Everyone Wants Your Bitcoin, Warns '$1 Million BTC' Advocate Samson Mow

By Najat Kantouar and Adria Calatayud

Shares in Juventus Football Club, one of Europe's most storied soccer teams, jumped early Monday after cryptocurrency giant Tether offered to buy the club from Italy's Agnelli family, which rejected the bid.

The move marks the latest attempt by a financial group to push into European soccer and pits El Salvador-based Tether, operator of the world's largest stablecoin, against a family that has been involved in the club for more than a century.

Shares in Juventus jumped as much as 14% in early Monday, coming back after this year's losses. In midday trading, the stock was up 12% at 2.46 euros, which values Juventus at 930 million euros ($1.09 billion), according to FactSet.

Tether on Friday said it submitted a binding all-cash proposal to Exor, the Agnellis' holding company, for its 65.4% stake in Juventus and that it intended to make a public offer for the remaining shares. The price wasn't disclosed, but Tether said it was prepared to invest 1 billion euros to support the club if the deal went ahead.

In response, Exor said Saturday that its board unanimously rejected Tether's unsolicited proposal.

While majority owned by the Agnelli family's company, Juventus is publicly listed. Tether has an 11.5% stake, according to the club's website.

European soccer clubs have drawn interest from the financial world lately, as private-equity groups and other financial backers seek to juice lucrative media rights and player transfers.

Private-equity group Apollo Global Management last month agreed to acquire a majority stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico de Madrid. The ownership of two other top Italian clubs, Juventus's historic Milan rivals, changed hands in recent years as U.S. buyout group RedBird Capital took over AC Milan for some $1.2 billion in 2022 and U.S. investor Oaktree Capital seized control of FC Inter Milan last year.

Tether said its bid aimed to support Juventus in a rapidly changing global sports and media landscape with stable capital and a long horizon from a position of strong financial health. The proposal reflected a belief in Juventus as more than a soccer club, Tether said.

But Exor said it had no intention of selling any of its shares in Juventus to El Salvador-based Tether or any other third party.

"Juventus is a storied and successful club, of which Exor and the Agnelli family are the stable and proud shareholders for over a century, and they remain fully committed to the club," Exor said.

Write to Najat Kantouar at najat.kantouar@wsj.com and to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

Singapore, Singapore, December 15th, 2025, Chainwire

The institutional-grade liquidity solution enables accelerated ETH redemptions for competitive on-chain and institutional yields

mETH Protocol, the top ten ETH liquid restaking provider with a peak total value locked (TVL) of $2.19 billion, today announced a major liquidity upgrade that utilises Aave’s ETH market to support more efficient redemption flows for mETH. Its key feature is a curated Buffer Pool mechanism designed to deliver an estimated 24-hour ETH redemptions, subject to buffer capacity availability and network conditions. This marks a drastic improvement over Ethereum’s 5-20 day exit queues for native staking and most liquid staking tokens (LSTs). 

By supplying ETH into Aave’s ETH lending market, the Buffer Pool is continuously replenished, enabling the processing of large withdrawals with near-instant liquidity and zero additional fees, all while maintaining competitive ETH base yields. Alongside an excellent track record of zero slashing incidents, mETH Protocol continues to advance its mission to provide institutional-grade liquidity and capital efficiency across the Ethereum staking landscape. 

Solving Ethereum Staking’s Liquidity Problem

ETH’s seismic rise as a credible treasury solution and financial asset has seen 2025 spot ETH ETFs record 65% quarterly growth on net inflows from $6.2B to $10.2B. However, the culmination of market events and structural issues has placed Ethereum’s staking ecosystem under pressure, facing increasing exit delays with withdrawal queues extending past 40 days in recent months. mETH Protocol’s Buffer Pool upgrade addresses this challenge through a dual liquidity pathway:

• Instant Buffer Pool for small to medium redemptions
• Direct Aave ETH Market Reserve access for larger institutional transactions 

This hybrid design supports high redemption volumes with blended yields targeting processing within a 24-hour estimate, emphasising fairness through a first-in, first-out model. Approximately 20% of protocol TVL will be allocated to Aave in stages, creating a blended yield profile that combines staking rewards with Aave supply interest to support deeper, more responsive liquidity. With this adjustment, mETH is expected to sustain a competitive APY while offering a far superior redemption experience. mETH Protocol will work closely with the Bybit team on the Buffer Pool Upgrade, including, but not limited to, asset boost campaigns, collateral utilisation, and more.

