India’s Competition Commission cleared Coinbase Global’s minority investment in CoinDCX, according to a regulatory notice and a post by CLO Paul Grewal on Wednesday. The approval follows an October notice indicating a post‑money valuation of approximately $2.4 billion and Coinbase’s report of about $141 million in annual revenue as of July. Coinbase has also reopened its app for India and targets a fiat on‑ramp in 2026.

Bitcoin is in a key inflection phase as it trades above the $86,000 weekly support zone while momentum weakens after a rejection near $93,000. Analyst Michael Van De Poppe notes that price remains in a short-term downtrend unless BTC can reclaim $88,000, with potential liquidity targets at $83,000 and $80,000. Another analyst, Crypto Damus, highlights that a deeper retracement toward $78,000 or even a longer-term retest around $70,000 could still fit within the broader market cycle.

Mantle’s MNT token gained 9.13% over the past week and 1.37% in the last 24 hours while daily trading volume slid 13%, as Bitcoin dropped toward the $85.7k area. Technical indicators on the daily chart signaled steady capital inflows and a bullish bias in December, but the $1.375 resistance and possible invalidation below $1.21-$1.23 kept traders cautious.

On December 17, Bitcoin posted a violent two-hour price swing of roughly $3,000 in both directions, first squeezing shorts and then longs as aggressive trading took hold. One 30‑minute surge of about $3,300 reportedly wiped out around $106M in short positions before a $3,400 drop over the next 45 minutes triggered roughly $52M in long liquidations. Across the broader crypto market, more than 120,000 positions were closed over 24 hours, with total liquidations nearing $400M and Bitcoin accounting for about $108M of that.

On December 18, Polygon Foundation reported a disruption on the Polygon PoS network that affected certain RPC nodes but did not stop block production. The team attributed the issue to a faulty validator proposal, deployed patches for node operators, and confirmed that operational RPC nodes continued to process transactions. Following the incident, the POL token fell about 4%, while separate market data showed it trading at $0.11 with a market cap of $1.13 billion and deeper declines over the past 24 hours and 90 days.

Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham is leaving the commission after nearly four years to become MoonPay's Chief Legal and Administrative Officer. The article says crypto lawyer Mike Selig is set to succeed her, with a Senate confirmation vote expected early next week. Pham will oversee global legal and administrative functions and lead policy strategy in Washington.

Bitcoin's drop into the mid-$80,000s has drawn buying interest and set up a potential rebound as price compresses below key moving averages. Ethereum sits under $3,000 and needs a swift recovery toward $3,100–$3,200 to preserve its higher‑time‑frame structure. Cardano trades well below major EMAs, with RSI in the low 40s signaling late‑stage downside exhaustion risk.

Bitcoin has fallen over 30% since early October, shifting sentiment from optimism to caution as some market participants view the move as a possible peak. A new thesis argues the classic four-year pattern may be giving way to a structurally supported supercycle. Price action remains weak below 90,000 dollars, with 85,000–86,000 highlighted as key support.