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According to a report by Cointelegraph, Santiment's latest report shows that the Memecoin market is currently exhibiting "classic capitulation signals." Despite the overall volatile trend in the cryptocurrency market, the sector may be approaching a temporary bottom.Data shows that the total market capitalization of Memecoins has dropped by about 34% over the past 30 days, falling to $31.02 billion. During the same period, Dogecoin fell by 32%. Santiment points out that there is currently a rising "nostalgic" sentiment towards Memecoins on social media, with many traders generally accepting the narrative of the "end of the meme era," and this consistent pessimism is often a typical market capitulation signal.The report states that when a sector is "completely sentenced to death" by the market, it is often the point of contrarian attention, as "maximum pain often corresponds to a temporary bottom." Additionally, Santiment notes that bearish comments on crypto social media significantly outnumber bullish comments. Historical experience shows that the market usually moves in the opposite direction of public expectations. Even if prices rebound, doubts remain in the market, which may instead favor a more sustained recovery trend.Santiment emphasizes that as Bitcoin becomes more institutionalized, the traditional path of "Bitcoin hitting new highs → Ethereum catching up → altcoin season rotating comprehensively" may no longer be fully applicable. In the future, altcoin trends may become more differentiated rather than simply "a rising tide lifts all boats."

Jim Moloney, head of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, stated that they are working to expedite the development of regulatory rules. The division will primarily focus on reforms related to crypto assets and is preparing to submit two key proposals regarding crypto assets to the Commission: first, to provide interpretive guidance that offers a clear classification for crypto assets and describes the framework for determining when crypto assets are subject to investment contract obligations; second, to develop a reasonable regulatory structure proposal for the issuance and sale of such securities that are subject to investment contract obligations.Additionally, the division will continue to provide market clarity through statements and no-action letters. Jim Moloney also mentioned that other ongoing work by the SEC includes: implementing the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA); creating an option for semi-annual reports instead of quarterly reports; and alleviating regulatory burdens under Regulation S-K, including executive compensation disclosures.

According to Finance Feeds, the Financial Services Agency of Japan plans to officially reclassify Ripple's XRP as a "regulated financial product" before the second quarter of 2026, moving it out of the "crypto asset" category under the Payment Services Act and into the more stringent regulatory framework of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.This move aims to align the legal status of XRP with its significant institutional application scale in Japan. XRP has become one of the pillars of the country's banking and remittance infrastructure. After reclassification, XRP will gain an "investment-grade" status equivalent to traditional stocks and bonds, which is expected to attract more institutional capital and provide a regulatory precedent for other major digital assets. The new regulations will require exchanges and liquidity providers to fully disclose asset volatility, technical characteristics, and issuer relationships, and will explicitly prohibit insider trading and market manipulation to enhance investor protection.

According to Decrypt, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged New York state lawmakers to classify unlicensed cryptocurrency businesses as a criminal offense and called for enhanced law enforcement tools to combat crypto crime.Bragg warned that a criminal economy worth $51 billion is thriving in regulatory blind spots, allowing criminals to launder money from guns, drugs, and fraud without punishment. He specifically pointed out that unlicensed crypto ATMs, which charge fees of up to 20% to convert cash into digital assets, are one of the main issues. He argued that all crypto businesses must be subject to mandatory licensing and comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, with violators facing criminal liability. If the proposal is passed, New York will become the 19th state in the U.S. to criminalize unlicensed crypto operations.

Fitch Ratings, an international credit rating agency, released an assessment report on Monday, categorizing Bitcoin-backed securities as "speculative grade" credit ratings, warning of their "high risk" that could lead to losses for lenders and investors.The report pointed out that the extreme volatility of Bitcoin prices is a major risk factor. When the collateral coverage ratio falls below the stipulated threshold, it can quickly erode the value of the collateral and trigger margin calls and forced liquidations.Fitch cited the collapses of crypto lending platforms such as BlockFi and Celsius in 2022-2023, emphasizing the vulnerability of collateral models under market pressure. This assessment primarily targets credit instruments that directly rely on the value of collateral for repayment, excluding equity products like spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Regarding "Japan will classify Bitcoin as a financial product this year," crypto analyst Willy Woo commented, "The Japanese will be more motivated to buy Bitcoin. Classifying Bitcoin as a financial product means that the tax rate on Bitcoin gains (or transactions) will be 20%, rather than the marginal income tax rate (which is 43-55% if annual income exceeds $57,000). Metaplanet will lose its tax arbitrage advantage compared to self-custodied Bitcoin. About 110 cryptocurrencies are also included, with staking rewards taxed at the marginal tax rate."

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has accepted a class action lawsuit in 2025, accusing the famous rapper Drake of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the process of promoting and using the cryptocurrency casino Stake.us. The complaint also names well-known streamer Adin Ross and an Australian citizen alleged to have assisted in the fraudulent activity as defendants.The plaintiffs claim that the defendants used the tipping feature of Stake.us for fund transfers and concealed the flow of funds related to music streaming manipulation, while the platform is accused of evading U.S. gambling regulations under the guise of a "social casino." The lawsuit seeks no less than $5 million in damages and requests a jury trial. This case is not the first time Drake and Ross have faced legal risks for promoting Stake.us.

