U.S. crypto investors will face a substantially different tax landscape for 2025 transactions during the 2026 filing season, with centralized exchanges and other brokers required to report users' crypto asset sales to the IRS and begin sending Form 1099-DA in 2026, BlockBeats reports. The forms will initially focus on gross proceeds and often exclude cost basis, which could prompt the IRS to treat cost as zero and issue tax notices if taxpayers do not clearly report it themselves. Wallet-by-wallet cost tracking will replace pooled cost methods, requiring separate cost basis records for each exchange account or wallet and allowing sales to be matched only with lots held in that specific wallet, a change tax experts say will significantly affect users active across multiple exchanges, DeFi platforms and self-custody. Experts note that rebuilding historical ledgers and consolidating all on-chain and off-chain transaction records will be a one-off but highly complex task, and while the IRS has provided a transitional safe harbor in Procedure 2024-28, they warn the window is short and few investors have completed the work, increasing the risk of data mismatches and automated issues without early preparation and professional guidance.

Bitmine bought 32,938 ETH worth about $97.6 million in the past 4 hours on December 31, lookonchain data show. The firm also newly staked 118,944 ETH, about $352 million.

Binance founder CZ said on Dec. 31 that Pakistan could join the ranks of leading global cryptocurrency markets by 2030 if it maintains its current pace on regulation and real-world adoption, BlockBeats reports. He praised the country's leadership for moving quickly and recognizing demand for digital assets from its young, tech-savvy population, citing steps such as creating a virtual asset regulator, allowing Binance and HTX to operate in compliance, exploring Bitcoin reserves, and advancing real-world asset tokenization to attract foreign capital and improve liquidity. On stock market tokenization, CZ said this would allow global investors to access Pakistani assets directly and described it as a "truly global investment channel", adding that jurisdictions that move first may see the largest benefits.

Circle has minted $1 billion worth of its USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin on the Solana blockchain, CoinDesk reported. According to the report, when combined with recent Tether issuances, a total of $2 billion in stablecoins has been issued on Solana over the past 11 hours.

BitMine chairman Tom Lee said on Dec. 31 that year-end holiday trading often sees institutions step away, with quant programs, bots and tax-related stop-loss selling dominating, BlockBeats reports. On Dec. 29, CoinShares reported weekly outflows from digital asset products totaled $446 million, bringing the total since Oct. 10 to $3.2 billion and indicating sentiment has not fully recovered.

The Federal Reserve has an 85.1% probability of holding rates in January and a 14.9% chance of cutting by 25 basis points on Dec. 31, CME FedWatch data show. For March, cumulative probabilities stand at 45.2% for a 25 bp cut, 48.3% to hold, and 6.5% for a total 50 bp cut, the same data show.

Bitmine staked 118,944 ETH on Dec. 31, worth about $352 million, OnchainLens data show. Its cumulative staked total reached 461,504 ETH, valued at around $1.37 billion. A newly created wallet received 32,938 ETH (about $97.8 million) from FalconX and is likely tied to Bitmine, according to OnchainLens.

About 94% of markets in the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) were trading above their 200-day moving average on December 31, near a five-year high, analysis from The Kobeissi Letter cited by BlockBeats shows. Around 87% of ACWI country markets were above their 50-day moving average, the highest level since July. The ACWI index, covering 23 developed and 24 emerging markets representing roughly 85% of global investable equities, has gained 21.6% year-to-date and is on track for a third consecutive year of annual gains. The MSCI All Country World Index ex-U.S. has outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 12 percentage points, the largest performance gap since 2009.