On February 24, 2026, in a client memo, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan argued that DeFi’s governance reforms and rising institutional participation could help lift crypto from its downturn. He highlighted Uniswap’s periods of higher trading volume than Coinbase and Aave’s more than $100 million in annual revenue, even as AAVE fell about 50% over the past year. Separately, Michael Saylor told Fox Business the pullback is milder than prior cycles.

On February 24, 2026, Bitwise filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch exchange-traded funds linked to 2028 US presidential election contracts. The PredictionShares products would bundle event-driven contracts into an ETF wrapper amid regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets. The SEC has not indicated whether the proposals will be approved.

Between February 17 and February 22, Strategy acquired 592 BTC for about $39.8 million, as noted in a Monday SEC filing. The company now holds 717,722 BTC, valued at roughly $47.5 billion at current prices, and funded the latest purchases through at the market MSTR share sales.

The White House held a third closed-door session on Thursday to assess rules for rewards tied to stablecoin balances, a key element of a broader US crypto market-structure bill. The meeting began at 9 a.m. ET and included Ripple, Coinbase, bank trade groups, and industry associations; participants called it constructive, but no agreement emerged.

On February 18, 2026, Grayscale Investments submitted a filing to US regulators to transform its existing AAVE trust into an exchange-traded fund intended for listing on NYSE Arca. The proposed ETF would track the AAVE token, apply a 2.5% sponsor fee paid in AAVE, and use Coinbase as custodian and prime broker.

On February 18, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted an amicus brief to the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals asserting that it holds sole federal authority over prediction markets. The filing supports Crypto.com in a dispute with the Nevada Gaming Control Board over sports event contracts and argues that event contracts are commodity derivatives governed by the Dodd-Frank Act rather than gambling products. The clash with multiple US states, where nearly 50 cases target firms offering event contracts, has turned federal versus state control into a central issue for the rapidly growing prediction market sector.

On February 16, 2026, Tokyo-based bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet reported a 95 billion yen ($619 million) net loss for the fiscal year ended December 31 due to a substantial markdown on its bitcoin holdings, while revenue jumped 738% to 8.91 billion yen ($58 million). The company finished 2025 with 35,102 BTC and maintained an equity ratio of 90.7%, and it is targeting a long-term bitcoin position of 210,000 BTC.

On February 12, 2026, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission created a 35-member Innovation Advisory Committee made up of leaders from cryptocurrency, venture capital and traditional finance. The group will periodically advise the regulator on how to oversee blockchain, digital assets and artificial intelligence as they transform trading and derivatives markets.

On February 13, 2026, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered outlined contrasting short-term paths but broadly constructive longer-term outlooks for bitcoin. JPMorgan highlighted an estimated $77,000 production cost as a key support level, while Standard Chartered cautioned that BTC could slide toward $50,000 before rebounding toward $100,000 by the end of 2026.