The market this morning

Conduit sues Tether in New York over a $2.76 million USDt freeze it says lasted more than a year

By Crypto Info News

Good morning. Conduit has sued Tether in New York federal court, alleging the USDT issuer froze its funds for more than a year without explanation, according to The Block. Decrypt reported the firm's claim that Tether froze its treasury wallet on its own initiative over a Brazilian investigation it says it has no connection to, and that Tether profited from the reserves while refusing to release them. Cointelegraph reported the lawsuit tied the freeze to an investigation launched by Brazilian authorities in 2024. The sum is given slightly differently across outlets: Cointelegraph described roughly $2.8 million, while Decrypt and The Block cited $2.76 million.

Institutional and regulated-market activity ran through the rest of the day. Cointelegraph and Decrypt reported that a Winklevoss-backed Zcash ETF filed with the SEC to list on Nasdaq under the ticker "WINK," holding ZEC directly with Gemini Trust as custodian and Winklevoss Capital affiliates eyeing up to a $100 million investment. Cointelegraph reported that the UK named six banks to lead its first digitally native government bond, the DIGIT pilot, testing distributed ledger technology and onchain settlement for sovereign debt, with issuance expected in the first quarter of 2027. CoinDesk reported that Peter Thiel-backed Founders Fund led a $5 million token buy in the collateral protocol Anvil, with Pantera Capital and Bullish also participating. Cointelegraph reported survey findings that most affluent investors across seven countries own and are increasing their crypto holdings.

In infrastructure and policy, The Block and Decrypt reported that Abstract, the Pudgy Penguins-backed Ethereum L2, will shut down on Dec. 15, with users urged to bridge assets off beforehand; Decrypt reported Abstract's statement that a chain focused solely on consumer crypto proved unsustainable. Cointelegraph reported that Russia's digital ruble accounts topped 220,000 in their first month, and that a bill to stop US lawmakers betting on their own elections will not be addressed before the midterms.

Markets were subdued. Cointelegraph reported Bitcoin grinding toward $87K as US equities hit record highs; Bitcoin stood at $85,540, down 0.27% over 24 hours, and Ether at $2,697.17, down 0.49%. Separately, Decrypt reported that Circle welcomed DJ Khaled to "Team USDC," drawing an angry response on social media.