JPMorgan plans to offer institutional encryption trading Metaplanet approved Dividend preferred shares

Headlines

▌Insiders: JPMorgan considers offering cryptocurrency trading services to institutional clients

According to Bloomberg, as global major banks deepen their involvement in the cryptocurrency asset class, JPMorgan Chase is considering offering cryptocurrency trading services to its institutional clients. An insider revealed that JPMorgan is assessing what products and services its markets division can provide to expand its business in the cryptocurrency space. The insider stated that these products and services may include spot and derivatives trading.

▌Metaplanet approves the issuance of preferred shares with dividends to raise funds from institutional investors

Japan's Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet approved a comprehensive reform of its capital structure on Monday, allowing it to raise funds from institutional investors by issuing dividend-bearing preferred shares. The approved proposal includes reclassifying capital reserves, doubling the authorized amount of Class A and Class B preferred shares, and modifying the dividend structure to introduce floating and periodic dividends. Class A preferred shares will adopt a monthly floating dividend mechanism, while Class B preferred shares will offer quarterly dividends and be open to international institutional investors. Reportedly, Metaplanet currently holds approximately 30,823 Bitcoins, valued at $2.75 billion, making it the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in Asia. The company also announced plans to trade on the U.S. over-the-counter market through American depositary receipts, further expanding its global market footprint.

Market

As of the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko:

The price of BTC is $88,536.60, with a 24-hour change of +0.1%;

The price of ETH is $3,006.52, with a 24-hour change of +0.4%;

The price of BNB is $857.94, with a 24-hour change of +0.2%;

The price of SOL is $125.72, with a 24-hour change of +0.1%;

The price of DOGE is $0.1323, with a 24-hour change of +1.2%;

The price of XRP is $1.90, with a 24-hour change of -0.8%;

The TRX price is $0.2843, with a 24-hour change of -1.4%;

The price of WLFI is $0.1345, with a 24-hour change of +0.1%;

The HYPE price is $25.00, with a 24-hour change of +2.0%.

Policy

▌U.S. lawmakers push to resolve the “double taxation” issue of cryptocurrency staking before 2026

A group of 18 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives is pushing for the U.S. tax agency to review the tax regulations on cryptocurrency staking before the start of 2026. In a letter sent Friday to IRS Acting Commissioner Scott Bessent, the lawmakers, led by Republican Congressman Mike Carey, requested a review and update of the “burdensome” crypto staking tax laws. Carey stated, “This letter is simply a request for fair tax treatment of digital assets, and ending the double taxation of staking rewards is an important step in the right direction.” The letter suggested adjusting the timing of tax collection on staking rewards to when the asset is sold, to ensure “stakers pay taxes based on the correct declaration of their actual economic gains.” ▌U.S. Federal Banking Regulators Confirm Banks Can Engage in Cryptocurrency-Related Activities

According to market news, U.S. federal banking regulators have stated that banks can legally conduct cryptocurrency trading and custody services.

▌Ghana legalizes the use of cryptocurrencies through legislation

According to Bloomberg, the Ghanaian Parliament has approved a bill to legalize cryptocurrency, aimed at addressing the issue of the expanding use of cryptocurrency in the country without proper regulation. According to Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiamah, the newly passed Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill will facilitate the licensing of crypto platforms and the regulation of related activities.

Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik suggests that embedded wallets should support connecting existing wallets as a recovery method

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin retweeted “Walletbeat currently does not include embedded wallets, but will in the future,” stating that he also wants to add a feature that allows connecting other wallets from the start. If a user is using a dapp with an embedded wallet and already has an Ethereum wallet, the system should automatically set that Ethereum wallet as the recovery method.

▌Coinbase Acquires Prediction Market Startup The Clearing Company

Coinbase has reached an agreement to acquire the prediction market startup The Clearing Company, with the transaction expected to be completed in January 2026. This acquisition is part of Coinbase's “all-in-one exchange” strategy aimed at deepening its presence in the event trading sector. The Clearing Company team will join Coinbase to help expand its prediction market products. The startup was founded this year and raised $15 million in seed funding in August, with investors including Coinbase Ventures.

▌Aave community will open the “Transfer of Brand Asset Control to Token Holders” ARFC proposal vote tomorrow

The Aave community will launch a vote on the “Transfer of Brand Asset Control to Token Holders” ARFC proposal on Snapshot today at 10:40, and the voting will continue until December 26. The proposal includes clarifying the ownership and usage rights of Aave's brand assets and intellectual property (domain names, social media accounts, naming rights, etc.), as well as granting the DAO control over this.

