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Circle, the issuer of the world's second-largest stablecoin USDC, has filed for trademarks in South Korea, Digital Asset reported. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office's information search service on Dec. 23, Circle Internet Group submitted applications on Dec. 11 and 12 for the names CIRCLE, USDC, and EURC, as well as its arc logo.

Bullish bets are expanding in the Bitcoin perpetual futures market as traders anticipate a year-end rally, according to an analysis by Cointelegraph citing Glassnode data. Open interest in BTC perpetual futures recently increased from 304,000 BTC to 310,000 BTC. During the same period, the funding rate rose from 0.04% to 0.09%. The analysis suggests this indicates traders are betting on a bullish trend while preparing for year-end volatility.

An address believed to belong to the Ethena team deposited 17,900 AAVE, worth approximately $2.68 million, to Binance and Bybit about seven hours ago, The Data Nerd reported. The funds were part of a larger withdrawal of 26,800 AAVE, valued at around $4.03 million, from the same address.

Binance has announced it will delist 10 cross margin and eight isolated margin trading pairs at 6:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 30. The affected cross margin pairs are EIGEN/FDUSD, ARB/FDUSD, TRUMP/FDUSD, POL/FDUSD, ATOM/FDUSD, LDO/FDUSD, SHIB/FDUSD, RAY/FDUSD, GALA/FDUSD, and PEPE/FDUSD. The isolated margin pairs to be removed include EIGEN/FDUSD, ARB/FDUSD, POL/FDUSD, ATOM/FDUSD, LDO/FDUSD, SHIB/FDUSD, GALA/FDUSD, and PEPE/FDUSD.

Gold continues to hold an advantage over Bitcoin despite efforts to establish the cryptocurrency as a digital form of gold, according to an analysis by crypto financial services firm Matrixport. The firm noted that as the U.S. dollar's value declines amid anticipated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, the market is seeking hedges to diversify investments. However, investors have turned to the traditional safe haven of gold rather than newer alternatives like crypto. Matrixport stated that despite the digital gold narrative, central banks still view BTC as a highly volatile asset and are reluctant to adopt it. The firm added that a long-term variable is U.S. policy, suggesting that the Trump administration could potentially sell some of the country's gold reserves or diversify into BTC next year.

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net inflow of $84.59 million on Dec. 22, according to data from Trader T. The inflow ends a seven-day streak of net outflows. Grayscale's ETHE led the inflows with $53.7 million, followed by its Mini ETH product with $30.89 million. The other ETFs saw no net inflows or outflows.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a total net outflow of $142.09 million on Dec. 22, marking the third consecutive day of net withdrawals, according to data compiled by Trader T. Outflows were led by Bitwise's BITB ($34.96 million), VanEck's HODL ($33.64 million), Grayscale's GBTC ($28.99 million), the Grayscale Mini BTC ($25.40 million), and Ark Invest's ARKB ($21.36 million). In contrast, BlackRock's IBIT was the sole fund to record a net inflow, attracting $6.1 million.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in a recent statement that it is working toward an agreement with El Salvador to reduce the financial risks and increase the transparency of the country's Bitcoin adoption. The IMF added that discussions are focused on strengthening transparency and protecting public interests in relation to El Salvador's BTC projects. Negotiations for the sale of the government-owned Chivo wallet project are reportedly progressing, alongside policy consultations to mitigate risks associated with these initiatives. El Salvador has been purchasing one BTC daily since Nov. 18, 2022, and currently holds 7,509 BTC.

The price of spot silver surged to a new record high, briefly touching $69.99 per ounce. It is currently trading at $69.7529, up 1.03% from yesterday's close.

An anonymous whale address starting with 0x72F deposited 16.85 million ENA to Coinbase seven hours ago, likely in a move to sell at a loss, according to on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa. The investor had purchased the tokens in December 2024 at an average price of $1.099 for a total of $18.52 million. At the time of the deposit, the price was $0.2079, resulting in an estimated loss of $15.02 million, an 82% decline on the investment.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced that it will list Theoriq (THQ) for trading against the South Korean won (KRW) at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23.

