The DAO controversy escalates, the market predicts a rebound: what was the hot topic in crypto over the past 24 hours?

December 25, 2025 — The cryptocurrency market recently experienced a series of unpredictable developments, from deep international debates on smart contract governance to advancements within the ecosystem. Although the market remains volatile, investors are primarily concerned with real profits and transparency in fund management.

The Uniswap Foundation Compensation Battle: When UNI Holders Rage

The latest public tax documents from the Uniswap Foundation have caused a stir on forums: In 2024, the organization received only $10 million in funding but spent over $4.8 million on personnel salaries. Notably, three top executives earned more than $3.87 million, including a former DevRel head with an annual salary of $700,000 and a chief administrative officer earning $540,000 per year.

This comparison becomes “heavier” when Optimism Grants Council distributed $60 million with only $2.14 million in costs. The UNI holder community quickly questioned: leadership salaries exceeded 22% of the total budget, but where is the actual value delivered? How many developers were added? How is the research progressing?

Many see this as a “disgrace” for the DeFi space, calling for greater transparency and reconsideration of spending structures. Some argue that legal expertise salaries are still low, but overall, dissatisfaction is mounting against the Foundation.

Maple Finance Surpasses $8.5 Billion: When On-Chain Lending Becomes Reality

The decentralized lending platform Maple Finance announced an impressive figure: outstanding debt reached a record high with a $500 million USDC loan issuance. Its assets under management in 2025 skyrocketed from $500 million to over $5 billion, with total loans exceeding $8.5 billion.

What’s more attractive? Annual revenue has surpassed $25 million, not from “temporary incentives,” but from actual profits. The founder’s letter highlights strategic milestones: partnerships with Aave, Pendle expanding across multiple chains, AI integration for credit assessment, HYPE token collateralization, and a goal of $1 billion ARR by 2026.

Community feedback has been very positive. Investors praise risk-adjusted returns, standardized internal credit evaluation systems, and multi-chain expansion to Linea and Solana. Protocol revenue increased by 300%, and holder SYRUP was repaid 25% through a buyback mechanism.

What’s next for Maple Finance? Becoming the standard for on-chain asset management, with collaborations with Spark and Plasma driving adoption among large organizations.

Ethereum 2026: Hegota Upgrade, Carefully Selected EIPs

The Ethereum Foundation announced the Hegota upgrade roadmap for 2026, following two previous phases (Fusaka with PeerDAS, Glamsterdam with Block-level Access Lists). This time, the focus is on integrating carefully selected EIPs.

The process runs from January to February: submitting Headliner proposals on Ethereum Magicians (with evaluation templates), discussing through four All Core Devs meetings, then making the final selection. Afterwards, an additional 30 days are allocated for external proposals outside the Headliner. Note: FOCIL (EIP-7805, anti-censorship functionality) has been reviewed.

The community is excited, believing Ethereum continues to protect its long-term vision: improving efficiency, maintaining decentralization, and safeguarding ETH holder value. Some suggest that reducing state data will facilitate a more unified Layer 2 ecosystem (EIL proposal). Overall, the community remains optimistic that this provides a sustainable foundation for future infrastructure.

Hyperliquid Burns HYPE Tokens: Decentralized Governance Verified

Validators and stakers of Hyperliquid Perp DEX have approved a proposal to permanently burn HYPE tokens held by the treasury. Previously, the treasury’s buyback decision was considered economically equivalent to burning, but this time it’s clearer — tokens will be removed from circulation.

This move enhances governance transparency. The founder expressed gratitude for community participation and indicated further developments are coming.

Meanwhile, Kinetiq announced KIP2 to promote protocol optimization (details to be disclosed).

Community feedback has been very positive: this signals long-term commitment from Hyperliquid, boosting confidence in the team. Discussions have emerged around timing for cash deployment and launching DAT. Overall, token burning is seen as a progressive decision that could boost prices and ecosystem growth, though questions remain about the initial buy-in timing. Nonetheless, it is regarded as a successful example of Perp DEX governance.

Market Prediction Resurgence: Rocket Finance, Agentic, and the Future of Prediction

Rocket Finance, a project under MegaETH, completed a seed round of $1.5 million led by Electric Capital, with participation from Bodhi Ventures, Tangent, and Amber Group.

Rocket Finance introduces a “redistribution market” mechanism, allowing traders to make predictions based on real-time feed prices. No binary bets, no liquidations, unlimited profit potential, and capital reuse for multiple predictions. Slogan: “Trade in motion, not just the final outcome.”

The community is highly excited, praising the liquidation-free design and creative promotional videos.

Simultaneously, Matt Liston (former CEO of Augur) announced the development of Agentic, combining LLM (historical encoding) and prediction markets (future aggregation), creating a “cognitive finance” system. Inspired by a forked token of Augur, it has generated significant enthusiasm.

Reactions to Matt’s return are very strong: the community sees this as a positive signal, boosting DeFi’s advancement. Some jokingly comment that this is a “new gambling patch,” but overall, there is optimism about the potential of Rocket Finance and Agentic for the prediction ecosystem, as well as their broader impact on MegaETH.

In summary: Governance disputes within DAOs, Maple Finance’s sustainable growth, ETH upgrades, and the resurgence of prediction markets are shaping the crypto landscape of 2026. Investors should pay attention to transparency, real profits, and long-term ecosystem potential.