FG Nexus and Sequans Communications. Traders should note the immediate incremental sell-side supply from the disclosed liquidation, the company’s intent to deleverage rather than exit crypto exposure, and the potential for improved market confidence if debt reduction stabilizes its balance sheet. Primary keywords: ETHZilla, Ether (ETH), ETH sale, convertible notes, crypto treasury, debt repayment.

VanEck updated its proposed spot Avalanche ETF (ticker: VAVX) filing to add staking rewards alongside price exposure. The amended S-1 allows the fund to stake up to 70% of its AVAX holdings. Coinbase Crypto Services is named as the primary staking provider and will charge a 4% fee on staking rewards; those rewards will accrue to the fund and be reflected in the ETF’s NAV. Custody is planned with regulated custodians Anchorage Digital and Coinbase Custody using cold storage. The ETF will not use leverage or derivatives and will track the MarketVector Avalanche Benchmark Rate. The filing noted AVAX trading around $12.21 at the time. VanEck’s move follows similar yield-focused revisions by competitors (for example, Bitwise), indicating intensified competition among issuers to combine spot exposure with protocol-level yield. Regulators remain focused on disclosure and operational risk: staking introduces validator risk, slashing possibilities and added custody/governance complexity. If approved, VAVX could set a precedent for spot crypto ETFs that also capture staking income, potentially attracting investors seeking yield to offset crypto volatility.

Hyperliquid closed 2025 with record growth across users, trading volume, liquidity and revenue, according to ASXN-sourced data cited by the platform. Key figures: ~609,700 new users, $2.95 trillion in cumulative trading volume across about 198.9 billion trades, roughly $844 million in revenue, net inflows near $3.87 billion and year-end TVL around $4.15 billion. The platform runs on its own Layer‑1 (HyperBFT), which it credits for processing an average of 6,502 orders per second, near-CEX execution speeds, zero gas fees and non‑custodial on‑chain settlement. Hyperliquid says the combination of high throughput, low latency and fee savings attracted both retail and advanced traders to perpetual futures and other derivatives. Market volatility and active derivatives usage in 2025 supported inflows and fee generation, helping the exchange reach top-tier DeFi profitability. Observers highlight Hyperliquid’s model — custom Layer‑1 performance plus DeFi transparency — as a competitive challenge to centralized exchanges and as evidence that decentralized derivatives can scale. For traders: higher volumes and deepened liquidity may improve execution and reduce slippage on derivatives pairs hosted on Hyperliquid; however, rising platform prominence could also increase regulatory scrutiny and competitive responses from CEXs. Primary keywords: Hyperliquid, decentralized derivatives, Layer‑1, trading volume, TVL, revenue.

Aave founder and Aave Labs CEO Stani Kulechov denied accusations that he purchased roughly $15 million of AAVE tokens to influence a contested Aave DAO governance vote over transferring Aave brand assets (domain, social accounts, GitHub, naming rights) into DAO control. Kulechov said the tokens were not used to vote and that the buy reflected personal conviction. The dispute followed community concern that fees from a CoW Swap integration were routed to a wallet controlled by Aave Labs. The proposal — reportedly submitted by Aave Labs and attributed to former CTO Ernesto Boado, who says it was pushed to Snapshot without his consent — was rejected by voters (≈55% “nay”, ≈41% abstain, ~3.5% “yes”). Criticism centered on rushed process, concentrated voting power (top three wallets >58%, largest >27%) and prior token sales by Kulechov cited by critics. Kulechov acknowledged Aave Labs has not clearly disclosed its economic alignment with AAVE holders and pledged clearer disclosures. Traders should monitor AAVE liquidity, on-chain movements of large wallets, Snapshot/governance developments and market sentiment, since founder token purchases, governance disputes and concentrated voting can increase volatility and affect token demand and fee flows.

