Coinbase CEO, Other Crypto Insiders Billions Richer After Seeking to Steer Elections Brian Armstrong, the Coinbase boss, already cleared an extra $129 million in personal stock sales over the pre-election price, and his stake in the company is up over $2 billion.

North Korea Blamed for May’s $305M Hack on Japanese Crypto Exchange DMM Japanese police and U.S. agencies said the attack was “affiliated” with TraderTraitor, which is characterized by social engineering.

ESG-Focused Blockchain Trrue Secures $10M Investment Commitment From GEM Digital GEM will receive tokens in exchange, while Trrue looks to develop blockchain technology with a focus on sustainability and regulatory compliance.

SOL’s Evolving Throwback Pattern Makes It Enticing for Breakout Traders: Godbole The pattern has its roots in the behavioral aspects of trading and often sets the stage for bigger bull runs.

Russia Imposes 6-Year Ban on Crypto Mining in 10 Regions, Citing Energy Use: Tass Temporary bans may be imposed in other regions during peak energy demand, Tass reported

Record $14B Bitcoin Options Expiry Looms as Market Looks Highly Levered-Up Options expiry looks to stir things up in a market that appears highly leveraged to the upside, Deribit said.

Bitcoin Lull Could Spur Altcoin Rally, With $90K Considered ‘Attractive’ Buying Area High volatility can be good for option buyers because it increases the chance that the option will be “in-the-money” (profitable) at some point before expiry — creating profit for buyers.

The Protocol: Trump Makes More Pro-Crypto Appointments Also in this issue: Aptos Labs’ leadership shift and Sonic’s airdrop to TikTok users.

What the Key Metrics for Onchain Activity Say About SOL, ETH and Other Chains in 2025 In a sea of noise, the real winners of Web3 will be those who turn raw on-chain data into actionable signals for sustainable growth.

Avalon Labs Raises $10M Series A to Grow Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoin The Series A funding round was led by Framework Ventures and included contributions from UXTO Management, Presto Labs and Kenetic Capital

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: APT Falls 14.8% as Index Trades Lower Over Weekend Avalanche joined Aptos as among the worst performers, falling 6%.

Investment Advisers to Supplant Hedge Funds as Top BTC ETF Holders in 2025: CF Benchmarks Investment advisers, the gatekeepers to retail and high-net-worth capital, are seen overtaking hedge fund managers in owning BTC and ETH ETFs next year.

Solana Layer 2 Sonic to Airdrop SONIC Token to TikTok Users Sonic built its game SonicX natively inside TikTok, attempting to replicate the success of TON blockchain mini apps that were built inside Telegram.

Metaplanet Picks Up Record 620 Bitcoin as XRP Leads Market Slide The purchase did little to buoy sentiment for bitcoin, which recorded its first seven-day loss since early November.

MicroStrategy Buys a Further 5,262 BTC as Stock Joins Nasdaq 100 The purchase takes MicroStrategy’s total holdings to 444,262 bitcoin.

CAT, MOG, SHIB Among Meme Tokens Added to Chainlink Services Offering on various networks increases visibility and distribution for a token, helping drive investment and usage among network users.

HyperLiquid Sees Record $60M in USDC Flee as North Korea Said to Be Probing Perpetuals Exchange North Korea-linked addresses, said to be possibly testing the exchange for weaknesses, have accrued losses exceeding $700,000, according to one observer.

More Pain Likely, Market Expert Says After Bitcoin’s Biggest Loss Since August BTC may remain on the defensive for some time, presenting a “buy the dip” opportunity to investors, according to Bitwise’s Andre Dragosch.

Trump Names Crypto-Friendly Stephen Miran as Chair of Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisors is tasked with providing the President advice on economic issues.

Bonk Rockets 30% to Lead Dog Meme Rebound; Floki Termed ‘Utility Token’ by CFTC Memecoins are known for their high volatility and tend to outperform major tokens during price rallies, serving as a leveraged bet