As we close out 2025, Bursera Capital was featured in the December issue of CryptoFundsWatch, marking a notable year-end moment of recognition for the fund. Looking ahead to 2026, we are entering the year as a proud sponsor of Punta Tech, with a presence across three exclusive events during the week leading up to the Punta Tech Meetup. We look forward to starting the year on the ground alongside industry leaders, founders, and investors as the next chapter begins.

Mid-Month Market News

Key developments shaping digital asset markets and policy this month:

• Argentina advances bank-led crypto access: The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) is drafting rules to allow banks to offer crypto-related services by 2026, signaling deeper integration of digital assets into the formal banking system.
• SEC accelerates crypto policy agenda: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Atkins outlined near-term action on innovation exemptions, token taxonomy, and updated rulemaking, pointing to faster regulatory clarity.
• CFTC expands regulated market access: Gemini’s Designated Contract Market (DCM) approval enables U.S.-based prediction markets, adding a compliant alternative to offshore platforms and broadening regulated derivatives offerings.
• OCC challenges crypto debanking: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) criticized major U.S. banks for values-based restrictions on lawful crypto firms, signaling increased scrutiny of blanket debanking practices and potential enforcement.
• Institutional debt moves on-chain: JPMorgan's Solana-based U.S. Commercial Paper (USCP) issuance for Galaxy highlights growing institutional use of public blockchains for tokenized commercial paper and capital markets activity.

Argentina Moves Toward Bank-Led Crypto Services by 2026

Central bank draft rules would allow commercial banks to offer digital asset services for the first time in years.

Argentina’s monetary authorities are preparing a regulatory shift that could formally bring digital assets into the domestic banking system. The BCRA is reportedly drafting rules that would permit banks to offer crypto-related services as early as April 2026, reflecting a broader policy pivot under the country’s current administration.

• Central bank reassesses existing ban: The BCRA is analyzing the removal of a longstanding prohibition that prevents banks from facilitating or offering cryptocurrency services to their clients.
• Draft framework targeted for 2026: According to local reporting, officials close to the BCRA expect a preliminary regulatory framework to be ready by April 2026, outlining how banks could engage with digital assets under supervision.
• Policy shift following political change: The initiative follows the 2023 election of President Javier Milei, after which Argentine financial authorities adopted a more market-oriented and crypto-tolerant stance.
• High adoption driven by inflation pressures: Argentina ranks among global leaders in cryptocurrency usage as households seek protection from triple-digit inflation, capital controls, and long-standing distrust in the peso.
• Stablecoins as a primary use case: Data from Chainalysis shows that over 60 percent of Argentina’s on-chain transaction volume involves stablecoins such as Tether (USDT), commonly used to effectively dollarize savings and preserve purchasing power.
• Regional regulatory comparison: While Brazil maintains the most comprehensive framework in Latin America for banks offering crypto services, Argentina’s proposed reforms would place it ahead of more permissive but underdeveloped regimes such as Panama and more limited banking access in El Salvador.

SEC Signals Accelerated Shift on Digital Asset Regulation

Chair Paul Atkins outlines early-2026 priorities aimed at regulatory clarity and faster crypto innovation.

The SEC is preparing to advance several long-anticipated digital asset initiatives in early 2026, according to Chair Paul Atkins, who outlined an ambitious agenda during remarks at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit in Washington, DC. Atkins emphasized that policy groundwork laid in recent months is now positioned to translate into tangible regulatory action, signaling a more proactive and structured approach to crypto oversight.

• New leadership accelerates policy execution: SEC Chair Paul Atkins indicated that multiple crypto-related proposals have moved beyond internal review and are approaching implementation, framing the coming months as a period when regulatory initiatives will begin to visibly take shape.
• Innovation exemption leads near-term priorities: A central focus for early 2026 is an “innovation exemption,” a conditional and time-limited regulatory relief framework designed to lower compliance barriers for crypto and financial technology firms while enabling controlled experimentation within existing securities laws.
• Compressed rollout timeline: Atkins stated that the SEC is targeting late January for the initial release of the innovation exemption, underscoring a sense of urgency to provide clearer regulatory pathways for product development and market entry.
• Token taxonomy to clarify jurisdiction: The chair has proposed a formal “token taxonomy” to delineate which digital assets qualify as securities, an effort aimed at reducing uncertainty that has long complicated compliance planning for issuers, exchanges, and investors.
• Coordination with Congress remains key: Atkins acknowledged that broader clarity will depend on legislative progress allocating oversight between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as lawmakers continue negotiations on a comprehensive digital asset market structure bill.

Gemini Secures CFTC Approval for U.S. Prediction Markets

New license enables regulated event-contract trading as Gemini expands its U.S. derivatives ambitions.

