Italy’s market watchdog has told crypto providers to either secure authorization under Europe’s new MiCAR regime by Dec. 30 or shut down their local business, stepping up pressure on exchanges and brokers serving local users.

Consob, the country’s securities regulator, urged both investors and operators to pay “maximum attention” as the transition period for the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation nears its end.

The rules will reshape how virtual asset service providers operate across the bloc and how they market trading, custody and other services to retail clients.

Under the Italian framework, firms currently acting as Virtual Asset Service Providers, or VASPs, can continue to operate only until Dec. 30, 2025, while they are registered with the OAM, the national agents and brokers registry.

After that, they must have taken concrete steps toward becoming MiCAR-compliant crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs, if they want to stay in business.

Regulatory Shift Moves Italy Toward Europe’s Unified Crypto Rulebook

VASPs that file an authorization application by Dec. 30, either in Italy or in another EU member state, will be allowed to keep serving customers while supervisors process their files. That temporary window will close once the application is approved or rejected, and in any case no later than June 30, 2026.

The current regime in Italy only requires VASPs to register with the OAM. Under MiCAR, CASPs will need prior authorization from their supervisory authority and will then come under ongoing supervision, aligning Italy with the wider European push for stricter oversight after a series of global exchange failures and token collapses.

To support an orderly and transparent transition, Consob issued a detailed notice that mirrors guidance published the same day by the European Securities and Markets Authority. The document spells out what retail users should do as the deadline approaches and what operators must put in place if they plan either to seek a license or wind down.

Regulator Warns Users To Verify VASP Status Before Year-End Cutoff

For investors, the regulator stressed that some VASPs currently operating may no longer be allowed to do so after December 30. It said clients should check whether they have received clear information from their provider on its plans, and if not, ask for an explanation of how it intends to comply with the new framework.

Consob also told users to verify that a firm is legitimately allowed to operate in Italy after the deadline, either by checking the OAM list of VASPs or the ESMA register of authorized CASPs. If a provider is not legitimate, it cannot continue to offer crypto-asset services to the public and customers have the right to ask for the return of their funds or tokens.

On the operator side, Consob recalled that it has already shared guidance through meetings and public communications, including a notice in Sept. 2024 with initial instructions for firms and another in July 2025 when the national transition period was extended to June 30, 2026. It also sent a specific warning on October 31, 2025 to VASPs on the OAM list that still lack MiCAR authorization.

The regulator said VASPs that choose not to seek authorization as CASPs must stop their activities in Italy by December 30, 2025 and close existing contracts. They must return crypto-assets and related funds to customers in line with client instructions and end all services, including custody and administration.

VASPs that remain on the OAM register are required to post clear information on their websites and provide direct notice to clients on the steps they plan to take, whether that is applying for a MiCAR license or exiting the market in an orderly way.

The post Italy Orders Crypto Providers To Obtain MiCAR Authorization By Dec 30 Or Exit Market appeared first on Cryptonews.

Ripple’s native token XRP was trading near $2 on Friday as traders wade through another wave of fear and doubt, with new data from Santiment showing social chatter around the token turning sharply negative after a two month slide of about 31%.

The crypto analytics firm posted a chart from its platform that tracks XRP’s price against total positive and negative comments, along with a combined sentiment line.

Recent readings show social chatter around XRP tilting heavily bearish, a clear shift from the more even mix of views seen earlier in the year.

Santiment’s sentiment gauge tracks price alongside streams of positive and negative comments, and its latest signals show the balance tipping into what it labels the fear zone as bearish messages start to dominate.

Traders Watch For A Repeat Of November’s Reflexive Rebound

On this model, red circles mark days when optimism overwhelms pessimism, the greed zone, while green circles mark sessions when negative commentary swamps bullish talk, a fear zone that often lines up with capitulation by weaker holders.

The firm pointed traders back to late November. It wrote, “The last time we saw near this level of fear from the crowd was Nov. 21st, and $XRP’s price immediately rallied +22% over the next 3 days. After that, greed took over and the rally came to a quick halt. As of now, an opportunity appears to be emerging just like 2 weeks ago.”

Santiment urged followers to keep an eye on the same dashboard, saying, “Monitor how sentiment continues to shift here on this chart, and see what others in crypto can’t.”

The suggestion is that crowd psychology around XRP may once again be setting up a reflexive move, where extreme pessimism creates fuel for a short squeeze.

XRP Extends Losses As Market Drift Pressures Major Altcoins

In price terms, XRP was last down about 4.5% at $2.09, extending a loss of roughly 7% over the past month. The total crypto market value slipped about 1% to $3.22 trillion on the day, a pullback that has weighed on major altcoins even as liquidity remains concentrated in the largest names.

XRP shows relative stability compared with some smaller tokens, although it still feels the drag from thinning order books and cautious positioning. These moves unfold against a backdrop of uncertainty around upcoming US policy decisions, softer global risk appetite and rapid position cuts by leveraged traders who had crowded into earlier rallies.

Analysts watching the token say XRP can still grind toward the $2.50 to $2.75 area if cross border liquidity flows improve and momentum builds around stablecoin projects on the XRP Ledger.

Away from the charts, Ripple has been working to deepen its institutional reach. Last month, the company said it was expanding in the US with the launch of digital asset spot prime brokerage services.

The move follows its acquisition of multi asset prime brokerage firm Hidden Road, which has been folded into Ripple Prime, combining regulatory and operational setups from both groups into a single trading and custody platform for professional clients.

The post XRP Hit by Renewed FUD Storm as Social Buzz Turns Negative appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin held just under $92,000 on Friday as traders weighed a heavy mix of labour data, central bank bets and choppy equity markets in Asia, Europe and the US.

Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, said the crypto market continues to display strong resilience.

