Market Signal Briefing

While bitcoin has been idling well beneath the $70,000 threshold, onchain metrics reveal that long-dormant wallets established between 2010 and 2017 have stirred to life in February, shifting 1,908.21 BTC value at just over $125 million through 69 separate transactions.

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Iran launches new missile attacks on U.S. military basesIran has begun a new round of missile attacks against U.S. military bases in the region. The strikes follow joint U.S.–Israel operations against Iran and mark a sharp escalation.

The salvo targeted U.S. positions in at least four countries on Saturday, according to El País. Early accounts point to a coordinated, multi-country response; independent damage and casualty assessments are still pending.

Why it matters: escalation after U.S.–Israel strikes on IranIsrael launched preemptive strikes and Washington announced major combat operations against Iran, after which Tehran fired missiles at Israel and multiple locations, as reported by DW. The current Iranian barrage against U.S. bases is framed as retaliation within this sequence.

Heightened military activity raises the risk of miscalculation and spillover across host nations. Energy routes, air defenses, and diplomatic channels may all face additional strain if the tempo continues.

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In Bahrain, plumes of smoke were seen rising from a U.S. base after Iranian forces said they targeted the headquarters there, as reported by Stars and Stripes. Authorities have not released confirmed casualty figures, and full damage assessments remain underway.

Regional governments hosting U.S. assets face elevated security risks due to their proximity to Iranian launch areas. Analysts caution that base-hardening and missile-defense capacity could be tested by additional salvos.

Official responses and regional escalation risksU.S., Israel, Iran statements and Operation Epic Fury goalsU.S. officials describe the current campaign as intended to degrade Iran’s offensive capabilities. “We have launched ‘major combat operations’ under ‘Operation Epic Fury,’” said U.S. President Donald Trump, outlining goals to cripple missile, naval, and nuclear programs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has characterized the joint strikes as preemptive in response to what he calls an existential threat. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the U.S.–Israel action as unlawful and framed its missile response as self-defense without red lines.

UN and European calls for restraint; allies’ vulnerability concernsThe United Nations leadership urged maximum restraint and adherence to international law, warning that further escalation could destabilize the region. Calls emphasized protecting civilians and preventing a broader conflict.

European leaders pushed for a return to diplomacy and de-escalation, according to the Associated Press. Separately, senior U.S. officials have warned of escalation risks and the strain on missile-defense stocks in sustained operations, as reported by The Washington post.

At the time of this writing, Bitcoin (BTC) trades near 64,431 with high volatility around 7.94% and an RSI near 39.37, based on provided market data. This market snapshot is contextual and not investment advice.

FAQ about Iran missile attacksWhich countries and U.S. bases were hit, and what casualties or damage are confirmed so far?Reports indicate U.S. bases were struck in at least four countries. Specific sites and casualty figures were not independently confirmed at publication.

How are the U.S., Israel, and Iran framing their operations, including Operation Epic Fury?Washington frames “Operation Epic Fury” as degrading Iranian capabilities. Israel cites preemption against existential threats. Tehran calls its response lawful self-defense after U.S.–Israel strikes.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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The giddy days of free cloud storage enticed many to upload photos, documents, and other virtual mementos without a thought about all the space it was taking up. Those days, however, are now in the past for many Americans as people find themselves having to shell out increasing monthly amounts to maintain access to their virtual valuables.

From Snap's recent decision to cap free Snapchat Memories storage to the last of the lingering freebie deals going away — Alphabet's Google Photos ended unlimited free backups for T-Mobile account holders — to more Alphabet and Apple device users finding themselves pushing up against the limits of free cloud storage, a quiet but significant shift is underway. The storage that once felt like a gift is now likely to be a subscription, or what once felt like pocket change is now a pinch. 

Experts say it all adds up to a good time for customers to rein in their freewheeling photography and hoarding of personal memories.

"It is basic supply and demand in the face of scarcity," said Devon Hawkins, who teaches economics at Elon University. "For years, tech companies gave away free cloud storage to attract users and grow quickly," Hawkins said, but storing billions of photos and videos is not free. "It requires massive data centers, electricity, cybersecurity, and constant upgrades," she added.    

The cash needs of the tech giants are greater than ever before as they race to build out expensive data centers. Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon's capital expenditures could hit $700 billion this year. Amazon alone said it expects to spend $200 billion this year, a nearly 60% annual increase, and well ahead of the $50 billion Wall Street forecast. It's a pace of spending that is expected to push Amazon's free cash flow into negative territory in 2026. Meanwhile, Alphabet, which raised $25 billion in a bond sale in November, quadrupled its long-term debt in 2025.

Hawkins says that at the same time, we are creating more digital content than ever before. "When demand keeps rising and resources are limited, prices tend to follow. What felt free was really part of a long-term growth strategy," she said. 

Consumer complaints are on the riseComplaints from consumers are on the rise, according to Michael Podolsky, who finds himself in the eye of the storm. The CEO and co-founder of PissedConsumer.com, Podolsky says his firm is fielding complaints every day, and says cloud storage issues and photo deletions began really ramping up in December and have continued unabated into this year.   

"From what we see in reviews posted on our platform, consumers are frustrated as cloud storage shifts from 'free extras' to subscriptions," Podolsky said. Users often describe feeling like they have no choice but to pay to keep access to photos, documents and other personal files. 

Although companies say they provide advance notice of pricing changes — Google Cloud commits to notifying customers at least 30 days ahead — many consumers report feeling blindsided by deletion warnings and payment demands, according to Podolsky. 

Google Cloud receives the most consumer complaints related to cloud storage issues, according to his platform's data.  "Many report being locked out after paying, struggling to update payment methods, and receiving confusing 'deletion' notices that are hard to verify. For some users, these messages look like scams designed to push quick payment. So it's not only about storage getting more expensive, but also about unclear rules and billing risks," Podolsky said. 

