Metaplanet American Depositary Receipt will begin trading in the United States on December 19, with the stock symbol MPJPY.

Dec. 19 — Per LookOnChain monitoring, Arthur Hayes has just transferred 508.647 ETH (valued at $1.5M) to Galaxy Digital, potentially for sale.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday, Dec. 19, that Magdaleno Mendoza, a 56-year-old senior promoter of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme IcomTech, has been sentenced to 71 months in prison for his role in the large-scale fraud targeting investors across the U.S. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said Mendoza played a key role in recruiting victims—especially within the Spanish-speaking blue-collar community. “As a senior IcomTech promoter, Mendoza helped target Spanish-speaking users with little to no investment experience, including fellow New Yorkers,” Clayton stated. “He and his co-conspirators exploited victims’ trust to siphon millions of dollars in hard-earned money from the blue-collar community.” Founded in mid-2018, IcomTech claimed to be a cryptocurrency mining and trading firm promising investors guaranteed profits on deposits. But according to the DOJ, the company never engaged in the promised trading or mining activiti

**Bybit Returns to UK Market After 2023 Exit Over Crypto Ad Regulations** Crypto exchange Bybit announced on December 19 it has reentered the UK market—two years after being forced to exit in 2023 due to stricter rules governing the promotion and marketing of cryptocurrency services. The platform reopened services to UK users on December 18, including access to 100 spot trading pairs. Mykolas Majauskas, Bybit’s Senior Policy Manager, stated: “The UK has one of the world’s most sophisticated financial ecosystems, and its clear regulatory direction makes it an ideal environment for responsible innovation. In the coming months, we plan to reflect that spirit by launching new products tailored to UK users—all while operating within a framework that prioritizes transparency and compliance.”

Per official sources, Binance Alpha has listed RateX (RTX) as of December 19.

On December 19, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui said Friday (Dec. 19) at an event that as of the end of September this year, 36 stablecoin license applications from various sectors have been received. Some licenses are expected to be issued early next year, with priority given to robust reserve management, price stability, and anti-money laundering (AML) measures. He noted these measures not only protect investors but also mitigate potential trading frictions by establishing a clear compliance path, helping resolve potential disputes. The Hong Kong Stablecoin Ordinance took effect this past August. A Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) spokesperson said in October the regulator would review applications and approve them in line with the ordinance and related regulatory requirements. The license application process has a high threshold, with only a handful of licenses expected to be issued in the early stages. Regarding progress on

On Dec. 19, data from Coinglass shows: - If Bitcoin surges above $90,000, cumulative short liquidation intensity across major centralized exchanges (CEXs) will hit $1.08 billion. - Conversely, if Bitcoin drops below $86,000, cumulative long liquidation intensity on these same CEXs will reach $780 million. BlockBeats Note: Liquidation charts do not display the exact number or value of contracts being liquidated. Instead, the bars represent the relative importance of each liquidation cluster compared to neighboring clusters—this is defined as "intensity." As such, the chart illustrates how strongly the underlying asset’s price will be impacted when it hits a specific level: A taller "liquidation bar" means the price reaching that point will trigger a more intense response driven by a liquidity cascade.