Chris Dixon of a16z Crypto and Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly set out opposing views on whether crypto can scale beyond finance. In 2025, venture funding surpassed $20 billion, with Q4 contributing $8.5 billion across 425 deals, while DeFi metrics showed a TVL near $99.07 billion and stablecoin supply above $307 billion. Their exchange frames finance as the most validated use so far.

From May 2021 through early February 2026, Aave handled more than $4.65 billion in liquidations triggered by broad crypto sell-offs and Bitcoin price shocks. As liquidations spread from Ethereum to Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Base, Aave's SVR framework monetized roughly $559.8 million in SVR liquidations, recapturing $13.17 million in value for the protocol and its partners. This structure allowed Aave to convert volatility and forced unwinds into sustainable, treasury-linked revenue rather than pure market losses.

Bitcoin's price has fallen from a peak near $126,000 to the $70,000 region, with the Fear & Greed Index dropping into the 5–20 range as retail traders and Short-Term Holders sell at a loss. On-chain data shows STH supply shrinking from around 8 million BTC and STH-MVRV sliding to roughly 0.75–0.78, while whales cut longs and add shorts near $69,000, suggesting one more downside liquidity sweep is possible before a recovery base forms.

In early February 2026, Ethereum’s exchange reserves fell to around 16.3 million ETH, a multi-year low associated with growing staking and off-exchange custody. At the same time, whales were seen accumulating during a price dip near $2,050, while derivatives data showed shrinking open interest, negative funding, and over $1 billion in long liquidations. This combination points to tighter tradable supply and lower leverage, while leaving room for future volatility.

HBAR advanced roughly 20% after a long wick near $0.07766 cleared selling pressure, with price holding above $0.080 and consolidating around $0.090. Traders are watching for a decisive reclaim of $0.10001 on firm volume to confirm trend repair, while Hedera's early February 2026 entry into the Digital Monetary Institute aligned with improving sentiment.

Ripple's XRP fell from the $3.00 area in late September to the $2.00 demand zone as the OI‑weighted funding rate turned negative. Whale activity rose with 1,389 transactions above $100,000 and 78,727 active addresses in eight hours, while November's XRP ETFs reached $1 billion AUM. These shifts support a recovery toward $2.80–$3.00.

Pi’s price structure has turned decisively bearish after a breakdown from the consolidation area above $0.190, putting the $0.130 liquidity zone in the spotlight. The token was trading near $0.1444 with volume up to $35.3 million, reflecting strong selling pressure and raising the risk of a move toward the $0.130–$0.100 demand region.

Zcash traded around $245 after losing the $300 support level, with price action drifting toward the $240–$244 area that now forms a key short-term floor. If this zone fails to hold, the next potential downside region sits in the $200–$210 band, while any rebound faces resistance between $260 and $280 and a major hurdle at $300.

Retail credit withdrawals on NEXO fell from $136.63 million in January 2025 to $22.04 million by November, then stabilized near $23.957 million in December 2025 and $23.965 million in January 2026. According to CryptoQuant/X, Aave's ETH borrowing peaked near 1.2 million in mid-2025 before easing toward 300,000 by early 2026, while NEXO broke below $0.901–$0.947.