Bitcoin’s recent pullback has seen wallets holding 0.1–1 BTC steadily accumulate, boosting their balances by about 1.05% since the October price peak. In contrast, holders with 1–10 BTC have trimmed exposure to a 38‑month low, while SOPR data shows both long‑ and short‑term participants increasingly transacting near breakeven or at losses.

In Q4 2025, references to "AI disruption" on earnings calls surged to 126, triple the level a year earlier, while Bitcoin fell 24% even as Nvidia extended gains from a 39% jump in 2025. Analysts see this widening gap between Bitcoin and tech stocks, along with weakening confidence in the U.S. dollar, as a sign of growing AI-linked financial risk that could eventually support Bitcoin as a long-term hedge. Arthur Hayes argues that an AI-driven rotation out of crowded tech trades and into digital assets could be the trigger for new all-time highs.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC at the World Liberty Forum in Florida that the latest Bitcoin decline reflects market psychology and profit taking rather than weakening fundamentals. He called the move temporary and said Coinbase is repurchasing shares and adding BTC at lower prices, while on‑chain data indicates whales have accumulated more than 200,000 BTC.

On October 28, 2025, T. Rowe Price filed for an actively managed crypto ETF that includes Hedera's HBAR alongside major-cap coins, with the SEC decision scheduled for February 26, 2026. While HBAR now fluctuates between $0.0818 and $0.1058 after dropping from $0.225, futures markets show heavy liquidations and negative funding, even as a separate Canary Capital HBAR ETF logged $949.12K in inflows on Wednesday.

Options data from laevitas.ch show two‑month BTC puts priced 13% above comparable calls on Thursday, signaling a defensive stance. Laevitas also tracked neutral‑to‑bearish strategies dominating Deribit in the past 48 hours, while Farside Investors reports $910 million in U.S.-listed spot ETF outflows since Feb. 11. BTC was rejected near $71,000 on Sunday yet held above $66,000 through the week.

Alibaba's KIMI model outlines end-2026 price scenarios for XRP, SHIB and PEPE, projecting XRP up to $8, SHIB toward $0.000059, and PEPE near $0.000098. The outlook references current prices of $1.41 for XRP, $0.000006187 for SHIB, and $0.0000042 for PEPE, implying potential gains of roughly sixfold, 850%, and 2,233%.

The European Central Bank plans to choose payment service providers for its digital euro project in early 2026, with a 12‑month pilot starting in the second half of 2027. The first issuance is aimed for 2029, and the currency is designed to work with existing cards and wallets while capping merchant fees. Officials expect it to strengthen European payment systems and reduce reliance on stablecoins and global card networks.

Kraken said on Thursday that xStocks has exceeded $25 billion in cumulative transactions less than eight months after launch, counting centralized and decentralized trades plus minting and redemptions. The platform reports $3.5 billion in onchain volume and over 80,000 unique onchain holders, alongside a 150% increase since November.