Crypto markets posted broad gains over the past 24 hours, led by a sharp rebound in NFTs and steady upside in major tokens. Sector data from Coingecko shows the NFT category climbing nearly 6 percent, with smaller-cap names such as Audiera jumping more than 60 percent. Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $89,000 level and Ethereum broke above $3,000, helping lift related sectors including RWA, Layer 1, DeFi and Meme assets. A handful of pockets lagged: AI-linked tokens and Layer 2s edged lower despite isolated winners. Sector index readings signal improving sentiment across real-world asset, Layer 1, and centralized finance baskets.

But what else is happening in crypto news today? Follow our up-to-date live coverage below.

The post [LIVE] Crypto News Today: Latest Updates for Dec. 22, 2025 – Sector Rotation Pushes NFTs Higher; RWA and DeFi Extend Gains appeared first on Cryptonews.

• Bell-ringing marks Brazil entry: DeFi Technologies and its subsidiary Valour celebrated the launch of DEFT31 BDRs and five digital asset ETPs on the B3 Exchange with a bell-ringing ceremony in São Paulo, signaling a strategic foothold in one of the world’s most important emerging markets.
• Local rails, global access: Brazilian investors can now access BRL-denominated, locally listed exposure to DeFi Technologies’ Nasdaq-listed shares (DEFT31) and Valour’s BTCV, ETHV, XRPV, VSOL and VSUI ETPs through the same brokerage and custody infrastructure they already use for equities and ETFs.
• First step beyond Europe, powered by strong local partners: For Valour, which offers more than 100 ETPs across major European exchanges, the B3 listings represent its first move outside Europe and, with the support of B3 Exchange, Cepeda Advogados and BTG Pactual, establish a scalable platform for further expansion across Latin America and other high-growth regions.

TORONTO, Dec. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – DeFi Technologies Inc. (the “Company” or “DeFi Technologies“) (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B), a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi“), is pleased to announce that it has successfully launched Brazilian Depositary Receipts (“BDRs“) representing its Nasdaq-listed common shares, together with five digital asset exchange traded products (“ETPs“) issued by its subsidiary, Valour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited (together, “Valour“), on B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (“B3” or the “B3 Exchange”).

The listings were formally celebrated with a bell-ringing ceremony at market close on the B3 Exchange in São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, December 19, 2025, marking a significant milestone in DeFi Technologies’ and Valour’s international expansion strategy.

DeFi Technologies’ BDRs and Valour’s ETPs now trading on B3 are:

• DEFT31 – BDRs representing DeFi Technologies’ Nasdaq-listed DEFT shares
• BTCV – Valour Bitcoin
• ETHV – Valour Ethereum
• XRPV – Valour XRP
• VSOL – Valour Solana
• VSUI – Valour Sui

The products provide Brazilian investors with BRL-denominated, locally listed exposure to both DeFi Technologies’ equity and leading digital assets via the same brokerage and custody infrastructure used for equities and ETFs.

Strategic Entry Into a Key Global Market

Brazil is the world’s seventh most populous country, with approximately 213 million people, the most populous nation in South America and the second most populous in the Americas after the United States. With a unified language, regulatory framework and capital markets infrastructure, Brazil represents a core pillar of DeFi Technologies’ and Valour’s global expansion strategy.

As Latin America’s largest crypto economy with an increasingly mature regulatory environment for digital assets and market intermediaries, Brazil provides a strong foundation for expanding institutional grade, exchange traded access to digital assets. With the launch of DEFT31 and Valour’s ETPs on B3, Brazilian investors can now access regulated crypto exposure through familiar, local rails.

For Valour, which already offers more than 100 digital asset ETPs listed across major European exchanges, the B3 listings represent its first move outside Europe and establish a scalable platform for further growth across Latin America and other high growth markets.

Management Commentary

“Ringing the bell at B3 to celebrate the launch of DEFT31 and Valour’s ETPs was an important milestone for our entire organization,” said Johan Wattenström, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of DeFi Technologies and Co Founder of Valour. “Brazil is a strategically important market for us. With these listings on the B3 Exchange, we are one step closer to our goal of making regulated, exchange traded digital asset exposure available to investors in the world’s most significant financial centres.”

