News•Dec 8, 2025
Farcaster Abandons Social Network Strategy to Focus on Wallet
Farcaster, the blockchain‑based social platform founded by former Coinbase executives, announced it will abandon its social‑network focus and double down on its on‑chain wallet. After 4.5 years of trying to build a Twitter‑like experience, the team said growth was unsustainable, while the wallet has shown rapid scaling and near product‑market fit. The shift follows the October acquisition of Clanker, an AI‑driven token launchpad on Base, and plans to embed social features within the wallet. Farcaster has raised $180 million, valuated at $1 billion.
By The Defiant
News•Dec 8, 2025
Hyperliquid Launches Direct USDC Transfers
Hyperliquid announced direct USDC transfers, unifying the stablecoin on its HyperCore and HyperEVM layers. The move replaces the previous Arbitrum‑based bridge, allowing users to move USDC without third‑party intermediaries. By consolidating liquidity, the platform aims to cut transaction costs and...
By The Defiant
News•Dec 8, 2025
StableChain Launches Mainnet with USDT Gas Fees, Dedicated Governance Token
StableChain has launched its mainnet, a layer‑1 blockchain that uses Tether’s USDT to pay gas fees, eliminating the need for volatile assets in transaction processing. The network is supported by the newly created Stable Foundation and the STABLE governance token,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
ONDO Jumps as SEC Ends Biden-Era Probe
ONDO, a tokenization platform, saw its stock surge after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formally closed a confidential investigation that began during the Biden administration. The SEC concluded the probe without filing any charges, signaling no immediate regulatory penalties...
By The Defiant
News•Dec 8, 2025
Watchdog Asks for Crypto Industry Feedback on UK Investment Reforms
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued consultation papers asking crypto firms to comment on proposed investment reforms aimed at expanding consumer access and revising client categorisation rules. The proposals target risks associated with crypto‑asset proxies, suggesting tighter limits,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
XRP Needs a Solana-Style Strategy to Keep Up: Ripple Executive
Ripple’s global partner success lead Luke Judges argues that XRP Ledger must adopt a Solana‑style go‑to‑market approach to stay competitive, emphasizing speed, pragmatism, and developer onboarding over pure technical superiority. He contrasts this with CTO David Schwartz’s focus on XRPL’s...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Tether's USDt Awarded Key Regulatory Status in Abu Dhabi
Tether’s USDT has been officially designated as an “accepted fiat‑referenced token” by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), allowing licensed firms to provide trading, custody and settlement services involving the stablecoin. The recognition builds on ADGM’s earlier classification of USDT...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
The Easiest and Safest Methods for Gifting Crypto at Christmas in 2025
The 2025 guide outlines the safest ways to gift cryptocurrency at Christmas, emphasizing established assets like Bitcoin and Ether for newcomers. It details three primary methods—crypto gift cards, hardware wallets, and direct transfers via exchanges—highlighting ease of use, security benefits,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
BlackRock Files for Listing Staked Ether ETF
BlackRock has filed an application to list a new exchange‑traded fund that would give investors indirect exposure to staked Ether. The ETF would track Ether locked in proof‑of‑stake consensus, allowing holders to earn staking rewards without directly managing the asset....
