Vitalik Buterin outlines three structural issues he believes still undermine decentralized stablecoins: dependence on USD-based price pegs, vulnerability of oracle systems, and conflicts created by staking yields when used as collateral. He argues that long-term resilience will require new reference indexes, more robust oracle designs, and mechanisms that balance staking returns with stablecoin usability and risk management.

Vitalik Buterin argues that Ethereum should concentrate on increasing bandwidth rather than reducing latency, as physical and decentralization limits constrain how fast consensus can operate. He sees the base layer as a global coordination system, leaving sub-second applications to Layer 2 solutions supported by technologies like PeerDAS and zero-knowledge proofs. Ethereum’s network remains constrained by consumer hardware, while its price currently tests the $3,020–$3,050 support zone after losing a key technical level.

Global digital asset investment products recorded $47.2 billion in inflows in 2025, narrowly below the $48.7 billion peak set in 2024, while the first week of 2026 ended with $582 million of net inflows. Bitcoin's annual inflows declined 35% to $26.9 billion as capital shifted toward Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and select regional markets such as Germany and Canada. Analysts indicate that diversified, sustainable flows across regions and asset types are likely to play a key role in shaping the next phase of digital asset market development.

On December 22, 2025, JPMorgan Chase began evaluating institutional cryptocurrency trading, with potential spot and derivatives offerings under review. The bank is in an early exploratory phase, assessing compliance, operations, and risk, amid rising client demand and expanding competitor services.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, speaking at an SEC Crypto Task Force roundtable, warned that expanding government oversight could turn blockchain and crypto systems into a financial surveillance tool. He argued that treating every wallet as a broker and every transaction as reportable risks creating a financial panopticon, and called for a regulatory framework that protects lawful activity and individual privacy while still allowing innovation.

MetaMask enabled native Bitcoin functionality on December 15, 2025, letting users buy, send, receive, and swap BTC within the wallet. The update supports SegWit addresses, with Taproot planned, and offers purchasing via credit cards, PayPal, and bank transfers. MetaMask also introduced a $30 million rewards program to drive user engagement.

YO Labs said it raised $10 million in a Series A round to scale its cross-chain yield protocol, YO Protocol. Foundation Capital led, with Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, and Launchpad Capital participating. The funds will extend support to more blockchains and strengthen risk-adjusted infrastructure for wallets, fintechs, and developers.

Coinbase plans to introduce prediction markets and tokenized equities on December 17, based on information attributed to Bloomberg sources. The exchange intends to let users trade outcomes of real-world events and on-chain representations of stocks, while issuing the tokenized equities internally to keep tighter control over infrastructure.

Swiss-based AMINA Bank adopted Ripple Payments, becoming the first European bank to go live with the system on December 12, 2025. According to Ripple, the integration enables near real-time cross-border transfers over fiat and blockchain rails and supports multi-currency payouts and RLUSD flows within a regulated framework. Ripple says the network already processes more than $95 billion.