Hey Crypto fam,
Every passing week in crypto feels like a new chapter in a story that none of us can quite predict; full of twists and turns that send everyone back to X debating again. That’s why this weekend roundup exists: to help you settle in and catch up on what really mattered.
This week served up everything from legal battles and big-tech breakthroughs to liquidity shifts, fresh stablecoin moves, and the kind of regulatory noise you can’t ignore.
The Terra fallout is back on everyone’s timeline as Do Kwon pushes for a 5-year US prison cap, arguing longer is unfair after years in detention. Meanwhile, Avalanche scales EU-wide tokenized securities, US liquidity rebounds with optimism of possible rate-cut, and Buterin funds metadata-free messaging. From fake-courier crypto heists to Fed chair contenders holding Coinbase stock, plus fresh stablecoin launches and tighter global rules, crypto isn’t hitting pause.
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Now, let’s get into the real gist of what actually happened in crypto this week!
Do Kwon Seeks 5-Year US Prison Term for Terra Collapse
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has requested a US federal judge limit his prison sentence to five years following the 2022 Terra ecosystem collapse—one of crypto’s most destructive market failures. The crash erased an estimated $40 billion from digital asset markets and sparked global regulatory investigations. In court filings reported Wednesday, Kwon’s defence claimed a longer term would be “excessive,” citing nearly three years of detention in Montenegro before his extradition and arguing prolonged punishment would be disproportionate considering the financial and personal penalties already faced.
Kwon pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud, under a plea agreement that exempts him from prosecution exceeding 12 years in the US. As part of his deal, he will forfeit over $19 million and several properties. With sentencing scheduled for December 11 in Manhattan, South Korea is simultaneously advancing a separate prosecution and seeking up to 40 years, which means Kwon’s legal battles over Terra are far from over.
Other News Making Waves
- Securitize received EU-wide licensing under the DLT Pilot Regime, enabling regulated issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenized securities on Avalanche across all 27 EU states. (More)
- U.S. liquidity is recovering after a federal shutdown drained $621B, with $70B already returned and $300B expected soon.(More)
- Vitalik Buterin donated 128 ETH, each (~$760K total) to decentralized messaging apps Session and SimpleX for metadata-free communication. (More)
- San Francisco investor Lachy Groom was targeted by a fake delivery courier who invaded his home and stole $11M in cryptocurrency. (More)
- JPMorgan issued Bitcoin-linked structured notes tied to BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, offering at least 16% if thresholds are hit after a year and leveraged upside to 2028. (More)
- BIS appointed Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli, an IMF digital-money expert, to lead its Innovation Hub starting March 2026. (More)
- Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov says DeFi is 30% adopted, and could hit mainstream maturity by 2030. (More)
- Kevin Hassett is emerging as Trump’s leading pick for the next Federal Reserve chair, replacing Jerome Powell in May 2026. (More)
- U.S. Bank is piloting programmable, bank-issued stablecoins on Stellar, chosen for compliance tooling like asset freezing and transaction reversal. (More)
- MoonPay has been approved by the NYDFS to launch MoonPay Trust Company, enabling regulated custody and OTC trading. (More)
- The U.S. SEC issued a no-action letter for Fuse’s FUSE token, granting rare regulatory protection. The token must serve network utility, and incentives only, not speculation, marking a more open, but guarded policy posture. (More)
- Hyperliquid’s mysterious whale increased their ETH long to $44.5M, earning $300K in under an hour. The trader previously made almost $200M from well-timed crash shorts. (More)
- Pump.fun’s co-founder denied claims that the project cashed out $436M in USDC, calling analytics reports misinformation. (More)
- Metaplanet drew a $130M loan, backed by 30,823 BTC under its $500M credit facility. (More)
- Brale launched CUSD, a USD-pegged stablecoin, backed 1:1 by Treasuries, and privacy-forward compliance on Canton Network. (More)
- QCAD became Canada’s first fully compliant CAD-backed stablecoin, approved by regulators, and audited 1:1 against Canadian dollar reserves. (More)
- Pump.fun has moved about $436.5 million in USDC to Kraken, coinciding with a 24–25% weekly slump in the $PUMP token price and renewed criticism over centralization and insider advantage. (More)
- A supply-chain attack infected over 400 NPM JavaScript packages with “Shai Hulud” malware, including at least 10 major crypto tools largely linked to ENS libraries. (More)
Around the World: Bold Moves and Regulations
- Australia has introduced a bill requiring crypto platforms to obtain an AFSL, and comply with ASIC standards under a regulated digital-asset framework. (More)
- The South African Reserve Bank flagged rapid crypto adoption, noting 7.8M exchange users and $1.5B in exchange-held assets. (More)
- Texas allocated $10M to its Bitcoin reserve plan, buying $5M IBIT ETF, and planning $5M self-custodied BTC. (More)
- Spain has proposed higher crypto tax reforms, moving many gains into 47% income tax brackets from the 30% capped savings base. (More)
- Japan’s FSA plans to mandate crypto exchanges to hold liability reserves for fast user compensation after security breaches, following the DMM Bitcoin hack that caused months of delays. (More)
- The ECB says stablecoin risks to the eurozone are limited since adoption remains low and mainly tied to crypto trading, with only 0.5% of activity linked to small payments. MiCA regulations are expected to curb potential misuse and regulatory arbitrage. (More)
- South Korea’s FIU is preparing AML sanctions, sequentially, for exchanges after KYC and suspicious-transaction reporting failures. (More)
Market Trends: Winners and Losers
Top 5 Gainers 📈
According to data from CoinGecko, these are the five biggest gainers of the week:
- Wojak +201.02%, from $0.01535659 to $0.04621659
- Pippin +183.25%, from $0.02203310 to $0.06241700
- Rekt +123.49%, from $0.000000175893 to $0.000000393094
- C8ntinuum +140.26%, from $0.03657662 to $0.08785700
- Rain +99.73%, from $0.00360042 to $0.00719068
Top 5 Losers 📉
According to data from CoinGecko, the five biggest losers of the week are:
- Dymension −14.73%, from $0.11439800 to $0.09754900
- aPriori −32.19%, from $0.23544300 to $0.15962600
- Starknet −30.85%, from $0.20446400 to $0.14137600
- MemeCore −36.95%, from $2.03 to $1.28
- UnifAI Network −31.14%, from $0.18168200 to $0.12512000
Project Spotlight
Bitwise Launches Dogecoin ETF (BWOW) for Direct Market Exposure
Bitwise Asset Management has launched BWOW, an ETF backed by Dogecoin, which now trades on the NYSE as of November 26, 2025. The fund gives investors direct exposure to DOGE, without having to hold the token in a crypto wallet, each ETF share representing DOGE owned by the fund. It charges a 0.34% management fee, with the first month waived for the initial $500M in assets (up to $500M is fee-free), easing early cost pressure for investors.
Why It Matters:
BWOW provides a regulated, conventional-market entry point to meme-based digital assets, reducing the entry barriers to mainstream investors interested in gaining access to DOGE by using a familiar brokerage product.
Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein should be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrencies carries a considerable risk of financial loss. Always conduct due diligence.
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