Cardano (ADA) has weakened after breaking short-term support levels, trading around $0.35 and consolidating just above $0.347–$0.35. Price sits below key short-term moving averages (7/21/30-day SMAs) and on the 4-hour chart is under downward-sloping averages; momentum indicators (MACD negative, RSI mid-30s) point to bearish pressure and possible oversold conditions. Recent stop-loss cascades accelerated the sell-off after the pivot broke. Immediate downside risk targets the 2025 low near $0.32 and, if bearish momentum persists, a deeper move toward $0.30. To regain upside momentum, buyers need to reclaim moving averages and resistances — near-term resistance includes the 23.6% Fibonacci at ~$0.45. Doji candlesticks have limited directional conviction recently. This is market analysis, not investment advice.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index registered an ’extreme fear’ reading of 20 on Dec. 26, marking about two weeks of elevated fear — one of the longest such streaks since the index began in 2018. The index fell three points on Dec. 26 and has weakened steadily since October following a near-$500 billion market drawdown tied to US–China tariff tensions and an October 10 liquidation wave. The gauge combines volatility, trading volume, social sentiment, Google Trends, investor surveys and Bitcoin dominance. Data providers report sharply reduced retail engagement: Google search and Wikipedia traffic, forum activity and social volume have dropped to typical bear-market levels. Crypto-native retail is said to be largely sidelined after shocks such as the FTX collapse, memecoin crashes and absent altcoin seasons. Traditional retail flows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs remain strong (over $25bn in 2025), even as BTC trades roughly 30% below its October all-time high. Analysts warn macro uncertainty — notably Fed policy and potential changes to rate-cut expectations — could push Bitcoin lower; some market voices see scenarios where BTC falls toward the mid-five-figure range. For traders: the persistent ’extreme fear’ reading raises downside risk and the potential for amplified volatility and larger liquidations. Monitor Bitcoin dominance, volatility spikes, Google Trends and social-volume metrics for early signs of sentiment inflection. Prioritise risk management, position sizing and liquidity planning until retail engagement and macro clarity improve.

Aptos (APT) has posted a short-term rebound — roughly +1.3% in 24 hours and about +15.8% over the week — yet remains inside a longer-term downtrend. Price is testing resistance around $1.70–$1.72 after an October sell-off that broke prior support near $4.32. Technicals are mixed: RSI has recovered from oversold levels, signaling temporary buying interest, while On‑Balance Volume (OBV) sits near multi-year lows, indicating persistent selling pressure. APT’s price remains closely correlated with Bitcoin (BTC); BTC’s recent ~1.5% rise toward $90k provided altcoin relief, and an upcoming BTC options expiry could increase short-term volatility and possibly lift APT toward $1.90–$2.00 if a broader rally occurs. On-chain and fundamental signals are weak — declining transaction and developer activity and capital flow favoring Solana (SOL) memecoin action — so any durable reversal would require both technical breakout above $1.70 and improving fundamentals. Short-term trading band: $1.56 support and $1.69–$1.72 resistance. Traders should treat the current move as a relief rally: consider range trades (buy near support, short near resistance), manage risk with tight stop-losses, monitor BTC direction, OBV and RSI for conviction, and wait for confirmed breakout (targets $1.90–$2.00) or breakdown below $1.56 for continuation of the bear trend.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged three alleged crypto trading platforms (Morocoin Tech, Berge Blockchain Technology, Cirkor) and four affiliated investment clubs for a coordinated investment-confidence scam that stole about $14 million from U.S. retail investors. Operators recruited victims via WhatsApp groups, social advertising and promises of AI-driven trading tips, steered them into fake trading platforms and bogus security token offerings (STOs), blocked withdrawals and extracted advance fees. Funds were routed overseas through banks and crypto wallets. The SEC’s Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit led the enforcement action, seeking injunctions, disgorgement and civil penalties. The move comes amid a surge in SEC filings referencing blockchain — and a wave of spot Bitcoin ETF applications — highlighting heightened regulatory scrutiny. For traders: the case underscores elevated counterparty and platform risk, the need to verify licensing and withdrawal proofs before committing capital, and the potential for compliance-driven volatility around Bitcoin-related news. Primary keywords: SEC enforcement, crypto scam, Bitcoin ETF filings, retail investor risk. Secondary/semantic keywords: WhatsApp recruitment, fake trading platforms, security token offerings, funds movement, regulatory scrutiny.

