CFTC Director Who Made Bitcoin Futures Possible Returns as Chief of Staff
Amir Zaidi has rejoined the CFTC as chief of staff after a six‑year break, bringing back the expertise that helped launch the agency’s regulated Bitcoin futures in 2017. His prior tenure (2010‑2019) included directing the Division of Market Oversight, where he oversaw the policy framework for those contracts. The appointment arrives as Congress prepares digital‑asset market‑structure legislation and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig pushes to cement the United States as a global crypto hub. Zaidi’s return signals a continued regulatory focus on legitimizing digital commodities.
India’s Central Bank Urges Countries to Prioritize CBDCs over Stablecoins
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has called on nations to prioritize central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) over privately‑issued stablecoins, citing financial‑stability risks. In its December financial‑stability report, the RBI argued that CBDCs preserve the “singleness of money” and should...
Digital ID, CBDCs Risk Turning US Into ‘Surveillance State’: US Rep
U.S. Representative Warren Davidson warned that recent crypto legislation, especially the GENIUS Act, could pave the way for a permissioned central bank digital currency and mandatory digital ID, effectively turning the United States into a surveillance‑focused financial system. He argued...
US Lawmakers Expected to Address Market Structure Markup in January
U.S. Senate Banking Committee is slated to hold a markup on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act in the second week of January, moving the digital‑asset market‑structure bill forward after months of delay. The legislation, which builds on the House‑passed Digital...
Why JPMorgan’s Onchain Fund Is a Big Signal for Ethereum
JPMorgan Asset Management has tokenized a traditional money‑market fund, launching the My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY) on the Ethereum mainnet. The fund invests in U.S. Treasuries and Treasury‑backed repos, offering daily dividend reinvestment and redemption via cash or stablecoins....
How an AI-Fueled Romance Scam Drained a Bitcoin Retirement Fund
A divorced Bitcoin investor lost his entire retirement fund—a full Bitcoin—after falling victim to an AI‑driven romance scam. The fraudmer used synthetic portraits and real‑time deep‑fake video calls to build a convincing relationship before extracting the funds. This case illustrates...
If History Repeats Itself, Will the US Congress Become More Pro-Crypto in 2026?
Following the 2024 elections, roughly 270 lawmakers with crypto‑friendly stances entered the 119th Congress, bolstered by advocacy groups like Stand With Crypto and PACs such as Fairshake. In July, the House passed three bills during a Republican‑led “Crypto Week,” including...
Crypto Billionaires Are Among Biggest Losers of 2025: Report
Crypto billionaires faced steep declines in 2025, with Michael Saylor losing $2.6 billion and his net worth falling to $3.8 billion after an October flash crash. The Winklevoss twins saw a 59% drop, while Binance founder CZ Zhao shed about 5% of...
2026 Will Be Red for Bitcoin, but Payment Tech Will Improve: BTC OGs
Bitcoin is projected to hit a low around $60,000 in the fourth quarter of 2026, extending the price decline that began in late 2025. Analyst Michael Terpin sees the dip as a buying window before the 2028 halving sparks a...
Here’s What AI Models Predict for Bitcoin and Altcoin Price Ranges in 2026
Cointelegraph queried four leading AI models in December 2025 to generate base‑case 2026 price ranges for eight major cryptocurrencies. The models converged on a maturing market, with Bitcoin projected between $85,000 and $250,000 and Ethereum between $3,000 and $18,000, reflecting...
Strategy Accumulates over 22,000 Bitcoin, RWAs Top $19 Billion: December in Charts
Strategy, Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin investment vehicle, bought 22,628 BTC in December, bringing its total holdings to 672,497 BTC – roughly 3.3% of all Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s price slipped 4% in the month, trading around $88,000 and poised to close the...
Ethereum Below $3K: Low Fees, Weak ETF Flows Signal Stagnation Into 2026
Ethereum has been confined below the $3,000 level as repeated breakout attempts fail, eroding trader confidence. Network fees have dropped 26% even though transaction volume rose 10%, indicating weaker demand for on‑chain processing. Ether‑linked ETFs have seen $307 million of net...
