On December 21, Zhao Zhongxiu of the University of International Business and Economics proposed piloting stablecoin regulations in China’s Free Trade Zones, including Qianhai and Hainan. The plan focuses on building cross‑border fintech infrastructure, testing an offshore RMB stablecoin and creating a whitelist regime, while the People’s Bank of China keeps current crypto trading bans in place. These trials are intended to support digital trade and blockchain development under strict reserve transparency and risk controls.

Reports indicate that U.S. Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford are allegedly working on a Digital Asset PARITY Act that would adjust cryptocurrency tax rules, including stablecoin transaction relief and deferred taxation of blockchain rewards. However, the bill and its provisions remain unconfirmed, and observers note similarities with earlier proposals from Senator Cynthia Lummis as questions persist about the measure’s authenticity and potential impact.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settlements with former FTX executives, with enforcement actions pending court approval. The measures bar them from serving as officers or directors of public companies, in some cases for up to ten years, and do not include monetary penalties. Caroline Ellison is expected to face a 10-year officer/director bar related to misused FTX customer funds.

On December 20, a phishing incident resulted in the theft of $50 million in USDT, and the affected address is now pushing for legal action and asset recovery. The victim, working with law enforcement and on-chain researchers, has offered the attacker a $1 million white hat bounty in exchange for returning 98% of the stolen funds. The case underscores persistent security gaps in crypto markets and has drawn attention to stablecoin risks and industry protection standards.

Ontology completed a mainnet upgrade on December 19th, reducing ONG's maximum and total supply from 1 billion to 800 million after a community vote concluded on October 31, 2025. The update permanently burns 200 million ONG, extends the release period to 19 years, and maintains a 1 ONG-per-second emission; Binance suspended transactions during the upgrade.

Bybit is set to re-enter the UK market on December 19 through a partnership with London-regulated exchange Archax, enabling spot trading across 100 cryptocurrency pairs. The relaunch focuses on aligning with UK financial promotion rules, providing transparent access and products tailored to local users. Bitcoin's market value stands at $1.76 trillion with a price of $88,153.56 and 24-hour trading volume of $55.17 billion amid this move.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the digital euro's preparatory phase is complete. The ECB is urging EU institutions to pass legislation by 2026, with a pilot possibly starting in 2027 and a potential launch in 2029. The initiative is designed to complement cash and strengthen resilience in European payments.

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.

On December 18, Polygon Foundation reported a disruption on the Polygon PoS network that affected certain RPC nodes but did not stop block production. The team attributed the issue to a faulty validator proposal, deployed patches for node operators, and confirmed that operational RPC nodes continued to process transactions. Following the incident, the POL token fell about 4%, while separate market data showed it trading at $0.11 with a market cap of $1.13 billion and deeper declines over the past 24 hours and 90 days.