The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - BTC: $84.34 million liquidated (63.13% longs) - ETH: $54.01 million liquidated (61.52% longs) - SOL: $5.8 million liquidated (68.05% longs)

Two addresses presumed to belong to Bitmain (BMNR) recently withdrew 29,463 ETH, valued at $88.2 million, from BitGo and Kraken, according to a report from Onchain Lens. As of Dec. 21, Bitmain was known to hold approximately 4.06 million ETH at an average purchase price of $2,991.

Dunamu, the operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, has renewed its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the country's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Yonhap News reported. The approval comes approximately one year and four months after the company submitted its renewal application in August 2024, when its previous license was set to expire.

Trading volume on South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchanges is on track to hit a yearly low amid a sluggish market, Bizwatch reported. From Dec. 1 to 22, total trading volume on Upbit and Bithumb fell by approximately 60% compared to the previous month. Upbit's volume for the period totaled $25.91 billion, a 60.6% decrease from $65.86 billion in November. Bithumb's volume dropped 60.4% to $12.45 billion from $31.49 billion over the same period.

Kakao plans to develop a "super wallet" through its Kakao Pay service as part of a broader strategy to expand its stablecoin ecosystem both domestically and internationally, Financial News reported. At a symposium on transforming South Korean finance with a won-denominated stablecoin, Shin Won-keun, CEO of Kakao Pay and co-head of the Kakao Group Stablecoin Task Force, said the company will create initial use cases and a value chain for the stablecoin once the necessary legal and institutional frameworks are in place.

A solo miner successfully mined Bitcoin block 928,985 on Dec. 22, earning a reward of 3.128 BTC worth approximately $281,000, Cointelegraph reported.

Matador Technologies, a company listed on Canada's Toronto Venture Exchange, has announced its approval of a plan to raise 80 million Canadian dollars ($58.2 million) through a new share issuance. The proceeds will be allocated to additional Bitcoin purchases and general operating expenses. Matador currently holds 175 BTC and plans to increase its holdings to 1,000 BTC by the end of 2026.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao announced on X that the U.S. prediction market platform Kalshi now supports BNB deposits and withdrawals.

An anonymous Pump.fun (PUMP) whale has deposited 3.8 billion PUMP, valued at $7.57 million, to FalconX after holding the tokens for the past three months, according to Onchain Lens. The address, which starts with 3QB9kH, initially withdrew the tokens from Binance three months ago following an investment of $19.53 million, resulting in an estimated loss of $12.22 million on the position.

Signs of capitulation among Bitcoin miners could foreshadow a price rebound, according to a recent report from asset manager VanEck. Analysts Matt Sigel and Patrick Bush explained that the recent downward pressure on the BTC hashrate has historically often preceded price rallies. They described a potential virtuous cycle where a rise in BTC's price would improve miner profitability, encouraging the reactivation of mining rigs that had been shut down. The report noted that the recent hashrate decline followed the shutdown of approximately 1.3 GW of mining facilities in China, Cointelegraph reported.

The value of Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun's locked holdings in World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has plummeted by approximately $60 million, The Block reported, citing data from Bubble Maps. Sun initially acquired $75 million worth of WLFI between last November and January of this year. However, his assets were frozen by the World Liberty Financial team after he transferred about $9 million worth of the tokens to another address in September. The team has refused to unfreeze the holdings, citing allegations of price manipulation against Sun.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has fallen one point from yesterday to 16. The index determines market sentiment by comparing the price performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, against Bitcoin over the past 90 days. An "altcoin season" is declared when 75% of these top coins outperform Bitcoin over that period. A score closer to 100 signals an altcoin season, while the current reading indicates a "Bitcoin season."

Bitcoin financial services company Fold Holdings (FLD) has been added to the Russell 2000, a U.S. small-cap stock index, BeInCrypto reported. The company is known to hold over 1,500 BTC.

An address believed to belong to Stani Kulechov, the founder of crypto lending protocol Aave, has purchased 32,660 AAVE by swapping 1,699 ETH, worth $5.15 million, according to Onchain Lens. The transaction was made at an average price of $157.78. The wallet, which begins with 0x47cA, now holds 84,033 AAVE and is currently showing an unrealized loss of $2.29 million. The purchase comes as Aave is reportedly experiencing escalating internal conflicts over control of its governance and revenue-sharing mechanisms. According to CoinMarketCap, AAVE is trading at $149.92, down 8.11% over the past 24 hours.