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ARIAIP, a story chain-based IP tokenization platform, announced it will close submissions for a remix contest featuring singer Nana on Jan. 9. The event is intended as an experiment for global producers to reinterpret Nana's music and expand K-pop on-chain. Participants can submit remixes of Nana's new songs, including 'GOD,' 'Daylight,' and 'Hurt,' to compete for a total prize pool of $15,000. The first-place winner will receive $10,000, with second and third place receiving $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. Selected remixes will be officially released by a label, and their music copyrights will be tokenized on the ARIA Protocol. Net royalties from these releases will be distributed to the remixers and the ARIA community, specifically holders of the ecosystem's APL token.

While over 100 cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) are expected to launch by 2026, a significant number of them may be liquidated due to insufficient assets under management. ETP liquidation involves converting all underlying assets to cash and returning the funds to investors. According to Cointelegraph, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated that 126 crypto ETPs are currently awaiting approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He suggested that issuers are rushing to launch products regardless of their potential for success, predicting that many of these ETPs will be liquidated by the end of 2026 or 2027. This follows the liquidation earlier this year of the BTC-ETH Strategy ETF (ARKY, ARKC), which was jointly launched by Ark Invest and 21Shares.

A whale address lost $27.3 million after the private key for a multi-signature wallet was compromised, blockchain security firm PeckShield reported. The hackers have already laundered $12.6 million worth of the stolen ETH.

Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has purchased a total of $25.31 million in cryptocurrency-related stocks through its ETFs, The Block reported. The acquisitions include $10.56 million worth of Bitmain shares, $8.85 million in Bullish, and $5.9 million in Coinbase.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $459.24 million on Dec. 17, reversing two consecutive days of net outflows, according to data compiled by TraderT. The positive turn was driven by strong inflows into Fidelity's FBTC ($390 million) and BlackRock's IBIT ($110 million). These gains offset outflows from Ark Invest's ARKB ($36.96 million) and Bitwise's BITB ($8.41 million). The remaining funds saw no net change in flows.

Bitcoin's volatility is expected to be lower than that of Nvidia next year, according to a forecast from Bitwise. In a report cited by Cointelegraph, the asset manager stated that it anticipates lower volatility as institutional investors steadily enter the market and the asset matures, particularly around exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bitwise noted that the entry of institutions such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo is diversifying Bitcoin's investment structure and reducing risk. The firm also projected that BTC will reach a new all-time high next year and that crypto-themed stocks will outperform tech stocks.

TORICO, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has raised 470 million yen ($3 million) and announced it will use the entire amount to purchase ETH. The company plans to establish a digital asset management and operational framework and will begin acquiring ETH in phases starting in January 2026.

An Ethereum whale who accumulated a significant position during the 2022 bear market has sold the entirety of their holdings for a profit of 6.2 billion won (approximately $4.5 million), according to on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa. The address, starting with 0x3f4, had held the position for 1,127 days after acquiring 2,962.89 ETH between Nov. 17, 2022, and March 12, 2023, at an average cost of $1,500 per token. Following a long period of dormancy, the investor began selling the assets in stages over the past two weeks, completing the exit by selling the final 2,040 ETH approximately 10 hours ago.

Tether has processed an estimated $156 billion in small-value transactions under $1,000 using USDT so far this year. According to a report by BeInCrypto, citing data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis and on-chain data platform Artemis, the average daily volume for these transactions has surpassed $500 million. The data suggests the market views USDT as a global payment rail for U.S. dollar transactions, particularly in regions with limited access to traditional banking.

Global asset manager Invesco has partnered with Galaxy Asset Management to launch the Invesco Galaxy Solana ETP (QSOL). The product will provide exposure linked to the spot price of Solana, Crowdfund Insider reported.

Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform Ondo Finance (ONDO) has launched its Ondo Bridge, according to an announcement on X. The bridge, built in collaboration with LayerZero, supports cross-chain transfers for over 100 RWA tokens on Ethereum (ETH) and BNB Chain.

Decentralized perpetuals exchange ASTER announced via X that its fifth-phase airdrop program, named Crystal, will begin on Dec. 22. The company explained that this phase has the smallest allocation of any airdrop to date, a move intended to tighten supply discipline ahead of its mainnet launch. The Crystal airdrop will run for six weeks, from Dec. 22, 2025, to Feb. 1, 2026, distributing 1.2% of the total ASTER supply, or approximately 96 million tokens. Participants will have the option to claim their tokens under a three-month vesting schedule.

Forced liquidations in the cryptocurrency perpetual futures market approached $370 million over the past 24 hours. ETH led the liquidations with $167 million, of which 80.25% were long positions. BTC followed with $160 million in liquidations, with short positions accounting for 53.58% of the total. HYPE saw $42.37 million in liquidations, with long positions making up 99.08%.

