News and developments from the cryptocurrency industry.
Tokenized commodities are nearing $4 billion in value as record-high gold prices drive demand for onchain exposure to precious metals. While still small relative to traditional markets, the sector highlights how real-world assets are gradually finding practical use cases on blockchains, led largely by Ethereum.
Trust Wallet will reimburse about $7M lost in a Christmas Day browser extension exploit that was quietly prepared weeks in advance. Investigators say the attack may point to insider access, raising fresh concerns around wallet software security and update controls.
NFT markets in 2025 have cooled sharply from their speculative highs, with volumes and valuations falling across the board. As prices fade, NFTs are increasingly being used for real-world applications, cultural stewardship, and utility-driven experiences rather than pure speculation.
Trend Research has quietly amassed around 580,000 ETH, placing it among the largest known Ethereum holders despite being privately owned. The move highlights a broader trend of institutional-scale accumulation, as large players position for staking influence and long-term dominance within the Ethereum network.
Coinbax has raised $4.2M in seed funding to build a programmable trust layer for stablecoin payments, targeting banks and institutions adopting onchain settlement. The platform adds policy controls, escrow logic, and compliance-ready workflows on top of stablecoins.
Michael Selig has been sworn in as chairman of the CFTC, replacing acting chair Caroline Pham, who has exited the agency. The leadership change reinforces expectations that the CFTC will pursue clearer, more innovation-focused oversight of crypto and emerging markets in the years ahead.
Bitmine’s Ethereum holdings have surpassed 4 million ETH after a recent $40 million purchase, marking a key milestone in its treasury strategy. The company continues to build long-term exposure to Ethereum and plans to begin staking its holdings in early 2026.
Northern Data has sold its Bitcoin mining unit, Peak Mining, to companies linked to senior Tether executives, according to the Financial Times. The deal highlights Tether’s expanding role across mining, data centers, and digital infrastructure beyond stablecoins.
Crypto market sentiment suggests traders have not yet reached the level of fear typically seen at a market bottom, according to Santiment. Analysts warn Bitcoin could see further downside before conditions support a sustained recovery.
Brazil’s crypto activity rose 43% in 2025 as average investment per user crossed $1,000, signaling a more mature market. Investors increasingly favored diversification and lower-risk crypto products, including stablecoins.
A crypto user lost nearly $50M in USDT after copying a poisoned wallet address from transaction history. The incident highlights how address spoofing scams exploit habit and speed, not technical flaws.
The UK’s financial regulator has launched a sweeping consultation to bring crypto exchanges, staking, lending and DeFi under a unified regulatory framework by 2027. The move signals a shift from fragmented oversight to full market-structure regulation, giving crypto firms a clear timeline to prepare.
The ECB plans to enable blockchain-based settlements in central bank money by 2026 as part of its digital euro rollout. While the technical design is ready, final decisions on privacy and safeguards now rest with EU lawmakers.
Poland’s lower house has approved a revived crypto regulation bill aligned with the EU’s MiCA framework and sent it to the Senate for review. The bill, previously vetoed by the president, could still return to his desk if cleared by the upper chamber.
Solmate says digital asset treasury firms need real, revenue-generating businesses to avoid volatility tied to token balance sheets. The company is focusing on validator and infrastructure services to support long-term growth beyond pure asset holdings.
The SEC says tokenized stocks must follow existing US securities rules, with custody handled by regulated broker-dealers rather than self-custody. The guidance signals that blockchain-based equities will be integrated into traditional market safeguards, not treated as a separate asset class.
A new report says the Central African Republic’s crypto initiatives benefited political elites and foreign actors while failing to deliver financial inclusion. Weak infrastructure, regulatory gaps and underperforming projects instead exposed the country to corruption and criminal influence.
UK FCA opens consultations on new crypto rules for exchanges, staking, lending and DeFi, with feedback open until early 2026. The move marks a shift toward full market-structure regulation as the UK plans to bring crypto under financial laws by 2027.