Cointelegraph

Hong Kong is moving forward with implementing licensing regimes for crypto dealers and custodians after completing consultations, enhancing its regulatory framework for digital assets alongside existing measures for stablecoins and trading platforms.

New Year Special
As the crypto space headed into the last month of 2025, the mood was different from previous cycles. The year didn’t bring another decentralized finance (DeFi) summer or non-fungible token (NFT) euphoria, but instead ushered in a slow and sober pivot toward

Aave founder Stani Kulechov is under fire for a $10 million AAVE token purchase, perceived as a move to enhance his governance voting power. Critics argue this undermines minority token holders' interests, igniting debates over voting power concentration within Aave's governance.

The USD1 stablecoin, linked to Donald Trump's family, gained $150 million in market cap after Binance launched a yield program offering up to 20% APR. The stablecoin's market cap rose to $2.89 billion, positioning it as the seventh-largest stablecoin globally.

Analysis
El Salvador, the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, was seen by many in the industry as a pioneer. In 2025, the small country’s Bitcoin ambitions met reality.
The Central American country made waves in 2021 when the Legislative Assembly approved a bill th

Crypto derivatives markets are experiencing increased activity, with Bitcoin perpetual open interest rising to 310,000 BTC. The funding rate has also increased, indicating bullish sentiment among traders. With a significant options expiry approaching, market volatility is expected to heighten.

Bitcoin (BTC) charged toward $90,000 during the early Asia trading hours on Monday as a key market metric suggested a “tactical” upside potential for BTC price. 
Key takeaways:
Bitcoin is up 6.5% from recent lows, fueling "Santa Rally" hopes with targets up to $120,000. 

Short

Bitcoin (BTC) may establish a local bottom after dropping by over 35% from its record high of around $126,200 established two months ago, based on a mix of technical and on-chain indicators.
Key takeaways:
Momentum, miner capitulation, and liquidity indicators point to fading selling

Bitcoin (BTC) frustrated traders on Christmas Eve as rangebound BTC price action contrasted with record highs in gold and silver.
Key points:
Bitcoin plays a “waiting game” as bidders stay focused on precious metals.

A giant options expiry event should set the scene for BTC price

A potential initial public offering (IPO) next year by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken may attract fresh capital from traditional finance (TradFi) investors.
Bitcoin recorded an all-time high price above $126,000 on Oct. 6, but hasn’t recovered from a $19 billion liquidation event that hit the

Key takeaways
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Ondo plans an early 2026 rollout of tokenized US stocks and ETFs on Solana.

The tokens are custody-backed. Underlying securities sit with US-registered broker-dealers, while onchain holders receive economic exposure rather than shareholder rights.

While Bitcoin (BTC) continues to hover near $87,000, onchain activity and exchange liquidity metrics suggest that the market is operating in a low-participation period, limiting its move above $90,000.
Key takeaways:
Bitcoin traded near $88,000 as network activity fell to yearly lows,

Today in crypto: Anthony Pompliano says Bitcoin’s dampened price means it won’t crash next year, the International Monetary Fund pressed El Salvador to sell its Chivo Bitcoin wallet and Ether ETFs snapped an outflow streak as XRP products logged their best day since early December.
Bitcoin won’t cr

Several blockchain startups once valued near $1 billion now have market capitalizations that are only a fraction of those figures, as tighter liquidity forces valuation resets.
This is evident across several high profile projects, according to data compiled by CryptoRank.
Humanity Protocol,

Trend Research purchased 46,379 Ether (ETH) on Wednesday to raise its holdings to about 580,000 ETH, making it larger than most public Ethereum treasuries tracked by CoinGecko.
Only two listed companies, SharpLink Gaming and BitMine Immersion Technologies, currently report bigger ETH balances,

Bitcoin (BTC) institutional demand is finally outpacing new supply as the market hits a key pivot point.
Key points:
Bitcoin institutional demand is now 13% higher than the amount of newly mined BTC on a rolling daily basis.

New data shows institution-fueled supply reduction returning f

Bitcoin and Ether ETFs are experiencing significant outflows, indicating institutional investor disengagement, according to Glassnode. This trend reflects broader liquidity issues in the crypto market, despite minor inflows to BlackRock's ETF.

Bitcoin's peak adjusted for inflation in 2020 dollars was just shy of $100,000, reaching $99,848, according to Galaxy's Alex Thorn. Current inflation has decreased the dollar's purchasing power significantly since 2020.

Digital asset manager Amplify has launched two exchange-traded funds tracking blockchain projects across stablecoins and tokenization. 
The company said on Tuesday that its Amplify Stablecoin Technology ETF (STBQ) and Amplify Tokenization Technology ETF (TKNQ) both went live on the NYSE Arca exchan