Crypto Weekly Market Wrap December 15: Fed Cuts Rates, Institutional Moves, and Market Volatility

The crypto market experienced another week filled with ups and downs, whereby legal decisions, changing global regulations, and new institutional activities shaped the sentiment of the industry. Key headlines included the sentencing of Do Kwon, new banking permissions, and the establishment of strategic blockchain partnerships. 

At the same time, the market remained cautious in response to the recent Federal Reserve rate cut, as Bitcoin was unable to maintain its recent gains. In this article, we will discuss this crypto weekly market wrap in more detail.

Terra’s Do Kwon Sentenced for Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud

Do Kwon was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment after he was found guilty of committing a large-scale financial fraud. The court determined that he had deceived the people and fabricated mechanisms, which were supposed to stabilize Terra. He orchestrated backdoor transactions with Jump Trading, which led to the loss of funds by the investors.

Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison over massive $40B currency collapse https://t.co/9xLNCJF4mT pic.twitter.com/ZIhfrvlKjz

— New York Post (@nypost) December 11, 2025

Authorities also noted complaints left by the victims who suffered emotionally and financially after believing in the low-risk offers made by Terra. Although he cooperated early on and was well-behaved in detention, the judge focused on deterrence in the ruling.

Fed Makes Third Rate Cut, Markets Remain Cautious

The Federal Reserve announced its third rate cut this year. It reduced rates by 25 basis points to a 3.50%-3.75% range. Markets responded calmly because the reduction was quite anticipated. Bitcoin momentarily soared, but it corrected, with investors reevaluating the economic prospects.

Trump’s Security Strategy Leaves Crypto Out

The Trump administration unveiled its 2025 National Security Strategy that focuses on AI, biotech, and quantum computing. However, the report did not mention crypto or blockchain. This move puzzled observers, as the administration has been a proponent of crypto through the GENIUS Act and other initiatives. The omission means that crypto has not yet found its way into mainstream national security issues. However, current activities indicate that digital assets remain influential on the U.S. economic direction.

SEC Quietly Ends Probe Into Ondo Finance

The SEC concluded the years-long probe into Ondo Finance without charges. The emphasis had been on the Ondo’s tokenized treasuries and classification of the ONDO token.

The SEC has formally closed a confidential Biden-era investigation into Ondo — without any charges.

The inquiry began in 2024, focused on whether Ondo’s tokenization of certain real-world assets complied with federal securities laws as well as whether the ONDO token was a… pic.twitter.com/yV4xVX7Qrx

— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) December 8, 2025

This outcome was part of a broader shift at the SEC. Some related investigations have either halted or ended without effect. Many consider that this is the beginning of a new age of friendlier regulation of token projects with good compliance criteria.

U.S. Banks Cleared for Risk-Free Crypto Trading

U.S. banks were cleared by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to engage in riskless crypto trades. This means that the banks can now become the middlemen, matching buy and sell orders without having inventory.

Earlier, regulators disclosed that 9 banks had blocked crypto consumers unfairly. This decision brings banks closer to active engagement in digital markets. Trading can now be combined with both custody and balance sheet crypto activity by banks under one regulatory roof.

Kazakhstan Adopts Solana as Blockchain Backbone

Kazakhstan introduced a country policy that integrates Solana into its digital plans. A Solana Economic Zone has been created, and the Tenge stablecoin was released. The nation also initiated dual offerings of IPOs on both Solana and AIX.

.@farhaj from @formacity shares how Kazakhstan has reinvented itself with Solana at its core:

– The Solana Economic Zone
– The Tenge stablecoin
– Dual list IPO on AIX and Solana
– Trained 1000 developers on Solana
– A national crypto reserve
– CryptoCity, an entire city… pic.twitter.com/sfbsXMYFZ6

— Solana (@solana) December 13, 2025

In addition, Kazakhstan educated 1,000 programmers and began constructing a national crypto reserve. Moreover, the construction of the CryptoCity, a blockchain innovation smart city, is underway.

Pakistan Moves Forward with Binance Partnership

Pakistan entered an MOU with Binance to tokenize national assets worth up to $2 billion. These include government bonds, commodities, and treasury bills. Binance also became AML registered under Pakistan’s PVARA framework. Preliminary licenses were granted to Binance and HTX by the regulators, which led to approvals of full exchange licenses and local registration processes.