“Renewed whale accumulation is supporting the trend, as ETH whales have added over 450,000 ETH since mid-November, with BTC whales showing similar activity.”

“Even with the US labour market displaying solid strength, the odds for a rate cut this month stand at 93%, contributing to the buying pressure. A clear move above $96,000 could accelerate BTC’s momentum toward $100,000, opening the path for fresh highs,” he added.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $92,387, down 1.2%
• Ether: $3,174, down 1.1%
• XRP: $2.09, down 4.6%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.22 trillion, down 1.3%

Japan’s Weak Spending Figures Drag Regional Equities Lower

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell about 1.5%, wiping out this week’s gains in a session that otherwise stayed subdued. MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slipped roughly 0.1%, although it remained on track for a modest gain of about 0.5% for the week.

Fresh data from Tokyo showed household spending in Japan fell at the fastest pace in nearly two years in October as inflation squeezed budgets. The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds touched 1.94% early in the session, the highest since mid-2007, and was set for a rise of about 13.5 basis points for the week.

Recent auctions drew solid demand, suggesting investors are taking advantage of cheaper bond prices.

Chinese markets painted a mixed picture. The Shanghai Composite hovered near 3,875, down 0.02%, while the SZSE Component in Shenzhen added about 0.17%.

The China A50 index slipped 0.17%, DJ Shanghai edged up 0.12% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost about 0.40%.

Europe Finds Support While US Traders Weigh Conflicting Data

Across Europe, futures pointed to a slightly firmer tone. DAX futures traded near 23,880, up about 0.79%, FTSE 100 futures gained 0.19%, CAC 40 futures rose 0.43% and Euro Stoxx 50 futures added roughly 0.41%.

US stock futures were mixed after Wall Street cash indices finished Thursday close to flat. Dow futures hovered around 47,850, down 0.07%, while S&P 500 futures inched up 0.11% and Nasdaq futures rose 0.22%.

Traders continued to chew over a series of US data releases. A Labor Department report showed initial jobless claims dropped to their lowest level in more than three years, although analysts said the Thanksgiving holiday may have distorted the figures.

A separate estimate from the Chicago Fed suggested the unemployment rate held near 4.4% in November.

Factory Orders Lag Forecasts As Traders Brace For Key Fed Decision

A delayed report from the Commerce Department showed factory orders rose 0.2%, missing expectations for a 0.5% increase, after an upward move in August was revised down to 1.3% as tariffs weighed on manufacturers.

The closely watched non-farm payrolls report will not arrive on Friday, with the November figures scheduled for after the Federal Reserve’s December meeting because of an extended government shutdown. Investors have turned to secondary indicators, even as the backlog of official data clears only slowly.

Fed funds futures now imply nearly a 90% chance of a 25-basis point rate cut next Wednesday, up sharply from pricing a month ago, and analysts describe the gathering as one of the most finely balanced meetings in years, with several policymakers having spoken publicly against further easing.

The post Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Holds Near $92k, Equities Slip On Fresh Economic Signals appeared first on Cryptonews.

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams has accused Citadel Securities of trying to pull decentralized finance into the same regulatory box as Wall Street, after the market maker urged the US SEC to treat DeFi protocols and their developers as traditional intermediaries.

Adams fired off a post on X that quickly made the rounds in crypto circles.

“First Ken Griffin screwed over Constitution DAO,” he wrote, before adding, “Now he’s coming for DeFi, asking the SEC to treat software developers of decentralized protocols like centralized intermediaries.”

He linked directly to Citadel’s submission to the SEC and added, “Bet Citadel has been lobbying behind closed doors on this for years.”

Adams Ridicules Citadel’s Claim That DeFi Lacks Fair Access

He saved his sharpest line for a specific passage in the filing.

Adams pointed to Citadel’s claim that DeFi cannot provide “fair access” to markets and responded, “Okay thats all pretty bad, but the actual nerve for one of their arguments to be that there is no way for DeFi protocols to provide ‘fair access’ of all things lmao.”

He then wrote, “Makes sense the king of shady tradfi market makers doesn’t like open source, peer-to-peer tech that can lower the barrier to liquidity creation.”

The clash stems from a lengthy letter Citadel Securities sent to the SEC on tokenized equities and DeFi trading venues. In that document, the firm tells regulators that many so-called decentralized systems bring together buyers and sellers in a coordinated way and therefore fit existing legal definitions of exchanges and broker dealers.

It argues that activities in DeFi should not receive lighter treatment simply because they are implemented in code on a blockchain.

Firm Rejects Idea That Open Protocols Should Avoid Intermediary Rules

Citadel goes further and lists a wide range of players in the DeFi stack, from trading interfaces and smart contract developers to validators and liquidity providers. According to the filing, many of these actors take transaction-based fees or influence how orders are routed, which, in Citadel’s view, often makes them functionally similar to regulated financial intermediaries.

The firm urges the SEC to apply a technology-neutral approach so that the same activity attracts the same rules regardless of whether it runs through a matching engine or a smart contract.

A central concern in the letter is tokenized stocks. Citadel warns that allowing tokenized shares of US companies to trade freely on DeFi protocols would create what it describes as a shadow equity market outside the national market system. It says such a structure could fragment liquidity and bypass the reporting, surveillance and investor protection framework that currently governs equities.

The firm also resists calls from some crypto industry groups for broad exemptions. Several DeFi advocates have asked the SEC to recognise that open source protocols and validator sets do not operate like traditional intermediaries and should not have to register as exchanges or broker dealers.

Crypto Devs Fear Wall Street Rules Would Stifle Permissionless Innovation

Citadel counters that the agency lacks authority to carve out a separate regime for tokenized equities and argues that any fundamental change to how US stocks trade belongs with Congress.