Wallets Tied to TRUMP Memecoin Team Pull $94M USDC to Coinbase in December
On‑chain analysts flagged $94 million in USDC withdrawals from the Official Trump memecoin’s liquidity pools, including a $33 million transfer routed through Fireblocks to Coinbase. Launched just before the 2025 inauguration, the token peaked at $75.35 before plunging below $5, a 90 %...
Bitwise Files with US SEC for 11 Single‑token ‘Strategy’ Crypto ETFs
Bitwise has submitted a Form N‑1A to the SEC proposing eleven single‑token “strategy” ETFs, each focused on a specific altcoin such as Aave, Uniswap, Zcash, Sui and Near. The funds will combine direct spot holdings with exposure through exchange‑traded products...
Ethereum L1 Transactions Hit 2.2M a Day; Each Costs About 17 Cents
Ethereum mainnet set a new daily record of 2.2 million transactions, while the average transaction fee dropped to roughly 17 cents. The decline follows a series of 2025 upgrades—Pectra and Fusaka—that expanded validator capabilities and raised the block gas limit from 45 million...
Uganda Opposition Leader Promotes Bitchat Amid Fears of Internet Blackout
Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine is urging citizens to install Jack Dorsey’s decentralized messaging app Bitchat ahead of the Jan. 15, 2026 presidential election, warning that the Museveni regime may repeat past internet blackouts. The government has also moved to restrict...
What the Fed’s Divided 2026 Outlook Means for Bitcoin and Crypto
The Federal Reserve’s December 2025 dot‑plot revealed a split among policymakers, with equal numbers forecasting zero, one, or two rate cuts for 2026, suggesting only a single 25‑basis‑point cut is likely. Three cuts in 2025 brought the funds rate to...
Pakistan Could Be a Crypto Leader in 5 Years at Current Pace: CZ
Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao praised Pakistan’s rapid regulatory progress, saying the country could rank among the world’s crypto leaders by 2030. Pakistan has launched a Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, granted licenses to Binance and HTX, and begun building a...
US Prosecutors Oppose Defi Education Fund Brief Ahead of Potential MEV Case Retrial
U.S. prosecutors have asked Judge Jessica Clarke to reject an amicus brief filed by the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) as the court prepares a retrial of Anton and James Peraire‑Bueno, accused of using MEV bots to exploit Ethereum. The brief,...
How Privacy Prevailed in an Otherwise Dismal Q4 for Crypto
Privacy‑focused cryptocurrencies outshone the broader market in Q4 2025, with Zcash soaring from about $50 to near $700 and its shielded‑address share reaching roughly 30 % of total supply. Monero and Dash also posted relative gains, highlighting renewed investor interest in...
Ethereum Quietly Sets a Record: 8.7M Contracts Deployed in One Quarter
Ethereum recorded a new quarterly high of 8.7 million smart contracts deployed in Q4 2025, according to Token Terminal data. The surge reflects organic growth fueled by real‑world asset tokenization, stablecoin activity, and core infrastructure upgrades. Contract deployments are a leading indicator...
Russia Targets Unregistered Crypto Miners with New Criminal Penalties
Russia’s Ministry of Justice has drafted amendments to the Criminal Code that impose heavy penalties on unregistered cryptocurrency miners, including fines up to 2.5 million rubles and forced labor. Profitable illegal operations could face up to five years in prison and...
CARF Tax Rules Go Live on Jan. 1: What Crypto Users and Exchanges Need to Know
On January 1 2026 the OECD’s Crypto‑Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) will become operational in 48 jurisdictions, including the UK and EU. The rule obliges crypto exchanges to collect detailed tax‑residency data, verify customer information and annually report balances and transactions to domestic...
How the UK Plans to Regulate Crypto Like Traditional Finance
The United Kingdom will bring cryptocurrency activities under its core financial services regime by October 2027, replacing the current AML‑focused approach with a full licensing framework. The Financial Conduct Authority has opened three consultation papers that outline operational, transparency and prudential...
Binance Confirms Visa, Mastercard Withdrawal Pause for Ukrainian Users
Binance announced a temporary suspension of card‑based withdrawals for Ukrainian users, effective Dec 30 2025, after its fiat partner Bifinity ceased operations. While outbound Visa and Mastercard transactions are blocked, inbound deposits using the same cards remain available, alongside Apple Pay, Google Pay and...
