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The Russian government is advancing legislation to allow general retail investors to invest in cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported. According to a statement from Russia's central bank, the policy would permit both qualified and non-qualified investors to purchase crypto assets under separate regulations. Non-qualified investors would need to pass a test to buy cryptocurrencies, with an annual transaction limit of 300,000 rubles. In contrast, qualified investors could purchase any coin without restriction, except for privacy coins. The proposed law also stipulates that Russian residents can buy crypto from overseas exchanges or transfer previously purchased assets to domestic platforms, provided they declare them to tax authorities. The government aims to finalize the legislation before July 2026.

Binance has announced the listing of LIT/USDT perpetual futures on its pre-market, scheduled for 3:00 p.m. UTC on Dec. 23. The contract will support up to 5x leverage.

Amplify ETFs, which has $16 billion in assets under management, has launched two new exchange-traded funds focused on stablecoins and tokenized assets, CoinDesk reported. The first ETF, trading under the ticker STBQ, concentrates on stablecoin technology, while the second, TKNQ, focuses on tokenization technology. The STBQ ETF holds 24 assets, with its largest allocations in XRP, SOL, ETH, and LINK. The TKNQ ETF holds a total of 53 assets.

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the Department of Commerce, surpassing market expectations of 3.3%. Today's release is the advance estimate for GDP growth, which is announced in three stages, followed by preliminary and final figures.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is hiring a market maker for its in-house prediction market, Bloomberg reported. The exchange has posted a job opening for a quantitative trader to buy and sell financial contracts linked to the outcomes of sporting events. The practice of in-house market making is a controversial subject within the prediction market industry. Critics have argued that it creates a conflict of interest with customers and makes exchanges resemble traditional sports betting operators. Other platforms, such as Kalshi, operate their own market-making teams like Kalshi Trading, and Polymarket has a similar structure. In response, Crypto.com stated that it does not use its proprietary trading as a source of revenue and that its internal market makers do not have preferential access to information over other users.

Nasdaq-listed Upexi, a company strategically acquiring SOL, is pursuing a shelf registration to issue up to $1 billion in securities, CryptoBriefing reported. The proceeds are slated for various corporate purposes, including operations, research and development, and potential mergers and acquisitions.

The total market capitalization of altcoins, excluding Bitcoin (TOTAL2), is showing clear bearish signals after a sharp decline, according to an analysis by Cointelegraph. The index has fallen 32% to $1.19 trillion this month after reaching an all-time high of $1.77 trillion on Oct. 10. This drop has pushed TOTAL2 below key support levels, including its 50-week exponential moving average (EMA), while the SuperTrend indicator has also turned bearish. Cointelegraph noted that similar bearish turns in these indicators during the 2018 and 2022 bear markets were followed by further declines of 85.5% and 66%, respectively. In a related analysis, analyst Merlijn The Trader stated that the altcoin market cap is consolidating within a strong downtrend. The analyst noted that while the $1.15 trillion support level is currently holding, a break below it could send the market cap down to $830 billion. An "altcoin season" is unlikely until the TOTAL2 index breaks through the $1.68 trillion resistance level, the analyst added.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has seen its trading volume increase 53-fold this year following its expansion into the United States and Europe, according to a report from Cointelegraph. The number of daily active wallets has doubled over the past year, with an average of approximately 190,000 new wallets created each day. Additionally, global decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on the platform surged by 262%, while centralized exchange (CEX) volume grew by 16%. This expansion follows OKX securing a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license in the European Union this past January and entering the U.S. market in April.

ZOOZ Strategy (ZOOZ), a Nasdaq-listed company that pivoted from electric vehicle charging infrastructure to Bitcoin investment, is at risk of being delisted, Cointelegraph reported. The company has failed to meet listing requirements as its share price has remained below $1. ZOOZ could face delisting procedures if its stock does not close at or above $1 for 10 consecutive trading days by June 15, 2026. The company is reportedly considering a reverse stock split to reduce outstanding shares and boost its per-share price to regain compliance. ZOOZ currently holds 1,036 BTC.

Crypto analyst Mignolet has diagnosed a clear slowdown in BTC buying pressure across market and on-chain data, noting that the trend resembles the latter stages of past bull markets. Mignolet stated that one of the key reasons for warning about downside risk since August was a divergence in the Binance futures market, where prices rose while buying volume consistently decreased. The analyst added that this pattern is very similar to the 2021 market cycle and shows no signs of improving. Concurrently, the number of active addresses has plummeted. Mignolet explained that this metric is linked to on-chain over-the-counter (OTC) activity, suggesting a general weakening of market participation and vitality. According to the analyst, while a significant reversal should have occurred at some point, what is actually being observed is a final distribution phase similar to the end of the 2021 bull run. This implies the market may have already passed its peak. Mignolet emphasized that the market will likely need some time to recover and noted that while it is too early to determine if the four-year cycle is broken, the question is not of immediate importance.

Cryptocurrency exchange NovaEx announced it has rebranded to WOO X Pro, a move completed on Dec. 16. The company stated that existing users' assets and accounts have been automatically transitioned to the new platform without any additional steps. WOO X Pro is positioning itself as a professional trading platform with a zero-slippage execution structure and enhanced futures and risk management functions. The exchange aims to create a comprehensive trading environment for both spot and derivatives traders based on high performance and stability.