If regulators accept Citadel’s framing, protocol teams, front-end operators, routing wallets, market makers and possibly even DAO participants could face registration, capital rules and best execution duties that were designed for broker-dealers.

Many in crypto see that outcome as incompatible with global, permissionless software that can be deployed by small teams and maintained by distributed communities.

Adams framed the episode as part of a longer story. In his post, he reminded followers that Citadel founder Ken Griffin outbid ConstitutionDAO at a Sotheby’s auction in 2021, thwarting the crypto collective’s attempt to buy a rare copy of the US Constitution.

By opening his thread with “First Ken Griffin screwed over Constitution DAO,” then pivoting straight into the SEC fight, he linked that high-profile clash with Citadel’s latest move in Washington.

The post Uniswap Founder Blasts Citadel for Urging SEC to Treat DeFi Like Wall Street appeared first on Cryptonews.

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection on Wednesday ordered Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com to halt what it calls unlicensed online gambling in the state, targeting sports-style “prediction” products that regulators say are really illegal wagers.

The agency’s Gaming Division issued cease-and-desist letters to KalshiEX LLC, Robinhood Derivatives LLC and Crypto.com, accusing all three of offering sports wagers in Connecticut without a license and in violation of state gaming law.

The order covers so-called “sports event contracts” and any other form of online gambling the platforms make available to residents.

Officials Argue Prediction Markets Are Being Marketed As Investments

“Only licensed entities may offer sports wagering in the state of Connecticut,” Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said.

None of the three firms hold such a license in the state, he added, and even if they did, the contracts they offer would still run afoul of rules that ban wagers for anyone under 21.

Gaming Director Kris Gilman said the firms are “deceptively advertising that their services are legal,” arguing that they operate outside the state’s regulatory perimeter and pose “a serious risk to consumers” who may not realise they have no formal protections.

“A prediction market wager is not an investment,” she said, drawing a line between trading and betting.

State Warns That Unvetted House Rules Can Lead To Unfair Payout Practices

Regulators say the products raise a series of integrity and consumer protection issues. Because the platforms are not licensed, they are not required to meet Connecticut’s technical standards for wagering systems, leaving financial and personal data more exposed in the event of failures or abuse.

The state also says there are no mandated integrity controls, such as systems to block insiders from betting on events where they have advance knowledge or influence over outcomes. By contrast, licensed operators must use controls to bar known insiders and monitor and report suspicious betting patterns.

Any regulator does not vet house rules that govern how wagers pay out, the department warned, which means customers may have little recourse if bets are settled in unexpected ways or winnings are withheld. If disputes arise, the agency says it has no clear path to recover funds for users of these unlicensed platforms.

State Says Platforms Listed Events Vulnerable To Insider Knowledge

Connecticut officials also object to the types of events the platforms list. They say some wagers cover outcomes known to or heavily influenced by a relatively small group of insiders, such as award shows, professional team trades and similar events. State law prohibits betting on events where the outcome is known in advance because it is inherently unfair to ordinary bettors.

The department alleges the firms advertised and offered wagers to people on the state’s Voluntary Self-Exclusion List and to individuals under 21, and even promoted services on college campuses, all of which it says are illegal under Connecticut law.

Under the cease-and-desist orders, Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com must immediately stop advertising, offering, promoting or otherwise making sports event contracts or any other unlicensed online gambling products to Connecticut residents. They must also allow residents to withdraw any funds currently held on their platforms.

Failure to comply could trigger civil penalties under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and potential criminal action for breaches of the state’s gaming statutes.

For now, the state reminded residents that only three operators are authorised to take sports bets, namely DraftKings through Foxwoods, FanDuel through Mohegan Sun and Fanatics through the Connecticut Lottery, with a minimum age of 21 for sports wagering and 18 for fantasy contests.

The post Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com Hit With Connecticut Stop Order for Gambling Violations appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin held near $93,000 in Asian trading on Thursday, while regional stocks made a lacklustre start as soft US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

Nic Puckrin, investment analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau, said Bitcoin has staged a “remarkable recovery” over the past day as a “perfect storm of good news” swung momentum back toward the bulls.

He pointed to Vanguard lifting its long-standing ban on Bitcoin ETFs, Bank of America recommending a 1% to 4% crypto allocation that could channel as much as $700b into the asset class, and growing confidence that crypto-friendly Kevin Hassett will become the next Fed chair.

“With a rate cut on December 10th largely priced in, all eyes are now on 2026 monetary policy expectations, and so Hassett would be a welcome appointment for markets,” Puckrin said.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $93,609, up 0.9%
• Ether: $3,215, up 5.9%
• XRP: $2.20, up 0.7%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.27 trillion, up 1.8%

Bitcoin Eyes Breakout As Traders Track Key US Jobless Data

Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, said a decisive breakout above current levels could clear the path to the $103,000 supply zone.

He added that traders are watching US weekly jobless claims later on Thursday, which could help support Bitcoin’s upward trajectory if they reinforce the case for easier policy.

Across equities, Asia traded mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose about 0.8%, while MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slipped around 0.1%, weighed by declines in Korea and New Zealand.

Mainland China benchmarks were little changed to slightly higher and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched up, underscoring a cautious tone.

Rate Cut Probability Climbs As US Data Softens

US index futures were steady after Wednesday’s gains, with contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all modestly higher. European futures were flat to slightly weaker, with DAX and FTSE 100 edging down and CAC 40 a touch stronger.

Overnight on Wall Street, small caps led the advance. The Russell 2000 jumped about 1.9% and the S&P 500 notched a second straight rise after US private payrolls posted their biggest drop in more than two and a half years.

An Institute for Supply Management survey showed services employment contracting in November and the prices paid subindex falling to a seven-month low, even as overall services activity held near 52.6.

