🤏 Liquidity Tightens, Aave “Poison Pill” Proposal Emerges

Good afternoon,

Markets remain on edge as Bitcoin remains below $90K and weak U.S. jobs data fuels risk-off sentiment. With crypto liquidity thinning ahead of the holidays and stablecoin inflows slowing, traders are treading cautiously. Meanwhile, AAVE governance heats up with a bold proposal to absorb Aave Labs into the DAO, and UK regulators kick off a major consultation on crypto, DeFi, and staking rules.

More news below! 👇

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News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

• Merriam-Webster Crowns “Slop” as a Symbol of the AI Content Era (Decrypt)

• AI Trading Agents Edge Crypto Closer to an ‘iPhone Moment’ (CoinDesk)

• Inside AI Village, a Reality Show for Autonomous AIs (Decrypt)

• AI Pinpoints Viral Weak Point to Stop Infection Before It Starts (Decrypt)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

• SushiSwap Vote Highlights Governance Centralization as Token Emissions Triple (The Defiant)

• PayPal Expands PYUSD Into DeFi With Yield-Bearing Savings Vault on Spark (The Block)

• Nasdaq Moves Toward Near 24-Hour Stock Trading to Capture Global Demand (Reuters)

• SBI Holdings Plans Yen-Backed Stablecoin Launch With Startale (The Block)

• PancakeSwap Backs Onchain Prediction Market With YZI Labs (PancakeSwap)

• DMCC and Crypto.com Team Up to Push Commodities Trading On-Chain (Crypto.com)

• Visa Brings Stablecoin Settlement to U.S. Banks Using USDC on Solana (Bloomberg)

• Axelar Token Holders Protest as Circle Buyout Leaves AXL Behind (DL News)

• Valour Wins Approval to List Solana ETP on Brazil’s B3 Exchange (PR Newswire)

• SEC Closes Four-Year Aave Investigation, Easing DeFi Regulatory Uncertainty (Stani Kulechov)

• Mastercard Expands Stablecoin and Blockchain Partnerships Across the Middle East (Mastercard)

• AAVE Holder Proposes “Poison Pill” to Fold Aave Labs Into DAO (The Block)

• Custodia Continues to Seek Rare Full-Court Review in Fed Master Account Fight (Decrypt)

• PayPal Moves Toward Banking Charter With Industrial Bank Filing (PayPal)

Exchanges

• OKX Launches 10x Spot Margin Trading in Europe Under MiCA Framework (The Block)

Exchange-Traded Funds

• Ark Invest Buys Crypto Stocks on Dip as Market Slides (The Block)

• On Dec. 15, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $358 million in net outflows.

• U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs attracted $225 million in net outflows on Dec. 15.

• On Dec. 15, U.S. Solana spot ETFs posted $35.2 million in net inflows.

• U.S. XRP spot ETFs recorded $10.89 million in net inflows on Dec. 15.

Infrastructure

• Gnosis Hard Fork Plan to Recover Balancer Funds Reignites “Code Is Law” Debate (The Defiant)

Markets

• Bitcoin Network Activity Slumps as Blockspace Demand Comes Under Scrutiny (The Block)

• Bitcoin Slips Below $86K as Risk-Off Mood Sends Traders to Safety (The Block)

• Crypto Liquidity Tightens as Stablecoin Inflows Stall Ahead of Holidays (Decrypt)

• U.S. Jobs Report Shows Higher Unemployment but Stronger Hiring (BLS)

• Prediction Markets Emerge as Early Signals for Macro Risk (DL News)

• Bitcoin and Ether Wobble After Weak U.S. Jobs Data (Decrypt)

• Gold-Backed Stablecoins Near $4B as Onchain Safe-Haven Demand Rises (The Block)

Mining

• Tajikistan’s Mining Ban Ties Crypto Policy Directly to Energy Security (Cointelegraph)

Politics & Regulation

• SEC Chair Warns Crypto Could Become a Financial Panopticon Without Privacy Guardrails (SEC)

• U.S. FSOC Dials Back Crypto Alarmism After Stablecoin Law Brings Federal Clarity (Decrypt)

• Trump Allies Question Hassett’s Fed Bid as Warsh Gains Ground (CNBC)

• Atkins Warns Crypto Could Become A Powerful Financial Surveillance Tool (The Block)

• UK Supreme Court Rejects $13B Bitcoin SV Appeal Against Exchanges (Decrypt)

• Trump Signals Openness to Pardon for Samourai Wallet Developer (Decrypt)

• US Crypto Market Structure Bill Pushed Into 2026 (Cointelegraph)

• Coinbase, Robinhood Join US Tech Force to Supply AI Talent to Government (Decrypt)

• UK Regulators Open Major Consultation on Crypto, DeFi, and Staking Rules (CoinDesk)

• UK Crypto Ownership Falls in 2025 Despite Widespread Awareness, FCA Finds (The Block)

• FDIC Proposes First U.S. Stablecoin Application Rule Under GENIUS Act (CoinDesk)

• Hong Kong Court Delays $206M JPEX Crypto Fraud Case to March 2026 (Decrypt)

• Russia Reaffirms Ban on Bitcoin Payments Despite Broader Crypto Adoption (DL News)

Treasuries & Reserves

• Twenty One Capital’s Debut Signals Waning Premium for Bitcoin Treasury Stocks (Cointelegraph)

• Hyperscale Data Pushes Bitcoin Treasury to Nearly Entire Market Cap (PR Newswires)

• American Bitcoin Rises Into Top 20 Public BTC Holders After Another Dip Buy (CoinDesk)

Venture Capital

• RedotPay Raises $107M Series B to Scale Stablecoin Payments (The Block)

• Tether Backs Speed With $8M to Expand Lightning and Stablecoin Payments (Tether)

Other News

• Grayscale Downplays Quantum Threat to Bitcoin in 2026 Outlook (Decrypt)

• Delphi Digital Sees SocialFi Evolve With Social Trading and Tokenized Audiences (Delphi Digital)

• Nexo Becomes Official Crypto Partner of the Australian Open (Decrypt)

• South Korea Accidentally Channels $15M in Small-Business Debt Relief to Crypto Holders (DL News)

• Coinbase Report Highlights Sharp Generational Divide in Crypto Ownership (Coinbase)

Check This Out!

Over the past three months, average returns across most crypto sectors have lagged Bitcoin, underscoring a shift in capital toward BTC, according to Glassnode.

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