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Bitcoin climbed to a three-week high near 94625 as traders rushed back in on rising social sentiment, although the price quickly slipped back toward the low 92000s. Analysts noted that the surge coincided with heightened excitement among retail traders, which has historically preceded reversals. Some long-term market participants argued the spike appeared engineered, pointing to thin order books, large clustered buys, and a lack of follow-through as signs of manipulation.
Attention now turns to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with markets heavily expecting a quarter-point cut. Bitcoin’s recent rally appears tied to those expectations, but analysts warn that any sign of hesitation on future cuts could pressure crypto markets, especially given the volatility typically surrounding FOMC announcements. The Fed’s stance on inflation and economic stimulus will likely determine whether Bitcoin stabilizes or faces renewed downside. Source
Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox has joined Cypherpunk Technologies as a strategic advisor, prompting a sharp rise in the firm’s stock price as it deepens its commitment to the privacy coin. Cypherpunk, which recently raised a large private placement led by the Winklevoss twins, has accumulated over 233000 ZEC and is positioning itself as a major treasury holder focused on privacy-preserving digital systems. Wilcox’s appointment is framed as a move to strengthen the firm’s expertise in user-controlled privacy and economic freedom as Zcash sees renewed market interest.
Zcash itself has experienced substantial volatility, climbing from around 50 in early September to over 700 in November before falling to near 300 and rebounding to around 430. Despite this renewed momentum, the coin remains far below its peak from 2016. Cypherpunk’s stock closed up about 40 percent on Tuesday and is still significantly higher on the month. Company leaders say Wilcox’s technical and philosophical background will help guide the expansion of their Zcash treasury and support broader innovation in the privacy ecosystem. Source
CryptoUK has joined the US-based Digital Chamber to form a unified advocacy platform aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation on digital asset regulation. The collaboration aligns efforts between two long-standing industry groups as policymakers in both countries seek clearer regulatory frameworks for crypto and blockchain technologies. With US lawmakers advancing a market structure bill and UK officials exploring joint policy development with the US, the partnership positions both organizations to influence emerging rules more effectively.
The move also comes as the UK accelerates work on regulating stablecoins, with the Bank of England proposing a framework for sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins following the US passage of a payment stablecoin law. UK officials emphasized the importance of syncing policy approaches with the US, reflecting a broader push for regulatory alignment across major jurisdictions. Source
Tempo, the payments-centric blockchain developed by Stripe and Paradigm, has opened its public testnet, allowing anyone to begin building on the network. Designed with input from major global firms including OpenAI, Shopify, Visa, Mastercard, UBS, and Klarna, the EVM-compatible chain focuses on stablecoin settlement and high-throughput payments. The testnet introduces features such as dedicated payment lanes to ensure consistent blockspace, low fees, and the ability to pay gas using stablecoins rather than a volatile native token. Early partners, including banks and fintech firms, are using the network to explore tokenized deposits, cross-border transfers, and agentic financial workflows.
Tempo supports microtransactions, global remittances, agentic commerce, and tokenized deposits while also offering tools like in-browser stablecoin creation. For now, the network runs on four team-operated validators but plans to expand to independent and partner-run validators ahead of mainnet. The project, valued at 5 billion after a major funding round, continues to recruit high-profile contributors such as Ethereum researcher Dankrad Fiest. Its launch comes as other firms, including Circle with its Arc blockchain, race to develop stablecoin-native payment infrastructure. Source
Circle is developing USDCx, a privacy-enhanced version of USDC built in partnership with Aleo to offer banking-level confidentiality for institutional users. The token aims to solve a major barrier for enterprises that avoid public blockchains because wallet addresses and transaction histories are fully transparent. USDCx is designed so Circle can still provide compliance records when required by regulators, balancing privacy with oversight. The initiative reflects Aleo’s long-standing view that transparency becomes a liability when handling sensitive corporate payment data, and follows similar efforts from firms like Taurus, which is creating privacy-preserving smart-contract systems for stablecoin transactions.
The move comes as stablecoins gain traction across major financial institutions following the US GENIUS Act, which formalized a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged tokens. Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America and others are exploring stablecoin-based payment rails, while Western Union and Visa are expanding their digital asset settlement capabilities. With USDC and USDT making up the majority of global stablecoin volume, the push for privacy-focused designs signals a new phase of competition as corporate America accelerates its adoption of blockchain-based payments. Source
Tidal Trust II has filed for a new ETF that offers Bitcoin exposure only when U.S. markets are closed. Called the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF, it would hold short-term U.S. Treasuries during daytime trading hours and shift into Bitcoin-linked exposure overnight through futures, index options, and spot Bitcoin ETFs. The goal is to track Bitcoin’s overnight return profile, which analysts note has historically captured a significant portion of the asset’s gains.
