‍"Trump Billionaires Club" Crypto Game Set for Launch Amidst Memecoin Slump A new mobile game, "Trump Billionaires Club," integrating crypto and NFTs, is slated for release on the Apple App Store on December 30th. Spearheaded by Bill Zanker, the game uses TRUMP Coin as its primary in-game currency and features NFT statues and pins for trading. Players can fund accounts with cash or cryptocurrency. The launch occurs as the official TRUMP memecoin has seen a significant downturn, dropping over 92% from its peak. Despite this, the token experienced a minor increase following the game's announcement. The game's collectibles are for enjoyment only, not investment, and are not connected to political campaigns. It is crucial to note the game is not officially affiliated with Donald Trump or his businesses.
‍France Eases Crypto Regulations for Retail Investors France's Financial Markets Authority (AMF) will update rules to allow retail investors access to certain crypto investment products, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum-based ETNs. This follows the UK's recent regulatory adjustments. The AMF will remove mandatory warning labels for qualifying crypto products, aiming for normalized treatment within the investment landscape. A review of these changes is planned for the first half of 2027.
‍Hacker Exploits Binance Co-Founder's WeChat for $55,000 Crypto Scheme A hacker gained access to the WeChat account of He Yi, Binance co-founder, and used it to promote the Mubarakah (MUBARAK) token. This manipulation led to an artificial price surge, enabling the hacker to profit $55,000 by selling tokens acquired with $19,479 USDT. The incident highlights the risks of social engineering in crypto markets. Investors are reminded to exercise caution and conduct due diligence, as endorsements from compromised accounts can be part of pump-and-dump schemes.
‍Twenty One Capital (XXI) Stock Dips 20% on NYSE Debut Twenty One Capital (XXI), a new crypto treasury company backed by Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank, saw its stock fall nearly 20% on its first day of trading. The company merged with Cantor Equity Partners, with shares opening at $10.74 and closing at $11.42. Despite holding over 43,500 BTC, CEO Jack Mallers stated XXI is "not a treasury company," aiming to build a business generating cash flow through Bitcoin products in areas like brokerage and lending. The debut occurs amid a general downturn in crypto-exposed stocks.
‍Zcash's Optional Privacy Could Appeal to Regulators Muvsoft Cosine, founder of SlowMist, suggests Zcash's (ZEC) optional privacy features, unlike Monero's (XMR) default anonymity, may lead to greater regulatory acceptance. Zcash offers both transparent ("t-addresses") and shielded ("z-addresses") transaction options. Most Zcash transactions utilize transparent addresses, aligning with a more traceable model preferred by regulators navigating the evolving digital asset landscape. This flexibility positions Zcash potentially better than Monero amidst increasing global scrutiny and delistings of privacy coins.
‍US Tech Giants Form Agentic AI Foundation to Counter China's Dominance Major U.S. tech firms including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Microsoft have launched the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation. This initiative aims to foster open standards for AI development, addressing concerns about China's growing lead in open-source AI. The foundation seeks to build a collaborative ecosystem for "agentic AI" – autonomous systems that can work together. Key contributions include Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) and OpenAI's AGENTS.md specification. This strategic move comes in response to data showing China's increasing share of open-source AI downloads, highlighting the geostrategic importance of open-source technology. The collaboration emphasizes the value of open standards for preventing vendor lock-in and maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the global AI landscape, with potential implications for the crypto and tech industries.
‍US War Department Integrates Google's Gemini AI Platform The U.S. War Department has launched GenAI.mil, incorporating Google's Gemini for Government. This initiative aims to enhance productivity for over 3 million military and civilian personnel, making it the first generative AI deployment across the department. Gemini for Government has received an IL5 authorization, allowing it to handle sensitive, unclassified defense data. This move is part of a broader strategy to foster an "AI-first" workforce and addresses technological competition with China. Google has assured that military data will remain secure and separate from public models. The integration promises to streamline tasks such as policy analysis and contracting. However, concerns remain regarding the rapid deployment of AI without sufficient testing and oversight.
‍Stripe Launches Tempo Blockchain Testnet with Mastercard & UBS Stripe and Paradigm's Tempo blockchain has launched its public testnet, featuring major players like Mastercard, UBS, and Visa. Designed for payments, Tempo offers dedicated payment lanes for efficiency and a stablecoin-native gas system to avoid volatile native tokens. The network aims for over 100,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality.
‍Ethereum Network Fees Decline 62%: L2 Growth Offsets Base Layer Slowdown Recent data reveals a 62% decrease in Ethereum's base layer network fees, sparking debate among investors. While this indicates a cooling demand on the mainnet, the Layer-2 (L2) ecosystem is experiencing substantial growth, with transaction counts soaring on platforms like Base and Polygon. This shift suggests a migration towards more scalable L2 solutions, a trend potentially amplified by recent upgrades such as the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade. Despite the base layer slowdown, Ethereum maintains a dominant 68% market share in DeFi. Market sentiment remains cautious, with traders awaiting further clarity on L2 growth's impact on overall network adoption and ETH's long-term trajectory.
‍CryptoUK Joins The Digital Chamber to Advance Global Digital Asset Policy UK-based trade association CryptoUK has announced its integration with US cryptocurrency advocacy group The Digital Chamber. This partnership, effective December 9, 2025, establishes a unified cross-border platform to engage with regulators and shape favorable policies for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry in both nations. The alliance comes at a critical juncture for regulatory developments in both countries. The US is advancing a digital asset market structure bill, clarifying the roles of the SEC and CFTC, while the UK consults on a regulatory framework for stablecoins, emphasizing synchronization with international partners like the US. This collaboration aims to foster responsible regulation that encourages innovation while safeguarding consumers.