Ethereum

On 21 February 2026, developers and researchers reiterated that quantum computing is a distant threat to Bitcoin and Ethereum, not a current crisis. Bitcoin has slid about 46% from its October 2025 peak of $126,100 to roughly $67,000, while Ether is down around 58% to near $1,950; observers attribute recent moves to macro liquidity and capital shifts toward AI, rather than quantum fears.

In February 2026, the Dubai Land Department launched the second phase of its real estate tokenization pilot after roughly $5 million in property was tokenized into about 7.8 million tradable tokens. Infrastructure partner Ctrl Alt will issue Asset-Referenced Virtual Asset management tokens on the XRP Ledger, with Ripple Custody securing onchain transactions, while DarGlobal and Trump-backed World Liberty Financial plan to tokenize the development phase of a Trump-branded resort in the Maldives through Securitize.

According to a recent analysis by Fortune, Bitcoin and Ethereum are enduring one of their toughest year openings on record, with Bitcoin about 46% below its all-time high and Ethereum roughly 60% under its peak. Since January, the S&P 500 is up approximately 0.4%, the Dow Jones has gained 2.3%, and gold and silver have advanced around 17% and 14%, underscoring a divergence from crypto.

On Feb 18, 2026, Coinbase said it will leave Optimism’s OP Stack to develop a "unified stack," according to Bankless. The move follows a prolonged slump, with OP down 97% from its March 2024 ATH, and as Base has supplied ~97% of Superchain revenue. Ether.fi plans to migrate ~70,000 active cards and ~300,000 accounts to OP Mainnet over the coming months.

Vitalik Buterin pushed back against an X user's suggestion to abandon Ethereum's base chain, outlining a tightly integrated "bolt-on" rebuild that keeps the network live. He described a cypherpunk-focused redesign that grows alongside the current chain, and said a roughly five-year timeline could be shortened with AI-assisted coding and verification.

Following a drop toward $1.8K, Ethereum has moved into a choppy range and a 4-hour triangle squeeze is nearing its apex. Key resistance sits at the 0.5 Fib at $2,396, with upside levels at $2,549 and $2,658–$2,767 if reclaimed, while a downside break could revisit the $1,800–$1,746 base.

On 20 February 2026, the Ethereum Foundation outlined a shift to two network upgrades per year, beginning in 2026. The plan prioritizes scaling, improved user experience, and stronger L1 security, with a gas limit target of 100M+ and named upgrades Glamsterdam in H1 and Hegotá in H2.

According to CryptoQuant, Ethereum derivatives have seen sharp deleveraging, with aggregate open interest sliding from $33.3 billion to about $11 billion, a 66% decline. CoinGlass also tracked roughly $189 million in 24‑hour liquidations as price moved toward $1,900, while exchange balances reached a multi‑year low of 16.1 million ETH.

About 30,600 Bitcoin options with roughly $2 billion notional are expiring on Friday, Feb. 20. Coinglass places max pain near $70,000 and Deribit cites a 0.59 put/call ratio; another 212,000 Ethereum contracts worth about $404 million also roll off. Spot markets remain range-bound, with Bitcoin near $67,290 after a $65,700 weekly low.

Altcoin momentum has improved, yet multiple market signals indicate a broad altcoin season has not started. BTC dominance remains under a key threshold while ETH/BTC’s rebound has not shifted the larger trend, and recent exchange activity indicates capital still leans toward Bitcoin rather than Ethereum and other large-cap networks.