“This launch is our first step outside Europe for Valour and a template for our broader global expansion,” said Andrew Forson, President of DeFi Technologies and Chief Growth Officer of Valour. “By offering Brazilian investors BRL denominated, locally listed access to Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and Sui ETPs, alongside BDRs in DeFi Technologies, we are aligning product access and corporate access in a single market. We are grateful to our partners in Brazil and to the teams across DeFi Technologies and Valour whose execution made this launch possible.”

“We would like to thank B3 Exchange, Cepeda Advogados and BTG Pactual for their partnership and support in bringing this initiative to market, as well as the teams across DeFi Technologies and Valour whose commitment and hard work made this launch a reality,” added Mr. Forson.

About B3 Exchange
B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (“B3” or the “B3 Exchange”) is the Brazilian stock exchange and one of the main financial market infrastructure companies in the world. Headquartered in São Paulo and listed on its Novo Mercado premium segment under the ticker B3SA3, B3 organizes and enables trading, clearing, settlement, registration and depository services across equities, derivatives and over-the-counter markets, as well as data and technology services. For more information please visit https://www.b3.com.br/en_us/ 

About DeFi Technologies
DeFi Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B) is a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi“). As the first Nasdaq-listed digital asset manager of its kind, DeFi Technologies offers equity investors diversified exposure to the broader decentralized economy through its integrated and scalable business model. This includes Valour, which offers access to one hundred of the world’s most innovative digital assets via regulated ETPs; Stillman Digital, a digital asset prime brokerage focused on institutional-grade execution and custody; Reflexivity Research, which provides leading research into the digital asset space; Neuronomics, which develops quantitative trading strategies and infrastructure; and DeFi Alpha, the Company’s internal arbitrage and trading business line. With deep expertise across capital markets and emerging technologies, DeFi Technologies is building the institutional gateway to the future of finance. Follow DeFi Technologies on LinkedIn and X/Twitter, and for more details, visit https://defi.tech/ 

DeFi Technologies Subsidiaries

About Valour
Valour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited (together, “Valour“) issues exchange traded products (“ETPs”) that enable retail and institutional investors to access digital assets in a simple and secure way via their traditional bank account. Valour is part of the asset management business line of DeFi Technologies. For more information about Valour, to subscribe, or to receive updates, visit https://valour.com.

About Stillman Digital
Stillman Digital is a leading digital asset liquidity provider that offers limitless liquidity solutions for businesses, focusing on industry-leading trade execution, settlement, and technology. For more information, please visit https://www.stillmandigital.com

About Reflexivity Research
Reflexivity Research LLC is a leading research firm specializing in the creation of high-quality, in-depth research reports for the bitcoin and digital asset industry, empowering investors with valuable insights. For more information please visit https://www.reflexivityresearch.com/ 

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information:
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the listing of Valour’s ETPs and DeFi Technologies’ BDRs on B3; future expansion plans into Brazil and other regions; anticipated investor demand for digital asset ETPs and BDRs; the regulatory environment with respect to the growth and adoption of decentralized finance; the pursuit by the Company and its subsidiaries of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but is not limited the acceptance of Valour exchange traded products by exchanges; growth and development of decentralised finance and digital asset sector; rules and regulations with respect to decentralised finance and digital assets; fluctuation in digital asset prices; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

THE CBOE CANADA EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

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SOURCE DeFi Technologies Inc.

Today, the world’s first blockchain games launched on the two major social platforms LINE and Telegram, BOMBIE and CATTEA, officially landed on LINE MINI DAPP, bringing a brand new gaming experience to Asian players. These two games have attracted tens of millions of users on Telegram, and with their innovative gameplay and token reward mechanism, they have quickly set off a craze around the world.

BOMBIE is the world’s first fair-launched zombie shooting game. Players will enter the doomsday world, engage in fierce battles with zombies, and earn $BOMBIE tokens; while CATTEA is the world’s first “Drink to Earn” game, combining interesting match-3 gameplay with real-world milk tea shops to create a unique “drink and earn” experience.

As the world’s first blockchain game launched on two major social platforms, BOMBIE and CATTEA have launched a special luxury server lottery event! Players not only have the opportunity to win a Tesla Model Y, 20 iPhone 16 Pro Max, but also share a 1,000,000 CATI prize pool.

Developer Jokers, a company founded by former Sega staff, announced on December 22 that it has halted development of Code of Jokers Evolutions, a blockchain mobile game it had been working on under official license from Sega. 

