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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded its Biden-era probe into DeFi platform Ondo Finance, and whether its tokenized products complied with federal securities laws, without any charges, following the Trump administration’s pro-industry approach and focus on tokenization.

Case Closes: SEC Ends Ondo Finance Probe

On Monday, Ondo Finance announced it had received formal notice that the US SEC’s two-year investigation into the platform, which started during the Biden administration, had concluded in late November with no charges.

The platform now joins the list of crypto companies that have seen their cases and probes dismissed or closed without any enforcement actions this year, including Gemini, Kraken, Ripple, Coinbase, and Uniswap Labs.

The SEC initiated the probe in 2024 to examine whether firms’ tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA) complied with federal securities laws, the platform explained. Additionally, it sought to determine whether the ONDO token was a security.

“Ondo’s growth and leadership in the emerging tokenization category made us a focus, but not a justified target,” the announcement added. At the time, the US regulatory environment was characterized by a “regulation by enforcement” approach, which led to caution and confusion.

Nonetheless, they “remained steadfast in its conviction that regulated, transparent tokenization models like Ondo’s are not only compatible with investor-protection principles, but can strengthen them.”

To Ondo Finance, this marks a “meaningful milestone” for the broader tokenization industry, which will push innovation, compliance, security, and investor protection forward, as the sector gains momentum and becomes a priority on the federal agency’s agenda.

It’s worth noting that Ondo has solidified its position as a leader in the RWA sector with strategic partnerships, expansions, and the launch of its own Layer-1 blockchain, which aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the firm aims to advance its mission to “democratize” access to high-quality US financial assets and ensure tokenized assets move seamlessly across major blockchains.

A New Chapter For Tokenized Securities

In the Monday statement, the platform also highlighted that the SEC’s decision reflects a broader shift in US policy, with regulators reassessing the methods used during the Biden era for the crypto industry. Earlier this year, a White House report recognized the sector as foundational to the future of the global financial system and named Ondo Finance among the key players.

Notably, the regulatory agency has added tokenization to its formal agenda. In the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee meeting last week, the regulatory agency affirmed it is evaluating tokenization to modernize the issuance, trading, and settlement of public equities.

In his remarks, SEC chairman Paul Atkins stated, “Distributed ledger technology and the tokenization of financial assets, including securities, have the potential to transform our capital markets. Our financial markets have long been the envy of the world, and to ensure that they remain so, U.S. firms and investors must have the opportunity to leverage this technology as they lead the future of global capital markets.”

Atkins added that the agency’s role is to enable market participants to operate and innovate under clear guardrails, ensuring that the US markets remain the most dynamic, transparent, and trusted in the world.

“The resolution of the SEC inquiry marks the end of one chapter for Ondo and the beginning of another. Put simply, the time is now for tokenized securities to become a core part of U.S. capital markets. The future of global finance, including U.S. capital markets, will be onchain and Ondo will help lead that transition,” the announcement concluded.

Комиссия по ценным бумагам и биржам США (SEC) завершила двухлетнее расследование в отношении криптопроекта Ondo Finance, ориентированного на токенизацию реальных активов, без предъявления ему обвинений.

В 2026 году в России будет введена уголовная ответственность за незаконный майнинг, заявил на Совете по стратегическому развитию и национальным проектам вице-премьер Александр Новак.

Digital asset exchange Coinbase has restarted crypto trading in India after a two-year absence, with fiat deposits planned to arrive in 2026.

Coinbase Has Returned To India For The First Time Since 2023

As reported by TechCrunch, Coinbase has resumed user onboarding in India for the first time since pulling out of the country back in 2023, more than two years ago. The American crypto exchange ranks as the largest public digital asset company in the world, hosting around $516 billion in assets on its platform.

Initially, the exchange first entered India in 2022, but only a few days after beginning services, it had to suspend UPI payments. UPI, short for Unified Payments Interface, is the most widely adopted real-time digital payments instrument in India. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had said shortly after Coinbase’s launch that it wasn’t aware of any crypto exchange using UPI.

With UPI access gone, Coinbase users no longer had a way to purchase digital assets on the platform using fiat. The exchange stopped new user signups in June 2023, with a complete discontinuation of services happening in September 2023.

“We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated,” said Coinbase’s APAC director, John O’Loghlen, at India Blockchain Week (IBW). O’Loghlen added that the decision to pull out didn’t come without hesitation.

