In partnership with

Good afternoon,

Bitcoin drifts lower as a $28B options expiry casts a shadow over thinning holiday liquidity and a renewed appetite for traditional safe havens like gold. Meanwhile, U.S. banks quietly rebuild core financial infrastructure to prepare for a shift to onchain finance, Russia signals support for retail crypto trading, and tensions rise in Aave governance over a controversial holiday season vote.

Let’s unpack it all! 👇

The Gold standard for AI news

AI keeps coming up at work, but you still don't get it?

That's exactly why 1M+ professionals working at Google, Meta, and OpenAI read Superhuman AI daily.

Here's what you get:

  • Daily AI news that matters for your career - Filtered from 1000s of sources so you know what affects your industry.

  • Step-by-step tutorials you can use immediately - Real prompts and workflows that solve actual business problems.

  • New AI tools tested and reviewed - We try everything to deliver tools that drive real results.

  • All in just 3 minutes a day

News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

  • AI Models Agree Crypto Users Obsessed Over Cycles, Profits, and Risk in 2025 (Wu Blockchain)

  • OpenAI Details New Push to Defend ChatGPT Atlas From Prompt Injection Attacks (OpenAI)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

  • Erebor Secures $350M Raise After Getting FDIC Approval (The Block)

  • U.S. Banks Quietly Rewire Core Financial Infrastructure for an Onchain Future (Cointelegraph)

  • IMF Advances Talks on Privatizing El Salvador’s Chivo Wallet (Crypto Briefing)

  • Ethereum Stablecoin Transaction Volume Growth Shifts From P2P to Business Payments (James Smith)

  • OpenEden Brings Treasury-Backed Yield to Solana With cUSDO Launch (OpenEden)

  • Russia to Open the Door to Retail Crypto Trading Under Tight Controls (Bloomberg)

  • Aave Governance Rift Deepens as Holiday Vote Sparks Backlash (DL News)

  • EU Backs ECB Plan for Digital Euro—With Strict Caps to Protect Banks (CoinDesk)

  • EU Council Backs Dual Online and Offline Rollout of Digital Euro (Cointelegraph)

Exchanges

  • Coinbase Rethinks Base App’s Strategic Focus (The Defiant)

  • Bybit to Wind Down Japan Operations as Regulatory Pressure Mounts (Cointelegraph)

  • Crypto.com is Hiring a Market Maker for Sports Prediction Market (Bloomberg)

  • OKX Sees Explosive Growth in Regulated Markets After U.S. and EEA Expansion (OKX)

Exchange-Traded Funds

  • U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $142.19 million in net outflows on Dec. 22.

  • On Dec. 22, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs attracted $84.59 million in net inflows.

  • On Dec. 22, U.S. Solana and XRP spot ETFS funds saw net inflows of $7.47 million and $43.89 million, respectively.

  • Bitcoin Dominates Crypto ETFs in 2025 as Ethereum Slowly Gains Ground (The Block)

Infrastructure

  • 2026 Layer 2 Outlook: Consolidation, Enterprise Rollups, and Centralization Risks (The Block)

Markets

  • Ether Reclaims $3K as Analysts Flag Breakout Setup (Cointelegraph)

  • Justin Sun’s World Liberty Bet Sours as Locked Tokens Lose $60M (The Block)

  • Aave FounderBuys 84K AAVE as Governance Fight Weighs on Price (Coinspeaker)

  • Bitcoin Drifts Lower as $28B Options Expiry Looms Over Thin Holiday Markets (The Block)

  • U.S. Q3 GDP Expanded at 4.3%, vs. Market Expectations of 3.3% (BEA)

  • BNB Slides Toward $850 as Broader Crypto Pullback Takes Hold (CoinDesk)

Politics & Regulation

  • Michael Selig Takes Helm of the CFTC as Digital Asset Policy Nears Inflection Point (CFTC)

  • Arizona Moves to Shield Crypto From Property Taxes and Local Fees (Bitcoin Magazine)

Token Generation Events

  • Crypto’s Biggest Airdrops Shrink in 2025—but Still Deliver $4.5B Windfall (Decrypt)

Treasuries & Reserves

  • Japanese Corporates Double Down on Bitcoin as Treasury Model Faces Scrutiny (DL News)

  • Trump Media Adds 451 BTC to Bitcoin Holdings (Bitcoin Magazine)

  • Biggest Crypto Treasury Plays in 2025 (Decrypt)

  • SharpLink Reports 460 in ETH Staking Rewards Last Week (SharpLink)

  • Upexi Seeks Up to $1B Capital Raise to Support Solana Treasury Strategy (CoinDesk)

Venture Capital

  • Ex-FTX US President Raises $35M to Build Perpetuals Exchange for Traditional Assets (The Block)

Other News

  • $2.3M USDT Stolen in Private Key Hack, Laundered via Tornado Cash (PeckShield)

  • Chinese Crypto Scammers Fuel Record Telegram Darknet Markets (WIRED)

Check This Out!

The U.S. remained the largest source of memecoin traffic in November 2025, representing 29.1% of global views, while overall interest in the category declined by more than 80% this year, according to CoinGecko.

Source: CoinGecko

Meme of the Day

Source: Bitcoin Magazine

Rate Today’s Edition

Share this newsletter, claim your reward! 🎁

Participate in the On & Off Chain referral program by sharing the newsletter with your friends to claim your reward:

  • ✌️2 referrals: A personal shoutout in On & Off Chain

Must be subscribed