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Why the ECB Is Getting in on the Stablecoin Game

Discussing the ECB's recent stablecoin comments, the resurfacing of some prominent 2017 token projects and a debate: Is crypto for criminals?

Updated Sep 13, 2021, 11:49 a.m. Published Dec 13, 2019, 8:00 p.m.
Breakdown v4

Welcome to The Breakdown with Nathaniel Whittemore. Starting off this episode we discuss European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde’s comments on stablecoins that inflamed Crypto Twitter yesterday. She said projects in the space indicated clear demand even as she gave bitcoin a bit of a backhanded compliment.

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Meanwhile, two hugely hyped projects – Orchid and Filecoin – have both resurfaced. What might this mean for the token narrative going into 2020? We'll explore what the growth of these tokens means for the market in general.

Lastly, in her end-of-year piece for CoinDesk, Jill Carlson triggered an avalanche of commentary by arguing that crypto isn’t supposed to be mainstream because its primary use case is for censored transactions. We'll go deep on that subject on today's podcast.

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Ukraine banned Polymarket and there’s no legal way for it to come back

Kyiv in Ukraine (Glib Albovsky/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.

What to know:

  • Ukraine has no legal framework for Web3 prediction markets, and current legislation provides no recognition for such platforms.
  • Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
  • Legal changes are unlikely in the near future, as Parliamentary revisions to gambling definitions are extremely improbable during wartime, leaving prediction markets in a legal deadlock.