On Tuesday, Bitcoin dropped nearly 4% to about $85,940 as Asian equity markets softened and traders trimmed risk ahead of upcoming US economic indicators. Major altcoins also declined and total crypto market capitalization fell to $3.02 trillion, while analysts remained divided on Bitcoin's path into 2026 and on how Federal Reserve policy should evolve. The pullback left both digital assets and Wall Street sensitive to any surprises in jobs and inflation data.

As of December 16, 2025, President Donald Trump's preferred candidate for Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Hassett, is meeting resistance from senior advisers, lawmakers, and markets. According to reports, concerns over Fed independence have coincided with Kalshi odds shifting: Hassett at 51% versus more than 80% earlier this month, while Kevin Warsh has risen to 44% from around 11%.

On Monday, crypto markets fell as Bitcoin retested $85,000 and Ether touched $2,900, while leveraged longs saw $527M liquidated in 24 hours. Traders shifted risk after surveys and Fed chair speculation changed macro expectations, and AI-related debt concerns added pressure.

Analytics platform DeFiLlama reported that in the past week, major cryptocurrencies moved with unusually tight price correlations, led by a 0.99 reading between Bitcoin and Solana. Ethereum also posted strong links to Cardano, Solana, and Dogecoin, while BNB stood out as comparatively disconnected from broader market moves.

J.P. Morgan has introduced a $100 million tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, expanding its activity on public blockchains after arranging a $50 million commercial paper issuance on Solana. The new My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY) invests in U.S. Treasuries and fully collateralized repos, with tokenized shares held in investors' blockchain addresses and accessed via Morgan Money.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, speaking at an SEC Crypto Task Force roundtable, warned that expanding government oversight could turn blockchain and crypto systems into a financial surveillance tool. He argued that treating every wallet as a broker and every transaction as reportable risks creating a financial panopticon, and called for a regulatory framework that protects lawful activity and individual privacy while still allowing innovation.

The SEC's crypto task force convened its sixth roundtable on Monday, bringing regulators together with industry representatives to examine financial surveillance and user privacy. Commissioner Hester Peirce argued that crypto is prompting a reassessment of financial privacy, while participants from Zcash, the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation weighed in on policy implications.

CME Group debuted spot-quoted XRP and Solana futures, expanding a suite that already includes Bitcoin and Ether. Since launch, average daily volume in the spot-quoted BTC/ETH contracts was 11,300, rising to 18,400 in the fourth quarter and 35,300 in December, with a late November peak day of 60,700 combined contracts.