Updated December 20, 2025, Coinbase's 2026 Crypto Market Outlook adopts a restrained stance, comparing conditions to the mid‑1990s internet build‑out. It anticipates deeper institutional participation under frameworks such as the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts and projects stablecoin market cap could reach $1.2 trillion by 2028, while noting Bitcoin's open interest has declined.

Updated December 20 2025 12:38 AM UTC, DraftKings launched DraftKings Predictions, a standalone app and web platform for trading on real‑world outcomes. According to DraftKings, the CFTC‑regulated service is live in 38 states, connects to CME Group, and initially lists sports and financial markets, with expansion to entertainment and culture planned.

On December 20, 2025, Aster and Lighter were reported to be closing the gap with Hyperliquid's dominance in decentralized perpetual futures exchanges. Monthly perp volumes reached $252 billion for Lighter and $218 billion for Aster, while open interest stood at $1.7 billion, $2.4 billion, and $7 billion for Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid. In November, Lighter briefly led after a $68 million funding round.

On December 19, 2025, MANTRA CEO John Patrick Mullin sent an open letter proposing that MANTRA manually handle the migration of all OM tokens held on OKX between January 3 and 5 to mitigate holiday-related risks. OKX, which said 34,097,848 user OM tokens and 124,441,487 of its own OM tokens require migration, asked MANTRA to confirm by December 20, 2025 that the full amount on its platform will be migrated or risk potential delisting. The exchange friction follows public disputes earlier in December over token migration communications and OKX's handling of the OM crash in April 2025.

Lifinity, a Solana-based DEX, will wind down after a community vote. On December 10, 2025, a shutdown proposal was put to holders, and on December 18, 2025, the team announced the decision on X. The protocol plans to distribute $43.4 million in USDC to $LFNTY holders, after processing about $150 billion since 2022.

On December 18, 2025, after issues on Polygon PoS, a Polymarket team member said in Discord the platform will prioritize building its own Layer 2 to reduce future disruptions. Posts on X noted services were restored, while Downdetector saw a spike in reports, with 86% tied to website access and 11% to login problems.

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.