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Crypto regulation is back in focus this week. U.S. lawmakers are reviving discussions ahead of January hearings, with three critical topics on the table: market structure reform, stablecoin frameworks, and the ongoing regulatory divide between the SEC and CFTC. This regulatory clarity could reshape how digital assets are governed and traded across American markets.

REALITY CHECK: America's Bitcoin & Crypto Strategic Pivot
Here's what just shifted in the crypto landscape—and it's not just political theater.
The U.S. government moved from containment mode to catalyst mode. This executive order signals something fundamental: crypto transitions from a tolerated experiment to a strategic asset class. The difference? Massive.
What changes on the ground:
Regulatory temperature flips. It was enforcement-first before. Now? Enablement becomes the baseline. That's not a minor tweak—it reshapes capital flows, startup decisions, and institutional risk appetites.
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A common phenomenon observed on social media platforms is: accounts with low follower counts promoting high prices, then being reshared by accounts with a broader audience under the logic of "your followers are few, let me share it so people see." This method legitimizes price increase campaigns and often misleads consumers. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office closely monitors such practices and warns that coordinated marketing strategies on social media can create market manipulation. Especially when it comes to crypto assets and digital markets, such viral marketing techniques are

🚨 Watch Out for Phone Scams: Imposters Claiming to Be Exchange Partners
Don't fall for it. Scammers are calling users pretending to represent major exchanges, trying to redirect you to fake chat groups where they'll drain your wallet. This tactic is becoming increasingly common in the crypto space.
Here's what you absolutely need to know to protect yourself:
1️⃣ No Legitimate Exchange Calls You Unsolicited — Ever. Real exchanges will never cold-call you asking for account details or urging you to move funds. If someone claiming to be from an exchange is calling you, it's 100% a scam. Period.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to introduce a significant bill—the "Public Integrity Act of 2026 for Financial Prediction Markets." Sponsored by Congressman Ritchie Torres, the core provision of this bill is to prohibit federal officials from trading on prediction markets using material non-public information.
The introduction of this proposal is not without precedent. Previously, an account conducted trading operations before a major political event, earning over $400,000 in profit afterward, sparking widespread suspicion of insider trading. This incident exposed regulatory gaps in

zkKYC has become a direction for many Web3 projects to explore. Approaches like Tria are interesting—they neither follow the completely permissionless and radical route nor revert to the traditional financial methods.
The key lies in how to find a balance between privacy protection and compliance obligations. There’s no need to rush to a conclusion; instead, you can establish your own judgment framework:
On one end is a privacy-first, fully permissionless design—maximizing user privacy with almost zero compliance obligations. On the other end is the traditional banking model with full real-nam

⚠️ Data Exposure: Bitcoin ATM fraud cases hit a record high in 2025. According to the latest alert from the FBI, cryptocurrency scams through ATM channels have become a major focus of criminal activity. These scams typically involve false investment promises or inducements to withdraw funds, with victims often being ordinary users lacking cryptocurrency knowledge. As Bitcoin and other digital assets become more widespread, related criminals are also upgrading their methods. Users should be especially cautious when using Bitcoin ATMs and avoid conducting transactions under the guidance of stran

When institutional insiders execute significant share purchases, how confident can retail investors be that information asymmetry isn't playing a role? The gap between executive access to material information and public disclosure timing remains one of the most contentious issues in traditional markets. If corporate leadership had advance knowledge of events that would move stock prices, does that fundamentally undermine market fairness? This structural problem—where insiders benefit from information advantages—is precisely why the blockchain community emphasizes transparent, immutable transac

The SEC just saw a major shift in its leadership composition. Caroline Crenshaw, the agency's sole Democratic commissioner, has officially stepped down. This means the Securities and Exchange Commission is now entirely under Republican control—a significant change that could reshape how the agency approaches crypto regulation going forward. Given the SEC's pivotal role in overseeing digital assets and crypto markets, this personnel transition is worth watching closely for anyone tracking regulatory developments in the space.