Google Cloud did not respond to a request for comment. But price tiers rose last year for some Google storage services tiers. For instance, before the increase in February 2025, the 200 GB plan was $2.99 month. The same plan is now  $4.99 a month.

A spokesperson for Snap, which just started charging for storage, pointed out that the company still offers free storage for most users and that only Snapchatters who exceed 5 gigabytes of Memories — which, the spokesperson says, amounts to thousands and thousands of Snaps — are required to upgrade to gain access to additional storage. The spokesperson says the extra revenue generated is reinvested in the platform. 

Consumers are storing more photos now than ever before, according to Andrew Laffoon, CEO and founder of Mixbook, a Redwood City, California-based photo book and personalized printing company, but the traditional systems for holding these memories are becoming increasingly restrictive. 

"As platforms reduce their free storage tiers, everyday memories are getting pushed behind a paywall," Laffoon says. 

Shutterfly isn't walling people off from their photos if they don't pay, but the service is restricted for inactive users. A Shutterfly spokeswoman said the photo storage policy provides unlimited free photo storage, sharing, and downloading for active accounts with at least one order placed every 18 months. 

"Photos from accounts without an order within that time will be archived, not deleted," the spokeswoman said. The archived status allows access and viewing, but not downloading or sharing. She says photos that are archived will remain safe and preserved in their original quality. And once someone orders something, that reinstates the account to a fully active status. 

Managing personal history, and emotions, behind a paywallIn some ways, what companies from Google to Snap to Shutterfly are doing is similar to the model of streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, which used low prices and free trials to reel people in — and once the service became part of daily life, pricing adjusted. 

"The difference now is that this feels personal. We are emotionally attached to our data. These are not just files. They are baby photos, school projects, and family milestones," Hawkins said, and she added that makes the emotional impact of these changes real. 

"I will be honest. I sometimes worry that losing access to an account would feel like losing a digital history book for my family. That emotional connection makes the shift away from free storage feel bigger than just another subscription," she said. And while the consumer may feel it is unfair, economically it is predictable. "When something becomes essential and demand is steady, companies eventually charge for it," Hawkins said. 

The shift is contributing to some of the strongest revenue gains for big technology companies. Apple doesn't break out iCloud storage revenue specifically, but its services segment — which bundles iCloud alongside the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Pay — hit an all-time high over $30 billion in its most recent quarterly earnings report, with 14 percent year-over-year growth and a forecast that it will continue to grow at the same level in the first quarter of 2026. Services generated nearly $100 billion in revenue in 2024.

According to recent data from analytics firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners(CIRP), 70 percent of Apple customers use iCloud storage, with Apple Music coming in second at 50 percent. Subscription bundle AppleOne comes in third at 48 percent.  A host of other Apple services also capture significant, but lesser percentages of their customers.

Hawkins says the transformation has reduced costs in other areas. While people bristle at a monthly storage bill, spending in other areas of the personal memory ecosystem has shifted, with the days of buying cannisters of film, taking photos to the one-hour lab, buying photo albums, and printing doubles now in the past for many consumers. 

"Most families are not printing albums like they used to. We are not developing film, buying DVDs, or filling filing cabinets with paper. Those industries have shrunk as we store, share, and stream digitally," Hawkins said. "Some producers benefit from this shift, while others are left behind. That is how markets evolve," she added. 

Laffoon says consumers also bear some responsibility for the situation, and managing it into the future. Mixbook's recent survey of more than 2,400 Americans found that 48% have more than 1,000 photos saved on their phones and one in five feel overwhelmed by the number of images they store. "With this trend, we're witnessing two things happen simultaneously: cloud platforms are giving consumers less space while consumers are generating more content than ever before. This combination is creating a pivotal moment around how people manage their digital memories," Laffoon said. 

In many cases, consumers are finding that the era of free storage led them to leave a wider trail of personal memories online than was likely in their long-term interest. 

"Consumers are realizing that their memories feel 'trapped' on platforms they rarely visit. When your photos live in the cloud, it makes it harder to find, enjoy, or share memories that should be sparking joy rather than creating overwhelm," Laffoon said. The real question, he says, isn't "Where do I store more?" It's "Why don't I ever look at these?" 

"People don't need more storage. They need a reason to revisit what they already have. A place where photos feel like actual memories again," Laffoon said. 

Berkshire Hathaway reported a big decline in its operating earnings for the fourth quarter, due in large part to weakness in the conglomerate's insurance business.

Earnings from operations totaled $10.2 billion in Q4. That's down more than 29% from $14.56 billion in the year-earlier period.

This was the final quarter under Warren Buffett as CEO, who announced he was stepping down at the annual shareholders meeting last May. Greg Abel took the reins to start 2026 and vowed in Berkshire's annual letter accompanying Saturday's results to continue the culture Buffett built of financial strength and capital discipline. Buffett remains chairman.

Insurance underwriting profits dropped 54% to $1.56 billion from $3.41 billion a year prior. Insurance investment income slid nearly 25% from to $3.1 billion from $4.088 billion.

For the full-year 2025, operating earnings totaled $44.49 billion. That's down from $47.44 billion in the year prior.

Profits from insurance underwriting came in at $7.26 billion, down from $9 billion in 2024. Insurance investment income for the year eased to $12.5 billion from $13.6 billion a year prior.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

The December quarter marked Warren Buffett's last as CEO, a role now occupied by longtime deputy Greg Abel.

