Category: Coins

• WECAN receives a grant from Hedera to expand quantum-safe compliance, KYC and identity solutions.
• The focus is on post-quantum security for the Web3 and financial sectors.

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SEALSQ (NASDAQ: LAES) advances its post-quantum strategy with support from the Hedera ecosystem. The company announced on December 17, 2025 that WeCanGroup SA (WECAN), in which SEALSQ holds a minority stake of 28.3%, received a grant from Hedera.

What Hedera hopes to achieve from the grant

The Grant gets loud Press release mediated through the Hashgraph Association and is primarily intended to finance the expansion of compliance and identity infrastructure, with a clear post-quantum spin. At its core, it’s about quantum-secure compliance systems, secure data infrastructures and decentralized identity, plus: SEALSQ wants to establish its own semiconductor and PKI components deeper into WECAN’s products.

“The funds will be used to scale quantum-safe compliance systems, expand secure data infrastructures, advance decentralized identity technologies, and integrate SEALSQ’s post-quantum semiconductor technologies into WECAN’s offerings. As part of this collaboration, SEALSQ, Hedera and WECAN are jointly developing integrated post-quantum KYC solutions to accelerate the adoption of quantum-safe security standards in the global financial sector,”

says the press release.

SEALSQ argues that the transition towards quantum-safe cryptography in the financial sector should not be viewed as optional. The communication outlines the known core: in the long term, quantum computers could decode today’s standards such as RSA and ECC; However, financial institutions need confidentiality, resilient identity frameworks and auditability.

The goal of the cooperation becomes clear in the comments from management. SEALSQ CEO Carlos Moreira ties the grant directly to the goal of positioning WECAN in a leadership role in transforming compliance and identity infrastructure.

“The grant to WECAN and our continued support through a strategic investment position WECAN at the forefront of the rapid transition to quantum-safe compliance and identity infrastructure. Together, we are laying the foundation for a new era of trust and compliance in the financial sector and in the rapidly growing world of connected devices.”

WECAN founder Vincent Pignon emphasizes the added value of Hedera as an additional partner: “

We are pleased to have Hedera as a supporter, together with SEALSQ as a strategic investor, this will noticeably accelerate our mission. SEALSQ’s leadership in semiconductor-based cybersecurity and quantum innovation strengthens our ability to deliver secure, compliant and future-ready data infrastructures.”

From Hedera’s perspective, the grant makes particular sense because data management and identity serve as a basic requirement for financial applications in a decentralized context. In the announcement, the Hashgraph Association also refers to the Hedera-based identity solution “IDTrust”.

Kamal Youssefi, President of the Hashgraph Association, says:

“The financial sector of the Web3 economy relies on secure data management and trustworthy digital identity solutions. We are pleased to support WECAN with its post-quantum KYC platform built on the Hedera-based decentralized identity solution IDTrust, while further deepening our strategic partnership with SEALSQ.”

In the long term, quantum-safe semiconductor hardware Hedera, WECAN and SEALSQ should enable future-proof digital infrastructures that can also withstand attacks from quantum computers.

• The recently activated Hayabusa upgrade places an emphasis on MiCA compliance.
• The VeChain team sees the upgrade as a “launch pad for scaling.”

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In a new post on With the “Compliance by Design” standard, the project aims to achieve the “broad introduction” of blockchain in Europe.

“The next wave of blockchain adoption belongs to networks that operate as institutional-grade infrastructure. They are technically resilient, economically disciplined, and attuned to the regulatory environment in which they operate,” writes the VeChain Foundation on X.

VeChain can already boast some real adaptation successes worldwide. In July 2021, the Republic of San Marino launched a Walmart China using VeChain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFT). In June 2019, Walmart China relied on VeChain’s technology to ensure traceability of foods such as fresh meat, vegetables and seafood.

“These projects span multiple sectors and geographies and together demonstrate clearly that authorities and global brands see VeChain as a trusted partner when responsibility and accountability matter most. This is the foundation on which Hayabusa is built,” stated the VeChain Foundation.

