United StatesCryptocurrency

YouTube has begun allowing eligible US-based creators to receive earnings in PayPal’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), marking a notable step towards mainstream adoption of regulated digital currencies in creator monetisation.

The new payout option was reported by Fortune on 11 December and reflects growing interest among major technology firms in using stablecoins as practical payment tools rather than speculative assets.

United States crypto regulation is entering a new phase after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced it would withdraw legacy digital asset guidance seen as misaligned with today’s market realities.

The decision, confirmed on 11 December, signals a regulatory pivot that could reduce compliance burdens and widen institutional access to crypto markets across the country.

Memecoins are not dead despite the collapse in prices and fading hype, according to MoonPay president Keith A. Grossman, who believes the sector is undergoing a structural reset rather than a permanent decline.

Grossman argued that memecoins were never solely about jokes or financial nihilism, but about the technological ability to tokenise attention cheaply and at scale using blockchain infrastructure.

Standard Chartered and Coinbase have expanded their strategic partnership to build trading, custody and financing infrastructure for institutional cryptocurrency clients.

The British multinational bank said the collaboration will focus on developing secure and compliant digital asset services tailored to large financial institutions.

A senior executive at Itaú Asset Management has recommended that investors allocate between 1% and 3% of their portfolios to Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) as part of a diversified strategy.

Itaú Unibanco is the largest private bank in Latin America and a key player in Brazil's traditional financial system.

Legacy DeFi options vaults created by Ribbon Finance and later absorbed by Aevo were exploited for around $2.7 million on December 12.

The affected products were Ribbon’s DeFi Options Vaults, which once held more than $300 million in total value locked during DeFi’s peak.

Solana (CRYPTO:SOL)-linked exchange-traded funds recorded seven consecutive days of net inflows even as SOL continued to trade near its weakest levels of the year amid a broader crypto market downturn.

Data from Farside Investors shows approximately $16.6 million flowed into Solana ETFs on Tuesday alone, marking the strongest single day of inflows during the streak.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) has retreated sharply from its early-October peak, unsettling traders and reviving concerns that the market could be heading towards a prolonged downturn into 2026.

The recent decline has coincided with wider macroeconomic uncertainty, prompting some investors to question whether the current bull phase has already lost momentum.

Solana (CRYPTO:SOL)-focused exchange-traded funds have recorded seven consecutive days of net inflows even as the wider cryptocurrency market remains under sustained pressure.

Data from Farside Investors shows that Solana ETFs attracted a cumulative $674m in net inflows during the period, highlighting continued institutional engagement.

The strongest single day of inflows was recorded last Tuesday, when $16.6m entered Solana-linked ETF products.

Bitcoin's (CRYPTO:BTC) long-discussed four-year market cycle remains intact but is now shaped by political events and liquidity conditions rather than the asset’s halving mechanism, according to new analysis from 10x Research.

Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, said the belief that the cycle has broken down misunderstands how Bitcoin's market dynamics have evolved in recent years.

Twenty One Capital's highly anticipated debut on the New York Stock Exchange ended with a sharp sell-off, highlighting growing investor restraint toward Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC)-heavy public companies.

Trading under the ticker XXI, the stock fell by almost 20% on its first day, defying expectations fuelled by its sizeable Bitcoin treasury and prominent institutional backers.