So old and crusty are concerns that Tether is either not being upfront about the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin or faces imminent threat of being undercapitalized, that the crypto industry has developed its own two-word dismissive response: "Tether FUD." Through soaring bull markets, the most brutal of bear markets, the comings and going of charlatans like Sam Bankman-Fried, Alex Mashinsky, and dozens of others, Tether's USDT has continued to grow and function as designed — pegged to the U.S. dollar ...

Core Insights - The crypto industry's IPO window may be closing, prompting Grayscale Investments to act strategically by pursuing a public listing now [1][3] - Grayscale's revenue has decreased by 20%, with net income for the first nine months of 2023 reported at $203.3 million on revenue of $318.7 million, down from $223.7 million and $397.9 million respectively in the same period last year [2][5] Group 1: Financial Performance - Grayscale reported a net income of $203.3 million and revenue of $318.7 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2023, reflecting a decline from the previous year's figures of $223.7 million in net income and $397.9 million in revenue [2] - The company's revenue has declined by 20% compared to the same period last year [1] Group 2: Strategic Considerations - The timing of Grayscale's IPO filing is seen as a strategic move to navigate potential political uncertainties ahead of the 2026 midterm elections [3] - Analysts expect a revival in the IPO market following the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, creating a narrow window for companies like Grayscale to go public [3] Group 3: Market Position and Regulatory Environment - Grayscale manages approximately $35 billion in assets and has established itself as a significant player in the crypto industry [5] - The company achieved a landmark court victory against the SEC in 2023, which facilitated the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, marking a regulatory milestone for the industry [5] - Grayscale is among several crypto companies, including Circle and Gemini, that have taken advantage of the regulatory environment shaped under the Trump administration to go public [4]

VC activity has remained muted, but some crypto companies have bagged big cheques | Source: CCN / Hameem Sarwar Key Takeaways VC activity is rising in crypto companies but remains far below bull-market levels. Seven companies landed mega-rounds. |A more favourable U.S. regulatory environment and rising valuations are boosting confidence. Crypto venture capital (VC) investment has remained subdued in the closing months of 2025, extending a two-year slump despite rising digital asset prices and impr ...

Market Overview - U.S. stock futures showed slight gains, with the Dow Futures at 47,542, up 52 points or 0.11%, and S&P 500 Futures at 6,835, up 0.10% [1] - November was a challenging month for equities, with major indexes experiencing a pullback, particularly in megacap tech stocks, leading to a 2% drop in the Nasdaq [1] Federal Reserve Expectations - Market sentiment improved as traders increased expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in December, with futures pricing indicating over an 80% probability of a quarter-point cut [2] AI and Tech Stocks - Renewed optimism in AI stocks contributed positively to market sentiment, although trading momentum was paused due to the Thanksgiving break [3] - Tech stocks exhibited mixed performance, with notable movements in companies like NVIDIA, Cleanspark, and SanDisk, reflecting ongoing interest in the semiconductor and storage sectors [8] Trading Disruptions - A cooling system failure at CME Group's CyrusOne data centers caused a significant disruption, halting futures and options trading for several hours, impacting liquidity across multiple markets [3][5] Commodity Markets - Gold futures increased, hovering near $4,160 an ounce, benefiting from lower borrowing-cost expectations and a favorable outlook for a December rate cut [9] - Oil prices continued to decline, with Brent crude trading above $63 per barrel, marking the longest losing streak since May 2023, as traders remain cautious ahead of the OPEC+ meeting [10] Future Market Projections - Wall Street banks have begun releasing forecasts for the S&P 500 in 2026, with Deutsche Bank projecting a target of 8,000, while HSBC and JPMorgan expect a more moderate target of around 7,500 [12]

Core Viewpoint - Major U.S. exchanges express concern over the SEC's consideration of exemptions that could accelerate the introduction of tokenized stocks into mainstream markets, fearing it may distort market structure and favor lightly regulated crypto firms [1][2]. Group 1: Concerns from Major Exchanges - The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) submitted a letter to the SEC, highlighting alarm over platforms offering tokenized U.S. equities without the protections of traditional securities [2][5]. - Tokenized instruments are marketed as equivalents to listed shares but lack legal ownership rights, voting power, and clear channels for investor redress [2][3]. - The WFE warns that broad exemptions could lead to unregulated crypto platforms diverting trading activity from traditional markets, undermining price discovery and creating discrepancies between tokenized and underlying share prices [5][6]. Group 2: SEC's Consideration and Framework - SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is developing an "innovation exemption" framework to allow crypto firms to launch blockchain-based products under conditional relief while the SEC finalizes long-term digital-asset regulations [2][3]. - The SEC is reviewing proposals for tokenized stocks, bonds, and partnership interests, with major financial institutions seeking approval for these products [3][4]. - Tokenized stocks aim to represent traditional shares on a blockchain ledger, facilitating global trading, faster settlement, and fractional access [3][4]. Group 3: Market Structure and Systemic Risk - Some tokenized structures replicate a stock's economic performance without granting actual ownership, while others attempt to place registered equity directly on-chain [4]. - The WFE cautions that tokenized equities could disrupt clearinghouse systems designed to manage netting and collateral, potentially increasing systemic risk [6].

'A rainy island with a hostile tax system is a hard sell': Crypto industry reacts to UK Chancellor's budget statement https://t.co/guL39ACcJW ...

The UK’s latest budget, combined with ongoing regulatory reforms, indicates a clear shift toward more stringent oversight of the digital-asset sector, according to Azariah Nukajam, head of UK Compliance at crypto exchange Gemini. Nukajam said that recent developments—including the Draft Statutory Instrument (SI), the introduction of the Cryptoassets Order in May 2025, and the upcoming CARF tax-transparency regime—show that the UK is pushing ahead with a more “traditional finance”-style regulatory environm ...

Turmoil inside World Liberty crypto treasury includes investigations, firings, and Rwandan money laundering conviction https://t.co/2gov6iyAnH ...

📰 #AscendEX Daily Updates🔷Spot Dogecoin ETF records $1.41 million in trading volume on its first day🔷JPMorgan applies to the U.S. SEC for Bitcoin structured note product🔷The annual transfer volume of stablecoins has surpassed $50 trillion#AscendEX #Crypto #CryptoNews https://t.co/mV4cx7S7Pl ...

Paxos, a company known for issuing stablecoins like PayPal USD, is acquiring Fordefi, an institutional crypto wallet startup, for over $100 million. The acquisition addresses rising demand from Paxos’ customers for regulated access to decentralized finance (DeFi) products, according to the company. Fordefi operates multi-party computation (MPC)-based wallets that enable secure crypto custody and DeFi protocol interaction for about 300 clients, based on the announcement. The startup will continue operating ...