Hayabusa is intended to promote the European adaptation of VeChain

Hayabusa is now expected to accelerate adoption progress by introducing “institutional-level infrastructure.” The consensus, tokenomics and documentation are “tailored to the standards that regulators and large companies require.”

The VeChain Foundation pays particular attention to the European market, as it makes clear in the latest X post:

“With the updated VET and VTHO MiCA white papers now officially incorporating Hayabusa, the upgrade is fully captured in the same regulatory documents that define VeChain’s token model in Europe by incorporating Hayabusa into MiCA […] VeChain makes compliance a launching pad for scaling.”

According to the project, institutions receive a network whose rules are set out in a framework they recognize. Developers and companies receive an infrastructure that they can use from pilot projects to production.

“The standard for mass adoption is now in place. What happens next depends on who chooses to help secure it,” said the Vechain Foundation.

As CNF reported, the Hayabusa upgrade was activated via hard fork on the VeChainThor mainnet on December 2nd. This was followed by a transition phase until December 9th (block height 23,414,400). Since then, the upgrade has been considered fully active.

Hayabusa is converting VeChainThor from the previous Proof-of-Authority (PoA) to Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS), thereby establishing a validator/delegator framework. As we reported, validators must stake at least 25 million VET; normal VET holders can delegate as delegators and receive rewards (standard split: 30% validator / 70% delegators).

The tokenomics have also been completely revised via VIP-253/254: VTHO is no longer created fixedly by simply holding VET, but dynamically as a function of staked/locked VET and active participation. In the fee model, the base fee portion is burned, while the priority fee portion goes to the block-producing validator.

• Bitget announces its annual partnership with the Google Developer Group on Campus (GDGoC) ETH Zurich.
• Bitget will support and co-organize several GDG events such as hackathons and workshops in the coming year.

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The Google Developer Group on Campus are university community groups for students interested in technology and number over 1,260 clubs worldwide. Founded in 2020, the Zurich chapter is a student-run tech community for students at ETH Zurich, a world-leading science, technology and engineering institution that is consistently ranked among the best universities in the world. The association organizes lectures, workshops, study jams, hack nights and community events where developers, designers and researchers come together.

The partnership with Bitget includes co-organizing several educational initiatives throughout the year to promote the development of students’ knowledge of new technologies. During these events, Bitget will share its expertise on the Web3 market thanks to panel discussions and hands-on activities. Students also have the opportunity to take part in the Graduate Program, which allows them to learn more about the industry through practical experience.

Ignacio Aguirre, CMO von Bitgetcommented on the collaboration as follows:

“We are very proud of the work we have done together with the Google Developer Group community over the past year. With this long-term partnership, we want to further expand our shared commitment to innovation and education. The goal is to make a tangible difference, not only by sharing our expertise, but also by actively supporting and encouraging the builders of tomorrow. In my opinion, education remains essential when entering and navigating a market as dynamic and innovative as the Web3 sector.”

Upcoming events as part of this long-term partnership could include a hackathon in collaboration with other communities and special meetups. These meetings could include lectures from industry experts and interactive workshops with key market players. By participating in these initiatives, Bitget wants to actively contribute to the Web3 community growing and benefiting from the diverse opportunities that blockchain technology brings to our lives.

• Dominik Schiener is confident about the adaptation progress of IOTA as part of the ADAPT project in Africa.
• The project is expected to be implemented “very soon”.

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IOTA founder Dominik Schiener has in his most recent Post on X on December 16th expressed great confidence about the ADAPT initiative on the African continent.

“Over the last few weeks, I have been very encouraged by the great interest in the ADAPT initiative and IOTA’s commitment to revolutionizing commerce on the African continent by establishing a shared, public digital infrastructure,”

wrote Schiener. He further explained that his participation in the ADAPT launch in Johannesburg (South Africa) in November gave him the opportunity to meet many of the already established and future partners. This is a “solid foundation for a successful and meaningful long-term collaboration,” said Schiener.

The IOTA founder also revealed what he personally enjoys most about implementing ADAPT, namely the enormous potential of trading “in Africa and beyond.” He was particularly inspired by the meeting with HE Secretary General Wamkele Mene from the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA):

“From our conversation, his personal commitment to overcoming the many obvious obstacles to implementation was clear,” explained Schiener.

