On December 21, 2025, Galaxy Digital Research issued its 2026 outlook, calling the year too chaotic to forecast while projecting Bitcoin could reach $250,000 by end-2027. Bitcoin set a $126,080 all-time high on October 6, 2025, then slid to the low $90,000s and around $88,000 in December. The firm also anticipates strong growth in stablecoins.

According to local reports on December 21, the Bank of Korea sent an official document to major banks outlining a second-phase CBDC pilot focused on testing government subsidy payouts in digital currency. The first phase, run with seven banks for three months, was suspended after criticism over limited utility and costs in billions of won.

Wang Chun, co-founder of Bitcoin mining pool F2Pool, recounted a 2024 incident where he reportedly sent 500 BTC into a wallet he believed was compromised to test if it was under hacker surveillance, resulting in the loss of 490 BTC. He shared this story after a separate December 20 phishing case in which a user mistakenly transferred about 50 million USDT in an address poisoning attack and is now working with law enforcement to recover the funds. The Ethereum Community Foundation has urged wallets and explorers to stop truncating addresses with dots, arguing that this interface choice unnecessarily increases the risk of such scams.

On December 21 2025, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin used Farcaster posts to argue that prediction markets help counter extreme opinions and misinformation on emotionally sensitive topics. He responded to criticism of platforms like Polymarket, claiming that small markets on major events do not create harmful incentives and can offer more accurate risk signals than social media or headlines. While Buterin firmly opposed assassination markets, he suggested social norms, oracle design, and journalistic standards as ways to make such markets unworkable.

On December 20, 2025, Momento Research's Ash Liew reported tracking 118 token generation events this year, with 84.7% (100/118) now below launch valuation and the median down 71%. Only 18 tokens, or 15%, remain above water. Syndicate leads losses at −93.64%, while Animecoin, Berachain, and Bio Protocol have each fallen over 93%.

Caterpillar Inc. fell 4.7% on Wednesday, its sharpest one‑day decline since April, and was down about 9.6% by Thursday after five sessions, pulling back from a record high near $627.50. Analysts said skepticism about AI‑driven trades is weighing on AI‑linked names, while Caterpillar points to a November Vertiv partnership focused on on‑site power and cooling for data centers.

Updated December 20, 2025, Coinbase's 2026 Crypto Market Outlook adopts a restrained stance, comparing conditions to the mid‑1990s internet build‑out. It anticipates deeper institutional participation under frameworks such as the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts and projects stablecoin market cap could reach $1.2 trillion by 2028, while noting Bitcoin's open interest has declined.

Updated December 20 2025 12:38 AM UTC, DraftKings launched DraftKings Predictions, a standalone app and web platform for trading on real‑world outcomes. According to DraftKings, the CFTC‑regulated service is live in 38 states, connects to CME Group, and initially lists sports and financial markets, with expansion to entertainment and culture planned.

On December 20, 2025, Aster and Lighter were reported to be closing the gap with Hyperliquid's dominance in decentralized perpetual futures exchanges. Monthly perp volumes reached $252 billion for Lighter and $218 billion for Aster, while open interest stood at $1.7 billion, $2.4 billion, and $7 billion for Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid. In November, Lighter briefly led after a $68 million funding round.