⚡ Flow Faces Backlash, Bitmain Slashes ASIC Prices

Good afternoon,

Crypto markets remain sluggish, with Bitcoin hovering near $87K as holiday trading volume thins. Flow faces criticism over a proposed network rollback following a $3.9M exploit, while Bitmain slashes ASIC prices amid pressure on mining margins. Meanwhile, retail interest appears to be fading as Google searches for crypto hit yearly lows.

More news below! 👇

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News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

• Essential AI Tools for 2026 (Decrypt)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

• Aave DAO Rejects Brand Asset Challenge, but Governance Fight Isn’t Over (DL News)

• DAO Governance Slows as Power Consolidates Across DeFi in 2025 (DL News)

• JPMorgan Freezes Stablecoin Startup Accounts Over Sanctions Exposure (Cointelegraph)

• 2025 Becomes a Bellwether Year for Crypto IPOs (Decrypt)

• Russia’s Largest Bank Tests Crypto Lending With First Bitcoin-Backed Loan (DL News)

• China Lets Banks Pay Interest on Digital Yuan in Bid to Boost Adoption (The Block)

Exchanges

• Coinbase CEO Says Arrest Made in India After Insider-Linked Data Breach (Bloomberg)

• Mirae Asset Explores $100M Deal for Korean Exchange Korbit (The Block)

Exchange-Traded Products

• From Dec. 22-26, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded a weekly net outflow of $782 million.

• U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs saw $102.34 million in net outflows from Dec. 22-26.

• From Dec. 22-26, U.S. Solana spot ETFs attracted $13.14 million in net inflows.

• U.S. XRP spot ETFs logged a $64 million weekly net inflows from Dec. 22-26.

• Crypto Fund Outflows Persist as Investors Rotate Away From Bitcoin and Ethereum (CoinShares)

Infrastructure

• Ripple CTO Warns Wallet Makers Against Forcing Firmware Updates (David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz)

• Pragmatic Privacy Emerges as Crypto’s Middle Ground in 2025 (The Block)

• Flow Prepares Network Restart After Exploit Fix, Rollback Confirmed (Flow)

• Flow’s Planned Rollback Sparks Backlash After $3.9M Exploit (The Block)

Markets

• FLOW Craters Over 40% as Network Security Probe Triggers Exchange Halts (The Block)

• Uniswap Burns 100 Million UNI Token as Fee-Burn Governance Goes Live (Cointelegraph)

• Pump.fun Sends Another 50M USDC to Kraken as Token Trades Below ICO Price (Arkham)

• Hyperliquid to Unstake 1.2M Tokens for Team Distribution (Hyperliquid)

• Token Unlock Wave Looms With Over $585M Set to Hit Markets (Tokenomist)

• Bitcoin Crushes Gold and Silver Over the Past Decade (Cointelegraph)

• Prediction Markets Break Into the Mainstream in 2025 (Decrypt)

• Polymarket Profits Highly Concentrated as Most Traders Record Losses (DeFiOasis)

• Crypto Markets Drift Lower as Holiday Lull Keeps BTC Near $87K (The Defiant)

Mining

• Bitmain Cuts ASIC Prices as Mining Economics Deteriorate (Cointelegraph)

• Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Ends 2025 at Record Levels, Set to Climb Again (Cointelegraph)

Non-Fungible Tokens

• NFT Marketplaces Pivot Beyond Collectibles as 2025 Tests Their Survival (Decrypt)

Politics & Regulation

• A Year of Regulatory Reset: How U.S. Crypto Policy Shifted Under Trump (Wu Blockchain)

• Coinbase CEO Warns Against Reopening Stablecoin Law (Cointelelgraph)

• Fed Proposal Could End Crypto Debanking, Says Senator Lummis (Cointelegraph)

• Crypto Leaders Push Back Against California’s Proposed Billionaire Wealth Tax (Cointelegraph)

• South Korean Lawmaker Denies Targeting Upbit After Son Gets Hired At Bithumb (DL News)

• Crypto Industry Pins 2026 Hopes on SEC as Market Structure Bill Stalls (DL News)

Treasuries

• Bitmine Begins Staking Ethereum, Unlocking Yield on Massive ETH Treasury (EmberCN)

• Crypto Treasury Trade Falters as Investors Brace for a 2026 Shakeout (DL News)

• Strategy Acquires 1,229 BTC, Lifts 2025 BTC Yield to 23.2%(Strategy)

• Bitmine’s ETH Treasury Swells to 4.11M Tokens, Total Holdings Hit $13.2B (PR Newswire)

Other News

• Google Search Interest For Crypto Collapses as Retail Steps Back in Late 2025 (Cointelegraph)

• South Korean Crypto Exchange Employee Jailed for Selling Military Secrets for Bitcoin (DL News)

Check This Out!

Since 2015, Bitcoin’s return of nearly 27,701% has massively outpaced silver’s 405% rise and gold’s 283% increase, per analysis from Adam Livingston.

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