Crypto

XRP traced support at the $2.00 line the last week of Nov. and first week of Dec. But Ripple bulls think it could have an addressable market as vast as Bitcoin’s.

Venezuela’s worsening economy and a weakening bolívar are driving wider stablecoin adoption, TRM Labs says. The post Stablecoin Use in Venezuela Set to Rise as Bolívar Weakens: TRM Labs appeared first on Cryptonews.

Standard Chartered and Coinbase are expanding their partnership to develop trading, custody and financing services aimed at institutional crypto clients. Standard Chartered and Coinbase have expanded their partnership to build crypto infrastructure for institutional clients. As part of the partnership, the duo will explore offerings across trading, prime services, custody, staking and lending, the British multinational bank announced on Friday. “We aim to explore how the two organisations can support secure, transparent and interoperable solutions that meet the highest standards of security and compliance,” Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of financing and securities services at Standard Chartered, said. Read more

Spot XRP exchange-traded funds continued a streak of positive flows, with over $20.1 million recorded on Friday, marking 19 consecutive days of net inflows. Trader sentiment toward XRP has been shifting into bullish territory on social media this week, according to market intelligence platform Santiment, and at the same time, the streak of inflows into the token’s exchange-traded funds has continued. Retail traders are staying optimistic toward XRP (XRP) as it hovers around the $2 mark, with the week recording the seventh highest number of bullish comments for the year, Santiment said on Friday, citing data from its analytics platform Sanbase, which monitors social interest across cryptocurrency social channels, including Telegram, Discord, subreddits, and X. “XRP’s bulls and bears continue to battle, and the asset is hanging on to a $2.00 market value for now. Sentiment is showing bullishness across social media,” Santiment said. Read more

The crypto ecosystem in Venezuela is a product of ongoing economic collapse and international sanctions pressure, according to the TRM Labs team. Venezuelans are already heavily reliant on blockchain technology for banking after suffering through a decade of economic pressures; however, usage is likely to keep growing if conditions worsen in the South American country, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says. As regional and geopolitical tensions continue to rise, driven in part by US-Venezuela tensions, causing macroeconomic instability and the bolívar’s continued devaluation, the TRM Labs team predicted in a report on Thursday that demand for stablecoins as both a store of value and a medium of exchange will rise. At the same time, regulatory ambiguity and continued uncertainty surrounding the country’s crypto regulator, SUNACRIP’s, authority and enforcement capacity, and eroding trust in traditional banking infrastructure could prolong the population’s dependence and drive more usage.  Read more

Despite traditional ETF investors willing to pay premiums to go long, Bitcoin natives selling covered calls have put a damper on a price rally. Long-term Bitcoin (BTC) whales selling covered calls, a strategy of selling call options that give the buyer the right but not an obligation to purchase an asset in the future at a predetermined price in exchange for the seller collecting a premium, is suppressing spot BTC prices, according to market analyst Jeff Park. Large, long-term BTC holders, also known as “whales” or “OGs,” introduce a disproportionate amount of sell-side pressure through this covered call strategy, partly because market makers are on the other side, buying the covered calls, Park said. This means that the market makers must hedge their exposure to buy the calls by selling spot BTC, forcing market prices down, despite strong demand from traditional exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors. Read more

Rinsch, best known for directing the 2013 film "47 Ronin," now faces sentencing after the federal jury's decision.

On Dec. 9, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency put out a press release with a very direct message for US banks: you are allowed to sit in the middle of crypto trades. In the memorably titled News Release 2025-121, the OCC published the somehow even worse-titled Interpretive Letter 1188 and confirmed that […] The post US banks just unlocked a loophole to profit from your crypto trades without holding the bag appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The guide was a good-faith primer on crypto custody basics and best practices, including different forms of wallet storage and common risks. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a crypto wallet and custody guide investor bulletin on Friday, outlining best practices and common risks of different forms of crypto storage for the investing public. The SEC’s bulletin lists the benefits and risks of different methods of crypto custody, including self-custody versus allowing a third-party to hold digital assets on behalf of the investor. If investors choose third-party custody, they should understand the custodian's policies, including whether it “rehypothecates” the assets held in custody by lending them out or if the service provider is commingling client assets in a single pool instead of holding the crypto in segregated customer accounts. Read more

Onchain data shows multiple cost basis metrics confirm heavy demand and investor conviction around the $80,000 price level.

Bitcoin's ownership profile is changing. Corporate treasuries and governments are now holding sizable portions of the circulating supply.

The first SOL ETF was launched in July, followed by Bitwise’s SOL ETF in October, which recorded $57 million in first-day trading volume. Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a seven-day inflow streak, despite SOL’s downward price performance and a broader downturn in the crypto market. Tuesday marked the highest day of inflows during the seven-day streak, with about $16.6 million in capital flowing into SOL ETFs, according to data from investment management company Farside Investors. This brings the total net inflow into SOL ETFs to $674 million at the time of this writing, data from Farside shows. Read more

The annual Nasdaq 100 rebalance saw six companies dropped and three new additions, with changes taking effect on December 22, but bitcoin treasury company Strategy hung onto its spot.

Executive John Ameriks emphasized Vanguard's core view of the crypto sector hasn't changed, seeing the asset class as highly speculative.

YoungHoon Kim, the world's highest IQ holder at 276, predicts XRP will set new all-time highs heading into 2026 as he actively purchases the token, while XRP ETFs approach $1.2 billion in cumulative inflows just weeks after launch. The post XRP Price Prediction: Record-Holding IQ Genius Predicts XRP Rally to New ATH Going Into 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin’s options market is large, liquid, and (at the moment) unusually concentrated. Total open interest stands near $55.76 billion, with Deribit carrying $46.24 billion of that stack, far ahead of CME at $4.50 billion, OKX at $3.17 billion, Bybit at $1.29 billion, and Binance at $558.42 million, while spot trades in the $92,479.90 area. The […] The post Bitcoin’s $55 billion options market is now obsessing over one specific date that forces a $100k showdown appeared first on CryptoSlate.

"2026 is where we find out if crypto IPOs are a durable asset class," according to Laura Katherine Mann, a partner at global law firm White & Case.

The stablecoin giant, which currently has a 10% stake in Juventus, recently offered to buy out the Agnelli family’s 65.4% stake in an all-cash deal.

Bitcoin remains stuck in a tightening range just above the $80K mark. Despite the recent bounce from sub-$85K levels, the overall market tone still leans cautious. There’s been no meaningful breakout, and sentiment hasn’t shifted bullish yet. BTC Technical Analysis By Shayan The Daily Chart On the daily timeframe, the price is still trapped inside […]

The NFT brand’s animated segments will air on the Sphere across Christmas week, signaling the crypto company's move into real-world consumer markets.