Stocks

U.S. auto safety regulators opened a defect investigation into Tesla Model 3 emergency door releases, focusing on 179,071 sedans from the 2022 model year. The review follows a petition by owner Kevin Clouse, who says he escaped a 2023 fire by breaking a rear window, and will assess whether the manual lever is hidden or unlabeled.

On December 22, 2025, Metaplanet shareholders unanimously approved equity measures at an extraordinary meeting to pursue a 210,000 BTC treasury by end-2027. At current prices, the target is about $18.5 billion, supported by new Class A and Class B shares featuring floating rates, quarterly dividends, and buyback mechanisms intended to fund additional Bitcoin acquisitions while deferring immediate dilution.

Upexi, a Nasdaq-listed consumer products company, has filed a shelf registration that would allow it to raise up to $1 billion over the next three years while deepening its Solana-based treasury strategy. The firm already holds about 2.03 million SOL, valued near $254 million, and focuses on staking and long-term holding even as its share price has dropped sharply from this year's peak. Its recent quarterly results showed $66.7 million in net income on $9.2 million in revenue, largely driven by mark-to-market gains on Solana rather than core operations.

In 2025, crypto dealmaking reached a record as mergers, acquisitions, and listings accelerated despite Bitcoin's pullback from October highs. The sector recorded 267 deals worth $8.6 billion and 11 IPOs raising $14.6 billion, with consolidation driven by regulatory clarity and compliance priorities.

BlackRock-linked wallets moved 2,292 BTC and 9,976 ETH to Coinbase, valued around $428 million. Its Bitcoin ETF recorded a $118.64 million outflow on Monday, and the latest transfer came roughly 24 hours after a prior deposit. During the move, major coins fell, with Bitcoin and Ethereum down 0.49% and 0.56% over the last day.

Initial U.S. jobless claims came in at 214,000 for the week ending Dec. 20, down 10,000 from the prior period and below a 224,000 forecast, according to the Labor Department. Continuing claims rose to 1.92 million, while the Conference Board said December consumer confidence fell to 89.1 from 92.9, marking a fifth consecutive monthly decline.

On 24 December 2025, a potential 2026 IPO by Kraken was framed as a possible catalyst for fresh institutional inflows while Bitcoin struggled to recover after a late‑year setback. The asset remains below its October record above $126,000 following a roughly $19 billion liquidation, with opinions split between continued expansion and a cooler phase in 2026.

On December 24, 2025, Italy's competition authority AGCM said it issued an interim order directing Meta to suspend a WhatsApp policy that bars rival general‑purpose AI chatbots from the platform. The watchdog warns the conduct could threaten competition in Italy, and Meta also faces a parallel EU antitrust probe triggered after the company's October policy announcement.

In its 2026 outlook, VanEck says Bitcoin has trailed the Nasdaq 100 by roughly 50% year to date in 2025, a gap it argues could precede outperformance next year. David Schassler also pointed to gold's surge past $4,500 an ounce and projected $5,000 in 2026, while Matthew Sigel expects a consolidation phase.

The United States entered a new fiscal phase in 2025 as interest on federal debt exceeded $1 trillion, outpacing defense and Medicare. Net interest climbed from $345 billion in FY2020 to about $970 billion in FY2025. A July 2025 law mandates stablecoin issuers hold 100% USD or T‑bill reserves, potentially channeling major demand into Treasuries.