On December 12 2025, TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge increased Alphabet’s price target from $335 to $350, maintaining a buy rating after the stock had already risen 65% this year. He cited stronger growth expectations for Google Search, now modeled at a 10.2% five-year CAGR, and a sharp upward revision in Gemini’s user forecasts, including 850 million monthly users by the end of 2025 and up to three billion by 2030. The call arrived as major U.S. AI-related stocks such as Oracle, Nvidia and Broadcom were declining for a third straight session, weighing on the Nasdaq.

Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex is reportedly operating again under Western sanctions, with Global Ledger tracing over $34 million in related wallets and at least $25 million already paid out to former users. Investigators describe a structure that routes funds through mixers, cross-chain bridges and aggregation wallets, while Russia's A7A5 rouble-pegged stablecoin has processed more than $87 billion in trade as companies convert roubles into USDT for cross-border payments.

Bitcoin rebounded after the US Federal Reserve delivered three consecutive interest rate cuts totaling 0.75% between September and December, with prices swinging between $90,000 and $93,500 before stabilizing near $92,300. Traders are now focused on resistance in the $97,000–$108,000 zone, ETF inflows of $219 million since late November, and mixed signals from dollar weakness and US equity strength as they gauge the next move.

Ripple received conditional approval from the OCC to establish Ripple National Trust Bank, with the decision announced on 12 December. The charter places its stablecoin RLUSD under dual federal–state oversight, alongside OCC supervision and NYDFS obligations, while CoinMarketCap shows RLUSD at a $0.9999 peg and 1.02 billion in circulation.

On December 12, 2025, Fundstrat's Tom Lee told CNBC he sees the S&P 500 ending this year near 7,000 and reaching about 7,700 next year, implying a roughly 10% gain. He warned that 2026 could feel like a bear market as a new, more dovish Federal Reserve leadership is tested and markets react to potential Supreme Court action on tariffs.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the company has obtained conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Ripple National Trust Bank, calling it a massive step forward for the firm. The move is framed as a key milestone for Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin under both federal and New York state oversight, while similar trust bank approvals or conversions have also involved Circle, BitGo, Fidelity, and Paxos.

On 12 December 2025, Ripple said it received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create Ripple National Trust Bank, with New York DFS oversight referenced by CEO Brad Garlinghouse. XRP hovered near $1.98, below $2, as traders awaited further milestones and clarity around RLUSD's regulated framework.

US lawmakers are weighing whether to allow 401(k) plans to hold crypto, exposing a sharp divide between industry advocates and labor unions. On Wednesday, the American Federation of Teachers urged the Senate Banking Committee to block retirement-account exposure to digital assets; on Thursday, AFT president Randi Weingarten reinforced that view. In October, the AFL-CIO also warned about volatility and systemic risk.