Bitcoin reclaimed ground to briefly touch $98,000, signaling renewed bullish pressure after recent volatility. Ethereum led the altcoin recovery, climbing toward $3,400 and outperforming Bitcoin on the day, while major tokens like BNB, SOL, and XRP also posted gains. Market cap strength returned above key levels, suggesting buyers are stepping in, but macro risks and key resistance zones remain in focus.

Ripple and LMAX Group struck a deal to boost institutional stablecoin usage, integrating Ripple's on- and off-ramps with LMAX's trading infrastructure to make stablecoins more accessible for institutional flows and liquidity.

According to Benchmark Research, a delay in the U.S. crypto market-structure bill may ultimately help produce a better final law, giving regulators, lawmakers, and industry more time to refine definitions, jurisdiction and guardrails before passage.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warns that if interest-bearing stablecoins are allowed, up to $6 trillion could flow out of U.S. bank deposits into stablecoins, potentially reshaping the banking system and funding models.

MetaMask now offers native TRON support, letting users access TRON dApps, tokens, and assets directly in the wallet. It’s a big step in expanding its multichain reach and usability across ecosystems.

Bitcoin whales started moving billions of dollars in BTC this year as longtime holders began selling after BTC first topped $100K, marking a "great redistribution" of coins previously dormant for 10-14+ years. The selling came in waves in early 2025, July, and November, as holders took profits or transferred to institutions and digital treasury buyers, helping reshape supply dynamics.

BTC failed to reclaim $90K once again, pulling the market lower. ETH briefly pushed near $3,050 before reversing to ~$2,960. BNB fell to $856, and XRP dropped below $1.90. Some alts held up: SOL, ZEC, DOGE are slightly green, CC gained 4%, while BCH led losses.

Tom Lee's BitMine Immersion has added 44,463 ETH to its treasury and begun staking Ethereum, bringing its holdings to about 3.4% of total ETH supply - a major move as it ramps up yield generation ahead of its 2026 MAVAN rollout.

China's central bank will allow commercial banks pay interest on digital yuan (e-CNY) holdings starting Jan. 1, 2026, shifting the CBDC from digital cash to a digital deposit currency to boost adoption.

Ubisoft shut down Rainbow Six Siege servers after hackers injected 2 billion credits per player, causing widespread disruption and prompting the game's publisher to pull the affected servers offline.

Tempo, the Stripe/Paradigm-incubated payments blockchain, just launched its public testnet. Built for instant settlement, low fees, and stablecoin payments, Tempo already counts Mastercard, UBS, Kalshi, OpenAI, Shopify, Visa, and Deutsche Bank among partners. KlarnaUSD, its USD stablecoin, is set for mainnet in 2026.

Bitcoin pulled back from early-week momentum, falling under $90K before stabilizing near $90,200. The dip came shortly after Strategy bought another 10,600 BTC, a pattern that has often been followed by short-term weakness. Altcoins were hit harder. HYPE is down 9%, while QNT and KAS fell about 6%. ICP, UNI, BCH, PEPE, LINK, and DOGE are also in the red. A few outliers bucked the trend: M gained 7%, CC rose 5%, and ZEC climbed 4% above $400.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins says most ICOs may fall outside SEC oversight. Under his new token taxonomy, only tokenized securities would be regulated-while network tokens, collectibles, and utility tools could be cleared for unregistered ICOs. A major shift that could revive the ICO boom under the CFTC's lighter touch.

Michael Saylor tells Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds that Bitcoin is a "$200T opportunity," pitching BTC as the backbone of future digital capital and yield products. Says the region could attract "trillions" by moving early-even as Strategy faces an MSCI review that could trigger billions in forced selling.

Malaysia’s Crown Prince launched a ringgit-backed stablecoin (RMJDT) and a $121M crypto treasury under the national sandbox. The project aims to boost cross-border trade and strengthen Malaysia’s digital-asset push, even as global crypto-treasury inflows slow.

Mt. Gox just moved 10,608 BTC (~$956M) to an unmarked wallet - a pattern that has often signaled upcoming creditor repayments. No confirmation yet, but the timing raises eyebrows as the long-delayed repayment process drags on toward 2026. The exchange still holds 34,689 BTC.

South Korea's crypto tax plan is drifting again. With CARF reporting set for 2026 and a 2027 launch deadline, lawmakers and exchanges are still stuck on verification, data standards, and enforcement - raising real doubts the tax will roll out on time. A fourth delay is looking increasingly likely.

Polychain-backed OpenLedger just launched the OPEN Mainnet, bringing Payable AI to life. Creators can upload data, earn automated on-chain payouts, and get full attribution through its Proof of Attribution system.

The ECB warns the fast-growing $300B stablecoin market could threaten Europe's financial stability as dollar-backed tokens surge and approach systemic relevance. Regulators fear a run could trigger mass Treasury sell-offs and force difficult ECB policy moves.

Vitalik Buterin proposes removing Ethereum's modular exponentiation precompile - calling it the "most ZK-unfriendly" feature. The change aims to fix major bottlenecks in zero-knowledge proof generation slowing L2 scaling, prioritizing performance and stability over legacy cryptography use cases.

US prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison term for the founders of Samourai Wallet, who pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business that allegedly laundered at least $237 million in criminal proceeds via the wallet. The case underscores a major escalation in authorities' crackdown on crypto-privacy tools.