Hello everyone,

Thank you for subscribing to the Fiat Bridge Crypto Newsletter. I’m excited to launch with this first edition. 

Each weekday, I’ll deliver clear, actionable updates on the trends bridging traditional finance and crypto.

Every edition will follow the same structure: a fast-hitting Market Pulse with the metrics that matter, in-depth breakdowns of Top Stories of the Day, a fun Meme Corner to keep things real, and a quick Closing Note. 

Let’s dive in.

Quick overview of key metrics as of December 22, 2025:

The market is in consolidation mode after the 2025 run-up till early October, with some altcoins holding key levels and fear creating potential entry points.

The big news in DeFi right now is Uniswap's "fee switch" proposal sailing through governance with overwhelming support, 99% of voters in favor and over 69 million UNI tokens backing it. Voting closes December 25, and if it passes as expected, it'll activate before 2026 on the Unichain mainnet.

Uniswap is the largest decentralized exchange, with over $4 trillion in lifetime trading volume since 2018. Right now, UNI token holders only get governance rights, no direct cut of the fees. This change redirects about one-sixth of trading fees to burn UNI tokens, potentially reducing supply by around $130 million worth annually at current volumes. There's also a one-time burn of 100 million UNI from the treasury (worth roughly $940 million today).

From my time analyzing DeFi protocols at funds and banks, this is a game-changer: it turns UNI from a pure governance token into one that accrues real value tied to platform activity. We've seen price jumps already, UNI up 25% since voting opened, trading around $6.

For fiat bridge readers, this strengthens DeFi's appeal as a yield-generating alternative to traditional exchanges, especially with institutional liquidity flowing in.

Hong Kong's Insurance Authority just proposed new rules letting its 158 licensed insurers invest directly in cryptocurrencies and related assets. Direct crypto holdings would carry a 100% risk charge (meaning dollar-for-dollar reserves), while stablecoins get charges based on their fiat peg.

This isn't live yet, public consultation runs February to April 2026, but it's a massive step for institutional fiat inflows. Hong Kong manages billions in insurance capital, and unlocking even a fraction could provide steady, long-term buying pressure on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and quality assets.

In my experience working with regulators, places like Hong Kong are racing ahead while others lag. This builds on their stablecoin and ETF approvals, creating safer on-ramps for traditional money. So it’s important to watch Asia closely, it's where a lot of the next wave of adoption will come from, reducing reliance on volatile retail flows.

MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor dropped a cryptic X post over the weekend: "Green Dots" leading "Orange Dots," with a graph of their Bitcoin buys. The community reads this as a hint at fresh purchases, Saylor has used similar signals before big moves.

Despite Bitcoin underperforming the S&P 500 lately, Saylor and MicroStrategy added 31,000 BTC this quarter alone and remain all-in. He calls Bitcoin the ultimate store of value, betting on regulatory clarity, tokenization growth, and institutional demand.

From valuing corporate treasury strategies at VCs, Saylor's conviction is spot-on for long-term holders. Companies like this act as fiat-to-BTC bridges, absorbing supply during dips. If more buys come, it could help BTC push past $90K resistance, classic contrarian play in this fearful market.

A crypto holder lost 49.999 million USDT in one transaction due to an "address poisoning" attack. The scammer sent a tiny "dust" amount from a fake address that matched the first and last characters of the real one. The victim copied from history, thinking it was legit, and sent the full amount.

This isn't a hack, it's a social engineering trick exploiting how wallets shorten addresses for display. The victim even offered a $1 million bounty for return, but funds were quickly swapped and obscured.

In my analytics and risk work, I've seen these scams rise with bigger wallets. Simple fixes: Always verify full addresses, use whitelists, or hardware wallets with clear confirmations. For fiat bridge users moving larger amounts on-chain, this is a stark reminder, security basics save millions. Stay vigilant; one copy-paste mistake can wipe out years of gains.

That wraps up Edition #1. Thanks for sticking with me all the way to the end.

I truly appreciate you being here from day one; it means a lot as I build this newsletter into something valuable for all of us bridging fiat and crypto. If anything stood out, sparked a thought, or if you have feedback, story ideas, or just want to say hi, hit reply. I read every message.

If you enjoyed this edition, I’d be grateful if you shared it with a friend or on a social platform like X or LinkedIn. It’s the best way to help grow this community and bring more sharp insights to everyone.

Looking forward to delivering Edition #2 tomorrow.