Bitcoin slips below $90K ahead of macro week

Bitcoin slipped under $90K as investor caution took hold. With big economic reports on the horizon and trading volume low, even small moves felt bigger than they were. Altcoins didn’t offer much support, and there’s a clear sense of hesitation across the market. It’s not panic—but it is pause. With December activity already thin, every shift feels sharper than usual. (CoinDesk)

Flows turn messy again

Just when December was supposed to be quiet, crypto markets got noisy. Blockworks flagged some unusual cross-asset shifts—typical patterns broke down, and capital started moving in ways that didn’t make much sense. It’s the kind of market that makes short-term traders second-guess everything, while long-term investors quietly back away. Positioning feels off, and the signals are mixed. (Blockworks)

Bank of Japan threatens the carry trade (and Bitcoin notices)

Japan is back in the spotlight, with the BoJ expected to hike rates to the highest level in ~30 years. That matters because higher Japanese rates can force leveraged trades to unwind, and when that happens, crypto often gets hit too. Japan doesn’t control Bitcoin, but global liquidity is tightly connected, and BTC is affected by those flows even if it likes to pretend it isn’t. (CoinDesk)

Klarna + Stripe’s Privy team up on a wallet for everyday use

Klarna is working with Privy (part of Stripe) to build a crypto wallet that feels more like a regular app—and less like a tech experiment. It’s a quiet but powerful signal: the aim isn’t to make people think about crypto, but to make it easier to use without noticing. If they succeed, it won’t feel like adoption. It’ll just feel normal. And that’s when big shifts tend to happen. (Decrypt)

Interactive Brokers adds stablecoins

Interactive Brokers is now letting retail clients fund brokerage accounts with stablecoins, which is a very loud signal that “crypto payments” are becoming table stakes. This isn’t about memes, but rather about faster settlement, smoother rails, and not losing customers to platforms that feel more modern. TradFi is adopting crypto to allow users options. It looks like stablecoins are winning the utility war. (CoinDesk)

Tether tries to buy Juventus (yes, really)

Tether making a move to acquire Juventus is the most surprising sentence we’ve heard in a while. It’s part brand flex, part diversification, and part “we’re bigger than you think” statement to the world. Whether the deal goes anywhere, it reinforces that stablecoin issuers are no longer just crypto utilities. They’re now also giant capital allocators with ambitions. Also, shoutout to the timeline for staying unpredictable. (Reuters)

Coinbase makes a move on AI payments

Coinbase just expanded its stablecoin payment tools to work more smoothly with AI agents. That means developers can build bots that pay for things—like data or computing power—without needing a human in the loop. It might sound niche, but it points to a bigger shift: an internet where bots handle more tasks, including money. Coinbase wants to be the go-to payment layer in that future. (CoinDesk)

Pudgy Penguins takes over the Las Vegas Sphere

Pudgy Penguins is running a holiday campaign at the Las Vegas Sphere, which is both wildly extra and weirdly strategic. NFT brands have spent years trying to feel mainstream, and this is a very literal way to do it: giant screen, mass audience, no wallet required. The bigger story here is that the consumer crypto brands are leaning harder into IP and entertainment, not just tokens. It’s marketing and brand-building, beyond crypto, and very much in public. (CoinDesk)