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.

SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, is starting a new recruitment round for its "Rent Coin" lending program on Dec. 18, 2025, at 20:00 (JST), supporting 34 cryptocurrencies including XRP, BTC and DOGE. A Coinbase-linked Shiba Inu whale has moved 53,591,805,991 SHIB worth about $415,000 after roughly a year of inactivity, while an Ethereum whale's multisig wallet has reportedly lost around $27.3 million after a private key compromise. The Ethereum attacker has already routed approximately 4,100 ETH via Tornado Cash and still controls a leveraged ETH long position on Aave tied to the compromised multisig.

Chinese AI model DeepSeek has issued aggressive end‑2025 price scenarios for XRP, Bitcoin and Dogecoin, ranging from steep declines to multi‑fold rallies. Its outlook suggests XRP could swing between a collapse toward $0.20 and a surge near $10, while Bitcoin and DOGE face similarly wide targets. The projections highlight potential extreme volatility into the final weeks of 2025 and are speculative, not investment advice.

Poland’s Sejm has passed the Crypto-Asset Market Act for a second time, sending unchanged legislation previously vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki back into the parliamentary process and on to the Senate. The bill would align Poland with the EU’s MiCA rules, place crypto firms under KNF supervision, and introduce licensing, fines up to 10 million zlotys, and possible prison terms, which critics warn could make it one of the bloc’s most restrictive regimes.

U.S. crypto oversight entered a new phase this week as President Donald Trump signaled openness to reviewing the Samourai Wallet conviction and the Senate confirmed Mike Selig to lead the CFTC. At the same time, regulators including the SEC and Federal Reserve pulled back from earlier restrictive policies, while Congress advanced targeted anti-scam legislation. Together these moves point to a shift away from enforcement-heavy strategies toward clearer rules and a more focused consumer protection approach.

On December 19, 2025, silver reached a record $69.6/oz, rising 2.3% intraday and securing an 8.1% weekly advance after touching $67.20 earlier. Gold climbed to $4,346.69/oz, with futures at $4,380, while softer inflation and a weaker labor report bolstered rate‑cut hopes. U.S. equities rose, led by Oracle’s 8% jump tied to a planned TikTok U.S. venture.

Russia’s executive authorities plan to start making budget payments in the digital ruble from 2025, including public sector salaries, pensions, and social transfers. The Ministry of Finance outlined that these transactions, based on recent legal amendments, will be voluntary for recipients and precede a full-scale CBDC rollout planned for the second half of 2026. The Bank of Russia and the Federal Treasury are coordinating integration of the digital ruble into the federal budget process, with free transfers between individuals and low merchant fees already announced.

Bybit is set to re-enter the UK market on December 19 through a partnership with London-regulated exchange Archax, enabling spot trading across 100 cryptocurrency pairs. The relaunch focuses on aligning with UK financial promotion rules, providing transparent access and products tailored to local users. Bitcoin's market value stands at $1.76 trillion with a price of $88,153.56 and 24-hour trading volume of $55.17 billion amid this move.