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Liquidity fragmentation across blockchain networks is causing significant economic losses in the tokenized asset market, with such capital inefficiencies leading to an annual market value decline of up to $1.3 billion, according to a recent report from real-world asset (RWA) data provider RWA.io, as reported by Cointelegraph. The report stated that due to this fragmentation, the RWA market tends to operate more like a series of disconnected markets than an integrated financial system. It is common for the same asset to trade at different prices on various blockchains, and moving capital between networks remains costly and complex. The report argued that these inefficiencies hinder the market's ability to self-correct through arbitrage, a mechanism that promotes efficient price discovery, and identified liquidity fragmentation as the biggest obstacle to the RWA market realizing its potential multi-trillion-dollar scale.

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) for Metaplanet, a publicly traded Japanese company that holds Bitcoin as a key corporate asset, began trading on the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) market on Dec. 19, Coindesk reported. The ticker for the ADR is MPJPY. This development allows U.S. investors to invest in Metaplanet using U.S. dollars without needing to open a Japanese brokerage account. Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, is serving as the depositary, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of Japan's three largest banks, is acting as the custodian.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has transferred 508.647 ETH, worth approximately $1.5 million, to crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital, according to an analysis by Lookonchain. The on-chain analytics firm suggested that the move was likely in preparation to sell the assets.

The combined average daily trading volume of major global prediction market platforms has reached approximately $500 million, according to an analysis by DeFi analytics layer Sentora (formerly IntoTheBlock). Sentora added that leading platforms such as Polymarket, Kalshi, Limitless, and Opinion have experienced significant growth this year.

South Korea is considering allowing domestic initial coin offerings (ICOs) for the first time since a blanket ban was imposed in 2017, Maeil Business Newspaper reported exclusively. The change could take effect as early as next year. The report cites a draft document from South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) outlining key provisions for the country's Digital Asset Basic Act. According to the document, the FSC aims to permit domestic digital asset sales with sufficient information disclosure to curb the practice of projects issuing tokens overseas before listing on local exchanges. The draft also specifies new regulations for stablecoins, which would prohibit the domestic trading of overseas stablecoins like USDT and USDC unless their issuers establish a physical presence in South Korea. These proposals are part of the second phase of legislation for the Digital Asset Basic Act. In an official statement, the FSC clarified that the contents of the second-phase law have not been finalized and that discussions with relevant agencies are still underway.

Ripple announced on Dec. 18 that it has entered into a strategic partnership with TJM Investments, a securities broker registered with the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and TJM Institutional Services, a broker registered with the U.S. National Futures Association (NFA). According to its official website, Ripple will invest an undisclosed amount in TJM as part of the deal and will continue to provide infrastructure to support TJM's trade execution and clearing services. Ripple's multi-asset prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime, has reportedly been a long-term partner of TJM.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has re-entered the UK market two years after its withdrawal, CoinDesk reported. The exchange previously exited the country after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed strict regulations on the advertising and marketing of crypto services. Bybit will now conduct its operations and marketing under the supervision of Archax, a local cryptocurrency exchange licensed by UK regulators. Archax stated that it is helping Bybit achieve regulatory compliance, drawing on its experience assisting other major global exchanges like Coinbase and OKX in entering the UK market without their own licenses.

Hong Kong expects to grant its first stablecoin issuance licenses in early 2025, prioritizing applicants with sound reserve management, price stability mechanisms, and anti-money laundering measures, said Christopher Hui, the city's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury. According to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hui noted that 36 applications from various sectors had been received as of the end of September this year. He added that the review process will focus on foreign exchange reserve management and AML compliance. Previously, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) stated in October that it would review and approve applications based on new regulatory requirements once the city's stablecoin ordinance is enacted.

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid experienced net outflows of over $430 million this week, marking the third-largest weekly outflow in its history, Wu Blockchain reported. The exchange's assets under management have also declined, falling from $6 billion in September to a current level of $4 billion.

Swedish digital asset manager Virtune announced on Dec. 19 that it has launched a Bittensor (TAO) exchange-traded product (ETP) on Nasdaq Stockholm, the largest stock exchange in the Nordic region. According to Virtune, the product aims to provide investors with a secure and cost-effective way to invest in TAO. This follows the October launch of a Staked Bittensor ETP on the Swiss stock exchange SIX by German crypto ETP provider Deutsche Digital Assets (DDA). TAO is currently trading at $228.82, up 0.66%, according to CoinMarketCap.

A group of individuals has been referred to South Korean prosecutors for allegedly attempting to purchase the stablecoin Tether with 400 million won (around $290,000) in counterfeit banknotes, News1 reported. The suspects are accused of an unsuccessful attempt to trade bundles of fake 50,000 won bills for the cryptocurrency in front of Cheonan-Asan Station in the city of Asan.

A newly created anonymous wallet withdrew 3,500 ETH, valued at $10.23 million, from Binance in its first-ever transaction earlier today, according to The Data Nerd. The wallet subsequently withdrew an additional 2,135 BNB ($1.79 million) from Binance and 3.743 million USDT from Bybit.