The large-scale application of on-chain finance has actually been hinted at for a while—Polygon has already reached a threshold in the payment field. But to truly unlock this market, a problem that cannot be bypassed is now in front of us: how to protect transaction privacy while complying with regulatory requirements?
This is not optional; it must be done. The protocol needs to find a balance between the two—ensuring user transaction privacy on one side and meeting regulatory compliance on the other. This is the key to whether DeFi can reach the mainstream. Polygon's exploration in this direc

Regulatory pressure on crypto always comes with a twist. If there's going to be a major policy shock, the timing would matter—especially over a weekend when traditional finance shuts down. That's a 30-hour window where the market operates with minimal institutional oversight. Crypto traders would have to navigate it solo while watching the macro picture unfold. Whether it's direct regulation or market-disrupting announcements, the timing game is real.

A top European tech strategist recently highlighted a critical gap: Europe's digital backbone relies heavily on US-controlled infrastructure companies, creating a dependency that stifles homegrown innovation. While American firms continue building and iterating, European regulatory frameworks often lag behind, creating friction for startups and cloud platforms. This regulatory-first vs. build-first contrast is reshaping how the continent approaches blockchain, AI, and decentralized technologies—raising questions about whether current policy approaches help or hinder competitiveness in the Web3

The contradiction in identity verification standards is striking. We require ID to purchase alcohol, yet the most fundamental civic duty—voting in a republic—operates without equivalent safeguards. This inconsistency creates vulnerabilities for systemic fraud that's difficult to track or prove. It's worth examining why such asymmetry exists in critical democratic processes. The gap between transaction-level consumer protection and election-level institutional security raises serious questions about governance priorities and risk management in democratic systems.

The regulatory scrutiny surrounding certain cryptocurrency projects' tax compliance appears far from over. Based on recent developments, there's growing indication that related investigations and policy discussions will continue unfolding. Market participants should stay tuned to potential updates as authorities intensify oversight on tax obligations within the crypto space.

Spotted an interesting case out of Washington State: three childcare providers walked away with $778,450 in subsidies that mathematically shouldn't have been allowed under existing state regulations. Someone dug into the data, found the discrepancy, and filed a report. Result? They got paid $1,000 as a bounty for catching it. The program apparently has more of these inconsistencies waiting to be uncovered, and they're offering additional bounties for findings. Kind of like how on-chain monitoring works—financial scrutiny, rewards for accuracy, and gaps that need fixing.

A senior executive from a leading compliant crypto platform recently expressed strong optimism about the arrival of a comprehensive crypto market structure bill in 2026. He shared his confidence that regulatory clarity is taking shape, explaining the reasoning behind his bullish outlook on legislative progress. The executive highlighted key factors driving this momentum, suggesting that market participants should anticipate structural changes coming to the industry within the next year. This development could reshape how crypto trading and digital asset markets operate at the regulatory level.

Breaking: SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, known for her skepticism toward cryptocurrency regulation, has announced her resignation. The move marks a notable transition in the Securities and Exchange Commission's leadership composition. Crenshaw has been a vocal advocate for stricter regulatory frameworks, often taking firm positions on crypto asset classification and platform compliance requirements. Her departure could signal potential shifts in how the SEC approaches digital asset oversight and policy direction. The timing aligns with evolving discussions around regulatory clarity in the

El Salvador is doubling down on its crypto ambitions. The country's Bitcoin Office has signaled a major push for 2026, positioning Bitcoin and artificial intelligence as foundational elements of national development strategy.
This move reflects a broader shift in how smaller economies are leveraging blockchain technology and AI innovation to leapfrog traditional financial infrastructure. By embedding these sectors into core policy, El Salvador is essentially betting that Bitcoin adoption and AI advancement will drive economic growth and technological sovereignty.
For the crypto community, this

South Korea's primary securities exchange is gearing up for crypto ETF listings. The exchange chairman recently confirmed that once regulatory authorities greenlight cryptocurrency ETFs, the platform stands ready to roll out these products. This signals growing institutional appetite and regulatory openness toward digital asset derivatives in one of Asia's major financial markets, potentially marking a significant step forward for mainstream adoption of crypto investment vehicles.

Data from CoinGecko and Tiger Research shows South Korean investors transferred approximately KRW 160 trillion (around $110 billion) of crypto assets to international exchanges throughout 2025. The massive exodus stems from local regulatory constraints that confine domestic CEXs primarily to spot trading operations. This regulatory squeeze has essentially forced Korean market participants to seek more diverse trading options and greater flexibility on overseas platforms.