And the IOTA community can look forward to further updates soon. Schiener revealed: “The great thing about it is that the actual implementation will begin very soon.”

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been strongly encouraged by the high level of interest in the ADAPT initiative and IOTA commitment to revolutionize trade on the African continent by establishing one shared, public digital infrastructure.

Participating in the ADAPT launch in… pic.twitter.com/jnFbz9j6N2

— Dominik Schiener (@DomSchiener) December 16, 2025

When to expect IOTA news

As CNF previously reported, an initial pilot phase has already begun in Kenya and Rwanda to implement improvements in document verification and border processes. The official rollout is scheduled to take place in early 2026 with the first countries, according to the plan initially Kenya and Ghana and a third, as yet unconfirmed country.

After this phase, a gradual expansion across other AfCFTA states is planned by 2035, with the aim of implementing the complete digital trade infrastructure across all 55 member countries.

The IOTA course has recently been unimpressed by the tangible progress in adaptation. Since the December 2024 high of $0.63, the price has plummeted by more than 85%. In the daily chart, the 20-day EMA at $0.1027 and the 50-day EMA at $0.1127 are currently the most important resistances. In the medium term, IOTA bulls should overcome the 200-day EMA at $0.1592.

• The Cardano Constitutional Committee (CC) now has seven members again.
• Cardano Curia replaces the Atlantic Council after it unexpectedly resigned at the end of November.

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Cardano’s decentralized on-chain governance is quorate again after just over three weeks. As Intersect announced yesterday, December 16th, the necessary majorities were achieved and Cardano Curia was confirmed as the seventh member of the decentralized Constitutional Committee.

X Street wrote Intersect:

“On the 7th day of the referendum… We have reached the end of the era. DReps at 80%, stake pools agree, it looks like we have ratified a new CC. Thank you to everyone who voted and contributed.”

What this means for Cardano

With the referendum, the ADA community has ended the governance deadlock. In the context of decentralized governance, this is a significant step as the CC is responsible for ratifying many categories of measures, including hard forks, budget allocations and parameter changes.

While the Cardano blockchain continued to produce blocks as usual, no improvements could be initiated. On-chain governance was only fully activated with the Plomin hard fork in January this year. This activated the second part of the Chang Upgrade, which included the Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) 1694.

Since then, the Cardano community has had complete control over protocol decisions and funding management, rather than the company Input Output led by founder Charles Hoskinson.

All governance measures have come to a standstill since November 25 after the CC fell below its minimum size due to an unexpected departure during the term. The Atlantic Council unexpectedly resigned early, leaving a seat vacant and the committee falling short of quorum.

The new CC member, Cardano Curia, was selected off-chain through a DRep vote using the Ekklesia tool, with ratification following on-chain. Approval required a two-thirds majority among DReps and a simple majority among Stake Pool Operators (SPOs).

ADA price is currently in deep bearish territory. After the price fell below the significant 200-week EMA in the second week of November, the weekly RSI is at 32, just above the oversold area. At the time of writing, ADA was trading at $0.37.

• The Bank of Japan could raise interest rates on Friday and send Bitcoin and the entire crypto market plummeting.
• Analysts recommend keeping 20 to 30% of your capital in cash for the next few weeks in order to realize additional purchase opportunities.

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Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said yesterday at the last meeting announcedthat the next period could be turbulent as there is no longer a “risk-free path” for the central bank. He stated verbatim:

There is no risk-free path.

The options for action are relatively manageable. If the Fed cuts interest rates too much, inflation will come back. If interest rates are kept high for too long, the labor market could collapse. The decision by the Bank of Japan on Friday (BOJ) will also be important. The BOJ could raise key interest rates and thus send the Bitcoin price south.

The Bank of Japan’s decision is often treated rather casually on the markets – wrongly. When the BOJ raised interest rates in July 2024, it set off a chain reaction. Yen carry trades were hastily closed and liquidity disappeared virtually overnight. Bitcoin was not spared from this and lost around 25 percent of its value within a short period of time.

