Stocks

During its year-end conference, Coinbase announced the launch of stock trading and prediction markets in partnership with Kalshi as part of a shift toward a multi-asset platform. The exchange also plans to introduce 24/7 perpetual contracts with leverage up to 50x early next year, while its shares recently closed down over 3.3% before rebounding in after-hours trading to $247.85.

Bitwise stated on Wednesday that Bitcoin's price swings in 2025 were milder than Nvidia's and projected that this lower volatility will persist in 2026. The firm linked Bitcoin's maturing profile to a decade-long decline in volatility, growing institutional participation, ETF products and a more diversified investor base, while also forecasting a new all-time high and continued outperformance of crypto-related equities over tech stocks.

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%).

According to the article, the U.S. Senate voted 67–30 on Wednesday to confirm Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator after a prolonged nomination process. Isaacman faced scrutiny over ties to Musk and returned for a Dec. 3 hearing, while separate investor inflows of more than $470 million since Dec. 8 lifted the XOVR ETF seeking SpaceX exposure.

Coursera said on Wednesday it will acquire Udemy in an all-stock transaction valuing the combined group at $2.5 billion. Udemy shareholders will receive 0.8 Coursera shares per share, with Reuters estimating Udemy’s implied value at about $930 million and $6.35 per share. Coursera rose about 4% and Udemy jumped nearly 22%; the deal is targeted for the second half of next year, pending approvals.

BlackRock announced on Wednesday that it will give eligible U.S. employees $1,000 per child, mirroring the federal "Trump accounts" seed funding under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The national program, starting July 4, 2026, allows parents to contribute $5,000 a year and employers to add $2,500 tax free for children born between 2025 and 2028. Bank of New York Mellon and major donors including Michael Dell, Susan Dell, and Ray Dalio have also pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to support these child investment accounts across the United States.

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, SpaceX began a regulatory quiet period as it weighs a 2026 IPO, instructing employees to avoid discussions about growth and valuation. The company is targeting more than $30 billion, implying around a $1.5 trillion valuation, with funds outlined for Starship launches and space-based AI data centers.

On December 17, 2025, Norges Bank Investment Management said it will support five Metaplanet management proposals ahead of the company’s December 22 extraordinary general meeting. Metaplanet stock rose more than 1.51% to $2.60 (404 JPY) after the announcement, and NBIM noted it will exercise its voting rights; the fund held 0.3% of the firm as of June 30, 2025.