U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows of $194.6 million on Thursday, marking the largest single-day withdrawal in two weeks, data show. BlackRock's IBIT led outflows with $112.9 million, while Fidelity's FBTC saw $54.2 million in withdrawals. Trading volume for these products declined to $3.1 billion from $4.2 billion the previous day.

Grayscale Research forecasts bitcoin will reach new all-time highs in 2026, rejecting the traditional four-year cycle theory that anticipates extended bear markets. The firm points to institutional investment structures and favorable macroeconomic conditions as key differentiators from prior cycles. Bitcoin traded at $86,909 as of 2:20 a.m. ET Tuesday after declining 32% from its peak.

Balancer has outlined a plan to distribute approximately $8 million in recovered assets to liquidity providers affected by a November vulnerability that led to losses exceeding $128 million. Six white hat actors secured roughly $3.86 million during the incident, with bounties capped at $1 million per operation and requiring identity verification. The proposal establishes a 180-day claim window, after which unclaimed assets will be subject to governance decisions.

South Korean authorities suspect North Korea's Lazarus Group orchestrated the theft of approximately $30.4 million in cryptocurrency from Upbit, the country's largest digital asset exchange. The breach involved irregular withdrawals of Solana-based assets detected Thursday, prompting the platform to immediately suspend deposit and withdrawal services. Investigators noted the attack methodology resembles a 2019 incident attributed to the same group.

Australia's Treasury presented legislation to parliament on Wednesday mandating that certain cryptocurrency service providers obtain financial services licenses. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 would require digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). The bill follows a September consultation period and received its first reading on Wednesday.

Bitcoin rose 4.5% to $91,755 as of 10:50 p.m. ET Wednesday, recovering from last week's drop to approximately $81,000. The rebound follows oversold conditions and growing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December, with CME Group's FedWatch tool showing an 84.7% probability.

Coinbase Ventures has outlined its 2026 investment strategy, prioritizing perpetual futures for real-world assets, specialized trading platforms, and AI-blockchain integration. The venture arm identified prediction market terminals and reputation-based lending as emerging opportunities in decentralized finance.

Robinhood Markets Inc. announced a joint venture with Susquehanna International Group to establish a futures and derivatives exchange. The new platform will acquire MIAXdx from Miami International Holdings and is expected to begin operations in 2026. Robinhood cited prediction markets as its fastest-growing product segment, with over 9 billion contracts processed across more than 1 million customers.

Binance faces a federal lawsuit filed Monday in North Dakota accusing the exchange of knowingly enabling Hamas to transfer funds before the militant group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The complaint, brought by more than 300 victims and family members, names Binance, co-founder Changpeng Zhao, and senior executive Guangying Chen as defendants. Plaintiffs allege the exchange facilitated illicit transfers for Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations over an extended period.