The likelihood of a rate hike is loud official data from internal meeting minutes the BOJ at over 90%. As a result, open interest in crypto derivatives could significantly accelerate outflows from Bitcoin and ETH ETFs, thereby increasing selling pressure. BlackRock’s IBIT recorded In the last 6 weeks, outflows amounted to USD 2.7 billion, making it the longest sustained negative performance since the official start on January 5th, 2024.

The situation is similar for Ethereum. BlackRock added $140 million in ETH to Coinbase yesterday transferred thereby preparing for a potential sale. At the same time, BitMine purchased 48,000 ETH for almost 142 million ETH. Overall, you can clearly observe that well-capitalized institutions are behaving bearishly and have already sold large positions or are preparing to do so.

Bitcoin dominance remains at 58%, but the BTC price looks strongly bearish on the weekly chart. There is no noticeable rotation among the altcoins, so the forecast for ETH and other coins is also bearish. At the time of writing, BTC is at 86.800 USD and draws a plus of 1% on the daily chart.

Analysts recommend keeping 20 to 30% of the capital invested in cash in order to be able to buy additional assets if prices fall. As good starting points identified The long-time Bitcoin investor and trader “Smart Money Crypto” for BTC prices below 80,000 USD and for ETH prices below the 2,500 USD mark.

As we already reported, the current selling pressure comes primarily from the derivatives market, where short positions dominate, the positioning index is clearly negative and the Fear and Greed Index has been signaling extreme fear for weeks. It remains to be seen whether the BOJ’s interest rate decision on Friday will actually start the bear market.

• After Bitcoin broke below the key $90,000 mark, a correction to $80,000 seems likely, according to analysts.
• The Fear and Greed Index has fallen to “Extreme Fear”, reflecting the current nervousness of many investors in the market.

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At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is at USD 86,350 and has recorded a slight increase of over the last 24 hours 0,86%. On a weekly basis, the Bitcoin price recorded a decline of 6,16 %while on a monthly basis there was a minus of 8,70 % results. Compared to the entire crypto market, BTC is showing a moderate short-term correction.

Both ETH and the broader altcoin market are also recording significant losses, often in the double-digit range. ETH and BNB are falling more than 7%XRP even 14% on a monthly basis. SOL falls 9%DOGE even 18%. A complete overview of the prices of over 5,000 cryptocurrencies can be found in our price overview.

According to on-chain analyst Axel Adler, the main cause lies primarily in the derivatives market. The futures market is clearly under bearish pressure driven. Two central indicators provide consistent signals: the Bitcoin Position Index and the Fear and Greed Index.

The Bitcoin Positioning Index serves to clearly reflect the current direction of the derivatives market. It combines the open interest, i.e. the number of all futures and options positions still open, with the funding rates, which show whether long or short traders bear the higher financing costs. In this way you can see whether the majority of market participants are betting on rising or falling prices.

The current value of minus four is clearly in negative territory. This means that short positions clearly dominate and many traders actively hedge against rising prices or specifically speculate on further falling prices.

The market is therefore not in a short-term correction, but in a clearly bearish environment. If prices continue to fall in this phase, this confirms the underlying market structure: sellers set the tone, while buying interest only appears sporadically and without noticeable assertiveness.

A possible trend reversal would only become apparent when the market structure noticeably improves and the positioning index rises above the zero line again, which would indicate that long positions outweigh short positions. At the same time, the Bitcoin price would have to break through a number of important resistance levels.

Sea Analyst Ted Long-term BTC hodlers are currently selling their holdings as quickly as they did 7 years ago. Such a development can often be observed at the end of a bullish cycle, as the diamond hands then also realize profits and this creates strong selling pressure.

Technical analyst Ali Charts warns ahead of a possible sharp decline in Bitcoin as the SuperTrend indicator on the weekly chart recently triggered a sell signal. Historically, such signals have been followed by massive corrections, including declines of up to 75% in previous cycles such as 2014, 2018 and 2022.

