U.S. CPI: +2.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +2.9%); U.S. CORE CPI: +3.2% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.3%)

On December 22, crypto influencer @ingalvarezsol used metrics including Polymarket’s valuation range (20–30 billion USD), OTC point pricing (90 USD per point), and LIT token’s pre-market price (3.4 USD) to project Lighter’s valuation: - **Minimum (Bear Market Range):** 15 billion USD (tied to its venture capital round financing) - **Bear Market Baseline:** 30–42 billion USD (calculated via reverse-engineering from market/pre-market/point prices) - **Optimistic Outlook (Final Valuation):** At least 75–125 billion USD @ingalvarezsol stressed Hyperliquid and Lighter are fundamentally distinct: - Hyperliquid builds a Web3-native liquidity layer, with profitability driven mainly by retail transaction fees (plus ecosystem dynamics). - Lighter focuses on decentralized trading infrastructure, aiming to onboard fintechs, brokers, and professional market makers over time—while keeping retail execution costs extremely low (including 0% fees on select spot markets). A key catalyst

On December 22, Aave’s community will launch voting on the ARFC proposal titled “Brand Asset Ownership Transfer to Tokenholders” via Snapshot tomorrow at 10:40 AM. Voting will run through December 26. The proposal covers clear definitions of Aave’s brand assets and intellectual property—including domains, social media accounts, naming rights, and more—as well as usage rights and related terms. It also grants the DAO governance control over these assets.

Onchain Lens data indicates a whale tagged "1011" was liquidated for $17.94 million during a sharp market downturn on December 22nd. Notably, the whale deposited an additional $3 million last night to open a 10x leveraged long position on HYPE. Additionally, the whale holds small long positions across BTC, ETH, and SOL, with a combined position value exceeding $10 million.

December 22 – Arcium confidential computing network member @milianstx said in a post that using Tornado Cash could lead to users’ wallets being flagged across hundreds of apps, making them unusable. @milianstx also urged users not to mix their funds with North Korean hackers.

Binance Alpha has launched a limited-time task for users to earn Alpha Points, per an official announcement dated December 22. **Event Period**: December 22, 2025, 00:00 UTC – January 4, 2026, 23:59 UTC During the event, users who complete a cryptocurrency transfer in the Binance chat room will receive Alpha Points. Key rules: - Each user is eligible for a maximum of 5 Alpha Points. - Transfers must be at least $5 (or equivalent in other supported currencies) to qualify.

On December 22, Jameson Lopp—Bitcoin Core developer and Casa co-founder—stated: “Quantum computers won’t disrupt Bitcoin in the short term. We’ll keep monitoring their development. That said, thoughtful protocol tweaks (and unprecedented fund migrations) could take 5 to 10 years. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” This past Saturday, Nic Carter—smart contract pioneer and Castle Island Ventures co-founder—published a lengthy article claiming quantum computing is just “engineering challenges” away from breaking Bitcoin, with 1.7 million BTC at risk of attack. His statement sparked community debate. Blockstream CEO Adam Back criticized Castle Island Ventures founding partner Nic Carter for exaggerating concerns that quantum computing could threaten Bitcoin. Bitcoin expert Pledditor noted Carter is intentionally stoking anxiety, as his fund has invested in a startup that sells tools to make blockchains quantum-resistant.