Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin urged builders to push the network toward AI leadership by prioritizing zero‑knowledge privacy payments and on‑chain reputation systems. The piece also highlights 13,000 AI agents registered in one day and ERC‑8004 going live on mainnet, while the Ethereum Foundation targets a zkVM whitepaper and proofs by December 2026 at roughly 300 kilobytes with 128‑bit security.

On Thursday, February 12, Aave Labs ran an informal survey on the "Aave Will Win Framework" to direct 100% of product revenue to the Aave DAO treasury. The proposal aims to make token holders the primary beneficiaries and address tensions with the DAO. Analysts noted the move could strengthen Aave's long‑term outlook.

Shiba Inu rose about 5% amid heightened volatility, while Ethereum rebounded after dipping below $2,000 and is testing a local uptrend. Bitcoin saw a volume-driven bounce, including a roughly $50 million spike during the latest sell-off, leaving traders focused on whether it can stabilize by reclaiming nearby resistance.

Citi completed an internal tokenization proof-of-concept on Solana with PwC, according to X. Token Terminal reports the network handles about 3x more daily transactions than Ethereum, while DeFiLlama shows $6.36 billion TVL and roughly $3.72 billion DEX volume. Despite the activity, SoSoValue noted $8.89 million weekly SOL ETF inflows alongside a 11% price decline and total assets near $673.99 million.

The Federal Reserve is advancing a crypto-specific approach to margin setting for derivatives, with an emphasis on uncleared markets. According to a working paper released Wednesday by Fed researchers Anna Amirdjanova, David Lynch, and Anni Zheng, digital assets should form a distinct risk class, with separate treatment for floating tokens and stablecoins to better reflect volatility in initial margin calculations.

BitQuant argued that Bitcoin’s retreat toward $60,000 was a necessary reset after an early local top above $126,000 in October 2025 failed to meet its $145,000 threshold. The firm said a Binance technical issue on October 10 coincided with a slide from about $120,000 to $105,000, but the broader decline reflected structural weaknesses rather than panic or manipulation.

Perplexity AI has issued long-term price projections for XRP, Cardano and Bitcoin, outlining potential new all-time highs by the end of 2026. Its scenario points to XRP rising toward $8, Cardano advancing to around $6 and Bitcoin reaching as high as $250,000, with an additional upside case of $500,000. The outlook is framed around current prices, technical indicators, ecosystem growth and expected catalysts such as ETF approvals, regulation and institutional demand.

On Oct. 2, 2025, Bitcoin set an all‑time high at $126,000. On Feb. 6, Glassnode recorded a long‑term holder net‑position change drop of 245,000 BTC, followed by average reductions of 170,000 BTC, while CryptoQuant’s MVRV Adaptive Z‑Score hit -2.66. Several analysts now project a potential bottom around $40,000–$50,000 in Q4 2026.