Fear and Gread Index shows extreme fear

The Fear and Greed Index attempts to translate the gut feeling of the Bitcoin market into a number. It ranges from 0 to 100, with very low values ​​representing fear and high values ​​representing euphoria. Several factors are taken into account in the calculation, such as how much the price fluctuates, how much is traded, in which direction the market is moving and how the mood in social networks is developing.

The index is currently deep in extreme fear territory. This is typical of phases in which many investors become nervous, reduce positions and prefer to play it safe. What is striking is that this fear is not a brief blip. The 30-day average is around 20, the 90-day average is around 32.

This development clearly shows that the mood has been deteriorating step by step for months. It is important, especially for first-time buyers, to understand that extreme fear does not automatically mean a good buying opportunity.

In the current situation it goes hand in hand with a clearly bearish market structure. Many traders not only feel uncomfortable, they are actively betting that prices will continue to fall. The pressure on the market is therefore deeply rooted and not just the result of an emotional moment of shock.

• Little liquidity, altcoin weakness and the wait for November economic data are causing restraint.
• Alone ETH remained relatively strong, while Bitcoin dragged the other altcoins down.

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In the early morning On Sunday morning US Eastern Time, the BTC price slipped back below the $90,000 mark. Investors are showing little courage to take risks because everything is waiting for the statements from the central banks of the most important industrialized countries this week.

Bitcoin was trading at around $89,600, down about 0.9% from the previous day, month-on-monthand der Verlust 7,6 %.

Ethereum is the only altcoin with a plus over the week

ETH initially stood at $3,126.94 but then fell to $3,104, marking an intraday decline but a rise of more than 2% over the course of the week means. Ethereum was the only altcoin that Bitcoin was unable to pull down, and instead even rose slightly.

Otherwise the price development was negative. SOL, XRP, DOGE and ADA lost double digits compared to the last month. There is no end in sight to the general altcoin weakness.

At the time of writing, the market capitalization of the entire crypto market is almost $3.15 trillion. Trading volume in the last 24 hours was around $89 billion, down about 0.8% from the previous day. However, this may have been due to the usually low liquidity on Sundays.

However, some analysts are pessimistic and see the price of Bitcoin falling to $86,000. Expert Ali Martinez posted on Sunday at X, $86,000 remains a crucial level for Bitcoin to hold. He noted that if this support does not hold, it could go much further down.

Waiting for the new economic data

The coming days will be filled with events that will not only shape the crypto industry in the next few weeks, as the new economic data will be announced in the USA:

• Unemployment rate
• Employment data
• Number of new applications for unemployment benefits
• Inflation data for November
• Purchasing Managers Index

The latter is an indicator of the basic mood in the manufacturing industry. We are also awaiting with interest the speeches by US Federal Reserve Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran, from which conclusions will be drawn about further interest rate developments.

Datum	Indicator	Importance for markets
16. Dez 2025	Unemployment rate + employment figures (Nov)	Major influence on risk assets & interest rate dynamics
18. Dez 2025	CPI Inflation Rate (Nov)	Central to Fed policy and market volatility
18. Dez 2025	Initial unemployment claims (weekly)	Leading indicator for labor market trends
~19. Dez 2025	Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)	Leading indicator of economic activity

Japan expects higher interest rates

Analysts are eagerly awaiting developments on the other side of the globe in Japan, where the BOJ (Bank of Japan) is expected to raise interest rates at its upcoming meeting on Thursday. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda had made it clear that inflation has been above the central bank’s two percent target for over three years.

The news agency Reuters According to this, the markets have already largely priced in a 0.75% increase in the key yen interest rate.

• Solana Mobile is partnering with chip maker MediaTek to integrate its crypto stack into smartphones.
• It’s about Android devices with MediaTek processors, i.e. almost half of the smartphone market.

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Die notice The partnership took place at Breakpoint 2025, where Solana Mobile also announced collaborations with FX Tech and Trustonic to bundle the entire Solana Mobile stack for use at the chipset level. This achieves greater hardware proximity, which automatically leads to higher processing speeds.

