TU Crypto News (EN)

🔹 An Ethereum ICO participant became active after 10 years An investor who took part in the Ethereum ICO transferred 2,000 ETH (around $6 million) to a new wallet after more than a decade of inactivity. In 2015, these coins cost him just $620.

📉 CryptoQuant: demand for Bitcoin continues to weaken CryptoQuant analysts note a decline in spot demand for BTC: the current cycle included three buying waves, and the latest one, according to their data, is already fading. The company views this dynamic as a signal of the risk of continued Bitcoin price correction in the near term.

📊 Coinbase: 2026 will become a phase of institutional stability for the crypto market Coinbase analysts believe that the crypto industry is transitioning from speculation to a mature financial model. In the U.S., regulatory clarity is emerging, giving a “green light” to large capital, and for institutions the question is no longer whether to enter, but when and in what size to buy. According to Coinbase, stablecoins will form the foundation of the global financial infrastructure, while ETFs have reshaped the perception of BTC — from a speculative asset to a portfolio component. Fast multiples are giving way to long-term investments, tokenization, and systemic growth.

🔮 Fidelity: Bitcoin could enter a bear market in 2026 Fidelity Investments’ director of global macro strategy Jurrien Timmer suggested that in 2026 BTC could move into a bearish phase with a low around $65,000. According to him, this scenario reflects the maturity of Bitcoin adoption and could lay the groundwork for more stable long-term growth.

‼️ Bybit returns to the UK through a partnership with Archax. ☝️ Starting December 19, the crypto exchange Bybit is offering 100 spot cryptocurrency trading pairs via the London-licensed exchange Archax, in compliance with UK financial promotion rules. According to Bybit, the relaunch in the UK market highlights the exchange’s commitment to regulatory compliance, aimed at expanding its product offering in a complex financial environment with a focus on transparency and user engagement.

‼️ The stablecoin market could grow to $600 billion, claims JPMorgan. 📈 According to JPMorgan, the supply of stablecoins in 2025 has increased by about $100 billion and reached $308 billion, primarily due to USDT and USDC. JPM stated that the supply of stablecoins could reach $500–600 billion by 2028, but this is significantly lower than the most optimistic forecasts of $2–4 trillion.

🎯 Jump Trading hit with $4 billion lawsuit Terraform Labs bankruptcy administrator Todd Snyder has filed a $4 billion lawsuit against Jump Trading, accusing the firm of illegally profiting from and contributing to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. ✍️ Terraform said the lawsuit aims to hold the company accountable for what it described as the “largest crypto collapse in history.”

📊 Brazil’s B3 exchange to launch tokenization platform and its own stablecoin Brazil’s stock exchange B3 said it will launch an asset tokenization platform and its own stablecoin for settlements within this environment in 2026 — a first step toward deeper integration of traditional finance with blockchain. 🪙 The stablecoin, pegged to the Brazilian real, will serve as the settlement token for such transactions, speeding up clearing and reducing reliance on fiat settlement cycles.

💥 The U.S. is preparing for a key step in crypto regulation The White House confirmed that the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act will be taken up by the Senate as early as January. This is not a final vote, but the committee stage, where the bill is amended and finalized before it reaches the floor. 📌 The CLARITY Act aims to define which tokens are treated as securities and which are commodities, and to clearly split oversight between the SEC and the CFTC. If it passes, crypto companies in the U.S. could finally get clearer rules of the road instead of regulation through court cases.

🪙 Coinbase appoints George Osborne as chair of its Global Advisory Council Coinbase has put former UK finance minister George Osborne in charge of its Global Advisory Council — the company is stepping up engagement with governments in the UK and the EU and aims to shape rules around crypto, stablecoins, and tokenization.

🇺🇸 U.S. Senate confirms crypto-friendly CFTC and FDIC chairs The U.S. Senate confirmed Mike Selig as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Travis Hill as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) — both are seen as crypto-friendly. ✍️ Their confirmation could reduce regulatory uncertainty and pave the way for new policy initiatives in 2026–27.

🇺🇸 The NYSE parent company plans to invest in MoonPay 💥 According to Bloomberg, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, plans to participate in the funding round of crypto payments company MoonPay at a $5 billion valuation. MoonPay allows users to buy cryptocurrencies using traditional payment methods such as debit and credit cards, and also provides services to exchanges and businesses looking to integrate crypto payments. ➡️ Recently, ICE invested $2 billion in the prediction platform Polymarket. These developments further highlight the growing convergence between Wall Street and the blockchain industry.

‼️ Fetch.ai to launch AI agent payment system with Visa 📈 Fetch.ai has announced final testing and a January launch of a new feature that enables autonomous payments through integration with the Visa payment network and the use of one-time payment credentials. ✅ The platform supports both traditional card payments and on-chain transactions using USDC or its native FET token. ✅ Currently, due to security and regulatory risks, nearly all agent-based systems require real-time human approval for payments — but this will no longer be necessary. Fetch.ai’s system has already been used to book restaurant reservations and purchase airline tickets on behalf of its owner.

‼️ Video Overview of the Top News for December 18 ✅ Bloomberg: Bitcoin could pull back to $10,000 ✅ Binance promises $5 million for exposing fake “agents” ✅ VanEck refuses to make crypto market predictions ✅ Coinbase expands in India ▶️ Watch on YouTube

👀 BlackRock transferred another 6,952 ETH (~$20 million) to Coinbase Prime This is not the first such transaction and it comes amid ongoing outflows from Ethereum ETFs. Institutional investors, following the broader market, continue to reduce their positions in ETH.

🔸 BNB Chain launches the native stablecoin U BNB Chain has announced the launch of its own native stablecoin U, issued by United Stables.

🔹 Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum’s complexity hinders mass adoption Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that the network’s architecture is too complex for ordinary users, forcing participants to rely on a narrow circle of developers. According to him, the goal of Ethereum’s roadmap is to simplify interaction with the blockchain to the level of familiar web applications.

🕯 Bitcoin expected to be less volatile than Nvidia Bitcoin will remain less volatile than Nvidia in 2026, according to Bitwise. 📉 The firm attributes this to the fact that “Bitcoin’s volatility has steadily declined over the past 10 years.” In 2025, Bitcoin’s price swing amounted to 68%, compared with 120% for Nvidia shares.

🏦 Acting CFTC chair to move into the crypto sector Caroline Pham, the acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has already lined up a new role. 🌐 Following the Senate confirmation of a new chair, she will leave the regulator and join MoonPay. Earlier, another CFTC commissioner, Summer Mersinger, left the agency to become CEO of the Blockchain Association.

📈 Hut 8 shares jump 25% after data center expansion announcement Mining company Hut 8 announced a partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack to accelerate the deployment of AI infrastructure in the United States. ⌨️ Under the agreement, the miner will develop and bring online data center capacity of up to 2,295 MW. Hut 8 shares surged more than 25% intraday, reaching $46.24, up from $36.85 the previous day.