On December 10, 2025, Rep. Keith Self criticized House leaders over a National Defense Authorization Act deal that excluded his "Anti-CBDC Surveillance State" amendment and other anti-CBDC language. His proposal would have barred the Federal Reserve from issuing or testing a central bank digital currency or any Fed-backed digital asset and added protections for open, permissionless dollar systems. Several Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Warren Davidson, warned that CBDCs could endanger financial freedom. The global crypto market fell by almost 2% in the past 24 hours, and Bitcoin traded around $93,682.

On December 8, 2025, India’s finance ministry renewed its push for coordinated global rules on cryptocurrencies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said authorities have uncovered more than ₹4,190 crore ($465 million) in crypto-linked crimes in recent years. She added that tax officials have identified ₹888.82 crore in undisclosed cryptocurrency income and issued over 44,000 notices to traders in Virtual Digital Assets, according to the ministry.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has raised questions about Tether's balance sheet strategy, suggesting the stablecoin issuer is positioning for Federal Reserve rate cuts through substantial hard asset purchases. Hayes noted Tether holds approximately $13 billion in gold and $10 billion in Bitcoin. He warned that a 30% decline in these combined holdings could theoretically eliminate the firm's equity buffer, raising solvency concerns under such a scenario.

BlackRock's Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio increased its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) position by 14% between June and September, bringing total holdings to 2.39 million shares valued at approximately $156 million, according to a quarterly filing. The expansion occurred as Bitcoin recovered to $90,000 after a 29% decline from its October peak. Nasdaq ISE filed to raise IBIT options position limits to one million contracts from the current 250,000.

The South African Reserve Bank has identified regulatory gaps in its oversight of digital assets as a growing threat to financial stability. Stablecoin trading volumes in the country surged from under 4 billion rand in 2022 to nearly 80 billion rand by October 2024. The central bank and National Treasury are developing stricter cross-border crypto regulations expected to take effect in 2025.

Bitcoin fell below $86,000 as a month-long decline continued, marking the weakest market conditions since 2022. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes expects BTC to remain under $90,000 near-term with potential dips into the low $80,000s, though he believes the $80,000 level will hold as support.

Strategy's Bitcoin holdings face significant unrealized losses after BTC dropped below $90,000. Nearly 40% of the company's 649,870 Bitcoin are currently underwater, according to CryptoQuant data. The firm's recent purchase of 8,178 BTC at $102,171 has declined by approximately $100 million in value.

Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 this week for the first time since April, driving the Crypto Fear & Greed Index to 15—its lowest reading since early 2025. The cryptocurrency has declined nearly 30% from its October peak of approximately $126,000. Market analysts note that historical corrections of similar magnitude have typically preceded new all-time highs.

Bitcoin's 30-day correlation with the Nasdaq 100 reached approximately 0.80, marking the strongest reading since 2022 and the second-highest in a decade, according to the Kobeissi Letter. BTC fell below $93,000 on November 17, 2025, while the total crypto market cap stood at $3.25 trillion. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 10, signaling extreme fear among market participants.