According to ChainCatcher, Gnosis Chain has announced a hard fork scheduled for December 22 to return $9.4 million frozen during the Balancer hack incident. Last month, Balancer suffered a loss of $128 million due to an attack, prompting Gnosis to implement a soft fork to freeze some of the funds. The upcoming hard fork is necessary to unlock and return the funds to users. The decision has sparked intense debate within the community. Supporters argue that it demonstrates accountability, while opponents question whether it violates the principle of 'code is law,' potentially undermining the immutability of the blockchain. Infrastructure Director Schommers emphasized that validator approval is required and that the chain's history will remain unaffected. DeFi industry expert Ignas noted that the soft fork has already impacted immutability. The GNO token has fallen by 3% to $115, highlighting the dilemma DeFi faces between security and decentralization principles.

ZRO holders will participate in the third fee switch vote at 00:00 on December 20th. This vote, held every six months, allows holders to decide whether to activate the protocol's fee switch. If the vote passes, protocol fees will be used to buy back and burn ZRO. The voting window is from 00:00 on December 20th to 00:00 on December 27th. A quorum of 40.59% of the circulating ZRO, or 230 million ZRO, is required to vote. For the quorum to be valid, more than 50% of the votes must be in favor. LayerZero Labs, the LayerZero Foundation, and related parties will abstain.

A new XRP price outlook from a crypto analyst outlines its recent breakdown below $2 and the factors that could influence its next moves. According to the analysis, Bitcoin’s ongoing retracement and key support levels could trigger a stronger correction for XRP. However, this projected downtrend is expected to pave the way for a reversal to higher target levels. XRP Price Outlook Tied To Bitcoin Retracement While the broader crypto market continued to trend lower, crypto market expert Tara shared a fresh technical analysis on XRP source: https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/xrp/what-to-expect-with-xrp-price/

Analyzing the impact of burning 1 billion HYPE token on its price action. source: https://ambcrypto.com/1-billion-hype-burn-could-shock-supply-can-hyperliquid-hold-20/

Bitget Wallet has upgraded its Earn Center, integrating previously scattered weekly activities, task systems, and trading rewards into a unified interface. The Earn Center currently comprises three main modules: FOMO Thursday, Trading Arena, and Quests. The Trading Arena incentivizes trading activities involving tokens, perpetual contracts, and tokenized assets; Quests aggregates on-chain interactive tasks related to multiple active protocols and ecosystem partners, helping users participate in different ecosystems in a concentrated manner. The reward mechanism is primarily executed and distributed on-chain. Another key update is FOMO Thursday 2.0, which introduces a dual prize pool structure, an instant card draw mechanism, and a collectible card system. Users can unlock corresponding rewards after completing specific task combinations. Bitget Wallet stated that this adjustment is based on feedback from past activities, aiming to lower the participation threshold and expand task types beyond trading. The launch of the Earn Center aims to more closely integrate users' on-chain trading and ecosystem interactions with a transparent and verifiable incentive system. The platform plans to introduce more ecosystem partners, task formats, and product linkage mechanisms in the future. The first FOMO Thursday 2.0 event will launch soon, with expanded network and task types and a richer reward pool.

According to PANews, the capacity of Bitcoin's Layer 2 Lightning Network has reached a record high, driven by widespread adoption and enhanced functionality across major cryptocurrency exchanges. Data from Bitcoin Visuals indicates that on Monday, the Lightning Network's capacity hit 5,606 BTC, surpassing the previous record set in March 2023. Analysis platform Amboss reported that on Tuesday, the capacity peaked at 5,637 BTC, valued at approximately $490 million. The data reveals a significant surge in Lightning Network capacity in November and December, following a year of decline. This increase is attributed to the addition of more Bitcoin to the network, resulting in faster and cheaper transactions. Currently, the number of Lightning Network nodes stands at 14,940, down from the peak of 20,700 in March 2022. Similarly, the number of channels between nodes is 48,678, also below the 2022 peak. While the amount of Bitcoin added to the Lightning Network is on the rise, usage measured by node and channel count has not necessarily increased correspondingly.

Institutional demand for Bitcoin has recently exceeded the network’s new supply, highlighting a growing imbalance between buyer appetite and miner issuance. Buyers Absorb More Bitcoin Than Is Mined Data from Capriole shows that institutional buyers have absorbed more Bitcoin than miners produced for three consecutive days. source: https://www.ethnews.com/institutional-bitcoin-demand-outpaces-new-supply-as-buyers-absorb-more-than-miners-produce/

The Federal Reserve withdraws restrictive crypto policy, allowing state banks to explore digital assets under new guidelines. source: https://coincu.com/news/federal-reserve-eases-crypto-policy/

According to SoSoValue data, XRP spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $18.99 million yesterday (December 17th, Eastern Time). The XRP spot ETF with the largest single-day net inflow was the 21Shares XRP ETF (TOXR), with a net inflow of $5.49 million, bringing its historical cumulative net inflow to $5.67 million. This was followed by the Canary XRP ETF (XRPC), with a single-day net inflow of $5.19 million and a historical total net inflow of $382 million. As of press time, the total net asset value of XRP spot ETFs was $1.14 billion, with an XRP net asset ratio of 0.98%, and a historical cumulative net inflow of $1.03 billion.

Aster announced on the X platform that on December 22nd, Aster will enter its fifth airdrop phase, named "Crystal." This phase marks the lowest airdrop volume to date and is a deliberate step towards stricter supply discipline for the Aster Chain. The fifth phase will last for six weeks (December 22, 2025 to February 1, 2026), distributing 1.2% of the total supply (approximately 96 million ASTER), with an optional three-month vesting period.

Vaults are non-custodial blockchain infrastructures that enable functionalities that are not available in traditional finance.

The AI ​​investment boom reached a turning point at the end of 2025, with the market shifting from a "buy and ask questions" approach to a "return-first" approach. Demand is genuine, but tight fiscal conditions and macroeconomic weaknesses amplify risks. If profitability is not achieved by 2026, valuation adjustments are inevitable.

Jinse Finance launches its daily cryptocurrency and blockchain news bulletin, "Jinse 8 AM," issue 2912, providing you with the latest and fastest news on the digital currency and blockchain industry.

Private lending is gaining momentum on tokenized real-world assets (RWA) platforms.

Jinse Finance launches the "Jinse Web3.0 Daily," providing you with the latest and fastest news on MEME, DeFi, DAO, NFT, and the metaverse industry.

The payment industry may seem "old," but it has always been the earliest and most easily restructured part of the financial system by technology.

Recently, a dispute has surfaced between Aave DAO and Aave Labs. The former is responsible for the governance protocol, while the latter is the developer of Aave products.

HashKey, RWA, Reshaping the Asian Crypto Narrative Through the Narrow Gate Between Compliance and Innovation: Five Key Takeaways from HashKey's IPO (Jinse Finance) - HashKey's IPO is at a historical crossroads.

Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin Crash, Institutional Bottom-Fishing, Regulatory Breakthroughs: Three Major Storms Await the Crypto Market at the End of 2025. (Jinse Finance) At the end of 2025, the cryptocurrency market enters a "stormy mode."

Since 2023, JPMorgan Chase has withdrawn nearly $350 billion in cash from its Federal Reserve accounts and invested most of it in U.S. government bonds.