At its final press conference of the year on Thursday, the ECB said it has finished the technical and preparatory work for a retail digital euro and is awaiting authorization from the European Council and Parliament. The Commission's proposal envisions legal tender status and privacy protections, with a pilot possible in 2027 if legislation passes by 2026.

On December 18, 2025 in Zug, the dYdX Foundation held its Monthly Analyst Call with dYdX Labs, outlining recent performance and governance moves. Over the latest 30 days, the protocol saw $16.1 billion in perpetual volume and daily activity of $600–800 million, while approving Surge Season 9 with a 50% fee rebate and a $1 million incentive program. The month also added Solana spot trading with U.S. access and a BONK partnership that shares 50% of fees with the BONK DAO.

At the ECB's final press conference on Thursday, Christine Lagarde said the digital euro is technically ready and now awaits decisions by the European Council and European Parliament. In September, Executive Board member Piero Cipollone called a rollout around mid-2029 "a fair assessment." Lagarde also said MiCA-compliant stablecoins can be supervised and regarded as safe.

According to Coincu, North Korean‑linked hacking groups stole over $2 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2025, with a February breach at Bybit allegedly contributing up to $1.5 billion. Analysts cited in the article say tactics increasingly involve social engineering and insider access, and total thefts since 2016 are reported at $6.7 billion.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the digital euro's preparatory phase is complete. The ECB is urging EU institutions to pass legislation by 2026, with a pilot possibly starting in 2027 and a potential launch in 2029. The initiative is designed to complement cash and strengthen resilience in European payments.

On December 18, 2025, after issues on Polygon PoS, a Polymarket team member said in Discord the platform will prioritize building its own Layer 2 to reduce future disruptions. Posts on X noted services were restored, while Downdetector saw a spike in reports, with 86% tied to website access and 11% to login problems.

Intercontinental Exchange is in discussions to take a stake in MoonPay as part of a new funding round that could value the crypto payments company near $5 billion. MoonPay has been expanding into regulated custody via a New York Limited Purpose Trust Charter and broadening partnerships, while ICE builds its digital asset footprint through Bakkt, Polymarket and Chainlink.

PayPal said its PYUSD stablecoin will support USD.AI in extending credit and financing to AI companies, with loans disbursed in PYUSD for GPUs and data center buildouts. The partners plan a one‑year 4.5% rate on up to $1 billion in deposits starting early January as a customer incentive. The initiative accompanies broader PYUSD adoption and PayPal’s late‑October payments integration with OpenAI.