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Bitcoin slid to around 85,500 after a sharp marketwide correction driven by rising expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike in mid-December. The drop extended its decline from the October all-time high to 32 percent and triggered heavy liquidations, with more than 641 million cleared across long and short positions. Analysts linked the sell-off to growing speculation that Japan may raise rates for the first time since January, which is strengthening the yen and pressuring risk assets as carry trades unwind. Surging Japanese yields and rising odds of a rate hike have intensified selling, echoing the August 2024 shock that caused a major Bitcoin crash.
Bitcoin is also showing technical weakness after breaking below the lower boundary of a bear flag around 90,300, positioning the price for a potential slide toward 67,700 if the pattern plays out. Liquidity maps indicate significant bid clusters below current levels, suggesting the market may sweep deeper levels before attempting a recovery. Some analysts see broader support forming between 45,000 and 70,000, aligning with Bitcoin’s continued tracking of its 2022 bear market progression. If the pattern holds, a meaningful recovery may not appear until well into the first quarter of next year. Source
Vitalik Buterin donated roughly 765,000 in Ethereum to privacy-focused messaging apps Session and SimpleX, reinforcing his push for stronger digital privacy as regulatory pressures grow. He emphasized the importance of encrypted communication, permissionless account creation and metadata protection, while acknowledging both platforms still need improvements in usability, decentralization and security. Session highlights minimal metadata leakage and has seen its token surge, while SimpleX focuses on user-owned identities and plans to introduce a voucher system for community-hosted servers.
Interest in privacy technologies has intensified as governments expand surveillance measures, from proposed digital ID schemes to policies requiring verification for online content access. Industry leaders argue that privacy enables genuine expression and shields users from becoming data commodities vulnerable to manipulation. Recent events, including a major U.S. bank data breach and the creation of a new privacy team at the Ethereum Foundation, have further fuelled momentum around privacy initiatives and contributed to rising demand for privacy-centric crypto assets such as Zcash. Source
Hester Peirce reaffirmed that individuals have a fundamental right to self-custody of their digital assets and maintain financial privacy, arguing that these freedoms align with the founding principles of the United States. She criticized the notion that users should be required to rely on intermediaries to hold their assets and emphasized that privacy in online financial activity should be the default rather than viewed with suspicion. Her comments arrive as the Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act faces delays, prolonging uncertainty around rules for self-custody, asset classification and anti-money laundering requirements.
Peirce’s stance contrasts with a growing trend among major Bitcoin holders shifting away from self-custody in favour of ETFs, driven by tax advantages and simplified asset management. The introduction of in-kind creations and redemptions has accelerated this move, raising concerns that convenience is eroding Bitcoin’s self-sovereign ethos. Critics argue that turning to ETFs compromises the foundational principle of controlling one’s own keys, a debate intensified by high-profile investors openly transferring their holdings into managed vehicles. Source
The crypto lending market has rebounded to nearly 25 billion in outstanding loans, more than triple its size at the start of 2024 and its highest level since early 2022. Galaxy Research attributes this resurgence to a new wave of lenders operating with far greater transparency than those that collapsed during the last cycle. Tether now leads the centralized lending sector with 14.6 billion in open loans and a 60 percent market share, followed by Nexo and Galaxy. These firms provide regular disclosures through attestations, financial reports or direct data sharing, marking a sharp shift from the opaque practices that once dominated the industry.
Centralized lenders have tightened risk controls since the failures of Genesis, BlockFi, Celsius and Voyager, moving away from uncollateralized loans and adopting stricter collateral standards to attract institutional capital. At the same time, decentralized finance lending has surged to a record 41 billion in outstanding loans, pushing total crypto-collateralized borrowing across CeFi and DeFi to an all-time high of 65.4 billion. The combination of stronger transparency, healthier practices and renewed demand has reshaped the lending landscape into a more stable and diversified market. Source
South Korean officials now suspect that the Lazarus Group orchestrated the $36 million theft from Upbit’s Solana hot wallet, prompting regulators to prepare an on-site investigation. Upbit reacted by freezing affected wallets, shifting assets to cold storage, and pledging full reimbursement to users. Dunamu, the exchange’s operator, said only hot wallets were compromised and confirmed that abnormal withdrawals had been reported to authorities while the company works to determine the precise cause and scope of the incident.