The run of softer numbers has strengthened the case for a near-term cut. Fed funds futures now imply roughly an 89% chance of a 25-basis-point reduction at the meeting next week, up from about 83% a week earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Greenback Hits Five-Week Low, Investors Track Signals On Future Fed Moves

The dollar index slipped around 0.4% to 98.878, touching a five-week low and extending its losing streak to a ninth session. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was steady near 4.07% after a Financial Times report said bond investors have expressed concern to the Treasury that Hassett could push for aggressive rate cuts aligned with President Donald Trump’s preferences.

Investors are also dealing with a backlog of US data after a record 43-day government shutdown earlier in the year disrupted the flow of official releases.

As delayed reports filter out, traders are placing more weight than usual on private sector surveys and high frequency indicators to gauge the Fed’s path.

The next major macro test comes on Friday with the release of the personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.

Until then, markets are trading on the assumption that a December cut is virtually locked in and that 2025 and 2026 policy will hinge on how quickly growth and employment cool from here.

The post Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Steadies Around $93K, Stocks Drift After Weak US Prints Reinforce Fed Cut Outlook appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin’s latest market cycle is shaping up to be one of its most mature, with new Glassnode data showing a surge in institutional participation, calmer trading conditions and rapid growth in tokenized real-world assets.

Glassnode and Fasanara Capital, in their Q4 Digital Assets Report, say the structure of the market has shifted meaningfully as larger investors deepen their presence.

The report estimates that Bitcoin has absorbed about $732B in new capital this cycle, a level of inflow that has arrived alongside a sharp drop in volatility.

One-year realized volatility has nearly halved, suggesting a market that is growing both in size and in stability as institutional players take a larger role.

Bitcoin Settlement Hits $6.9T As Activity Rivals Visa And Mastercard

Settlement volumes remain a key sign of scale. Glassnode says Bitcoin settled roughly $6.9T over the past 90 days, placing it on par with or above payment giants Visa and Mastercard.

Even as more activity moves off-chain into ETFs and brokerage channels, Bitcoin and stablecoins continue to dominate value transfer on public ledgers.

Flows into ETFs have reshaped the way capital enters and exits the asset. The shift toward regulated wrappers is steering large volumes through traditional market rails, which has contributed to steadier liquidity conditions and reduced the frequency of large swings in spot trading.

Tokenized Funds Gain Momentum As Asset Managers Explore New Distribution Models

At the same time, tokenization has become one of the fastest-growing themes in digital assets.

Tokenized real-world assets have expanded from $7B to $24B in a single year, marking their strongest phase of institutional adoption. Glassnode notes that tokenized funds in particular are gaining traction as asset managers search for new distribution models and investors seek simpler access to traditional instruments.

Image Source: Glassnode/ Fasanara Digital

The expansion of tokenized RWAs reflects broader interest from pension funds, hedge funds and corporates that want on-chain exposure without taking directional bets on major cryptocurrencies. This segment has been drawing consistent inflows through 2025 as platforms improve custody, compliance and settlement infrastructure.

Glassnode Sees A More Mature Market Defined By Stability And Scale

Glassnode adds that market structure is both larger, and calmer. Lower volatility, deeper liquidity and a growing share of institutional flows have reduced some of the extremes that defined earlier cycles.

The firm describes the market as trading “calmer, larger, and more institutional,” a theme echoed across derivatives, spot markets and on-chain data.

Despite the calmer backdrop, activity has not faded. Stablecoins continue to serve as the main bridge between traditional and digital markets, and settlement demand remains heavy across both centralized and decentralized venues. The report suggests this dual-rail structure is now a feature of the ecosystem rather than a temporary bridge.

Tokenized RWAs Accelerate Market Evolution And Broaden Investor Participation

ETF demand has also encouraged more market-making and arbitrage participation from traditional firms, which in turn has tightened spreads and reduced dislocations during selloffs. Glassnode says this feedback loop is contributing to a more resilient market than in prior cycles.

As 2025 progresses, analysts expect institutional involvement to deepen further, particularly as tokenized funds see broader adoption. With growing comfort around regulated access points and more on-chain representations of traditional assets, the divide between digital and conventional markets is narrowing.

Glassnode’s report frames the current cycle as a turning point in market composition. The combination of heavier institutional flows, reduced volatility and the rapid rise of tokenized RWAs points to a sector that is entering a more structurally mature phase, even as broader macro conditions continue to shape risk appetite.

The post Institutional Activity Climbs This Bitcoin Cycle, Tokenized RWAs Reach $24B: Glassnode appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin rose toward $92,000 at the Asia open on Wednesday, while regional stocks steadied after a short, sharp wave of selling in global bonds and cryptocurrencies earlier in the week.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency reclaimed the $90,000 handle in early trading, while futures on the Nasdaq and S&P 500 edged about 0.1% higher, signalling a calmer session ahead after Wall Street’s overnight rebound.

Across equities, MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan gained around 0.3%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.8%, recovering some of Monday’s losses.

For many crypto-focused traders, the return of risk appetite in equities added a supportive backdrop for Bitcoin’s bounce.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $92,851, up 6.6%
• Ether: $3,040, up 8.3%
• XRP: $2.18, up 7.6%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.22 trillion, up 6.5%

Akshat Siddant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, said Bitcoin is seeing a strong V-shaped rebound as momentum returns. He noted that sentiment improved after the Fed ended quantitative tightening and injected $13.5b through overnight funding,” which lifted liquidity in short-term markets.

US institutions have increased their use of repo facilities, adding support for risk assets. Siddant also pointed to Bitcoin exchange reserves falling to “multiyear lows of 2.19M BTC,” a trend that has strengthened buying pressure.

With Bitcoin trading near $93,000, he said the next major resistance sits around $96,000, while support has formed near $87,800.

