Digital Euro Moves, Hacks Surge, Bitcoin’s 143K Forecast

Welcome to our Crypto news in 10, a daily podcast bringing you the latest news about crypto in under 10 minutes.

Here's what's moving the crypto world on Saturday, December 20, 2025... We've got Europe taking a concrete step toward a digital euro with both online and offline payments... a sobering year-end readout on crypto hacks led by North Korea... a major bank in Italy issuing a tokenized structured note on a public chain... a political shakeup in Washington as one of crypto's best-known Senate allies announces she won't run again... and a fresh Wall Street forecast that pegs Bitcoin at $143,000 next year. Buckle up—lots to unpack today.

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Let's start in Europe, where finance ministers just endorsed their negotiating stance for a digital euro—and the headline is this: online and offline functionality. The proposed central bank digital currency would work even without connectivity, then sync later. Basic services would be free. To limit financial stability risk, individual holdings would be capped and reviewed periodically. This clears the way for talks with Parliament, with a pilot targeted for 2027 and a phased rollout by 2029 if all goes to plan. It's a clear signal on monetary sovereignty as private stablecoins scale. That's according to Reuters reporting from Brussels.

Pivoting to security... Chainalysis' year-end snapshot says crypto thefts in 2025 totaled about $3.4 billion—and North Korean groups accounted for roughly $2.02 billion of that, their worst year on record. The tactic shift is striking: fewer incidents, much bigger hauls. Attackers often infiltrated companies by posing as IT staff, or through highly targeted social engineering. Chainalysis pegs cumulative DPRK-linked theft at around $6.75 billion since tracking began. That aligns with this year's attribution of the roughly $1.5 billion Bybit heist to North Korean actors—one massive operation that drove a huge share of losses. Bottom line for teams: review hiring and vendor processes, not just your smart contract audits.

Over to traditional finance meeting blockchain... Italy's UniCredit has issued its first tokenized structured note for professional wealth clients. The bank used BlockInvest's tech and recorded the instrument on a public blockchain via Weltix—an entity authorized by Italy's market watchdog, Consob—completing a fully digital issuance workflow. UniCredit says tokenization trims manual processes and reliance on traditional custodians, lowering costs and aligning with where markets are headed. It follows their recent tokenized minibond trial with the state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Another brick in the wall for real-world asset finance moving on-chain. That's from Reuters.

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In Washington, there's a personnel story with policy implications. Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming—one of the most vocal crypto advocates on Capitol Hill—says she won't seek reelection in 2026, meaning she'll leave at the end of her term in early 2027. At 71, she cited the grind of recent sessions and said she doesn't have another six-year term in her. Lummis has been a consistent voice for clearer digital-asset rules on the Senate Banking Committee. Her departure sets up a key question for the 2026 races: who inherits that pro-innovation mantle, and how will it shape the Senate's crypto agenda next year? The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the Associated Press.

Over to the markets... Citi is out with a new Bitcoin outlook. Their base case for 2026 is $143,000, with a bullish scenario above $189,000 and a bear case near $78,500. The drivers they flag: continued spot ETF adoption—around $15 billion of net inflows in their model—and clearer U.S. policy architecture. Citi frames Bitcoin as a store-of-value asset benefiting from institutional rails. They're relatively more conservative on Ether at about $4,300, citing softer on-chain activity and its "programmable money" role. Even after a choppy Q4, big banks still see structural flows underpinning this market—that's according to MarketWatch.

Quick recap... Europe greenlit a negotiating stance for a digital euro with online and offline payments, marking a real step toward a pilot in 2027. Chainalysis tallied $3.4 billion in 2025 crypto thefts, with North Korea responsible for a record $2.02 billion—watch your human perimeter. UniCredit issued a tokenized structured note on a public chain, pushing the real-world asset trend forward. Senator Cynthia Lummis won't run again, opening a leadership question for crypto policy in the Senate. And Citi pegs Bitcoin at $143,000 next year on ETF flows and regulatory clarity. I'll be back tomorrow with the next ten minutes of crypto you need.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!