▌Banking startup Erebor raises $350 million after receiving FDIC approval

Erebor, a banking startup co-founded by Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey, has completed a $350 million funding round after receiving approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to establish a national bank, with a valuation of approximately $4.35 billion. This round of funding was led by Lux Capital, with additional investors including Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, 8VC, and Haun Ventures. Founded in 2025, Erebor plans to offer traditional banking as well as crypto-related products and services, targeting businesses in the U.S. innovative economy sectors including virtual currency, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing. The bank is expected to officially launch next year.

Cryptocurrency

▌CoinShares: Last week, digital asset investment products had a net outflow of $9.52 billion

CoinShares released its latest weekly report indicating that last week marked the first outflow of funds from digital asset investment products in four weeks, totaling $952 million. This reflects the market's negative reaction to the prolonged inability of the U.S. Clarity Act to pass, which has exacerbated the uncertainty surrounding the regulation of such assets. Meanwhile, the market is also concerned about ongoing sell-offs by large whale investors. Therefore, it currently seems unlikely that inflows into exchange-traded products (ETPs) will exceed last year's levels, with total assets under management at $46.7 billion and an expected $48.7 billion in 2024. Ethereum experienced the largest outflow, totaling $555 million, which is understandable given its potential to benefit or suffer the most from the Clarity Act. Notably, the inflow of funds into Ethereum this year has far surpassed last year, reaching $12.7 billion compared to $5.3 billion last year. Bitcoin saw an outflow of $460 million, falling significantly short of expectations, with projected inflows of $27.2 billion for 2024, while expected inflows were $41.6 billion. Solana and XRP continue to receive funding support, with inflows of $48.5 million and $62.9 million, respectively.

▌BlackRock has deposited 2,019 bitcoins and 29,928 ethers into Coinbase Prime

According to monitoring by Lookonchain, BlackRock has just deposited 2,019 bitcoins (worth $181.7 million) and 29,928 ethers (worth $91.3 million) into Coinbase Prime.

▌CryptoQuant: Bitcoin network activity cools down, market shows clear signs of a bear market

CryptoQuant's analysis indicates that the Bitcoin market continues to be in a bear market, with multiple network indicators showing a significant decline in activity. Data shows that the 30-day moving average of Bitcoin is below the 365-day moving average (-0.52%), and the bull-bear cycle indicator confirms the current bear market pattern. The number of network transactions has dropped from about 460,000 to about 438,000, fees have decreased from $233,000 to $230,000, and highly active addresses have reduced from 43.3K to 41.5K, all indicating a decrease in speculative activity and that the market is in a defensive phase. Analysts note that the current situation is similar to the bear market of 2018, but the current user base is larger (about 800,000 vs. 600,000 in 2018), showing stronger structural resilience. Historical experience indicates that such low activity periods are usually a precursor to higher volatility, and investors should closely monitor subsequent market changes.

▌BitMine increased its holdings by approximately 98,800 ETH last week, with total holdings exceeding 4 million ETH

Golden Finance reported that as of December 21, Eastern Time, BitMine's total cryptocurrency + cash holdings + “Moon Landing Plan” amount to $13.2 billion. BitMine holds 4,066,062 ETH (an increase of 98,852 ETH from last week), accounting for 3.37% of the total supply of Ethereum (120.7 million ETH). Additionally, it holds 193 BTC, $32 million in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS), and $1 billion in unsecured cash.

▌Strategy: Did not increase Bitcoin holdings last week, have increased reserves by $748 million

Strategy officially stated that it has increased its US dollar reserves by $748 million, currently holding $2.19 billion and 671,268 bitcoins. Strategy did not increase its bitcoin holdings last week.

▌Trump Media under Trump has bought an additional 300 BTC, increasing its total holdings to 11,542 BTC

According to Arkham's monitoring, Trump Media, under Trump, invested $13.44 million to acquire 150 BTC and then spent another $26.88 million to buy 300 BTC. Currently, their total holdings have increased to 11,542 BTC, valued at approximately $1.03 billion.

▌CryptoQuant: Futures short covering leads to buyer dominance, Bitcoin enters Christmas market window

CryptoQuant analyst Axel stated that Bitcoin is entering the Christmas market window, with market rating indicators showing a bullish outlook but sentiment has not yet overheated. The short squeeze further exacerbated the asymmetrical market situation favoring buyers. The structure of the derivatives market indicates that the current Bitcoin futures market is dominated by short covering, which will create mechanical buying pressure, pushing prices up, and the market is entering a state of bullish neutrality, with positive expected returns.