Ozak AI (OZ) has completed multiple presale rounds, selling more than 1.03–1.05 billion OZ tokens and raising roughly $5.12–$5.1 million in private funding, with totals approaching a $5.5 million target ahead of exchange listings. Presale price rose from approximately $0.001 to $0.014 (about 14x). Commentators and analysts cited in coverage project aggressive post-listing scenarios — one scenario implies a listing price near $1 (≈71x from presale) and later targets between $5–$10, while other estimates suggest up to ~300x several months after listing. The project markets a three-layer AI-focused architecture (AI layer, IPFS-encrypted Data layer, and OSN layer) to run predictive models and ingest on-chain/off-chain data, and highlights DePIN, cross-chain capabilities and partnerships with firms such as Openledger, Meganet, Phala Network, SINT, Gremory AI and IQ Wiki. The articles note the coverage is sponsored and not financial advice. For traders: the presale demonstrates strong early demand and high implied upside expectations, but price forecasts are speculative and depend on exchange listing dynamics, liquidity, token unlocking, and execution of the project’s technical and partnership roadmap.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has remained in the “Extreme Fear” band (0–24) for 14 consecutive days, registering 20 on Dec. 26, 2025. This extended streak surpasses the index’s extreme readings during the November 2022 FTX collapse, despite Bitcoin trading near $88k — roughly five times higher than during the FTX-era crash. The index, compiled by Alternative.me from volatility, volume, dominance and social metrics, reflects sustained anxiety rather than a single liquidity shock. Market conditions seen across the two reports: muted spot volumes compared with the 2024 ETF launch window; compressed funding rates and falling open interest on BTC perpetuals (lower leverage); sideways broader market action with NFT tokens down over 24h and some small gains in AI/SocialFi-related baskets; and social/search engagement returning to bear-market norms. Macro and regulatory headwinds persist — U.S. rates remain restrictive and enforcement on centralized venues and stablecoin issuers continues. Traders should note that prolonged “Extreme Fear” typically coincides with lower liquidity and higher volatility, which can amplify price moves on low-volume flows and limit altcoin rallies due to subdued retail participation. While the index’s methodology often flags extreme fear as a potential buying opportunity, current signals suggest caution: the reading reflects persistent low leverage and sentiment risk, and ongoing macro/regulatory developments could keep downside pressure on BTC in the near term.

DOGEBALL, a new dog-themed ERC‑20 token, is launching a four-month presale starting 2 January 2026 on a live custom Ethereum Layer‑2 called DOGECHAIN. The project markets near‑zero fees, sub‑2‑second blocks and full EVM compatibility. Tokenomics: 80 billion total supply, ~20 billion (25% in earlier summary) allocated to the ICO/presale across 15 stages starting at $0.0003, with a confirmed listing price of $0.015 implied by earlier materials (large early-stage uplifts advertised). The presale pledges at least 15% of proceeds to liquidity. DOGEBALL pairs an on‑chain dodgeball-style game with a $1 million prize pool (top prize $500,000) and cites a partnership with Falcon Interactive; smart contracts were reportedly audited by Coinsult in earlier coverage. The marketing positions DOGEBALL as a meme‑coin with potential for large multiples (100x–200x for Stage 1) and compares its infrastructure-first pitch to established meme tokens PEPE and FLOKI, which are highlighted for sustained volume and expanding utility respectively. Disclosure: coverage is a paid press release and not trading advice.

