Hey Crypto fam🎄,
Christmas lights are gradually coming down, but crypto is ending the year with decisive moves. On Monday, the CTFC swore in a new chair in Washington, signalling crypto-friendly oversight. This week also saw spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF outflows in the U.S., as well as fresh regulatory action across Europe, Africa, and Russia. This roundup brings together the developments that mattered most as markets reset for the new year.
If you want to understand where crypto is headed as the calendar turns, you’re in the right place. Subscribe to stay informed.
Michael Selig in as CFTC Chair, Signals Shift Toward Crypto-Friendly Oversight
Michael Selig has officially taken office as the 16th chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) following Senate confirmation, replacing acting chair Caroline Pham. A former counsel to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, Selig pledged to move away from “regulation by enforcement” and support the responsible growth of digital assets. His five-year term runs through April 2029, marking a clear shift toward innovation-friendly and rules-based oversight at a time when Congress is considering broader crypto legislation.
Selig’s appointment coincides with Caroline Pham’s exit to crypto fintech firm MoonPay, underscoring the CFTC’s growing role in digital asset regulation. Pham’s tenure focused on preparing the agency for expanded oversight of crypto and prediction markets. Together, the leadership transition signals a more collaborative regulatory approach, with potential long-term implications for crypto markets, derivatives, and institutional participation in the U.S.
Other News Making Waves
- Market maker Wintermute sold over half its core crypto holdings, moving large BTC and ETH volumes to exchanges as macro uncertainty and fading rate-cut expectations pressured prices. (More)
- Nasdaq-listed Upexi submitted a $1 billion SEC shelf filing to fund operations and grow its Solana holdings, triggering a share price drop amid dilution and volatility concerns. (More)
- Galaxy Research revealed Bitcoin’s $126,000 nominal high equates to $99,848 in 2020 dollars, highlighting how inflation has eroded real gains despite record prices. (More)
- Canadian firm Matador secured regulatory approval to raise up to $58.4 million, aiming to grow its Bitcoin treasury from 175 BTC to 1,000 BTC by 2026. (More)
- US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs have recorded weeks of net outflows, signalling cooling institutional interest despite BlackRock’s IBIT showing relative resilience. (More)
- CertiK’s Hack3D report shows rising attacks on DeFi, NFTs, wallets, and bridges, urging stronger audits, monitoring, and authentication after repeated protocol exploits. (More)
- HashKey Capital secured $250 million toward a $500 million target to invest in blockchain infrastructure, developer tools, and scalable crypto applications as institutional interest rebounds. (More)
- Brett Harrison’s Architect Financial Technologies raised $35 million to build an institutional multi-asset derivatives platform, with regulatory approval in Bermuda and global expansion plans. (More)
- Cipher Mining acquired a 200MW Ohio facility to support Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing, reflecting miners’ shift toward data centres and energy infrastructure. (More)
- Hyperscale Data’s Bitcoin holdings and allocated cash reached $76 million, exceeding its market capitalization and reinforcing its long-term Bitcoin accumulation strategy. (More)
- BlackRock highlighted its Bitcoin ETF IBIT on its homepage after $25 billion in 2025 inflows, signalling confidence in Bitcoin ETFs despite market weakness. (More)
- Justin Sun committed 5.2 million WLFI tokens to long-term protocol-owned liquidity, aiming to reduce selling pressure and strengthen decentralization at World Liberty Financial. (More)
- Bitmine crossed 4.06 million ETH in reserves after aggressive accumulation, moving closer to its goal of controlling 5% of Ethereum’s total supply. (More)
- Michael Selig became CFTC chair, pledging clearer, innovation-friendly oversight for digital assets as former chair Caroline Pham exits to the private sector. (More)
- Simplified yield products are emerging as a mainstream DeFi use case, aligning with Vitalik Buterin’s vision of low-risk, utility-driven Ethereum adoption. (More)
- Alex Thorn said options markets show extreme uncertainty for BTC’s 2026 path, even as Galaxy maintains a long-term $250K target for 2027. (More)
- Widely touted $200K–$250K BTC targets failed to materialize, though ETFs, stablecoins, and regulatory progress marked 2025 as a structural transition year. (More)
Around the World: Bold Moves and Regulations
- The Bank of Russia proposed allowing non-qualified investors to trade select cryptocurrencies after a risk test, with strict caps and bans on privacy coins under a new tiered framework. (More)
- Spain will fully implement MiCA licensing rules and DAC8 tax reporting next year, increasing oversight, transparency, and compliance obligations for crypto firms and users. (More)
- Bybit announced a phased withdrawal from Japan due to regulatory pressure, as authorities tighten enforcement against unregistered crypto exchanges. (More)
- Ghana’s parliament approved the VASP Bill, granting the Bank of Ghana authority to license and supervise crypto platforms while strengthening AML and consumer protection. (More)
- The IMF praised El Salvador’s economic progress while holding talks on the Chivo wallet and Bitcoin policy, as the country made its largest single-day BTC purchase since 2021. (More)
Market Trends: Winners and Losers
Top 5 Gainers 📈
According to data from CoinGecko, these are the five biggest gainers of the week:
- NUMINE Token +137.31%, from $0.067739 to $0.160751
- Bullish Degen +60.30%, from $0.01662311 to $0.02664746
- ZEROBASE +103.57%, from $0.078239 to $0.159275
- Artificial Liquid Intelligence +46.35%, from $0.00208307 to $0.00304857
- Humanity +27.44%, from $0.129133 to $0.164563
Top 5 Losers 📉
According to data from CoinGecko, the five biggest losers of the week are:
- Legacy Token −62.73%, from $0.109227 to $0.04071030
- Infrared Finance −48.35%, from $0.261021 to $0.134807
- Alchemist AI −25.88%, from $0.177284 to $0.131398
- World Mobile Token −24.80%, from $0.068524 to $0.051531
- Minidoge −16.16%, from $0.000000098622 to $0.000000082681
Project Spotlight
Amplify Launches ETFs Tracking Stablecoin and Tokenization Infrastructure
Amplify ETFs has launched two new exchange-traded funds: Amplify Stablecoin Technology ETF (STBQ) and Amplify Tokenization Technology ETF (TKNQ), focused on the infrastructure powering digital finance rather than individual cryptocurrencies. STBQ targets companies generating revenue from stablecoins, payments, and crypto infrastructure, including Visa, Circle, PayPal, and Mastercard. TKNQ focuses on firms driving asset tokenization, with holdings such as BlackRock, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Nasdaq, and Figure. Trading on NYSE Arca, the ETFs reflect growing institutional confidence as regulatory clarity in the U.S. and EU pushes stablecoins and tokenization into the financial mainstream.
Why It Matters:
These ETFs give investors regulated exposure to the real builders of blockchain finance, signalling that stablecoins and tokenization are becoming important pillars of the global financial system, not fringe crypto experiments.
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.
If you want to read more market analyses like this one, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
