The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Crypto Task Force will hold a roundtable on December 15 to examine privacy and financial surveillance issues in the cryptocurrency sector. The discussion follows increased investor attention to privacy concerns, driven by recent legal cases involving developers of privacy-focused tools including Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet. Industry leaders and SEC officials will participate, though no specific policy recommendations are expected during the session.

Senator Todd Young has urged Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent to revise the 2023 regulations on staking reward taxation. The current framework taxes unrealized gains, creating burdens on cryptocurrency holders. The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2025-31 on November 10, 2025, allowing institutional crypto trusts and ETFs to stake assets while maintaining tax benefits, but individual holders remain subject to taxation on unsold rewards.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations released its fiscal year 2026 priorities on November 17, excluding any dedicated focus on digital assets or cryptocurrencies. The agency will instead prioritize fiduciary duties, cybersecurity, data privacy, and risks related to artificial intelligence and automated investment tools. Digital-asset firms may still face examination based on individual risk profiles, despite crypto's absence as a standalone category.

Institutional investors are purchasing Bitcoin at a pace that offsets selling by long-term holders, according to ARK Invest. Bitcoin's liveliness metric hit 0.89, the highest level since 2018, indicating significant movement of coins held for years. ETFs and corporate treasuries controlled approximately 2.39 million BTC as of November 15, 2025.

Harvard University holds 6,813,612 shares of BlackRock's IBIT Bitcoin ETF valued at approximately $442.8 million, according to a recent SEC filing. The position represents a 257% increase from the 1,906,000 shares worth around $117 million reported in the second quarter. The university simultaneously expanded its gold ETF holdings, nearly doubling its GLD position to 661,391 shares valued at $235 million.

Polymarket has begun a limited beta release in the United States, allowing select participants to trade with live contracts. The platform settled a $1.4 million penalty with the CFTC in 2022 and has acquired QCX, a CFTC-approved exchange and clearinghouse, to support compliant U.S. operations.

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, acquired 28,670 Uniswap (UNI) tokens valued at approximately $244,000, marking his first decentralized finance investment in three years. The purchase came as UNI's price surged over 21% past $10, driven by community interest in Uniswap's Unification proposal. The proposal includes protocol fee activation, a token burn mechanism, and ecosystem incentive distribution.

Michael Selig, President Donald Trump's nominee for CFTC chairman, will appear before the Senate Agriculture Committee on November 19. The agency has operated with a single commissioner, Caroline Pham, since September; Pham plans to resign once a new chair is confirmed. Senators are expected to examine Selig's positions on crypto enforcement, asset classification standards, and coordination with the SEC.

Strive Asset Management purchased 1,567 BTC for approximately $162 million, bringing its total holdings to 7,525 BTC. The acquisition positions Strive ahead of Galaxy Digital, which holds 6,894 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. The purchase was funded through a perpetual preferred stock IPO priced at $80 per share.