Economic Indicators - The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending December 20 was 214,000, lower than the expected 224,000 and unchanged from the previous week [1] Cryptocurrency Regulation - Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, along with the Securities and Futures Commission, announced a consultation summary to advance the licensing regime for virtual asset trading and custody service providers, aiming to enhance regulation and ensure market stability [1] - Spain will implement two key cryptocurrency regulations in 2026: the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the Administrative Cooperation Directive (DAC8), with MiCA requiring full authorization for crypto service providers and DAC8 mandating exchanges to report user transactions and balances to EU tax authorities [5] Market Performance - Many VCcoin projects launched this year have market capitalizations below their initial venture capital valuations, with examples including Humanity Protocol's market cap at $285 million compared to a $1 billion valuation, and Fuel Network's market cap at $11 million against a $1 billion valuation [2] - VanEck predicts Bitcoin may become the best-performing asset by 2026, driven by increased demand for hard assets, despite its underperformance compared to gold and the Nasdaq 100 this year [3] - Wintermute reports that while the crypto market faced downward pressure, sentiment is stabilizing, with funds concentrating on Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the market expected to remain volatile without significant macro or policy catalysts [4]