Early Week Turmoil From Bond And Crypto Selling Gives Way To Calmer Trading

The improvement follows an “ugly” start to the week, when expectations of a looming rate hike in Japan triggered a global bond selloff and amplified a slide in cryptocurrencies, sending investors rushing out of risk assets.

Moves in Japanese government bonds were more subdued on Wednesday, although yields stayed under pressure as markets continued to price in a Bank of Japan tightening later this month.

With no major new data in Asia, attention shifted back to the Federal Reserve and a widely expected rate cut next week.

December Strength And Fed Cut Hopes Lift Sentiment After Japan Shock

December has often been a favourable month for stocks, and the prospect of easier US policy has helped sentiment after the earlier shock from Japan.

Recent US numbers have pointed to a gradually cooling economy, while Fed officials had urged caution on cutting too quickly, warning that inflation pressures could return.

Even so, remarks from several policymakers in recent days have reinforced expectations for a cut at the December meeting, and traders now see an 89.2% chance of a 25-basis-point move, up from about 63% a month ago, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

US stocks finished higher on Tuesday, logging a sixth gain in seven sessions in relatively muted trade, driven by technology shares as rate cut hopes stayed elevated. Earlier in the week, equities sold off on softer manufacturing data, a jump in Treasury yields as Japanese bond yields surged, and a drop in Bitcoin and crypto-related stocks.

The next key macro test comes on Friday, when the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is due. That print could help cement expectations for the central bank’s decision next week.

Markets Monitor Potential Successor To Powell As Trump Prepares A Decision

Markets are also watching who may succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends next year, with reports pointing to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett as a leading contender. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would announce his choice early next year.

Crypto traders remain cautious despite Bitcoin’s recovery. Samer Hasn, market analyst at XS.com, said Bitcoin’s recent stabilization is masking deeper fragility beneath the surface.

“According to current market dynamics, whales continue to offload holdings, leverage reset remains incomplete, and no convincing signs of a bottom have emerged. The backdrop has also been clouded by the Bank of Japan’s tightening shock and rising concerns around Strategy’s balance-sheet risks, keeping downside pressure firmly in play,” he added.

The post Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Rebounds to $92K as Stocks Steady After Market Jitters Ease appeared first on Cryptonews.

Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager, is opening its brokerage platform to crypto-focused ETFs and mutual funds, a sharp break from years of resistance that could pull a new wave of mainstream money toward Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets.

Starting Tuesday, the firm will let clients trade third-party funds that primarily hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana, as long as the products meet regulatory standards, Bloomberg reported.

The shift applies to Vanguard’s US brokerage platform and treats crypto funds in a similar way to other “non-core” assets like gold.

Vanguard’s Scale Brings Millions Of New Investors Closer To Bitcoin ETFs

For crypto investors, the move matters because of Vanguard’s sheer scale. The company manages about $11 trillion and serves more than 50M clients worldwide, many of whom were previously unable to buy spot Bitcoin ETFs or other crypto wrappers through their existing Vanguard accounts.

“Cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds have been tested through periods of market volatility, performing as designed while maintaining liquidity,” Andrew Kadjeski, head of brokerage and investments at Vanguard, told Bloomberg. “The administrative processes to service these types of funds have matured; and investor preferences continue to evolve.”

The reversal follows nearly two years of tension between Vanguard’s public skepticism and the rapid growth of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

BlackRock’s Success Challenged Vanguard’s Crypto Skeptic Position

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, IBIT, has become the fastest ETF in history to reach about $70B in assets, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual fees and proving that demand for regulated Bitcoin exposure runs deep on Wall Street.

Vanguard had repeatedly argued that Bitcoin and other tokens were too volatile and speculative for long-term portfolios, and it initially refused to let clients trade spot Bitcoin ETFs after they launched in Jan. 2024.

Former CEO Tim Buckley said at the time that a Bitcoin ETF did not belong in a typical retirement account, reinforcing the firm’s reputation as crypto-skeptical even as rivals leaned in.

Company Will Allow Regulated Crypto ETFs But Exclude Meme Tokens

Leadership has since changed. Salim Ramji, a former BlackRock executive who once ran that firm’s giant ETF business and has spoken publicly about blockchain’s potential, took over as Vanguard’s chief executive this year.

Under his watch, Vanguard is keeping its cautious stance on issuing its own products while conceding that clients want access to crypto through the same brokerage pipes they use for stocks and bonds.

Vanguard says it will list most third-party crypto ETFs and mutual funds that meet regulatory requirements, but it will exclude products tied to memecoins and still has “no plans to launch its own crypto products.” The firm stresses that it views direct crypto exposure as speculative and wants clients to understand the risks before jumping in.

“While Vanguard has no plans to launch its own crypto products, we serve millions of investors that have diverse needs and risk profiles, and we aim to provide a brokerage trading platform that gives our brokerage clients the ability to invest in products they choose,” Kadjeski said.

The post Vanguard Opens Platform to Crypto-Linked ETFs and Mutual Funds, Ending Years of Resistance appeared first on Cryptonews.

Anthropic has shown that powerful AI systems can find weaknesses in blockchain apps and turn them into profitable attacks worth millions of dollars, raising fresh concerns about how exposed DeFi really is.

In a recent study with MATS and Anthropic Fellows, the company tested AI agents on a benchmark called SCONE-bench (Smart CONtracts Exploitation), built from 405 smart contracts that were actually hacked between 2020 and 2025.

When they ran 10 leading models in a simulated environment, the agents managed to exploit just over half of the contracts, with the simulated value of stolen funds reaching about $550.1m.

To reduce the chance that models were simply recalling past incidents, the team then looked only at 34 contracts that were exploited after March 1, 2025, the latest knowledge cutoff for these systems.