DiamondRock Hospitality offers a compelling investment with a strong, flexible balance sheet and consistent dividend growth, currently rated as a 'Buy.' DRH's diversified, predominantly third-party managed hotel portfolio enhances operational flexibility and has outperformed brand-managed peers, reducing concentration and supply risks. The company's recent refinancing, elimination of preferred stock, and low net debt/EBITDA (3.7x) bolster liquidity and support ongoing capital returns.

The U.S. attack on Iran will have implications for defense and energy stocks.

With the Supreme Court overturning the current administration’s tariffs and the subsequent hasty implementation of a different set of tariffs, uncertainty has boosted the appeal of gold. This week, significant assets poured into physical gold ETFs.

The $3 billion Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (AAAU) has a number of advantages that could appeal to investors. The most obvious is the fund’s expense ratio of 0.18%, at the lower end of the fees charged by competitors. When gold goes up, investors keep more of their gains than if they were in a pricier fund.

Get a Grip on Gold AAAU also has a smaller handle than many competing physical gold ETFs. It buys exposure to 1/100 of an ounce of gold. Some other funds offer per-share exposure to 1/10 of an ounce of gold. Those shares providing greater per-share exposure are proportionally more expensive.

For investors who are deploying less money or new to investing, the lower barrier to entry can have significant appeal, as can the greater precision that can be achieved when rebalancing a portfolio. Near the end of February, AAAU had a price of roughly $51 per share, while shares of other competing funds cost significantly more.

See More: Gold ETF AAAU Offers Exposure to Record Highs for Key Metal

Gold is off its highs after a historic runup in 2025 that lasted into January 2026, before a sharp dip in February. However, as uncertainty around the global economy has increased in recent days, it has seen investors make an about-face.

Investors seem to be very interested in the “haven” aspect of gold investing. In late January, Goldman raised its gold price forecast by $500 to $5,400/toz for the end of 2026 based on a range of expectations, including for continued buying by central banks. AAAU could be a useful tool for investors looking for lower-cost and more precise exposure to that potential upside.

For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Future ETFs Content Hub.

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Acadia Pharmaceuticals' two approved drugs, NUPLAZID and DAYBUE, are guided to continue their strong growth trajectories. These two drugs alone support a "buy" thesis for Acadia. Learning from previously rejected drugs adds to the value of its strong late-stage pipeline.

Robinhood (HOOD 4.61%) has gone through a lot over the years. The company rebuilt profitability in 2025, diversified revenue streams, and earned a place in the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.43%). Those milestones marked maturity. But maturity is not the same as durability.

In 2026, the central question shifts from performance to identity: Can Robinhood evolve into a true long-term compounder, or will it remain tied to market cycles?

Image source: Getty Images.

From trading app to financial platform Robinhood's future depends on whether it can move beyond transactional revenue and deepen financial relationships.

The company now operates across trading, subscriptions, credit cards, cash management, crypto infrastructure, and tokenized assets. That breadth gives it optionality.

But optionality alone does not create compounding.

Compounding requires predictable engagement -- customers who rely on the platform for multiple aspects of their financial lives, not just trades during bull markets.

If Robinhood can meaningfully increase multi-product adoption and grow assets per funded account, its business model changes fundamentally. It becomes relationship-driven rather than transaction-driven.

That distinction will define the coming years, starting from 2026.

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The demographic advantage must convert into customer lifetime value Robinhood's relatively young customer base remains one of its most powerful structural advantages. A platform that acquires investors early in their financial journey gains time. And time is the raw material of compounding. But youth alone does not guarantee durability.

In 2026, investors should look for evidence that users are progressing along the financial life cycle within the ecosystem. Are they adopting savings tools? Using the Gold Card? Holding larger balances? Maintaining accounts through quieter markets?

If Robinhood grows alongside its users as their financial needs expand, lifetime value increases dramatically. If engagement fades when trading slows, the demographic edge weakens.

Innovation must strengthen trust Robinhood continues to push into frontier areas like tokenization, crypto expansion, and prediction markets. These initiatives create upside. They also introduce regulatory and reputational complexity.

For Robinhood to become a compounder, innovation must coexist with discipline. The company must show it can experiment without reigniting volatility or regulatory backlash. In addition, innovation must go hand in hand with smart capital allocation.

In short, stability and credibility are now strategic assets, and Robinhood should focus on defending them (or, better still, improving them) over time.

Is Robinhood a buy? 2026 will not be about explosive growth. It will be about proof of consistency.

If recurring revenue expands, volatility declines, and ecosystem depth strengthens, Robinhood can transition from a high-beta growth story to an emerging fintech compounder. If not, it risks remaining a platform whose fortunes rise and fall with market enthusiasm.

The transformation has begun. Now the company must prove that it can keep it up in 2026 and beyond.

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE: BRBR) between November 19, 2024 and August 4, 2025, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important March 23, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased BellRing securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the BellRing class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=51444 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 23, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, BellRing develops, markets, and sells “convenient nutrition” products such as ready-to-drink (“RTD”) protein shakes primarily under the brand name Premier Protein. During the Class Period, defendants represented that sales growth reflected increased end-consumer demand, attributing results to “organic growth,” “distribution gains,” “incremental promotional activity,” and “[s]trong macro tailwinds around protein” among other factors. At the same time, defendants downplayed the impact of competition on demand, insisting BellRing was not experiencing any significant changes in competition, and that in the RTD category particularly, BellRing possessed a “competitive moat,” given that “the ready-to-drink category is just highly complex” and the products are “hard to formulate.” As alleged, in truth, BellRing’s reported sales during the Class Period were driven by its key customers stockpiling inventory and did not reflect increased end-consumer demand or brand momentum. Following the destocking, BellRing admitted that competitive pressures were materially weakening demand. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the BellRing class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=51444 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
[email protected]
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SummaryThe business development company, or BDC, sector faces aggressive bearish sentiment, with the market pricing in severe SaaS credit risks.Currently, we are definitely in a cyclical low, which could be the right time to buy for patient and long-term investors.However, many investors (especially conservative ones and retirees) want to remain on the sidelines and jump in back when things become less volatile.In this context, I share two resilient BDCs, which are structurally protected from the SaaS risks are are positioned to deliver truly durable dividend going forward. Pla2na/iStock via Getty Images