$11B Bitcoin Whale Sells $330M ETH, Opens Massive $748M Longs in Top Cryptos
An $11 billion Bitcoin whale liquidated $330 million of Ether and immediately opened leveraged long positions totaling $748 million across Bitcoin, Ether and Solana. The biggest bet is a $598 million ETH long entered at $3,147, which would liquidate if ETH falls below $2,143....
Bitcoin Long-Term Hodlers Finally Halt Selloff as ETH Whales Accumulate
Long‑term Bitcoin holders have halted sell‑offs for the first time since July, trimming their combined holdings from 14.8 million to 14.3 million coins. At the same time, Ether whales have accumulated roughly 120,000 ETH over the past week, pushing the concentration of large...
Iranian Protests over Currency Collapse Show Why Bitcoin's Needed: Bitwise CEO
Protests erupted in Tehran as the rial fell to a record low of about 1.4 million per US dollar, erasing over 40% of purchasing power since June’s war with Israel. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley argued Bitcoin offers a hedge against such...
Fake Coinbase Support Scammer Allegedly Stole $2M From Users
A self‑styled Coinbase support agent allegedly stole more than $2 million in cryptocurrency by impersonating the exchange’s help desk. Blockchain analyst ZachXBT used Telegram screenshots, social‑media posts and on‑chain tracing to identify the Canadian fraudster and expose his tactics. The scam...
Tech Giant to Launch Crypto Wallet, Fintech L1s Will Bomb: Dragonfly Exec.
Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi predicts a major tech firm will launch or acquire a crypto wallet in 2026, while more Fortune 100 companies will roll out private blockchains linked to public networks. He warns fintech‑built layer‑1 chains will struggle to...
Onchain Perpetual Futures Drive Surge in Crypto Derivatives Activity
Crypto derivatives activity surged in 2025, with on‑chain perpetual futures exceeding $1 trillion monthly volume. Decentralized exchanges like Aster, Hyperliquid, and Lighter drove the growth, capitalizing on high leverage amid a weak altcoin season. Hyperliquid recorded $319 billion in July, while Aster...
South Korean Lawmaker Faces Scrutiny over Family Ties to Crypto Exchange: Report
South Korean Democratic Party floor leader Kim Byung‑kee is under investigation after reports claim he pressured Upbit’s operator Dunamu while seeking a job for his son at rival Bithumb. The alleged actions raise conflict‑of‑interest concerns, given Kim’s role on the...
Strategy’s Latest 2025 Bitcoin Purchase Caps Active Year of Accumulation
Strategy announced a December 2025 purchase of 1,229 Bitcoin for $108.8 million, bringing its total treasury to 672,497 BTC at an average cost of $74,997 per coin. The acquisition was financed through at‑the‑market sales of over 660,000 Class A shares. Over the...
Why Luke Gromen Is Fading Bitcoin While Staying Bullish on Debasement
Luke Gromen, a global‑macro analyst, maintains his long‑term debasement thesis but now advises fading Bitcoin exposure in the short term. He warns that Bitcoin could slip toward $40,000 by 2026 as it underperforms gold and breaches key technical levels. Gromen...
BlackRock's BUIDL Hits $100M in Payouts, Showing Tokenized Finance at Scale
BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) has paid out $100 million in cumulative dividends since its March 2024 launch, marking the first large‑scale tokenized money‑market vehicle. Originally issued on Ethereum, the fund now operates on six additional blockchains and has managed...
Zcash Price Has 'First Stop' At $1K: Arthur Hayes
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes predicts Zcash could reach its first major resistance around $1,000, reigniting interest in privacy‑focused cryptocurrencies. Since Hayes’ December 19 endorsement, ZEC has rallied roughly 40%, climbing to about $550 and extending an 82% recovery from...
Crypto ETPs Shed $446M over Christmas as Year-End Sentiment Remains Fragile
Crypto exchange‑traded products (ETPs) recorded a net outflow of $446 million last week, extending a cautious trend that began after October’s market correction. Since October 10, total withdrawals have reached $3.2 billion, while year‑to‑date inflows remain around $46.3 billion, indicating a fragile investor sentiment....
