Options Overhang, TradFi Perpetuals, Stablecoin Rails

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

Here’s your lightning tour of today’s crypto tape.

First, a record options expiry this Friday that’s already shaping flows... Then, a fresh raise from former FTX US president Brett Harrison for an exchange bringing crypto’s favorite derivative to traditional markets... A data-driven look at how Bitcoin and Ethereum split ETF demand this year... A notable payments move as Shift4 turns on stablecoin settlements for merchants... And we’ll close with a macro reality check — gold’s monster year versus Bitcoin’s stumble.

Buckle up.

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Story one: a record-size options overhang is the week’s main character.

Analysts estimate roughly 27 to 28 and a half billion dollars in crypto options are set to roll off on Friday, December 26 — an unusually large Boxing Day expiry that’s pinning traders to key strikes and volatility skews. Of that pile, about 23.6 billion is in Bitcoin and roughly 3.8 billion in Ether, according to multiple desk trackers.

With holiday liquidity thin, dealers hedging around those levels can amplify intraday swings in both directions. This morning, Bitcoin hovered near 88,000 dollars — a reminder that positioning and liquidity, not big macro headlines, are calling the shots... at least for now.

Zooming out, several desks flagged this expiry as mechanical risk — if max-pain magnets kick in, we could see sharp pushes toward popular strikes before and after the bell, then mean reversion into the new year... assuming participation normalizes. That setup helps explain why bid-ask depth has stepped back, and why even modest flows can move price more than usual this week.

Story two: Brett Harrison — the former president of FTX US — is back with fresh capital... but not for a crypto exchange.

He’s raised about 35 million dollars for Architect Financial Technologies, operator of AX, a global perpetual-futures venue for traditional assets like stocks and FX. The round was led by Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital, valuing the company near 187 million dollars.

Importantly, AX doesn’t list crypto perpetuals. It applies the perpetual-contract design popularized in digital assets to non-crypto markets. The exchange is regulated in Bermuda and targets non-U.S. institutional traders — since U.S. regulators haven’t approved perpetuals on traditional assets.

Harrison’s bet is simple: crypto-style market structure — 24/7 access, capital-efficient collateral, continuous pricing — can migrate into mainstream finance without the baggage of volatile tokens.

What to watch next is twofold: first, whether institutions embrace perpetuals on stocks and FX the way they did in crypto... and second, how U.S. policy evolves around event-style or perpetual derivatives more broadly. For now, Architect’s geographic focus is a reminder that market-structure innovation is still being arbitraged across jurisdictions.

Story three: who actually won ETF mindshare in 2025?

Fresh data says Bitcoin kept the crown, while Ethereum quietly gained ground. Across the year, spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs pulled in a combined 31 billion dollars. Bitcoin consistently captured roughly 70 to 85 percent of the share, with Ethereum growing into the 15 to 30 percent band.

Daily ETF volumes have cooled into December — often struggling to top 5 billion dollars a day — which fits the holiday slowdown and tighter-liquidity story we’re seeing on screens. One eyebrow-raising detail: a single corporate buyer, BitMine Immersion, has driven a big chunk of recent ETH treasury accumulation, lifting public-company holdings to just over 5 million ETH. That concentration shows how a few large balance sheets can move the needle in thin markets.

The takeaway: institutions still treat Bitcoin as the macro-commodity entry ticket... but 2025 gave Ethereum incremental legitimacy in portfolio construction, especially once U.S. spot ETH ETFs found their footing. If that trend persists into Q1, it could matter for relative performance the next time risk appetite returns.

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Story four: real-world utility watch — Shift4 just switched on a global stablecoin-settlement platform for merchants.

Businesses can now receive settlements in USDC, USDT, EURC, and even DAI across major networks including Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, Polygon, and Base — with more rails to come. The pitch is straightforward: 24/7 finality, fewer bank-holiday bottlenecks, and faster cross-border cash flow without wiring delays.

It’s a notable move from a mainstream payments name and adds to a wave of stablecoin plumbing upgrades from large processors this quarter. Shares of Shift4 ticked higher on the news as investors bet on lower settlement friction and new international use cases.

This also dovetails with the policy backdrop. The U.S. GENIUS Act, signed in July, set clearer reserve and supervision standards for payment stablecoins — one reason corporate adoption is accelerating. As regulatory risk declines and on-chain rails get cheaper and faster, more acquirers and merchants are likely to at least test stablecoin settlement alongside traditional payouts.

Story five: the macro reality check.

If 2025 was supposed to be Bitcoin’s digital-gold victory lap... the scoreboard says otherwise. Gold soared roughly 70 percent this year, while Bitcoin finished down about 6 percent — an especially sharp divergence since October as leveraged sellers hit crypto and more than a trillion dollars in market value evaporated from the highs.

Analysts point to thin liquidity, policy uncertainty, and de-risking into year-end, while traditional safe havens like gold and silver attracted flows. It’s a reminder that narratives don’t always survive contact with positioning and macro stress.

So, to wrap: a record options expiry is steering near-term crypto price action... Brett Harrison’s 35 million dollar raise shows crypto’s market-structure DNA jumping into TradFi... ETF flows confirm Bitcoin’s dominance while Ethereum’s share crept higher... Shift4’s launch pushes stablecoins deeper into everyday payments... and the year’s scoreboard — gold up big, Bitcoin down — keeps risk managers humble heading into 2026.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the movers and the must-knows from the final stretch of the year.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!