DEX

On 15 December, Aster DEX launched Shield Mode for perpetual traders, delivering up to 1001x leverage, instant execution and zero slippage. Despite the release, an ASTER whale sold 13.44 million tokens for $11.67 million, realizing a $1.37 million loss and pushing cumulative losses beyond $35.8 million. Selling pressure remains elevated.

On Monday, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to confirm any ongoing probes into decentralized exchanges such as PancakeSwap and Uniswap, and requested a response by Jan. 12. Her letter coincided with Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott delaying a markup of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act to 2026.

PIPPIN jumped to a fresh all‑time high on December 16 following a sharp squeeze in derivatives. Shorts dominated open interest, while on‑chain whales executed coordinated spot orders on Raydium and PumpSwap. The team made no new announcements during the move.

On Wednesday, Gemini Titan received a designated contract market license from the CFTC. On Monday, Gemini said via X that its Gemini Predictions platform is now available in all 50 US states. The product lets users trade on real-world outcomes and is part of the exchange’s push toward a super-app spanning crypto trading, staking, rewards, tokenized stocks, and prediction markets.

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority unveiled plans on Tuesday to bring cryptoasset firms under a dedicated regime. The consultation runs until February 12, with the framework expected to be finalized next year and applied from 2027. The FCA softened earlier positions, allowing platforms to list their own tokens and trade directly with clients, while proposing controls on market abuse and staking programs.

On December 15, 2025, MetaMask introduced native Bitcoin support, enabling users to hold, buy, send, and swap BTC inside the wallet. The company said SegWit is supported with Taproot planned, and users may earn reward points under a $30 million community program. Purchases can be made via credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, or bank transfers.

Aave Labs integrated CoWSwap into app.aave.com, replacing Paraswap, drawing objections from Aave DAO delegates over front-end fee routing. Delegates EzR3aL and Marc Zeller say the change diverts 15–25 basis points and could reduce DAO revenue by about $10m per year, raising governance and transparency concerns.

Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov has filed a proposal for a 17.45 million CRV grant, valued at about $6.6 million, to fund Swiss Stake AG. The plan covers research, development, infrastructure, and security for Curve’s lending stack and a 2026 roadmap, including upgrades to Llamalend. The proposal appeared on the Curve DAO forum on Sunday.

Hex Trust is introducing wrapped XRP (wXRP) on Solana to extend XRP's DeFi reach. According to DeFiLlama, Solana's 24‑hour DEX volume stands at $3.9 billion versus XRPL's $6.78 million, highlighting deeper on‑chain liquidity. The move shifts XRP activity from its native L1 toward Solana's ecosystem.

Ripple's Luke Judges outlined XRP's multichain strategy at the Solana Breakpoint event. According to a Dec. 13, 2025 post by Solana, Hex Trust and LayerZero will bridge wXRP—a 1:1-backed XRP representation—to enable use across Solana DeFi, with Phantom's 20 million users cited and perps integrations noted. wXRP will also be tradable with RLUSD on Ethereum and other RLUSD-supported chains.