Fast-forward to 2025, and Coinbase announced in March that it had registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), allowing it to provide crypto services in the country. The platform opened in early access in October, and now, it has seen a full public launch. So far, users can only access crypto-to-crypto trading, but according to O’Loghlen, a fiat on-ramp is planned to become available next year. This would allow users to buy digital assets using the Indian Rupee (INR).

While India isn’t closed off to cryptocurrencies like its northern neighbor, China, it still has a relatively strict digital-asset regulation regime. The nation collects a 30% tax on investor crypto profits and allows for no offsets against losses. Additionally, it charges a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on all transactions, as a method of tracking digital asset activity.

Naturally, this taxation regime isn’t ideal for crypto companies, as it directly affects adoption. O’Loghlen said that Coinbase is hoping the Indian government will relax the tax to make it more convenient for investors to hold digital assets.

Reopening its exchange isn’t the only move that Coinbase has made in the subcontinent recently. As announced on its blog, the platform has made an investment in Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX. “Taken together, these steps reflect a clear commitment: we believe India and its neighbors will help shape the future of the global onchain economy,” noted the post.

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $91,800, up more than 7% over the last week.

The coming week concentrates macro and protocol-specific catalysts into a tight window, with the Federal Reserve’s FOMC decision and several high-profile project events landing between December 10 and 12.

#1 Crypto On Alert: Fed’s Dec. 10 Rate Decision

The US Federal Reserve’s FOMC interest rate decision on Dec. 10 looms as a key macro catalyst for crypto. Markets overwhelmingly expect a 25 bps rate cut – about an 87% probability according to Fed funds futures– which would lower the target rate to ~3.5–3.75%. Such a move would be the third cut in as many meetings, signaling a pivot to easing as the Fed prioritizes a faltering job market over inflation.

Bitcoin (BTC) has historically reacted sharply to Fed surprises: BTC often faces downward pressure into FOMC announcements, then significant volatility as markets parse the Fed’s language. Indeed, ahead of this meeting, BTC dipped below $88,000 over the weekend on “FOMC nerves” but quickly jumped back above $91,000.

If the Fed delivers the expected 0.25% cut, it could bolster crypto by improving liquidity conditions and risk appetite. Easing financial conditions have been core to the recent crypto rebound. Any dovish signals may prompt a relief rally in BTC and the broader crypto market.

However, a hawkish surprise – if the Fed were to hold rates steady or sound cautious – risks upsetting this fragile optimism. As reported on NewsBTC, a special focus will be on whether the Fed announces a new program for Treasury bill purchases.

#2 Solana’s Breakpoint (Dec. 11–13)

Solana’s Breakpoint conference kicks off Dec. 11 in Abu Dhabi, and traders are eyeing SOL’s price action around this flagship event. Breakpoint has a track record of stirring excitement – and volatility – in SOL. At the 2023 conference in Amsterdam, for example, SOL surged over 20% to a 14-month high (~$45) as a “flurry of announcements” (like Jump Crypto’s Firedancer client and Google Cloud integrations) dropped during the event.

This year, investors are anticipating major updates once again. The full launch of Firedancer (a high-performance Solana validator) and new ecosystem partnerships are rumored, and Breakpoint acts on investors like a magnet, usually triggering strong FOMO ahead of anticipated news.

If Solana’s team delivers headline-worthy developments, SOL could rally, as happened last year when announcements at Breakpoint corresponded with a price spike. Conversely, if the conference hype fades without new catalysts, short-term traders might take profit. Still, sentiment is clearly bullish going in.

#3 Do Kwon Sentencing (Dec. 11)

The long-awaited sentencing of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon on Dec. 11 could mark a climactic chapter in the Terra/Luna saga. Kwon’s legal fate is largely sealed after he pleaded guilty to fraud in August, but the severity of punishment matters for the market psyche.

US prosecutors have asked for the maximum 12-year prison term for Kwon’s role in the $40 billion Terra meltdown. Paradoxically, traders have taken this bad news as bullish fuel: when the DOJ’s 12-year recommendation hit headlines, LUNC spiked 130% in a day, suggesting speculators see a tough sentence as a form of closure.

The actual sentencing on Dec. 11 could thus be a “sell the news” moment if those gains are purely hype-driven. Any outcome within expectations may prompt profit-taking after the event.