OAK Research’s year‑end report shows major Layer‑1 and Layer‑2 tokens suffered steep price and user declines in 2025 as capital and activity rotated toward Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), BNB Chain and revenue‑generating protocols. Total Monthly Active Users across major chains fell about 25.15%. Solana (SOL) lost roughly 94 million users (>60% decline) while BNB Chain nearly tripled its user base by capturing migration flows. Layer‑2 performance diverged: Base saw TVL gains aided by Coinbase distribution, Optimism and zkSync Era experienced sharp contractions, and Mantle posted modest TVL growth largely tied to concentrated token supply. OAK attributes the token sell‑offs to three structural issues: aggressive and continuous unlock schedules, weak value‑capture linking on‑chain usage to token demand, and institutional preference for BTC/ETH. Developer activity remained resilient — Electric Capital data shows sustained dev growth across EVM and SVM stacks and two‑year full‑time developer growth strongest on Bitcoin. On‑chain revenues concentrated in stablecoin issuers (Tether, Circle) and derivatives venues, leaving undifferentiated infrastructure tokens exposed. Outlook for 2026: continued downside and consolidation risk for undifferentiated L1/L2 tokens without clear revenue models or differentiation (speed, cost, security); protocols with meaningful revenues may stabilize but still face unlock pressure and market volatility. For traders: expect ongoing sell pressure on speculative L1/L2 tokens, flight to base layers and fee‑earning protocols, and heightened sensitivity to token unlock schedules, TVL and on‑chain revenue metrics.

Ethereum plans two major hard forks in 2026 — Glamsterdam (mid‑2026) and Heze‑Bogota (late‑2026) — targeting large‑scale Layer‑1 scaling, increased Layer‑2 capacity, broader zero‑knowledge (ZK) verifier adoption and stronger on‑chain censorship resistance. Glamsterdam will introduce Block Access Lists (EIP‑7928) to enable parallel transaction execution across CPU cores and enshrined proposer‑builder separation (ePBS) to integrate MEV mitigation into consensus and unlock validator‑level ZK verification. These changes are expected to allow staged gas limit increases (current ~60M gas per block → ~100M in H1 2026 → ~200M or more later in 2026, with some estimates up to ~300M), increase per‑block blob capacity (potentially 72+ blobs) and extend the time window for generating and verifying ZK proofs. Researchers project roughly 10% of validators may verify ZK proofs instead of replaying full execution, freeing further gas headroom. Heze‑Bogota will focus on censorship resistance (e.g., Fork‑Choice Inclusion Lists/FOCIL) to let validator groups ensure inclusion of specific transactions when a subset of nodes remain honest. Secondary developments include improved L2 UX (examples: ZKsync’s Elastic Network / Atlas storing funds on‑chain while enabling fast L2 activity) and proposals for an Ethereum Interoperability Layer to ease L2 cross‑chain operations. For traders: these protocol upgrades could materially raise on‑chain capacity, reduce L2 congestion, change MEV dynamics and pressure fee volatility — factors that may shift liquidity, on‑chain flows and Layer‑2 token activity. Monitor gas limit changes, ePBS adoption, validator ZK verification uptake and on‑chain fee metrics for near‑term trading signals.

Bitcoin is range-bound between $85,000–$90,000 as a concentrated options expiry on December 26 could drive elevated short-term volatility. Roughly $24 billion (or hundreds of millions to billions in different reports) of BTC options expire, with heavy put open interest clustered at the $85K strike. Options mechanics — gamma, dealer hedging and delta exposure — have contributed to recent sideways action and can amplify price moves into expiry. On-chain signs (whale accumulation, lower exchange inflows) and ongoing ETF flows provide structural support, but concentrated expiries often produce intraday swings of several percent. Traders should monitor open interest, put/call skew and dealer gamma exposures around $85K; a failure of the $85K support could trigger a rapid move toward $80K (including a quick sweep or liquidation cascade), while holding the zone may clear weak hands and enable a rebound toward $90K once options-driven flows fade. Key trading actions: expect elevated volatility near Dec 26, track options OI and skew, watch ETF flows and exchange inflows, and size positions for potential quick directional moves.

