**Weekly Market Watch: 5th Week of December - The Final Week of Tax-Loss Harvesting**
**Market Overview & Key News:**
The final week of December saw increased market volatility due to the holiday period and the expiration of major options contracts, though a clear directional trend was absent. Bitcoin closed the week nearly flat, with a marginal gain of 0.55%, while trading volume hit its lowest weekly level since July. Normal trading activity and liquidity are expected to resume after the New Year.
**Macro Outlook: Strategic Commodity Clash**
A significant development was China's announcement that, starting January 1, 2026, it will require special permits for white silver exports. This move is anticipated to have a major impact on global metal supply chains. In the US, October durable goods orders fell 2.2%, worse than the expected -1.5%. However, Q3 GDP growth was revised up to a strong 4.3%, significantly higher than the forecasted 3.3%, indicating resilience in consumer spending, exports, and government expenditure.
**Key Upcoming Economic Event:**
* December 31st, 3:00 AM EST: Release of the FOMC Meeting Minutes.
**Weekly Crypto Roundup:**
* **Institutional Moves:** Morgan Stanley is reportedly exploring offering crypto trading services (including spot and derivatives) to its institutional clientele. A major Russian bank executed the country's first crypto-backed loan, providing funds to a Bitcoin miner.
* **Exchange Developments:** Coinbase announced the acquisition of The Clearing Company to enhance its prediction market products, with the deal expected to close in January 2026. Kraken also revealed plans to enter the prediction market arena, targeting a 2026 launch.
* **Adoption:** Travel giant Trip.com has integrated stablecoin payments, allowing global users to book travel services with digital assets.
* **Corporate Holdings:** MicroStrategy added $748 million to its reserves, bringing its total cash holdings to $2.19 billion. It also holds 671,288 BTC.
**Layer 1 & Layer 2 Networks:**
* The Solana Foundation launched Kora, an audited fee relayer and signature node for gas-free and secure remote transactions.
* Major payment processor Shift4 has launched stablecoin settlement on the Polygon network.
* Spire Labs deployed the first Base-based appchain on Celo, utilizing "human proofs" for privacy.
* Flow Network suffered an exploit on its execution layer, resulting in a $390k loss.
**Dapps & DeFi:**
* **New Features:** Hyperliquid launched Perpetual Portfolio Margin on its mainnet. Polymarket is prioritizing the development of its own L2 network. Kamino Finance launched PRIME, a new yield-bearing asset on Solana.
* **Expansions:** GMX is now live on Ethereum mainnet. Maple Finance facilitated its largest single loan of $500M USDC.
* **New Platforms:** F(x) Protocol launched FX100 Perp, a new perp DEX with high leverage and non-liquidatable positions.
* **Integrations:** Resolv expanded its assets for arbitrage trading. Hinkal Protocol partnered with Resolv Labs for private trading. Mellow Protocol integrated vaults from Fluid and Resolv.
**Governance & Upcoming Alpha:**
* A proposal for Aave DAO to take control of the Aave brand assets was rejected.
* The Uniswap community passed the "Unification" proposal, which will burn 1 billion UNI and activate a fee switch.
* LayerZero's third fee switch vote did not reach quorum, meaning protocol fees will remain off for at least another six months.
* The Bitcoin community is debating the potential threat of quantum computing, with BIP-360 proposed to implement anti-quantum signatures.
**Token Unlocks:**
A significant number of tokens are scheduled for unlocks in early January, including:
* EIGEN (Jan 1, 7.52% of supply)
* LINEA (Jan 10, 6% of supply)
* BB (Jan 13, 10.9% of supply)
* ZKC (Jan 15, 6.71% of supply)
...among several others.
