BREAKING: $435 million has been liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the past 12 hours.

December 19th — According to the Financial Times (FT), Northern Data, the AI data center firm linked to Tether, has sold its Bitcoin mining arm Peak Mining to entities controlled by Tether co-founders Giancarlo Devasini and CEO Paolo Ardoino (including Highland Group Mining and 2750418 Alberta ULC) for up to $200 million. Days after that transaction was announced, Rumble — the conservative social media platform backed by Tether’s parent company (which holds nearly 50% of Northern Data’s shares) — agreed to acquire Northern Data for approximately $767 million. Earlier this year, Northern Data was hit with a surprise EU investigation over allegations of large-scale tax fraud; the company denied the claims and stated it was cooperating with the probe.

As of December 19, Binance Alpha will launch trading for RateX (RTX) at 9:00 UTC on December 19, 2025, per an official announcement. Users with at least 226 Alpha Points are eligible for a 25 RTX airdrop on a first-come, first-served basis. If the reward pool isn’t fully claimed, the points threshold will drop by 5 points every 5 minutes.

On December 19th, Xiahua Yi—founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital)—said in a social media post that the last major bear market trend wrapped up after Japan raised interest rates. Recent volatility, he noted, is also contract-driven—especially as bears stage a final push. But amid the expected future bull market, these are all short-term blips. For investing (not trading), the spot market remains the best area right now. Next year, the entire crypto industry will be extremely bullish—fueled largely by three key factors: crypto policy shifts, interest rate cuts, and on-chain finance. “If you’re aiming for thousands in returns, you have to stomach hundreds in fluctuations,” Yi added. “Financial market winners must first conquer human biases.”

On December 19, Bitcoin mining firm DMG Blockchain Solutions released its fiscal 2025 annual financial report, revealing key performance metrics and future plans. The company mined 344 Bitcoin (BTC) in fiscal 2025. It holds a combined $65.2 million in cash, short-term investments, and digital assets—an 81% year-over-year (YoY) increase. Total assets reached $132 million, up 27% from the prior year. DMG’s CEO stated the firm will launch digital asset financial service products in 2026 and enter the high-value artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure market.

On December 19th, Polymarket data shows markets are currently pricing in a 91% probability the Bank of Japan will hold interest rates steady in January, and an 8% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike.

On Friday, December 19, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced a 25-basis-point interest rate hike, lifting the unsecured overnight call rate to 0.75%—its highest level since 1995. The decision, made after a two-day policy meeting, passed unanimously in a 9-0 vote, aligning with market expectations. Following the news, Bitcoin led a crypto market rebound, briefly surging more than 2%. Alongside the rebound, many prominent analysts and traders quickly shared bullish outlooks, boosting long-awaited improvements in market sentiment. Trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio, quiet for nearly a month, posted on his personal channel that most altcoins have reached the end of their downtrends and that “it’s time to build a watchlist and place buy orders.” However, major coins may still have room to fall further. Chinese crypto analyst Ban Mu Xia stuck to his recent bullish stance, identifying Bitcoin’s key resistance range as $98,600 to $107,000, with $112,500 acting as a strong resistance level. Arthu