[Aave Founder Sparks Controversy Over $10 Million AAVE Token Purchase] Aave founder Stani Kulechov has sparked community controversy after purchasing $10 million worth of AAVE tokens. Critics argue that this move could influence voting on key governance proposals. The controversy centers around a proposal to reclaim control of the protocol's brand assets, which has been accused of entering the voting stage without sufficient discussion. Data shows that the top three voters in the Aave DAO control over 58% of the voting power, raising concerns about the fairness of the governance mechanism.

[U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for the Week Ending December 20 Lower Than Expected] The U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending December 20 were 214,000, lower than the expected 224,000. The previous value was 224,000. The four-week average was 216,750, compared to the previous value of 217,500. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 13 were 1.923 million, higher than the expected 1.9 million. The previous value was revised from 1.897 million to 1.885 million.

**[Gate Founder Dr. Han: 2025 Will Be a Key Year for Crypto Market Transformation]** Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han stated that 2025 will mark a pivotal year for the crypto industry, with trends such as tighter regulatory environments, influxes of institutional capital, and the rise of on-chain trading platforms profoundly shaping the market. Retail investor power is gradually shifting toward professional traders and institutional investors. Gate is upgrading its infrastructure by launching the CrossEx cross-platform trading and clearing platform, as well as building Web3 tools like Gate Layer, Gate Perp DEX, and Gate Fun to support decentralized market trading. The platform provides proof of assets for approximately $12 billion through a combination of Merkle trees and zero-knowledge proofs, while employing a multi-party computation vault system to ensure fund security. Looking ahead to 2026, Gate will focus on reducing user barriers to operations on both CEX and DEX platforms and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance trading efficiency.

[Genius Group Completes Acquisition of Lighthouse Studios and Plans Rebranding] Bitcoin treasury company Genius Group Limited announced that it has completed the acquisition of Lighthouse Studios, a podcast and video production studio located in Bali, Indonesia, and plans to relaunch it under the new name Genius Studios on January 23, 2026. The transaction was completed through an asset purchase agreement, with the acquisition amount undisclosed. The seller is Lighthouse Studios founder Monty Hooke.

During December, Binance's whale fund inflow decreased from approximately $7.88 billion to $3.86 billion, halving in just a few weeks. （CryptoQuant）