Security firms PeckShield and CertiK have been tracking the flow of funds, with CertiK noting that the rapid and coordinated withdrawals resemble prior Lazarus-related attacks, though neither firm has definitive proof yet. Lazarus has a long history of large-scale crypto thefts, including billion-dollar exploits, and is known for using sophisticated intrusion methods, custom malware, and extensive laundering networks. Their involvement would align with past tactics as investigators continue tracing the stolen assets. Source
Balancer is moving forward with a reimbursement framework to return about $8 million in recovered assets to liquidity providers after its V2 pools were drained of more than $128 million across five chains. Roughly $28 million was ultimately salvaged through whitehat actions, internal recoveries, and third-party interventions, with StakeWise handling separate repayments for nearly $20 million in its own affected assets. The plan proposes pool-specific, snapshot-based distributions rather than socializing losses across the protocol, ensuring that only liquidity providers in each impacted pool receive the corresponding recovered funds. Whitehat participants will receive a 10 percent bounty, capped at $1 million, once they complete identity and compliance checks, and six rescuers have been identified so far, recovering around $3.9 million across multiple networks.
Balancer’s internal team, working with Certora, also conducted rescues totalling $4.1 million from vulnerable metastable pools, though these efforts do not qualify for bounties due to existing service agreements. The proposal stresses the importance of transparency and rapid on-chain visibility during crises, noting that improved monitoring tools helped contain damage during the attack. Claimants will need to provide digital proof of consent to Balancer’s terms, and unclaimed assets after 180 days will become dormant until the DAO determines their future allocation. Source
Ripple Labs has secured approval from Singapore’s Monetary Authority to broaden the payment services it can offer under its Major Payment Institution license, strengthening its institutional-focused operations in a region the company considers essential to its global strategy. Ripple’s expanded license allows it to deepen its investment and infrastructure development in Singapore, supporting its Ripple Payments system, which uses digital payment tokens such as RLUSD and XRP for cross-border collection, holding, swapping, and payout services. This regulatory milestone follows a series of recent acquisitions, including crypto custody firm Palisade, aimed at growing Ripple’s enterprise capabilities.
Ripple has operated in Singapore since 2017 and views the country as central to the rapid expansion of digital asset adoption across the Asia-Pacific region. Onchain activity in the region has surged about 70 percent year-over-year, with Singapore playing a key role in that growth, according to Ripple’s leadership. The firm says the expanded scope of its license will allow it to better support institutions across the region by delivering faster and more efficient regulated payment services at a time when Asia-Pacific countries collectively received trillions in digital asset value, led by strong participation from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and others. Source
Markethive’s supergroups function as customizable marketing hubs that merge community engagement, e-commerce capabilities, and advanced promotional tools into a cohesive system. Entrepreneurs can direct prospects through tailored advertising funnels, capture pages, and branded splash pages into a dedicated group environment that strengthens identity and increases conversions. Once inside, members interact through an integrated newsfeed, explore resources, and are supported by features such as automated enrollment, personalized landing experiences, referral tracking, and widget-based sign-up tools for external sites. Lead nurturing is further enhanced with verified prospect data, token airdrops, promo code incentives, and customized Vanity Promo Codes, creating a compelling ecosystem that prioritizes authentic engagement and smooth transitions into sales processes.
