US lawmakers are evaluating a de minimis capital gains tax exemption for small crypto payments, with some discussions reportedly focusing on limiting the benefit to stablecoins. Bitcoin advocates warn that excluding Bitcoin from such relief would defeat the goal of enabling everyday transactions, while existing proposals in Congress suggest a $300 per-transaction threshold and a $5,000 annual cap on tax-free gains.

David Sacks said the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is set for a Senate markup in January before debate, amendments, and a floor vote. He added that Chairs Tim Scott and John Boozman confirmed the bipartisan bill's path to the chamber. The proposal aims to clarify oversight between the SEC, CFTC, and other regulators.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has rolled back 2023 guidance that tightly constrained how supervised banks could engage in crypto-related business, opening a defined route for both insured and uninsured institutions to explore digital asset services. The updated framework keeps supervisory and risk-management standards in place but may expand access to Fed membership and payment systems for crypto-focused banks, intensifying debate over innovation, competition, and financial stability.

A Federal Reserve discussion paper finds the dollar’s share of international bond issuance has moved in waves over six decades, with a post‑2008 rebound; as of 2024, emerging‑market borrowers still have about 80% of outstanding international bonds in dollars. DefiLlama data show stablecoins grew to $309.6 billion from $205.5 billion in December 2024, led by USDT and USDC.

Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the NYSE, is in talks to invest in crypto payments firm MoonPay as part of its latest funding round. MoonPay is seeking to raise at a $5 billion valuation, and in October ICE put $2 billion into prediction platform Polymarket in a round valuing it at $9 billion.

According to Chainalysis, North Korea-linked hackers stole $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, lifting their cumulative haul to $6.75 billion. The report finds that even as the number of attacks fell, DPRK groups shifted to fewer, larger and more strategic heists, supported by faster laundering cycles and growing threats to institutions and retail wallets.

On 18 December 2025, analysis of crypto security incidents showed that losses climbed to $3.4 billion, driven by a few large-scale breaches rather than constant smaller hacks. Attackers increasingly targeted centralized pools of capital and individual users, while DeFi protocols saw fewer successful exploits as security practices improved. The main concern has shifted from how often hacks occur to how much damage a single failure can cause.

Following Coinbase’s Dec. 17 system update, JPMorgan and Benchmark said the company’s broadened product slate strengthens the upside case for COIN by expanding use cases and engagement. Benchmark reiterated a Buy rating and a $421 target, while analysts highlighted stock trading, prediction markets, and derivatives aimed at reducing reliance on spot crypto volumes; Deutsche Bank recently initiated with Buy and a $340 target.