#4 Bittensor’s First TAO Halving (Dec. 12)

Bittensor (TAO), an AI-focused blockchain network, will undergo its inaugural token halving around Dec. 12–14, a pivotal event that echoes Bitcoin’s quadrennial cycle. After this “maturation milestone”, TAO’s issuance rate will be cut from 7,200 tokens per day to 3,600.

The halving cements Bittensor’s hard cap of 21 million TAO (just like BTC’s 21M) and is seen as a key milestone in the network’s maturation”. In the community, bulls have been hyping the “halving = scarcity” narrative for months – daily supply dropping 50% overnight is expected to “fuel scarcity narratives” and amplify TAO’s appeal as the base asset of a decentralized AI economy.

#5 Avalanche Spot ETF Decision

Avalanche (AVAX) could make history this week, as the US SEC faces a Dec. 12 deadline to approve or reject VanEck’s spot Avalanche ETF. This is the final decision date after multiple delays. Approval would mark one of the first mainstream investment vehicles for a “Ethereum-killer” layer-1 token, potentially unlocking new capital for AVAX.

Regulatory watchers are optimistic – Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart put the odds around 90% for approval. They argue that a spot AVAX fund would likely follow the path of recent Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.

#6 Aster’s S4 Buyback Program (Dec. 10)

Aster (ASTER), a DeFi protocol on BNB Chain, is commencing its Season 4 (S4) token buyback program on Dec. 10. Under this program, Aster will allocate 60–90% of all fees collected in Season 4 to buying back ASTER tokens from the open market.

This aggressive buyback scheme is designed to reduce supply and support the token’s price. In fact, the team announced it is accelerating the Phase 4 buybacks, with execution ramped up to roughly $4 million worth of ASTER purchases per day as of Dec. 8. Aster’s developers stated that this acceleration allows them to quickly deploy the fees accumulated since Nov. 10 onto the blockchain to prop up the market “during periods of volatility.”

By their estimates, it will take 8–10 days of these heightened buybacks to catch up, after which daily buybacks will continue at a steady 60–90% of the prior day’s fee revenue for the remainder of Season 4. A dedicated on-chain wallet for the buybacks is to be made public, ensuring transparency as the protocol executes what is essentially a large-scale, programmatic share (token) repurchase.

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $3.09 trillion.

Bitcoin started the week attempting to reclaim the $92,000 level, a move that hints at early signs of recovery after weeks of volatility and uncertainty. This renewed strength arrives at a critical moment for global markets, as investors turn their attention to one event: the upcoming FOMC meeting. According to a new CryptoQuant report by XWIN Research Japan, the central question is whether the Federal Reserve will finally begin cutting interest rates—a decision that could reshape market expectations heading into 2026.

Historical data provides an important context. During the last two rate-cut announcements on September 17 and October 29, Bitcoin followed a strikingly similar pattern. Prices climbed in the days leading up to each meeting, reflecting optimism and speculation.

Immediately after the announcements, the market experienced a brief bounce, only to fall sharply soon after. This behavior highlights a common reaction in macro-driven markets: although rate cuts are usually seen as bullish, they often fuel a “buy the rumor, sell the news” dynamic in the short term as traders lock in profits.

With Bitcoin hovering below major resistance and macro uncertainty rising again, the coming days may determine whether this attempted recovery evolves into momentum—or fades into another corrective swing.

Market Positioning Meets Macro Reality

Rather than simply repeating past rate-cut reactions, the current setup requires placing Bitcoin’s behavior in the broader macroeconomic landscape—a landscape that looks very different from previous cycles. While XWIN Research highlights the historical “up first, down later” pattern around FOMC cuts, the real story lies in how today’s liquidity conditions interact with on-chain signals.

Stablecoin exchange reserves now reflect not just crypto sentiment but the macro backdrop. With the US nearing the end of quantitative tightening and global liquidity subtly improving, rising stablecoin reserves would confirm that investors are preparing to deploy capital into risk assets.

If reserves remain flat or decline, it may indicate hesitation tied to uncertainty over inflation persistence or concerns about policy missteps.

Funding rates, meanwhile, must be interpreted through the lens of a market recalibrating after a 36% correction while still operating in a high-rate environment. Excessive long leverage during a macro turning point—especially if the Fed cuts earlier than expected—creates the perfect setup for volatility spikes.

