On December 18 2025, the U.S. SEC's Division of Trading and Markets issued guidance on how broker-dealers can satisfy Rule 15c3-3's physical possession provisions when holding crypto asset securities. The staff outlined five specific conditions under which they would not object to treating physical custody as compliant, focusing on blockchain access, technical due diligence, and private key security. Commissioner Hester M. Peirce welcomed the additional clarity and urged further work on amending Rule 15c3-3 to better address crypto custody.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart expects more than 100 crypto ETPs and ETFs to debut in 2026, based on current SEC applications and industry forecasts. He cautions that a significant share of these products may be liquidated by late 2026 or by the end of 2027 due to weak demand, even as existing Bitcoin, Ether and Solana spot ETFs have already attracted tens of billions of dollars in inflows.

RRP Semiconductor surged 55,000% over twenty months and reached a valuation of $1.78 billion as of press time. The stock hit a high on Nov. 7, then fell 6% after SEBI began reviewing the rally and the exchange shifted trading to once a week. A tiny float, 149 straight limit-up sessions, and social buzz drove the move despite negative revenue and minimal operations.

Bitcoin drifted toward $86,000 on Thursday as Asian markets opened weaker following Wednesday's tech-led slide on Wall Street. A snapshot showed BTC at $86,575 (-1.1%), Ether at $2,832 (-4.2%), and XRP at $1.86 (-3.7%), with total crypto market value at $3 trillion (-1.5%).

On the night of December 17, 2025, Coinbase activated live U.S. stock trading in its app, allowing users to purchase American equities using USDC. The company is also rolling out futures, perpetuals, prediction markets, and a tokenization stack for institutions, positioning the platform as a hub for traditional assets, derivatives, and on-chain products.

On December 18, the Federal Reserve said it would rescind its 2023 restrictions on state member banks' crypto activities and introduce a new, more flexible framework effective in 2025. The change lets state banks seek approval for digital-asset services under risk and supervisory criteria, signaling a broader shift toward integrating assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum into regulated banking.

Bitfinex has removed all trading fees across its exchange, covering spot, margin, derivatives, tokenized securities, and OTC products with immediate effect. The company expects the zero‑fee model to boost liquidity, support financial inclusion, and make it one of the most cost‑effective venues for BTC and other digital assets. At the same time, Solana‑based wallet Phantom has rolled out Phantom Prediction Markets, a Kalshi‑powered feature that lets users trade tokenized positions on real‑world events directly in the app.

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.