Appold Market Watch - Week ending 5 December 2025
Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 5 December 2025
🔷 CME Group has launched a Bitcoin volatility index as part of a new suite of digital asset benchmarks, targeting institutional traders. The index provides standardised pricing and volatility data, similar to CBOE's equity market’s VIX, helping to manage risk across futures and options markets.
Appold’s view: Institutional momentum is visible across the entire market. BlackRock has highlighted its Bitcoin ETF as its most profitable product, and now it would make sense for CME to create a Futures product based on this volatility index to help institutions with hedging strategies around Bitcoin. Time will tell, but CBOE appear to have missed an opportunity here.
🔷 Digital asset M&A activity in 2025 reached a record $8.6 billion with 133 deals, surpassing the total of the previous four years combined. Coinbase led this surge, acquiring Deribit and other platforms. Ripple and Kraken also expanded significantly through key acquisitions, reflecting industry growth amid regulatory changes and economic adjustments.
Appold’s View: The digital asset market is entering a clear phase of consolidation. Leading firms are rapidly expanding their product suites, recognising that the race for long-term market dominance has begun. As the sector matures, value creation will increasingly shift from early adopters to the builders. In this emerging landscape, it will not only be early buyers who achieve outsized success, but also the pioneering companies and teams establishing the foundations of the industry.
🔷 The UK has passed a bill recognising digital assets as property, granting them the same legal status as traditional assets. The legislation provides statutory backing for digital assets in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, promoting innovation in tokenised markets while leaving specifics to be determined by courts.
Appold’s View: Whilst notably lacking in breadth, this Act is encouraging in ensuring that digital assets are not prevented from being the object of personal property rights merely because they do not fit into these existing categories.
🔷 Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki vetoed legislation proposing stringent oversight of the digital asset sector, arguing it threatened civil freedoms, overregulated firms, and risked driving innovation abroad. Critics, including senior ministers, warned that the decision invites market disorder, while supporters countered that investor protection will be addressed under forthcoming EU MiCA rules.
Appold’s View: While many countries have historically defaulted to restrictive measures or outright bans, it is encouraging to see that some governments are attempting to foster innovation and support responsible growth in the digital asset industry.
#Marketwatch #Blockchain #Investments
