Stablecoin

On Feb. 5, 2026, the ECB held its deposit facility rate at 2.00% while advancing the digital euro. It estimates about €1.3 billion in development costs and plans a March 2026 call for payment providers, followed by a 12‑month pilot in H2 2027. FT also reports Christine Lagarde may exit before October 2027.

The SEC's Division of Trading and Markets issued guidance on Thursday allowing broker-dealers to apply a 2% haircut to proprietary positions in certain payment stablecoins. Commissioner Hester Peirce said the change could enable brokers to expand activities involving tokenized securities and other crypto assets. Industry voices added it may reduce friction by aligning treatment with money-market funds.

The Central Bank of Russia signaled that foreign crypto platforms can operate if they set up locally registered subsidiaries and comply with national rules. Under the forthcoming framework, transactions must go through regulated intermediaries, with administrative liability for using unlicensed services from July 1, 2027. First regulated crypto trades are expected by the end of 2026.

By February 20, 2026, Tether's USDT had fallen by about 1.5 billion dollars this month, after supply peaked near 187 billion dollars in early January and slipped below 184 billion on February 18. The pullback follows MiCA-related restrictions across Europe and exchange delistings, while USDC's supply has grown nearly 5 percent to roughly 75.7 billion dollars.

Ripple Labs has minted 20,000,000 new RLUSD tokens on the Ethereum network, adding to a series of recent issuance moves and burns. RLUSD’s circulating supply has climbed to 1.55 billion, an increase of over 2% in 24 hours, and the token has moved into the crypto top 50 by market capitalization. Ripple is pushing RLUSD growth through active treasury operations and new partnerships, including an integration-focused deal with Zand in the UAE.

The White House is moving forward with draft rules that would bar yield on payment stablecoins and penalize evasion. Proposed enforcement would empower the SEC and CFTC to levy civil fines of $500,000 per violation per day. The measures emerged during the administration's third meeting with crypto firms and banking trade groups.

House Democrats have sent a formal letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking about the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of World Liberty Financial's application for a national trust bank charter. The lawmakers are focused on issues such as foreign ownership, national security, regulatory independence and possible involvement of the White House or Treasury in the process.

On Feb 18, on-chain activity showed USDCx minting on Cardano, with seven mints and supply above 32 million units. On Feb 20, 2026, SBI Ripple Asia and AWAJ signed an MOU to develop XRPL-based financial services. Bitcoin marks five years since first reaching a $1 trillion market cap in February 2021, trading near $67,800.

Tether's USDT circulating supply has fallen by about $1.5 billion so far in February, after a $1.2 billion decrease in January. The pullback puts USDT on track for its steepest monthly contraction since the aftermath of FTX's collapse in November 2022. Large holders have been reducing balances while new wallets also added USDT.

The White House has reportedly set a March 1 target to finalize negotiations on a U.S. crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act, aiming to move the proposal forward by the end of the month. A draft discussed with major crypto firms and banking associations would prohibit yield on idle stablecoin balances, empower the SEC, Treasury, and CFTC to enforce the rules with penalties up to $500,000 per violation per day, and keep a bank-requested deposit outflow study on the table.