Opus 4.5 And GPT-5 Located $4.6M In Value From New Exploit Targets

On that cleaner set, Claude Opus 4.5, Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5 still produced working exploits on 19 contracts, worth a combined $4.6m in simulated value. Opus 4.5 alone accounted for about $4.5m.

Anthropic then tested whether these agents could uncover brand new problems rather than replay old ones. On Oct. 3, 2025, Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5 were run, again in simulation, against 2,849 recently deployed Binance Smart Chain contracts that had no known vulnerabilities.

Both agents found two zero-day bugs and generated attacks worth $3,694, with GPT-5 doing so at an API cost of about $3,476.

Tests Ran Only On Simulated Blockchains With No Real Funds At Risk

All of the testing took place on forked blockchains and local simulators, not live networks, and no real funds were touched. Anthropic says the aim was to measure what is technically possible today, not to interfere with production systems.

Smart contracts are a natural test case because they hold real value and run fully on chain.

When the code goes wrong, attackers can often pull assets out directly, and researchers can replay the same steps and convert the stolen tokens into dollar terms using historical prices. That makes it easier to put a concrete number on the damage an AI agent could cause.

SCONE-bench measures success in dollars rather than just “yes or no” outcomes. Agents are given code, context and tools in a sandbox and asked to find a bug, write an exploit and run it. A run only counts if the agent ends up with at least 0.1 extra ETH or BNB in its balance, so minor glitches do not show up as meaningful wins.

Study Shows Attack Economics Improve As Token Costs Decline

Over the past year, the study found that potential exploit revenue on the 2025 problems roughly doubled every 1.3 months, while the token cost of generating a working exploit fell sharply across model generations.

In practice, that means attackers get more working attacks for the same compute budget as models improve.

Although the work focuses on DeFi, Anthropic argues that the same skills carry over to traditional software, from public APIs to obscure internal services.

The company’s core message to crypto builders is that these tools cut both ways, and that AI systems capable of exploiting smart contracts can also be used to audit and fix them before they go live.

The post Anthropic Says AI Can Hack Smart Contracts After Spotting $4.6M in Exploits appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin traded around $86,000 at the Asia open on Tuesday, as a sharp slide in cryptocurrencies and a global bond selloff kept traders defensive and capped gains in regional stocks.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency remains a key barometer of risk appetite, and sentiment turned fragile after it slumped more than 5% on Monday, briefly slipping below $85,000. It last changed hands near $86,400 in Asia, leaving it roughly 30% below its October peak.

Bitcoin saw the biggest wipeout over the past 24 hours, with about $251.69M getting liquidated. Ethereum followed with roughly $111.31M in liquidations, while other majors like SOL and ZEC saw smaller amounts at $19.22M and $14.99M, according to CoinGlass.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $86,991, up 1.4%
• Ether: $2,805, down 0.5%
• XRP: $2.02, down 0.8%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.03 trillion, up 0.8%

Bond Market Stress Builds As BOJ Signals End To Ultra Loose Policy

Equity markets in the region tried to stabilize, although investors stayed cautious. MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose about 0.6%, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.5% higher after a sharp drop in the previous session.

Behind the nerves sits a week-long selloff in Japanese government bonds, which gathered pace after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda laid the groundwork for an interest rate increase later this month.

Traders increasingly expect the BOJ to move away from its ultra-loose stance, a shift that could ripple through global funding markets.

10-year Japanese government bond yields ticked up another 1.5 basis points in morning trade to around 1.88%, the highest level in 17 years, ahead of a key 10-year auction. On Monday, they had already jumped 6 basis points, while the move spilled into overseas markets and pushed 10 year US-Treasury yields up to about 4.08%.

In credit markets, investors kept a close eye on Chinese developer China Vanke, which recently surprised markets by seeking a delay on a local bond repayment. The company has now asked holders to wait a year to be made whole, a move that underscores ongoing liquidity strains in the country’s property sector.

Markets Price In December Fed Cut As Economic Data Softens

In the US, futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the index fell 0.5% on Monday and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.4%.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed US manufacturing contracted for a ninth straight month in November, with the headline index easing to 48.2 from 48.7, and components such as new orders, employment and backlogs all weakening.

The softer tone in the data has reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve is nearing a turn in policy. Interest rate futures now imply about an 86% chance of a 25 basis point cut at the Fed’s Dec. 9 to 10 meeting, helped by signs of cooling activity and a gradual easing in inflation pressures.

Fed officials will receive one more reading on their preferred inflation gauge before that decision, with Friday’s report expected to show that price pressures remain present but contained. Even so, many analysts see the labour market as the key factor that will shape the pace of cuts next year.

Risk Aversion Rises As Bitcoin Drop Spills Into Crypto-Exposed Equities

Crypto-exposed stocks felt the impact of Bitcoin’s slide as risk aversion picked up. Shares of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, fell sharply, while Coinbase and Robinhood dropped by around mid-single digits. Bitcoin miners such as Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms slid between about 7% and 9% as lower prices squeezed margins.

On-chain data added another layer of concern for crypto traders. Analysts at Bitfinex said recent losses in Bitcoin have triggered a wave of realised losses bigger than those seen at the two major lows earlier in the current cycle, in Aug. 2024 and April 2025, describing a market under stress and searching for liquidity as weaker holders capitulate.

They noted that such heavy loss realization has often occurred near the later stages of corrective phases, when selling pressure exhausts itself and conditions stabilize.

The post Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Stuck at $86k as Bond Selloff and Japan Rate Hike Concerns Weigh on Markets appeared first on Cryptonews.

Elon Musk painted a future where money fades from everyday life, while energy-based value takes its place as the key measure of wealth and power.

Speaking on a recent podcast with Indian entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Musk said that he thinks “money disappears as a concept” eventually.

He called that idea “kind of strange,” but argued that in a future where “anyone can have anything,” people “no longer need money as a database for labor allocation.”

