Executive Summary

This briefing synthesizes critical market intelligence from December 29, 2025, revealing a market in a phase of structural integration and aggressive positioning. The period is defined by three converging macro-themes: the weaponization of sovereign digital currency yield, the industrialization of institutional accumulation, and a growing bifurcation in blockchain security and governance.

Key developments include a transformative policy shift by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which will make its Digital Yuan (e-CNY) interest-bearing, launching a “Yield War” against private stablecoins. In parallel, institutional entrenchment is accelerating, evidenced by South Korean financial giant Mirae Asset Group’s move to acquire the Korbit exchange for its regulatory licenses and BitMine Immersion Technologies staking over $1 billion in ETH, causing a historic “flippening” in the Ethereum validator queue.

Corporate treasuries, led by MicroStrategy’s acquisition of another 1,229 Bitcoin, continue to absorb market supply. On-chain data indicates a shift toward utility, with Real World Assets (RWA) surpassing Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) in Total Value Locked (TVL) and Uniswap executing a major token burn to enhance value accrual. However, significant risks persist, highlighted by a critical MongoDB vulnerability (”MongoBleed”) threatening exchange security and a governance crisis on the Flow blockchain that questions the immutability of centralized ledgers.