Russia is preparing to restrict access to overseas crypto exchange websites from September 1 unless platforms comply with new domestic requirements. The plan channels users toward locally licensed venues operating under experimental legal regimes, alongside accelerated efforts to launch state-backed exchanges in Moscow and St. Petersburg with stricter KYC and capital standards.

CryptoQuant data shows that over the past 13 months, centralized exchanges have recorded a cumulative $209 billion imbalance favoring altcoin sell orders, while Bitcoin trades around 68.8K. An analyst argues this persistent pressure, despite spot ETFs for assets like XRP and SOL, signals structural weakness and a lack of institutional accumulation rather than a brief market dip.

Public Bitcoin miners are preparing roughly 30 GW of AI-oriented power capacity, nearly triple the 11 GW they run today, to navigate tighter margins after the 2024 halving. Some operators, including HIVE Digital, report growing AI/HPC revenue, while investors urge faster pivots; market volatility since Q4 saw Bitcoin drop below $60,000 before stabilizing in February.

ProShares has launched the ProShares GENIUS Money Market ETF (NYSE Arca: IQMM), a vehicle built to hold assets eligible as reserves for dollar-pegged stablecoins under U.S. law. The fund confines holdings to cash and U.S. government securities maturing in 93 days or less, while stablecoin supply sits just under $300 billion, according to The Block's data.

Bitcoin traded in a narrowing band around intraday lows of $65,620 on Thursday while cross‑crypto liquidations over 24 hours reached $210 million. Analysts highlighted weak bounces, clustered liquidation levels between $64,000–$71,000 and four weeks of fund outflows totaling $3.74 billion as signs of persistently bearish sentiment.

On 19 February, Bubblemaps said onchain traces connected wallets linked to Hayden Davis with an early $PUMP allocation of 12.5 billion tokens after roughly $50 million USDC was deployed via Pump.fun. The firm found about 80% of those tokens moved to centralized exchanges within days of launch and estimated realized profits near $15 million.

On May 29, 2026, CME Group plans to introduce 24/7 trading for its cryptocurrency futures and options, subject to final regulatory approval. The new schedule will cover products tied to Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and other recently listed tokens, and is designed to mirror the continuous trading seen in spot crypto markets. The change follows record notional volumes in 2025 and rising institutional participation in CME's digital asset contracts.

Shibarium's Google Search interest swung sharply, per Google Trends data. It hit 100% at 1:00 p.m. UTC on Feb. 18, 2026, then fell to zero less than 45 minutes later and stayed at zero for the last 24 hours. Over the past 30 days, SHIB is down 21.1%, while 24-hour volume rose 4.47% to $114.27 million.