In June 2025, OpenAI’s systems flagged and banned violent chats linked to 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, and staff debated notifying Canadian authorities but did not. After the Tumbler Ridge shooting, the company contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Her online activity also reportedly included a Roblox mass-shooting simulation and firearm posts on Reddit.

On 2026-02-23, ECB President Christine Lagarde was reported to be weighing an early departure ahead of France's April 2027 election, before her term ends in October 2027. The move could slow the digital euro timetable and oversight of stablecoins under MiCA, though analysts expect limited near-term market impact. An ECB spokesperson said she remains focused on her role and has not decided on the timing of her tenure.

On February 15, 2026, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said on X that inadequate privacy on public blockchains is constraining the use of crypto for payments. He highlighted risks such as revealing company payroll and personal activity, and industry observers argue that adoption will require solutions balancing transparency with confidentiality.

On February 23, 2026, Michael Saylor announced that MicroStrategy had completed its 100th public bitcoin purchase, adding 592 BTC for about $39.8 million. Following this transaction, the company’s total holdings reached 717,722 BTC acquired for roughly $54.56 billion at an average price of about $76,020 per bitcoin. The latest buy, executed at approximately $67,286 per BTC, was noted as the firm’s smallest dollar-value acquisition since October.

World Liberty Financial, the crypto project linked to Donald Trump and his family, reported on February 23 a coordinated attack on its USD1 stablecoin that briefly pushed it below its $1 peg. The team said attackers allegedly hacked several co-founder accounts, paid influencers to spread fear, and opened large short positions in WLFI to profit from volatility, but USD1 later rebounded to trade back near par. WLFI emphasized that USD1 remains fully backed by cash, U.S. Treasuries, and government money market funds held with BitGo and supported by a transparent mint-and-redeem mechanism.

Pippin (PIPPIN) jumped 20% over the past 24 hours, briefly moving above $0.72 before settling near $0.71, according to CoinGecko. Its market value climbed past $700 million, placing it 81st overall and seventh among meme coins, after an all-time high near $0.76 on February 15. Community targets range from $1.20 to below $0.10, while RSI is around 85.

On Feb. 17, the company disclosed an additional Bitcoin purchase of roughly $168 million, and Michael Saylor now hints at buying more as total holdings reach 717,131 BTC. XRP Ledger successful transactions have climbed about 40%, with daily counts nearing 2.5 million. Shiba Inu closed February 2026 around a $3.6 billion market cap amid its 589 trillion supply.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, speaking in India, rejected online claims about heavy water usage in newer AI data centers and argued that their cooling systems no longer rely on water. He acknowledged growing concern over electricity demand, comparing the energy needed to train AI models to the decades-long effort of raising a human, a stance criticized by Indian billionaire Sridhar Vembu. Across the United States, large off-grid data center projects and rising power prices on the PJM grid highlight how AI-driven computing growth is reshaping energy infrastructure and regulation.