Morning Minute: A Big Day for Stablecoins
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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written byTyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minuteon Substack.
GM!
Today’s top news:
Crypto majors mostly chop on day; BTC at $87,000
Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement to U.S. banks, leveraging Solana
FDIC greenlights proposal showing how U.S. banks can issue their own stables
Rainbow Wallet announces TGE for Feb 5, 2026 along with airdrop
Cantor Fitzgerald calls for $200B+ price target on HYPE in new report
💵 A Big Day for Stablecoins
Two separate announcements today pointed in the same direction.
Stablecoinsare moving deeper into the U.S. financial system.
📌 What Happened
First, Visa expanded its USDC settlement program to U.S. banks, enabling participating institutions to settle obligations using Circle’s USDC on Solana.
The expansion allows banks and payment firms to move funds outside of traditional banking hours, with onchain settlement finality and integration into Visa’s existing treasury and reconciliation systems.
Visa has previously tested stablecoin settlement internationally and with select partners, but this marks a broader U.S. rollout.
At the same time, the FDIC approved a proposed rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act, outlining how FDIC-supervised banks could issue payment stablecoins through subsidiaries.
The proposal describes application requirements, governance standards, reserve and liquidity expectations, and ongoing supervisory oversight.
Banks would be required to maintain high-quality reserves backing issued stablecoins and operate within defined risk-management and compliance frameworks.
🗣️ What They’re Saying
“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it—they’re preparing to use it”- Visa’s Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships Rubail Birwadker
“Fintech and crypto innovators increasingly ask us to bring stablecoins into their existing product suite.” - Gilles Gade, founder, president, and CEO of Cross River Bank
A powerful milestone in the mainstream adoption and acceptance of USDC, with Visa announcing that all US card issuers (banks, fintechs, crypto firms) can now settle directly with Visa using USDC. Visa also working with Circle to prepare for launching on @Arc.
Dollar digital… pic.twitter.com/c7ilmCrXWY
— Jeremy Allaire - jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) December 16, 2025
🧠 Why It Matters
Stablecoins are increasingly being treated as payments infrastructure rather than a niche crypto product.
Visa’s expansion shows how large payment networks are integrating stablecoins into existing systems, while the FDIC’s proposal outlines the framework banks would use to issue and manage them.
The combination matters.
Institutional adoption tends to accelerate once large financial intermediaries and regulators move in the same direction.
BlackRock predicted stablecoins would be a mega force of 2026 impacting the global economy, in their 2026 outlook report.
It looks like they will be right…
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🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes
A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
Crypto majorswere mostly flat;BTC -0.3% at $87,000; ETH -1% at $2,930, BNB -1% at $858, SOL even at $128
NIGHT (+11%), MORPHO (+10%) and MYX (+5%)led top movers
Bitwiseforecastednew Bitcoin all-time highs in 2026, pointing to structural factors like institutional capital inflows, regulatory clarity, and continued adoption to outweigh historical bearish factors
TheSECended its four-year investigationinto AAVE, closing the file without recommending enforcement action
VISAexpandedits stablecoin pilot to more US Banks and to include settlement on Solana
The FDICapproveda proposal to implement the GENIUS Act, outlining how FDIC-supervised banks could issue payment stablecoins through subsidiaries
Trumpsaidhe would be open to nominating Democratsto the SEC and CFTC, a shift that could help unblock the stalled Senate crypto market-structure bill
Elizabeth Warrenraised concernsabout DEX risks, flagging PancakeSwap and alleging links to Trump-connected flows and North Korea–tied laundering
The FTCsaidNomad must repay recovered fundsafter the $186M 2022 bridge hack
Hong Kong influencersface chargesrelated to their promotion of the collapsed JPEX exchange, which left investors with roughly $206 M in losses
The South Korean governmentapprovedabout $15M in debt relief for crypto traders
In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs
The Bitcoin ETFshave seen net outflowsof $635M so far this week, with ETH seeing -449M
KindlyMDwas warnedit risked Nasdaq delisting after shares stayed under $1, and said it had until June 2026 to regain compliance
In Memes / Onchain Movers
Memecoin leadersare mostly red with Fartcoin leading;DOGE -1%, Shiba -2%, PEPE -1%, PENGU -3%, BONK -2%, TRUMP -1%, SPX +1%, and FARTCOIN +4%
Burwick Lawshared an ongoing lawsuitagainst Pump Fun and Solana
WOJAKrebounded 60% to $31M; Anon +60% to $23M and 1 jumped 42% to $7M
💰 Token, Airdrop Protocol Tracker
Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
Cantor Fitzgeraldreleaseda 62-page report on Hyperliquid, calling for a $250B market cap on a 10-year time frame
Hyper Foundationto voteon recognizing the Assistance Fund HYPE as officially burned and thus removed from circulating supply
BNBannounceda new stablecoin “unifying liquidity across use case” is coming soon
Rainbow Walletannouncedtheir TGE coming Feb 5, 2026
RedotPayraised $107Min a Series B round to expand its stablecoin payments platform
Tetherco-led an $8M roundinto Speed, backing Lightning-based stablecoin payments
Worldcoinlaunchedtheir WorldID on Tinder to help solve its bot problem
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
NFT leaderswere mixed; Punks -1% at 27 ETH, Pudgy +3% at 4.69, BAYC +3% at 4.99 ETH; Hypurr’s -3% at 445 HYPE
Nonotable movers
Pudgy Penguinsconfirmedthey will appear on the Las Vegas Sphere, securing a roughly $500,000 ad placement
Hyper Foundation Seeks Validator Vote to Burn Aid Fund HYPE
Validators vote to treat inaccessible Assistance Fund HYPE as burned supply permanently.