The Buffer Pool will be dynamically replenished based on predefined thresholds designed to maintain healthy liquidity levels. During periods of unusually high redemption demand, when buffer capacity is temporarily fully utilised, withdrawals will revert to the standard on-chain exit queue, with processing times dependent on network activity and overall volume. 

Institutional-Grade Liquidity, On Demand

The upgrade cements mETH Protocol’s position as the first liquidity staking token (LST) purpose-built for institutional exit liquidity without compromising capital utility. 

mETH Protocol’s on-demand liquidity unlocks the next stage of treasury efficiency through three synergistic pillars of institutional-grade access, custody, and utility. Key differentiators of mETH’s approach include:

• Institutional-grade, trusted custody by Fireblocks, Anchorage, Copper, and OSL, with ongoing traditional rail integrations for optimised onboarding and reliable exit ramps and allows institutions to mint mETH natively within custody and mirror positions seamlessly to exchanges such as Bybit for trading, supported by a strong pipeline of integrations with notable industry players and enhances secure onboarding, operational efficiency, and institutional accessibility
• Supported by Tier-1 custodians and validators for seamless, robust off-chain settlement, including Kraken Staked
• Available as trading and margin collateral on leading exchanges like Bybit and Kraken, with OTC support for large flows 
• Trusted and designated source of ETH yield for leading Web2 and Web3 treasuries, constituting a significant proportion of Mantle Treasury’s ETH reserves and a core ETH yield driver for Mantle Index Four
• Institutional-grade composability designed for both institutional users and advanced DeFi participants, mETH integrates Aave’s ETH lending market into its liquidity framework and supports predictable redemptions while preserving full composability across on-chain strategies 

This model bridges the worlds of institutional asset management with decentralised finance, solidifying mETH Protocol’s lead in ETH liquid staking solutions and yield strategies.

A Growing Benchmark in ETH Yield Infrastructure

mETH Protocol leads in institutional-grade staking infrastructure with over 40 Tier-1 dApp integrations, including Ethena Labs, Compound, and Pendle, while significantly contributing to major restaking networks such as EigenLayer and Symbiotic. This upgrade signifies mETH Protocol’s expanding ecosystem, underscoring its role as a trusted source of ETH yield and a foundational liquidity layer for institutional and retail participants alike.

About mETH Protocol

mETH Protocol is a vertically integrated liquid staking and restaking protocol incubated by Mantle, operating at the intersection of DeFi composability and institutional-grade ETH yield access. With a peak total value locked (TVL) of $2.19 billion achieved within its first year, mETH Protocol is supported by leading validator and custody partners, including A41, P2P.org, Kraken Staked, OSL, and Copper. The protocol is embedded across over 40+ leading DeFi and exchange platforms such as Bybit, Ethena, and more, whilst incorporated in treasury frameworks for DAOs and corporates as a core liquidity and yield layer.

For more information, users can visit:

mETH Protocol Website | mETH Protocol X | Group Website | Group X | Blog | Discord | Telegram | LinkedIn

Contact

mETH Protocol

windrangerlabs@wachsman.com

Bitcoin changed hands below $90,000 on Monday as crypto markets entered a week heavy with macro data, with traders positioning cautiously ahead of U.S. inflation releases that analysts say could determine the tone for the remainder of December.

Ether held near $3,100, while BNB and Solana traded around $890 and $132, respectively, according to The Block’s price page.

The price action reflects a broader cooling in sentiment after last week’s "hawkish cut" from the Federal Reserve, and a muted follow-through across spot and derivatives markets.

Macro calendar takes control

With FOMC meetings now concluded for 2025, markets turn fully toward U.S. data to gauge how quickly monetary easing may translate into improved liquidity conditions next year.

