China’s e‑CNY Adds Interest, Bitcoin Rebounds, Binance Shifts

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Here’s a quick rundown of what’s moving crypto on Monday, December 29, 2025... China just rewired its digital yuan with a 2026 action plan that turns wallet balances into interest‑bearing deposits. Bitcoin snaps back over $90,000 in thin year‑end trade. Binance is sunsetting its Binance Live streaming product this week. Hong Kong’s bank capital rules for crypto go live in just days. And DeFi security project Hats Finance is closing its centralized front end while keeping the protocol on‑chain. Let’s unpack what matters, why it matters, and who’s affected.

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Story one — China’s central bank just put its digital currency on a very different footing.

The People’s Bank of China released an action plan that kicks in January 1, 2026. It upgrades the e‑CNY’s measurement and management framework — and, crucially, lets commercial banks treat real‑name digital yuan wallet balances like deposits, and pay interest on them.

Regulators are reframing e‑CNY from a cash‑like instrument toward digital deposit money. Balances would be covered by deposit insurance and folded into banks’ asset‑liability management. That’s a meaningful incentive shift for users who’ve stuck with Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Reuters flagged the framework, and Chinese financial media outlined how interest begins next year.

Why this matters for crypto: if e‑CNY behaves more like a deposit, it competes less with private stablecoins inside China — and more directly with bank accounts. It could influence CBDC design elsewhere too, especially around deposit insurance, reserve requirements, and whether wallets earn interest. And if cross‑border pilots keep expanding, stablecoin issuers operating in Asia will be watching for any spillover into trade settlement corridors. CoinDesk has also covered the growing e‑CNY pilots in Hong Kong.

Story two — markets.

Bitcoin reclaimed the $90,000 handle and Ether pushed back above $3,000 in Monday trading, helped by ultra‑thin holiday liquidity and some dip‑buying after last week’s chop. As of this recording, Bitcoin hovered near $90,200 and Ether around $3,050 — modest moves, but enough to ease nerves heading into the final 48 hours of the year. Desks in India and across Asia cited sentiment stabilization as the driver rather than any single catalyst. The bigger test comes when desks are fully staffed in the first week of January.

Near term, the range to watch remains tight — analysts keep flagging $82,000 to $95,000 as the chop zone until macro data and ETF flows normalize in early January. Thin books can exaggerate every wick... so manage risk accordingly.

Story three — Binance is shutting down its Binance Live streaming service on December 31, migrating creators to Binance Square for live video in 2026.

The company says the goal is to streamline products. In practice, the Live web and app endpoints go dark just after midnight local time on New Year’s, and creator perks tied to Live will expire. If you stream, check your access to Square Live before the cutover. Trade outlets have circulated the shutdown timing as year‑end approaches.

Beyond housekeeping, why does this matter? Binance Square’s push consolidates social, short‑form posts, and live video into one venue — closer to a WeChat‑style hub. Expect creator programs and shoppable streams to reappear there. For projects, reroute AMA and launch content to Square in January. For viewers, no action needed — just look for the Square tab where you used to find Live.

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Story four — Hong Kong’s bank capital rules for crypto exposures become effective on Thursday, January 1, 2026 — right in the first trading week of the new year.

The rules implement the Basel Committee’s cryptoasset standard across capital, disclosure, and exposure limits. In short, tokenized traditional assets and well‑structured stablecoins get friendlier treatment; volatile, unbacked tokens carry very high risk weights that make direct bank balance‑sheet exposure expensive.

The government gazetted the amendments back in July, with timing aligned to Basel’s global effective date. Expect banks to lean harder into custody, tokenized real‑world assets, and licensed stablecoin rails, while remaining cautious about holding unbacked crypto outright.

For builders, the implication is clear: if you want banks in the loop, design to Basel — think reserve transparency, redemption mechanics, and operational resilience. Teams that can meet those tests could see smoother bank integrations in 2026.

Story five — a small but telling DeFi signal. Hats Finance, a bounty‑driven security protocol, will shut down its centrally hosted front end and servers on December 31.

The DAO‑governed core contracts remain on‑chain, and an IPFS front end exists, but the team says running a centralized UI is no longer sustainable. They also cited shifting security budgets and advances in AI tooling as headwinds for demand. If you’ve got assets tied to their hosted interface, withdraw via the UI before it goes offline; after that, you’ll interact directly with contracts. Industry coverage this month relayed the timeline and the rationale.

This is a micro‑trend to watch in 2026: more protocols deprecating company‑run front ends and leaning into community‑hosted interfaces plus direct contract interactions. It’s operationally leaner, arguably more decentralized — and it pushes UX responsibilities to wallets, aggregators, and infrastructure providers.

Quick recap... China’s e‑CNY is set to pay interest from 2026 as part of a broader management overhaul. Bitcoin steadies above $90K into the year’s final stretch. Binance retires Binance Live in favor of Square. Hong Kong’s Basel‑aligned crypto capital regime goes live January 1. And Hats Finance closes its centralized UI while keeping the DAO‑run protocol on‑chain.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the last trading day of 2025 — watch those flows, and stay safe out there.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!