A Christmas‑day flash crash on Binance’s BTC/USD1 pair briefly pushed Bitcoin to $24,111 before automated and arbitrage activity restored the price to roughly $87,000 within seconds. The move was isolated to the USD1 stablecoin pairing — a newly launched, incentivized dollar‑pegged token (USD1 reportedly backed by the Trump family and offering high APY) — and did not appear on major BTC pairs such as BTC/USDT. Causes cited include extremely low buy‑side depth on the USD1 order book, a large sell order or liquidation sweeping bids, stop‑loss cascades and fast arbitrage that both exaggerated and corrected the price wick. A DeFi researcher suggested coordinated insider shorts but provided no conclusive evidence; exchange display or execution anomalies are also possible. The incident underscores execution risk in shallow or exotic stablecoin pairs and the potential for microstructure‑driven, exchange‑specific price anomalies. For traders: avoid placing large aggressive orders in low‑liquidity pairings, monitor order‑book depth and spreads, use limit orders where appropriate, and be cautious of promotional or high‑yield stablecoins that can attract volume without depth. This is a market‑microstructure liquidity glitch rather than a fundamental devaluation of Bitcoin. Disclaimer: not financial advice.

An AMLBot analysis covering 2023–2025 highlights a sharp contrast in how Tether and Circle handle stablecoin freezes. Tether blacklisted about 7,268 addresses and froze roughly $3.29 billion in USDT across ERC‑20 and TRC‑20, with TRON holding over 53% (~$1.75B). Tether operates a continuous “freeze → burn → reissue” workflow used to recover funds and compensate victims; large burns and reissues peaked in 2024–2025. The company reports cooperation with 275+ law‑enforcement agencies across 59 jurisdictions and engagement with ~2,800 addresses tied to law‑enforcement requests, including US authorities. Notable cases cited include a 44.7M USDT freeze in April 2025 at Bulgaria’s request and references to multi‑sig approval delays linked to roughly $78M in losses since 2017. By contrast, Circle froze 372 addresses holding $109M in USDC during the same period, acting primarily on court orders or legal mandates and pausing access rather than burning or reissuing tokens; frozen USDC remains locked pending legal resolution. Key implications for traders: Tether’s proactive freeze-and-reissue policy increases the risk of rapid asset blacklisting and raises censorship and privacy concerns, potentially affecting on‑chain liquidity and counterparty risk for USDT holders. Circle’s more conservative, legally anchored freezes are rarer and tend to be less operationally disruptive but can still temporarily reduce circulating USDC. Keywords: USDT, USDC, Tether, Circle, stablecoin freeze, Tron, Ethereum.

Ripple CTO David Schwartz clarified that the 2017 XRP escrow was introduced to add predictability to token releases, not to enable larger or hidden sales that could single-handedly depress XRP’s price. Schwartz said that before the escrow, Ripple had no fixed monthly sales cap; the escrow locked most holdings and imposed a fixed, capped monthly release schedule, which he opposed at the time because it reduced strategic flexibility. He argued markets already price in predictable, capped releases and routine re-locking of unused XRP, so escrow mechanics alone do not explain XRP’s long-term price performance. Instead, Schwartz pointed to broader drivers — network utility growth, liquidity, regulatory clarity and macroeconomic trends — as more important determinants of price. His comments reframe community debates from emotional claims about withheld supply to a focus on market expectations, transparency and price discovery. Traders should note that while scheduled escrow releases are transparent and predictable, perceived selling pressure from Ripple remains a recurring narrative that can influence short-term volatility.