Gemini has received regulatory approval to launch supervised prediction markets for U.S. customers, marking a significant expansion of its domestic product offering. The approval allows an affiliate of the exchange to operate regulated event-based contracts under federal oversight, positioning Gemini alongside a small group of authorized U.S. venues.

• CFTC grants DCM approval: Gemini announced that its affiliate, Gemini Titan, LLC, has been approved by the U.S. CFTC to operate as a DCM, a status that permits the offering of regulated derivatives and event contracts to U.S. participants.
• Five-year licensing process completed: The firm stated that the approval concludes a licensing effort that began in March 2020, representing one of the longest regulatory review processes undertaken by a U.S.-based digital asset exchange.
• Event contracts come to U.S. users: The DCM license allows Gemini Titan to offer prediction-style event contracts framed as binary, yes-or-no outcomes tied to future events, including market, corporate, or regulatory developments.
• Regulated alternative to offshore platforms: The approval places Gemini Titan among a limited number of CFTC-regulated venues permitted to offer event contracts in the United States, contrasting with offshore or decentralized platforms that operate without U.S. authorization.
• Integration with Gemini’s existing platform: Gemini indicated that U.S. customers will be able to trade event contracts using U.S. dollars held in their accounts via the firm’s web interface, with mobile access through the Gemini app expected to follow.
• Broader derivatives expansion planned: Gemini also disclosed plans to expand its U.S. derivatives lineup to include cryptocurrency futures, options, and perpetual contracts, subject to further regulatory development and oversight, as part of its strategy to build a consolidated financial platform for digital asset users.

OCC Rebukes Major U.S. Banks for Crypto Debanking Practices

Regulator finds values-based restrictions led to discriminatory treatment of lawful digital asset firms.

U.S. banking regulators have formally criticized the country’s largest national banks for imposing inappropriate restrictions on lawful cryptocurrency businesses. A report released on December 10, 2025 by the OCC concludes that debanking practices between 2020 and 2023 were driven by internal policy choices rather than individualized, risk-based assessments, reinforcing long-standing concerns raised by the digital asset industry.

• Nine major banks under review: The OCC’s investigation covered JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, and Bank of Montreal (BMO), representing the largest U.S. national banking institutions.
• Values-based policies flagged: Regulators found that several banks maintained internal policies that treated customers differently based on the nature of their lawful business activities, often citing conflicts with “corporate values” rather than measurable financial or compliance risks.
• Sector-wide restrictions identified: Between 2020 and 2023, banks reportedly imposed escalated approval processes or broad prohibitions on entire industries, including crypto, alongside other sectors such as oil and gas, firearms, and private prisons.
• Reputational risk framework challenged: The OCC criticized the use of generalized “reputational risk” standards to justify blanket exclusions, emphasizing that banks must assess clients individually rather than rejecting entire industries outright.
• Enforcement consequences outlined: While the report does not allege specific legal violations, the OCC warned that repeat conduct could result in fines, consent decrees, or other supervisory actions for banks under federal oversight.
• Implications for crypto firms: The findings provide trading desks, funds, and startups with stronger grounds to contest account closures and service denials, with industry participants expecting the report to be cited in new banking applications and appeals processes.

JPMorgan Brings Tokenized Commercial Paper to Solana

Galaxy completes its first U.S. commercial paper issuance using a Solana-based tokenized debt instrument.

JPMorgan has structured a U.S. commercial paper issuance for a subsidiary of Galaxy Digital Holdings, a global digital asset financial services firm operating across trading, asset management, and investment banking. The transaction was executed on the Solana blockchain and introduces a new tokenized debt instrument, highlighting accelerating institutional adoption of on-chain capital markets infrastructure.

• On-chain commercial paper issuance: JPMorgan arranged Galaxy’s first U.S. commercial paper offering using a tokenized format executed on a public blockchain, positioning the transaction among the earliest short-term corporate debt issuances settled on-chain.
• USCP token debuts on Solana: The USCP token is a Solana-based, tokenized representation of short-term corporate debt created by JPMorgan to facilitate institutional capital raises, with issuance and redemption settled using USD Coin (USDC).
• Galaxy’s role as issuer: Galaxy Digital Holdings is a diversified digital asset firm providing trading, asset management, principal investing, and advisory services, acting in this transaction as the corporate issuer raising short-term funding through tokenized debt.
• Institutional investors participate: Coinbase and Franklin Templeton purchased the tokenized debt, with Coinbase also providing custody, wallet infrastructure, and fiat-to-stablecoin on- and off-ramps for the transaction.
• Public blockchain infrastructure emphasized: JPMorgan cited Solana’s high-throughput and programmable settlement capabilities as key enablers for bringing institutional-grade financial instruments on-chain in a compliant manner.
• Expansion of tokenized debt markets: The issuance follows a broader trend of traditional financial institutions and asset managers experimenting with blockchain-based commercial paper, bonds, and money-market instruments to modernize capital markets.