Crypto Talkies December 23rd 2025

Crypto markets are limping into the evening, but the headlines are anything but quiet. Bitcoin (BTC) spent the day under pressure, with broader crypto sliding as bearish sentiment, tax‑loss selling, and options expiry all piled on at once. After briefly reclaiming a $3 trillion total market cap earlier this year, digital assets are now looking tired rather than inspired. Treasury-focused crypto firms, already some of the worst performers of the year, took another leg down as investors rushed to clean up their books before year‑end. Yet amid the red, a handful of big names are quietly doubling down on the long game. Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. has effectively shifted into “reload” mode. The company has paused new Bitcoin purchases after raising nearly $748 million through stock sales, swelling its dollar war chest to $2.19 billion while sitting on 671,268 BTC. That timing is notable: just as the U.S. presidential agenda begins flirting with the idea of Bitcoin as part of national reserves, one of the most visible corporate BTC bulls is sitting on both a massive stack and serious dry powder. Strategy isn’t out of the game; it’s waiting for its pitch. Institutional signals kept coming. BlackRock is now openly pitching its spot Bitcoin ETF as one of its top investment themes for 2025–26, right alongside Treasuries and mega‑cap U.S. equities. The ETF has underperformed lately, but the messaging is clear: in BlackRock’s world, Bitcoin is no longer a fringe asset; it’s a core macro theme. JPMorgan seems to agree. The bank is reportedly exploring early-stage plans to offer spot and derivatives crypto trading to institutional clients. Rather than trying to replace crypto-native exchanges, the move is expected to funnel more liquidity into existing platforms and further normalize digital assets as just another instrument on the trading desk. On-chain, though, the Bitcoin network is telling a more stressed story. VanEck notes falling hash rate and cooling network activity have started to squeeze miners and short-term holders. Historically, that combination has often coincided with late-stage pain before a rebound, as miner capitulation and weaker hands give way to stronger buyers. If that pattern holds, today’s discomfort could be tomorrow’s setup. Adding another twist to the macro picture, gold is stealing the spotlight. The yellow metal continues to notch fresh all‑time highs while Bitcoin and major altcoins sit well below their own records. The divergence is striking: traditional safe havens are leading, risk assets are following, and crypto is increasingly reacting on delay rather than setting the tone. Outside the U.S., Bitcoin’s role in national strategy remains a live experiment. The IMF is praising El Salvador’s economic progress while working on a $1.4 billion program with the country. At the same time, it’s scrutinizing El Salvador’s Bitcoin initiative, including negotiations around the state-backed Chivo wallet and the conditions tied to its broader BTC strategy. The message: Bitcoin can coexist with traditional finance, but not without strings attached. Russia, meanwhile, signaled one of the most dramatic regulatory pivots on the map. The central bank has proposed a framework that would legally allow Bitcoin and other crypto purchases — even for retail investors — under strict rules. The plan aims to set out comprehensive regulations for digital assets, stablecoins, and cross-border use by mid‑2026. For a country that spent years clamping down on crypto, it’s a major shift toward “controlled permission” rather than outright prohibition. The regulatory drumbeat was heard in friendlier tones in the West. In Arizona, lawmakers are pushing bills and a constitutional resolution that would exempt virtual currencies from state and property taxes and bar local taxes on blockchain node operators. Some of those changes may end up on the 2026 ballot, putting crypto tax treatment directly in voters’ hands. Across the Atlantic, EU governments agreed on their negotiating stance for a digital euro. The blueprint backs a central bank digital currency with both online payments and a privacy‑focused offline mode, while reaffirming the legal status of cash. Importantly, this isn’t a green light for launch yet, but it does clear the political runway for the ECB to push ahead on design and testing. Back in the market trenches, Hyperliquid (HYPE) spent the day fighting for its reputation. The exchange strongly rejected allegations of insolvency and hidden risk, insisting that all user funds are fully solvent and verifiable on‑chain. Critics have pointed to what they claim is a multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar collateral gap, but Hyperliquid says those numbers are based on misreading its on‑chain data and internal controls. In a market still haunted by FTX, trust is fragile, and the burden of proof is high. Governance and decentralization questions surfaced elsewhere too. Justin Sun remains locked out of his WLFI holdings months after his wallet was blacklisted, with the frozen tokens now down roughly $60 million. The episode has amplified investor concerns over WLFI’s governance and how “decentralized” a system can be when a single wallet can be effectively turned off. Aave (AAVE) holders are dealing with a different kind of anxiety. A high‑stakes governance fight over token alignment and brand control has triggered a sharp selloff in the token and opened a rift between AAVE holders, the DAO, and Aave Labs. The dispute goes beyond pricing; it cuts to the question of who truly steers major DeFi protocols as they mature into multi‑billion‑dollar ecosystems. Japanese users of Bybit got a clearer, and less welcome, timeline. The exchange will gradually wind down services to residents starting in 2026 as it responds to tightening local rules. Expect a slow taper: rolling restrictions, fewer features, and eventual exit, as Japan continues to take a strict line on offshore platforms. Amid the gloom, XRP quietly stole some sentiment headlines. Social mood around XRP is deeply negative, with the asset sitting in what analysts call a “fear zone” after a downtrend. Historically, those conditions have often lined up with local bottoms and eventual rebounds. On-chain builders aren’t waiting for price to turn: on Flare (FLR), Upshift and Clearstar launched earnXRP, the first on-chain XRP‑denominated yield product. By letting users deposit FXRP to earn compounded returns, the vault aims to push XRP deeper into DeFi and cement it as a yield-bearing asset rather than just a payments token. ETF flows paint a similarly nuanced picture. While Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) products have seen persistent net outflows in recent weeks, demand is reappearing under the surface. Ether- and XRP-focused spot ETFs have reversed their recent outflows and are now stacking multi‑billion‑dollar net inflows, with Solana (SOL) products also seeing renewed interest. In other words, investors aren’t abandoning crypto; they’re rotating within it. Solana itself had a notable corporate headline: Upexi, a major public SOL holder with roughly 2 million tokens, filed a $1 billion shelf registration. The company wants the flexibility to raise capital via shares and other instruments as it shifts from pure consumer brands to a Solana‑heavy digital treasury strategy. The timing — as SOL weathers fresh market distress — suggests Upexi is positioning to scale its exposure while others de‑risk. Crypto.com continues to lean into a different frontier: sports prediction markets. The company is expanding its in‑house market‑making team, hiring quant traders to deepen liquidity and improve pricing on its fast‑growing prediction products. With trading volumes in the billions and regulators watching closely, Crypto.com is betting that internal expertise plus a compliance‑first posture will give it an edge in this emerging niche. Taken together, today’s tape was classic late‑cycle crypto: prices under strain, miners sweating, and sentiment fragile — even as institutions, policymakers, and corporates quietly knit digital assets deeper into financial infrastructure. Gold may be shining brighter for now, but the scaffolding around the crypto economy keeps getting taller. Sundown or not, this market is clearly setting up for its next act.

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