According to Odaily Planet Daily, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina recently stated that cryptocurrency mining may be an additional factor supporting the ruble's exchange rate, but its specific impact is difficult to quantify because most of the industry remains in a gray area. Vice Presidential official Maxim Oreshkin previously pointed out that insufficient estimation of financial liquidity related to cryptocurrency mining could lead to inaccurate predictions of the ruble's exchange rate. Industry associations estimate that Russia is currently the world's second-largest cryptocurrency miner, accounting for over 16% of global computing power. Since November 1, 2024, Russia has implemented new regulations allowing legal entities and sole proprietorships registered in a special register to legally mine cryptocurrencies, while setting clear restrictions on energy consumption and income reporting.

According to official news from Odaily Planet Daily, Gate has completed the distribution of Kodiak (KDK) tokens in the 5th Launchpad subscription. Gate will launch Kodiak (KDK) spot trading on December 23rd at 22:00 (UTC+8), and will also launch Kodiak (KDK) instant exchange trading on December 23rd at 23:00 (UTC+8). To reward platform users, Gate is launching a special VIP 2026 New Year's Red Packet Rain and spot trading competition. The total prize pool for the Gate VIP 2026 New Year's Red Packet Rain is 85,714 KDK and 200,000 CYS, with a total value of approximately 70,000 USDT. Gate is also launching a Kodiak (KDK) trading competition, where participants can share 107,142 KDK, with a maximum individual prize of 7,560 KDK.

Huoxun Finance reported on December 22 that Metaplanet, Japan's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, announced adjustments to its capital structure, receiving approval to issue dividend-paying preferred shares in an effort to attract overseas institutional investors. This move indicates the company is shifting its focus from solely relying on Bitcoin asset appreciation to attract stable institutional funding through dividends. Key changes include: expanding the size of the preferred share issuance to allow for greater institutional participation; introducing a monthly floating dividend mechanism (Class A preferred shares) and a quarterly dividend mechanism (Class B preferred shares); and adding a 10-year premium buyback option for Class B preferred shares and an exit mechanism in case of an incomplete IPO, reducing investment risk. Currently, Metaplanet holds 30,823 Bitcoins (worth approximately $2.75 billion), making it the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in Asia and the fourth largest globally. Through preferred shares, institutional investors can indirectly access Bitcoin assets, avoiding the volatility risks associated with directly holding Bitcoin.

According to Huoxun Finance on December 22, Matt Simpson, senior analyst at global brokerage and financial services firm StoneX, stated that gold's upward trend since the October lows has been supported by seasonal factors, and the year-end trading volume contraction makes this trend difficult to halt unless a new catalyst or profit-taking occurs. Data shows that over the past 50 years, gold's average return in December is 1.1%, with a 52% probability of rising. However, in months with gains, the average positive return reaches 4.78%, indicating a tendency for upward movement during the Christmas and year-end trading period. Simpson pointed out that there are currently no signs of a top in gold prices, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has just entered overbought territory, consistent with a healthy upward trend. As the year-end approaches, gold bulls need to remain cautious, but the current trend still has room for further upward movement, and any pullback is likely to encounter strong buying interest.

According to Huoxun Finance on December 22, Matrixport reports that since late August, the option skewness for both BTC and ETH has remained in negative territory, indicating that the market is pricing in higher downside protection, with high implied volatility for put options and an overall cautious sentiment. Comparatively, BTC option skewness is generally weaker than ETH's. In mid-November, the skewness further declined, reflecting a period of market pressure and a significant increase in demand for put options, indicating stronger risk aversion. Recently, although the skewness has recovered somewhat, it remains in negative territory, showing that the pricing focus in the options market is still biased towards downside risk, and reversal signals are not yet sufficient. However, the recovery in skewness also suggests that market pessimism is gradually cooling, and the overall bearish sentiment has eased.