XRP Hit by Negative Social Buzz Again

Ripple's native cryptocurrency XRP was trading near $2 on Friday as traders navigated another wave of fear and doubt, with Santiment data showing social chatter about the token turning sharply negative after a two-month drop of 31%.

The crypto analytics startup shared a chart from its site showing XRP's price, positive and negative comments, and mood.

Latest social conversation about XRP is pessimistic, a sharp change from earlier this year.

Santiment's sentiment index measures price and positive and negative comments, and its newest signals highlight the danger zone as bearish remarks prevail.

On this model, red circles represent days when optimism exceeds pessimism, the greed zone, and green circles represent days when negative commentary overwhelms bullish discussion, the fear zone that often leads to weaker holders capitulation.

The firm referred traders to late November. It wrote, “The last time we saw near this level of crowd fear was Nov. 21st, and $XRP rallied +22% over the next 3 days. Once greed took hold, the rally stopped quickly. An opportunity arrives, exactly like two weeks ago.”

Meta Bets on AI Glasses and Wearables, Cuts Metaverse Spend

Facebook has invested billions in the metaverse, a key part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's computing vision, for over a decade.

Facebook rebranded as Meta in 2021 to show its dedication to immersive digital places.

But momentum has slowed. Meta's core VR platform, Horizon Worlds, has struggled to retain users, and headset sales haven't justified investment.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Meta planned to slash metaverse investment by up to 30%, sending shares up more than 3% as markets welcomed a possible recalibration.

Meta believes wearable AI gadgets, particularly its September-launched smart glasses, will advance faster.

The latest models have an on-lens display that can describe things, detect items, and translate words.

Analysts consider the glasses one of the first consumer-friendly products to combine AI with hardware. Meta intends to accelerate this trend.

The move follows industry trends. Companies in the US and China are rushing to launch AI-enabled glasses and small wearables, hoping that users would prefer lightweight, always-on support over immersive VR.

Italy Orders Crypto Providers To Get MiCAR Authorization By Dec. 30 Or Leave Market

By Dec. 30, Italy's market watchdog will force crypto exchanges and brokers serving local users to obtain authorization under Europe's new MiCAR regime or close.

As the transition time for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation nears its end, Consob, the securities regulator, advised investors and operators to pay “maximum attention”.

The regulations will change how virtual asset service providers operate across the bloc and market trading, custody, and other services to retail clients.

In Italy, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) registered with the OAM, the national agents and brokers registration, can operate until Dec. 30, 2025.

Woori Bank First in Korea to Display Bitcoin Prices in Trading Room

A Woori Bank official said the decision shows the expanding role of digital assets in global banking and that Bitcoin now signals market mood.

As digital assets gain significance and influence in global financial markets, we decided to watch them as a vital indication to better understand market trends, the official added.

The change comes as Korean banks expand digital asset infrastructure.

Hana Financial Group partnered with Dunamu, operator of the Upbit exchange, this week to integrate blockchain technology into financial data systems and foreign remittances.

Changpeng Zhao intensifies US crypto capitalization post-pardon

Zhao, known as CZ, addressed US market queries after President Donald Trump pardoned him. The executive said he is “very appreciative of the pardon from Trump,” which allows Binance to conduct business more freely worldwide, especially in America, during the Coca Cola Arena private press conference.

Zhao said, “It's my full intention to help make America the capital of crypto,” at the occasion.

Zhao called the US “an emerging land for Binance,” saying that the business tried to leave under the Biden administration. He said Binance did not invest in the US and tried to leave.

Zhao said Binance US, which debuted in September 2019 to serve US people, is active but is a modest business. Zhao stated the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance US in 2023, resulting in banking and state license losses.

Zhao called the US “a very important market” and a tech talent hub. He noted that Binance and other prominent blockchain companies are not really US-based.

DeepNode raises $5M for Base-based decentralized AI

The funding included a $2 million seed round at $25 million and a $3 million strategic round at $75 million. As infrastructure for “open intelligence,” the company allows AI developers, compute suppliers, and validators to interact and earn benefits without centralized technology corporations.

The startup said community members and network validators WildSageLabs from RoundTable21, Rizzo from DNA, and Gateway.FM participated in the seed round.

The company said Blockchain Founders Fund, Side Door Ventures, TBV, IOBC Capital, Fomo Ventures, and Nestoris lead the strategic round.

According to the startup, DeepNode uses a Proof-of-Work Relevance (PoWR) consensus method that rewards AI contributions based on utility rather than computational productivity. Real-world performance drives model competition and evolution, rewarding contributors with emissions.

The business stated the technology can forecast and make decisions in healthcare diagnostics, fraud detection, and cryptocurrency trading.

According to the announcement, DeepNode is building on Base (BASE), an Ethereum Layer-2 network, to exploit Ethereum's security while keeping transaction costs to $0.01. The foundation-supported domains are being developed across many verticals for the mainnet launch in the first quarter of 2026.

The company says the network will let builders keep IP rights, let contributors earn based on performance, and let enterprises participate privately while exploiting shared network effects.