According to The Block, a cryptocurrency class-action lawsuit accusing Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks of deceiving investors by promoting the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Voyager Digital has been dismissed.The lawsuit claims that Cuban made multiple false statements about the company before Voyager filed for bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) in 2022. At the time of Voyager's bankruptcy filing, the value of the cryptocurrency assets on its platform was approximately $1.3 billion. Voyager's collapse was part of a broader market downturn triggered by the collapse of the Terra blockchain, which resulted in about $40 billion in market value evaporating and ultimately led to its founder Do Kwon being sentenced to 15 years in prison earlier this month.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) plans to explore whether certain stablecoins qualify as "cash equivalents" by 2026 and study how to account for cryptocurrency transfers (including Wrapped Tokens). This move comes in the context of the Trump administration's push for cryptocurrency policies and the passage of the Genius Act.FASB Chairman Rich Jones stated that the agency has added these cryptocurrency projects to its agenda. Previously, in 2023, FASB required companies to adopt fair value accounting for cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin, but that rule excluded NFTs and certain stablecoins.

According to Gelonghui, Derlin Holdings (01709.HK) announced that its subsidiary, Derlin Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, in which it holds a 70% stake, has received conditional approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to provide virtual asset trading services under a comprehensive account arrangement, subject to Derlin Securities meeting certain conditions of its existing Type 1 (Securities Trading) regulated activity license.Derlin Securities has accepted the above conditions and will commence virtual asset trading services upon receiving formal approval from the SFC. The company is committed to advancing the upgrade of Derlin Securities' Type 4 (Advising on Securities) regulated activity license, which is currently undergoing final approval by the SFC. The company will make an appropriate announcement upon receiving the relevant approvals from the SFC.

The U.S. court has been asked again to weigh in on the practice of Maximum Extractable Value (MEV). A judge has approved a motion to allow the amendment and resubmission of new evidence related to MEV trading practices in the class action lawsuit against Pump.fun, Jito Labs, and the Solana Foundation.The plaintiffs allege that Pump.fun uses MEV technology to allow insiders to acquire new tokens at a low price, which are then sold to retail participants after being pumped up, with retail participants serving as exit liquidity for the insiders. Solana Labs, Jito Labs, and others are mentioned in the allegations as having facilitated this.

According to the official announcement, Binance is expected to suspend token deposits and withdrawals for Terra Classic (LUNC) on December 18, 2025, at 22:10 (UTC+8) to support its network upgrade. The project team will perform the network upgrade at block height 26,479,000 (expected on December 18, 2025, at 23:10 UTC+8).

Tajikistan has introduced criminal penalties for the illegal use of electricity to mine virtual assets and cryptocurrencies through amendments to the Criminal Code.According to the new regulations, offenders will face fines ranging from 15,000 to 75,000 somoni, or imprisonment for 2 to 8 years. Previously, cryptocurrencies were neither legal nor illegal in Tajikistan, existing in a regulatory gray area.

According to Bloomberg, the prediction market platform Kalshi Inc. has recently faced a class-action lawsuit, accused of illegally operating a sports betting business without any state gambling licenses and misleading customers about its market-making activities. The lawsuit was filed by seven users of the Kalshi app, claiming that the company falsely asserted it offered "legal sports betting" services.The lawsuit also alleges that Kalshi's affiliated company, Kalshi Trading, acted as a market maker, setting unfavorable odds for customers, effectively making consumers bet against the "house." Kalshi, however, insists that it operates as a derivatives market, solely regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).This is the latest in a series of legal challenges facing Kalshi. Previously, a federal judge in Nevada ruled that the company should be subject to state regulation, stating that "event contracts based on the outcomes of sporting events do not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC." Currently, at least five courts across the United States are handling disputes between prediction markets and state gambling regulations.

According to Bloomberg, the South African Reserve Bank has warned that crypto assets and stablecoins have become new risks threatening the country's financial sector due to a lack of comprehensive regulation.In its semi-annual Financial Stability Assessment Report, it pointed out that the digitization and cross-border nature of cryptocurrencies allow them to evade existing foreign exchange control laws, while digital assets have not yet been included in regulatory oversight. The central bank's chief macroprudential expert, Herco Steyn, stated that the risks stem from an "incomplete regulatory framework." He expects progress next year but warned that if progress stalls, "regulation will be overwhelmed." Currently, the South African Reserve Bank is working with the Treasury to formulate new regulations to oversee cross-border crypto asset transactions and amend foreign exchange control laws to include digital assets. The central bank emphasized that as the adoption of crypto assets increases, the domestic regulatory framework needs to continuously adjust with market developments and risks. Data shows that South Africa's crypto industry is dominated by three major platforms: Luno, VALR, and Ovex. As of July, there were nearly 7.8 million registered users; by December 2024, total assets are expected to reach 25.3 billion rand.

The founder and executive chairman of Strategy, Michael Saylor, posted on the X platform in response to the issue of MSCI index exclusion. He stated that Strategy, as a publicly traded operating company, is fundamentally different from funds, trusts, and holding companies. Strategy not only has a software business valued at $500 million but also uniquely utilizes Bitcoin as productive capital in its asset management. Index classification cannot define Strategy. The company's long-term strategy is clear, with a strong belief in Bitcoin, and its mission has always been to become the world's first digital currency institution based on sound money and financial innovation.