The filing comes amid increasing interest in unconventional ETF structures as firms experiment with new ways to access Bitcoin. Recent Bitcoin price moves have triggered discussion around intensified selling around the New York market open, deepening curiosity about time-based trading patterns. Tidal’s broader suite of products includes blockchain-focused funds like BLOX, while the firm’s branding emphasizes adapting investment strategies to modern market behaviour. Bitcoin was trading near 92,700 dollars on Tuesday, up slightly on the day but down over the past year. Source
Polygon has activated the Madhugiri hard fork, targeting a 33 percent increase in throughput and reducing block consensus time to one second. The upgrade introduces support for three Fusaka EIPs that make complex mathematical operations more efficient by limiting gas consumption and preventing single transactions from monopolizing computing power. It also adds a new transaction type for Ethereum-to-Polygon bridge activity, and includes built-in flexibility to simplify future scaling improvements. Developers note that the faster consensus mechanism allows blocks to be announced in one second, rather than waiting the previous two-second interval.
The hard fork strengthens Polygon’s infrastructure for high-frequency use cases such as stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization, aligning with predictions of rapid stablecoin proliferation. The network has recently undergone a series of major upgrades, including Heimdall 2.0, which drastically reduced finality times before a subsequent bug caused delays later resolved through another hard fork. With Madhugiri now in place, Polygon aims to deliver greater reliability, transparency and performance as it prepares for growing institutional demand and large-scale asset settlement. Source
High-performing startups succeed when their founding teams possess strong networks, relevant experience, and complementary capabilities. Markethive highlights these traits through its leadership structure, emphasizing advantages linked to elite education, gender diversity, technical expertise, generational perspective, collaboration, and prior high-tech leadership experience. These qualities align with research showing that such attributes correlate with significantly better growth, capital efficiency, and long-term valuations. Markethive also stresses its foundational vision built on autonomy, privacy, free speech, and free markets, which underpin its ecosystem and support the role of Hivecoin in driving internal transactions and community engagement.
The company differentiates itself through a community-driven funding model centred on Entrepreneur One subscriptions, which support product development and reward members who act as early adopters and ILP shareholders. Markethive is rolling out new services, including Vanity Promo Codes and the forthcoming Entrepreneur One Exchange, while preparing advanced tools such as Sitemaker and Smart Mail. To accelerate delivery and ensure timely revenue generation that funds monthly ILP payouts, Markethive urges its community to expand E1 memberships, participate actively in the ecosystem, and consider direct ILP purchases to fuel the next phase of rapid growth. Source
Paul Atkins signaled a major shift in U.S. crypto oversight by reaffirming that most ICOs tied to network tokens, digital collectibles, and digital tools should not be treated as securities, placing them outside the SEC’s jurisdiction. Under his four-part token taxonomy, only tokenized securities would fall under SEC authority, sending the rest to the CFTC’s lighter regulatory framework. This stance could revive ICO fundraising across the U.S., reversing years of enforcement actions that had largely shut the door on such offerings since 2017.
Atkins suggested that many tokens linked to decentralized networks, cultural references, or functional utilities could soon be considered suitable for ICO use, and hinted that Project Crypto may open additional paths through exemptions and safe harbors. Market participants are already positioning themselves, with Coinbase launching a new U.S. retail–accessible ICO platform following its October acquisition of Echo. The signals from the SEC chair point to a resurgence of token launches even ahead of congressional movement on a crypto market structure bill. Source
Digital Asset and several major financial institutions completed a second round of onchain US Treasury financing on the Canton Network, demonstrating real-time collateral reuse and the use of multiple stablecoins. The trial executed five transactions and showed that tokenized US Treasurys could be moved and reused instantly across counterparties, avoiding the delays common in traditional rehypothecation. Participants included Bank of America, Citadel Securities, Cumberland DRW, Virtu Financial, Société Générale, Tradeweb, Circle, Brale and M1X Global, all working within the network’s Industry Working Group.
The results highlight how shared institutional blockchain infrastructure can expand liquidity and efficiency as more firms adopt tokenized assets for financing. Canton Network has been rapidly expanding its footprint, securing new investment from major institutions and attracting platforms like Franklin Templeton’s Benji Investments. It now leads the real-world asset tokenization sector with more than 370 billion dollars represented onchain, surpassing public blockchains as it scales toward a broader institutional market model. Source
Solana’s liquidity has dropped to levels typical of a bear market, with on-chain data showing its 30-day realized profit-to-loss ratio has remained below one since mid-November, indicating losses are outpacing profits. Around $500 million in leveraged long positions face liquidation if Solana’s price falls to $129, roughly 5.5 percent below current levels. Analysts describe the network as undergoing a full liquidity reset, a pattern that historically precedes bottoming phases, driven by realized losses, declining futures open interest, retreating market makers, and fragmented liquidity across trading pools.
Despite structural bullish signals such as persistent Solana outflows from exchanges and continued inflows into spot Solana ETFs, the near-term market remains fragile with heightened liquidation risks. Recent forced closures of positions underscore ongoing leverage pressures, though experts suggest that such corrections could reset excess leverage and allow for renewed institutional inflows. Strategic accumulation and network upgrades are seen as potential long-term stabilizers, but short-term volatility is expected to persist amid market uncertainty. Source
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has clarified that national banks can act as intermediaries in cryptocurrency trades as riskless principals without holding the assets on their balance sheets. This means banks may enter into a crypto trade with one customer while simultaneously executing an offsetting trade with another, mirroring structures used in traditional markets. The guidance expands the scope of services national banks may offer, allowing customers to transact crypto through regulated banks rather than through less-regulated channels.
