According to River's third annual Lightning report shared on February 19, Bitcoin's Lightning Network handled an estimated $1.17 billion in monthly volume and 5.22 million transactions in late 2025. The study cites expanding exchange integrations and real-world payments, while the average payment size rose to roughly $223.

On February 18, the Ethereum Foundation outlined its 2026 protocol priorities spanning scaling, user experience, and Layer 1 resilience. The plan targets pushing the gas limit toward and beyond 100 million and advancing blob capacity for rollups, proposer–builder separation, and a zkEVM attester client. Major changes are associated with upcoming forks such as Glamsterdam.

On February 19, analysts observed Bitcoin trading inside a descending intraday channel, with $67,400 acting as the main resistance level. The price is moving sideways within a tightening range, while a volatility squeeze signals a possible breakout zone. Bitcoin trades around $66,673.69, leaving traders focused on whether a move above or below this structure will define the next direction.

On February 18, analyst EGRAG CRYPTO shared an XRP "breadcrumb" framework on X, arguing the asset progresses through compression and vertical expansion phases. The current setup mirrors earlier continuation structures that preceded strong moves. XRP is at $1.46, down 1.4% on the day, up 7.8% week over week, and down 27.8% over the month, according to CoinGecko.

On February 18, analysis from Trader Tardigrade highlighted a developing cup-and-handle pattern on Dogecoin's daily chart, with the cup bottom near $0.08 and resistance forming close to $0.11. The structure, viewed as a classic bullish continuation signal, remains unconfirmed until DOGE can close decisively above the handle zone with stronger volume, while the token currently trades around $0.09981 after mixed short-term and monthly performance.

On February 18, data attributed to Santiment showed Ethereum's proof-of-stake deposit contract holding over 80.9 million ETH, crossing the halfway mark of the network's historical issuance under a specific calculation method. The contract works as a one-way vault where staked ETH is locked to help secure the network and can only be released through validator exits and new issuance. Analysts highlight that the "50%" figure is based on historical supply and does not necessarily mean half of the currently circulating ETH is staked.

Over the past week, XRP’s on-chain activity has weakened, with the number of active addresses dropping by almost 26% from around 55,000 to roughly 40,700. The contraction in participation, highlighted by recent data, may signal softer short-term demand, while XRP trades near $1.45 amid mixed daily, weekly, and monthly price performance. Traders are watching whether this decline in network usage will persist or reverse alongside broader market conditions.

On February 17, analyst Matthew Hyland highlighted a rare cluster of bullish signals on the monthly chart of altcoin dominance versus Bitcoin and Ethereum. His analysis points to an Adam and Eve-style double bottom, RSI bullish divergence, and a MACD bull cross, suggesting a possible shift toward an altcoin outperformance cycle if confirmed. At the same time, Bitcoin was trading near $67,997.80 with recent declines across daily, weekly, and monthly timeframes.

Harvard Management Company's 13F report dated December 31, 2025 indicates that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remains its largest disclosed crypto-related holding at roughly $265.8 million. The filing also notes a reduction of about 21% in IBIT shares during Q4 and the launch of an approximately $86.8 million allocation to the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), suggesting a broader institutional shift toward a multi-asset crypto approach.