US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $104.9 million in net outflows on Tuesday, while total trading volume slipped to just over $3 billion from the $14.7 billion peak on Feb. 5. In Q4 2025, Hong Kong-based Laurore disclosed a $436.2 million single purchase of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF, alongside major position changes by institutions such as Jane Street, Brevan Howard and Mubadala Investment.

Jane Street disclosed holding roughly 20.3 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust as of December 31, 2025. The Q4 2025 position has refocused attention on recurring sell pressure in Bitcoin and related ETFs around 10 AM ET. While rumors of coordinated suppression remain unverified, market-structure explanations such as hedging and arbitrage are also being discussed.

On 18 February 2026, Bitcoin was trading near $68,000 after a multi‑month decline that nearly halved its price from an October record. Traders were watching the Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes, due later that day, for signals on future U.S. interest rates and their impact on cryptocurrencies and growth stocks.

Bitcoin remains more than 45% below its all-time high, while key on-chain indicators show growing strain among long-term holders. The LTH SOPR has dropped to 0.88, implying coins are being sold at a loss, and inflows from these holders to Binance have climbed to roughly twice their annual average on several recent days. Over the past two years retail investors have offloaded more than 1.2 million BTC, with institutions absorbing much of this supply, as the ongoing correction shifts into a more fragile adjustment phase.

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company disclosed in a 13F filing that it held 12,702,323 shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust as of December 31, 2025, valued at about $630.6 million. The position marked a 46% rise from the 8,726,972 shares reported on September 30, 2025, highlighting growing institutional exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs alongside holdings in major technology, healthcare, gold mining, and consumer companies.

Bitcoin has struggled to retake the $70,000 level, while on-chain positioning shows concentration among larger holders. As of February 16, 2026, wallets with 1,000–10,000 BTC held 4.483 million BTC, with 71.3% controlled by long‑term whales and 28.7% by short‑term cohorts, according to a CryptoQuant analyst. Short‑term whales' realized price is about $88,494 versus $41,626 for long‑term whales.

On Tuesday, MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said in a Fox Business interview that the market has entered a "crypto winter," calling it the fifth major Bitcoin drawdown since he joined the space five years ago. He argued this downturn should be milder and shorter, citing institutional and policy support, while Fox Business noted MicroStrategy's average BTC cost near $76,000 sits above current prices.

Arthur Hayes argues that the recent divergence between Bitcoin and the tech‑heavy Nasdaq 100 signals an approaching AI‑driven credit crunch that could force central banks to expand fiat liquidity and send BTC to fresh record highs. He estimates that a 20% reduction in the United States' 72 million knowledge workers could translate into roughly $557 billion in consumer credit and mortgage losses, pressuring regional banks and prompting renewed money printing. Hayes adds that his firm Maelstrom plans to rotate surplus stablecoins into Bitcoin, Zcash and Hyperliquid once the Federal Reserve eases policy.