Binance: Users with at least 225 points can claim the Alpha airdrop starting today at 9:00 PM

December 23rd — A Russian bank is developing a new cryptocurrency regulation plan that could allow previously ineligible investors to purchase crypto assets, according to Bloomberg. Earlier, on November 26th, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov noted that the country’s Finance Ministry and Central Bank are planning to ease strict current rules, which only permit “highly qualified” investors to participate in the cryptocurrency market. They propose a tiered access system to expand the pool of legitimate investors. Under current regulations, individual investors must hold at least 100 million rubles in bank deposits and securities, plus show annual income exceeding 50 million rubles over the past year, to obtain “highly qualified” certification.

**December 23 – Wintermute Daily Market Report** Wintermute has released its latest daily market update, noting that as the holidays draw near, market structure remains narrow and Bitcoin’s dominance has climbed again. Key takeaways from the firm’s internal fund flow data: - Buy-side pressure outpaces sell-side pressure across major cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin’s buy-side dominance has held steady for longer; Ethereum shows stronger end-of-year buying momentum - Institutional capital flows have been a consistent buying force since summer - Retail investors are rotating back to major cryptos from altcoins - This retail shift aligns with market consensus: BTC needs to lead the rally first, with altcoins then rotating into focus

Bitcoin Holds Below $90k Amid Thin Liquidity, Record Options Expiry Looms Thin Christmas holiday market liquidity, a surge in precious metals siphoning capital, and an impending record options expiration have kept Bitcoin under $90,000 on December 23. Analysts caution Friday’s record options expiry will amplify volatility. Some 300,000 BTC options contracts (nominal value ~$23.7 billion) are set to expire—accounting for over half of Deribit’s total open BTC contracts. Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Jean-David Pequignot noted the expiry is “breaking records,” with $28.5 billion in combined BTC and ETH options expiring—double last year’s total.

Franklin Templeton announced on December 23 that it has updated holding data for its XRP spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). As of December 22, the ETF’s XRP holdings exceeded 100 million for the first time, totaling 101,552,283.62 XRP. The value of these holdings stood at $192,683,271.89. Additionally, the ETF’s total net asset value (NAV) is $183.41 million, with 8.9 million shares currently in circulation.

December 23 (PR Newswire) — U.S.-listed AI data center firm Hyperscale Data announced plans to boost its Bitcoin treasury allocation to approximately $76 million. Its wholly owned subsidiary Sentinum currently holds 514.9655 BTC and will allocate an additional $30.5 million in cash to continue accumulating Bitcoin on the open market, with the goal of reaching a total Bitcoin treasury value of $100 million.

December 23rd — Crypto-related U.S. stocks edged lower in pre-market trading, per market data, with these notable moves: - Circle (CRCL): Down 1.47% - MicroStrategy (MSTR): Down 0.4% - Coinbase (COIN): Down 0.56% - MARA Holdings (MARA): Down 0.69% - Riot Blockchain (RIOT): Down 0.28% - BitMine Immersion (BMNR): Down 0.9% - SharpLink Gaming (SBET): Down 0.63%