In November 2025, Northern Data agreed to sell its bitcoin mining unit Peak Mining for up to $200 million to three companies controlled by Tether executives Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino. The transaction followed an earlier uncompleted $235 million sale attempt and came shortly before a separate $767 million deal in which Rumble, backed by Tether, announced plans to acquire Northern Data.

Intercontinental Exchange, the NYSE's parent, is negotiating a potential investment in MoonPay as part of the crypto payments firm's latest fundraising. MoonPay is targeting a valuation of around $5 billion, while the size of ICE's commitment remains undisclosed and no agreement has been finalized. The move would extend ICE's push into blockchain-enabled market infrastructure.

On Friday, Dec. 19, about 31,000 Bitcoin options with roughly $2.7 billion notional value are due to expire, a smaller-than-average batch. Coinglass cites max pain near $88,000 and total BTC options OI at $52.5 billion, while Deribit shows $2.3 billion OI at the $100,000 strike. Spot markets have weakened throughout the week.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, is moving toward a key Senate markup expected in January, according to White House artificial intelligence and crypto advisor David Sacks. The bipartisan bill, already passed by the House in July, aims to define which digital assets are securities or commodities and clarify the roles of U.S. regulators in overseeing crypto markets. Its progress follows earlier delays linked to a 43-day government shutdown and will require navigating a closely divided Senate before potentially reaching President Donald Trump for signature.

As President Donald Trump's second term enters its first year, the Senate has confirmed Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to head the FDIC, filling long-standing vacancies at two pivotal financial watchdogs. The 53–43 confirmation vote is expected to speed up work on U.S. crypto regulation, including pending legislation that could expand federal authority over digital asset markets. The appointments also cement a more permissive stance on crypto banking at the FDIC while positioning the CFTC to shape rules for spot trading and stablecoins.

Cryptocurrency markets attempt stabilization after a 10% weekly drawdown in altcoins. The Bank of Japan's rate hike to 0.75% and cooling US inflation data influence sentiment. Bitcoin shows resilience, while Ethereum, XRP, and Solana face pressure. Institutional caution reflected in negative spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Key technical levels for BTC, ETH, XRP analyzed.

On December 19, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Michael Selig as Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, replacing Acting Chair Caroline Pham, and approved Travis Hill as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The chamber backed a broader slate of nominees in a 53-43 vote, placing Selig at the center of the CFTC's ongoing crypto rulemaking and allowing Hill to extend his existing digital-asset regulatory approach at the FDIC.

On Thursday, Terraform Labs’ court-appointed plan administrator Todd Snyder filed a federal lawsuit in Illinois seeking $4B in damages from Jump Trading, co-founder William DiSomma, and former Jump Crypto president Kanav Kariya. The complaint alleges Jump struck a secret deal to support TerraUSD’s peg, profited heavily from trading LUNA, and helped set the stage for the May 2022 collapse that erased about $40B in value before Terraform filed for bankruptcy in January 2024.