Senators Elissa Slotkin and Jerry Moran introduced the bipartisan SAFE Crypto Act to strengthen federal responses to crypto fraud. The move follows the FBI's finding that U.S. residents lost about $9.3 billion in 2024, a 66% rise year‑over‑year. The bill would require the Treasury to convene a cross‑agency task force within 180 days.

On December 17, 2025, Binance announced a comprehensive update to its token listing framework, prohibiting third-party deal brokers and requiring projects to apply through official channels. The exchange also published a blacklist of alleged fraudulent intermediaries and detailed new pathways across Alpha, futures, and spot markets.

U.S. banks supervised by the FDIC can seek approval to issue payment stablecoins after the FDIC board approved a proposed GENIUS Act rule. The blueprint requires 1:1 reserves, monthly attestations, and a 30/120-day review clock, with a 60-day comment period and a temporary safe harbor of up to 12 months.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its multi‑year investigation into the Aave Protocol without recommending enforcement, following a process Aave's founder said demanded substantial resources. The probe, which began around late 2021 or early 2022, had focused on DeFi lending and borrowing services, and its conclusion eases immediate regulatory pressure on Aave while its AAVE token recently traded between $184 and $194.

Bitcoin has declined about 26% over the past three months and roughly 30% from its near $126,200 peak, but on-chain data indicates it is still outperforming most major crypto sectors. While the total crypto market cap has fallen around 27.5% and altcoin segments such as AI, DeFi, meme coins and real-world asset tokens have recorded much deeper losses, investors are concentrating capital in BTC as a comparatively defensive asset. At the same time, mid-sized "shark" holders have rapidly accumulated around 54,000 BTC in a week, even as long-term whales distribute coins and keep near-term upside constrained.

On December 15, 2025, Bitcoin Bancorp announced plans to deploy up to 200 licensed Bitcoin ATMs across Texas beginning in Q1 2026. The OTC-traded operator (BCBC) cited Texas' clear rules and strong demand, and its shares rose 7.83% on the day and 29.53% over five days.

On December 15, Bitcoin extended its recent pullback while shares of Strategy (MSTR) dropped 7.29% to $163.55 on heavy trading volume. During the second and third quarters of 2025, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which oversees about $284 billion in assets, increased its MSTR position to roughly 0.10% of the company, valued at around $113.8 million, even as the stock remained highly correlated with Bitcoin's volatility.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission withdrew its 2020 "actual delivery" guidance for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies on December 11, citing market maturity, according to Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Days earlier, the agency cleared spot crypto trading on U.S. futures exchanges. On December 8, it began a pilot allowing Bitcoin, Ether and USDC to serve as derivatives collateral under weekly reporting.

On December 10, 2025, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released preliminary findings from a review of debanking practices at nine major national banks. The agency said internal policies in place from 2020 to 2023 imposed inappropriate restrictions on lawful sectors, including digital-asset firms, according to the OCC. It added that supervisory investigations into the banks' practices are ongoing.