Today’s News Highlights:
Russia’s two major exchanges plan to launch compliant crypto trading in 2026
Bitcoin mining difficulty slightly increased by 0.04% to 148.26 T
Most profitable crypto narratives in 2025: RWA and Layer1 lead, AI and Meme retreat significantly, GameFi and DePIN decline
Offshore RMB broke above 7 for the first time in 2024, onshore RMB hit a new high in over a year
Silver funds attract attention with high premiums, Guotou Silver LOF will suspend trading from market open on December 26 until 10:30 that day
Bitcoin spot ETF saw net outflows of $175 million yesterday, marking five consecutive days of net outflows
Suspected Multicoin OTC purchase of 60 million WLD from Worldcoin team
Macroeconomics
Central Bank: Supports participation of provinces and cities along the Western Land-Sea New Corridor in the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge project
The People’s Bank of China held a press conference to interpret the “Opinions on Financial Support for Accelerating the Construction of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor.” At the meeting, Wang Xin, Director of the Research Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, stated that the “Opinions” grasp new trends in digital finance, green finance, and international cooperation, and innovate to promote high-level financial openness in central and western regions. For example, supporting provinces and cities along the corridor to participate in the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge project, promoting cross-border payments using CBDC; strengthening cooperation through the China-Singapore Green Finance Working Group mechanism in green finance standards, green financial products, and support for green technology.
Russia’s two major exchanges plan to launch compliant crypto trading in 2026
According to Cryptopolitan, Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and St. Petersburg Exchange (SPB) have expressed support for the comprehensive crypto regulation plan proposed by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), and stated that they will launch crypto asset trading after regulations come into effect. The plan proposes recognizing Bitcoin and stablecoins as “monetary assets,” processed through existing licensed exchanges and brokerages; crypto custody and trading platforms will need to meet stricter requirements. The annual purchase limit for non-qualified investors is set at 300,000 rubles, while qualified investors face no limit except for privacy coins. This framework is expected to be implemented by 2026 at the latest.
Bitcoin mining difficulty slightly increased by 0.04% to 148.26 T
Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusted at block height 929,376 (11:48:06 Beijing time today), with a 0.04% increase to 148.26 T. The current average network hash rate over the past seven days is approximately 1.08 ZH/s.
Most profitable crypto narratives in 2025: RWA and Layer1 lead, AI and Meme retreat significantly, GameFi and DePIN decline
According to CoinGecko, the strongest crypto narrative in 2025 is RWA (Real-World Assets), with an average increase of 185.76% this year, mainly driven by Keeta Network (+1794.9%) and others; Layer1 ranks second with an 80.31% rise, with Zcash and Monero surging 691.3% and 143.6%, respectively. The US-based crypto narrative ranks third with a 30.62% increase, entirely due to Zcash’s strong performance. Despite popularity, AI and Meme narratives declined by 50.18% and 31.61%, respectively, in 2025; DeFi and DEX sectors fell 34.79% and 55.53%; Layer2 recorded a -40.63%, marking a second consecutive year of loss.
Offshore RMB broke above 7 for the first time in 2024, onshore RMB hit a new high in over a year
Offshore RMB against USD broke above 7 for the first time in 2024. Onshore RMB against USD also broke above 7.01, reaching a new high since September 2024. The midpoint rate for RMB/USD is 7.0392, up 79 basis points, the highest since September 30, 2024, with the largest increase since August 27, 2025. Market analysis suggests that a weakening US dollar index, increased resilience of the Chinese economy, and year-end foreign exchange settlement demand have driven the RMB to appreciate strongly. In the short term, the RMB/USD exchange rate is expected to remain relatively strong, but whether it can stabilize above 7.0 remains to be seen.
Silver funds attract attention with high premiums, Guotou Silver LOF will suspend trading from market open on December 26 until 10:30 that day
Guotou Silver LOF announced that it will suspend trading from market open on December 26 until 10:30 that day, and will resume trading at 10:30. The current subscription limit for Class A shares is 500 yuan. The fund manager stated that the subscription limit will be adjusted and warned that the high premium in the secondary market is unsustainable, and investors should be cautious of risks. Recently, silver prices have surged continuously, with London Silver closing at $71.81 per ounce on December 24, up over 140% this year. Guotou Silver LOF has hit the daily limit for three consecutive days, with a premium rate of 68.19%, and a year-to-date increase of 254.9%. Additionally, commodity LOFs, resource LOFs, and other funds also hit the daily limit, but many fund companies have issued high premium risk warnings and announced temporary suspensions.