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Wall Street Piles In: How Ripple’s Quiet Pivot Led to a $40B Valuation
Ripple secured a $500 million financing round that lifted its valuation to $40 billion, drawing heavyweight Wall Street firms such as Citadel, Fortress and Galaxy Digital. The deal includes unique downside protections, offering investors a guaranteed 10% annual return or up to...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Ripple’s Big Singapore Win: What the Expanded License Allows Now
Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has broadened Ripple’s Major Payment Institution licence, granting the firm permission to deliver end‑to‑end cross‑border payments, regulated XRP and RLUSD services, and on/off‑ramps. The upgrade removes the 2023 restrictions that limited Ripple to token‑only...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Most Influential: Ross Ulbricht
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. The clemency follows a series of high‑profile pardons targeting figures linked to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Ulbricht's release removes a decades‑old conviction for drug...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 8, 2025
Most Influential: Rep. French Hill
Representative French Hill has emerged as a leading force behind U.S. cryptocurrency legislation, steering bipartisan efforts in the House Financial Services Committee. He championed the first comprehensive digital‑asset bill, seeking clarity for innovators while safeguarding consumers. Hill’s outreach to industry...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 8, 2025
New DePIN Protocol Rolls Out ZK-Proof Processing Marketplace
Brevis has unveiled ProverNet, a decentralized ZK‑proof marketplace that lets provers earn by generating proofs while applications purchase proving capacity. The beta network settles payments in Circle’s USDC and will transition to the native BREV token upon mainnet launch, introducing...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Tom Lee's BitMine Immersion Ramps Up Ether Acquisition, Adding $435M of ETH to Treasury
Tom Lee’s mining firm BitMine (BMNR) accelerated its Ethereum purchases, adding roughly $435 million worth of ETH to its corporate treasury. The acquisition represents the company’s largest weekly haul in over a month and pushes its cash reserves higher. BitMine’s immersion‑mining...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 8, 2025
ZKsync Lite to Shut Down in 2026 as Matter Labs Moves On
Matter Labs announced that its original zk‑rollup, ZKsync Lite, will be sunset in early 2026. The company framed the move as a planned transition toward its newer ZKsync Era platform, which offers higher throughput and lower fees. Existing Lite contracts...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 8, 2025
SEC Ends Biden-Era Probe Into Tokenized Equity Platform Ondo Finance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has officially closed its multi‑year investigation into New York‑based tokenization platform Ondo Finance without filing any charges. The probe, launched in 2023 under former Chair Gary Gensler, examined whether Ondo’s tokenized real‑world assets and...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Mantra CEO Tells OM Holders to Withdraw From OKX over ‘Inaccurate’ Migration Plan
Mantra CEO JP Mullin publicly urged OM token holders to withdraw their assets from the OKX exchange, alleging that OKX had not coordinated with Mantra on the upcoming token migration and had published inaccurate migration dates. The dispute revolves around...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Binance Suspends Employee over Using Inside Information for Personal Gain
Binance has suspended a futures‑team employee after an internal probe found the staffer used non‑public token issuance data to post on the official Binance Futures X account for personal profit. The employee was removed within minutes of the token launch,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Prediction Markets Emerge as Speculative ‘Arbitrage Arena’ for Crypto Traders
Prediction markets are rapidly becoming a speculative arena where crypto traders chase returns that dwarf traditional spot holdings. Platforms like Polymarket enable asymmetric payoffs, exemplified by a BNB contract that could yield a 100× payout versus a modest 1.65× spot...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Can Panic Wallets Stop a Wrench? Why Crypto’s Next Security Debate Is Physical
Physical coercion of crypto asset holders is accelerating, with Jameson Lopp’s database showing a 169% rise in reported attacks in 2025. The surge aligns with Bitcoin bull markets and OTC trading spikes, and incidents now include home invasions, kidnappings, and...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Crypto Funds Log Second Week of Inflows After Massive $5.5B Sell-Off
Crypto exchange‑traded products (ETPs) recorded $716 million of inflows this week, extending a $1 billion gain from the prior week. The rebound lifted total assets under management above $180 billion, an 8 % rise from November lows after a $5.5 billion outflow streak. Bitcoin led...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
US Treasurys Lead Tokenization Wave as CoinShares Predicts 2026 Growth
CoinShares reports that tokenized real‑world assets exploded 229% in 2025, reaching $18.1 billion, driven primarily by US Treasury tokens that more than doubled to $8.68 billion. Private‑credit tokenization also nearly doubled, underscoring a broader shift toward on‑chain fixed‑income products. Ethereum remains the...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Circle and Bybit Deepen USDC Partnership as Stablecoin Nears $80B
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, announced a strategic partnership with crypto exchange Bybit to deepen USDC integration across spot, derivatives and payment channels. The collaboration aims to boost liquidity, improve fiat on‑ramps and off‑ramps, and expand cross‑chain support,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Binance Secures ADGM Licenses to Operate International Platform
Binance has secured three licences from Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority – covering its exchange, clearing‑house and broker‑dealer operations – under the ADGM framework. The licences grant regulatory clarity and allow Binance to launch regulated activities from 5 January 2026, marking...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
The Future of Secure Messaging: Why Decentralization Matters More than Ever
Decentralized messengers like Session and SimpleX are gaining traction as industry leaders, including Vitalik Buterin, fund their development with a 128 ETH donation. Session combines end‑to‑end encryption with onion‑routed swarms, eliminating phone numbers and reducing metadata exposure. The app offers a...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Ethereum’s First ZK-Rollup, ZKsync Lite, to Be Retired in 2026
Ethereum’s first ZK‑rollup, ZKsync Lite, will be retired in 2026 after fulfilling its proof‑of‑concept role. Launched by Matter Labs in 2020, it enabled fast token transfers and NFT minting but lacked smart‑contract capability. Development ceased in early 2023 when the...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Philippines’ Fastest-Growing Digital Bank Rolls Out Crypto Services
Philippines‑based digital bank GoTyme, now serving 6.5 million customers, has launched crypto services through a partnership with US fintech Alpaca. The app lets users buy and store eleven digital assets—including Bitcoin, Ether and Solana—by automatically converting Philippine pesos to US dollars....