Originally announced in March this year, Code of Jokers Evolutions was unveiled as a digital card game based on Sega’s arcade trading card game IP. The arcade version of Code of Jokers was in circulation from 2013 to 2019, and it received a short-lived mobile version called Code of Jokers Pocket (also developed by Sega) in 2017, which ended services the following year. 

The new Code of Jokers Evolutions was announced as a revival of the franchise, inheriting key features of the original Code of Jokers while integrating new gimmicks like user-to-user trading using blockchain technology. Development was originally underway with an international release planned for 2025 and a domestic release planned by the end of 2026. However, in its new announcement, developer Jokers says it has decided to cancel the title “after considering recent changes in the Web3 game market environment.” While the company doesn’t go into the details, the decision seems consistent with current tendencies in the Japanese game industry. While it happened a bit later than overseas, Japan’s NFT game fad appears to be fizzling out even in the eyes of the people making them. 

As mentioned, Jokers is a game company founded by former Sega staff Yasuhiro Nishiyama (producer of the original Code of Joker, Sangokushi Taisen) and Wataru Sato (Bakugan producer at Sega Toys). With the announcement of Code of Jokers Evolutions’s cancellation, the developer says it will be accepting buybacks from users who purchased the collaboration NFT pack released ahead of the game’s launch via this portal. 

Related articles: Japanese NFT game company’s currency crashes after users discover infinite money glitch 

Bears have a firm grip on the leading GameFi tokens, with the majority of them in the red.

• Anome Protocol and SentismAI partner.
• Ronin network activity slumps as its top game’s popularity declines.
• MetaArena outperforms its peers with a 25% weekly pump.

It was another meh week for the gaming industry as it caught stray bullets from scammers.

• SentismAI has partnered with Anome Protocol to plug AI into on-chain card gaming across Base and BNB Chain. The partnership blends GameFi, NFTFi, and DeFi into a shared asset economy built for players and builders.

Source: SentismAI

• A fake Telegram game drained a Singapore entrepreneur’s entire crypto portfolio. Malware exploited wallet access and a Chrome bug to steal over $14,000 despite antivirus protection. The lesson for GameFi users is clear: browser wallets and exposed seed phrases remain prime targets, and it’s important to follow Web3 security best practice.

Source: Mothership

GameFi Sector Review

Source: CoinMarketCap

Source: CoinMarketCap

Top Gainers

A handful of GameFi tokens pulled ahead this week. Each posted small gains in a market trending lower.

Top Decliners

You could have blindly shorted the leading Web3 gaming coins and still made a killing, as the majority are bleeding double-digit losses.

Source: CoinMarketCap

It was another blow to the Web3 gaming sector as it slumped from second to 12th place on DeFiLlama’s narrative tracker. Liquidity is thin, and prediction markets are the talk of the town.

Source: DeFiLlama

Web3 Gaming News This Week

Ronin’s GameFi Fade

What You Can Do Now

• Track on-chain activity to identify the next breakout Web3 game or blockchain.
• Lock in profits early to reduce downside risk as prices trend lower.
• Leverage tools like CMC AI to access real-time market signals.

This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.

In the near future, the distinction between decentralized and traditional financial systems will completely disappear. According to Maple Finance CEO Sid Powell, blockchain technologies will become the foundational pillar of capital markets, and the entire global financial flow will transition to “on-chain” systems.

The Technological Evolution of Finance

Powell compared this historic transformation to the emergence of e-commerce. Just as the internet shifted commerce to an online format, blockchain will revolutionize the technological basis of financial settlements.

• Replacing outdated infrastructure: Mass ledgers (blockchain) will phase out traditional banking systems.
• New opportunities: In the future, obtaining mortgage loans backed by Bitcoin collateral will become commonplace. Sovereign wealth funds and major insurance companies will be key investors in such digital assets.

Stablecoins to surpass Visa and Mastercard

According to the expert’s forecast, by 2026, the volume of transactions conducted via stablecoins will reach $50 trillion. This figure will significantly exceed the volume handled by the world’s largest payment systems, Visa and Mastercard.

Who benefits from this?

• For small businesses: Currently, entrepreneurs pay 2-3% commission for every transaction. Switching to stablecoins will save these funds for business owners.
• Interest from giants: Companies like Bank of America, Citi, and even Visa and Mastercard are already beginning to build their own digital gateways.

