Beckham-Backed Firm Drops Bitcoin Holdings Plan, Once Raised $48M to Dive Into Crypto Assets
On December 31, nutritional supplement firm Prenetics Global—backed by soccer star David Beckham—announced it is canceling its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves and hodling plan.
The move comes less than three months after the Nasdaq-listed company closed a $48 million funding round, where it explicitly outlined a strategy to build a cryptocurrency asset treasury.
Prenetics said it will refocus its strategic priorities on core consumer health brand IM8, calling it the “fastest-growing nutritional supplement brand in industry history.” In a Tuesday statement, the firm added it will no longer make future Bitcoin purchases.
Back in October, Prenetics completed an oversubscribed equity financing round. Proceeds were originally earmarked to accelerate Bitcoin treasury construction and expand IM8. At the time, Bitcoin traded around $114,000; as of Tuesday afternoon, the price had dropped to roughly $88,000. Investors in the round included Beckham, Kraken, Exodus, Wu Jihan’s GPTX, DL Holdings,
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Tom Lee: Many institutional investors will temporarily go off the grid during the year-end "holiday" trading period
**December 31**
Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine (the Ethereum Treasury Company), said on social media Thursday that “Typically, during these year-end holiday trading sessions, many institutional investors tend to step away temporarily. The market is largely driven by three key factors:
- Quantitative programs and trading bots;
- Tax-related stop-loss selling;
This is a typical trait of market activity in the final days of December.”
Separately, BlockBeats previously noted that on December 29, CoinShares’ latest weekly report showed digital asset products posted outflows of $446 million last week. Total outflows since October 10 have hit $3.2 billion, suggesting market sentiment has yet to fully rebound.
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Bitmine re-staked 118,944 ETH, with a total staked amount exceeding 460,000 ETH
Per OnchainLens data, Bitmine has restaked 118,944 ETH (valued at roughly $3.52 billion) as of December 31st. Its total staked ETH now stands at 461,504, with an aggregate value of approximately $1.37 billion.
Additionally, a newly created wallet received 32,938 ETH (worth around $97.8 million) from FalconX, and the wallet is likely controlled by Bitmine.
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Fed Minutes Highlight Rate Cut Split: Most Officials Expect Continued Accommodative Stance, but Timing and Size Uncertain
December 31st
Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) Dec. 9-10 meeting show most Fed officials saw further rate cuts as appropriate if inflation continued to fall over time—but policymakers clashed over the timing and size of such cuts.
The minutes underscored the challenges policymakers confronted in their latest decision, marginally reinforcing market bets the Fed would hold rates steady at its January 2026 meeting.
Sharp divisions emerged over whether inflation or unemployment posed a bigger threat to the U.S. economy. Per the minutes: “Some participants who supported or could have backed keeping the federal funds rate target range unchanged at the meeting noted that more data on labor market trends and inflation over the intermeeting period would help assess whether a rate cut was appropriate.”
Post-meeting data has done little to narrow the Fed’s internal splits. The November unemployment rate hit 4.6%—the highest since 2021—while consumer price gains
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On the last trading day of 2025, global stock markets rally to the biggest gain in six years
December 31, 2025 — Global equities are on track for their largest annual gain in six years, fueled by Federal Reserve rate cuts and a surge in AI investments. With just one trading day remaining in 2025, the MSCI All Country World Index has climbed 21% this year.
Asian stocks are poised for a third straight annual advance, set to notch their best performance since 2017. In 2025, shares rebounded from an April selloff triggered by Trump-era tariffs to hit record highs, supported by upbeat outlooks for economic growth, corporate earnings and loose monetary policy.
However, heading into 2026, investors face elevated valuations, while policymakers are split on expanding further easing measures.
Amanda Agati, chief investment officer at Panning Asset Management Group, said Tuesday: “For stocks to keep rallying next year, we need a dovish Fed.” Looking ahead to the new year, investors have reason to stay optimistic: Over the past decade, the MSCI global index has averaged a 1.4% ga
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