Despite the cryptocurrency market falling 13% year-to-date and BTC undergoing an 8% correction, some analysts argue this is a healthy adjustment rather than the start of a bear market. According to CryptoPotato, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas noted that BTC has surged 468% over the past two years, an annualized return of 138% that is eight times that of U.S. stocks. He assessed that this year's correction represents giving back only a small fraction of those substantial gains. Futures trader Toni added that the market is in a healthy consolidation phase, not a downturn. He emphasized that several factors have supported a bull market this year, including a pro-crypto policy stance in the U.S., record highs in stock and commodity markets, institutional investor inflows, and an expanding global money supply. Toni also remarked that market rebounds typically begin when traders are exhausted and frustrated, not when they are optimistic.

Bitcoin has moved out of its oversold state, according to crypto analyst MorenoDV in a contribution to CryptoQuant. The analysis points to the NVT (Network Value to Transactions) Golden Cross indicator, which has rebounded from -0.58 to 0.32. A reading above 2.2 on this metric typically indicates overbought conditions, while a level below -1.6 signifies an oversold market. The analyst explained that the NVT Golden Cross reached its lowest level of the current cycle, which could structurally suggest a short-term bottom has been established. He added that the indicator is now entering a gradual recovery phase.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is pushing to enact a new Digital Financial Security Act aimed at preventing hacks on virtual asset service providers, Digital Asset reported. The FSC disclosed the plan on Dec. 19 in a business report to the presidential office, citing the recent hack at the South Korean exchange Upbit, which resulted in the loss of 44.5 billion won ($32.2 million) in virtual assets, as a key example. The proposed legislation is expected to cover financial companies, electronic financial service providers, and virtual asset service providers. The FSC also stated it plans to strengthen its response system for new types of offenses, including cross-border crime and money laundering. Additionally, the commission intends to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets that includes rules for stablecoins.

Ontology (ONT) announced via its official X account that it has updated the tokenomics for Ontology Gas (ONG), burning 200 million tokens and setting the new total supply at 800 million ONG.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $88,000. BTC is trading at $88,010.44 on the Binance USDT market.

Magic Eden is evolving beyond a simple NFT marketplace into a crypto entertainment platform aimed at a mass audience, according to a report from Asia-based Web3 research and consulting firm Tiger Research. The report stated that Magic Eden first built its financial infrastructure with multi-chain wallets and asset exchange tools. It then enhanced user engagement and rewards through gamified elements like "Lucky Buy" and "Packs," alongside a token buyback program that uses 30% of its revenue. Tiger Research added that the platform is leveraging its rapid execution and market judgment to expand into high-value areas like prediction markets and integrate mobile wallets, aiming to become a key gateway for entering Web3.

Binance Alpha has announced the removal of nine tokens—BUZZ, DARK, FROG, GORK, MIRAI, PERRY, RFC, SNAI, and TERMINUS—at 7:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 19.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced it will delist APM Coin (APM) at 6:00 a.m. UTC on Jan. 19, 2026. The exchange stated that materials submitted by the project's foundation were insufficient to resolve the issues that led to the token's placement on an investment warning list. Bithumb added that a comprehensive review of the foundation's disclosures and the project's viability and sustainability concluded that APM no longer meets the criteria for continued trading support.

Across the top three crypto futures exchanges by open interest, the aggregate long/short ratio for BTC perpetual futures over the last 24 hours is 49.77% long to 50.23% short. The breakdown by exchange is as follows: - Binance: 50.08% long / 49.92% short - OKX: 50.52% long / 49.48% short - Bybit: 49.81% long / 50.19% short

Jack Yi, the founder of LD Capital, stated on X that the recent Bank of Japan interest rate hike was the last major headwind for the cryptocurrency market, which he expects will resume its upward trend after a short-term correction. He described the latest volatility as a final offensive by short sellers in the futures market. For those focused on long-term investment rather than short-term trading, Yi argued that now is the most suitable time to buy spot cryptocurrencies. He predicted the industry will experience significant growth next year, driven by policy shifts, a quantitative easing cycle including interest rate cuts, and wider blockchain adoption. Yi emphasized that investors must tolerate volatility in the hundreds of dollars to achieve gains in the thousands.

South Korean investors' net purchases of overseas cryptocurrency-related stocks have surged more than threefold year-over-year, reaching approximately 10 trillion won ($7.14 billion) between Jan. 1 and Dec. 18, Digital Asset reported. This marks a significant increase from the roughly 3 trillion won ($2.14 billion) recorded during the same period last year. The most heavily purchased individual stock was Bitmain Immerse Technologies, with net buys totaling $1.33 billion, representing 20% of all investments in the category. Products related to Strategy also saw strong demand, though investors primarily favored derivative instruments over the company's direct stock. A Strategy options exchange-traded fund (ETF) attracted $513.8 million in net purchases, while a 2x leveraged Strategy ETF drew $411.94 million.

Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Lifinity is shutting down, SolanaFloor reported. The move follows a proposal to cease operations that was submitted to the project's community on Dec. 10 and subsequently passed unanimously. In line with the proposal, the Lifinity DAO will distribute its $42 million in assets to LFNTY token holders. Holders are estimated to receive between $0.90 and $1.10 per token.

A solo miner successfully mined Bitcoin block 928,351 on Dec. 18, receiving a reward of 3.152 BTC worth approximately $271,000, Cointelegraph reported.