Opinions
Pantera Capital research head releases 12 predictions for 2026: covering DATs, AI, stablecoins, and more
Jay Yu, Head of Research and Investment at Pantera Capital, released 12 predictions for the crypto industry in 2026: Efficient capital consumption in crypto lending: combining on-chain and off-chain credit modeling, modular design, and AI behavior learning will become new frontiers. Market segmentation: prediction markets will divide into “financial” (integrated with DeFi, supporting leverage and staking) and “cultural” (more localized and long-tail interests). Agentic Commerce and x402: the x402-based payment framework will expand, with Solana potentially surpassing Base in transaction volume. AI as an interface layer for crypto: AI-assisted trading and analysis will become widespread, with LLM-driven trading AI still in experimental stages. Tokenized gold rise: tokenized gold will become a popular inflation hedge and dollar hedge asset. BTC quantum threat: breakthroughs in quantum technology may trigger institutional discussions on response plans, but short-term threats are unlikely. Privacy development and experience unification: privacy frameworks (like Kohaku) will evolve into enterprise-level privacy services. DATs integration: the number of main domain DATs will decrease to 2-3, through integration or transformation into ETFs. Blurring boundaries between tokens and equity: governance tokens face existential tests, and equity-exchangeable tokens may emerge, with clearer regulatory frameworks. Hyperliquid leading perpetual contract DEXs: Hyperliquid will maintain dominance, with stablecoins becoming core assets. Prop AMMs multi-chain expansion: Prop AMMs will expand across multiple chains, with Solana trading volume exceeding 50%. International stablecoin payment flows: more fintech companies (like Stripe, Brex) will use stablecoins for international payments, with stablecoin chains like Tempo becoming main fiat on-ramps.
Project Updates
Maple Finance issued $500 million in loans yesterday, setting new platform lending and growth records
Austin Barack, founder of Relayer Capital, announced that DeFi platform Maple Finance issued its largest single loan ever yesterday, totaling $500 million, and its total outstanding loans reached a new high. Relayer Capital stated that its token $SYRUP is a high-conviction holding and that multiple data points continue to reinforce confidence in the project and team execution.
Logan Paul agrees to auction $5.3 million worth of Pokémon cards on January 12, potentially setting a new record
According to Goldin and Netflix, Logan Paul agreed to auction his record-breaking Pikachu Illustrator card on January 12, 2026, at Goldin Auctions. The card previously sold for $5.3 million and set a Guinness World Record. An advance payment of $2.5 million has been made, and the auction will be featured on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles.” Goldin estimates the final price could reach $70 million to $120 million. As the 30th anniversary of Pokémon approaches, the collector’s craze continues to heat up.
Brevis releases $BREV tokenomics: total supply 1 billion, community incentives account for 32.20%
According to Brevis official announcement, $BREV is the core utility and governance token of Brevis ProverNet, used to pay for zero-knowledge proof generation and verification fees, as a staking and reward medium, and grants governance rights to holders. Validators must stake BREV or accept delegation to take on tasks; violating service agreements will result in penalties and confiscation of staked tokens. The network is initially deployed on Base, and after migration to Brevis’s dedicated rollup, $BREV will serve as the native gas token. The total supply is 1 billion tokens, with nearly 70% allocated to community and ecosystem incentives. Airdrop registration will soon open. Specific allocations are as follows: Ecosystem development (37%): for ecosystem growth, R&D, strategic partnerships, initial market making, and more.
Key Data
A new address withdrew 50,000 ZEC from Binance, worth approximately $22.17 million
According to Onchain Lens, a newly created wallet just withdrew 50,000 ZEC from Binance, valued at about $22.17 million at current market prices.
Bitcoin spot ETF saw net outflows of $175 million yesterday, marking five consecutive days of net outflows
According to SoSoValue, on December 24, Eastern Time, Bitcoin spot ETF experienced a total net outflow of $175 million in one day, marking the fifth consecutive day of net outflows. Among them, BlackRock’s IBIT had the highest outflow of $91.37 million; Grayscale’s GBTC had an outflow of $24.62 million. The total assets of ETFs in the market now stand at $113.8 billion, accounting for 6.51% of Bitcoin’s market cap, with a cumulative net inflow of $56.9 billion.
Financing / Acquisitions
Yunshenchu Technology completes hundreds of millions RMB Pre-IPO financing
Hangzhou Yunshenchu Technology Co., Ltd. completed a Pre-IPO financing round worth hundreds of millions of RMB. The round was led by the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Fund, with participation from a major internet company.
Institutional Holdings
Data: Trend Research currently holds approximately 645,000 ETH, with an unrealized loss of about $242 million
According to Ai Yi, on-chain data shows that suspected institution Trend Research, under Yilihua, started a new Ethereum position in early November, currently holding about 645,000 ETH (approximately $2.1 billion), making it the third-largest ETH holder after Bitmine and SharpLink. The average acquisition price is $3,299.43, with an unrealized loss of about $242 million. If the “additional $1 billion purchase” plan is implemented, Trend Research could become the second-largest ETH holder. Most of the accumulation occurred in November, accounting for over 88%, involving at least 7 major addresses.
Suspected Multicoin OTC purchase of 60 million WLD from Worldcoin team
According to Yujin Observation, one address (0xf000, suspected to belong to Multicoin Capital) transferred $30 million USDC to the Worldcoin team wallet a day ago, and 7 hours ago received 60 million $WLD from that wallet, valued at about $29.06 million, suspected to be an OTC bulk trade.
Metaplanet plans to increase holdings to 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027
PANews reported on December 24 that DLNews reported that the board of Metaplanet has approved a plan to further purchase Bitcoin, aiming to hold 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027. Metaplanet will expand the issuance of Class A and B shares, introduce floating interest rates and quarterly dividend mechanisms. Additionally, these shares will pay quarterly dividends, meaning investors can receive four interest-like returns annually. The board also approved issuing Class B shares to overseas institutional investors.
BlackRock deposits nearly $230 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum into Coinbase Prime
According to PANews and monitored by Lookonchain, BlackRock recently deposited 2,292 Bitcoin (worth about $1.998 billion) and 9,976 Ethereum (worth about $29.23 million) into Coinbase Prime.