 

BREAKING: @solanamobile announces partnerships to bring a hardware integration kit to chipmakers responsible for 2 billion+ Android phones pic.twitter.com/ye60UCudPx

— Solana (@solana) December 13, 2025

BREAKING: @solanamobile announces partnerships to bring a hardware integration kit to chipmakers responsible for 2 billion+ Android phones pic.twitter.com/ye60UCudPx

— Solana (@solana) December 13, 2025

More hardware proximity for crypto app

It’s not about specific phone models, but about integrating crypto-native features into the hardware layer of the Android operating system.

MediaTek is one of the market leaders in the industry with a share of almost 50 percent of Android smartphones and over two billion smartphones per year. Due to its close proximity to the chipset level, Solana Mobile is able to retrofit the Android smartphones in question without individual market launches.

Trustonic’s secure environment ensures the protection of private keys and signature transactions in hardware-protected areas. Solana Mobile is currently developing corresponding prototypes.

Meanwhile, the company is also negotiating with other hardware manufacturers to supply devices that are compatible with the Solana Mobile Stack out of the box.

This makes mobile cryptography a native system feature and is no longer an optional add-on at the app level.

Solana’s mobile first crypto strategy

Additional information was provided in the Tech Talk session named Solana Mobile / Solana Labs, which was presented by Mike Mobiledev.skr.

Further information has been included in a Tech Talk Session titled “Solana Mobile / Solana Labs” presented by Mike Mobiledev.skr.

It emphasized the need to establish a mobile-first crypto infrastructure, as 63% of all internet traffic and 73% of all e-commerce pass through mobile devices, but most crypto products are aimed at desktop computers.

 

Solana Mobile focuses on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), the Google operating system that is not affected by restrictive app store policies.

Meanwhile, Seeker launched the “Seed Vault,” an integrated hardware wallet that can request app-integrated transaction signatures, reducing friction and increasing security.

But the Solana dApp Store has more than 100,000 active devices, 200 apps, one million installs and an activity volume of over $100 million.

Solana Mobile has a good chance of bringing cryptocurrencies to half of all smartphones worldwide through its expansion of MediaTek Android devices.

• The Swiss AMINA Bank is introducing Ripple Payments, enabling fast, cost-effective transactions with crypto and fiat currencies.
• The Ripple system combines classic banking transactions with digital assets and efficiently expands access to stablecoins and payment transactions.

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Ripple Payments has gained its first European bank customer, AMINA Bank AG, which supports cross-border payments in near real time. AMINA Bank, regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), is the first European bank to implement Ripple’s licensed end-to-end payment solution for both crypto native and traditional customers worldwide.

By connecting to the Ripple Payments system, AMINA Bank can increase the efficiency of blockchain transactions and make it easier for customers to make payments at lower costs. It also supports fiat channels and stablecoins, providing a reliable method for cross-border payments that is faster than the correspondent banking system.

Myles Harrison, CPO of AMINA Bank, explains the problems caused by legacy systems:

“Native Web3 companies often face difficulties when working with legacy banking systems. Our customers need a payment infrastructure that can process both fiat money and stablecoins simultaneously, but the traditional correspondent banking system is not designed for this.”

AMINA Bank expands global payments with Ripple

Ripple Payments helps AMINA Bank improve its money transfer services. Customers benefit from smooth transactions and fast payouts in many currencies. The launch of this service demonstrates the bank’s commitment to expanding its financial services through the use of secure and reliable blockchain platforms that meet professional standards worldwide.

Cassie Craddock, UK & Europe Managing Director bei Ripple, emphasized the importance of partnership:

“Our partnership with AMINA Bank enables it to serve as an on-ramp for digital asset innovators into the traditional financial infrastructure. Through our licensed payment technology, we offer AMINA Bank customers an important bridge between fiat and blockchain systems.”

Earlier this year, AMINA Bank became the first bank in the world to support RLUSD, offering its customers a way to trade the stablecoin.

Ripple Payments supports over 90% of daily foreign exchange markets and processes more than $95 billion in volume worldwide. The licensed product is available in Australia, Brazil, Dubai, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland and the USA.