Retail sales, jobless claims, CPI, PCE, and multiple Fed appearances will cluster into a narrow window, raising the stakes for rate-expectation repricing.

"The macro calendar now takes center stage," said Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN. He noted that markets are no longer trading last week’s rate cut directly, but the data that may validate or challenge it. "Inflation prints will be decisive. Any upside surprise risks reinforcing the ‘hawkish cut’ narrative, while softer data could reopen the door for risk assets into year-end."

Analysts also continue to assess the impact of the Fed’s December decision, which included a cautious policy tone despite the 25 bps cut. The Block reported that a "Santa rally" now appears unlikely, as bitcoin continues to fade below key resistance zones following the interest rate decision.

Leverage resets and miners pull back

Over the last 24 hours, roughly $298 million in positions were liquidated, with longs representing nearly 80% of the total, according to Misir, citing data from CoinGlass. The flush reduced speculative leverage but did little to spark fresh upside momentum, BRN's analyst wrote in a Monday email.

Meanwhile, on the supply side, Bitcoin’s network hashrate fell by about 8% after reported mining shutdowns in China’s Xinjiang region. While disruptive in the short term, such contractions historically tighten marginal supply and can precede periods of stabilization.

At the same time, onchain behavior suggests reduced sell-side pressure from larger holders. CryptoQuant data shows "wholecoiner" inflows to Binance — transactions of more than 1 BTC moving onto the exchange — have collapsed to levels last seen in 2018. The yearly average now sits near 6,500 BTC, while the weekly average hovers around 5,200 BTC.

"This trend signals reduced selling intent from investors holding meaningful amounts of BTC," CryptoQuant analysts wrote, noting that the broader ecosystem’s expansion has also redirected flows away from centralized exchanges.

Bitcoin wholecoiners inflows on Binance | Image: CryptoQuant

Misir said the pattern aligns with what he is seeing across large wallets. "Wholecoiner inflows to Binance are collapsing, signaling reduced large-holder sell intent," he added. "Internal stress is easing even as price remains unconvincing."

Last week’s revised outlook from Standard Chartered also mirrors the general market uncertainty. The bank halved its end-2025 bitcoin projection from $200,000 to $100,000, citing diminished corporate treasury buying and slower-than-expected ETF inflows.

Although the bank reiterated its long-term view that bitcoin can reach $500,000, it pushed that target from 2028 to 2030.

The update added to a sense of pause as the final weeks of the year approached — a tone amplified by mixed positioning, lower liquidity, and heightened macro sensitivity. "This is a waiting game," Misir said. "The next directional move will be decided not by crypto-native narratives, but by inflation data and rate expectations."

Until then, analysts say capital preservation matters more than tactical aggression.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

As the eventful year of 2025 draws to an end, crypto analysts are looking into what the Dogecoin price could hold for investors going into the end of the year. One of these analysts is BitGuru, who shared an interest in the Dogecoin price chart, highlighting the next possible roadmap that the meme coin could take. With the possibility of a bounce rising, the next targets have become increasingly important to identify in order to maximize gains.

Why The Dogecoin Price Could Recover Quickly

BitGuru’s analysis focuses on the rising demand surrounding the meme coin after finding support from the recent crash. The Dogecoin price had stopped above $0.13, suggesting that the demand at this level continues to hold strong as buyers return to the market.

Pointing out this demand, the crypto analyst explains that the Dogecoin price is actually holding the demand zone after a prolonged downtrend. This is often bullish for the digital asset as it shows rising interest in the cryptocurrency as it establishes new support levels.

This base formation, as the analyst calls it, could serve as the starting point for the next rally that could push the Dogecoin price higher. However, for this to happen, the Dogecoin bulls would have to maintain their position above this demand level.

If this support level is held, then BitGuru forecasts that the Dogecoin price could start to recover again. This bounce could lead to a 50% increase, with the analyst’s chart outline putting it as high as $0.188. The upper end of the rally shows the price climbing to $0.22 before hitting resistance.

