Solana’s Total Payment Volume surged 755.3% year-over-year, with institutions, merchants, and stablecoin issuers increasingly using the network for payments. Visa, Stripe, Worldpay, and Gusto are piloting Solana-based USDC flows, while median fees near $0.0004 and 392 ms block times support rapid, low-cost settlement. Stablecoins and onchain credit platforms are replacing parts of traditional wire transfers and extending Solana’s role beyond speculative trading.

According to CryptoQuant, 38% of altcoins are trading close to their all-time lows, highlighting persistent pressure on smaller market cap tokens. At the same time, institutional investors are directing capital toward U.S. spot Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs, which saw net inflows of $38.7 million and over $458 million respectively. BlackRock's Ethereum ETF contributed about $26.5 million of the ETH inflows, while the broader market remains in a risk-off mood, with sentiment gauges still signaling fear.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal opened a PSI inquiry into Binance's sanctions compliance and alleged Iran- and Russia‑linked transactions. His letter claims the exchange processed $1.7 billion in transfers to Iran and cultivated ties to WLFI; detailed records are requested by March 6, 2026.

BlackRock has updated its SEC filing for the proposed iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), specifying that it and Coinbase intend to retain 18% of all staking rewards generated by the fund. The amended document also details Coinbase’s role as custodian and staking provider, a tiered sponsor fee structure starting at 0.25% annually with a temporary reduction, and plans to keep 5% to 30% of the fund’s ETH unstaked for liquidity and operations.

Bitcoin fell as much as 3.6% to below $92,000 on Monday after President Donald Trump unveiled 10% tariffs on eight European countries starting February 1, rising to 25% by June if no deal is reached. Major tokens slid and more than $871 million in leveraged positions were liquidated as risk appetite faded.

In the opening weeks of 2026, crypto‑exposed equities have posted gains of 20–50%, sharply outperforming Bitcoin's roughly 9% year‑to‑date rise. Individual stocks such as Metaplanet, Galaxy Digital, Iren, and Bitdeer have led the move, while Coinbase and Robinhood slid after a key US digital asset bill was delayed.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by Tom Lee, staked 342,560 ETH worth roughly $1 billion over a 48-hour period, tightening Ethereum's liquid supply and reshaping validator onboarding dynamics. The move has pushed Ethereum's staking entry queue to around 735,000 ETH with activation waits exceeding 12 days, while the exit queue sits near 344,000 ETH and averages six days.