The interpretive letter emphasizes that banks must ensure all crypto activities are legally permissible and consistent with their chartered powers, with proper procedures in place to manage operational, compliance, and market risks. Counterparty credit risk, particularly settlement risk, is highlighted as the primary concern, but the agency notes that banks are experienced in managing such risks. The letter reinforces that riskless principal transactions with crypto fall under the business of banking, aligning with existing law, while distinguishing between crypto assets that qualify as securities and those that do not. Source
Stripe and Paradigm’s joint blockchain project Tempo has launched its first public testnet, allowing developers and users to run nodes, sync the chain, and test features ahead of the mainnet launch. The network includes tools for developer onboarding and stablecoin testing, with six key features currently live: dedicated payment lanes, stablecoin-native gas, a built-in stable asset decentralized exchange, payments and transfers metadata, fast deterministic finality, and modern wallet signing methods. Tempo is designed to provide instant settlement, predictably low fees, and a stablecoin-focused experience that general-purpose blockchains often struggle to offer. Users on the testnet can create stablecoins directly from their browsers using the TIP-20 token standard, though full launch liquidity and collateral requirements are not yet disclosed.
The public testnet follows Tempo’s initial unveiling four months ago and a $500 million funding round at a $5 billion valuation three months ago. The project has attracted high-profile design partners, initially including OpenAI, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, and Shopify, and has since added Mastercard, UBS, Kalshi, and Klarna. Klarna recently issued a USD-pegged stablecoin on the Tempo network, becoming the first digital bank to do so. The ongoing rollout of features, partnerships, and developer tools positions Tempo as a promising layer-1 blockchain for financial applications. Source
Rep. Keith Self filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act aimed at prohibiting the Federal Reserve from testing, developing, or implementing a U.S. central bank digital currency or any similar digital asset. The amendment, titled "Anti-CBDC Surveillance State," would also prevent Federal Reserve banks from offering financial products directly to individuals or maintaining personal accounts, while carving out exceptions for dollar-denominated currencies that are open, permissionless, and private. Self framed the move as correcting broken promises to include such language in the NDAA, which was omitted in the initial 3,086-page bill released by House GOP leaders, prompting backlash from conservative lawmakers.
Other Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Warren Davidson, have voiced concerns over CBDCs allowing the government to control citizens’ access to their own money. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also expressed opposition to a U.S. digital dollar, suggesting digital assets should remain in the private sector. While President Trump’s executive order bans federal agencies from promoting or issuing CBDCs, conservatives see a legislative ban as necessary. Efforts to include the CBDC prohibition in the NDAA reportedly fell through amid negotiations over a bipartisan housing package, making Self’s amendment a last-minute effort to secure the restriction. Source
Ethereum’s base layer activity softened in November, with network fees dropping 62% and total value locked falling to $76 billion from $100 billion two months earlier. Decentralized exchange volumes and DApp revenues also declined, signaling weaker demand for base layer processing despite ETH rallying to near $3,400 on hopes of looser US monetary policy. Traders remain cautious due to sluggish network activity and limited appetite for bullish leverage, though ETH perpetual futures funding rates suggest balanced positions between buyers and sellers. The recent Fusaka upgrade improved rollup efficiency, likely contributing to lower base layer fees, while layer-2 networks like Base and Polygon saw substantial growth, offsetting the decline on the main chain.
Despite weaker base layer metrics, Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem continues to expand, supporting the network’s broader momentum. Leading DApps experienced declines in TVL, yet Ethereum maintains a 68% market share, far ahead of competitors like Solana. Analysts and market participants argue that Ethereum’s incentives for layer-2 scalability provide a more sustainable model for DeFi growth, with tokenization of US assets further highlighting blockchain’s long-term potential. Overall, while fees and base layer usage have softened, both on-chain and derivatives data indicate that ETH price dynamics remain fundamentally supported. Source
Animoca Brands has partnered with Solv Protocol to enable large Bitcoin holders in Japan, including corporations and listed entities, to generate yield from their holdings. The collaboration combines Solv’s decentralized finance infrastructure with Animoca’s institutional network, aiming to transform Bitcoin from a static financial asset into a source of corporate revenue. While Bitcoin traditionally does not generate interest or staking rewards, the venture will allow firms to leverage their holdings through lending markets, liquidity provision in automated market maker pools, and structured staking programs. The expected annual percentage yield ranges from 4% to 12%, providing a structured mechanism for treasuries to earn returns on Bitcoin.
Solv Protocol, backed by investors including Binance Labs and Blockchain Capital, manages over $2.8 billion in assets and positions Bitcoin as productive capital. In Japan, 11 public companies currently hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, led by Metaplanet with over 30,000 coins, followed by Remixpoint and Nexon. The partnership seeks to expand secure and compliant yield-generating solutions for these forward-thinking corporations, providing an alternative to simply holding Bitcoin while supporting corporate growth. 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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