Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a trustless onchain gas futures market to help users lock in future transaction costs. The system would allow participants to hedge against fee volatility by prepaying for gas during specified time windows. Buterin says the mechanism aims to provide price predictability for traders and developers managing high transaction volumes.

Bitcoin's Bull-Bear Structure Index shows a developing divergence, with the fast-tracking component declining to 18% while the slow version remains at 23%. The -5.28 point gap marks the first such signal since early December. The divergence emerges ahead of the Federal Reserve's December 10 rate decision, with markets assigning an 85% probability to a 25 basis point cut.

Public companies holding cryptocurrency in their treasuries posted a median 43% stock decline year-to-date, underperforming Bitcoin's 7% drop and major equity indexes. More than 100 firms borrowed billions through convertible bonds to buy digital assets, creating mismatches between interest-bearing debt and non-yielding holdings. The financing structure has raised concerns about sustainability as volatility persists across the sector.

Federal prosecutors have requested a 12-year prison sentence for Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon following his guilty plea to orchestrating the TerraUSD collapse that wiped out $40 billion in market value. Kwon admitted to defrauding investors and concealing Jump Trading's role in supporting the stablecoin. His defense team is seeking a reduced five-year term, citing nearly three years already spent in detention in Montenegro. Sentencing is scheduled for December 11.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission is reviewing regulations to impose no-fault compensation requirements on cryptocurrency exchanges following a November hack at Upbit that involved $30 million in Solana-based tokens. The proposed framework would align virtual asset providers with traditional financial institutions in terms of liability and operational standards. More than 900 users were impacted by the breach, which saw over 104 billion tokens transferred to external wallets within one hour.

Coinbase has resumed services in India following a two-year suspension, currently offering crypto-to-crypto trading after securing Financial Intelligence Unit registration. The exchange plans to enable rupee deposits and direct digital asset purchases by 2026.

Cryptocurrency markets remained stable through the weekend as traders prepare for the Federal Open Market Committee's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, December 18. Markets assign an 88.4% probability to a 25-basis-point rate cut, which would lower the federal funds rate to 3.5%–3.75%. Key labor market data releases this week include job openings data on Tuesday and initial jobless claims on Thursday.

Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, expects Bitcoin to close 2025 below $84,000. McGlone, who has more than 25 years of futures trading experience, views a sub-$84,000 finish as more likely than a rally above $94,000. He cites risk-off sentiment across equities and commodities as the primary driver.