On December 12, 2025, the front-end of the ZEROBASE zero-knowledge proving network was hijacked, leading to more than 270 users losing over $240,000 in USDT via a phishing smart contract on BNB Chain. One victim alone lost 123,597 USDT, while security teams later identified the malicious contract, blocked related domains and blacklisted approvals to limit further damage.

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.

After the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, AAVE climbed about 9% to trade near $205, coinciding with growing focus on Aave's V4 upgrade and its redesigned liquidation engine. Open Interest rose by roughly $34 million and active receiving addresses nearly doubled after 7 December, while weekly protocol fees increased by about $0.3 million to a total of $15.47 million, underscoring stronger leverage and on-chain activity alongside the price rally.

USDT issuer Tether has submitted a proposal to buy Exor's 65.4% stake in Juventus and plans a follow-up public offer for remaining shares at the same price, fully financed with its own funds. If the deal goes through, Tether intends to invest 1 billion Euros into the Italian Serie A club, which Forbes valued at just over $2.15 billion in May 2024.

On 13 December 2025, Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager overseeing roughly $12 trillion, reiterated caution on Bitcoin even as it allows trading in select spot Bitcoin ETFs. John Ameriks, global head of quantitative equity, said BTC lacks income and compounding features, and recent volatility around the low-$90,000 range reinforces the firm’s skepticism.

On-chain analytics firm Santiment, in a new post on X, reported that XRP's 30-day MVRV sits at -6.1%, placing it in an undervalued zone. Ethereum's reading is 7.2% and Bitcoin's is 2.4%, while Cardano and Chainlink stand at -4.4% and -0.3%, respectively. At the time of writing, XRP is around $2.04, up 1.5% over 24 hours.

In early 2025, blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger reported that sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex rebuilt a payout system using new Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets holding over $34 million in crypto. At least $25 million has already been distributed to former users, while most of the Ethereum reserve remains untouched, with the wallets allegedly interacting with top 10 centralized exchanges and raising fresh regulatory concerns.

Brazil’s largest private lender Itaú reaffirmed its Bitcoin stance in a new outlook, advising a 1–3% portfolio allocation as a long-term hedge into 2026. The bank maintained this view despite recent volatility, with BTC around $90,100 and down 2.3% on a USDT basis, citing diversification benefits and protection during currency stress.