Weekly Update: 19th of December
What happened between the 12th and the 19th of December?
- Crypto markets have traded sideways for weeks; Bitcoin lacks a breakout, altcoins underperform and expectations of BoJ hikes and delayed US rules weigh on sentiment. Read more
- DTCC’s Canton Network pilot tokenizes existing Treasuries onchain, targeting faster settlement, improved intraday liquidity and more efficient collateral usage within a familiar regulated market framework. Read more
- Coinbase is expanding from pure crypto exchange to multi-asset platform with stocks and prediction markets, letting users trade equities, crypto and events from one interface. Read more
- More investors are rotating into stable, risk-managed strategies after sharp drawdowns, favouring actively managed and hedged funds with smoother return profiles over market beta exposure. Read more
Crypto market continues to move sideways
The crypto market has been trading sideways for weeks within a range, with brief upward and downward spikes. Bitcoin is hovering around similar levels and has so far failed to produce a convincing breakout. Altcoins are under more pressure: many smaller, more speculative projects are seeing additional declines, while mainly higher-quality protocols remain relatively resilient.
A key headwind is the expected interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan, which could pull global liquidity away from risk assets. At the same time, the postponement of new US crypto legislation to 2026 is creating ongoing uncertainty around the future regulatory framework. Consolidating markets often feel slow and drawn-out, but they do lay the foundation for the next major move.
DTCC takes a serious step in tokenization
The US Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has received the green light to roll out a tokenization pilot on the Canton Network. In the first phase, existing securities, such as US Treasuries already held in custody at DTCC, will be represented on-chain. The aim is to enable near-instant settlement, better intraday liquidity and more efficient use of collateral, without stepping outside the existing supervisory framework.
Where previous initiatives were mostly proof-of-concepts, DTCC is targeting the very backbone of the capital markets. This increases the credibility of tokenized assets and prepares the market for a future in which digital and traditional infrastructure integrate seamlessly.
Coinbase expands its product offering
Coinbase is rapidly evolving from a pure crypto exchange into a broader investment platform. The company is introducing stock trading and prediction markets alongside existing crypto products, allowing users to move between equities, crypto and prediction markets within a single environment. Funding is possible in both US dollars and stablecoins such as USDC.
The new prediction markets, partly via partnerships with platforms like Kalshi, cover themes such as elections, macro data and index levels. Strategically, this positions Coinbase as a direct competitor to Robinhood, but with a strong on-chain component through Base. For investors, this means greater flexibility: a single interface for multiple asset classes, custody models and strategies. For the industry, it is a sign that the line between fintech, brokers and crypto platforms is fading further.
Investors rotate into more stable strategies
Recent market data and reporting from Reuters show that an increasing number of investors are opting for more stable, risk-managed strategies. This year’s sharp corrections have reduced tolerance for extreme volatility. Instead of pure market exposure, demand is growing for actively managed funds, hedged strategies and solutions with a more stable return profile.
We observe the same pattern in applications for our new ZK Fund, where investors increasingly prefer consistent annual returns over reliance on a persistent bull market. Especially in times of uncertainty, these strategies can be a method to preserve and slowly build capital. This can be later used in times of certainty (risk-on), or continue to benefit from its compounding effect of stable returns.
In other digital assets news
- Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs and central figure in the Terra-Luna collapse that wiped out billions, has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for fraud.
- YouTube has introduced an option for creators to receive payouts in a US dollar stablecoin, further normalising stablecoin use within the creator economy.
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