Supergroups also provide a comprehensive suite of collaborative marketing tools that allow groups to pool resources, manage advertising co-ops, automate share allocation, and track campaign performance. Administrators gain access to vendor management, website rotators, Tiny URLs, backlink monitoring, keyword tracking, and a full asset map for visibility across all connected properties. These capabilities work together to support sophisticated, scalable campaigns that outperform isolated marketing efforts. Businesses benefit from detailed analytics, group messaging, coordinated content distribution, and SEO oversight, all of which contribute to stronger customer relationships and higher-impact outreach. Source
North Korea’s Lazarus Group relied heavily on spear phishing over the past year, frequently using tailored emails disguised as invitations or interview requests to infiltrate targets, according to AhnLab’s latest threat report. The group has been tied to major crypto thefts, including the billion-dollar Bybit incident and the recent multimillion-dollar Upbit breach. AhnLab noted that Lazarus topped all other threat actors in after-hack disclosures, followed by Kimsuky and TA-RedAnt, highlighting the group’s broad reach across crypto, finance, IT, and defence. Analysts expect these threats to worsen as attackers adopt new technologies that allow phishing attempts, malware, and code manipulation to become increasingly difficult to detect.
Experts advise individuals and companies to strengthen defences through measures such as robust authentication, cautious handling of emails and online content, limited sharing of personal information, and consistent updates to software and security tools. Firms are urged to implement multilayered defence systems with regular audits, staff training, and strict patching routines, while individuals are encouraged to verify senders through separate channels and avoid opening unverified links or attachments. AhnLab warns that artificial intelligence will make future attacks more convincing through deepfakes and improved evasion tactics, requiring heightened vigilance to prevent data leaks and unauthorized access. Source
Sony Bank is preparing to launch a US dollar-pegged stablecoin in 2026, aiming to enable payments across the Sony ecosystem, including PlayStation games, subscriptions, and anime content. The stablecoin will target US customers, who represent around 30% of Sony Group’s external sales, and is intended to complement existing payment methods like credit cards while reducing fees to card networks. To support this initiative, Sony Bank applied for a US banking license and partnered with Bastion, a US stablecoin issuer, also participating in Bastion’s recent $14.6 million funding round led by Coinbase Ventures.
This stablecoin project is part of Sony Bank’s broader push into Web3, which includes the establishment of BlockBloom, a subsidiary focused on integrating digital assets, NFTs, and blockchain-based financial services into the Sony ecosystem. BlockBloom seeks to connect fans, artists, and both fiat and digital currencies through a mix of digital and physical experiences. The move follows the spin-off of Sony Financial Group from Sony Group, allowing the financial arm to focus more sharply on strategic ventures such as Web3 and digital assets. Source
Monero surged more than 23% over the past week while Zcash dropped roughly 25%, reflecting short-term trading dynamics rather than a shift in overall demand for privacy coins. The divergence is attributed to positioning, leverage, and timing within the privacy sector, with Monero benefiting from speculative activity in futures markets. Currently, Monero trades around $406 and Zcash around $480, and despite the broader privacy coin sector being down nearly 40% for the week, Monero stands out as a major outlier.
The recent moves appear driven primarily by futures traders, as open interest and perpetual contract data indicate rising speculative activity rather than spot buying. Spot markets have shown steady sell pressure, suggesting that Monero’s gains could be temporary if positions are unwound, potentially rotating profits into Zcash, Dash, or other privacy-focused tokens. Overall, the performance highlights how leverage and timing can create significant short-term divergence within a relatively stable narrative for privacy coins. Source
The People’s Bank of China has reiterated its ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, citing a resurgence of virtual currency speculation and ongoing risks to the financial system. The central bank emphasized that cryptocurrencies do not have legal tender status and that activities involving them constitute illegal financial behavior. The move follows a meeting with 12 other agencies, during which authorities discussed challenges in controlling crypto-related risks and reaffirmed their commitment to crack down on illegal activities linked to virtual currencies.
