Trading

Vitalik Buterin sold 1,869 ETH valued at about $3.67 million over the past two days while ether fell from roughly $1,980 to $1,850. He previously moved 3,500 ETH from Aave and earlier disposals totaled 6,958 ETH. Despite recent sales, his holdings remain above 224,000 ETH.

On Thursday, Austria's Financial Market Authority barred KuCoin EU from onboarding new clients or signing new products, citing shortcomings in AML, CTF and sanctions oversight. The action comes months after Austria granted the exchange a MiCA licence, and KuCoin says it has already paused onboarding and begun recruiting to restore key compliance roles.

On Feb. 21, on-chain metrics flagged a sharp surge in XRP deposits to Binance led by large holders. According to CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost, more than 31 million XRP flowed in, dominated by the 100k–1M and >1M cohorts, increasing near-term sell-side risk while Bitcoin remains rangebound. XRP briefly fell to $1.33 before trading around $1.3947.

According to Lookonchain data reviewed on February 23, Vitalik Buterin sold 1,869 ETH worth about $3.67 million over the past 48 hours. During that span, ETH slipped from $1,988 to $1,875 before trading near $1,916. Earlier in the month he offloaded 6,958 ETH, taking February sales to more than 8,800.

Corporate Bitcoin treasury firms have recorded three straight weeks of net selling, while BTC trades near $66,191 and US spot Bitcoin ETFs see persistent outflows. Analysts warn that continued selling and weak fund inflows could drag Bitcoin toward prior bear market levels, though some view the drawdown as a healthy reset of leveraged positions.

On February 21, Santiment reported XRP registered its steepest on-chain realized-loss spike since November 2022, with the last comparable episode 39 months ago when losses were around $1.93 billion. That capitulation was followed by a 114% eight-month rally; if history rhymes, a comparable rebound could target $2.70–$2.80, though XRP recently traded near $1.39 amid near-term weakness.

Bitcoin slipped after a rejection near $70K, with sellers driving price below recent daily lows. The analysis points to consolidation between the $60K support and $75K resistance, while a breakdown from a 4‑hour triangle shifts focus to $62K–$65K and the $69K–$70K liquidity cluster.

Over the weekend, Bitcoin fell below $65,000 before stabilizing on Monday, while Polymarket showed a 72% probability of BTC dropping under $55,000 with $1.2 million in volume. Bitcoin market capitalization decreased to $1.31 trillion, ranking 15th globally, and traders also priced 61% and 47% odds for dips below $50,000 and $45,000.

In the latest weekly Commitment of Traders report, technical analyst Tom McClellan highlights that non-commercial traders in Bitcoin futures have swung decisively toward net long exposure, a shift he describes as happening "with some urgency." He argues that, given the limited presence of traditional commercial hedgers in Bitcoin, these large speculators effectively act as the smart-money group, and that prior extreme readings in this cohort have aligned with significant market outcomes. McClellan stresses, however, that these COT extremes represent a market condition rather than a precise trading signal, even as Bitcoin changes hands around $65,663.

On February 23, 2026, analyst Rekt Capital warned that Bitcoin could revisit capitulation-style declines similar to 2018 and 2022 if it loses support at the 200-week exponential moving average around $68,300. He notes that a weekly close below this level followed by a failed retest has historically triggered further downside, while recent weekly closes above it have so far delayed a bearish confirmation.