Circle obtained authorization from Abu Dhabi Global Market to run USDC-related money services on 9 December 2025. The company appointed former Visa executive Saeeda Jaffar to lead growth across the Middle East and Africa. Abu Dhabi continues licensing firms including Tether, Ripple, Binance and Bybit.

On 9 December 2025, 21Shares lowered the planned fee on its spot XRP ETF to 0.30% as it readies listing on CBOE's BZX platform under the ticker TOXR. The product has received technical approval for listing but has not yet begun trading. Spot XRP ETFs are approaching $1 billion in assets amid active fee competition among issuers.

On 8 December 2025, Abu Dhabi Global Market expanded USDT's classification under its regulated framework, designating it as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token. The revision adds nine further networks to its scope, building on existing permissions for Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche. Regulated firms in the financial free zone can deploy USDT in supervised use cases such as settlement and asset servicing, according to ADGM.

Bitcoin traded back above $91,000 as the week began, with markets awaiting the Federal Reserve’s final rate decision of the year. An analyst flagged $84,000–$94,000 as a pivotal band and warned that longer-term averages still allow for a pullback toward about $50,100 if confidence fades.

On 8 December 2025, Philippine digital bank GoTyme began allowing retail customers to buy cryptocurrencies directly in its app through a partnership with U.S. fintech Alpaca. The service automatically converts Philippine pesos to U.S. dollars and supports Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Polkadot and other listed assets, targeting easier crypto access for more than 6.5 million account holders.

On December 8, 2025, Harvard Management Company signaled a reshaping of its endowment. The allocation puts Bitcoin ahead of gold. BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF is the largest single holding, while exposure to SPDR Gold Shares ranks below major tech stocks. The tilt shows a two-to-one preference for the digital asset.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao reiterated on 8 December 2025 that a hardware wallet is unsafe if a private key can ever leave the device, referencing remarks shared on X. His statement followed public discussions in Dubai as self-custody adoption grows. Attackers are increasingly targeting seed phrases and backups.

Solana has retreated to a critical ascending trendline that has supported its uptrend since 2023. The asset is currently trading near $132 in a narrow consolidation zone with reduced volatility. Analyst Ali Martinez noted that SOL is testing this support level, which has historically triggered rebounds during previous pullbacks.

Options market participants are increasingly selling short-dated volatility on Bitcoin rather than positioning for breakout moves. The shift follows a two-month period that erased over $1 trillion from the crypto market. BTC has consolidated between $80,000 and $100,000 over three weeks, with premium sellers treating the pattern as evidence the asset may remain range-bound.