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Trump’s National Security Strategy Is Silent on Crypto, Blockchain
The Trump administration’s new national security strategy makes no mention of cryptocurrency or blockchain, even though recent policy moves have embraced the sector. The document instead highlights artificial intelligence, biotech and quantum computing as core technological priorities. Despite the omission,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 8, 2025
Vitalik Buterin Floats Gas Futures on Ethereum to Hedge Fee Spikes
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin proposed an on‑chain futures market for gas fees, allowing users to lock in transaction costs for future periods. The concept aims to provide certainty amid the network’s historically volatile fee environment, where average fees have swung from...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 7, 2025
Crypto’s Other Halving: Bittensor’s First 4-Year Cycle Seen as ‘Maturation’ Milestone
Bittensor is set to halve its daily TAO token issuance from 7,200 to 3,600 around Dec. 14, marking the network’s first four‑year supply cut since its 2021 launch. The reduction moves the ecosystem toward a 21 million hard‑cap, mirroring Bitcoin’s scarcity model,...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 7, 2025
WisdomTree Brings Options Income Strategy Onchain with New Tokenized Fund
WisdomTree has launched the EPXC token, a digital‑asset fund that mirrors the Volos US Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Index, bringing a traditional put‑writing options income strategy onto blockchain. The fund is available to both institutional and retail investors, offering...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 7, 2025
Coinbase Starts Onboarding Users Again in India, Plans for Fiat On-Ramp Next Year
Coinbase is exploring expansion into India with a staggered relaunch and hiring for different roles.
By TechCrunch Crypto
News•Dec 7, 2025
XRP Sentiment Hits Extreme Fear as TD Sequential Flashes Early Reversal Signal
XRP’s market sentiment has plunged into the extreme‑fear zone, a level that historically precedes short‑term price rebounds. At the same time, the TD Sequential technical indicator flashed an early reversal signal, suggesting a potential bottoming pattern. XRP is trading at...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 7, 2025
South Korea to Impose Bank-Level Liability on Crypto Exchanges After Upbit Hack: Report
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is drafting legislation to impose bank‑level, no‑fault liability on crypto exchanges, mirroring the protections afforded to banks under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. The move follows the Upbit hack that siphoned roughly 44.5 billion won ($30 million)...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 7, 2025
Bitcoin Buries the Tulip Myth After 17 Years of Proven Resilience Says ETF Expert
ETF specialist Eric Balchunas argues Bitcoin can no longer be likened to the 17th‑century tulip bubble, citing its 17‑year track record and resilience through multiple market cycles. He notes Bitcoin is up roughly 250 % over the past three years and 122 %...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 7, 2025
Rising Bitcoin ‘Liveliness’ Indicator Suggests Bull Market May Continue: Analysts
Bitcoin's on‑chain liveliness metric has surged to a new all‑time high, indicating robust transaction activity despite the cryptocurrency trading near $89,500. The indicator, which sums lifetime spending versus holding and scales by coin age, traditionally climbs during bull markets as...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 6, 2025
BitMine Buys $199M in Ether as Smart Money Traders Bet on ETH Decline
BitMine Immersion Technologies purchased $199 million of Ether over two days, bringing its total holdings to $11.3 billion—about 3.08% of the total supply and edging toward its 5% target. The acquisition occurs as overall corporate Ether buying has slumped 81% in the...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 6, 2025
Bitcoin Profit Metric Eyes 2-Year Lows in 'Complete Reset:' BTC Analysis
New on‑chain research shows Bitcoin’s long‑term profit metric has fallen to its lowest point in two years, signaling a "complete reset" for the market. The metric, which tracks the realized profit ratio of coins held for over a year, dropped...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 6, 2025
Why CFTC-Approved Spot Bitcoin, Ethereum Trading Is a 'Massively Huge Deal'
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved spot Bitcoin and Ether products on its registered futures exchanges, giving the two leading cryptocurrencies a regulated, commodity‑class status. The move mirrors the 1970s gold market transition, promising deeper liquidity, tighter price discovery...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 6, 2025
How Much Longer Until We Consider the Bitcoin Power Law Model Invalid?
