On December 17, according to market data, U.S. stocks closed on Tuesday with the Dow Jones down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq up 0.2%. Cryptocurrency-related stocks saw a broad rebound, including: Coinbase (COIN) up 0.87%, Circle (CRCL) up 9.99%, MicroStrategy (MSTR) up 3.34%, Bullish (BLSH) up 1.25%, Gemini (GEMI) up 4.26%, Bitmine (BMNR) up 1.42%, SharpLink Gaming (SBET) up 2.1%, Bit Digital (BTBT) up 1.45%, ETHZilla (ETHZ) down 1.44%, BNB Network Company (BNC) down 0.47%, ALT5 Sigma (ALTS) down 1.85%.

SEC Ends Nearly Four-Year Investigation into Aave Protocol

On December 17, Aave founder Stani.eth announced that after four years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its investigation into the Aave protocol. The Aave team invested significant effort and resources to protect Aave and its ecosystem. In recent years, DeFi has faced unfair regulatory pressure, and now it can break free from these constraints and enter a new era where developers can truly build the future of finance.

JD.com Restarts Digital Collectibles Business, "Lingxi" Platform Enables Gifting Service for Newly Issued Digital Assets

On December 17, according to a report by "New Consumer Daily," JD.com's digital collectibles platform "Lingxi" announced today (December 16) the opening of a gifting function, stating that from December 15, newly issued digital assets will officially support gifting services, while the opening time for existing assets is to be determined. This move comes just one day after Lingxi began public testing. Previously, in December 2021, "Lingxi" was launched on the JD.com APP mini-program, with the first batch of digital art collectibles based on JD.com's mascot "Joy" going on sale. However, as policies tightened, Lingxi, which did not open secondary trading, once came to a standstill.2021 was the first year of digital collectibles, with Tencent's "幻核" APP and Ant Group's "鲸探" platform quickly rising to dominate the first half of the digital collectibles industry. In the second half of 2022, the industry cooled down, and the China Internet Finance Association, along with two other associations, issued the "Initiative on Preventing Financial Risks Related to NFTs," explicitly calling for curbing the financialization and securitization tendency of NFTs to prevent illegal financial activities. In July of that year, Tencent News率先 suspended digital collectibles-related businesses, in August幻核announced its withdrawal, and in November, Tencent Music's digital collectibles business shut down.

The turning point came this December when two national standards, the "Implementation Guide for the Trading of Cultural Digital Assets" and the "Guidelines for the Value Assessment of Cultural Digital Assets," officially took effect, marking the digital collectibles industry's transition from "spontaneous exploration" to a new development stage of "standardized guidance." The "Trading Implementation Guide" clarifies the qualifications of participants, risk prevention, and other full-process specifications for cultural digital asset trading, while the "Value Assessment Guidelines" establish a unified value assessment system for cultural digital assets.

Zhu Youping, rotating chairman of the Blockchain Committee of the China Communications Industry Association, stated, "The restart of JD.com's Lingxi validates a core logic: the essence of digital collectibles is digital equity certificates, which are commodities rather than financial assets."

Goldman Sachs: Fed May Cut Rates More Aggressively Next Year, Focusing on Unemployment Rate Rather Than Nonfarm Payrolls

According to Jinshi报道, Goldman Sachs expects the Federal Reserve may be more willing to cut rates further next year than previously assumed by the market. Josh Schiffrin, Chief Strategist of Goldman Sachs Global Banking & Markets, said that Powell's press conference signaled the Fed's growing concern about the sustainability of employment conditions. Schiffrin believes the next few employment reports will be key factors in determining whether the Fed resumes easing policy, with the market paying particular attention to the unemployment rate rather than the overall nonfarm payroll growth. Goldman Sachs expects the easing cycle to extend into 2026, with the federal funds target rate potentially falling to 3% or lower.

Michael Saylor: Quantum Computing Will Not Break Bitcoin But Will Enhance Its Security

Michael Saylor posted on platform X, stating, "Bitcoin's Quantum Leap: Quantum computing will not break Bitcoin but will enhance its security. The network upgrades, active Bitcoin migrates, lost Bitcoin becomes frozen. Security improves, supply decreases, Bitcoin becomes stronger."

Trump Imposes Complete Blockade on Sanctioned Oil Tankers to and from Venezuela, Claims Fleet Has Fully Surrounded Venezuela

On December 17, Trump posted on social media, stating that Venezuela has been completely surrounded by the largest fleet in South American history. This fleet will only grow larger, and they will suffer an unprecedented impact—until they return all the oil, land, and other assets they previously stole from us. Trump also stated that the Venezuelan regime has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Therefore, he ordered a complete and thorough blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. He accused this "illegal" regime of using oil obtained from these stolen oil fields to fund itself, terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping. This move marks an escalation of pressure on Maduro by the Trump administration. Last week, the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker near the coast of Venezuela.

Trump to Interview Current Fed Governor Waller for Fed Chair Position

Informed sources revealed that Trump will interview current Federal Reserve Governor Waller on Wednesday local time regarding the Fed Chair position. Trump interviewed former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh last week. Trump stated that Warsh and Hassett are currently his two most favored candidates. This year, Waller has become a leading voice within the Fed pushing for rate cuts. At the Fed's July meeting where rates were held steady, Waller voted against, supporting a rate cut. Waller is the most favored candidate for Fed Chair among economists and is well-regarded on Wall Street, as his arguments for rate cuts this year are seen as logically clear, consistent in stance, and capable of bridging the growing divisions within the Fed. Several of his arguments for rate cuts have been adopted by current Chair Powell. Waller is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook on Wednesday evening Beijing time.

Coinbase Report: 45% of Young U.S. Investors Already Hold Cryptocurrency

According to a Cointelegraph report, Coinbase's "State of the Crypto Industry Q4 2025" report shows that 45% of young U.S. investors already hold cryptocurrency, compared to only 18% among older investors.

Dialogue with He Yi: The Initial Goal Was to Make Binance a Top Global Player; Once Politely Declined CZ with 'You Can't Afford Me'

Binance co-founder He Yi shared her growth journey from a poor village to a core figure in the cryptocurrency industry, including how she entered the crypto space, the process of co-founding Binance with CZ, and her insights on success, women's power, and work-life balance.

Rate Cuts But a Crash? The Fed, BOJ, and Christmas Holiday Form a "Deadly Triple Witching"

BTC price dropped from $95,000 to $85,000, causing 200,000 liquidations and $600 million in losses within 24 hours. The article analyzes the impact of three key dates (December 11 Fed rate cut, December 19 BOJ rate hike, December 23 Christmas holiday) on the market, pointing out that the combination of the Fed's hawkish signals, the unwinding of carry trades due to the BOJ's rate hike, and the liquidity drain during the Christmas holiday led to severe market volatility.