The DeFi market to reach $1 trillion

At present, the capitalization of the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector is approximately $105 billion. However, if the tokenization of assets accelerates, this figure is expected to reach $1 trillion in the coming years.

“The ‘death of DeFi’ does not imply the disappearance of the system but rather its complete integration with traditional financial infrastructure,” emphasized Sid Powell.

2030: The Era of Mass Adoption

Not only Powell but also Chainlink founder Sergey Nazarov predicts that the DeFi system will achieve widespread adoption across the globe by 2030. This signals that digital assets and blockchain will penetrate not only the trader community but also the daily lives of ordinary people.

Do you think traditional banks will fully cede their place to blockchain within the next 10 years?

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BLIFE Protocol, a decentralized initiative built on the Bitcoin blockchain and focused on merging Web3 applications with cultural and gaming experiences, has announced its merger with Portal, an interoperability and liquidity infrastructure designed for Web3 gaming. Following the merger, the combined entity will operate under the Portal brand, signaling a unified strategy to reduce fragmentation across the blockchain gaming ecosystem.

Portal has positioned itself as an omnichain Web3 gaming platform with the objective of bringing together a highly fragmented market. Its core aim is to create a single environment that supports both game distribution and player engagement across multiple blockchains. By integrating BLIFE’s Bitcoin-native ecosystem, Portal intends to strengthen its ability to connect diverse networks while expanding its reach into the Bitcoin community.

Strengthening Bitcoin’s Role in Web3 Gaming

BLIFE has been focused on extending Bitcoin’s foundational principles into emerging areas of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Over the past two years, the protocol has concentrated on developing Web3-native infrastructure that enables broader adoption on Bitcoin. Its portfolio includes BLIFE.ID, described as the first identity passport inscribed on Bitcoin, and Odin.fun, a rapidly expanding memecoin trading platform. These products have played a role in onboarding tens of thousands of Bitcoin users into Web3 environments.

Through this merger, BLIFE’s ecosystem and community will be integrated into Portal’s interoperability-driven infrastructure. This move is expected to complement Portal’s existing cross-chain audience with BLIFE’s highly engaged Bitcoin-focused community, particularly within gaming and Web3 culture.

Leadership and Ecosystem Support

Portal will continue supporting cross-chain gaming while incorporating BLIFE’s Bitcoin-based initiatives. Leadership of the combined company will be overseen by Benjamin Charbit, who previously served as a game director at Ubisoft, including work on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. His appointment as chief executive officer is intended to bring traditional gaming expertise into the evolving Web3 gaming space.

Animoca Brands, a global digital assets company recognized for its role in advancing blockchain and tokenized assets, will support Portal’s relaunch. As an early supporter of BLIFE, Animoca Brands plans to provide new capital and strategic access to its gaming portfolio to strengthen Portal’s operations and accelerate its roadmap. In addition, G-20 will participate as an ecosystem and strategic partner, further reinforcing industry backing for the merged platform.

Beyond Bridge and Interoperability Expansion

A key element of the merger involves BLIFE’s acquisition of Beyond in mid-2025. Beyond is a tridirectional Bitcoin Layer 1 bridge designed to connect Bitcoin with other major blockchains. With its mainnet launch approaching, Beyond will be incorporated into Portal’s interoperability stack. This integration is expected to give Portal native Bitcoin connectivity and a proprietary cross-chain bridge, positioning the platform as a primary entry point for Bitcoin users seeking access to Web3 gaming.

The inclusion of Beyond is anticipated to enhance Portal’s ability to offer seamless movement of assets and liquidity across chains, reinforcing its ambition to serve as a universal gateway for cross-chain gaming experiences.

Advancing a Unified Web3 Gaming Infrastructure

The merger brings BLIFE’s products, community, and Bitcoin-focused infrastructure into Portal’s broader interoperability framework, including Portal Hub, the platform’s discovery and connectivity layer. Portal’s long-term mission centers on connecting every blockchain, liquidity pool, and on-chain game into a single universal liquidity layer. This approach is designed to allow developers to tap into deep, ecosystem-wide liquidity while improving game discovery and accessibility for players.

Portal’s leadership has indicated that aligning BLIFE’s Bitcoin-centric efforts with Portal’s cross-chain tooling is expected to unlock new practical use cases. By combining infrastructure, communities, and upcoming bridge technology, the merged entity aims to create improved connectivity for developers and players while establishing a more cohesive foundation for the future of Web3 gaming.