According to plaintiffs, a federal judge recently allowed amendments to a complaint first filed in December 2024 over the $HAWK token, which fell 90–95% within hours after peaking around a $500M market cap. The updated filing adds Hailey Welch and other entities, alleging she received $125,000 upfront and $200,000 after promotional milestones.

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.

On December 17, 2025, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin used X to question claims that the United States must avoid any AI slowdown to keep ahead of China in the race toward Artificial Superintelligence. He responded to Senator Bernie Sanders' call for a moratorium on large AI data centers by outlining pros and cons and suggesting a "pause button" for supercomputers instead. Citing recent data, Buterin argued that assertions about China's determination and capacity to lead the ASI race are overstated, pointing to higher US AI investment and China's ongoing hardware constraints.

On December 17 2025, Bitwise stated that institutional demand for crypto ETFs could surpass the entire new supply of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana in 2026, potentially creating a supply squeeze. The firm, which oversees more than $15 billion across 30 products, also expects over 100 crypto ETFs to launch in the US in 2026 and predicts Bitcoin may break its historical four-year cycle as spot ETF flows gain influence. Bitwise emphasized that these are forward-looking projections rather than guaranteed outcomes.

In 2025, Binance has seen crypto inflows reach $1.17 trillion and is projected to record about $7 trillion in spot trading volume, sharply outpacing rival exchanges. Data shows record spot and perpetual futures activity on Binance, alongside a notable increase in hedging demand as market volatility returns after a previously stable six‑month period.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) said its USD1 stablecoin has expanded to the Canton Network, targeting a regulated, interoperable environment for institutions. Binance recently added USD1 spot pairs for BNB, ETH and SOL and outlined a 1:1 conversion of Binance-Peg BUSD collateral to USD1, while USD1 circulation stands at about $2.8 billion.

On Monday, Chairman Tim Scott said the Senate Banking Committee will not hold a markup on the crypto market structure bill this week, with a spokesperson targeting early 2026. The House passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in July by a 294-134 vote, while senators continue bipartisan talks on ethics rules, stablecoin yields, and oversight.

Decentralized perpetual exchange Aster has introduced Shield Mode, enabling traders to open high-leverage BTC and ETH perpetual positions without revealing orders on public books. The feature supports up to 1,001x leverage with instant, zero-slippage execution and runs alongside a promotional campaign waiving gas and trading fees until December 31, 2025. Orders placed via Shield Mode are excluded from Aster's airdrop rewards program.

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has been sentenced to 15 years in a U.S. prison for wire fraud linked to the Terra-Luna collapse and could later face up to 30 additional years if convicted in South Korea. He may apply for transfer to South Korea after serving half of his U.S. term, where prosecutors have prepared a separate case tied to Capital Markets Act violations and large investor losses.