End Of Year Could End Red

Interestingly, the last quarter of the year has often been reasonably bullish for the Dogecoin price, but the year 2025 has deviated hard. So far, the quarter is already 41.8% deep in the red, according to data from the CryptoRank website, and it doesn’t look like that would change anytime soon.

The Dogecoin price is already down more than 7.5% in the month of December so far, contributing to the decline that has been felt in the quarter. The months of October and November ended in the red with 20% and 21.3% losses, respectively, and if this trend continues, then the Dogecoin price could follow suit.

JPMorgan is making another meaningful move into crypto – this time with one of Wall Street’s most traditional products.

According to a Wall Street Journal exclusive, the banking giant’s asset-management arm has launched its first tokenized money-market fund, built on the Ethereum blockchain and backed by $100 million of JPMorgan’s own capital. The fund is expected to open to outside investors this week.

For a firm that manages nearly trillion in assets, this is a major signal.

A Familiar Wall Street Product, Rebuilt on Ethereum

The fund is called My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY). It runs on Ethereum and is supported by Kinexys Digital Assets, JPMorgan’s internal tokenization platform.

Money-market funds are typically seen as low-risk, conservative vehicles used for cash management. By bringing one on-chain, JPMorgan is applying blockchain technology to the most basic layer of finance.

Client Demand Is Behind the Push

JPMorgan says the decision is being driven by its clients, not by market hype.

Regulation Set the Stage

The timing matters.

The Wall Street Journal points out that Wall Street’s tokenization efforts picked up after the Genius Act was passed earlier this year. The law created a clear framework for tokenized dollars, often referred to as stablecoins, and gave institutions more confidence to move on-chain.

JPMorgan’s Ethereum-based money-market fund fits squarely into that shift. Exciting times ahead!

FAQs

It operates like a traditional money-market fund but uses blockchain to represent shares as digital tokens. This can enable faster, 24/7 transactions and increased transparency for investors.

The move is driven by strong client demand for blockchain-based products and recent regulatory clarity, like the Genius Act, which provides a clearer framework for tokenized dollar assets.

Tokenization rebuilds familiar financial products on a blockchain, aiming to improve efficiency, accessibility, and settlement speed while maintaining the underlying asset’s value and security.

By Callum Keown

Bitcoin was trading back below $90,000 early Monday after cryptocurrencies endured more selling pressure over the weekend. It suggests a nervousness among investors at the start of the final full trading week of 2025.

Bitcoin slipped to $89,847 early in the day, down around 0.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading at around $92,500 on Friday before falling to lows of $88,200 on Sunday. It's 29% off its record high of nearly $127,000 reached in early October.

Popular altcoin XRP was down 0.7% at $2, while the second-largest crypto, Ethereum, rose 1.2% to $3,147.

A flurry of macroeconomic data this week could be a catalyst for a crypto comeback, particularly if jobs reports on Tuesday and inflation data on Thursday strengthen the case for another Federal Reserve rate cut in January. Markets are currently only pricing in a 27% probability of a quarter-point cut next month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

If this week's data, which includes October and November jobs data as well as November's consumer price index, can increase those odds then digital assets may get a boost ahead of the holiday season.

But for now, there's not much optimism about. While weekend trading is often thin, it can sometimes be a leading indicator of risk sentiment in the week ahead. "Bitcoin is down a couple of percent following the weekend trade, implying a deepening risk-off sentiment," Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said late Sunday.

But the tentative rebound from those Sunday lows may give some for investors. Other risk assets were set to start the week in more positive fashion — futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.3% ahead of the open.

December tends to be a good month for Bitcoin, which has risen an average of 9.2% in the final month of the year since 2014, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Something needs to change — and quickly — if it's to live up to history. About halfway through the month, Bitcoin is down around 1.2%.

Separately, crypto group Tether submitted a bid for Italian soccer club Juventus on Friday. The stablecoin issuer proposed to buy majority shareholder Exor's 65.4% stake in the club.

Exor rejected the proposal, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Juventus, which is publicly listed, jumped more than 12% in European morning trading.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.