Tether has launched an all-cash bid to acquire Italy’s Juventus Football Club, an offer that was reportedly swiftly turned down.

The stablecoin issuer said Friday it had submitted a binding offer to Exor, the Agnelli family’s holding company, seeking to purchase its 65.4% controlling stake.

The Agnelli dynasty has controlled Juventus for more than a century, making the bid one of the most audacious takeover attempts in European football this year.

Juventus Shares Jump as Tether’s $1.1B Takeover Bid Is Rejected

Juventus, valued at roughly €944 million ($1.1 billion), saw its share price rise 2.3% Friday to €2.23 ($2.62).

Tether said that if Exor accepted the deal, it would immediately launch a public tender for all remaining shares at the same price.

However, according to AFP, Exor has already rejected the proposal, with a source close to the company stating simply: “Juventus is not for sale.”

Despite the rebuff, Tether is positioning itself as a long-term suitor. CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company was prepared to invest €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to strengthen the club if a deal were ever reached.

“Tether is in a position of strong financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long horizon,” Ardoino said, adding that he grew up following the team.

“As a boy, I learned what commitment, resilience, and responsibility meant by watching Juventus face success and adversity with dignity.”

Tether, issuer of the $118 billion stablecoin USDT, has pushed aggressively into new sectors over the past year, pouring money into artificial intelligence, robotics and health-tech ventures.

Its move into football has been gradual. The company quietly bought a stake in Juventus in February and increased its holding to more than 10% in April.

It has also gained influence inside the club. In October, Tether nominated deputy investment chief Zachary Lyons and Francesco Garino to Juventus’s board, and shareholders approved Garino’s appointment last month.

Tether Could Become the World’s Most Profitable Company, Analyst Says

Tether appears unstoppable right now, with the world’s largest stablecoin issuer on track to generate approximately $15 billion this year.

Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Houga, recently predicted that Tether could become the world’s most profitable company, potentially overtaking Saudi Aramco.

It’s the world’s third-largest digital asset with a market capitalization of $183.8 billion, up 50% compared to this time last year.

Although Tether maintains strong cash reserves, recent reports suggest that the company may seek $20 billion in new capital for a 3% ownership stake.

Such a transaction would establish a valuation near $500 billion, eclipsing Netflix and Samsung while approaching iconic financial services brands like Mastercard.

The firm has simultaneously expanded its precious metals holdings, with its gold reserves now exceeding $12 billion.

The post Tether Makes All-Cash $1.1B Bid to Buy Juventus, but Offer Rejected appeared first on Cryptonews.

• The new Phantom Prediction Markets feature supports tokenised event trading across multiple categories.
• Crypto exchanges such as Gemini and Coinbase are also moving into US prediction markets.
• Regulatory challenges persist, with recent legal action involving the state of Connecticut and Kalshi.

Crypto wallets are increasingly becoming gateways to real-world financial activity, and Phantom’s latest move highlights that shift.

The crypto wallet application has partnered with regulated prediction market Kalshi to embed event-based trading directly into its wallet interface.

The integration allows users to engage with outcome-driven markets without moving funds to external platforms.

It also reflects a broader push by crypto firms to blend onchain infrastructure with regulated financial products tied to real-world events, from elections to economic data and cultural moments.

The partnership, announced on Friday, introduces a new product inside the wallet called Phantom Prediction Markets.

The feature allows users to explore live events, monitor price movements, and trade tokenised positions linked to Kalshi’s markets, all within Phantom’s existing interface.

The move positions wallets not just as storage tools, but as active trading hubs.

How the Phantom Kalshi integration works

Phantom users will be able to discover trending event markets and track live odds directly inside the wallet.

The integration enables trading of tokenised positions that reference Kalshi’s regulated event contracts, covering categories such as politics, economics, sports, and culture.

Instead of navigating separate trading platforms, users can place and manage positions from the same wallet they already use for onchain activity.

The structure relies on tokenised representations tied to Kalshi’s markets, linking decentralised wallet infrastructure with regulated event trading.

Phantom described the product as a way to let users engage with topics they care about in real time, using crypto-native tools to interact with real-world outcomes.

The rollout adds to Phantom’s expanding feature set as competition intensifies among wallet providers.

Prediction markets draw crypto exchanges

Phantom’s announcement comes as crypto exchanges and affiliated entities move quickly to establish a presence in US prediction markets.

