Crypto.com is recruiting for an internal market-making desk in prediction markets, raising questions about fairness and structure. Coinbase expects its purchase of The Clearing Company to close in January, and JPMorgan is reportedly exploring crypto trading for institutions. DWF Labs settled a 25‑kilogram gold trade as part of a move into physical commodities.

On December 25, 2025, data from CryptoRank cited by PANews showed BNB Chain leading Layer 1 blockchains by daily active users, ahead of Solana, NEAR, TronDAO, and Aptos. BNB Chain reportedly recorded 4.32 million daily active users, while Solana and NEAR logged 3.23 million and 3.15 million, respectively. BNB was priced at $840.99 with a market cap of $115.83 billion, posting a 0.54% daily decline but a 1.31% gain over the past week.

Over the past year, Binance Wallet has led major token launch platforms with a 12.69x current ROI and a 78.01x all-time high ROI across 44 projects. Data shows that participants who exit shortly after token listings tend to secure gains, while longer-term holders often see profits erode as liquidity and momentum decline.

On Christmas Eve, Hong Kong's FSTB and SFC said they had concluded consultations on a licensing framework for virtual asset dealers and custodians. The regime, modeled on Type 1 securities standards, tightens oversight of trading and custody and encourages pre-application discussions, with a follow-on phase targeting virtual asset advisors and asset managers.

On December 25, 2025, the Bank of Russia said it has readied a regulatory framework that would permit both qualified and retail investors to trade digital currencies and stablecoins, while keeping a domestic payments ban. Retail buyers must pass a risk test and face a 300,000 rubles, or about $3,800, annual limit through one intermediary, and qualified investors can purchase without volume caps after testing.

Ripple Managing Director Reece Merrick projects that by the end of 2026, major banks, asset managers, and payment networks will hold meaningful crypto exposure, helped by clearer stablecoin rules. At the same time, Shiba Inu futures open interest has risen 3.42% to 11.03 trillion SHIB, while the XRP Ledger's AlphaNet has begun testing Dilithium-based, quantum-resistant transactions, putting it ahead of Bitcoin on this front.

On Dec. 12, 2025, the stablecoin market’s total value reached $310 billion, up 70% year over year. USDT at $172 billion and USDC at $145 billion dominate activity, and stablecoins often comprise about 80% of exchange trading. The asset class is increasingly used for faster, lower-cost cross‑border payments and as core collateral in DeFi.

Russian banking group Sberbank is examining the launch of ruble loans secured by cryptocurrency, according to Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov. The move follows a new regulatory concept from the Central Bank of Russia, which plans to recognize cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as currency assets and broaden access for retail investors by July 1, 2026. Sberbank is also expanding activity on its digital asset platform, where it has supported over 160 issues of digital financial assets, including the country's first real estate and oil tokens.