Russia’s central bank and major exchanges are preparing a regulated crypto market with a legislative deadline of July 1, 2026. The Bank of Russia published a regulatory concept that mandates custody rules, AML/surveillance, and investor classification; penalties for unlicensed intermediaries are slated to begin July 1, 2027. Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is developing trading and settlement infrastructure while the St. Petersburg Exchange says its systems are already in place to list and settle approved digital assets. The proposal creates a two-tier investor system: non‑qualified (retail) investors face a 300,000‑ruble (~$3,800) annual purchase cap per intermediary, must pass knowledge checks, and are limited to an approved list of liquid tokens; qualified investors (institutions and high‑net‑worth individuals) will have no volume limits but cannot buy anonymous tokens and must meet risk‑awareness criteria. Crypto remains banned as a means of payment in Russia; digital assets are to be treated as investment instruments only. For traders, the roadmap signals likely increases in on‑exchange liquidity, formal tax and surveillance channels for previously informal flows, and higher custody/AML compliance costs for service providers. Key hurdles remain: finalizing complex legislation, implementing custody and AML frameworks, and restoring market confidence after prolonged regulatory uncertainty. Primary keywords: regulated crypto trading, Moscow Exchange, St. Petersburg Exchange, Bank of Russia, July 2026.

U.S. XRP spot ETFs recorded net inflows of $11.93 million on Dec. 24 (US Eastern), driven mainly by Franklin’s Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ), which saw $11.14 million of inflows that day and now has cumulative net inflows of $231 million. Canary’s Canary XRP ETF (XRPC) contributed $0.79 million on the day and has cumulative inflows of $385 million. Total assets under management (NAV) across XRP spot ETFs stand at $1.25 billion, with XRP making up 0.98% of net assets. Historical cumulative net inflows into XRP spot ETFs have reached about $1.14 billion. Data source: SoSoValue; figures are market information and not investment advice.

CoinShares’ weekly Digital Asset Fund Flows reported ~ $952M net outflows for the week ending 20 Dec 2025, driven chiefly by U.S. withdrawals (~$990M) amid regulatory uncertainty tied to delays around the U.S. "Clarity Act." Outflows were concentrated in spot Ethereum products (≈ $555M) and Bitcoin funds (≈ $460M). Despite the pullback in BTC and ETH, select altcoins attracted institutional capital: XRP saw inflows of $62.9M and Solana $48.5M. Regional flows were mixed, with modest inflows in Canada (~$15.6M) and Germany (~$46.2M). Total assets under management in crypto investment products stood at $46.7B, down from $48.7B at the same point in 2024. CoinShares frames the moves as portfolio rebalancing and risk-off positioning while institutions await clearer U.S. regulatory signals, warning that persistent U.S. regulatory ambiguity makes it unlikely fund inflows will exceed last year’s totals under current conditions.

Metaplanet’s board approved an equity-linked financing plan to grow its Bitcoin treasury to 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027. Shareholders unanimously backed proposals to issue two classes of preferred shares (voting Class A and non-voting Class B) with floating-rate features, quarterly dividends, a 10-year issuer call at 130% on Class B, and a put right if the company fails to list within a year. Class B issuance may be offered to overseas institutions to widen capital access. Management positions Bitcoin as a hedge against yen depreciation and follows strategies used by large corporate Bitcoin holders. The structure aims to enable substantial BTC purchases while deferring — but not eliminating — dilution for existing equity holders. Analysts warn the plan is sensitive to Bitcoin price moves: falling crypto prices can pressure digital-asset treasuries (DATs), widen equity valuation discounts, and make future capital raises harder in downturns. Traders should watch Metaplanet’s actual buying cadence, the timing and size of share issuances, and BTC price action, since successful accumulation depends on repeated capital raises and sustained or rising BTC prices. Primary keywords: Metaplanet, Bitcoin treasury, equity-linked financing, digital asset treasuries, BTC.