AI-based Web3 project Quack AI announced that it will host The Builder Night Seoul Summit on Dec. 22. The private networking event will focus on AI, Web3, and stablecoins, with an audience of builders, influencers (KOLs), and other ecosystem stakeholders. Global teams including BNB Chain, IOTA, Unibase, and SOON are scheduled to deliver keynotes and participate in panel sessions. Quack AI said it plans to use the event to further discussions on execution-focused Web3 architecture, such as AI agents, on-chain execution infrastructure, and stablecoins. The project previously collaborated with global universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to run a hackathon with a $1 million prize pool. Note: We are a media partner for this event.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has partnered with Singapore's DBS Bank to support deposits and withdrawals in both Singapore dollars (SGD) and U.S. dollars (USD), Tech in Asia reported. Under the partnership, DBS will allow Crypto.com to open client money accounts to hold customer funds separately, a move expected to significantly improve the speed of fund transfers.

On-chain sports platform Sport.Fun announced that its native FUN token sale surpassed 100% subscription within approximately 24 hours of its launch on Web3 presale platforms Legion and Kraken. The company stated that the event demonstrated high demand from both existing users and new participants. Applications will remain open until 1:00 p.m. UTC today. The sale utilizes a merit-based allocation structure to prioritize long-term participants over short-term speculators, rather than a first-come, first-served model.

Multi-chain Layer 1 blockchain Creditcoin (CTC) has announced a partnership with privacy-focused blockchain Midnight to enhance research into privacy-preserving decentralized identity (DID). The collaboration will combine Creditcoin's on-chain credit history with Midnight's privacy technology to build a model for human authentication based on financial behavior. According to Creditcoin, this initiative aims to develop DID technology capable of defending against sophisticated AI deepfakes and verifying a user's economic activity without exposing sensitive financial data. Midnight is a privacy-centric blockchain project led by Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson.

Binance has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Injective (INJ) starting at 1:00 p.m. UTC today, Dec. 18, to support an upcoming network upgrade and hard fork.

Robinhood is likely to generate more revenue from prediction markets than Coinbase, according to an analysis by global investment bank Mizuho Securities. CoinDesk reports that Mizuho's forecast is based on a survey of 230 users across both platforms. The survey found that approximately 50% of Robinhood users plan to allocate new capital to prediction market trading, compared to just 37% of Coinbase users. Mizuho stated this indicates a stronger propensity among Robinhood's user base to invest in this new market, suggesting a higher potential for revenue. Consequently, Mizuho has raised its revenue forecast for Robinhood. Conversely, the bank has lowered its price target for Coinbase, citing concerns that the prediction market service could cannibalize existing cryptocurrency trading activity.

Danal, the operator of Paycoin (PCI), has joined the Alliance Program of USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle, becoming the first South Korean payment company to do so, the Electronic Times reported. Circle launched its Alliance Program in November 2023 to develop an internet-based financial system. The two companies held informal talks earlier this year to discuss potential cooperation on stablecoin services in the South Korean market.

Approximately $300 billion worth of previously dormant BTC has entered the market this year, Wu Blockchain reported, citing K33 Research. The outlet noted that selling pressure from long-term holders over the past 30 days has been the strongest in the last five years. While demand from spot BTC ETFs and institutional crypto investors had previously absorbed a significant portion of this sell volume, the report explained that the situation has changed. A recent decline in ETF inflows, coupled with lower derivatives trading volume and retail investor participation, is now exposing an unstable market directly to the selling pressure from these long-term holders.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has announced that she is seeking market feedback on cryptocurrency trading on National Securities Exchanges (NSEs) and Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs). The inquiry is related to a recent FAQ published by the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, which focuses on the trading of cryptocurrencies deemed securities and the framework for trading and clearing pairs of security and non-security cryptocurrencies. Peirce stated that the SEC is prepared to support platforms that list legitimate trading pairs, emphasizing the need for regulations that protect investors and maintain fair markets without stifling innovation.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new guidelines for broker-dealers regarding the custody of digital asset securities. The core of the guidance, under Rule 15c3-3, is that if a broker-dealer meets certain requirements, digital asset securities held on behalf of customers will be considered to be in the broker-dealer's physical possession for compliance purposes. The SEC stated that the move is intended to resolve uncertainty surrounding the application of federal securities laws to digital assets. The commission added that it is continuing to review issues related to broker-dealer custody of these assets and is providing this guidance as an interim step in response to requests from market participants.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index stands at 18, unchanged from the previous day. The index measures the performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins, against Bitcoin. An altcoin season is indicated if 75% of these coins outperform Bitcoin over a 90-day period, with a score closer to 100 signifying a stronger trend. Conversely, a lower score suggests a Bitcoin season.

Bitget has announced its year-end "King of Trading 2025" (KOT) competition, featuring a total prize pool of 1.7 million USDT. Team creation and registration will remain open until Jan. 1. To be eligible, participants must hold assets worth at least $100 in their Bitget futures account. Those who join the team competition will be automatically entered to win a range of additional prizes, including rewards from the VIP futures individual competition, such as a Rolex watch, a luxury hotel voucher, and a gold bar. Other benefits include mission airdrops of up to $8,855 and VIP upgrade rewards of up to $3,450 per person.