On CNBC's Power Lunch, Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee argued that Wall Street's push to tokenize assets on Ethereum could support an Ether price of $7,000–$9,000 by early 2026, with a longer-term scenario of $20,000. He linked ETH's investment thesis to its growing use as financial infrastructure, while data show Ethereum leading in tokenized real-world assets and about $170 billion in stablecoin issuance.

USX, a Solana-based dollar-pegged stablecoin, briefly traded below $1 on Orca and Raydium amid thin liquidity early Friday. According to PeckShieldAlert, prints hit $0.10 before market depth returned, while GeckoTerminal data showed a dip to about $0.80 and a recovery near $0.99. Solstice Finance said it began injecting liquidity around 04:30 UTC and affirmed overcollateralized reserves.

Pudgy Penguins ran animated visuals across the Las Vegas Sphere’s exterior, with the display going live on Christmas Eve, according to a post on X. The 2021-founded NFT project, acquired by Luca Netz in April 2022 for $2.5 million in Ether, has broadened into physical toys alongside digital collectibles.

On Dec. 17, DTCC outlined plans to tokenize a portion of U.S. Treasury securities held at its Depository Trust Company on the Canton Network. Over the past week, Canton Coin rose about 27%, while Bitcoin and Ether slipped around 0.5% and Solana fell roughly 3.3%, according to CoinGecko. The announcement underscores growing institutional momentum behind tokenized real-world assets.

Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov said on Wednesday that KGST, a stablecoin pegged to the national currency som, has been listed on Binance and is intended to support cross-border payments. The move follows new crypto legislation, the launch of the gold-backed USDKG dollar stablecoin on Tron with 50 million units, and plans to establish a national crypto reserve as part of the country’s broader digital asset strategy.

Heading into 2026, the sector is prioritizing privacy-first digital identity, with selective disclosure and zero-knowledge proofs at its core. On Oct. 29, Ethereum's X account said more than 750 privacy projects are building on the network, while April and Dec. 10 milestones from Google Wallet and Switzerland's Council of States show parallel shifts in mainstream platforms and policy.

ETHZilla disclosed in a U.S. regulatory filing that it sold 24,291 ETH for $74.5 million at an average price of $3,068.69 per token to reduce its senior secured convertible notes. The firm, which rebranded from 180 Life Sciences Corp on July 29 and shifted to an Ether-focused strategy, now holds about 69,800 ETH, while its shares have fallen sharply amid a broader crypto market pullback.

Strategy raised $747.8 million in net proceeds by selling 4.535 million Class A common shares between Dec. 15 and 21, boosting its cash reserve to $2.19 billion while halting fresh Bitcoin purchases. The company holds 671,268 BTC acquired for $50.33 billion in total and is building a USD reserve to cover at least 12 months of preferred dividends and interest, with a long-term target of 24 months or more.

In its latest annual outlook, Galaxy Research forecast that dollar-pegged stablecoins could process more transaction volume in 2026 than the US Automated Clearing House system, citing current growth trends and pending regulation. The report also noted that stablecoin supply has been expanding at a 30%–40% compound annual rate and already handles volumes exceeding major card networks while approaching half of ACH activity. Galaxy's analysts further pointed to new offerings from firms such as Western Union, Sony Bank and SoFi as evidence of expanding stablecoin adoption.