On 18 December 2025, Aster detailed its fifth airdrop stage, called "Crystal", which introduces the project's most restrictive and lowest-emission distribution so far. The airdrop will start on 22 December and run for six weeks, using a split-claim model that burns unclaimed bonus tokens from early participants while rewarding those who accept a lockup period. This phase comes ahead of the planned Aster Chain testnet and mainnet launches, and is designed to reduce immediate selling pressure and favor long-term alignment.

On 18 December 2025, after the ECB's latest rate decision, Christine Lagarde outlined the bank's focus on stability, digital payments and stablecoins. She said a digital euro remains under review and must be simple, affordable, privacy‑respecting and usable offline, while noting MiCA enables oversight but reserve exposure in stablecoins could pose risks requiring vigilance by regulators.

Coinbase projects AI-driven productivity could spur a new crypto upswing in 2026. Total market capitalization peaked near $4.2 trillion in 2025 before easing toward $3.0 trillion, framed as a transition rather than cycle end. Institutional treasuries, tokenization, stablecoins, and regulated DeFi are cited as structural adoption signals.

Bitcoin remains at historically high price levels, while on-chain data indicates a prolonged decline in network activity measured by active addresses. Since peaking at about 1.15 million daily active addresses in April 2021, participation has slid to roughly 680,000, even as the market experienced sharp rallies and corrections. Analysts point to increased long-term holding and growing off-chain exposure through custodial platforms and financial products as key forces reshaping Bitcoin's on-chain footprint in the current cycle.

Market analyst EGRAG CRYPTO outlines an "X Pattern" fractal for XRP that assumes the token remains within a long-term rising price channel. The model highlights cooling momentum on indicators like RSI and MACD and frames a possible late-cycle expansion as contingent on key support levels holding. A decisive break below this channel would invalidate the scenario rather than confirm a guaranteed breakdown.

On 17 December 2025, Bitcoin was down more than a third from its cycle high earlier this year, with the drop attributed to tightening liquidity and aggressive deleveraging. Market participants point to the low-to-mid $80,000s as a potential stabilization zone linked to institutional ETF cost bases, while derivatives open interest has fallen sharply.

On 17 December 2025, Russian authorities restated that cryptocurrencies cannot be used for domestic payments, and the ruble remains the sole legal medium of exchange. According to Anatoly Aksakov, chair of the State Duma's Financial Markets Committee, digital assets may be held and traded as investments but will not be treated as money within Russia.

On 16 December 2025 at 20:30, PayPal applied to U.S. regulators to establish a Utah-based industrial loan company. The bid aims to expand small‑business lending, cut reliance on partner banks, and, if approved, allow the firm to accept FDIC‑insured deposits and manage its own balance sheet.

On 16 December 2025, U.S. lawmakers effectively pushed comprehensive crypto market structure legislation into 2026 as election pressures, fiscal deadlines, and limited floor time take priority. The pending bill seeks to clarify federal oversight of digital assets, including how authority is shared between the SEC and CFTC, yet procedural steps such as hearings and markups remain incomplete. In the meantime, agencies continue to shape crypto regulation through guidance and enforcement, leaving the industry operating under evolving interpretations of existing law.