Cryptocurrency market maker GSR Markets transferred 2,000 ETH, worth $5.93 million, to DBS Bank about an hour ago, according to The Data Nerd. This brings the firm's total transfers to the bank to 4,400 ETH, valued at $13.2 million, over the past two days.

An analysis suggests that short-term Bitcoin holders have entered a loss-making zone, with a breakthrough above $90,000 being critical for a market recovery. Cryptocurrency analyst Axel Adler Jr. explained that with BTC trading at $87,400, the price is below the average cost basis for short-term holders. He noted that the nearest resistance level is $90,300, meaning most short-term holders are currently at a loss. Adler added that even if the price rebounds, selling pressure could intensify around the break-even point. According to the analyst, an initial sign of a trend reversal would be the price consolidating above $90,000, which is necessary before a full-fledged bullish trend can be expected. He concluded that if buying pressure does not sufficiently increase, the downward pressure is likely to continue.

Bybit has announced through its official channels that it will delist the GALA/USDC spot trading pair at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 30.

The Japanese government is pursuing legislation to permit the tokenization of local government bonds using blockchain technology, Coindesk Japan reported. The government plans to gather opinions from local authorities by 2026 and submit a bill to the Diet during its regular session that same year. Local experts believe the policy could offer new benefits, such as providing facility usage rights by linking the tokenized bonds with stablecoins or other tokens issued by regional financial institutions.

Bybit announced it will delist four spot trading pairs—TURBOS/USDT, LADYS/USDT, SIDUS/USDT, and PINEYE/USDT—at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 30.

Bybit will begin phasing out its services in Japan next year amid pressure from the country's Financial Services Agency, Cointelegraph reported. The exchange stopped accepting new user registrations on Oct. 31 and plans to implement account restrictions for existing users in the future.

Whale Alert reported that 5,869 BTC has been transferred from Coinbase to an unknown new wallet. The transaction is valued at about $514 million.

As the era of autonomous AI agents capable of independent transactions approaches, the necessary infrastructure for payments, settlement, and identity verification remains largely absent. Kite AI is a project launched to address this gap, building a blockchain infrastructure designed specifically for AI agent payments and settlement. The project aims to create a next-generation PayPal-like environment where AI agents can operate as direct economic entities. In an interview with CoinNess, Kite AI co-founder and CEO Chi Zhang discussed the rise of AI as an economic actor and his company's role in building the foundational tools for this new economy.

The following are the 24-hour long/short ratios for BTC perpetual futures on the top three global crypto futures exchanges by open interest: Overall: 49.04% long, 50.33% short 1. Binance: 49.67% long, 50.33% short 2. OKX: 49.02% long, 50.98% short 3. Bybit: 49.47% long, 50.53% short

The crypto market is unlikely to experience a broad-based altcoin bull market next year as seen in previous cycles, according to one analyst. In an interview with Cointelegraph, CoinEx analyst Jeff Ko predicted that market liquidity will concentrate on a small number of blue-chip cryptocurrencies with real-world use cases, rather than lifting all assets. Ko added that even amid a global expansion of liquidity, any resulting rally would not be as strong as in the past. He also noted that the correlation between the growth of the global M2 money supply and Bitcoin's price has weakened since the launch of spot ETFs.

Scallop (SCA), a DeFi project built on the Sui blockchain, announced via X that it has introduced a flash loan feature in an upgrade to its decentralized application (dApp) user interface. The new function allows users to borrow assets without collateral, provided the loan is repaid within the same blockchain transaction. According to the announcement, the update (Scallop Tools v1.6.9) also improves overall usability with several new features. These include an integrated Account Overview dashboard to monitor deposits, loans, and earnings; a risk level simulator to preview changes in risk and expected returns before adjusting a position; and a tool to clear expired names from SuiNS, the naming service for Sui-based wallet addresses.

Blockchain infrastructure developer FANC announced that it has successfully achieved its goals for the second half of the year, focusing on expanding its SocialFi ecosystem, advancing its AI technology, and building next-generation security infrastructure. The company stated that it enhanced liquidity and market trust by securing a listing on the South Korean exchange Coinone this year, following its debut on Bithumb. In technology and security, FANC is developing the "Quantum Wallet," which incorporates Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) technology from South Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). Additionally, it has upgraded the AI-based recommendation algorithm for its fandom platform, CELEBe. FANC also expanded its SocialFi model through an airdrop campaign with Six Network and a partnership with Stiqy. The company added that it will continue its technology advancement strategy centered on AI and quantum technologies and plans to expand its business and ecosystem to accelerate the transition to Web3 in 2026.

Bitcoin has fallen more than 22% in the fourth quarter of this year, marking its largest quarterly decline since 2018, CoinDesk reported, citing data from CoinGlass. According to the data, Bitcoin's return for the fourth quarter stands at -22%, its weakest quarterly performance on record. Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at FxPro, commented that the recent rise in BTC is merely a technical rebound and not a genuine recovery. He noted that while attempts to recoup year-to-date losses are ongoing, the optimism from the first half of the year has been replaced by disappointment. Kuptsikevich cautioned investors against over-interpreting short-term upward momentum.

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.