The overnight market has seen several major events. The most noteworthy is a large options expiration in the Bitcoin options market—approximately $23.7 billion worth of options contracts are set to expire today. This is one of the largest options expirations in history, and market participants generally expect volatility to significantly increase before and after the expiration. The battle between bulls and bears around the $88,000 level has become extremely intense.

However, in actual market performance, BTC has appeared somewhat calm. The reason behind this is not complicated— the "market closure" effect during the Christmas holiday is playing a role. The US stock market and several major global markets are on holiday, leading to a noticeable decline in market liquidity. As a result, Bitcoin is trapped in a narrow range between $87,000 and $88,000, repeatedly oscillating with clear sideways characteristics.

It is worth noting that signals of long-term optimism from institutional funds are still being transmitted. Bitcoin treasury company Matador Technologies has been approved to raise 80 million CAD, specifically for increasing BTC holdings. This reflects the so-called institutional-level "dollar-cost averaging" narrative—large funds are expressing long-term confidence in the market early next year through concrete actions. Such strategic allocations usually do not change due to short-term fluctuations.

Regulatory developments are also beginning to emerge. After the appointment of Michael Selig as the new chairman of the US CFTC, market expectations are that he will accelerate the process of bringing derivatives trading into compliance. The first quarter of next year may become a critical window for clarifying US crypto policy, which is vital for optimizing the regulatory framework of the entire industry.

Traditional asset management products are further integrating into crypto assets. Bitwise’s Ethereum options strategy ETF (IETH.US) paid a dividend of $2.68 per share today. This seemingly minor detail signifies that ETH’s asset-earning properties on the institutional side are being further strengthened, and the diversification strategies of traditional asset management giants are accelerating.

On the exchange level, a major exchange announced the removal of certain spot trading pairs, including BIO/FDUSD, ENS/FDUSD, INJ/ETH, among others. This is a routine liquidity cleanup at year-end. Users holding related tokens should pay attention to the parameters of automated trading bots to avoid unnecessary trouble.

From a broader perspective, the wave of compliance in 2025 has become an unstoppable trend. Data shows that as regulatory frameworks become clearer, the number of crypto-related applications submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission has doubled. Compliance has evolved into a basic prerequisite for mainstream financial institutions entering the space, rather than an option.

Meanwhile, financing arrangements in emerging ecosystems are also heating up. TON’s treasury plans to allocate $420 million to support AI and Meme tracks within its ecosystem, mainly focusing on the development of Telegram-related ecosystems. The timing of this move is no coincidence—liquidity is expected to return after the holidays, and the market share competition for social-driven tokens will also intensify.