Brodigy's Buzz: Crypto News Stories of December 2025 That Shook the Market
As 2025 draws to a close, crypto markets are entering a period of consolidation marked by thinner liquidity, shifting institutional flows, and continued regulatory development. While price action has slowed from earlier highs, activity across funding, infrastructure, and policy signals that long-term positioning is still underway beneath the surface.
Here, a curated breakdown of the month’s key stories.
The Crypto Market’s Year-End Consolidation
Bitcoin spent most of December trading within an $85,000–$90,000 range, reflecting consolidation after October’s all-time high above $125,000 and the subsequent correction. As of 26 December, BTC traded around $87,400–$88,800, with brief dips below $87,000 amid thin holiday liquidity. A record $23.6 billion options expiry at the time of writing was also expected to introduce short-term volatility.
The broader crypto market capitalisation hovered near $3.0–$3.05 trillion throughout the month, down from early December highs, influenced by ETF outflows, including $188 million from Bitcoin ETFs on 23 December, and year-end tax-loss harvesting. Despite the range-bound price action, institutional indicators remained supportive. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw mixed daily flows but closed the year with strong net inflows (read: BlackRock’s IBIT at approximately $25 billion for 2025), while Bitcoin dominance remained elevated above 57%.
Klarna Partners with Coinbase for Stablecoin Funding
Buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna announced a partnership with Coinbase to raise short-term institutional funding denominated in USDC stablecoin. This initiative allows Klarna to diversify its capital sources by accessing a new pool of institutional investors through Coinbase’s digital infrastructure, which supports over 260 businesses globally. Klarna CFO Niclas Neglen described the move as an opportunity to incorporate stablecoins alongside traditional funding methods like deposits and bonds.
Hong Kong Pushes Ahead With Broader Crypto Licensing Framework
Hong Kong is moving ahead with expanded licensing regimes for virtual asset dealers and custodians after concluding public consultations, further strengthening its digital asset regulatory framework. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) confirmed that firms providing crypto dealing or custody services will be required to obtain licenses once the new rules take effect, building on the city’s existing mandatory licensing regime for crypto trading platforms. This follows earlier initiatives in 2025, including the implementation of the Stablecoin Ordinance and ongoing tokenisation guidance, reinforcing Hong Kong’s ambition to position itself as a global digital asset hub.
HashKey Secures $250M First Close for Fourth Crypto Fund Amid Market Volatility
HashKey Capital has secured $250 million in commitments for the first close of its fourth crypto-focused fund, highlighting continued institutional interest despite volatile market conditions. The HashKey Fintech Multi-Strategy Fund IV exceeded initial expectations and is targeting a final size of $500 million, with backing from global institutions, family offices, and high-net-worth investors. The fund will pursue a multi-strategy approach focused on infrastructure, scalable platforms, and real-world adoption use cases, particularly in emerging markets.
New earnXRP Vault Targets 4–10% Yield Using Flare’s XRPFi Infrastructure
A new XRP-denominated yield product, earnXRP, has launched as part of broader efforts to expand the emerging XRPFi ecosystem. The product is a joint initiative by Upshift Finance, Clearstar Labs, and Flare Network, allowing users to deposit FXRP (a wrapped version of XRP on Flare) into a single vault that deploys capital across multiple onchain strategies. These include carry trades, staking and insurance-based yield via Firelight Finance, and concentrated liquidity provision on automated market makers. The launch addresses a long-standing gap in XRP’s DeFi usage, with only a small fraction of XRP supply currently deployed onchain, and positions earnXRP as a more automated, multi-strategy alternative to earlier XRP yield products such as mXRP and stXRP.
Together, these developments reflect a market that is cooling in price but not in momentum. Institutional capital continues to engage through structured funds, stablecoin-based financing, and regulated frameworks, while onchain innovation pushes into underexplored areas such as XRP-denominated yield. As liquidity tightens into year-end and volatility compresses, the focus is increasingly shifting from short-term speculation toward infrastructure, compliance, and sustainable use cases that will shape the next phase of crypto’s growth.
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