On 20 February 2026, a Bloomberg Research report highlighted that the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index plunged to 5, a reading below past major shock episodes, even as the price held mostly between 65,000 and 70,000 dollars. While the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance and reduced expectations for 2026 rate cuts are pressuring risk assets, institutional investors continue to accumulate BTC through spot ETFs and DeFi exposure despite several weeks of fund outflows. Revenue-generating DeFi protocols such as Hyperliquid, PancakeSwap, and Uniswap have outpaced broader crypto benchmarks, pointing to a shift toward infrastructure- and income-focused projects.

On 20 February 2026, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich defended the firm's Bitcoin accumulation strategy after the company posted a $619 million net loss for fiscal year 2025, mainly from non-cash mark-to-market adjustments. The firm holds 35,102 BTC as of February 2026 and has approved a $137 million capital raise to pursue its target of 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.

On May 29, 2026, CME Group plans to introduce 24/7 trading for its cryptocurrency futures and options, subject to final regulatory approval. The new schedule will cover products tied to Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and other recently listed tokens, and is designed to mirror the continuous trading seen in spot crypto markets. The change follows record notional volumes in 2025 and rising institutional participation in CME's digital asset contracts.

On February 18, 2026, Coinbase's Layer-2 network Base confirmed it will migrate off the Optimism OP Stack to a proprietary unified, self-managed architecture. The phased transition includes governance changes, multiple hard forks, a new Base client for node operators, and is expected to reshape sequencer revenue flows while accelerating the network's upgrade pace.

On 18 February 2026, SG-FORGE, the digital asset division of Société Générale, deployed its euro-pegged stablecoin EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) on the XRP Ledger. The token, backed 1:1 by bank deposits or high-quality securities and aligned with the EU’s MiCA framework, now has a circulating supply of about 70.51 million and is set for integration with Ripple Payments and Liquidity Hub.

On February 19, 2026, the White House set a third high-level meeting on stablecoin yield for 9:00 a.m. ET. Senior figures from major banks and crypto companies are expected to participate, with topics anticipated to include regulatory frameworks, risk, and market structure. The gathering underscores intensifying federal attention to digital-asset policy.

On 19 February 2026, market data showed a sharp rotation of liquidity from altcoins into Bitcoin, with altcoin volumes on Binance falling close to 50% from November levels. Bitcoin’s share of exchange activity has risen to around 58–60% and whales have acquired over 100,000 BTC in 2026, helping to support prices between $65,000 and $72,000. At the same time, macro uncertainty and spot ETF outflows have contributed to a cautious, defensive stance among crypto investors.

On 18 February 2026, Peter Thiel and Founders Fund exited ETHZilla, moving their stake from 7.5% to 0% according to U.S. SEC filings. The shares fell more than 5% in overnight trading and are down roughly 97% from 2025 highs as the firm shifts from an Ethereum treasury strategy to tokenizing jet engines with projected yields near 11%.

By February 2026, the United Arab Emirates had assembled an estimated sovereign Bitcoin exposure above $900 million, with more than $500 million held via BlackRock's IBIT through state funds. State-linked mining in Abu Dhabi reportedly added 6,300–6,376 BTC, and institutions maintained positions despite January 2026's roughly $3 billion fund outflows.