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 activities, effectively authorising full payment‑processing and liquidity solutions under Singapore’s stringent oversight. Ripple views Singapore as its Asia‑Pacific hub, and the expanded licence opens pathways to serve banks, fintechs, and crypto firms across high‑volume remittance corridors. The move signals a regulatory endorsement that could accelerate Ripple’s market penetration throughout the region.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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,...
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...
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,...
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...
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.
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...
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)...
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 %...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
Trump’s Security Strategy: Impact on Bitcoin, Gold, Bond Yields
The White House released President Trump’s new National Security Strategy, which prioritizes a sizable fiscal expansion and a steep increase in military spending. Analysts interpret the policy as a catalyst for higher inflation expectations, prompting a rally in traditional safe‑haven...
US Prosecutors Seek 12-Year Sentence for Terraform Founder Do Kwon in Crypto Fraud Case
U.S. prosecutors are seeking a 12‑year prison term for Do Kwon, the founder of the failed Terraform Labs and its Terra‑Luna stablecoin. The government argues that Kwon orchestrated a massive fraud that caused investor losses exceeding $30 billion, surpassing the combined...
US Prosecutors Request 12 Years in Prison for Terraform’s Do Kwon
U.S. prosecutors have asked a New York judge to impose a 12‑year prison term on Terraform Labs co‑founder Do Kwon, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy. The filing emphasizes Kwon’s role in the Terra collapse, which sparked the...
MARA Trades at a Premium Factoring in Its Debt, Not a Discount: VanEck’s Sigel
VanEck’s chief crypto analyst Matthew Sigel contends that Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) is not trading at a discount once its debt is factored into the valuation. By comparing market capitalization to enterprise value, he shows the stock actually carries a...
The Dollar Is Crumbling. Fiat-Backed Stablecoins Are Next
The article warns that the U.S. dollar’s declining purchasing power, driven by persistent deficits and inflation, is exposing fiat‑backed stablecoins to solvency risks. As regulators scrutinize reserve practices, tokens like USDT and USDC could face redemption shortfalls. Stephen Wundke proposes...
European Crypto Scam Network Dismantled After Laundering $815M
European law enforcement agencies, led by Europol, dismantled a trans‑national crypto fraud network that laundered approximately $815 million. The scheme operated fake investment platforms, deep‑fake video advertisements, and multilingual call‑center operations across several EU states. Investigators seized crypto assets, identified over...
2025 Was Officially a Wipeout Year for US Spot Bitcoin ETFs – Now Flat YoY and Down $48B Since October
In 2025 US spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded funds (ETFs) posted a flat year‑over‑year performance, shedding roughly $48 billion in assets since the October peak. The decline follows a period of rapid inflows that saw total AUM climb to over $120 billion earlier in...
What Texas’ Recent Bitcoin Purchase Signals to the Rest of the US in a Market Downturn
Texas became the first U.S. state to purchase and hold Bitcoin, allocating $5 million to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and another $5 million to directly self‑custodied BTC. The acquisition was made during a market pullback marked by ETF outflows and waning legislative...
Russian Banking Giant VTB to Become Country's First to Offer Spot Crypto Trading: Report
Russian banking heavyweight VTB announced plans to launch spot cryptocurrency trading for its clients in 2026, positioning itself as the first major Russian bank to offer such a service. The move follows a gradual softening of Russia’s crypto regulatory stance...
EU May Consolidate Crypto Regulations, IMF Warns of Stablecoin Risk: Global Express
European regulators fined X €120 million for Digital Services Act breaches and are expanding oversight to crypto platforms, while ten major EU banks announced a euro‑stablecoin project slated for 2026. The European Commission’s proposal would shift crypto‑asset supervision to ESMA, aligning...