On Thursday, Gemini Titan, an affiliate of the crypto exchange Gemini, received a designated contract market licence from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Gemini said the licence would allow it to offer event contract trading through its web platform.

Following the announcement, Gemini shares rose by nearly 14% in after-hours trading, reflecting investor interest in the segment.

Prediction markets have gained traction as traders look for alternative ways to express views on macroeconomic indicators, elections, and other headline-driven events, often outside traditional derivatives markets.

Regulatory pressure shapes the landscape

Despite rising adoption, prediction markets continue to face regulatory scrutiny in the US.

On Dec. 4, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection sent cease and desist orders to Robinhood, Kalshi, and Crypto.com, alleging they were offering unlicensed online gambling services.

Kalshi responded the following day by filing a lawsuit against the state agency, arguing that its event contracts are permitted under federal law.

A Connecticut federal court judge later ordered the department to pause enforcement actions against Kalshi, temporarily blocking the cease and desist order.

The ruling provides short-term relief for Kalshi as legal questions around prediction markets remain unresolved.

The post Phantom integrates Kalshi prediction markets as crypto wallets expand into event trading appeared first on CoinJournal.

Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto has again predicted that the XRP price could reach $27. This time around, he outlined the technical formation that could spark a parabolic surge for the altcoin as it eyes the $27 target. 

How The XRP Price Could Reach $27

In an X post, Egrag Crypto stated that the Linear Regression targets for the XRP price are $3.4, $10, and $27. He further explained that, as of this month, these three major price levels stand out based on the long-term Logarithmic Linear Regression Channel. The analyst then touched on each price target and how XRP could reach there. 

Egrag Crypto described the $3.40 target for the XRP price as the mean reversion. He stated that a retest and rejection from $3.40 would be one of the strongest bearish TA signals for the altcoin. The analyst further remarked that this target is based solely on chart structure, not fundamentals. He added that a close above this level means that XRP is officially back in macro bullish territory. 

Furthermore, the analyst stated that the $10 target for the XRP price is the upper midline. He explained that this is where full bull expansion normally accelerates and that the target rises with time because this channel is logarithmic. Lastly, Egrag Crypto highlighted $27 as the top of the channel. He noted that multiple long-term confluences point to this target for the altcoin. 

Notably, this XRP price prediction comes amid several bullish fundamentals for the altcoin. Ripple was just granted a conditional approval for its national trust bank charter, which could boost XRP’s adoption. XRP also just expanded to Solana with Hex Trust’s launch of its wrapped XRP token for DeFi purposes. Meanwhile, Swiss bank AMINA Bank has integrated Ripple payments, which utilize XRP.  

The Major Levels To Watch Haven’t Changed

Crypto analyst CasiTrades stated that the major levels for the XRP price haven’t changed. The macro supports are $2.03 and $1.64. On the other hand, the macro resistance is $2.41, which a break above would confirm a bullish scenario for the altcoin. The analyst remarked that if a break above $2.41 happens, the next measured targets stand around $2.75 and $2.90. 

However, if the XRP price breaks below the macro support at $2.03, CasiTrades predicts that the altcoin could fall below $1.97 and decline towards the $1.64 major support. She reiterated that there is no official confirmation yet on the next potential move for XRP. Interestingly, the world’s largest IQ holder, YoungHoon Kim, stated that XRP has a strong possibility of reaching a new ATH by the end of this year. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.01, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

As Tether (USDT), the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, prepares for a significant fundraising effort aimed at entering the US market, the company is actively seeking ways to bolster liquidity for its investors. 

This initiative comes in the wake of Tether’s intervention to prevent some existing shareholders from offloading their stakes at a substantial discount.

Tether In Talks With Major Firms

According to Bloomberg, Tether is contemplating various strategies, including share buybacks and the tokenization of the company’s shares on a blockchain once the fundraising deal is complete. 

These discussions have been prompted by concerns that the sale of shares by certain investors could jeopardize Tether’s ambitious fundraising goals. 

In response to inquiries from Bloomberg News, Tether confirmed that it has successfully halted plans from at least one shareholder seeking to divest their stock, emphasizing that it would be “imprudent” for any investor to attempt to bypass the established processes managed by top-tier global investment banks. 

Tether’s management is actively managing these situations to ensure that the forthcoming fundraising effort remains robust. Reports indicate that the company aims to attract “strategic” investors as part of its capital raise and has held discussions with firms such as SoftBank Group Corp. and Ark Investment Management LLC. 

