The Polish government reintroduced an identical version of an 84-page crypto bill that was vetoed by the president, raising questions about local versus centralized EU oversight. Polish lawmakers have doubled down on crypto regulation rejected by President Karol Nawrocki, deepening tensions between the president and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Polska2050, part of the ruling coalition in the Sejm — Poland’s lower house of parliament — reintroduced the extensive crypto bill on Tuesday, just days after Nawrocki vetoed an identical bill. The bill’s backers, including Adam Gomoła — a member of Poland2050 — called Bill 2050 an “improved” successor to the vetoed Bill 1424, but government spokesman Adam Szłapka reportedly declared that “not even a comma” had been changed. Read more
The MoU marks a cautious step toward real-world stablecoin payments in the UAE, with e& assessing how AE Coin may integrate into its digital channels. Update Dec. 11, 12:45 pm UTC: This article has been updated to add another section about e& money’s partnership with Crypto.com. United Arab Emirates’ telecom giant e& is reportedly preparing to test whether regulated stablecoins can support mainstream consumer payments, having signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al Maryah Community Bank to explore the use of a dirham-pegged stablecoin across its digital channels. According to a Gulf News report, executives framed the collaboration as part of the UAE’s push toward regulated digital finance. Hatem Dowidar, e& Group CEO, said the stablecoin enables “instant settlement, complete transparency, and frictionless access.” Read more
XRP price risked a 15% drop to as low as $1.73, fuelled by collapsing transaction fees, reduced speculator appetite and a weakening technical structure. XRP’s (XRP) drop toward $2 was preceded by a significant drop in transaction fees, which analysts said may fuel a deeper price correction. Key takeaways: XRP transaction fees have dropped to 650 XRP per day, levels last seen in December 2020. Read more
Norway rules that a digital krone is unnecessary for now, highlighting its strong payment rails and the uncertain benefits of both retail and wholesale CBDCs. Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, concluded that introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is “not warranted at this time,” marking a clear signal that the country is reconsidering the urgency of retail and wholesale CBDCs. The central bank said Wednesday that Norway’s existing payment system already offers secure, efficient and low-cost transactions, reducing the need for a CBDC in the near term. Still, the bank remains open to launching a CBDC in the future. “Norges Bank has concluded that introducing a central bank digital currency is currently not warranted,” said Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache. “The need for such a currency may, however, change in the future.” Read more
State Street Investment Management and Galaxy Asset Management are launching a tokenized private liquidity fund on Solana, with Ondo expected to invest $200 million. State Street Investment Management and Galaxy Asset Management are joining forces with Ondo Finance on a tokenized liquidity fund that will push cash “sweep” balances directly onto public blockchains, creating a potential source of 24/7 onchain liquidity. The planned State Street Galaxy Onchain Liquidity Sweep Fund, or SWEEP, is designed to take in and pay out PayPal’s (PYUSD) stablecoin for accredited investors, the companies said on Tuesday. Ondo is expected to seed the fund with $200 million, tying a major tokenized real-world asset (RWA) issuer directly into State Street’s tokenization stack. The fund will be powered by Galaxy Digital infrastructure, while State Street Bank and Trust Company, an affiliate of State Street Investment Management, will act as custodian. Read more
An affiliate of the crypto exchange Gemini received a designated contract market license and it now plans to offer prediction markets in the US. Crypto exchange Gemini, founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has scored a license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer prediction markets in the US. Gemini said on Wednesday that its affiliate, Gemini Titan, received a designated contract market license from the CFTC and “plans to enter into the prediction markets space.” The company said that “starting shortly,” its US users would be able to trade event contracts on its web platform. Gemini also said it would expand its US derivatives offerings to include crypto futures, options and perpetual contracts. Read more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said crypto was one of many industries that banks had denied services to, and it could refer its findings to the Justice Department. The nine largest US banks restricted financial services to politically contentious industries, including cryptocurrency, between 2020 and 2023, according to the preliminary findings of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The banking regulator said on Wednesday that its early findings show that major banks “made inappropriate distinctions among customers in the provision of financial services on the basis of their lawful business activities” across the three-year period. The banks either implemented policies restricting access to banking or required escalated reviews and approvals before giving financial services to certain customers, the OCC said, without giving specific details. Read more
Sygnum’s APAC HNWI Report 2025 found that 87% of Asia’s high-net-worth individuals are already exposed to crypto, with an average allocation of approximately 17%. More than half of wealthy Asian investors in a recent survey say they plan to increase their portfolio exposure to cryptocurrency over the next few years. Sygnum’s APAC HNWI Report 2025 found that 6 in 10 of the surveyed Asian high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are prepared to increase their crypto allocations based on a strong two- to five-year outlook. It polled 270 HNWIs with more than $1 million in investable assets and professional investors with over ten years of experience across ten APAC countries, mainly in Singapore, but including Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. Read more