Gnosis Chain node operators executed a validator-approved hard fork to recover funds linked to the November Balancer exploit that drained nearly $120 million across chains. The network said the attacker no longer controls the assets and urged remaining operators to update nodes to avoid penalties; it did not disclose the exact recovery total. The hard fork follows an emergency soft fork in November that froze roughly $9.4 million on Gnosis Chain. On-chain data showed the attacker moved large amounts — including staked ETH — to new addresses before recovery attempts. Balancer traced the breach to a vulnerability in Balancer V2 Composable Stable Pools despite multiple audits; white-hat actors previously retrieved about $28 million. The decision to hard fork sparked debate: supporters praised coordinated recovery and user protection, while critics warned it weakens immutability and called for clearer intervention rules. For traders: expect heightened on-chain activity and potential short-term volatility around recovered-fund movements, DAO wallet transfers, validator announcements and any clawback or compensation proposals that could affect token flows.

Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has launched two asset-backed tokens: GLDC (gold) and SILC (silver). Each token represents fractional claims on physical bullion stored in audited, insured vaults and can be purchased 24/7 by swapping USDC on CircleMetals.com. Tokens settle on-chain and integrate with compatible wallets, DeFi protocols and institutional workflows, positioning them as programmable alternatives for treasury diversification, DeFi collateral and fast cross-border value transfer. Backing and liquidity are modelled on COMEX reference markets. Benefits cited include on-chain transparency, fractional ownership and reduced storage overhead. Key risks are custodial trust in Circle and its partners, regulatory uncertainty around asset-backed tokens, and uncertain long-term adoption and liquidity. Circle’s standing as a major stablecoin issuer may boost credibility and integration potential versus existing gold-backed crypto offerings. Traders should note this development as a potential new inflow conduit for USDC into tokenized real-world assets, which could subtly shift USDC utility and affect demand dynamics for stablecoins and on-chain collateral.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) has advanced through its presale to Phase 6 at $0.035 after a roughly 250% increase from the Phase 1 price of $0.01. The sale has raised over $19.4 million and attracted more than 18,600 wallets, with Phase 6 allocation reported at over 99% and more than 820 million tokens sold, tightening circulating supply. Development milestones include completed smart contracts, a planned Sepolia V1 testnet launch, a CertiK token scan score of 90/100, independent Halborn security reviews of lending/borrowing contracts, and a $50,000 bug-bounty program. The team is running community incentives (leaderboards and small MUTM rewards) and expects beta/testnet activity ahead of a V1 mainnet window (targeted toward Q1 2026 in earlier updates). Analysts in the later write-up offered two valuation scenarios: a relative-valuation case (3x–4x upside if MUTM captures a small share of established DeFi lending volume) and a usage-driven case (potential ~5x over time if V1 launches and lending activity grows). Combined coverage frames MUTM as a rotation trade — offering reduced uncertainty through audits and visible development yet retaining typical early-stage DeFi risk and price elasticity. Traders should weigh tightening token availability and improving security posture against standard presale and protocol execution risks; this news is likely to be price-supportive for MUTM but does not remove execution and adoption risk. (Note: original reporting contains press-release elements; conduct your own due diligence.)

Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co‑founder, reduced his Ether exposure in December by transferring about 1,871 ETH (~$5.53M) to exchanges and depositing a further 682 ETH (~$2M) to Binance for sale, according to on‑chain tracker Lookonchain. Hayes rotated proceeds into stablecoins and several beaten-down DeFi tokens, buying roughly 1.22 million ENA (~$257.5K), 137,117 PENDLE (~$259K) and 132,730 ETHFI (~$93K). His wallet now holds about $48M in USDC. These moves follow an earlier weekend swap (680 ETH for ~1.2M ENA) and reflect a defensive shift: reducing ETH exposure near the $3,000 level while keeping large USDC liquidity for flexibility and deploying capital into select distressed DeFi assets. For traders, the actions signal short-term caution on ETH price risk but opportunistic accumulation in small-cap DeFi tokens; watch for potential selling pressure for ETH around exchange deposits and possible price sensitivity in the purchased tokens as Hayes and others rotate funds.