He linked that vision directly to advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. “If AI and robotics are big enough to satisfy all human needs then, then money is no longer… its relevance declines dramatically,” he said.

To ground the idea, Musk pointed to science fiction. He cited the Culture series books by Scottish author Iain Banks, and recommended that people read them.

Energy Replaces Money In Musk’s Future Vision And Bitcoin Fits The Model

In that far future setting, he noted, “they don’t have money either, and everyone can pretty much have whatever they want.”

Even in such a post-scarcity world, Musk said that some forms of value still matter. There are “some fundamental currencies, if you will, that are physics-based,” he told Kamath, then shifted the conversation toward energy. “Energy is the true currency,” he said.

That line set up his argument for why Bitcoin fits this picture. “This is why I say Bitcoin is based on energy,” Musk continued.

The network’s design forces miners to spend real electricity and computation to secure the system, which in his view ties digital value to the physical world.

Musk Frames Energy As The Ultimate Store Of Power Outside Government Policy

Musk then drew a clear line between energy and political power. “You can’t legislate energy,” he said. “You can’t just, you know, pass a law and suddenly have a lot of energy.” He called it “very difficult to to generate energy, especially to harness energy in a useful way, to do useful work.”

“We probably will just have energy, power generation as the de facto currency,” he said. In that framing, whoever controls the most efficient and abundant energy sources effectively controls the strongest “currency.”

That idea resonates with Bitcoin’s proof-of-work model, which already converts electricity and hardware into verifiable digital scarcity. Supporters often argue that this link to real-world energy cost creates a monetary system that cannot be inflated by central banks or rewritten by politicians.

Regulators And Activists Still Clash Over Whether Bitcoin Hurts Or Helps Energy Systems

Musk’s remarks arrive while Bitcoin’s energy use remains one of the most contested issues in policy circles. Environmental critics worry about carbon footprints and grid strain, while advocates say mining can incentivize cleaner generation and better load balancing for power networks.

He did not set any timeline for a shift to an energy-based value regime, and his scenario assumes a level of AI and robotic abundance that is still speculative.

For now, national currencies and conventional payment rails continue to dominate trade, savings and salaries, while Bitcoin trades as an asset that doubles as a long-term bet on a different kind of monetary order.

The post Elon Musk Predicts the Death of Money, Suggests Energy-Based Bitcoin Will Survive appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin tumbled below $86,000 in Asian trading on Monday, even as regional stocks opened the final month of 2025 on a steadier footing, buoyed by growing optimism that the US is close to its next interest rate cut.

After hovering near $91,000 at the end of November, Bitcoin had been slipping lower in small steps, a sign of fatigue rather than capitulation.

That changed when a wave of selling punched through several intraday support levels and drove prices toward the $86,900 area, with a sharp spike in sell volume pointing to forced liquidations or large stop orders getting triggered.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $86,053, down 5.4%
• Ether: $2,819, down 6.1%
• XRP: $2.04, down 7.5%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.01 trillion, down 4.9%

Liquidations Surge As Over $600M In Leveraged Crypto Bets Are Wiped Out

Coinglass data shows a major wipeout in the past 24 hours, with about $608m in crypto liquidations.

Longs took the hit, accounting for more than $535m, while shorts saw only about $73m. Bitcoin and Ethereum led the move, with roughly $185m and $154m cleared out.

For highly leveraged traders, the move felt less like a tidy pullback and more like a trapdoor that reset positioning going into December.

Equity markets looked calmer. MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed, but is still up 23.5% so far this year and on track for its strongest annual gain since 2017.

Japan’s Nikkei slipped about 1.3% in early trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose more than 1%, helping offset softer US equity futures.

A rally in metal stocks helped Chinese shares start the month on a slightly brighter note, even as the latest factory data showed activity remained in contraction in November.

Fed In Focus As Markets Await Powell’s Comments On December Policy

Investors stayed wary of the country’s property sector after China Vanke reportedly failed to secure a short term bank loan, keeping credit worries in the background.

The broader tone across global markets is being set in Washington. Investors are positioning ahead of a heavy run of US data this week that will cover manufacturing and services, as well as consumer confidence and early readings on holiday spending from Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Attention is also fixed on the Federal Reserve. Traders are looking to remarks from Chair Jerome Powell later in the day for clues on the policy meeting in mid-December, with recent dovish comments from officials helping cement the view that another cut is likely. Pricing in futures markets now implies an 87% chance of a move this month.

Upcoming Numbers Could Determine Whether Rate Cuts Continue Into 2026

The week’s releases will arrive against an unusual backdrop. A record 43-day government shutdown earlier this year delayed key reports, leaving policymakers to work with data that, in some cases, is already outdated. That has nudged markets to rely more heavily on speeches from regional Fed presidents and governors for guidance.

Recent comments from San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Governor Christopher Waller have reinforced expectations for continued easing, while New York Fed President John Williams has said he sees room for another reduction in the near term as labour conditions soften.

For the Fed, the upcoming batch of numbers will help shape the debate over whether to extend the rate cutting cycle into 2026 as inflation cools and consumer demand gradually slows.

For crypto traders, the same data will guide whether Monday’s Bitcoin flush is a brief positioning shakeout or the start of a deeper reset after a powerful year long rally.

The post Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Pulls Back Under $86K, Stocks Find Support In Fed Expectations appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin hovered around the $90k mark in Asian trading on Friday, while regional stocks struggled for direction as investors weighed a powerful global rebound against signs that the rally may be running out of steam.

The largest cryptocurrency traded in a tight band between about $90,600 and $91,400 after touching roughly $91,800 in the past 24 hours.

