Coin Bytes

Crypto markets are on edge today, as $27.14 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire, marking the largest quarterly option expiry ever. Bitcoin options are around $89,065 each, while Ethereum contracts sit near $2,973. Traders are paying close attention because such a massive expiry can cause sudden volatility and ripple through both spot and derivatives markets. Prices could swing sharply as traders close or roll over positions, presenting both risks and opportunities for investors.

Usually, such events have a short-term impact on the market mood and thus the traders modify their tactics according to when the contracts expire. Currently, it is a decisive day for the BTC and ETH participants to point out the remarkable impact the crypto derivatives market has over market prices. Crypto traders and investors are focused on the end of 2025, one of the year’s key events.

Russia’s final State Council meeting of the year, held December 25 in the Kremlin, closed 2024 with little energy. Officially focused on personnel training, the session also touched on unresolved economic issues, including privatization disputes highlighted by business leaders. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, was there right on time when the meeting started, and it is claimed that the talks included topics related to world politics and negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine. Among the usual New Year events, such as officials committing to fulfill the wishes from Christmas trees, the environment still remained slightly reserved, which indicates that Russia was staying cautious in its activities in 2025 amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Wintermute founder Evgeny Gaevoy said the firm has been an AAVE investor since 2022 and continues to participate actively in the protocol’s governance. He also noted that he personally holds AAVE but has no equity exposure to Aave Labs. According to Gaevoy, the root of the governance conflict lies with token value accrual and a mismatch of expectations between the different parties involved. He further indicated that it is still uncertain if the new front-end and brand governance structure would eventually lead to the value being shared between AAVE token holders. Pointing to the lack of information in the proposal, Wintermute opposed it, and the proposal ended up being turned down.

Russia’s central bank has unveiled a new regulatory framework aimed at expanding access to cryptocurrencies for both retail and professional investors, reflecting a shift in policy prompted by Western sanctions. Under the plan, non-qualified investors will be allowed to purchase the most liquid cryptocurrencies after passing a knowledge test, with an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles ($3,800). Qualified investors, on the other hand, will face no such limits once they complete a risk-awareness exam, although anonymous tokens will remain excluded.

Crypto trading will be done only via brokers who have a license, and the scheme holds for purchases from abroad as long as they are reported for taxation. It also extends the liberalized rules to companies involved in cryptocurrency transactions, which is a sign of Moscow’s plan to assimilate digital currencies deeper into its money market. This change in regulations reveals that sanctions are pushing Russia’s adoption of cryptocurrencies as a financial instrument in a more aggressive way.

Gold surged past $4,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, marking its biggest year-to-date gain since 1979, rising over 70% in 2025. Silver also hit record highs, up more than 150% this year, while platinum and palladium posted gains of roughly 160% and over 100%, respectively. Analysts expect gold to target $5,000 per ounce and silver $80 within the next six to twelve months as investors continue to seek safe-haven assets amid mounting geopolitical and trade uncertainties and expectations of further U.S. rate cuts in 2026.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,495.39 per ounce by 0552 GMT, after briefly touching $4,525.19. U.S. gold futures for February delivery climbed 0.4% to $4,522.10, also setting a record. Silver advanced 1.1% to $72.16 an ounce, following an intraday peak of $72.70, while platinum jumped 2.5% to $2,333.80 after reaching $2,377.50. Palladium rose nearly 3% to $1,916.69, its highest level in three years.

The report of Wintermute highlights that even though the crypto market was subjected to downside pressure at the start of last week, the market mood became less balanced as the week advanced. Bitcoin’s share of the overall market continued to increase, signaling a defensive positioning by investors amid rising uncertainty. At the same time, the altcoins were still being heavily pressured, mainly due to the constant unlocks of tokens and the surplus of supply that was negatively affecting the prices. All in all, the market continues to maintain high short-term volatility, but the flow of capital is becoming more and more concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum, which indicates a preference for liquidity and relative safety in the absence of any clear macroeconomic or policy-driven catalysts.

In their ongoing discussions about Bitcoin policy and economic reforms, El Salvador and the IMF have made significant progress as the nation seeks to secure a $1.4 billion loan package. El Salvador and the IMF have “well advanced” talks on the Bitcoin initiative and the sale of the government-run Chivo wallet, according to an official statement released on December 23. The IMF’s Mission Chief for El Salvador was quoted as saying, “The sale of the government e-wallet Chivo is well advanced, and discussions about the Bitcoin project continue, centred on enhancing transparency, safeguarding public resources, and mitigating risks.”

One of BlackRock’s top three investing themes in 2025, along with Treasury bills and the major US tech firms, was its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Along with an ETF that tracks Treasury bills and another linked to the “Magnificent 7” tech stocks of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla, the asset manager also named the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). Despite producing a negative return thus far for 2025, IBIT has drawn more than $25 billion in net inflows this year, placing sixth among all ETFs and lagging broad index funds.

Mike Selig was sworn in as chair of the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission on Monday, following the announcement by acting chair Caroline Pham that she will be leaving the organization. According to Pham, who has been the CFTC’s lone commissioner since August and interim chair since January, Monday would be her last day there. Selig, who was nominated by President Donald Trump on October 27 and confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, was sworn in as the CFTC’s 16th chairman on Monday, according to the agency.
Selig is now the only commissioner for the CFTC following Pham’s departure. In the past, he was the chief counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force and is recognized as a pro-crypto advocate.

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has published a whitelist of 29 certified cryptocurrency platforms, formally stating which exchanges are legally permitted to operate in the nation. The list, which includes the names of businesses as well as their apps or platforms, is intended to serve as an authoritative reference for users to determine whether a provider is lawfully licensed before trading. The OJK has advised the public to deal exclusively with firms on the list and to treat unlisted platforms as unlicensed operators.