SEC Chairman Says Most ICOs Are Not Securities

According to Paul Atkins, Chairman of the SEC, the majority of ICOs are not within the jurisdiction of the agency. Atkins proposed a new classification structure that categorizes collectibles and utility tokens as part of CFTC oversight. This shift might revive ICO fundraising in the United States. The move would furthermore enable startups to issue tokens legally without SEC enforcement, at least in the short term.

Argentina Prepares to Legalize Crypto Services in Banks

The central bank of Argentina is preparing to remove the prohibition on crypto operations by traditional banks. The scheme would allow banks to provide both trading and custody services. The move is part of a larger shift from crypto prohibition to regulation. Authorities seek to introduce a common stablecoin and Bitcoin-related use in the official economy. The shift might also compel crypto exchanges to compete based on fees and services.

Belarus Bans Use of Foreign Crypto Exchanges

Belarus announced new regulations that block citizens from using foreign crypto platforms. This presidential decree mandates that any crypto trading should occur on government-regulated domestic platforms.

According to CNN, Belarus has tightened its crypto rules as President Lukashenko signed a decree banning individuals from buying or selling digital assets through foreign exchanges or brokers. All crypto trading must now occur on domestically regulated platforms. The policy…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 11, 2025

Residents of the High Technologies Park (HTP) are primarily affected by the new rules. Furthermore, crypto exchanges in the country can only be run by companies that are licensed under the HTP framework.

Binance Relocates Headquarters to Abu Dhabi

Binance announced that it was relocating its headquarters from the Cayman Islands to the Abu Dhabi Global Market. It has already been granted full regulatory status by the Financial Services Authority of ADGM. Beginning January 2026, three licensed Binance entities will operate in ADGM. Additionally, trading, custody, and brokerage activities of these firms will be subject to a unified regulatory framework.

Strategy Buys Over 10,000 Bitcoins for Nearly $1B

Strategy reported a purchase of Bitcoin worth $962.7 million last week. The firm acquired 10,624 coins at an average price of $90,615. This new purchase puts its cumulative holdings at 660,624 BTC. The average price of its total position is $74,696, and the total investment is $49.35 billion.

Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum Can Handle Finality Losses

Vitalik Buterin remarked that Ethereum would be able to tolerate the occasional finality issues with no security risk. He clarified how delays could occur, but they could not complete wrong transactions.

Nothing wrong with losing finalization once in a while imo.

Finalization is for when we're _really sure_ a block won't be reverted. If finality delays a few hours when a major client has a bug, that's fine. The chain keeps going during that time.

The thing to avoid is…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 4, 2025

Recently, the Prysm client had a bug that nearly caused finality. Oxford researcher Fabrizio Genovese noted that Ethereum momentarily returns to a Bitcoin-like system when it faces issues. Polygon also assured that transaction data remains intact even under delay.

Bhutan Introduces Gold-Backed Token on Solana

Bhutan introduced TER, a gold-backed, Solana-based digital token. The token will be fully backed on a 1:1 basis with audited gold reserves held at DK Bank. The project is a part of the broader blockchain policy of Bhutan. The authorities are seeking to use the modern infrastructure to represent traditional assets such as gold.

XRP ETF Hits $1B Faster Than Any Token Since ETH

Spot XRP ETFs have soared to over $1 billion in assets under management. This marks the fastest rise since the introduction of Ethereum-based ETFs. The ETFs provided by Grayscale, Franklin, Bitwise, and Canary have been receiving rapid inflows. Ripple’s CEO attributed the spike to an increase in demand for regulated crypto investments.

Coinbase to Launch Prediction Markets and Token Stocks

Coinbase announced new features, such as prediction markets powered by Kalshi, will be available on December 17. The platform will also begin to support tokenized stock trading. The move is intended to make Coinbase a one-stop exchange. By doing this, it plans to compete with other platforms such as Robinhood and Kraken in stocks and predictions.

🚨 Bloomberg reports that Coinbase will unveil prediction markets alongside tokenized stocks on December 17, influenced by Kalshi and Polymarket. $COIN $BTC $ETH pic.twitter.com/fvW3qvVND7

— ALLINCRYPTO (@RealAllinCrypto) December 12, 2025

YouTube Now Pays U.S. Creators with PYUSD

YouTube added PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD as a payment option to U.S. content creators. This adds to its status as one of the most high-profile uses of the token to date. PayPal noted that YouTube does not need to handle crypto itself, which makes integration easier. This demonstrates how large platforms are adopting the use of stablecoins in making real-world payments.