Around 37M HYPE, over 10% of circulation, would be removed from official supply metrics.
Stake-weighted validator process runs through Dec 24 with no onchain changes planned.
The Hyper Foundation announced today that validators will vote to formally recognize Assistance Fund HYPE as permanently burned. The proposal, published through official channels and the governance forum, applies across the Hyperliquid ecosystem. It seeks to align supply accounting with tokens already locked in an inaccessible system address, without any onchain transaction or protocol upgrade.
Proposal Formalizes an Irreversible Supply State
According to the Hyper Foundation, the Assistance Fund converts trading fees into HYPE through an automated L1 execution process. Notably, those tokens accumulate at a public system address, 0xfefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefe. A private key has never controlled this address and functions similarly to a zero address.
The Hyper Foundation is proposing a validator vote to formally recognize the Assistance Fund HYPE as burned, removing the tokens permanently from the circulating and total supply.For context, the Assistance Fund converts trading fees to HYPE in a fully automated manner as part…— Hyper Foundation (@HyperFND)
December 17, 2025
However, the Foundation emphasized that these funds are mathematically irretrievable without a hard fork. As a result, the proposal does not request any technical change to the protocol. Instead, it asks validators to acknowledge an existing reality and reflect it within circulating and total supply metrics.
By voting “Yes,” validators would agree to treat all Assistance Fund HYPE as burned. Moreover, they would establish a binding social consensus to never authorize an upgrade to access that address. According to the Foundation, this approach preserves protocol immutability while improving transparency around supply figures.
Community estimates place the Assistance Fund balance at roughly 37 million HYPE. That amount represents more than 10% of the circulating supply based on current figures. If approved, those tokens would be excluded from both circulating and total supply calculations.
Validator Process and Stake-Weighted Timeline
The decision will proceed through a stake-weighted validator process, rather than a simple count of participants. Validators must first signal their intent in the governance forum by December 21 at 04:00 UTC. They are required to publicly reply with either a “Yes” or “No” position.
Following that disclosure period, token holders can delegate stake to validators aligned with their view. Notably, users have until December 24 at 04:00 UTC to adjust delegations. The final outcome will reflect the stakeholder-weighted consensus at that deadline.
According to the Hyper Foundation, no onchain action will follow regardless of the outcome. The vote only determines whether the ecosystem formally recognizes the Assistance Fund balance as permanently removed from supply accounting.
If approved, the decision would prevent any future use of those funds for grants, development, or emergency purposes. However, the Foundation stated the vote strictly addresses supply treatment, not broader policy decisions.
Related: HYPE Extends Its Slide with a 9% Drop as Whales Load Up: Time to Buy the Dip?
Context From Earlier Supply Discussions
The proposal follows prior community discussions around supply reductions scheduled for 2025. Notably, a September proposal explored a 45% reduction in approved total supply but did not advance. That earlier discussion introduced broader changes beyond the Assistance Fund.
On September 22, researcher Hasu and DBA co-founder Jon Charbonneau submitted a separate proposal affecting Hyperliquid tokenomics. According to that filing, authorization for approximately 421 million HYPE in future emissions and community rewards would be revoked.
That proposal also referenced burning roughly 31 million HYPE held in the Assistance Fund. Combined, those measures would have reduced the approved total supply from one billion to about 550 million HYPE. However, the community did not move forward with that plan.
In 2025, Hyperliquid ranked as the leading onchain perpetuals venue by trading volume and fee revenue. Consequently, a large share of protocol fees continued flowing into the Assistance Fund through automated conversion. That mechanism has played a central role in shaping HYPE supply dynamics.
The current vote, however, narrows its scope. It focuses solely on recognizing tokens that cannot be accessed under existing protocol rules. According to the Foundation, the goal is to reflect that constraint accurately, without altering network behavior.
By seeking validator consensus, the Hyper Foundation aims to align supply transparency with immutable execution logic. The outcome will depend entirely on stake-weighted validator participation by the December 24 deadline.
Disclaimer: The information provided by CryptoTale is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making any investment decisions. CryptoTale is not liable for any financial losses resulting from the use of the content.
Tags
Hyperliquid (HYPE) News Market News
Huang Licheng Opens 25x Ethereum Long After Liquidations, Also Launches 10x HYPE Bet
COINOTAG News, citing Hyperinsight monitoring, reports that after a sequence of liquidations, a trader identified as Huang Licheng opened a new, highly leveraged Ethereum long and a separate HYPE long. The ETH leg comprises 4,550 ETH at a 25x leverage, entered at $2,940.60 per ETH. The liquidation price is recorded near $2,735.30, with the position showing an unrealized loss of roughly $86,000 to date.
Separately, the same trader initiated a 10x long on HYPE, purchasing 15,888.88 HYPE tokens at $27.60. This position carries an unrealized loss around $4,000 as volatility persists.
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