Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that a four-year SEC investigation into the Aave protocol has concluded without enforcement action, signaling a notable regulatory development for DeFi. Following the news, the AAVE token climbed 2.28% to $187.45 on December 16, 2025, with a market capitalization of $2.87 billion despite a weekly decline.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation on a new set of cryptocurrency regulations, alongside a government decision that industry rules will take effect in October 2027. The package targets market integrity, consumer protection and prudential standards, with feedback accepted until February 12, 2026 and final measures expected by the end of 2026. UK crypto ownership has fallen from 12% to 8% in a year, while Bitcoin is priced at $86,504.74 with 58.59% market dominance and pronounced recent volatility.

Aave Labs integrated CoWSwap into app.aave.com, replacing Paraswap, drawing objections from Aave DAO delegates over front-end fee routing. Delegates EzR3aL and Marc Zeller say the change diverts 15–25 basis points and could reduce DAO revenue by about $10m per year, raising governance and transparency concerns.

On December 15, CME Group introduced spot-priced XRP and SOL futures, with contracts stated to become effective on December 15, 2025. The products expand its U.S. crypto suite alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum futures and feature longer expirations to reduce rollovers. CME cited more than 1.3 million Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether contracts traded since June.

On December 12, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved national trust bank charters for Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Circle. The move advances regulatory onboarding for crypto custody and payments, potentially opening more direct access to U.S. banking rails once conditions are met. No executive statements were posted at that time.

On December 12, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved trust bank charters for Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Circle. The firms may pursue fiduciary and digital asset custody activities, but must satisfy specified conditions, including a $11.7 million tier 1 capital requirement, before conversion to full operations and broader integration with traditional finance.

Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jietzhuang has stated on X that he will support the development of Web3, emphasizing stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization under clear regulation. He highlights that Hong Kong’s stablecoin bill is progressing without unexpected changes and is broadly aligned with global regulatory practice, aiming to attract developers and strengthen the city’s role in digital finance. Coincu researchers expect that a regulated Web3 and RWA framework could help improve financial structures and risk management.

Moody’s Ratings has introduced a stablecoin credit rating framework, reported on December 13. The methodology evaluates reserve composition, maturities, custody, and operational risk, meaning two tokens with 1:1 USD backing can receive different grades; institutions are watching potential effects on collateral policies and market positioning.

Moody's introduced a stablecoin rating framework to assess credit and market risks and opened a public comment period that ends on January 26, 2026. The methodology aims to differentiate tokens by reserve quality and operational resilience, with potential implications for widely used fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.