Putin: US Expresses Interest in Cryptocurrency Mining Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

On December 26, the General Office of China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) released an Implementation Plan for High-Quality Digital Finance Development in the Banking and Insurance Sector. The plan aims to boost the quality and efficiency of financial services by leveraging digital technologies and data elements. For the advanced manufacturing industry, it mandates: - Strengthening credit support for the sector’s digital transformation; - Standardizing supply chain finance practices via big data, blockchain, and related technologies; - Proactively addressing financing needs of upstream and downstream firms across industrial chains. Additionally, the plan calls on financial institutions to explore innovative uses of cutting-edge technologies—including blockchain, quantum computing, Beidou satellite navigation, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR)—in financial services.

On December 26, Tom Lee retweeted an article outlining optimistic expectations for the 2026 crypto market—only to face ridicule and criticism from some community members. One member commented, “Your words do nothing for the little reputation you’ve got left.” Lee hit back with a quip: “To gain respect from your investment portfolio *and* your kindergarten classmates, subscribe to FS Insight’s premium service.” Another member fired off: “You first pegged Ethereum’s target at $12k, then $7k—your evidence is totally unreliable. ETH might not even top $3k. You need to reflect on yourself.” Lee seemed unbothered, shooting back that the user was a “clown.” This isn’t Lee’s first run-in with backlash over bullish takes. Back in September, Andrew Kang—founder of crypto VC firm Mechanism Capital—bluntly called Lee’s ETH theory “foolish.” What’s more, a fund analyst at Lee’s firm recently issued a sharply bearish 2024 prediction that directly contradicted his own views, fueling fresh wi

On December 26, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) released the *Business Rules for RMB Cross-Border Payment Systems* (YinFa [2025] No. 248), which will take effect February 1, 2026, replacing the 2018 version of the rules. The notice names the Digital Currency Research Institute as one of the notified entities, alongside institutions including the China Development Bank (CDB), commercial banks, and the clearing house. The new rules clarify the operational framework and transaction processing workflows of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). They stipulate that CIPS will support a hybrid settlement model covering real-time gross settlement (RTGS) and deferred net settlement (DNS), and handle cross-border RMB settlement services such as: - RMB payments; - Payment-versus-payment (PvP) for RMB cross-border foreign currency transactions; - Delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement; - Central counterparty (CCP) centralized clearing.

December 26 — Trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio said in a post on his personal channel he’s taken long positions in Bitcoin and some small-cap altcoins. With almost everyone on holiday break — even big whales sidelined and not taking the bait — Bitcoin failed to break below $84k. Market volume has dried up completely, and sellers are worn out. A few big buyers stepping in would easily push through the thin order book. “There’s solid upside for longs below $90k, with a clear stop-loss. I’d rather test the waters here now than hesitate at $95k or even $100k. Also, January’s historically super volatile, and I’m betting volatility will pick up once December wraps up.”

On December 26, Christopher Aaron—chief analyst and founder of iGold Advisor—announced that the fourth major turning point in the Dow-Gold Ratio has arrived. This signal indicates gold is poised for several years of sustained growth, while holders of stocks in indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 may face years of losses. Note: The Dow-Gold Ratio measures the number of ounces of gold required to buy one share of each of the 30 components in the DJIA. Based on average trend data from the prior three key turning points (1930–1933, 1968–1980, 2002–2011), the DJIA is expected to decline 90.5% relative to gold over a 9.3-year period. Aaron also noted that the fourth turning point in the Dow-Gold Ratio may be the most critical trend break in the pair’s history, and the DJIA’s decline relative to gold could exceed the average of the three prior cycles. Source: Jinse

**December 26 Update** At 9:00 AM ET, GMGN monitoring (via [link]) reported the top wallet for Solana meme coin “67” (H4s6) dumped all 20.1 million of its tokens in a single block, triggering a flash crash. The coin’s price plummeted 74% in minutes—from $0.019 to a low of $0.005—before rebounding to ~$0.014 as of press time. Trading data shows the wallet initially purchased $514,000 worth of “67” at an average price of ~$0.0246. It sold the entire holding at an average of $0.0107, realizing a **$290,000 loss (56.1% drawdown)**. The sell-off cleared all buy orders in the $0.005–$0.019 range to exit quickly.