Stablecoins were highlighted as a particular concern, with regulators noting that they currently fail to meet customer identification and anti-money laundering requirements, making them vulnerable to money laundering, fraud, and illegal cross-border transfers. The central bank and participating agencies pledged to strengthen monitoring, enhance information sharing, and coordinate enforcement to maintain financial stability. This action comes amid broader regional developments, including Hong Kong’s attempt to license stablecoin issuers, which has faced delays due to regulatory intervention from China. Source
Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, is closing its Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay, citing high energy costs as the primary reason. The company confirmed that it would lay off 30 of its 38 employees in the country and informed Uruguay’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the decision. This move follows disputes with Uruguay’s government-owned power company over a $5 million debt and comes despite Tether reporting $10 billion in profit for the first three quarters of 2025.
Tether, which aims to become the world’s largest Bitcoin miner, has increasingly focused on Latin America, relocating to El Salvador earlier this year and acquiring a majority stake in agricultural firm Adecoagro. USDT, the stablecoin it issues, remains the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization, often used for quick crypto transactions. However, the company faces scrutiny as S&P Global recently downgraded USDT’s stability to “weak,” citing risks that its Bitcoin-backed reserves could undermine its 1:1 peg with the US dollar. Source
The Cocoon decentralized AI network, built on The Open Network (TON) blockchain, has officially launched, allowing users to rent out their GPU computing power in exchange for Toncoin, the native token of TON. The platform processes AI requests while preserving privacy, aiming to reduce reliance on centralized cloud providers like Amazon and Microsoft, which are seen as costly intermediaries that compromise user confidentiality. Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov highlighted that Cocoon addresses both economic and privacy concerns, and early reports indicate that GPU owners are already earning from participating in the network. The platform was unveiled at the Blockchain Life 2025 conference in Dubai as a response to growing demand for privacy-focused AI services.
Decentralized AI networks like Cocoon are gaining attention as alternatives to centralized systems that can pose risks to user privacy, cybersecurity, and social integrity. By leveraging blockchain technology, Cocoon ensures tamper-proof records, transparent operations, and trustless communication between network nodes. Experts and organizations have advocated for ethical, permissionless AI deployment on blockchain networks, and a recent survey by the Digital Currency Group found that 77% of respondents believe decentralized AI is more beneficial to society than centralized models. Cocoon represents a significant step toward self-sovereign AI computing and decentralized digital infrastructure. Source
From January 1, UK-registered cryptocurrency trading platforms will be required to collect and report personal details of their customers, including transaction histories and tax reference numbers, under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CAFR). The move, part of an international OECD agreement, aims to increase tax compliance without creating new taxes, with HM Revenue & Customs expecting to raise up to 417 million dollars by April 2030. Noncompliant investors could face fines up to 397 dollars, and exchanges could be fined the same amount per unreported user. The initiative is framed as a measure to ensure users correctly report cryptocurrency profits and improve transparency in the sector.
Exchanges face significant compliance challenges, including establishing systems to collect, verify, and report required customer data. Experts warn these costs may be passed on to users, and some traders could migrate to platforms that do not comply with the reporting rules. While initial adoption may see some avoidance, broader international alignment could eventually enforce reporting standards globally. The Budget also addressed taxation of DeFi lending and staking, indicating gains will likely be taxed only when realized, but no final framework has been set, and HMRC will continue stakeholder engagement to refine the approach. Source
Grayscale is set to launch the United States’ first spot Chainlink exchange-traded fund this week, converting its existing LINK trust into an ETF. The product will track the spot price of Chainlink (LINK) and include returns from staking the token. The launch follows the trust’s formation in late 2020 and represents Grayscale’s continued bullish stance on the Chainlink ecosystem, which it has described as a crucial link between crypto and traditional finance. Competing products, such as a LINK ETF from Bitwise, are also awaiting approval, signaling growing interest in spot crypto ETFs in the US market.
The launch comes amid a broader surge in crypto ETFs following recent changes in SEC leadership, which has allowed US regulators to approve ETFs for other digital assets like Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin. Analysts anticipate a steady wave of new spot crypto ETFs, with over 100 potentially launching in the next six months. Grayscale’s move reflects both the maturation of its trust products into exchange-traded formats and a broader trend toward regulatory acceptance of crypto-based investment vehicles. Source
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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