A global equity gauge was little changed, yet still on track for its best week since June as traders leaned into the idea that the Federal Reserve is finally ready to start cutting interest rates.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $90,868, down 0.2%
• Ether: $3,001, down 1.6%
• XRP: $2.17, down 2.2%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.18 trillion, down 0.9%

China Remains In Focus After JPMorgan Turns Overweight On The Market

Asian equities opened mixed. Indexes in South Korea and Japan slipped at the open, while Australia edged higher in thin, holiday-affected trading after the US Thanksgiving break.

Chinese shares stayed in focus after JPMorgan lifted its view on the market to overweight, arguing that the potential upside next year now outweighs the risk of further losses, even as stress at developers such as China Vanke kept property names under pressure.

Across assets, the week’s tone has been driven by Fed expectations. Futures markets are now pricing in roughly an 80% to 85% chance of a quarter-point cut next month and are leaning toward three reductions by the end of 2026.

That shift has helped global stocks recover most of their November losses, which had been driven by worries that richly valued AI names were flashing bubble warnings.

In bonds, a sharp rally in Treasuries has cooled. The 10-year yield held around 4% after stronger-than-expected US labour market data interrupted the slide.

Jobs Data And Fed Signals Strengthen Case For A December Cut

Yields had been falling since late last week after delayed September jobs figures painted a mixed picture, then dropped further when New York Fed President John Williams said he saw room for a rate cut in the near term as the labour market softened.

Trading volumes have been thinner than usual. A holiday-shortened week and the earlier 43-day US government shutdown, which left official data releases badly delayed, have pushed investors to lean more on Fed speakers for guidance.

Recent comments from officials including San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Governor Christopher Waller have reinforced expectations for a December move.

ETF Flows Slow But Stay Positive With BlackRock Still Dominant

On the crypto side, US spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to pull in money, although at a slower pace than during the early-year surge.

Data from SoSoValue showed daily total net inflows of about $21.m on Nov. 26, bringing cumulative net inflows to roughly $57.6b. Total trading value for the day reached about $4.6b, with net assets across the ETF complex at around $117.7b, equal to about 6.6% of Bitcoin’s market value.

Flows again centred on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, which saw roughly $42.8m in net inflows for the day and now holds about $69.9b in assets. Fidelity’s FBTC posted an outflow of about $33.3m, while Grayscale’s converted GBTC vehicle recorded a modest $5.6m inflow but still shows cumulative net outflows of about $25b since spot ETFs launched.

Smaller products from Bitwise, Ark 21Shares, VanEck and others were broadly flat on the day, with only single digit millions of fresh money moving in.

Those numbers show the significant shift in structural demand toward regulated vehicles. IBIT alone accounts for roughly 3.9% of the Bitcoin market, according to the SoSoValue dashboard, while the broader ETF suite now represents a meaningful slice of circulating supply.

For traders in Asia waking up to a slightly softer crypto board and wobbling local equities, the combination of heavy ETF ownership and rising Fed cut odds is likely to set the tone into the year-end, even if price action in both Bitcoin and stocks looks more cautious after an explosive week.

The post Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Holds Near $90K, Regional Stocks Lose Momentum Despite Fed Cut Expectations appeared first on Cryptonews.

California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has been caught on the wrong side of the recent sell-off in Strategy, with its first bet on the Bitcoin proxy stock sliding from more than $144m to about $80m in a matter of months.

According to a recent SEC filing, CalPERS acquired 448,157 Strategy (MSTR) shares in the third quarter, paying over $144m for the position. The stake, which gave the fund direct equity exposure to one of the most volatile Bitcoin plays in traditional markets, is now worth roughly $80m.

In the context of CalPERS, the hit is manageable. The fund manages over $550b in assets for more than 2m public sector workers and retirees, making it the largest public pension plan in the US, so the Strategy stake represents only a tiny slice of its portfolio.

Index Risk Looms With JPMorgan Flagging Possible MSCI And Nasdaq Exits

Strategy’s stock has done the damage. The shares closed around $175 on Wednesday and are down about 45% so far this quarter.

The drop largely tracks Bitcoin’s own swings, as well as a broader risk-off tone that has weighed on high-beta tech and crypto-related names.

Sentiment has also taken a hit from Wall Street. JPMorgan analysts recently warned that Strategy could be removed from major equity benchmarks such as the MSCI USA index and the Nasdaq 100. They estimated that MSCI exclusion alone might trigger up to $2.8b in outflows, with more selling pressure if other index providers follow.

The index angle matters because passive money is already deeply tied to the name. Funds that track benchmarks and hold Strategy as part of those indices account for nearly $9b of market exposure, and a decision on its index status is expected by Jan. 15.

A removal would likely force some of those vehicles to sell, regardless of their view on Bitcoin or the company.

Strategy’s Premium Vanishes As Investors Turn Wary Of Leveraged Bitcoin Plays

For a business that built its brand on wrapping Bitcoin inside an equity ticker, index risk hits more than daily volumes. Strategy became a favoured tool for institutions that wanted listed market access to Bitcoin but were not ready to hold the token directly, so any loss of benchmark status threatens that role as a bridge between traditional finance and crypto.

The company’s rise followed a simple pattern. It sold stock into the market, used the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin, then leaned on each crypto rally to justify fresh issuance and even larger purchases.

At the height of that cycle, Strategy’s market value traded far above the worth of its Bitcoin holdings, reflecting a rich premium for its aggressive strategy.

That premium has largely evaporated. The firm’s valuation now sits only slightly above the value of its Bitcoin reserves, a sign that investors are no longer willing to pay as much extra for its leveraged play on the asset.

For CalPERS and other large funds using listed proxies to tap crypto, the episode is a reminder that Bitcoin exposure packaged in equity form can still deliver sharp drawdowns when sentiment turns.

The post Largest US Pension Fund CalPERS Faces Heavy Losses As Strategy Investment Drops To $80M appeared first on Cryptonews.