Mankiw and the Influencers: PANews December Rankings Reveal Key Crypto Narratives

PANews unveiled its December 2025 monthly standings, showcasing both the most influential columnists and the highest-engagement articles that shaped conversation in the crypto space. The data paints an interesting picture of where the industry’s attention has been focused, with Mankiw Blockchain emerging as a standout player in legal and regulatory commentary.

Legal Insights Lead the Way: Mankiw Blockchain Tops December Columnist Rankings

Mankiw Blockchain secured the No. 2 spot among the platform’s most influential content creators, reflecting the crypto community’s growing appetite for regulatory analysis and legal clarity. In a market flooded with price speculation and technical jargon, Mankiw Blockchain’s approach to blockchain law and regulation struck a chord with readers seeking substantive guidance rather than hype.

The top five columnists—led by Biteye at No. 1—represent distinct content verticals that matter to today’s crypto investors. Biteye brought attention to the EASY S1 accelerator’s 15 projects and broader L1/L2 ecosystem developments. Cycle Trading focused its December output on Ethereum’s evolving infrastructure, while On-Chain View and Cj_Blockchain rounded out the list with on-chain analysis and NFT/DeFi research respectively.

What stands out is the diversity: readers weren’t just chasing price action; they were consuming in-depth analysis across multiple domains—legal frameworks, on-chain metrics, ecosystem research, and strategic fund perspectives. This suggests a maturing market where foundational understanding carries as much weight as real-time market calls.

What December’s Top Articles Tell Us About Crypto Market Sentiment

The most popular articles paint a clearer picture. Mankiw Blockchain’s piece on RWA tokenization—specifically analyzing the joint association statement that defined RWA as illegal financial activity in certain regions—claimed the top position. This wasn’t clickbait; it was essential reading for anyone operating in that space.

Rounding out the top three were Yue Xiaoyu’s exploration of Web3 wallet evolution and AI integration potential, and ODIG Invest’s analysis of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s remarks on tokenization reshaping financial infrastructure. The pattern here is unmistakable: readers gravitating toward content that bridges crypto’s esoteric world with real-world applications and institutional validation.

Articles about EASY S1 projects, Cj_Blockchain’s hard-earned lessons from million-dollar trading losses, Hash Global’s asset allocation recommendations (40% BTC, 20% ETH, 40% BNB), and deeper dives into Ethereum’s positioning as a “financial settlement layer” all made the cut. Even Charlie Munger’s skeptical commentary on Bitcoin made waves, proving that crypto discourse now includes institutional heavyweights expressing contrarian views.

The Rise of RWA and AI Integration: December’s Most Influential Topics

Two narratives dominated December’s content landscape: the explosive potential of Real-World Asset tokenization and the integration of AI agents into crypto infrastructure. Both represent the industry’s maturing pivot from pure speculation toward practical utility.

RWA tokenization emerged as simultaneously the most controversial and most compelling topic. Mankiw Blockchain’s legal analysis of regulatory barriers struck a nerve—the crypto community needed clarity on what’s permissible and what invites regulatory backlash. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s positioning of tokenization as a fundamental reshaping of financial infrastructure lent credibility to the narrative that this isn’t a temporary trend but a structural shift.

AI integration, particularly within Web3 wallets and DeFi protocols, represented the second major theme. The convergence of artificial intelligence with decentralized finance is no longer theoretical; it’s shaping product development and user expectations. Articles exploring this intersection consistently outperformed coverage of isolated technical upgrades or isolated project launches.

Crypto Derivatives and Market Structure: The Numbers Behind December Activity

Coinglass’s report on 2025 derivatives activity revealed an $85.7 trillion trading volume, with five major platforms commanding over 80% of activity. October’s $19 billion liquidation cascade exposed the vulnerabilities baked into high-leverage mechanisms—a reality that resonated with readers who’ve experienced market-driven margin calls firsthand.

This data wasn’t presented as abstract market trivia; it served as evidence of structural risk in the system and validation for the growing shift toward decentralized perpetual exchanges. The crypto market’s maturing infrastructure is replacing centralized gatekeeping with transparent, on-chain mechanisms, and December’s top articles reflected readers’ hunger to understand both the mechanics and implications.

Looking Ahead: What PANews Rankings Mean for 2026

The December rankings reveal a crypto media landscape that has evolved significantly. Regulatory clarity, institutional adoption narratives, real-world applications, and AI integration are now co-equal with traditional technical analysis and price predictions. Mankiw Blockchain’s prominence underscores how valuable clear-eyed legal analysis has become—a stark contrast to earlier years when such content rarely cracked top rankings.

For content creators looking ahead to 2026, the lesson is clear: depth wins. Whether you’re diving into tokenization frameworks like Mankiw Blockchain, analyzing on-chain metrics, exploring AI-crypto convergence, or examining macro ecosystem dynamics, readers reward substantive work that helps them navigate an increasingly complex landscape.

PANews continues accepting submissions from columnists and researchers. The January rankings will drop around February 5, 2026, offering another window into which narratives, analysts, and data points are shaping the next chapter of crypto evolution.