DTCC partnered with Digital Asset Holdings and the Canton Network to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities custodied at DTC, marking its first step to bring custodial assets on-chain. Following an SEC No-Action Letter earlier this month, the parties are targeting a minimum viable product in the first half of 2026, with DTCC's ComposerX platforms supporting tokenization and interoperability.

Stani Kulechov outlined a multi-decade roadmap centered on Aave V4, Horizon, and the Aave App, with a Dec. 16 post highlighting Horizon's role. The plan seeks to onboard the next trillion dollars in assets and millions of users while the DAO debates fees and revenue alignment. He also said the SEC ended its years-long Aave inquiry without enforcement.

Data compiled by Dune and Keyrock shows that Polymarket's average user retention exceeds that of more than 85% of 275 crypto projects, including DeFi platforms, wallets and trading apps. In December, major firms such as Coinbase, Gemini, Phantom and Bitnomial moved into prediction markets, aiming to leverage event-driven engagement tied to elections, sports and macroeconomic data.

On December 17, 2025, security firm PeckShield reported an exploit against Yearn Finance V1's legacy TUSD vault, with losses of about $300,000. The attacker swapped the proceeds for 103 ETH held at address 0x0F21…4066 and allegedly used flash loans and price distortions on a misconfigured vault. A researcher linked the method to a similar 2023 Yearn vulnerability.

KuCoin announced an exclusive multiyear partnership with Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium for 2026–2028, becoming the festivals' sole crypto and payments partner. The initiative follows KuCoin EU Exchange obtaining a MiCA crypto asset service provider license in Austria and will embed digital payment rails across ticketing, merchandise, and onsite purchases.

On Dec. 17, Aave founder Stani Kulechov outlined a 2026 roadmap featuring the V4 upgrade, Horizon's tokenised real‑world asset lending, and a mobile app push. Horizon deposits are around $550 million after surpassing $50 million by Sept. 1, with a goal above $1 billion. The plan follows the SEC ending its investigation.

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Elissa Slotkin introduced the SAFE Crypto Act to establish a federal task force focused on cryptocurrency fraud. The measure seeks coordination across government and private-sector experts to study scam patterns, strengthen prevention, equip local law enforcement with investigative tools, and expand public awareness efforts.

On December 15, 2025, a New York federal judge allowed plaintiffs in the class action against Pump.fun and Solana to file a second amended complaint based on newly submitted evidence. The suit targets investors who bought tokens launched on Pump.fun from March 2024 and alleges an unfair market structure, securities law violations, RICO violations, and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs say thousands of chat messages from a reestablished confidential source link individuals associated with Pump.fun, Solana Labs, Jito Labs, and others, and the court found the proposed amendments sufficient to move forward.