The private credit space (BIZD) has been completely obliviated by the bears and market participants, who believe that the current headlines around SaaS and liquidity squeeze a) will translate into actual consequences and b) these consequences will

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Strike Energy Limited (STKKF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call February 25, 2026 8:00 PM EST

Company Participants

Emma Alexander - Investor Relations & Corporate Manager
Peter Stokes - MD, CEO & Director
Tim Cooper - CFO & Company Secretary

Presentation

Emma Alexander
Investor Relations & Corporate Manager

Welcome to Strike Energy's First Half Financial Year 2026 webinar. We've got Peter Stokes, our Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer; and Tim Cooper, our Chief Financial Officer, joining us today. I'll hand over to Peter for an introduction, and Tim will take us through the financials -- the financial results before I hand back to Peter for an operations review, and then we'll do some Q&A at the end with the time remaining. Peter, over to you.

Peter Stokes
MD, CEO & Director

Thank you, Emma. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the call this morning for the first half results. I'm really happy to have you join us, and we're happy to take questions at the end. There have been a number of questions that have come through the hub and online, and via text over the last couple of days. So we'll address as many of those as we can. And if -- and those that we're not able to, we'll certainly provide some additional responses to as well.

I recognize and this has come through a couple of the questions that we haven't provided a lot of communications over the last couple of months other than more of the sort of regulatory updates and certainly announcing [indiscernible] West spud due in early April. Part of the reason and the key part of that is that the -- a number of the discussions we're having, particularly around a couple of our major projects are commercially sensitive. As soon as we have further information that we can share, we will

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Jane Street becoming a scapegoat for Bitcoin and crypto market crash is the highlight in the crypto weekly wrap from February 23-27. BTC, ETH, and XRP prices remained range-bound this week ahead of the monthly crypto options expiry and macro headwinds.

Regulatory developments picked up pace this week, with traders becoming cautious amid headwinds such as ETH selling spree by Vitalik Buterin. Here’s a breakdown of the key developments this week.

Crypto Weekly Wrap: Jane Street Conspiracy Theory As Bitcoin and major crypto assets failed to rebound despite institutional buying, the community targets Jane Street in the latest conspiracy theory. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said:

The conspiracy theories are wild. First it was Binance and then it was Wintermute and then it was an unknown offshore macro hedge fund and then it was paper bitcoin and. today it is Jane Street and next week it will be someone else.

It follows a lawsuit by Terraform Labs bankruptcy administrator against Jane Street, along with individuals, including co-founder Robert Granieri and employees Bryce Pratt and Michael Huang. The suit alleges insider trading and front-running that accelerated UST depeg and caused the Terra-LUNA crisis.

Vitalik Buterin Sold Massive ETH Holdings Leading digital asset treasuries (DATs) Strategy and Bitmine continued to accumulate BTC and ETH, respectively. However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s ETH selloff spree and institutions have turned traders cautious.

According to Lookonchain data, Vitalik has likely completed his selling plan. He sold 19,318 ETH for $38.7 million at $2,004. Vitalik Buterin earlier announced to sell 16,384 ETH, but he’s sold more than planned.

ETH prices jumped above $2,000 after the Ethereum Foundation started its 70,000 ETH staking plan as part of its treasury policy. This sparked massive buying in the derivatives markets as open interest bounced.

Crypto Weekly Wrap: Deeper BTC Crash Risks amid Macro Jitters Bitcoin climbed 5% above $68,000 after Nvidia earnings and the United States’ plan not to hike tariffs on China. Also, multiple positive developments, such as Citibank’s plans to offer Bitcoin services, fueled gains toward $70,000.

However, weekly initial job openings and hotter PPI inflation data spoiled the market’s mood as the week came to an end. US PPI rose 0.5% in January, its biggest monthly gain in four months, beating expectations of 0.3% after a 0.4% increase in December. This caused headline PPI inflation increase to 2.9% YoY.

Meanwhile, Core PPI jumped 0.8%, the most in six months and well above forecasts of 0.3%. Core Producer Prices YoY came in above expectations at 3.6% in January from 3.30% in December of 2025.

Popular analyst Willy Woo predicted Bitcoin price crash in the coming weeks. BTC may typically drop to $45K. He expects bearish pressure to start subsiding in Q4 2026 and the bear market bottom in Q1 2027.

Focus on Crypto Policies and Regulations In this week’s crypto weekly wrap, the focus shifted to crypto policies and regulations. The global crypto market saw progress towards industry and regulators’ requirements for clear crypto rules and regulations. The discussions on the CLARITY Act continued as the White House’s March 1 deadline approached. JPMorgan anticipated a bullish second half for the crypto market following the approval of the CLARITY Act.

Also, the US Federal Reserve opened a 60-day public comment period on a proposal to end crypto debanking. Senator Cynthia Lummis praised the proposal, calling it a long-overdue correction to Fed policy.

The OCC issues proposed rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act for the issuance of stablecoins. However, the regulator proposes a rebuttable presumption to prohibit stablecoin yields.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin signed a new law granting courts the power to seize or confiscate crypto assets such as Bitcoin. It comes as Russia pushes for crypto regulations and crackdown foreign crypto exchanges.

3 mins mins

Key Insights:

Ethereum Foundation stakes 2,016 ETH today, aiming for 70,000 ETH to fund network development. USD1 faces coordinated attack; WLFI co-founders’ accounts hacked, token briefly depegged below 0.981 USDT. Uniswap launches seven AI agent Skills; TRUMP token, x402, UniSat, and Magic Eden report updates. Weekly Crypto Highlights: Binance Stock Tokens, USD1 Attack, Ethereum Staking The Ethereum Foundation has begun staking a portion of its treasury funds, depositing 2,016 ETH today. The foundation plans to stake about 70,000 ETH in total, with all rewards returned to its treasury. The staking uses software called Dirk and Vouch. Dirk allows signing across multiple locations without a single point of failure. Vouch helps reduce risks by pairing multiple clients.

The foundation uses a limited number of clients, combined with custodial infrastructure and self-managed hardware. These operations are spread across several locations. The initiative supports network security and provides funds for research, ecosystem development, and community grants.

USD1 Experiences Coordinated Attack World Liberty Financial reported that USD1 faced a “coordinated attack.” Several co-founders’ accounts were hacked, and large-scale short-selling affected the token. USD1 briefly dropped to 0.9802 USDT, and WLFI lost over 8% of its value.

Eric Trump removed some posts on social media during the incident. The team stated that no wallets or contracts were compromised, and the attack only involved unauthorized access to co-founders’ accounts.

Updates on Uniswap, TRUMP Token, and zkSync Uniswap Labs launched seven new agent functions to support on-chain workflows. These include v4-security-foundations, configurator, deployer, viem-integration, swap-integration, liquidity-planner, and swap-planner. Developers can use them through the open-source uniswap-ai repository.

The TRUMP token team said it will use up to 5% of tokens to fund ecosystem projects. This includes boosting liquidity, partnerships, acquisitions, and developing the Web3 game TRUMP Billionaires Club.

zkSync will stop supporting its Lite version on May 4 and focus on the Era ecosystem. Migration guides will be shared to help Lite users transition.

Market Movements and Platform Announcements x402 trading volume reached nearly $400,000, a two-month high. UniSat announced a 90-day fee-free policy for its Bitcoin marketplaces and plans a phased buyback of FB tokens. Magic Eden will close Bitcoin and EVM marketplaces and stop supporting its multi-chain wallet in early April.

Binance relaunched tokenized U.S. stock trading with Ondo Finance, offering ten tokenized stocks and ETFs. Terraform Labs’ liquidator filed a lawsuit against Jane Street, claiming insider trading accelerated Terraform’s collapse.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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Tokenized Gold Safe Haven 2026 isn’t just a catchy phrase infact it’s the plot twist in a brutal weekend for crypto especially. When news of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran broke on a Saturday, traditional markets were closed. Stocks? Shut. Bonds? Offline. Crypto? Wide awake and blinking red. And so it became the global pressure outlet.

Weekend Panic UnleashedHere’s how it played out. With no access to equities or Treasuries, investors needing instant safety dumped the most liquid assets available, yes that cryptocurrencies for you. It wasn’t philosophical. It was practical. Sell first, ask questions later.

In just few hours, coinglass shows over $460 million in intraday liquidation and coinmarketcap showed total market cap dropping from $2.26 trillion to $2.21 trillion vanished. That’s not a dip. That’s a trapdoor.

Bitcoin fell roughly 3.8%, tagging a local low near $63,308. Ethereum dropped harder, down between 4.5% and 6.5%, trading near $1,835. Higher-beta names like Solana and XRP slid even deeper, with some declines stretching past 10% as traders fled risk.

Leverage Domino EffectBut the selling wasn’t purely emotional. It was mechanical. Many traders were leaning long. When prices dipped, exchanges started liquidating those leveraged bets. Forced selling triggered more forced selling. The classic cascade. Within minutes, what began as caution morphed into a full-blown leverage flush.

And despite the “digital gold” narrative, institutional players treated crypto like a tech stock under fire. They sold it and rotated into the U.S. dollar and physical gold both of which surged.

Tokenized Gold Takes StageThis is where Tokenized Gold Safe Haven 2026 becomes more than a headline. As volatility ripped through altcoins, capital rotated into tokenized metals. By late February 2026, tokenized gold’s market cap alone surged. That’s not theoretical demand. That’s actual repositioning.

On centralized exchanges like Binance, leading gold-backed tokens such as PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUt) saw sharp volume activity. PAXG trading volume on OKX spiked dramatically during a recent 24-hour window as tensions intensified.

Critical Levels AheadNow attention shifts to structural support. The $60,000–$63,000 range is seen as critical for Bitcoin. If it holds, recovery isn’t off the table. If it cracks, things could snowball.

Historically, war-driven flash crashes in crypto often form local bottoms once the shock fades. There’s also the so-called “springboard effect,” where markets rebound hard after forced liquidations exhaust sellers.

Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.

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The debate between Gold ETF and tokenized Gold has heated up further as experts and investors speculate on which asset could bring better returns in this market cycle. The assets both provide access to gold but differ in their operational approaches, as capital looks to shift more into the tokenization sector.

Tokenized Gold vs Gold ETF: Where is Capital Flowing? Tokenized gold markets witnessed explosive growth in the last year. In 2025, its market cap increased its net value by almost $2.8 billion. Its market cap rose from $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion. Tether Gold especially grew by 6% to $3.7 billion according to DefiLlama data.

Source: DeFiLlama data This implies that the market absorbed almost a quarter of the net RWA increase in the last year. Its net inflows are also greater than the net inflows in tokenized stocks, corporate bonds, and non-US treasuries.

The number of tokenized gold holders increased by more than 115,000 in the last year. Its increase was 14 times faster than in 2024. Compared to the other major RWA markets, the tokenized gold market increased its holders by more than the tokenized US treasuries and other tokenized bonds.

Meanwhile, large gold ETFs reported substantial asset flows, which doubled their asset size. However, even in this context, tokenized gold has turned out to be a standout.

Source: CEX Tokenized gold grew 2.6 times faster than the physical asset. This outperformed most of the top 7 spot ETFs. Among the major ETFs, only iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM) reported a growth of more than 300% in asset size this year.

Trading Volume Shows Where Adoption Is Accelerating Trading volumes of gold-related assets witnessed a dramatic acceleration during 2025, with volumes increasing quarter by quarter. By Q4, the trading volumes of the tokenized asset surpassed an impressive figure of over $126 billion.

To put it into perspective, the trading volumes of tokenized gold during Q4 were slightly higher than those of five major ETFs. However, there is one ETF that stands out from the rest , SPDR Gold Shares, or GLD, with its massive trading volumes of $375 billion during Q4.

Source: CEX In comparison with gold ETFs, tokenized gold would rank preciousbymetals’g volumes, ahead of all the precious metal’s ETFs except GLD. Trading volume in gold tokens in 2025 grew by more than 1,550% compared to 2024, a rate that was almost ten times faster compared to that of the largest ETFs, which registered a growth rate of between 100% to 150%.

Bitcoin's five-month slide: Why BTC is set for worst losing streak since 2018With BTC down nearly 50% from its peak, analysts are sparring over whether the slump marks early repricing or signals more pain to come. Feb 28, 2026, 1:00 p.m.

With a few hours still to go, Bitcoin BTC$63,709.23 is on track to post its worst losing streak since 2018, with February about to mark a fifth consecutive monthly decline.

The run of losses would be the longest since that 2018–2019 bear market and follows what has already been bitcoin’s worst first 50-day start to a year on record, leaving BTC down more than 25% year to date and on course for its first-ever back-to-back January and February declines.

More? The bitcoin-to-gold ratio fell to 12.288 ounces in February, marking a 70% drawdown over the last 14 months.

Bitcoin is also about to close out its worst month since June 2022 as the collapse of Terra-Luna that year sent the price plunging by about one-third. With bitcoin currently at about $66,000, the decline this February stands at more than 16%.

But some analysts argue that comparing the current stretch to 2018 may be oversimplifying what’s unfolding.

Repricing within a structural regime shift“What we’re seeing isn’t just weakness. It’s repricing inside a structural regime shift,” Mati Greenspan, senior eToro market analyst and founder of Quantum Economics, told CoinDesk.

He believes that while tariffs, ETF flows and macro fears may explain the timing of the selloff, they don’t explain the deeper move, which he sees as a broader recalibration in how markets value risk assets in an era of elevated uncertainty.

Bitcoin is also approaching a fifth straight weekly decline, a streak last seen between March and May 2022.

Geopolitical tensions have strengthened the U.S. dollar and crude oil prices, tightening financial conditions and weighing on risk assets.

Yet, this downturn stands out for another reason: bitcoin’s uneven relationship with equities. While U.S. stocks have remained relatively resilient, BTC has sharply underperformed, marking an unusual period of instability in its traditional risk-asset correlation.

Confronting arguments“Bitcoin doesn’t have a narrative right now, and it’s getting squeezed from both sides,” Jonatan Randin, senior market analyst at PrimeXBT, said in an email to CoinDesk.

Randin pointed to mounting macro pressure, including $3.8 billion in ETF outflows over the past five weeks, escalating tariff tensions and a Federal Reserve that has yet to signal imminent rate cuts.

While gold has attracted safe-haven flows and equities have ridden AI momentum, bitcoin has lagged. “Gold is up roughly 48% since September while bitcoin has fallen about 41% over the same period,” Randin said, explaining that the divergence shows investors are still treating BTC as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset rather than digital gold.

The correlation picture has been volatile. “The 20-day BTC-Nasdaq correlation swung from -0.68 to +0.72 between early and mid-February. That’s not decorrelation, that’s instability,” Randin said. “When the risk-on trade is working, and one asset gets left behind, that’s usually weakness, not strength.”

The narrative “hasn’t changed since 2009. It is a global, neutral alternative to debt-based fiat systems," according to Greenspan.

Decorrelations are not random“When correlations break during regime shifts, it’s usually not random. It’s early repricing,” Greenspan said. “If equities are still being treated as cyclical growth exposure while bitcoin starts trading more like a sovereign hedge, that divergence is structurally bullish.”

Despite the scale of the drawdown, Randin cautioned against assuming the correction is over.

“Bitcoin’s now declined 52% from the October highs,” he said. “That sounds like a lot, but when you look at prior bear markets where we’ve seen drawdowns of 80% or more, we could realistically be only halfway through this correction.”

He added that while the weekly relative strength index (RSI) has fallen to its lowest reading in bitcoin’s history and accumulator addresses have absorbed roughly 372,000 BTC since late December, signals often associated with cycle bottoms, similar conditions in past downturns were followed by another 30% to 40% drop before a definitive low formed.

Greenspan, however, said sentiment may already reflect much of the pessimism. “When sentiment gets this uniformly negative while long-term fundamentals remain intact, reversals tend to be sharp,” he said.

Until bitcoin can reclaim the $68,000–$72,000 zone, Randin said, “I’d expect this streak to grind on rather than break cleanly.” He identified $60,000 as a key near-term support level, with the 200-week moving average near $58,500 just below it.

“The losing streak narrative focuses on five months,” Greenspan added. “The structural story spans decades.”

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Bitcoin sets up potential short squeeze as funding plunges to -6%

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Negative funding rates, rising open interest and liquidations point to crowded positioning and heightened derivatives activity.

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Perpetual funding rates dropped to -6%, matching the most negative level in three months, signaling aggressive short positioning as bitcoin briefly fell to $63,000.Coin margined open interest climbed to 687,000 BTC, indicating increased participation despite the price swing.

PIPPIN has retraced into a key demand zone following the recent market-wide sell-off, presenting a risky buying opportunity.

The AAVE price didn’t just bleed today but it absorbed a double hit. First came the broader market panic tied to escalating war tensions. Then, just as nerves were already frayed, an internal governance rupture added fuel to the fire.

Altcoins were already under pressure. But Aave had its own drama unfolding in parallel.

Governance Rift EscalatesBGD Labs announced it will end its work with the Aave DAO on April 1, wrapping up nearly four years as a core technical contributor. The move follows rising governance tensions and strategic disagreements over the protocol’s future direction.

In a forum post Friday, the firm said it would continue its current responsibilities through the end of its contract. That includes support for Aave v3, Umbrella, chain expansions, asset onboarding, and security. It also plans to publish documentation and maintenance guidelines to smooth the transition.

I feel like Aave Labs, ACI and BGD should go to either couples counseling or some kind of mediation. It feels like emotions are going to cause the most successful borrow/lend protocol to fall apart 🥺 https://t.co/tVfPks3Ecd

— Laura Shin (@laurashin) February 27, 2026 Still, the optics aren’t great.

BGD Labs has played a central role in building Aave’s infrastructure since early 2022. Governance systems, operational procedures, security mechanisms they’ve had fingerprints on all of it. While the company says core systems are now stable and capable of operating without major structural changes, the timing raises eyebrows.

The friction reportedly stems from Aave Labs’ proposal to direct all protocol revenue to the DAO treasury while seeking funding for its own operations and accelerating the rollout of Aave v4. The plan would gradually wind down new feature development on v3 within months of v4’s launch.

BGD Labs has flagged centralization risks in that shift, citing influence over branding, communications, and voting power, along with limited collaboration on v4 design.

Even as it exits, BGD proposed a two-month optional security retainer from April through June 2026. The $200,000 arrangement would require DAO approval and cover incident response for Aave v3 and related governance systems.

Technical Charts Turn BearishMeanwhile, the AAVE price chart isn’t exactly offering comfort.

Indicator tools are flashing warning signs. The MACD is approaching a death cross. RSI is drifting back toward oversold territory. The Awesome Oscillator shows bearish momentum building, and CMF has slipped below the zero line, signaling negative inflows.

In plain English? Sellers are in control.

Add in broader risk-off sentiment hitting altcoins, and you’ve got a fragile setup. If bearish pressure intensifies, the psychological $100 support level could come under threat. Lose that, and downside acceleration becomes a real possibility.So what’s next? Governance disputes don’t always crater tokens. But when internal tensions collide with external market stress, the AAVE price can find itself in a tight corner fast.

Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.

Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.

Sponsored and Advertisements:Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.

The man who built the first stablecoin thinks AI agents are about to change how the entire crypto economy works.

Reeve Collins, co-founder and first CEO of Tether, sat down with analyst and MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe to explain why AI is not just another crypto narrative. Collins compared AI’s role in blockchain to what the web browser did for the internet in 1993, calling it the moment crypto finally becomes usable for everyone.

“AI is going to make that very easy because you’re going to entrust your agent to make those transactions for you,” Collins said.

Talk Into Your WalletCollins described a future where users interact with their crypto wallets through conversation, not clicks. AI agents would handle investing, portfolio rebalancing, and payments on a user’s behalf, routing every transaction through the fastest, cheapest, and most profitable path available.

The complexity that still keeps most people away from blockchain gets abstracted away.

The infrastructure is already being built. Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets on February 10, giving AI agents autonomous spending and trading capabilities. Stripe co-founder John Collison predicted a “torrent” of AI agent commerce running on stablecoins days ago. Binance CEO Richard Teng called AI agents and stablecoins one of the defining trends of 2026.

Also Read: “The Biggest Question for Crypto”: Sam Bankman-Fried Triggers AI Payments Debate

Why Stablecoins Become the Default Currency for AICollins argued that stablecoins are uniquely positioned to power AI-driven payments because they combine price stability with programmable, 24/7 settlement. Large corporations could distribute fractional payments to millions of people, enabling incentive models that were previously impossible due to accounting limitations.

The numbers back this up. Stablecoin transactions hit $33 trillion in 2025, up 72% year-over-year and double Visa’s annual volume, according to Bloomberg and Artemis Analytics.

On-Chain Companies That Pay Users, Not PlatformsCollins’ most pointed claim targeted the platform economy itself.

“There will be bespoke companies that don’t have the level of overhead like Facebook has that gets to start from scratch purely on chain that has a business model that puts all of the rewards or the profits back into the user’s pocket via a token,” he said.

Analyst van de Poppe pointed out that content creators are drastically underpaid, citing roughly €1,000 for a million YouTube views. Collins agreed, saying multiple well-funded initiatives are building decentralized platforms to change that.

“The content creators are the ones that are putting all of that value into the system. And they should reap a lot more of the rewards,” he said.

Collins is not just talking. He launched STBL, a next-generation stablecoin protocol backed by OKX Ventures, designed to return yield to users instead of centralized issuers.

Read More: Jack Dorsey’s Block AI Layoffs Spark Backlash: What This Means for Cash App Bitcoin Users

Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.

Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.

Sponsored and Advertisements:Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.

Bitcoin is trading at $63,922 on Feb. 28, 2026, at 8 a.m. EST, clinging to the mid-$60,000s after a bruising February drawdown. The narrative grew considerably more fraught as hostilities in the Middle East began commanding international attention.

