BTC mining difficulty decreases; ETHZilla will redeem $516 million bonds by the end of the year

Bitcoin

Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusted down by 0.74% to 148.2 T

According to CloverPool data, Bitcoin mining difficulty was adjusted at block height 927,360 on December 11 at 11:47, with a decrease of 0.74% to 148.2 T.

Vanguard Investment focuses on blockchain technology but remains cautious about Bitcoin

At the “ETFs in Depth” crypto special discussion, John Ameriks from Vanguard Investment stated that blockchain technology itself is very attractive to companies, enabling faster settlement, improved collateral efficiency, and lower costs. He posed the question: “Is there a way to utilize blockchain without involving cryptocurrencies?” He also pointed out that if asset tokenization cannot become mainstream, then Bitcoin is just a “digital toy” to him.

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy’s daily trading volume now exceeds that of payment giant Visa

Market reports indicate that Strategy (MSTR), a Bitcoin treasury company, now has a daily trading volume surpassing that of Visa.

American Bitcoin reserves increased by approximately 623 BTC in the past 7 days, now holding 4,941 BTC

On-chain analyst Emmett Gallic, who previously analyzed the “1011 insider whales,” posted on X revealing updated data on the Trump family-supported crypto mining company American Bitcoin reserves. Over the past seven days, it increased by about 623 BTC, with approximately 80 BTC from mining income and 542 BTC from strategic acquisitions in the open market. As of now, its total Bitcoin holdings have risen to 4,941 BTC, with a current market value of about $450 million.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings surpass 7,500 BTC

Over the past 7 days, El Salvador added 8 BTC, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to over 7,500, specifically 7,500.37 BTC, with a total value of approximately $678 million.

Ethereum

ETHZilla, an Ethereum treasury company, plans to redeem $516 million in convertible bonds ahead of schedule by the end of the year

ETHZilla announced plans to fully redeem $516 million in convertible bonds by December 30, 2025. The redemption price is 117% of the outstanding principal (plus all accrued interest and other payable amounts). ETHZilla stated it will fund this early redemption by releasing restricted cash used as collateral.

Vitalik criticizes Elon Musk’s platform X, calling it a “hotbed of hate speech”

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly and strongly criticized Elon Musk’s changes to platform X (formerly Twitter), believing that the platform’s shift in content moderation policies has turned it into a breeding ground for hate speech and extremist ideologies. Although Buterin has expressed dissatisfaction since Musk took over, his recent comments have further intensified the ideological conflict—one side represented by Buterin advocates decentralization and anti-censorship in the crypto community, while the other side supports Musk’s “absolute free speech” model.

Yilihua: ETH is currently severely undervalued; avoid engaging in contract trading

Liquid Capital founder Yilihua wrote that for long-term spot investing, a few hundred dollars makes no difference. The reason ETH is currently severely undervalued, from a macro perspective, is due to expectations of rate cuts and liquidity injections, along with crypto-friendly policies. Industry-wise, stablecoins are experiencing long-term growth, and the trend of financial onboarding continues. ETH’s fundamentals are completely different now, and these factors are also reasons for heavy holdings in WLFI/USD1. After full position, leave the rest to time; short-term trading is not recommended. Lastly, spot volatility is enough, so avoid trading contracts as most people lack the technical and psychological professionalism. Contracts are a game of nine losses and one win, which can drain one’s energy. If you have the energy, better to expand off-chain business.

Bitmine purchases 33,504 ETH from FalconX again, worth $112 million

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Bitmine bought 33,504 ETH from FalconX again, valued at $112 million.

Bitmine buys over $45 million worth of ETH again

According to The Data Nerd, Bitmine bought 14,959 ETH again, worth approximately $45.99 million.

Other Projects

YouTube launches stablecoin payment feature, creators can receive PYUSD via PayPal

Fortune reports that YouTube has launched a new feature allowing U.S. creators to receive stablecoin payments via PayPal. PayPal’s crypto head May Zabaneh confirmed that creators can now choose to receive platform revenue shares in PayPal stablecoin PYUSD. This feature is currently only available to U.S. users.
YouTube has previously been a PayPal payment service client, using it for gig and contractor payments to large enterprises. In early Q3, PayPal added the ability for recipients to receive payments in PYUSD, and YouTube decided to offer this option to creators.
Zabaneh said, “Our advantage is that YouTube doesn’t need to directly handle cryptocurrencies; we help eliminate that complexity.”

Interactive Brokers will allow funding brokerage accounts with stablecoins

Bloomberg reports that Interactive Brokers will allow funding brokerage accounts with stablecoins.

Stablecoin digital bank AllScale completes $5 million seed funding, led by YZi Labs

The custodial stablecoin digital bank AllScale announced the completion of a $5 million seed round, led by YZi Labs, Informed Ventures, and Generative Ventures.

RWA platform Real Finance raises $29 million in funding

The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization network Real Finance has secured $29 million in private funding to build the infrastructure layer for RWA, aiming to make it easier for institutions to adopt tokenized assets. The round includes a $25 million capital commitment from digital asset investment firm Nimbus Capital, with Magnus Capital and Frekaz Group also participating. Real Finance stated that the funds will be used to expand its compliance and operational infrastructure to develop a full-stack RWA platform.

Crypto startup LI.FI completes $29 million funding

Crypto startup LI.FI has completed $29 million in funding, led by Multicoin and CoinFund, bringing its total funding to approximately $52 million. LI.FI plans to expand into various trading sectors, including perpetual futures, yield opportunities, prediction markets, and lending markets, and intends to use the new funds to hire more staff.