DEX

A large holder sold 3 million ASTER at $0.78, realizing roughly a 22% loss, and the token slid beneath the $0.81–$0.82 area with daily volume up nearly 45%. ASTER traded around $0.7475 after losing more than 8% in 24 hours, with sellers eyeing $0.72 and the psychological $0.70. On December 17, the Aster team said the December Community & Ecosystem unlock was completed and has no immediate spend plans.

Hyper Foundation has called a validator vote to classify HYPE held in Hyperliquid's Assistance Fund system address as permanently inaccessible, excluding those balances from circulating and total supply. The address holds about $1 billion, and a "Yes" outcome would treat these tokens as burned for governance, including USDH reserve yield routed there.

Gemini has rolled out its Gemini Predictions platform across all 50 US states after its affiliate Gemini Titan received a designated contract market license from the CFTC. PancakeSwap has introduced Probable, a BNB Chain-based prediction market backed by YZi Labs that will initially charge no fees and use UMA's Optimistic Oracle for event resolution. Trading volumes on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have reached billions of dollars per month since October, drawing interest from both crypto firms and traditional financial players.

On 15 December, Aster DEX launched Shield Mode for perpetual traders, delivering up to 1001x leverage, instant execution and zero slippage. Despite the release, an ASTER whale sold 13.44 million tokens for $11.67 million, realizing a $1.37 million loss and pushing cumulative losses beyond $35.8 million. Selling pressure remains elevated.

On Monday, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to confirm any ongoing probes into decentralized exchanges such as PancakeSwap and Uniswap, and requested a response by Jan. 12. Her letter coincided with Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott delaying a markup of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act to 2026.

PIPPIN jumped to a fresh all‑time high on December 16 following a sharp squeeze in derivatives. Shorts dominated open interest, while on‑chain whales executed coordinated spot orders on Raydium and PumpSwap. The team made no new announcements during the move.

On Wednesday, Gemini Titan received a designated contract market license from the CFTC. On Monday, Gemini said via X that its Gemini Predictions platform is now available in all 50 US states. The product lets users trade on real-world outcomes and is part of the exchange’s push toward a super-app spanning crypto trading, staking, rewards, tokenized stocks, and prediction markets.

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority unveiled plans on Tuesday to bring cryptoasset firms under a dedicated regime. The consultation runs until February 12, with the framework expected to be finalized next year and applied from 2027. The FCA softened earlier positions, allowing platforms to list their own tokens and trade directly with clients, while proposing controls on market abuse and staking programs.

On December 15, 2025, MetaMask introduced native Bitcoin support, enabling users to hold, buy, send, and swap BTC inside the wallet. The company said SegWit is supported with Taproot planned, and users may earn reward points under a $30 million community program. Purchases can be made via credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, or bank transfers.

Aave Labs integrated CoWSwap into app.aave.com, replacing Paraswap, drawing objections from Aave DAO delegates over front-end fee routing. Delegates EzR3aL and Marc Zeller say the change diverts 15–25 basis points and could reduce DAO revenue by about $10m per year, raising governance and transparency concerns.