On December 11, 2025, World rolled out a major app update adding end‑to‑end encrypted messaging and expanded crypto payments. The release, presented at the company's San Francisco office with Sam Altman and CEO Alex Blania, also introduces virtual bank accounts and peer‑to‑peer transfers that do not require a World ID.

YouTube has introduced an option for eligible U.S. creators to receive their earnings in PayPal's U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin PYUSD, according to PayPal executive May Zabaneh. The feature relies on PayPal's existing payouts infrastructure, reflects Big Tech's gradual embrace of stablecoins, and follows broader moves by PayPal and other firms to expand real-world uses for blockchain-based payment assets.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued no‑action letters to Polymarket, PredictIt, Gemini and LedgerX, easing certain swap‑related recordkeeping and reporting duties under narrow conditions. Platforms must fully collateralize contracts, clear through designated processes, and publish executed contract data. The guidance does not constitute blanket approval and targets prediction markets structured as derivatives.

Ethereum has pulled back to the low $3,100s after briefly trading above $3,300, with momentum flattening and resistance building between $3,300.99 and $3,371.59. Buyers are defending support at $3,137.51, $3,077.72, and $3,069.97, while clustered bids around $3,189 are meeting offers at $3,208.02, $3,200.98, and $3,195.11 after last week’s rebound, according to TradingView data.

Internet Computer (ICP) is retesting a key support cluster around $3.039, $3.009, and $2.977 as bearish momentum cools but continues to dominate the daily trend. Technical indicators, including downward-sloping 9-day and 20-day EMAs, a negative MACD, and an RSI in the mid-30s, point to sellers remaining in control while hinting at potential stabilization. Large bid and ask liquidity walls in the order book between $0.723 and $5.050 are expected to influence whether ICP extends its breakdown or rebounds toward resistance at $4.659, $4.908, and $5.050.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission named the initial members of its new CEO Innovation Council, bringing together leaders from major exchanges and crypto firms to advise on derivatives market structure and digital assets. The group, assembled in two weeks, will focus on tokenization, crypto collateral, 24/7 trading, perpetual contracts, prediction markets and blockchain-based infrastructure, Acting Chairman Caroline Pham said.

State Street and Galaxy Asset Management plan to launch the State Street Galaxy Onchain Liquidity Sweep Fund (SWEEP) on Solana in early 2026, offering institutional investors an onchain liquidity product, according to the firms. The fund will support subscriptions and redemptions in PYUSD stablecoin, target Qualified Purchasers, and has secured a roughly $200 million seed commitment from Ondo Finance. The product is structured as a multi-chain solution, with Stellar and Ethereum integration to follow. It is designed to simplify institutional cash and real-world asset management on public blockchains.

On Wednesday, SpaceX moved more than $94 million in Bitcoin across two transactions, extending a roughly two‑month pattern of nearly $100 million in weekly BTC transfers. The company holds 8,285 BTC valued at about $770 million. It is reportedly preparing a 2026 IPO that could raise over $30 billion at a potential $1.5 trillion valuation. Analysts are tracking the on‑chain shifts, while SpaceX has not explained the purpose or tied them to listing plans.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said on Tuesday that rising institutional participation is reshaping how Bitcoin trades and weakening its traditional four‑year halving cycle, in an interview with Fox Business. She argued that the historic 75%–90% crashes are becoming less likely as large institutions accumulate and hold Bitcoin. Wood cast Bitcoin as a risk‑on asset in contrast to gold’s risk‑off role. Ark has been increasing its crypto exposure through Coinbase, Circle, and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB).