Market Signal Briefing

Ethereum Whales Dump $2.7 Billion in ETH, but Bottom Signals Are Flashing Prefer us on Google

Ethereum whales sold 1.43 million ETH worth $2.7 billion recently.NUPL capitulation and Pi Cycle divergence signal potential bottom.Holding $1,928 support keeps short-term recovery structure intact.Ethereum continues to trade sideways as uncertainty weighs on the broader crypto market. The altcoin king has struggled to regain decisive bullish momentum.

While the current structure suggests potential bottom formation, large holders appear to be making aggressive moves.

Ethereum Whales Selling Has Not StoppedEthereum whales have demonstrated erratic behavior in recent sessions. Sharp accumulation phases have been followed by equally aggressive distribution. This volatility signals uncertainty among high-capital participants.

Over the past two weeks, addresses holding between 100,000 and 1 million ETH have sold approximately 1.43 million ETH. At current valuations, that equals roughly $2.7 billion. Such large-scale distribution significantly impacts liquidity conditions.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

Ethereum Whale Holding. Source: SantimentThis level of selling often reflects late-cycle stress rather than early panic. Historically, heavy whale exits tend to occur near capitulation phases. Large holders sometimes reduce exposure before the broader acceptance of a market bottom. These episodes frequently precede structural reversals once selling pressure exhausts.

Ethereum Bottom Signals StrengthenOn-chain data provides additional context. The Net Unrealized Profit and Loss, or NUPL, indicator shows Ethereum in the capitulation zone. This reading indicates that average holders face substantial unrealized losses.

In prior cycles, similar NUPL conditions preceded meaningful reversals. However, Ethereum typically remains in this zone for extended periods. Capitulation does not imply immediate recovery.

Ethereum NUPL. Source: GlassnodeSustained time in the capitulation band often reduces speculative selling. As weaker hands exit positions, remaining holders tend to exhibit stronger conviction. Gradual stabilization in NUPL readings can signal diminishing downside momentum before recovery begins.

The Pi Cycle Top Indicator also supports a potential ETH bottoming narrative. This metric tracks the relationship between short-term and long-term moving averages. Historically, convergence signals overheating near cycle tops.

Conversely, extreme divergence between these averages often aligns with cyclical bottoms. Current readings show meaningful separation between the two curves. Similar divergence patterns previously marked recovery zones.

Ethereum Pi Cycle Top Indicator. Source: GlassnodeHistorical instances demonstrate that widening gaps preceded upward reversals. Although timing remains uncertain, this structural setup aligns with late-stage correction behavior. Combined with capitulation metrics, the data suggests Ethereum may be approaching stabilization rather than early bear expansion.

ETH Price Holds Above SupportEthereum trades at $1,960 at the time of writing. The asset has consistently held above the $1,928 support level despite whale distribution. This zone remains technically significant in maintaining short-term structure.

Although overall sentiment remains cautious, underlying demand has prevented a sharper breakdown. Buyers appear willing to accumulate near perceived value levels. Sustained support may enable Ethereum to challenge the $2,027 resistance. Clearing $2,108 would confirm a breakout from consolidation.

ETH Price Analysis. Source: TradingViewHowever, downside risks cannot be ignored. If bearish momentum intensifies, Ethereum could lose $1,928 support. A breakdown may expose $1,820 as the next potential floor. Continued weakness could extend toward $1,750, invalidating the near-term bullish thesis.

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In line with the Trust Project guidelines, this price analysis article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. BeInCrypto is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making any financial decisions. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

American business intelligence and software company Strategy Inc remains one of the biggest subjects of analysis regarding its Bitcoin holdings. The falling prices of Bitcoin have placed the company underwater in its reserve holdings, as its BTC purchase amount is at least 10% above the current value of the coin.

Strategy and Bitcoin bet no cause for concern yetEarlier, Strategy had confirmed that it could withstand an extended price drawdown for Bitcoin, allaying fears of any insolvency. In a new analysis, Arkham corroborated this take, exploring some of the company’s debt profile overall.

Arkham pointed out Strategy’s preferred stock and convertible notes, two of the company’s obligations for raising cash. While the preferred stock is subject to dividend payments and redemptions, convertible notes come with coupons.

Notably, Saylor selling common stock to fund Bitcoin purchases does not create a future cash obligation for Strategy. Therefore, ‘Saylor’s average price’ is somewhat irrelevant to the question of whether Saylor needs to sell Bitcoin.

Saylor can remain underwater for as long as…

— Arkham (@arkham) February 20, 2026 With these coupons, Strategy is obligated to pay back or convert the notes into stock at maturity. As of now, the Bitcoin-based firm currently owes $8,000,000,000 across all of its convertible notes. As unveiled, the company holds $2.5 billion worth of cash.

As an insight into the options the company has, the research firm noted potential conversion of the convertible notes to MSTR stock. Besides this, the Michael Saylor-led firm can refinance its debts. As Arkham noted, the option to sell its Bitcoin holdings will only come into the conversation if Strategy is unable to raise additional funds.

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From Peter Schiff to other gold bugs, Strategy has always been criticized for its Bitcoin bets. However, Michael Saylor has reiterated the commitment to the asset with no plans to sell BTC. This comes amid sustained BTC purchases announced on almost a weekly basis.

According to Arkham, Saylor remains the primary key to the company offloading its Bitcoin bag. For now, it noted that selling common stock to fund BTC purchases does not create a future cash obligation for Strategy.

With this reality, the average price is not considered relevant to whether Saylor or the company has to sell its Bitcoin. With its adopted financing model, the company can choose to remain underwater for as long as convertible note obligations are met.

16h05 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Fenelon L.

Summarize this article with:

While the bitcoin price struggles to regain its peaks, the network itself shows robust health. The mining difficulty has just recorded its largest increase since 2021, a paradox worth examining.

In brief Bitcoin mining difficulty jumped 15%, reaching 144.4 T, its largest increase since 2021. The hashrate rose back to 1 ZH/s, after falling to 826 EH/s following a winter storm in the United States. Hashprice remains at a historic low level, around $23.9 per PH/s, squeezing miners’ margins. Several listed mining companies are pivoting to AI, which weighs on available computing power. This is a surprising figure. On February 18, 2025, the Bitcoin network recorded a difficulty adjustment of +15%, raising it to 144.4 trillion (T). An increase the network hadn’t seen since 2021, precisely since the famous post-ban adjustment of mining in China, which then pushed difficulty up by 22%.

This adjustment comes directly after an 11.16% drop recorded in early February. At that time, Winter Storm Fern swept across 34 U.S. states, forcing major operators to shut down their machines. 

Foundry USA lost up to 60% of its hashing power in a few hours. As a result: the network’s global hashrate plunged from 1.1 ZH/s, its peak reached in October during bitcoin’s record at about $126,500, down to 826 EH/s.

Since then, the situation has normalized. The hashrate bounced back to 1 ZH/s, and the bitcoin price stabilized around $67,000. The network therefore adjusted mechanically upwards, as it is designed to do every 2,016 blocks, roughly every two weeks.

Miners Under Pressure, but the Network Remains Strong This spectacular rebound nonetheless masks deep tensions. The hashprice, the estimated daily income per unit of computing power, stagnates at its lowest level in several years, around $23.9 per PH/s. Concretely, mining bitcoin has never been so unprofitable in proportion to the effort provided.

In this context, small operators without access to cheap electricity are the first to be sacrificed. They turn off their machines, which contributes to the drops in hashrate observed in recent months. 

On the other hand, large well-capitalized entities hold firm. The United Arab Emirates, for example, show nearly $344 million in unrealized mining profits,  proof that access to energy remains the real competitive advantage.

Adding to this is a worrying trend: several publicly traded mining companies are redirecting their resources toward artificial intelligence. Bitfarms recently changed its name to erase any reference to Bitcoin. 

Riot Platforms is under pressure from activist fund Starboard, which pushes for expansion into AI data centers. These pivots drain Bitcoin network computing power in the long term.

The 15% increase in difficulty sends a clear message: the Bitcoin network remains robust, able to absorb weather shocks, price collapses, and strategic reversals from its main actors. This is precisely what Satoshi Nakamoto designed.

However, behind this technical solidity lies a more nuanced economic reality: mining bitcoin in 2026 is a sport for the wealthy, reserved for those with the cheapest energy and the strongest balance sheets. The rest will have to choose between resisting… or pivoting.

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Fenelon L.

Passionné par le Bitcoin, j'aime explorer les méandres de la blockchain et des cryptos et je partage mes découvertes avec la communauté. Mon rêve est de vivre dans un monde où la vie privée et la liberté financière sont garanties pour tous, et je crois fermement que Bitcoin est l'outil qui peut rendre cela possible.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Shiba Inu has completed a "death cross" on its hourly chart as the 50 hourly MA has fallen below the 200 hourly MA following a crossover.

This technical signal coincided with a price drop since the start of the week. Shiba Inu rose for three straight days in the past week, reaching a high of $0.00000724 on Feb. 14, beyond which it could not go further.

The Shiba Inu price began to decline on Sunday, with bears pausing its drop on Monday. Selling began afterward, with Shiba Inu falling to a low of $0.00000612 on Feb. 19.

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SHIB/USD Hourly Chart, Image By: TradingView At the time of writing, SHIB was down 0.83% in the last 24 hours to $0.000006201. A doji on the daily chart indicates indecision between buyers and sellers, as traders anticipate what comes next on the markets.

Investors are awaiting key economic data on Friday, including the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures index and gross domestic product report for the fourth quarter, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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Immediate resistance targets for Shiba Inu are at $0.0000072 and $0.0000074, while support is expected at $0.00000575 and $0.000005 in the event of a drop.

February deadline issued for Shiba Inu communityA February deadline has emerged for the Shiba Inu community as K9 Finance puts plans in place for its sunset.

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In a recent tweet, K9 Finance tells users to withdraw all assets from Bonecrusher before the sunset date of Feb. 25, 2026. For users experiencing an issue with knBONE being detected, that issue should be resolved.

Earlier in February, K9 issued a Sunset Notice saying it is entering a formal sunset phase following DAO governance. The foundation is discontinuing involvement and the DAO will operate independently, if at all.

Following a governance process conducted by the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) associated with K9, it was voted that K9, in its current form, structure and operational model, will cease. The existing foundation-based model supporting K9 will be discontinued, and the decentralized autonomous organization may continue, if at all, solely as an independent and unaffiliated DAO.

TLDR Table of Contents

TLDRPhase Two Expands Property Trading on the XRP LedgerDubai Entities Deepen Real Estate Tokenization With Ripple CustodyControlled Market Framework Drives Regulated Activity for Tokenized AssetsGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks Ripple executive Reece Merrick confirmed the launch of controlled trading for tokenized properties on the XRP Ledger. The Dubai Land Department joined the project to support real estate tokenization and on-chain title management. Phase two of the project introduced regulated resale of fractional property tokens for broader market access. The pilot phase previously tokenized ten properties with a value of over five million dollars. About 7.8 million tokens created during the pilot are now eligible for resale under the new framework. The project advanced further on Friday as new details emerged and expanded its scope and purpose, and the update introduced controlled trading for tokenized properties. The development created a clear path for broader asset access and drew attention to expanding token markets. The disclosure from senior leadership also showed how partners support the ongoing rollout phase.

Phase Two Expands Property Trading on the XRP Ledger Ripple executive Reece Merrick confirmed the launch of controlled trading for tokenized properties. He shared the update on X and said the system now supports structured resale activity.

He explained that phase two follows a pilot that tested token issuance and supported early property onboarding. He added that trading now operates under a regulated setup.

The pilot introduced 10 properties worth over $5 million and created 7.8 million eligible tokens. The new phase now enables investors to resell those units.

Merrick said the expansion provides a pathway for wider access to tokenized assets. He noted that the market framework supports investor protections.

The update also shows how partners built the trading model for long-term use. It now connects infrastructure with land registry processes.

Dubai Entities Deepen Real Estate Tokenization With Ripple Custody The Dubai Land Department joined the project to support asset tokenization and registry integration. The agency now links property data with the blockchain system.

The department works with Ctrl Alt to manage a tokenization engine that issues and transfers title deeds on-chain. This setup allows the market to track property changes.

Partners said the system records all transactions using Ripple Custody for secure verification. They also confirmed that asset movements remain visible to regulators.

The controlled market aims to test operational readiness under real trading conditions. It also helps partners evaluate governance tools.

The update reflects how agencies coordinate to align registry processes with blockchain tools. It supports consistent tracking across each property event.

Controlled Market Framework Drives Regulated Activity for Tokenized Assets Project leaders said the controlled market creates a clear environment for resale activity. They emphasized that all trades follow set rules.

Merrick stated that investors can enter or exit positions under defined oversight. He said this structure keeps transactions orderly.

The partnership with Ctrl Alt improves how title data moves through the chain of records. It links each update to on-chain documentation.

Teams designed the system to support future expansion. They continue monitoring how participants use the trading functions.

The latest update confirms that phase two is now active with regulated resale features. It also shows that about 7.8 million tokens are ready for trading under the new framework.

Bitcoin Lightning Network Surpasses $1 Billion in Monthly Volume Amid BTC Price DoldrumsBitcoin’s Lightning Network has surpassed $1 billion in monthly transactions, according to Coin Bureau, marking a surge in adoption and underscoring its growing role in enabling faster, everyday Bitcoin payments.

Well, the Bitcoin network prioritizes security and decentralization, but because every transaction must be verified and added to the blockchain, peak demand chokes the system, producing slower confirmations and higher fees that make small, everyday payments impractical.

Therefore, the Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s high-speed payment layer. By creating off-chain channels between users, it enables instant, low-cost transactions while preserving Bitcoin’s security. This scalability unlocks microtransactions, retail payments, and high-frequency trading without congesting the main blockchain.

Bitcoin Hits $1B on Lightning Network as Adoption Outpaces Price GainsBitcoin’s $1 billion milestone highlights the power of its dual-layer design: the main chain secures high-value transfers, while the Lightning Network enables fast, low-cost transactions, boosting Bitcoin’s role as both a store of value and a medium of exchange. 

Notably, this surge in on-chain activity is a sign that users and businesses increasingly favor speed and efficiency. Meanwhile, Tether integrated USDT with Lightning via the Taproot Assets protocol, further streamlining Bitcoin transactions.

Despite Bitcoin trading below the $70,000 mark, currently at $67,033 per CoinCodex, the Lightning Network usage is surging. This shows adoption isn’t solely driven by price swings; participants increasingly value speed, efficiency, and real-world utility. 

Source: CoinCodexThe rising Lightning activity highlights Bitcoin’s maturation, demonstrating that scalability and security can coexist. As transactions on Lightning hit new highs, Bitcoin is steadily positioning itself as a practical currency for everyday use and global commerce.

ConclusionThe Lightning Network’s $1B monthly milestone marks a pivotal evolution for Bitcoin, proving that speed, low cost, and usability can coexist with security. 

As adoption grows, Lightning transforms Bitcoin from a store of value into a practical medium for everyday transactions, signaling a shift toward real-world utility and scalable digital currency.

TLDR Table of Contents

TLDRBinance Junior Program OverviewSAFU Fund Reaches $1B in BTCGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks Binance introduced the Junior program to support family-focused digital finance education. The Junior app operates as a supervised sub-account that links directly to a parent’s main Binance account. The system blocks trading features and limits access to prevent young users from entering high-risk markets. Parents control all transfers and authorizations, while young users can view balances and receive crypto. Binance allows each parent to create up to five Junior accounts for family use. The company confirmed that Binance Junior serves learning goals and does not support speculative activity. Binance introduced a new family-focused product as its SAFU reserve crossed the $1 billion mark, and the two moves advanced separate goals and timelines, yet they shaped the company’s expanding ecosystem together and created fresh activity around digital learning tools.

Binance Junior Program Overview Binance rolled out Binance Junior to give families a structured way to teach digital finance. The company positioned the product as a savings and education tool for young users.

Parents created sub-accounts through their primary profiles, and the system linked the accounts with a QR scan. The setup allowed clear oversight and direct control.

#Binance SAFU Fund Asset Conversion – Final Update

Binance has successfully completed the final tranche purchase of 4,545 BTC, finalizing the $1 billion transition of SAFU stablecoin reserves into Bitcoin.

This transition was completed within 30 days of the initial… pic.twitter.com/NJbNPS1b0I

— Binance (@binance) February 12, 2026

The app restricted trading access, and it blocked high-risk features to keep young users away from market speculation. The structure focused on learning rather than trading.

Parents managed deposits, withdrawals, and transfer limits, and they set all authorizations as needed. The company said, “Parents remain fully responsible.”

Children viewed balances and received transfers, and they used Flexible Simple Earn where eligible. Users aged 13 and above accessed Binance Pay with preset daily caps.

The company continued shaping its platform with new products, and Binance Junior aligned with this broader strategy. The service aimed to support digital education in a controlled setting.

Parents created up to five accounts, and the system supported each profile without trading access. Transfers stayed within the preset limits.

The tool targeted families seeking long-term education pathways, and the design emphasized steady engagement. The company kept speculation outside the product.

The platform limited payments and blocked merchant access for young users, and it enforced strict controls across all actions. These measures supported the product’s defined purpose.

Regions with growing digital adoption, including parts of Africa, saw increased interest in structured finance tools. Binance referenced uneven access to financial education.

SAFU Fund Reaches $1B in BTC Binance completed a 15,000 BTC purchase for SAFU at an average price near $70,000. The new allocation pushed the fund’s value to about $1.005 billion.

The company executed another purchase of 4,545 BTC weeks later, and the acquisition added more than $300 million to the reserve. This completed the planned allocation.

The fund supported user protection during platform events, and the company continued to build it with regular adjustments. Binance maintained its BTC-based structure.

Both the SAFU update and the Binance Junior release arrived close together, yet each development served a separate role. The company confirmed no operational link.

The allocation update closed the latest phase of SAFU activity, and the fund remained at its $1 billion target. This marked the most recent factual development in Binance’s internal reserves.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 23% through the first 50 days of 2026, marking its weakest start to a year on record as spot ETFs hemorrhaged nearly $4 billion in five weeks. The Historic Decline Bitcoin has never previously posted consecutive declines in January and February.

TLDR Grayscale increased its Cardano allocation in the Smart Contract Fund as part of its latest portfolio shift. Zach Humphries stated that many traders may underestimate ADA’s long-term potential despite recent volatility. The analyst said Cardano’s focus on Bitcoin DeFi could set it apart from other smart contract networks. He explained that Bitcoin-driven liquidity could improve ADA’s appeal to institutions exploring new exposure. Cardano advanced its Bitcoin DeFi work through a live BTC swap demo and the launch of the Cardinal protocol. Cardano gained fresh attention as Grayscale raised its ADA weighting while analyst Zach Humphries pointed to rising Bitcoin DeFi activity, and he argued that current market conditions present a chance for accumulation as ecosystem development continues.

Grayscale raised its Cardano allocation within its Smart Contract Fund and drew interest across the market. The fund lifted ADA’s share from 19.50% to 19.55% and later moved it to 20.07%.

Humphries said the steady adjustment shows continued confidence from the asset manager. He added that many traders may overlook ADA’s long-term position. He noted that changing market flows often cause short-term exits.

The Smart Contract Fund holds several leading networks. It includes Solana at 28.58% and Ethereum at 28.41%. It also includes Hedera, Avalanche, and Sui.

The analyst stated that the shift comes during strong development inside the Cardano ecosystem. He pointed to fresh activity across core infrastructure. He also pointed to rising interest from developers.

Cardano, Grayscale, and Bitcoin DeFi Expansion Humphries linked the allocation increase to Cardano’s ongoing move into Bitcoin-based DeFi. He said this direction could set it apart from other platforms. He added that this change could draw wider liquidity.

He explained that the network aims to bring Bitcoin holders into DeFi without giving up custody. He shared that non-custodial collateral models support this design. He also said stablecoin tools build further activity.

The analyst said this model could give Cardano an edge in a space led by Ethereum and Solana. He added that even moderate engagement could drive higher volumes. He also said this approach could shift user attention.

He noted that institutions continue to explore new blockchain exposure. He said Bitcoin-driven flows may support ADA’s appeal. He added that ADA could gain stronger visibility as this trend expands.

Humphries said many traders often watch Solana and Ethereum. He added that this sometimes causes ADA to be overlooked. He also said the new strategy may improve Cardano’s position.

Bitcoin DeFi Progress on Cardano Cardano advanced its Bitcoin DeFi work through several public demonstrations. Developers carried out a live swap of Bitcoin for Minswap tokens at a major industry event. The event took place during the Bitcoin 2025 gathering.

Input Output Global later launched Cardinal. The protocol lets users bridge and stake BTC within Cardano’s extended UTXO framework. It also builds new paths for cross-chain activity.

Cardinal introduced fresh options for BTC holders. It lets them stay within a non-custodial environment. It also supports wider DeFi participation.

Development teams continue to expand these tools. They aim to unlock new liquidity routes. They also plan to broaden interaction across networks.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc has expanded the supply of RLUSD, its native stablecoin asset. According to data from Ripple Stablecoin Tracker, the company has minted 20,000,000 RLUSD on the Ethereum network.

Ripple stablecoin eyeing $2 billion milestoneRipple has continued to drive liquidity for the RLUSD stablecoin. Thus far this week, the firm has completed two major successful token minting exercises, the first featuring 20 million RLUSD also on the Ethereum protocol.

Before these minting events, there were a series of RLUSD token burns recorded in at least three tranches surpassing 3,300,000 tokens. The goal for Ripple is to enhance liquidity for the asset at a time when stablecoin liquidity has continued to dry up due to negative market sentiment.

Should the firm manage to sustain the pace of minting, RLUSD is on track to hit the $2 billion market capitalization in the first half of this year.

As of writing time, RLUSD has a circulating supply of 1.55 billion, up by over 2% in 24 hours. This uptick reflects the ongoing minting events on the Ethereum network. Demand is arguably higher on Ethereum, setting the pace for the token’s integration in DeFi platforms across the board.

With the growth in its overall supply, RLUSD entered the top 50 list of crypto assets, displacing more established assets like Ethereum Classic (ETC).

Role of Ripple in RLUSD growthBesides being the firm managing the minting and burning of the RLUSD stablecoin, Ripple is also its biggest promoter of the token.

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Over the past few months, Ripple has unveiled a series of partnerships aimed at putting RLUSD at the forefront of institutional adoption.

One of the latest deals is that of Zand, aimed at actualizing extensive RLUSD integration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

While still below the dominant stablecoins on the market, including Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC, RLUSD has maintained a steady growth pace since its inception.

Bitcoin has failed to show any major price recovery, yet recent data shows that whales are still quietly accumulating the leading cryptocurrency.

On Friday, Feb. 20, popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez shared on-chain data revealing that Bitcoin whales accumulated more than 30,000 BTC over the past week.

While this signals strong conviction among large holders despite recent market weakness, it has sparked a wave of confidence among market participants amid hopes for a potential rebound.

Over $2 billion in BTC bought in seven daysPer Bitcoin’s average trading price over the past week, which was around the $67,000 level, the notable whale accumulation during the period is worth over $2 billion.

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The massive accumulation comes as Bitcoin continues to trade below recent highs, with the broader crypto market facing sustained selling pressure. 

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Following the consistent price downturn faced on the broad crypto market, Bitcoin has plunged significantly in recent weeks, and it is currently trading at levels that mark a more than 50% decline from its ATH.

Nonetheless, the post from Martinez has stirred reactions from the crypto community, who believe that the aggressive buying activity suggests that institutions and high profile investors are taking advantage of the dip to expand their positions. 

What’s next for Bitcoin?While Bitcoin has been trading on a downward trajectory for a long time, it remains uncertain if the massive whale purchases could trigger a potential rebound in its price.

However, sustained whale buying during periods of price weakness has often preceded medium- to long-term price recoveries in the past. While the spot Bitcoin ETFs also reported decent fresh capital intake on some days during the past week, Bitcoin stands a chance to stabilize its price move if accumulation continues at this pace, positioning it for a potential price rebound.

Undeterred by recent market slumps, Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump and co-founder of American Bitcoin, once again predicts that Bitcoin could reach $1 million.

Eric Trump told attendees at Mar-a-Lago’s World Liberty Financial Forum on Wednesday that he has never felt more bullish on Bitcoin, describing it as “one of the greatest-performing asset classes” of the last ten years.

Eric Trump Says $1 Million BTC Price Call Still In Play In a CNBC interview, Eric Trump expressed continued confidence in Bitcoin’s future growth.

“I’m a huge proponent because I do think it hits 1 million dollars,” Trump said. “Go back two years. Bitcoin was at $16,000. Where is it at right now, $70,000?”

Eric noted that Bitcoin has delivered approximately 70% annual returns over the past ten years, daring critics to identify any asset class that has done better. 

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He framed Bitcoin’s volatility as a natural trade-off for its long-term growth potential. “You’re going to have volatility with something that has tremendous upside,” Eric opined. “But I’ve never been more bullish on Bitcoin in my life. I’ve never been more bullish on cryptocurrency in my life.”

Trump’s comments come as Bitcoin loiters just around $68,100, having fallen short of reclaiming the $70,000 threshold it last reached on Feb. 15. This puts BTC roughly 46% below its all-time high of $126,080, reached last October, according to CoinGecko data.

Eric is putting his beliefs into practice: American Bitcoin, the Bitcoin mining company he co-founded with his brother Donald Trump Jr., went public last year via a reverse merger with Gryphon Digital Mining and currently owns roughly 6,039 BTC, worth around $411 million.

Banks Pressured Trump Family Into Crypto Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. criticized the traditional banking system, labeling it a “Ponzi scheme” and saying the family’s entry into cryptocurrency was motivated by necessity rather than following a trend.

“You know, we didn’t get into crypto because we were on the leading edge,” Donald Trump Jr. told CNBC. “We got into it out of necessity. They basically forced us into it.” 

The brothers stated that their crypto-focused venture, World Liberty Financial, is part of a larger plan to transform the financial system.

The development comes as the Trump administration advances broader crypto adoption, marked by March 2025’s executive order on a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the formation of a federal crypto working group, and the enactment of the landmark GENIUS stablecoin legislation.

Journalist

Posted: February 20, 2026

MYX Finance [MYX] surges 83.65% in 24 hours to $1.76, at press time, as trading volume explodes 209.35% to $405.76 million across major exchanges. Buyers stepped in aggressively and drove a sharp expansion candle on the 4H chart. 

Price pushed away from the $0.83 macro support and reclaimed short-term structure. Besides, the vertical recovery erased a portion of the prior cascading decline. 

The move did not unfold quietly, since participation expanded alongside price. The alignment strengthens the rally’s credibility. 

However, explosive moves often attract momentum traders quickly. As a result, volatility could remain elevated while market participants reassess fair value for MYX.

Has MYX carved a bottom at $0.83? MYX printed a decisive reaction from the $0.83 macro support after an extended lower-high, lower-low sequence on the 4H chart. 

Sellers drove the price aggressively into that level; however, buyers absorbed the pressure and forced a sharp bullish expansion candle. 

That impulsive move broke the immediate descending structure and shifted short-term momentum. Price now trades around $1.75 after reclaiming minor consolidation zones formed during the breakdown phase. 

Meanwhile, RSI rebounded from 26 in oversold territory to 56 as of writing, pushing firmly above the midline and confirming momentum expansion rather than a weak bounce. 

The structure now shows early signs of a potential trend transition, since the price established a higher low above $0.83 and followed with a strong continuation. 

However, $3.00 remains the next major resistance from the prior breakdown region. Bulls must defend higher lows to sustain recovery strength and prevent a renewed rejection cycle.

Source: TradingView

Why are top traders leaning long now? Binance top trader positioning shows 65.31% of accounts holding long positions, while 34.69% remain short. At the time of writing, the Long/Short ratio stood at 1.88, indicating a clear bullish skew. 

This imbalance signals growing confidence among high-value accounts. Additionally, the steady climb in the ratio aligns with the recent price expansion. 

Traders did not hesitate to increase directional exposure as MYX accelerated. However, heavily tilted positioning can amplify volatility if sentiment shifts abruptly. 

Still, the data suggests informed participants anticipate further upside. This conviction strengthens the broader bullish narrative developing on derivatives platforms.

Rising Open Interest fuels leveraged momentum At press time, Open Interest (OI) expanded 120.17% to $51.62 million during the rally. That surge confirms that fresh leveraged positions entered the market. 

Price and OI rising together typically reflect aggressive new longs rather than simple short covering. Moreover, this alignment shows traders actively commit capital to the move. 

Volume already expanded 209.35%, and OI growth adds another layer of confirmation. However, rapid leverage buildup can magnify price swings in both directions. 

If momentum persists, leverage could accelerate gains. Conversely, any pullback could trigger forced liquidations and sharp intraday volatility.

Breakout strength or leverage-driven risk? MYX shows genuine strength through synchronized price, Volume, RSI, and OI expansion. 

Top traders lean heavily long, reinforcing bullish conviction. However, leverage concentration raises volatility risk. 

If momentum sustains above reclaimed support, upside continuation toward higher resistance becomes likely. If positioning overheats, sharp pullbacks could emerge quickly.

Final Summary Strong momentum and structural recovery favor continuation, but crowded longs increase volatility risk near key resistance.  If bulls defend higher lows above reclaimed support, MYX could gradually build toward a broader trend reversal.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH), down 2.1% from Thursday, was also among the underperformers.

Ledn's $188 million securitization marks the moment Bitcoin-backed consumer credit started looking like mainstream asset-backed debt.

Ledn Issuer Trust 2026-1 packages 5,441 fixed-rate balloon loans into rated, tradable notes with investment-grade and subordinated tranches, custody arrangements, liquidity reserves, and all the structural scaffolding that allows institutional investors to buy Bitcoin-linked yield without ever touching spot Bitcoin.

The deal establishes a template that could turn “don't sell your BTC, borrow against it” into a repeatable consumer-finance product, with all the benefits and pathologies that implies.

The deal sold $160 million of Class A notes rated BBB-(sf) by S&P and $28 million of Class B notes rated B-(sf), backed by a pool of loans totaling $199.1 million in principal.

Those loans, originated to 2,914 US retail borrowers, are secured by 4,078.87 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $356.9 million as of the Dec. 31 cutoff date. The weighted average loan-to-value ratio sits at 55.78%, and borrowers pay a weighted average rate of 11.80%.

Jefferies acted as the structuring agent and bookrunner. Reporting indicates the investment-grade tranche priced around 335 basis points over the benchmark rate. This is tight enough to signal investor appetite for structured crypto credit, wide enough to reflect the underlying volatility.

Ledn's $188 million securitization packages 5,441 Bitcoin-backed consumer loans into investment-grade and subordinated tranches rated by S&P.Unlike the subprime mortgages that helped ignite the 2008 crisis, these Bitcoin-backed loans aren’t primarily a bet on shaky borrowers slowly defaulting over time; however, like subprime-era lending, once the loans can be pooled, rated, and sold on an originate-to-distribute basis, the incentive shifts toward scaling volume.

And in this case, the systemic stress shows up as a single correlated shock (a BTC drawdown) that can trigger fast, synchronized liquidations and forced selling.

The machine that scales consumer creditSecuritization grows because it is repeatable. Replicability, rather than novelty, is what allows it to scale.

Once Bitcoin-backed loans can be rated, pooled, and distributed as notes, the real product becomes standardization: consistent LTV bands, liquidation policies, custody setups, concentration limits, and triggers that ABS buyers can diligence the way they would auto loans or credit cards.

Ledn can originate loans, warehouse them briefly, then sell the risk into capital markets rather than holding everything on the balance sheet or relying on expensive private funding.

If the format catches on, other lenders can copy the structure and compete on rate, terms, and distribution.

The immediate consequence is a potential funding-cost advantage that could push Bitcoin-backed borrowing beyond niche users.

If securitization meaningfully lowers the cost of capital for originators, borrowers may see lower APRs, higher advance rates, longer tenors, or simply more product availability. The originate-to-distribute model that scaled mortgages, autos, and credit cards could do the same for Bitcoin credit, assuming the underlying mechanics hold under stress.

For investors, the appeal is structural. ABS buyers can get Bitcoin-adjacent yield via credit spread and tranching without holding spot Bitcoin, which matters for mandate purposes and committee optics.

Investment committees that balk at “buying cryptocurrency” may be comfortable with buying a rated spread product collateralized by Bitcoin.

That's a distribution unlock. It also means TradFi capital can flow into crypto credit through a familiar channel, expanding the ecosystem's funding base without requiring cultural conversion.

Why now, and why this formatCredit markets are in spread-hunting mode. High-yield option-adjusted spreads hovered around 286 basis points on Feb. 18, according to FRED data.

This is the kind of environment where buyers reach for structured yield, especially if it carries an investment-grade rating.

Meanwhile, the US ABS issuance totaled $36.8 billion through January 2026 per SIFMA. The market is deep, institutional by default, and already wired for consumer-credit securitization. Ledn is trying to plug Bitcoin credit into that rail.

The deal arrives when Bitcoin-backed lending has reached consumer scale but still lacks institutional legitimacy.

Market-wide BTC-backed loan volumes reportedly hit around $2 billion in 2025 across various platforms: large enough to matter, fragmented enough that no single player dominates, and opaque enough that investors can't easily compare origination quality or liquidation mechanics across lenders.

Securitization forces visibility. Once you're selling notes to ABS buyers, you need disclosures, third-party ratings, legal opinions, and ongoing reporting.

The structure borrows heavily from traditional consumer ABS.

The deal includes a liquidity reserve, funded at 5% of the outstanding note balance ($9.4 million at closing), that provides a buffer against servicing shortfalls or timing mismatches.

Loans are governed by US law, and Bitcoin collateral is held by a custodian domiciled in New York, which matters for asset isolation and bankruptcy-remoteness analysis.

S&P's rating methodology emphasizes Ledn's liquidation history as evidence that the platform can execute under stress: 7,493 loans have been historically liquidated with an average LTV of 80.32% at liquidation, a maximum of 84.66%, and no reported losses.

The rating is a bet that the liquidation engine can outrun volatility.

High-yield credit spreads at 286 basis points on February 18, 2026, reflect tight credit conditions driving investor demand for structured yield.The flywheel and the feedback loopIf this format repeats, the knock-on effects are both obvious and uncomfortable.

More originators entering the space creates competition on rate and terms. More structures emerge, such as senior/mezz tranches, revolving shelves, and covered-bond-style formats.

More consumer marketing frames Bitcoin-backed borrowing as a mainstream alternative to selling holdings. The ecosystem starts to look like any other consumer-credit vertical.

That's the procyclical dynamic. In a bull market, rising Bitcoin prices increase collateral headroom, allowing borrowers to leverage, which in turn increases demand for origination, which, in turn, feeds securitization volume, lowering funding costs and enabling more competitive borrowing terms.

The feedback loop is self-reinforcing. In a drawdown, the same loop runs in reverse and faster.

Automatic liquidations can become forced selling at scale. If securitizations grow large, this becomes a microstructure story: collateral liquidations feeding price impact, which in turn feeds more liquidations.

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The math is straightforward. At the Dec. 31 cutoff, the pool held $199.1 million in loan principal backed by 4,078.87 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $356.9 million, implying a Bitcoin price of roughly $87,500.

If Bitcoin falls to $61,000, the portfolio LTV will automatically reach roughly 80%. If Bitcoin falls to $48,800, the portfolio LTV reaches 100%, and collateral equals the loan principal.

Those aren't hypothetical tail scenarios in a market where short-horizon volatility models point to annualized volatility in the mid-50% range.

The liquidation engine has to execute faster than price decay, even when everyone else is liquidating into the same liquidity pool.

Chart shows Ledn's ABS portfolio loan-to-value ratio rising from 55.78% at cutoff to 100% if Bitcoin falls to $48,800.Where subprime risk accumulated gradually through borrower deterioration, Bitcoin-backed ABS concentrates risk into abrupt, market-wide collateral repricing that can unfold in hours rather than years.

The uncomfortable partInvestment-grade speaks to structural protections rather than to the inherent stability of Bitcoin itself. A BBB-(sf) rating reflects S&P’s view that the combination of overcollateralization, liquidity reserves, subordination, and performance triggers provides sufficient cushion under its modeled stress scenarios.

Bitcoin’s behavior as collateral remains highly volatile. The rating agency’s assessment rests on whether the structure can absorb that volatility, based on historical liquidation performance and expected price swings.

In traditional consumer ABS, stress is driven by idiosyncratic borrower deterioration. In Bitcoin-backed ABS, stress is driven by systematic collateral repricing.

The correlation is one. Everyone's loans get squeezed at the same time, and everyone's liquidation engine competes for the same exit liquidity.

Contagion pathways are also different. Traditional consumer-credit stress transmits through bank balance sheets and capital constraints. Bitcoin-backed ABS stress transmits through microstructure: price drop triggers margin calls, which trigger forced selling, which drives price impact, which triggers more margin calls.

That's mechanically faster than credit-deterioration timelines.

The real product here is the funding machine powering Bitcoin-backed loans. When Ledn securitizes loans, warehouse capacity expands. Expanded warehouse capacity drives origination growth. Greater origination volume pushes borrowing costs lower.

That's the consumer-behavior wedge. It also creates a new category of Bitcoin exposure for investors who can't or won't hold spot: credit spread plus structural protection, packaged in a familiar format.

The pathway to mainstream adoption isn't cultural, but operational. If the deal performs, secondary spreads tighten, and repeat issuance follows, the template becomes standardized.

The sector stops being a “crypto niche” and becomes “another ABS subcategory.” That's how consumer-credit markets scale: not through evangelism, but through repeatable, financeable templates that institutional capital can plug into.

The open question is whether the liquidation mechanics hold under real stress. S&P's rating is based on Ledn's historical performance of 7,493 liquidations with no losses.

However, those liquidations occurred in markets with specific liquidity conditions and volatility regimes. The next test will come during a gap-down event, when multiple platforms liquidate simultaneously into shallow order books.

Subprime mortgages embedded fragility in borrower credit and dispersed it through tranching.

Bitcoin-backed ABS embeds fragility in collateral volatility and relies on liquidation speed as the shock absorber, while still delivering genuine benefits in the form of liquidity access, tax deferral, and institutional capital formation.

The risk sits in market structure rather than household solvency, and the payoff is capital efficiency rather than homeownership expansion.

Still, this is the moment Bitcoin-backed consumer credit becomes mainstream securitized debt.

Whether that's a scaling breakthrough or a leverage trap depends on what happens when the market reprices collateral faster than the liquidation engine can execute.

Posted in

Recent market dynamics have given different reasons as to why the XRP price is programmed to shoot to double and triple digits. However, a supporter known as Remi Relief recently outlined a case for a four-figure XRP valuation, with the reason being that several unfolding events could lay the groundwork for a move toward $1,200 and even beyond.

Remi Relief’s XRP price outlook is based on a combination of incoming regulations, geopolitical developments, and long-term pattern comparisons to XRP’s historic rally in 2017/2018.

The Clarity Act And Regulatory Momentum According to XRP supporter Remi Relief, XRP’s price will break above $1,000 by the end of the cycle. This bullish outlook is based on how XRP reacts after the proposed Clarity Act is finally passed. The Clarity Act is an anticipated market structure bill that supporters believe could define clearer rules for digital assets in the United States and remove uncertainty around crypto regulation, including XRP. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is betting on the Clarity Act to be signed into law by April. 

However, Remi Relief noted that US President Donald Trump wants progress on the legislation’s passing as early as March 1. According to this view, regulatory clarity would significantly benefit Ripple Labs and, by extension, XRP. 

Advocates like Remi Relief are of the notion that once legal frameworks are solidified, institutional players that have will now be incentivized to begin allocating more capital into the crypto industry. As an institutional finance-centric crypto, XRP is well-positioned to attract a meaningful share of any large-scale inflows from financial institutions entering the crypto market.

Another major point is with Ripple Treasury, which was recently introduced by GTreasury. Remi Relief noted that the platform handled $13 trillion in payments last year, none of which were processed through crypto rails. Imagine how much this would matter for XRP demand if even a fraction of that transactional volume were to migrate onto the XRP Ledger.

The 2017/2018 Fractal And The $1,697 Projection XRP’s price action might currently be stuck under $1.50, but various technical analyses show it is still following price playbacks before bullish rallies in previous years. Remi Relief believes this is certainly the case, and a parabolic move is incoming, with a $1,697.27 XRP if the cryptocurrency follows the same pattern as the 2017/2018 cycle.

According to the analyst, not only is a $1200-$1700 target possible for XRP, but it’s also a conservative opinion. This plays into a prevailing sentiment where the $1,200 pathway is a high-conviction thesis among a segment of the XRP community. Some XRP proponents are even of the notion that market cap arguments of XRP reaching extravagant price targets like $1,000 and even five digits at $10,000 are misguided.

XRP trading at $1.42 on the 1D chart | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured Image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

KITE crypto has quietly transitioned from low-volatility consolidation into full-blown on-chain expansion and the data doesn’t look accidental.

After weeks of relatively muted activity through December and early January, the network flipped a switch in late January. Whale transactions surged. Exchange flows accelerated. Volume exploded. And KITE price followed.

This wasn’t retail-led noise. It was coordinated capital movement.

Whale Transactions Spike First Then KITE Price JumpedOn-chain data tracking transactions above $100K and $1M shows a clear shift in behavior. Throughout December, large transfers were sporadic and inconsistent. But as January progressed, high-value transactions began clustering.

By late January and into February, whale activity accelerated sharply.

Notably, the spike in large transactions preceded the most aggressive phase of price expansion. That sequencing matters. It suggests whales positioned early, before volatility and broader participation increased.

Exchange Flows Turn High VelocitySimilarly, Active deposits and withdrawals rose sharply into February. Instead of one-sided deposit dominance, which would typically signal heavy distribution but the data shows both deposits and withdrawals expanding simultaneously. That suggests high turnover and active trading rather than simple exit flows.

This kind of tug-of-war dynamic is often seen during expansion phases, where capital rotates rapidly between participants. Because this means that Liquidity increased. Volatility increased. Participation increased, too.

MVRV Indicates Profitability ExpansionMeanwhile, the 30-day MVRV turned sharply positive heading into February, reflecting that short-term holders are now sitting on profits. The 365-day MVRV also climbed steadily, reinforcing the broader shift into profitability territory, too.

Even, the MVRV Z-score moved toward elevated levels, but not historically extreme blow-off territory. That balance is important.

It suggests KITE is in a profitable expansion phase, yet not conclusively overheated. Short-term profit-taking risk exists, but structural exhaustion signals have not yet fully emerged, which is kind of safety signal for longterm investors.

Volume and Volatility Confirm Speculative PhaseClubbing all data with KITE Price, its momentum feels justified as it accelerated alongside surging volume in late January onwards. Volatility spiked aggressively too which is a hallmark of speculative expansion cycles.

Crucially, after the surge, price consolidated at higher levels instead of collapsing. That pattern supports the idea that demand absorption occurred during high turnover, rather than immediate distribution.

More Expansion Is Possible But With Risk AttachedThe on-chain data points toward a growth phase rather than structural breakdown. However, elevated short-term MVRV and concentrated whale clusters mean the next move is critical.

If withdrawals begin consistently outpacing deposits and whale activity sustains, accumulation remains the dominant narrative. If deposits overwhelm and MVRV spikes aggressively, the tone could shift toward distribution.

For now, KITE appears to be operating inside an aggressive expansion cycle which is purely driven by whale positioning, rising volume, and even renewed speculative participation.

The next few weeks will determine whether this momentum builds into continuation or matures into volatility-driven shakeouts.

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Layer‑2 network shows growing adoption as average transaction size jumps.

Published: February 20, 2026 │ 2:39 PM GMT

Created by Kornelija Poderskytė from DailyCoin

The Bitcoin Lightning Network has achieved a significant milestone, processing over $1 billion in transaction volume in November 2025, according to data from Bitcoin financial services firm River. 

This is the first time the layer‑2 payment network has surpassed the billion-dollar mark in a single month, highlighting growing adoption beyond speculative trading.

The Bitcoin Lightning Network’s transaction activity isn’t publicly visible, making adoption hard to track. To address this, researchers have aggregated data from major node operators, removed overlaps, and extrapolated totals to estimate overall volume and transaction counts.

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According to their findings, despite Bitcoin’s price remaining relatively flat during this period, the Lightning Network handled roughly 5.2 million transactions.

Although total transaction value in November 2025 was higher, the number of transactions remained below the 6.6 million peak reached in August 2023, when micropayment experiments in gaming and messaging drove a temporary surge.

Source: XThe average Bitcoin Lightning Network transaction in November 2025 was $223, up 89% from $118 in the same period in 2024, and 1,758% higher than the $12 average recorded in August 2023. Researchers say the record $223 figure is largely driven by exchange-related transfers, while future spikes could come from AI-powered payment experiments.

The network’s capacity, measured as the total Bitcoin locked in payment channels, also reached a record high of over 5,600 BTC, showing the infrastructure is continuing to expand to support faster and cheaper transactions.

Institutional Activity Drives VolumeExchanges and businesses contributed significantly to the surge in Bitcoin Lightning Network activity. 

Large transfers, including a reported $1 million payment from Secure Digital Markets to the Kraken exchange, demonstrate that the network is now being used for substantial payments alongside smaller transactions. The rise in average transaction size shows that bigger transfers are becoming more common, while the network continues to handle high transactional volumes.

Why This MattersReaching its first billion-dollar month, the Bitcoin Lightning Network shows it can handle larger payments efficiently for both everyday users and businesses, regardless of Bitcoin’s price movements.

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People Also Ask:How does the Bitcoin Lightning Network process transactions?

Transactions occur off-chain between users in private payment channels and are only settled on the Bitcoin blockchain when channels are closed, reducing fees and congestion.

Why is the Lightning Network important for Bitcoin adoption?

It allows Bitcoin to be used for everyday payments, micropayments, and faster transfers, overcoming Bitcoin’s on-chain speed and cost limitations.

Is all Lightning Network activity publicly visible?

No. Transaction details are private by design. Researchers aggregate data from major node operators to estimate total volume and transaction counts.

DailyCoin's Vibe Check: Which way are you leaning towards after reading this article?

Market Sentiment

100% Bullish

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

TL;DR:

Ripple minted 20 million RLUSD tokens, bringing the stablecoin’s total supply to 1.530 billion. The operation was executed on the Ethereum network from a wallet identified as “Ripple: Deployer”. RLUSD records a daily volume of over $100 million. Ripple minted approximately 20 million RLUSD tokens, expanding the supply of its dollar-pegged stablecoin in an operation confirmed on February 19, 2026, on the Ethereum network. The issuance was recorded on Etherscan and executed from a wallet identified as “Ripple: Deployer”. The total supply of RLUSD has now reached 1.530 billion tokens, according to data from the company’s Stablecoin Tracker.

With this new batch of RLUSD tokens, the stablecoin is positioned in the mid-range of the stablecoin market in terms of capitalization. However, the gap with the sector’s leading players remains vast: Tether (USDT) exceeds $183 billion in market capitalization, while Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) surpasses $74 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

RLUSD and Ripple’s Ecosystem Strategy RLUSD is part of a strategy that the San Francisco-based company has been developing around custody infrastructure, real-world asset tokenization for institutions, and cross-border payment use cases. Supply increases in stablecoins typically respond to new institutional demand, treasury rebalancing, or liquidity provisioning for exchanges and DeFi platforms.

According to market data, RLUSD records a daily volume of over $100 million, indicating that the stablecoin shows active circulation rather than sitting idle in treasury reserves. It is worth noting that the issuance of 20 million tokens is not enough to alter the global stablecoin market, but it does improve the asset’s liquidity profile and Ripple’s standing as a tool for institutions and enterprises.

The real impact of the issuance will depend on whether counterparties adopt RLUSD to settle transactions, post collateral, or manage their own treasuries in the coming months. The liquidity available for payment flows, exchange pairs, and DeFi integrations on Ethereum grows with each expansion, though for that utility to be genuine, it requires adoption, not just supply.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin remains one of the wealthiest figures in crypto based on on-chain data. Public wallet records show he controls more than 224,000 ETH across known addresses. With the Ethereum price trading around $1,900, those holdings are valued near $439 million.

During Ethereum’s 2014 presale, approximately 16.53% of the initial 72 million ETH supply was allocated to the founding team. This allocation became the foundation of Vitalik Buterin’s long-term crypto wealth. While exact individual distributions were not publicly itemized at launch, blockchain data shows that Buterin controlled over 662,000 ETH in 2015, representing about 0.91% of the total supply at the time

Vitalik Buterin’s known ETH holdings stand near 224,104 tokens, as per the Arkham report. At recent prices near $1,950, this places the ETH value close to $439.07 million. However, his estimated crypto net worth was about $467 million in December 2025. This decline is a subsidiary of the crypto market dip and recent blockchain data showing he sold 2,972 ETH worth about $6.69 million over three days. 

However, as we reported, the transactions were linked to wallets associated with him. No official statement was issued regarding the transfers.

Historical balance records show his ownership share has steadily declined. On December 31, 2015, he held 662,810 ETH, or about 0.91% of the supply. By December 31, 2025, that figure had fallen to roughly 0.20%. At the current prices and holdings, Vitalik has 0.027% of the supply.

Source: Arkham

Buterin stated in 2018 that he never held more than 0.9% of the total ETH supply. On-chain records appear consistent with that statement, but his holdings have gradually decreased year by year.

Moreover, Buterin’s wealth has closely tracked the ETH market cycles. In November 2021, when ETH reached $4,891, his net worth briefly touched $2.09 billion. He also crossed billionaire status earlier in 2021 as ETH moved above $3,000.

However, just like the recent market decline, during the 2022 market downturn, ETH declined sharply. By December 31, 2022, the value of his holdings had dropped near $300 million. In 2025, his wealth again peaked near $1.2 billion when ETH approached $5,000.

Vitalik’s Non-ETH Holdings and Other AssetsIn the detailed report, ETH tokens represent over 99% of Vitalik Buterin’s disclosed crypto portfolio. However, he holds smaller balances in other tokens such as WHITE, MOODENG, and KNC based on portfolio tracking data.

In 2021, he received 50% of the SHIB supply from its developer. The allocation briefly pushed his net worth near $20 billion. However, he later burned about 410 trillion SHIB and donated the rest to CryptoRelief India.

Buterin has also participated in early funding rounds for StarkWare, a zero-knowledge proof developer valued at $8 billion in 2022. However, the details on his equity stake remain private, and public data on his non-crypto assets is limited.

Buterin's Position Among Top ETH HoldersAs per the Arkham report, Vitalik is not the top holder since institutional entities dominate the largest ETH holdings. The ETH2 Deposit Contract holds the highest amount OF ABOUT 80,857,848 ETH because validators must stake ETH there. Following closely, exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase also rank near the top.

However, Vitalik Buterin appears to be the largest individual ETH holder with active access to his tokens. Some early holders own large balances but lack wallet access. Consequently, his rank remains high among Ethereum co-founders and early contributors.

Source: Ethereum Treasuries

In parallel with founder and early contributor holdings, corporate Ethereum treasuries have also expanded in 2026. BitMine Immersion currently ranks as the largest identified corporate ETH holder, reporting approximately 4,371,497 ETH on its balance sheet, including a net addition of 168,462 ETH over the past 30 days. Coming in second, SharpLink holds about 864,840 ETH, while The Ether Machine controls roughly 496,712 ETH, coming in third in the largest ETH treasury firms.

Michael Saylor kept buying while the market slid, and he did it out loud: “Neven been more bullish,” he said in an X post Thursday. His public posts and regulatory filings show Strategy continued to add to its Bitcoin pile even as price swings turned paper gains into big unrealized losses.

The firm’s recent regulatory filing confirms a fresh purchase this month, while market reports and accounting disclosures show the wider hit to corporate treasuries.

Market Value Drop Shakes Portfolios Bitcoin has shed roughly $1.2 trillion of market value since October 2025, and the wider crypto market has lost about $2 trillion in the same stretch.

Prices that once pushed Bitcoin past $126,000 have fallen back toward the mid-$60,000s. That scale of decline has pushed several companies that used Bitcoin as a treasury asset into heavy mark-to-market losses, changing how investors view corporate crypto exposure.

Never Been More ₿ullish.

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) February 19, 2026

Strategy Keeps Buying According to the company’s own filings, Strategy acquired 2,486 BTC for roughly $168 million during mid-February, bringing its holdings above 700k coins. The buy was announced in a Form 8-K and has been picked up across market outlets.

At the same time, accounting rules that require unrealized gains and losses to be reflected in reports mean the firm’s quarterly statements showed multibillion-dollar swings tied to Bitcoin’s price. That reality has put Strategy on the front lines of the debate over holding large crypto positions on balance sheets.

BTCUSD trading at $67,565 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView Price Action And Headlines Moved Markets Bitcoin’s trading has been choppy. Headlines tied to geopolitics and macro policy moved traders, and low-volume sessions made swings feel bigger. ETF outflows and a string of liquidations amplified the slide.

Still, there were moments when buyers stepped in and pushed prices up briefly; those countermoves have been picked over by analysts hunting for a bottom.

Image: Wall Street Pit Bullish Voices, Loud And Public Eric Trump — speaking at an event at Mar-a-Lago — made a very bullish prediction that was reposted and amplified, and that kind of public optimism appears to have rubbed off on other high-profile backers.

Go bitcoin today. The money won’t fix itself.

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) February 13, 2026

Saylor reposted and echoed similar buy-the-dip messages, urging accumulation even as skeptics warned about the risks. At times political headlines tied to US President Donald Trump and related policy moves were singled out as part of the story behind the 2025 rally that preceded this correction.

Saylor’s latest comment shows he remains firmly confident in Bitcoin. Despite huge losses, he sees dips as buying chances and urges others to stay bullish, keeping his long-term conviction front and center.

Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView

Metaplanet (OTC:MTPLF) CEO Simon Gerovich fired back at critics claiming the company lacks transparency and mismanaged Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) purchases, defending a 23% stock decline versus BTC's 24% drop as proof the strategy works. The Transparency Defense Gerovich published a detailed rebuttal on X on Friday, addressing accusations that Metaplanet engaged in dishonest disclosures and concealed high-priced Bitcoin purchases.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC), an independent nonprofit research and advocacy organisation, was founded on February 18, 2026, in Washington D.C. Led by veteran crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky, the organisation aims to educate U.S. policymakers and advocate for practical, innovation-friendly regulations for decentralised finance (DeFi) and perpetual derivatives markets. Mr Chervinsky previously held positions at Variant, the Blockchain Association and Compound.

Backed by an initial 1 million HYPE tokens grant from the Hyper Foundation (valued at ~$28–29 million at launch), HPC focuses on bridging lawmakers with blockchain tech, producing technical research, and advocating for clear rules that support onchain financial infrastructure while addressing consumer protection: without outdated enforcement-heavy approaches.

We are Hyperliquid Policy Center.

HPC is a research and advocacy nonprofit focused on advancing a clear path for decentralized finance to thrive in the USA.

We will introduce policymakers to @HyperliquidX and bridge the gap between law and next-generation market infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/9bbQZboJWs

— Hyperliquid Policy Center (@HyperliquidPC) February 18, 2026

EXPLORE: What is the Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?

Hyperliquid Policy Center: Navigating the Legislative Landscape The launch arrives as the crypto sector increasingly formalizes its engagement with federal regulators. Moving beyond the industry’s early avoidance of oversight, major platforms are now prioritizing direct advocacy to influence pending frameworks like the CLARITY Act.

Hyperliquid has recently bolstered its market presence through institutional moves, such as Ripple Prime integrating with its DeFi ecosystem. However, the lack of tailored regulations for decentralized protocols remains a barrier. Analysts suggest that resolving these policy bottlenecks is essential, especially as regulatory shifts are expected to drive the next market cycle.

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Strategic Focus and Leadership Operating as an independent 501(c)(4) non-profit, the HPC is backed by a contribution of 1 million HYPE $29.27 24h volatility: 3.9% Market cap: $6.98 B Vol. 24h: $196.92 M tokens from the Hyper Foundation, valued at approximately $29 million at the time of the announcement.  Jake Chervinsky, formerly of the Blockchain Association and Variant Fund, leads the initiative alongside policy counsel Brad Bourque and director Salah Ghazzal.

The center’s primary mandate is to educate lawmakers on the distinctions between centralized intermediaries and autonomous protocols. Chervinsky emphasized the necessity of this distinction in a statement regarding the launch:

“This technology is poised to become the base layer of the global financial system. Now the United States must choose: we can either adopt new rules that allow this innovation to thrive here at home, or we can wait and watch as other nations seize the opportunity.”

The organization will specifically target policies affecting perpetual futures and Hyperliquid’s expansion into prediction market contracts. By providing technical assistance on draft legislation, the HPC intends to demonstrate how decentralized infrastructure offers resilience unmatched by legacy financial systems.

The center plans to advocate specifically for a “clear, regulated path” that accommodates blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

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A Unified Voice for DeFi? The establishment of the HPC marks a maturation point for DeFi protocols, which have historically lacked the organized lobbying power of centralized exchanges. This proactive stance mirrors similar legal strategies seen across the sector, such as Polymarket’s recent challenges against state-level restrictions.

As Congress considers new frameworks for digital assets in the coming sessions, the availability of well-resourced advocacy groups like the HPC could prove decisive. Their input may help ensure that decentralized technologies are not inadvertently stifled by rules originally designed for traditional intermediaries.

EXPLORE: What is the Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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Daniel Frances is a technical writer and Web3 educator specializing in macroeconomics and DeFi mechanics. A crypto native since 2017, Daniel leverages his background in on-chain analytics to author evidence-based reports and deep-dive guides. He holds certifications from The Blockchain Council, and is dedicated to providing "information gain" that cuts through market hype to find real-world blockchain utility.

Bitcoin options traders are increasingly positioning for a downside move, paying a significant premium for protection as the asset struggles to reclaim the $70,000 mark. New derivatives data indicates a structural shift that could point to a retest of the $60,000 support level in the coming weeks alongside continued spot market weakness.

It has been 35 days since the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium was positive.

This is the longest period of negativity for 3 years. pic.twitter.com/bIqQDcYAFI

— ChiefraT (@ChiefraFba) February 19, 2026

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Bitcoin Options Data Signals Downside Professional traders are currently paying a 13% premium for put options relative to calls, a metric that signals elevated caution. Under neutral market conditions, the delta skew typically hovers between -6% and +6%. The persistence of this premium over the last four weeks suggests institutional sentiment has shifted decisively to a defensive stance. This aligns with recent spot market patterns, where analysts have warned that Bitcoin could drop towards lower support levels amid institutional selling.

Furthermore, recent data points to $910 million in BTC $67 171 24h volatility: 1.3% Market cap: $1.34 T Vol. 24h: $37.79 B ETF outflows, compounding the bearish pressure visible in the derivatives sector. This risk-off environment arrives shortly after crypto liquidations hit $1.4 billion, serving as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in leveraged positions during volatility flushes.

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Key Levels and Technical Structure The technical structure of the options market reveals specific strategies being deployed on exchanges like Deribit. Data indicates that traders are favoring bear diagonal spreads and short straddles, strategies that typically profit from stagnation or moderate downside. The options market structure implies short gamma buildup that could impact spot liquidity, particularly if support at $66,000 fails to hold.

Prediction markets are also responding to the shifting sentiment. Current odds suggest a higher probability of Bitcoin’s price testing $65,000, though it may be lower. Another bearish indicator is the demand for stablecoins in Asia; the USDT premium against the Chinese Yuan has flipped to a 0.2% discount, signaling a lack of urgent buy-side pressure. While some analysts note that a $40,000 BTC put stands out in open interest, this likely represents deep out-of-the-money hedging rather than a primary price target for the majority of the market.

Open Interest By Strike Price Source: Deribit

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What This Means for Bitcoin Traders For semi-professional investors, the convergence of negative spot flows and defensive options positioning warrants caution. The effective bet by market makers appears to be a test of $60,000 rather than an immediate rebound. Traders should monitor ETF flow data closely; a reversal there is likely required to neutralize the current bearish options skew.

On Feb. 19 (ET), spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net outflow of $166 million, marking the third consecutive day of net outflows. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw total net outflows of $130 million, with BlackRock’s ETHA leading at $96.80 million in net outflows. https://t.co/Hj2Gs49bWa pic.twitter.com/fNPHmfvyVJ

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) February 20, 2026

Despite the short-term negative price action, the infrastructure for institutional derivatives continues to mature. Recent developments, such as Ripple Prime’s integration with Hyperliquid, highlight the growing sophistication of on-chain trading access. As these platforms evolve, they may offer traders more granular tools to manage standard deviation risks during corrective phases like the current one.

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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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Daniel Frances is a technical writer and Web3 educator specializing in macroeconomics and DeFi mechanics. A crypto native since 2017, Daniel leverages his background in on-chain analytics to author evidence-based reports and deep-dive guides. He holds certifications from The Blockchain Council, and is dedicated to providing "information gain" that cuts through market hype to find real-world blockchain utility.

Technical traders see a compression setup, with $1.39 as key support and $1.44 as near-term resistance that could open a move toward $1.50 to $1.62 if reclaimed. Feb 20, 2026, 1:08 p.m.

What to know: XRP is consolidating around $1.42 as volatility falls to levels last seen before a major 2024 rally, prompting speculation that the current downtrend may be nearing exhaustion.Technical traders see a compression setup, with $1.39 as key support and $1.44 as near-term resistance that could open a move toward $1.50 to $1.62 if reclaimed.With volatility near prior cycle lows, analysts say the timing and direction of the next breakout will likely hinge on how long this low-volatility base-building phase can persist.XRP held steady near $1.42 as volatility dropped to levels last seen before a major 2024 rally, raising questions about whether the downtrend is exhausting.

News BackgroundXRP has declined roughly 61% from its all-time high during the current stretch of market turbulence, but recent price action suggests the selloff may be slowing. Losses have moderated into consolidation, with small gains across shorter timeframes replacing sharp directional moves.Notably, XRP’s historical volatility has fallen to 96, matching levels last seen in June 2024 — a period that marked the bottom of a prior downtrend before a rally into November. The compression has fueled speculation that XRP may be entering a similar base-building phase. Some analysts point to parallels with earlier cycle structures, including the extended consolidation that preceded the 2017 breakout.Price Action SummaryXRP slipped 0.14% to $1.42Price tested and held support near $1.39Volume surged nearly 94% above average during the breakdownRecovery stalled near $1.428–$1.431 resistanceTechnical AnalysisThe session’s key moment came when XRP tested $1.3915 on heavy volume before stabilizing. While the bounce completed a 38.2% retracement, momentum faded as price approached $1.44, the daily pivot and near-term ceiling.Structure remains cautious below $1.44–$1.45, but the successful defense of $1.39 suggests sellers are losing urgency. Declining volume during consolidation points to compression rather than fresh distribution.What traders say is next?Traders view this as a compression setup.If XRP reclaims $1.44, it opens room toward $1.50 and potentially $1.62.
If $1.39 breaks, downside risk shifts toward $1.35.With volatility near prior cycle lows, the next decisive move may be less about direction now — and more about how long this compression can hold before expansion resumes.More For You

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Dual South Korean listings send Ethereum layer-2 token AZTEC surging 82%

1 hour ago

Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb both added local currency pairs for the privacy-focused layer-2 token, triggering a sharp move in a thinly traded market.

What to know:

Aztec's token jumped about 82 percent to roughly $0.035 after South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb listed it with won trading pairs, unleashing heavy KRW-denominated demand in a thin market.New KRW listings on major Korean platforms can rapidly reprice smaller tokens by opening direct access for an unusually active local retail base and triggering momentum-driven buying.The listing-driven spike in AZTEC widened the so-called kimchi premium before arbitrage trading narrowed the gap, while the project’s pitch as a privacy-focused Ethereum layer 2 gives it a narrative beyond the short-term surge.Top Stories