Tether Makes Cash Offer to Buy Juventus Football Club

Stablecoin issuer Tether offered a full buyout of Juventus Football Club. It already owns 10% and is willing to buy out the rest in a cash-only deal. The company committed to invest $1 billion into the club upon completing the purchase. Tether has a robust financial standing that facilitated the acquisition negotiations.

Ripple and Circle Granted Bank Charters in the U.S.

Ripple, Circle, and other companies, such as Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets, were granted conditional national trust bank charters. These grants were direct approvals from the OCC. The move provides them with access to the Federal Reserve’s systems, enabling non-bank 24/7 stablecoin transactions under the GENIUS Act.

HUGE news! @Ripple just received conditional approval from the @USOCC to charter Ripple National Trust Bank. This is a massive step forward – first for $RLUSD, setting the highest standard for stablecoin compliance with both federal (OCC) & state (NYDFS) oversight.

To the…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) December 12, 2025

PNC Bank Rolls Out Bitcoin Access for Wealth Clients

PNC became the first major U.S. bank to provide direct trading in Bitcoin. The new feature is executed via Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service infrastructure. Through PNC’s online platform, clients are able to trade, hold, and monitor their Bitcoin, marking a major breakthrough in crypto access by high-net-worth individuals.

Gemini Titan Receives Approval for U.S. Prediction Markets

Gemini Titan, the affiliate of Gemini, was granted a DCM license by the CFTC, enabling it to provide U.S. customers with legal prediction markets. Gemini plans to list simple yes/no contracts on future events. These can be market movements or major financial news. Cryptocurrency futures expansion and perps are also being considered.

DTCC to Tokenize U.S. Securities Starting in 2026

The subsidiary of DTCC received SEC approval to tokenize traditional securities. This comprises Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries. The service will be based on the ComposerX platform and will be launched in H2 2026. The tokens will be subject to the same rights as the parent securities and will be subject to strict regulatory controls. The platform also guarantees a seamless integration between tokenized and traditional finance. Onboarding, wallet setups, and approved networks will be shared by DTCC soon.

Digital Asset Investment Products Market Overview

According to the latest CoinShares report, digital asset investment products inflows were $864 million last week, marking three weeks of straight net gains. The total assets under management increased to $180 billion, which remains lower than the all-time high of $264 billion. The inflows occurred after the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced interest rates, receiving mixed reactions in the days after.

The United States dominated the inflows with $796 million, Germany with $68.6 million, and Canada with $26.8 million. These three nations remain strong leaders in this space, as they represent 98.6% of annual flows. Overall, global investor mood seems to be improving, but with some caution.

Digital asset investment products saw inflows totalling US$864M last week.@Bitcoin attracted US$522M of inflows signalling a recovery in sentiment. @ethereum also recorded inflows of US$338M last week. @aave and @chainlink saw inflows of US$5.9M and US$4.1M respectively, while… pic.twitter.com/YL0Zhem9MM

— CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) December 15, 2025

Bitcoin continued to be a favorite, attracting a weekly inflow of $522 million. In contrast, short-Bitcoin products experienced outflows of $1.8 million, in a possible indication of alleviated bearish attitude. Ethereum followed with inflows of $338 million, increasing its year-to-date figures to $13.3 billion, a 148% increase since last year.

Solana has so far recorded inflows of $3.5 billion in 2025, a tenfold increase since 2024 levels. Chainlink experienced a record total inflows of 52.8m weekly, contributing 54% of its total assets. Meanwhile, Aave received inflows of $5.9 million while Hyperliquid received outflows of $14.1 million. Investor interest is gradually improving, although the price activity is quite calm. The entire trend depicts a cautious shift to digital assets in long-term exposure.

Bitcoin Price Performance

The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, experienced notable fluctuation last week as the price declined from highs of $94K to seek support near $88K. During that period, BTC recorded a loss of almost 3%. Meanwhile, its market capitalization and trading volume dropped to $1.80 trillion and $35 billion, respectively.

The weekly chart suggests that BTC’s price could correct further if the current trend holds. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering slightly above the oversold region at 39 levels. Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is dropping further in the negative region, indicating a lack of buying pressure.