However, Tether has not provided a timeline for a potential initial public offering (IPO), suggesting that both new and existing investors may face delays before any liquidity events occur.

Juventus Acquisition Proposal

Tether also announced on Friday a binding cash proposal to acquire Exor’s entire stake in the Italian Football giant, Juventus Football Club. This proposal aims to secure Exor’s shareholding, which represents 65.4 percent of Juventus’ total issued share capital. 

The completion of this acquisition is contingent upon Exor’s acceptance, the signing of final agreements, and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

Tether intends to make a public tender offer for any remaining shares at the same price, fully backed by its own capital, reflecting a long-term commitment to Juventus. 

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, expressed a deep personal connection to the club, emphasizing that his experiences with Juventus have instilled values of commitment, resilience, and responsibility in him.

With plans to invest €1 billion in the club’s development and support, the firm’s proposal extends beyond mere ownership; it aims to forge a meaningful partnership that reinforces Juventus’ legacy and enhances its global brand, the firm disclosed.

Ardoino articulated his belief in the club’s importance, stating that Juventus is more than just a football team; it represents a cultural and sporting identity that has inspired loyalty among fans worldwide.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

A cross-party group of UK lawmakers jointly expressed concerns about the Bank of England (BOE)’s proposal to limit stablecoin holdings in the country, urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to push back on the controversial policy.

UK Lawmakers Fight Stablecoin Cap Plans

On Thursday, a coalition of UK lawmakers sent a letter asking Chancellor Rachel Reeves to oppose some of the Bank of England’s stablecoin-related policies that could undermine the government’s efforts to position the UK as one of the leading nations in the digital assets industry.

In the letter reviewed by Bloomberg, members of the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and peers highlighted how stablecoins are reshaping financial infrastructure by lowering costs, accelerating settlements, and promoting financial inclusion.

“Their rise is also enabling traditional institutions to connect with the digital asset ecosystem and modernise legacy infrastructure,” it noted, “Powerful tailwinds are rapidly driving a major shift across financial services as we know them.”

However, they argued that BOE’s proposal to cap stablecoin ownership could “risk preventing the UK from fully capitalising on these opportunities,” drive innovation offshore and investors to USD-pegged alternatives, while potentially positioning the UK “as a global outlier.”

“We are deeply concerned that the UK is drifting towards a fragmented and restrictive approach that will deter innovation, limit adoption, and push activity overseas,” the coalition wrote in the letter.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the BOE released a new consultation paper on its proposed regulatory framework for sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins in November. The proposed rules, built on feedback received on the November 2023 Discussion Paper, addressed backing rules and holding limits.

Among the controversial policies, the Bank proposed to temporarily cap stablecoin ownership to “mitigate financial stability risks stemming from large and rapid outflows of deposits from the banking sector.”

The restriction would impose limits of £10,000 to £20,000 for individuals and £10 million for businesses, resembling its proposed approach to the digital pound, also aimed at addressing financial stability risks.

MPs Call BOE’s Policies ‘An Own Goal’

In a statement to Bloomberg, a Treasury spokesperson said that they “want the UK to be a global leader in digital assets, providing certainty for firms and boosting consumer confidence by bringing cryptoassets under regulation.”

“Our approach will be fair and proportionate, and we continue to work closely with the Bank of England on the UK approach to stablecoins,” the spokesperson affirmed, adding, “Their recent consultation provides an invaluable opportunity for stakeholders to provide views.”

Earlier this week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated that stablecoin payments will be a priority for the next year. In a letter sent to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, the regulatory agency pledged to “finalise digital assets rules and progress UK-issued sterling stablecoins” in 2026.

However, the report noted that the overall perception among lawmakers and market participants is that the UK is falling behind other jurisdictions, including the US, which introduced a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins in July.

It’s worth noting that the BOE suggested that systemic stablecoin issuers be required to hold at least 40% of the reserves backing the token as unremunerated deposits at the central bank to ensure “robust redemption and public confidence, even under stress.” Meanwhile, issuers would be allowed to hold up to 60% of backing assets in short-term UK government debt.

Lawmakers consider that requiring all reserves backing sterling-pegged tokens to be held in the UK is a “massive own goal” that will limit the relevance of the pound. “To remain globally competitive, the UK must ensure its stablecoin framework is benchmarked against leading international models,” the lawmakers concluded.

Bitfinex said the recent 66% slide in spot trading volumes echoes lulls seen before next leg in the cycle.