▌British companies flock to invest in Bitcoin, losing over £80 million

At the beginning of this year, driven by the surge in Bitcoin prices and the growing investment demand from investors for American “Bitcoin asset management companies” (such as Strategy), many UK companies have followed suit in laying out Bitcoin investment strategies. During a summer rally this year, Strategy's market capitalization once exceeded $127 billion (approximately £95 billion). However, according to calculations by The Daily Telegraph, many UK companies that jumped on the bandwagon made their purchases just as the Bitcoin market was nearing its peak. A total of 13 UK listed companies spent about £364 million to acquire nearly 4,300 Bitcoins, with an average purchase price of $113,105 (approximately £85,076). Last Friday, Bitcoin's trading price was $87,950, down 22% from the aforementioned average purchase price. Coupled with the £40 million loss from cryptocurrency company Satsuma's asset sale, these companies have accumulated a total loss of about £79.1 million on their Bitcoin investments.

▌Aave Founder: The new ARFC proposal vote is completely legal and conforms to the governance framework

Aave founder Stani.eth posted that tomorrow's “brand equity control transfer to token holders” ARFC proposal voting is completely legitimate. Discussions have been ongoing for the past 5 days, and a timeline for the ARFC proposal has been established, with the snapshot also meeting governance framework requirements. Voting is the best way to resolve issues and is ultimately the path to governance. The leading lending protocol Aave is caught in a whirlpool of public opinion, with its community recently engaged in intense debates over the revenue distribution mechanism and brand ownership.

▌Circle mints 500 million USDC on the Solana network

According to Onchain Lens, Circle has minted 500 million USDC on the Solana network. Since October 11, Circle has issued a total of 18 billion USDC on the Solana network.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌The interest on reserves paid by the Federal Reserve to banks last year reached $186.5 billion

According to market news: The interest on reserves paid by the Federal Reserve to banks last year reached $186.5 billion, setting a historical record.

▌Federal Reserve Governor Milan: We believe that the policy interest rate will eventually be lowered

Federal Reserve Governor Milan stated that due to the U.S. government shutdown, there were some anomalies in last week's inflation data; he believes that the U.S. will not experience an economic recession in the near term, but if policies are not adjusted, the U.S. will face an increasingly severe risk of economic recession. We believe that policy interest rates will ultimately be lowered.

▌Trump may appoint a new Federal Reserve Chairman in the first week of January next year

According to CNBC: Sources familiar with the situation reveal that U.S. President Trump may appoint a new Federal Reserve chairman in the first week of January next year.

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in January next year is 80.1%

According to CME's “FedWatch”: The probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in January next year is 19.9%, while the probability of keeping the rates unchanged is 80.1%. By March next year, the cumulative probability of a 25 basis points cut is 44.7%, the probability of keeping the rates unchanged is 47.1%, and the cumulative probability of a 50 basis points cut is 8.2%.

▌Japanese Finance Minister: Decisive action can be taken on the yen

Japan's Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki: has received “full authorization” to take decisive action on the yen. Actions can be taken based on the Japan-U.S. joint agreement, and we are always ready to act.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌The Real Impact of Quantitative Easing Policies on Cryptocurrencies

If we are to discuss “Quantitative Easing (QE) being beneficial to cryptocurrencies”, we must first acknowledge an unsettling fact: the entire history of cryptocurrencies has been within a very limited liquidity environment, and only part of it conforms to the traditional notion of quantitative easing post-2008. The conclusion so far is that since cryptocurrencies became a real market, we have only had a few relatively “clean” liquidity environments to study - and the most influential one (2020) was also the most unusual. But this does not mean that the assertion about quantitative easing is incorrect. Rather, it suggests that this assertion itself is probabilistic: an accommodative financial environment often favors long-term, high beta assets, and cryptocurrencies often manifest this phenomenon in its purest form. However, when we delve into the data, we need to distinguish the following four factors: (1) balance sheet expansion, (2) interest rate cuts, (3) dollar movements, and (4) risk sentiment - as they do not always change in sync.

Markets seldom wait for liquidity to arrive. They often start trading policy directions long before the policy mechanisms are reflected in the data. This is especially true for cryptocurrencies, which tend to react to expectations—such as shifts in policy tone, signals from balance sheet policies, and anticipated changes in interest rate paths—rather than responding to the gradual impact of actual asset purchases. This is why cryptocurrency price movements often precede declines in yields, a weakening dollar, and even any substantial expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. In the short term, cryptocurrency prices remain influenced by market sentiment and position volatility, and their trends depend not only on macro policies but also on positions and leverage. While liquidity is certainly helpful, it does not override all other influencing factors.