Kevin Hassett, White House National Economic Council director, has emerged as the front-runner for Federal Reserve chair as President Donald Trump narrows his selection. Hassett disclosed owning $1m to $5m in Coinbase stock and receiving over $50,001 from the exchange for advisory work, according to Office of Government Ethics filings. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has completed second-round interviews with finalists, with Trump likely to announce a decision before December 25, 2025.

Robinhood Markets Inc. announced a joint venture with Susquehanna International Group to establish a futures and derivatives exchange. The new platform will acquire MIAXdx from Miami International Holdings and is expected to begin operations in 2026. Robinhood cited prediction markets as its fastest-growing product segment, with over 9 billion contracts processed across more than 1 million customers.

The South African Reserve Bank has identified cryptocurrency assets and stablecoins as emerging financial stability threats, citing rapid domestic adoption and incomplete regulatory frameworks. As of July, the country's three largest crypto exchanges recorded 7.8 million registered users collectively holding approximately $1.5 billion in client assets by year-end 2024.

Michael Howell, a global liquidity specialist, said on the Bankless podcast that cryptocurrency assets are in a late-cycle position rather than starting a new expansion. He tracks a 65-month global liquidity cycle linked to debt refinancing patterns and projects the current cycle may be peaking, with implications for digital currencies and other risk assets.

Asian equity markets opened higher Wednesday as traders increased risk asset exposure. Bitcoin held near $87,000 while regional stocks gained on growing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan climbed approximately 1% in early trading.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission authorized Polymarket to resume U.S. operations as a regulated intermediated exchange through an Amended Order of Designation. Spot XRP exchange-traded funds launched by Grayscale and Franklin Templeton attracted combined net inflows exceeding $130 million on Monday. Swedish fintech firm Klarna announced plans to introduce a USD-backed stablecoin on the Tempo blockchain by 2026.

Swedish digital bank Klarna has launched KlarnaUSD, a USD-pegged stablecoin on Tempo, the layer-1 blockchain developed by Stripe and Paradigm. The stablecoin is live on Tempo's testnet, with mainnet deployment planned for 2026. Klarna will initially use the token for internal cross-border payments to reduce costs for its 114 million customers before extending access to merchants and consumers.

U.S. Bank has launched a pilot program to test custom stablecoin issuance on the Stellar network, representing a significant step by a major American financial institution into programmable digital currency. The initiative was disclosed during a Money 20/20 podcast featuring executives from U.S. Bank, the Stellar Development Foundation, and PwC.