As 2025 winds down, market watchers are now focusing on what the new year could bring for leading crypto assets like XRP and Bitcoin. This year, several crypto assets set new peaks following Bitcoin’s lead, including XRP and Ethereum.

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A 69-million-year-old triceratops fossil has become the newest trophy among crypto’s wealthy investors amid a shift from digital collectibles.

Wintermute co-founder Yoann Turpin and a small group of crypto investors have quietly purchased a fully intact dinosaur fossil, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

The fossil, one of only 24 known specimens, now sits inside Le Freeport in Singapore, a fortress-like storage facility owned by crypto billionaire Jihan Wu and often described as “Asia’s Fort Knox.”

Inside the Vault Where Crypto Wealth Meets Dinosaur Bones

When Bloomberg’s Suvashree Ghosh visited the vault with Turpin and co-owners including collectibles entrepreneur Chaw Wei Yang, the dinosaur wasn’t the only surprise.

The halls were lined with tokenized gold bars, fine art, rare wine, and hard drives holding hundreds of millions in digital assets, a real-world archive of crypto wealth that has spilled far beyond the blockchain, per the report.

Turpin told the media that the splurge was partly passion, partly prestige, echoing a trend that has swept through the upper tiers of the industry.

Just last year, Citadel’s Ken Griffin paid $44.6 million for a near-complete stegosaurus, the highest price ever for a fossil at auction.

For crypto’s nouveau riche, the shift from NFTs to fossils marks a broader turn toward ultra-scarce, tangible collectibles, assets that can’t suddenly vanish in a protocol upgrade.

However, while some crypto figures are digging up dinosaurs, others are building new digital-asset infrastructure.

Malaysia’s crown prince, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, recently launched RMJDT, a ringgit-backed stablecoin under his firm Bullish Aim.

AirAsia parent Capital A and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia are also exploring a ringgit-pegged token as part of the country’s digital asset pilot programs, signaling growing interest in regulated stablecoin projects.

Meta Retreats From Metaverse as AI Glasses Take Center Stage

As reported, Meta is reducing investment in its metaverse division and shifting its focus to AI-powered glasses and wearable devices, reflecting one of its biggest strategic resets in years.

The move follows rising investor skepticism over the commercial viability of virtual worlds and large-scale VR platforms.

The company has spent more than a decade and billions of dollars building out its metaverse vision, including rebranding to Meta in 2021.

However, user growth on Horizon Worlds has stagnated, and headset sales have repeatedly fallen short of expectations.

Bloomberg reported that metaverse spending may be cut by as much as 30%, a signal to markets that the company is rebalancing priorities.

Meanwhile, NFT sales have slumped to their lowest levels of the year, with monthly volume dropping to $320 million in November, roughly half of October’s total.

Early December data shows only $62 million in sales during the first week, signaling that the slowdown is likely to continue as demand for digital collectibles weakens.

The downturn reflects a steep drop in NFT valuations across the board. CoinGecko data shows the sector’s market capitalization has fallen to $3.1 billion, a 66% decline from January’s $9.2 billion peak.

The post From NFTs to Dinosaurs: Crypto Elite Turn to Ultra-Rare Tangible Assets appeared first on Cryptonews.

Solana’s network took a notable step this week as Firedancer, a validator client developed by Jump Crypto, began running on the mainnet, and markets reacted quickly.

According to Solana’s announcement, the client moved out of a controlled testing phase and is now active for real-world validation.

Traders pushed SOL up about 5%, with the token trading close to $140 during the initial move.

Firedancer Goes Live On Mainnet

During more than 100 days of controlled tests, a small set of validators produced more than 50,000 blocks without downtime, according to reports. Built in C and C++, Firedancer was made to handle heavy workloads and to lower the chance of network interruptions.

Test environments reportedly showed the client processing over 1 million transactions per second, a figure that far exceeds current mainnet throughput.

BREAKING: After 3 years of development, Firedancer is now live on Solana Mainnet, and has been running on a handful of validators for 100 days, successfully producing 50,000 blocks pic.twitter.com/Y0WxxEj2WL

— Solana (@solana) December 12, 2025

That high number comes from lab-style tests, not live traffic, and should be read as experimental performance rather than everyday capability.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko marked the transition as a step out of a long beta cycle for the network.

Early Adoption And Stake

Adoption is still small in terms of stake. The first Firedancer nodes hold under one percent of total staked SOL, and that share is expected to grow as operators add it to their setups.