The possibility of an XRP crash to $1 is no longer a distant bearish theory but a looming technical reality. As geopolitical instability drives investors toward traditional safe havens like gold and US Treasuries, altcoins are being offloaded at an accelerated rate. If the current psychological support levels fail to hold against the backdrop of a regional war, a revisit to the $1.00 mark is the primary target for the short-to-medium term.

The GCC Connection: Why This War Hits Crypto HardThe current conflict has moved beyond isolated border skirmishes. Iran’s retaliation has reportedly impacted sectors within the GCC, a region that has become a global hub for crypto liquidity and high-net-worth investment firms.

Impact on Institutional LiquidityMany "whales" and venture capital firms operating out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are facing unprecedented operational uncertainty. When regional stability is threatened, the immediate reaction is a flight to liquidity. This shift leads to:

Aggressive Sell-offs: Large-scale exits from high-beta assets like XRP to cover margins or move to cash.Reduced Market Depth: Liquidity providers may widen spreads or pull back entirely, leading to higher volatility.Network Infrastructure Concerns: Potential disruptions to banking rails in the Middle East that utilize the XRP Ledger for cross-border settlements.XRP Price Analysis: The Descent Toward $1Based on the below technical chart, XRP has broken below its primary ascending support line. The price is currently struggling to maintain its footing as sell volume spikes.

XRP/USD 4H chartKey Technical Levels to WatchLevel TypePrice PointMarket SignificanceImmediate Resistance$1.45Previous support turned resistance; must be reclaimed to invalidate the crash.Critical Support$1.28The last major buffer before a psychological "free fall."Bearish Target$1.00The ultimate psychological floor and historical consolidation zone.Extreme Capitulation$0.85Potential bottom if the conflict expands to a global scale."Risk-Off" vs. "Safe Haven"In financial markets, a "Risk-Off" environment occurs when investors avoid assets with high volatility due to macroeconomic or geopolitical uncertainty. Despite the narrative of some tokens acting as "Digital Gold," recent price action confirms that XRP and most altcoins still trade as high-risk assets. They are typically the first to be sold during a war-induced panic, while Safe Havens like Gold or the USD see inflows.

The broader market is already feeling the pinch. Bitcoin has faced significant downward pressure as news of U.S. involvement in regional strikes hit the wires. Historically, when BTC drops, altcoins experience magnified losses. For XRP, which was already facing technical exhaustion, the war serves as the fundamental "black swan" event that could force a test of the $1.00 support level.

Morgan Stanley has submitted an application to establish a national digital asset trust bank, marking another step in the firm’s expanding involvement in the crypto sector.

According to a public listing from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the bank received Morgan Stanley’s application on February 18, 2026.

The proposed entity, named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association (MSDTNA), would operate as a federally chartered trust institution focused on digital asset services. The OCC has published non-confidential portions of the business plan.

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Scope of proposed operationsThe filing outlines plans for the trust bank to provide custody services for certain digital assets, along with execution of purchases, sales, swaps, and transfers to support client investment activities. The entity would also facilitate fiduciary staking services on behalf of clients.

While the trust’s main office would be located in Purchase, New York, the services are intended to be offered nationwide, subject to regulatory approval.

National trust bank charters from the OCC allow institutions to operate under federal supervision rather than relying on a patchwork of state-level licenses. For crypto-focused firms, this structure can provide a standardized compliance framework for custody and fiduciary activities.

Morgan Stanley’s application follows a wave of conditional approvals issued by the OCC in late 2025 and early 2026.

In December 2025, the regulator granted conditional approval for crypto-focused national trust charters to: Circle (First National Digital Currency Bank), Ripple (Ripple National Trust Bank), BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos Trust Company.

In February, three additional firms received conditional approval: Stripe (Bridge National Trust Bank), Crypto.com and Protego.

With Morgan Stanley’s filing, along with pending applications from Coinbase and World Liberty Financial, the number of institutions pursuing OCC crypto trust structures continues to grow.

Expanding digital asset strategy: Bitcoin, Solana and XRPThe trust bank application is part of a broader digital asset expansion at Morgan Stanley.

In January, the firm appointed Amy Oldenburg to a newly created role overseeing digital asset strategy. It has also filed applications for exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin, Ethereum (Ether), and Solana.

Additionally, Morgan Stanley partnered with Zerohash to enable digital asset trading for clients of its E*Trade platform, expanding retail access to crypto markets through its brokerage channel.

If approved, Morgan Stanley Digital Trust would provide the firm with a federally regulated structure to custody digital assets, execute transactions, and offer staking services within a fiduciary framework. Such capabilities could position the bank to serve institutional and high-net-worth clients seeking integrated crypto exposure within a traditional financial institution.

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RippleNet uses XRP as a bridge currency to process cross-border payments in seconds. The traditional SWIFT system, on the other hand, can take several days, is expensive, fragmented, and heavily dependent on intermediary banks.

Morgan Stanley indirectly confirms the narrative that Ripple has been pursuing for years: that XRP is not just a cryptocurrency, but a technological tool for increasing efficiency in global payments.

Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley’s head of digital assets strategy, appeared February 24–25 at the Bitcoin For Corporations conference in Las Vegas. In a fireside chat with Strategy CEO Phong Le, Oldenburg agreed with Le’s statement that “if there was a company that could ‘orange pill’ the world, it would be Morgan Stanley.”

On January 6, 2026, the firm filed an S-1 for a Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust ETF, along with similar products for ether and Solana. In October 2025 it removed prior restrictions on what type of clients could invest in exchange-traded products (ETPs), allowing financial advisors to offer cryptocurrency funds to all clients in any account type, including retirement accounts.

Previously, only clients with at least $1.5 million in asssets and an aggresive risk tolerance could be sold crypto ETPs.