Crypto.com has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre to research how distributed ledger technology can be applied to global commodities trading and settlement. The collaboration will assess tokenized commodities listings, custody models, and liquidity tools across sectors such as precious metals, diamonds, energy, and agriculture, while also adding education programs and running in parallel with Crypto.com's separate expansion into prediction-based market intelligence.

Wyoming-chartered Custodia Bank filed a December 15 petition asking the full Tenth Circuit to rehear its case contesting the Federal Reserve's denial of a master account. The filing argues the October 2-1 panel ruling misread the Monetary Control Act and raises constitutional issues by giving Reserve Banks unreviewable discretion over access to core payment services.

On December 16th, 2025, Masters of Trivia reported that its utility token MOT was listed on CoinMarketCap, increasing exposure for its token-based learning and quiz platform. The project was also chosen for the HundrED Global Collection 2026 after a review process covering more than 800 education innovations, highlighting its focus on scalable, multilingual, quiz-driven education and on-chain participation.

Bhutan and Cumberland DRW signed a multi-year MOU to develop a crypto ecosystem in Gelephu Mindfulness City. The plan emphasizes talent building, national stablecoin infrastructure, sustainable mining, and AI compute. Bhutan also launched the gold-backed TER token on Solana, issued via GMC, with DK Bank as custodian and distributor.

FSOC's 2025 annual report removes digital assets from its financial stability vulnerabilities list and shifts emphasis toward sustainable economic growth. It highlights the GENIUS Act, signed in July, as the federal framework for stablecoin payments and notes complementary actions, including Executive Order 14178 in January and the SEC's rescission of SAB 121 via SAB 122.

In a report released Monday, Bank of America said recent actions by the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve mark a shift in U.S. crypto policy from discussion to implementation, especially around stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The bank expects a multi-year transition that could move more payments and real-world assets on-chain under banking regulation, and argues that institutions will need to experiment with tokenized assets and settlement models to stay competitive.

PayPal has applied to establish PayPal Bank as a Utah-chartered industrial bank, aiming to expand into insured deposits, business lending, and interest-bearing savings accounts. At the same time, the company is deepening its crypto strategy through the PYUSD Savings Vault on Spark, which advertises a 4.25% APY and follows an earlier goal to grow PYUSD deposits from $200 million to $1 billion.

Crypto industry figures urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission at a recent roundtable to recognize legitimate uses for blockchain privacy tools beyond criminal activity. Speakers argued that existing AML and KYC frameworks are becoming outdated in the age of AI and that cryptography-based solutions could both improve security checks and better protect user privacy.