Reports have disclosed that a December rollout prompted more than 20% of validators to move from earlier experimental clients, showing a rapid shift among some operators.

Running multiple validator clients reduces dependence on a single software implementation. If one client encounters a bug, others can keep block production running. That diversity mirrors how other large proof-of-stake chains operate.

Validators and developers stand to benefit if Firedancer keeps meeting its goals. Faster or more reliable validation could mean more capacity for apps that need many transactions per second.

For node operators, the option to mix clients offers an added safety net. Still, the network’s real-world load will be the true test, and watchers say they will be looking at uptime and performance over the coming weeks.

The announcement coincided with a clear market flow into SOL. Reports have disclosed $11 million in inflows to Solana ETFs on the day of the news, while Bitcoin saw outflows of $77.30 million and Ethereum $42.35 million.

Featured image from Phantom, chart from TradingView

A market expert suggests that investors who have accumulated up to 10,000 XRP tokens may not understand how free they'll be. Edoardo Farina, XRP community figure and founder of Alpha Lions Academy, suggested this while speaking on XRP's future prospects.

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The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has opened the doors of the federal banking system to a new wave of digital-asset firms, clearing five crypto companies, including Circle and Ripple, to launch national trust banks.

The approvals, announced Friday, mark one of the most aggressive moves yet by the Trump administration to pull crypto deeper into the regulated banking framework.

Crypto Firms Win Conditional Approval for National Trust Banks

Circle and Ripple were among the applicants granted conditional approval to build national trust banks, a charter that allows them to custody assets and offer select banking services without taking deposits or issuing loans.

The entrants now have 18 months to raise capital, assemble staff and build compliant infrastructure before facing a final exam from the OCC.

Trust charters have historically been the realm of asset managers and insurers, but the crypto sector has increasingly sought them as a regulatory foothold that can streamline operations and remove intermediaries.

The OCC also approved BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos to convert existing state trust companies into federally chartered banks.

The shift gives the firms the ability to operate under a single national standard rather than juggling a patchwork of state rules, a longstanding pain point for digital-asset custodians.

For Paxos, the approval explicitly permits stablecoin issuance under federal oversight, while Ripple’s charter states it will not issue its US dollar-pegged RLUSD through the bank.

Crypto firms argue that a national trust bank charter brings clarity and boosts client confidence, especially for custody and settlement services.

Stablecoin issuers, in particular, view federal oversight as a way to assure corporate partners and distance themselves from lightly regulated competitors.

Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, said the new entrants would help ensure that the federal banking system “keeps pace with the evolution of finance.”

Crypto’s Push for Legitimacy Grows as Approvals and Listings Surge

The approvals come as the crypto industry seeks broader legitimacy in Washington.

The digital asset space has seen several notable public listings in 2025. Last month, tZero Group, a New York–based blockchain infrastructure firm focused on tokenized securities and real-world assets, announced that it is preparing to go public in 2026.

Before that, BitGo officially filed for an initial public offering, becoming the first dedicated crypto custodian to pursue a listing on a US stock exchange.

Stablecoin issuer Circle made a splash with its IPO in June, surging more than sevenfold since going public.

Online trading platform Etoro, which offers crypto trading among its services, debuted in May.

Gemini, the exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO in June, signaling strong market confidence in crypto exchanges going public.

More recently, Figure Technology Solutions Inc., a blockchain-focused lending platform, raised $787.5 million in its initial public offering.

Ripple, by contrast, has said it has no plans to pursue an IPO.

The post OCC Clears Circle, Ripple and Others to Launch Crypto National Banks appeared first on Cryptonews.

Brazil’s largest private bank says Bitcoin can improve portfolio diversification and hedge currency risk despite a volatile year for the asset.

Ran Neuner, Host of CNBC's "Crypto Trader" show, insists he will never get along with the XRP community despite recent developments surrounding the XRP and Solana ecosystems. Neuner (@cryptomanran), who has been a persistent XRP critic, is not ready to extend an olive branch just yet.

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While XRP has struggled with the rest of the crypto market, analyst EGRAG shows its linear regression model still points to bullish long-term targets. Specifically, after a strong showing in July 2025, when it rallied by an impressive 35% to cross the $3 mark, XRP slipped into a bearish position the following months, collapsing by as much as 8.15% in August to lose the $3 mark.

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Crypto-focused payments company Ripple has secured conditional approval from the U.S. OCC to charter Ripple National Trust Bank.

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