The article examines whether Bitcoin’s long‑standing power‑law valuation model is losing relevance as the price gap widens. It highlights recent market data showing Bitcoin trading near $90,000, far above the model’s projected mean‑reversion level. Analysts debate if the divergence signals...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 6, 2025
The Grandma Test: When Your Mom Can Use DePIN, Mass Adoption Has Arrived
The article argues that Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) have reached a tipping point where even non‑technical users, exemplified by a grandmother, can participate without understanding blockchain intricacies. Recent UI upgrades, fiat‑linked wallets, and simplified staking mechanisms have lowered entry...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 6, 2025
Euro Stablecoin Market Cap Doubles in Year After MiCA, Study Finds
A recent study shows the euro‑stablecoin market cap has doubled within a year of the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets (MiCA) regulation taking effect. The market, which had shrunk 48% in the year leading up to June 2024, rebounded to roughly...
By CoinDesk
News•Dec 6, 2025
2,000 Bitcoin on the Move: Rare Casascius Coins Awaken After 13 Years
Two long‑dormant Casascius physical coins, each representing 1,000 BTC, were redeemed after 13 years, unlocking more than $179 million in Bitcoin. The coins were minted in late 2011 and 2012 when Bitcoin traded under $12, yielding astronomical theoretical returns. Only a handful of...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 5, 2025
Three Binance Bitcoin Charts Point to the Direction of BTC’s Next Big Move
Bitcoin’s short‑term trajectory is increasingly tied to activity on Binance, where whale deposits and inflows have surged to multi‑year highs. The Exchange Whale Ratio on Binance climbed to a 14‑day EMA of 0.427, the highest since April, while 30‑day BTC...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 5, 2025
Bitcoin’s End-of-Year Run to $100K Heavily Depends on Fed Pivot Outcomes
Bitcoin’s path to $100,000 by year‑end hinges on the Federal Reserve’s policy pivot. The Fed stopped quantitative tightening on Dec 1 and markets now assign an 87 % probability to an imminent rate cut, creating excess liquidity. Simultaneously, soaring credit‑default‑swap costs on...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 5, 2025
AI-Powered Studio Mugafi Partners with Avalanche to Tokenize Entertainment IP
Mugafi, an AI‑driven entertainment IP platform, has teamed up with Avalanche to tokenize films, anime, music and other media assets on‑chain. The partnership will initially finance more than $10 million of projects, with a long‑term ambition to exceed $1 billion in annual...
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 5, 2025
Crypto Markets Pull Back as U.S. Core Inflation Misses Expectations
Crypto prices retreated on Dec. 5 after U.S. core PCE inflation data came in below forecasts. Bitcoin slipped 3.4% to $89,361 and Ethereum dropped 4.2% to $3,029, pulling the total market cap down 3.5% to $3.12 trillion. Trading volume hit $130 billion, while...
By The Defiant
News•Dec 5, 2025
Is Bitcoin Shifting to a 2-Year Cycle?
Bitcoin’s traditional four‑year halving‑driven cycle is being questioned as analysts observe a possible shift toward a two‑year market rhythm. Jeff Park of ProCap BTC argues that institutional capital, changing liquidity patterns, and competing AI investments are reshaping Bitcoin’s price dynamics....
By Cointelegraph
News•Dec 5, 2025
SYRUP Jumps 16% After Maple Reveals 2M Token Buyback
Maple Finance allocated 25% of its November revenue to repurchase 2 million SYRUP tokens, triggering a 16% price surge that lifted the token to $0.28 before settling near $0.26. The buyback is part of a newly approved policy that redirects protocol...
By The Defiant