A renewed clampdown on domestic Bitcoin mining in China drove a sharp hashrate decline and a price slide to $86,000. The restrictions focused on Xinjiang forced large operations offline, removing about 100 EH/s of computing power within 24 hours and intensifying selling as miners sought liquidity for costs and relocation.

In 2025, Circle Internet Group Inc. recorded more than 66% year-on-year revenue growth and generated about $2.93B in income, driven largely by USDC stablecoin operations and rising daily fees. Over the same period, USDC expanded across Ethereum and Solana and into payment integrations, while Circle's CRCL shares swung between $81 and $293 and ended the year close to their IPO level.

On Dec. 17, Vitalik Buterin urged simplifying Ethereum's protocol to widen independent understanding and strengthen trust. Separately, an ETH whale shifted about $1.8 billion into seven new wallets after unstaking, according to X user TedPillows. Data charted by CryptoQuant indicate exchange-held ETH has dropped to its lowest share since 2016.

On December 18, 2025, SoFi Bank, N.A. introduced SoFiUSD, a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin issued on a public, permissionless blockchain. The token is backed one-to-one by cash reserves held at the Federal Reserve and initially supports internal settlement, with plans to extend access to SoFi members and other financial institutions.

On December 18, 2025, Robert Kiyosaki warned that hyperinflation is approaching after a recent Federal Reserve rate cut, saying life could become very expensive for those unprepared. He said he bought more silver and forecast $200 per ounce in 2026, up from $20 in 2024, and indicated he may add Bitcoin once markets settle, citing its 21 million cap.

On December 18 2025, Trump Media and TAE Technologies announced an all‑stock merger valued at more than $6 billion, with each company expected to hold about 50% of the combined entity once the deal closes in mid‑2026. The partners plan to begin constructing a 50 megawatt fusion power plant in 2026, while Trump Media commits up to $300 million in cash to support TAE's fusion development.

According to TradingView data, the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio recently dropped to 20.18, its weakest reading since January 1, 2024, before edging back to 20.41 as BTC traded between $86,000 and $90,000. While gold gains safe-haven appeal amid macro and geopolitical concerns, Gold Token S.A. has launched the physically backed DGLD® token on Base and Aerodrome, with Arrakis Finance managing on-chain liquidity. Industry figures link recent crypto weakness and renewed interest in gold to geopolitical tensions, questions about the U.S. dollar, and a growing preference for direct ownership of hard assets.

On December 18, Intuit said it partnered with Circle to enable USDC payments across TurboTax and QuickBooks. The collaboration aims to deliver faster, lower‑cost settlement for users, but a launch timeline and user‑flow specifics were not disclosed. The news was met with a positive market reaction.