The last US penny, which is valued at $0.01, costs about 3.7 times its face value to mint, as inflation erodes the value of fiat currency. The last penny, nominally valued at $0.01, was minted by the United States Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, marking the end of 232 years of new pennies being coined and circulated. US President Donald Trump directed the US Treasury to stop producing pennies in February, and the Treasury initially set a 2026 target for the last mint. However, the Treasury exhausted the templates used to manufacture the coins between June and September, according to Axios. A penny costs about 3.7 times its face value to manufacture, meaning that each $0.01 coin actually costs over $0.03. Read more
A pre-Christmas Fed rate cut could boost spending, shift bond yields, lift risk assets and increase demand for crypto. The Fed’s Dec. 9-10 meeting carries unusual weight as markets wait to see whether another rate cut will arrive before Christmas, shaping bonds, equities and crypto. After two cuts in 2025, rates now sit at 3.75%-4.00%. Labor weakness and softer inflation support further easing, but officials remain divided because inflation risks have not fully cleared. A cooling job market, easing inflation and the end of quantitative tightening could justify another reduction and align with year-end liquidity needs. Read more
The Czech National Bank invested $1 million to test a crypto reserve that includes Bitcoin, a stablecoin and tokenized bank deposits. The Czech National Bank (CNB), the central bank of the Czech Republic, announced on Thursday the purchase of cryptocurrencies worth $1 million for the first time to test a digital asset reserve and gain “practical experience” in handling digital assets. CNB’s reserves will include Bitcoin (BTC), one US dollar-pegged stablecoin and one tokenized bank deposit, according to the announcement. The bank said that while the test is intended to study crypto and prepare the bank for international adoption to remain globally competitive, it is not planning to adopt a digital asset reserve in the “near future.” CNB governor Aleš Michl said: Read more