On December 22, Fold Holdings, a Bitcoin-focused financial services company, announced its inclusion in the Russell 2000 Index, a benchmark tracking small-cap U.S. equities. At the same time, MSCI has proposed removing firms whose digital asset holdings make up 50% or more of total assets from its indexes, a move analysts say could trigger multi‑billion‑dollar outflows. MSCI's consultation runs until January 15, 2025, and its final decision may shape how other major index providers treat companies with large crypto treasuries.

Italy's Competition Authority (AGCM) imposed a €98.6 million ($115 million) fine on Apple after a probe launched in May 2023, citing App Store policies tied to App Tracking Transparency. The 199-page ruling orders Apple to halt the conduct and report compliance within 90 days, while the company says it will appeal.

On December 22, 2025, Ghana’s parliament approved the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, effectively legalizing cryptocurrency-related activities under a new regulatory framework. The Bank of Ghana will license and oversee exchanges, wallets, and custody providers, while crypto remains non-legal tender and the cedi stays the only official currency. The move follows rapid growth in Ghana’s crypto usage and aligns the country with other Sub-Saharan African markets advancing formal regulation.

Ethereum's mainnet is currently handling between $90 billion and $100 billion in daily stablecoin transfers, with monthly volumes reaching as high as $2.82 trillion in October 2025. Over the past three months, Solana's on-chain SOL-USD activity has matched or exceeded the combined spot volumes of Binance and Bybit, as stablecoin markets on both chains grow and segment between USDT on Ethereum and USDC on Solana.

On December 21, 2025, Galaxy Digital Research issued its 2026 outlook, calling the year too chaotic to forecast while projecting Bitcoin could reach $250,000 by end-2027. Bitcoin set a $126,080 all-time high on October 6, 2025, then slid to the low $90,000s and around $88,000 in December. The firm also anticipates strong growth in stablecoins.

According to local reports on December 21, the Bank of Korea sent an official document to major banks outlining a second-phase CBDC pilot focused on testing government subsidy payouts in digital currency. The first phase, run with seven banks for three months, was suspended after criticism over limited utility and costs in billions of won.

Wang Chun, co-founder of Bitcoin mining pool F2Pool, recounted a 2024 incident where he reportedly sent 500 BTC into a wallet he believed was compromised to test if it was under hacker surveillance, resulting in the loss of 490 BTC. He shared this story after a separate December 20 phishing case in which a user mistakenly transferred about 50 million USDT in an address poisoning attack and is now working with law enforcement to recover the funds. The Ethereum Community Foundation has urged wallets and explorers to stop truncating addresses with dots, arguing that this interface choice unnecessarily increases the risk of such scams.

On December 21 2025, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin used Farcaster posts to argue that prediction markets help counter extreme opinions and misinformation on emotionally sensitive topics. He responded to criticism of platforms like Polymarket, claiming that small markets on major events do not create harmful incentives and can offer more accurate risk signals than social media or headlines. While Buterin firmly opposed assassination markets, he suggested social norms, oracle design, and journalistic standards as ways to make such markets unworkable.

On December 20, 2025, Momento Research's Ash Liew reported tracking 118 token generation events this year, with 84.7% (100/118) now below launch valuation and the median down 71%. Only 18 tokens, or 15%, remain above water. Syndicate leads losses at −93.64%, while Animecoin, Berachain, and Bio Protocol have each fallen over 93%.