Higher Activity, Lower Fees: Here’s What December’s Onchain Data Shows
December on‑chain data from Nansen shows most major blockchains processed more transactions while fee revenue fell sharply. Ethereum saw a 16% transaction rise with fees down 57%, and Polygon’s volume jumped 82% as fees dropped 47%. The trend stems from...
ETH Validator Entry Queue Is Suddenly Almost Double the Exit Queue
Ethereum’s validator entry queue has surged to roughly 745,619 ETH, creating a 13‑day wait, while the exit queue fell to about 360,518 ETH with an eight‑day wait. This marks the first flip of entry versus exit queues in six months, occurring after...
Silver’s Wild 6% Price Spike and 10% Plunge Mirrors Crypto Volatility
Silver surged to a new all‑time high of almost $84 on Sunday before plunging more than 10% within an hour, echoing crypto‑style volatility. The spike was driven by strong gold demand and expectations of forthcoming Federal Reserve rate cuts under...
Bitcoin Helps USD's Reserve Status ‘in a Strange Way’: Coinbase CEO
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says Bitcoin acts as a check on U.S. fiscal policy, pressuring the Federal Reserve to maintain discipline and thereby supporting the dollar’s reserve‑currency status. He warns that unchecked deficit spending and inflation could erode that status,...
Crypto Heavyweights Slam Proposed 5% Wealth Tax in California
A California ballot initiative, the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, proposes a 5% levy on net wealth above $1 billion to fund health‑care and social programs. Crypto executives, including Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley and Kraken co‑founder Jesse Powell, warn the tax will...
Flow Validators Urged to Halt Work After Divisive Blockchain Rollback
deBridge founder Alex Smirnov called on Flow validators to stop processing transactions until the Flow Foundation outlines a remediation plan for users affected by the recent chain rollback. The rollback, which froze the blockchain at block 137,385,824, has left doubled...
Most Crypto Treasuries ‘Will Disappear’ Amid Bleak 2026 Outlook: Execs
Crypto treasury firms, which surged in 2025 as Bitcoin hit record highs, now face a bleak outlook for 2026. Executives Altan Tutar and Ryan Chow warn that most digital‑asset treasury (DAT) companies, especially those focused on altcoins, will disappear as...
Bitcoin Needs a 6.24% Rally to Close 2025 in the Green: Analyst
Bitcoin must rally 6.24% from its current ~$93,374 level to close 2025 in the green, but the yearly candle sits in the red with only three days left. The cryptocurrency fell roughly 30% from its October all‑time high above $125,000...
BTC Mining Difficulty Records Last Adjustment in 2025, Forecast to Rise in Jan
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty rose to 148.2 trillion in the final 2025 adjustment, marking a new all‑time high. The network’s average block time slipped to 9.95 minutes, prompting a modest upward tweak. A further increase to roughly 149 trillion is projected for the...
Mirae Asset in Talks to Buy Korean Crypto Exchange Korbit in $100M Deal: Report
Mirae Asset Consulting is negotiating to acquire Korbit, South Korea’s fourth‑largest cryptocurrency exchange, in a deal valued at roughly 100‑140 billion won ($70‑100 million). Korbit holds a full operating license and compliance framework but commands less than 1% of the country’s daily...
Fed's 'Skinny' Accounts End Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — Senator Lummis
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller unveiled a proposal for "skinny" master accounts that would grant crypto and fintech startups limited access to Fed settlement infrastructure. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis hailed the plan as a decisive end to Operation Chokepoint 2.0, which...
Emerging Market Economies to Drive RWA Tokenization in 2026: Crypto Exec
Jesse Knutson, Bitfinex’s head of operations, predicts the tokenized real‑world asset (RWA) market will accelerate in 2026, driven primarily by emerging market economies. He argues that tokenization resolves capital‑formation friction by allowing on‑chain financing and bypassing legacy intermediaries. While developed...
JPMorgan Freezes Accounts of Two Stablecoin Startups over Sanctions Concerns: Report
JPMorgan Chase has frozen the bank accounts of two Y Combinator‑backed stablecoin startups, BlindPay and Kontigo, after detecting transactions linked to Venezuela and other U.S. sanctioned jurisdictions. The freezes were executed through Checkbook, JPMorgan’s digital‑payments partner, and were not driven by...