Neutral or mildly positive funding, however, would suggest traders are not overextended, allowing Bitcoin to absorb macro news more smoothly.

Ultimately, Bitcoin’s reaction to the FOMC will depend on the interplay between improving macro liquidity conditions and the internal positioning of the market. This cycle’s environment is more complex—and potentially more supportive—than prior rate-cut events, making risk-managed positioning more crucial than prediction.

Weekly Chart Shows Stabilization But Trend Still Vulnerable

Bitcoin’s weekly chart shows the market attempting to stabilize after a sharp multi-week correction, with price hovering around $91,800. The current candle is printing a modest rebound, signaling that buyers are stepping in near the green 100-week moving average, a level that has acted as a cyclical support zone in past downturns. This reaction suggests that long-term participants are defending the structure, even as momentum remains weak.

Despite the bounce, BTC continues to trade well below the 50-week moving average, which has curled downward—evidence that medium-term trend pressure still leans bearish. The breakdown from the $110K–$100K region triggered a decisive shift in sentiment, and the latest consolidation under $95K reflects a market still searching for direction rather than forming a clear recovery trend.

Volume also tells an important story: selling spikes in recent weeks have been met with noticeably softer buy-side volume, indicating that bulls are present but not yet aggressive. Until a sustained surge in demand appears, rallies near the 50-week MA are likely to face resistance.

If Bitcoin holds the 100-week MA and forms higher weekly lows, a recovery phase could build. Failure to maintain this zone, however, would expose deeper downside levels and confirm a broader trend reversal.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum (ETH) is entering a phase that analysts say resembles the early stages of its strongest market cycles, driven by institutional accumulation, shrinking exchange supply, and new proposals aimed at stabilizing the network’s economics.

Related Reading: ‘Something Big’ Is Coming For XRP, Says Toroso Investments Portfolio Manager

As large investors deepen their presence and developers explore changes that could make transaction fees more predictable, sentiment on Wall Street has shifted sharply recently. For many, the combination of tightening supply and improving fundamentals has created conditions that could support a meaningful repricing.

Exchange Supply Tightens as Institutions Accelerate Accumulation

Ethereum held on centralized exchanges has fallen to its lowest level since the network launched in 2015. Glassnode data shows that balances dropped to 8.7% of the total supply last week, marking a 43% decline since July.

The reduction is tied to staking, layer-2 migration, institutional custody, and long-term treasury allocations, destinations that rarely send tokens back to exchanges.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, now the largest corporate holder of Ether, expanded its position by another $199 million over the weekend. The firm controls $11.3 billion in ETH, representing about 3.08% of supply, and continues buying toward its 5% target.

ETFs have also contributed to the drawdown, with cumulative inflows now above $12 billion. Analysts note that nearly 40% of all ETH is locked in staking or institutional products, creating one of the tightest supply environments the asset has experienced.

Technical analysts point to hidden signs of accumulation. Recent On-Balance Volume readings have broken above resistance, even as the price lingers near $3,050, a divergence that some interpret as indicating buying pressure.

Fee Reform Pushes Forward as Vitalik Buterin Proposes Gas Futures Market

Alongside market activity, a new economic proposal from Vitalik Buterin is drawing attention. The Ethereum co-founder outlined a system for onchain gas futures that would allow users to lock in transaction fees for future time periods.

The mechanism resembles traditional futures markets and is designed to help traders and developers hedge against sudden increases in network demand.

Buterin argues that clearer forward pricing could support businesses that rely on predictable costs, particularly as activity expands across staking, tokenization, and decentralized applications. Although still in its early stages, the idea is viewed as part of a broader effort to make Ethereum more stable as it scales.

Analysts See Conditions Forming for a Larger Cycle

Market commentators increasingly cite a combination of shrinking supply, rising institutional involvement, and improving network efficiency as reasons Ethereum may outperform in the next major cycle.

Some compare current dynamics to Bitcoin eight years ago, noting that Ethereum’s evolving economic model and expanding role in tokenized finance give it a broader set of drivers than in previous cycles.

Related Reading: Trump’s New Security Strategy Leaves Crypto And Blockchain Out

Whether these developments immediately translate into price gains remains uncertain. But with exchange balances at record lows and institutions steadily accumulating, analysts agree that Ethereum is entering a structurally different phase, one defined less by speculation and more by sustained demand.

Cover image from ChatGPT, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview