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.

On February 20, 2026, Bitcoin traded at $67,307, according to Finbold. A $2.3 million Polymarket market prices a 21% chance of a new ATH by December 31, with 15%, 7%, and 2% for September 30, June 30, and March 31, respectively, and resolves on Binance’s 1‑minute BTC/USDT highs. Views diverge: Ali Martinez and Michael Burry outline downside risks, while Bernstein and Standard Chartered project rebounds.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $165.8 million of outflows on Thursday, lifting weekly losses to $403.9 million and year-to-date redemptions to $2.7 billion. Analysts say 2026 is proving to be one of Bitcoin's weakest starts, with prices down roughly 22% YTD and IBIT leading weekly outflows at $368 million.

On 20 February 2026, Ripple's chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said U.S. lawmakers have moved CLARITY Act negotiations into a detailed drafting phase after a White House meeting with industry participants. Discussions are now focused on specific statutory language to clarify regulatory boundaries for digital assets and could reshape oversight if the bill is passed.

On February 20 2026, Russia’s Federal Tax Service initiated bankruptcy proceedings against BitRiver-B, a BitRiver subsidiary behind a 100 MW data center project in Buryatia that never went live. The group had invested 1.4 billion rubles (over $18 million) in the facility but was hit by expanding regional mining restrictions, a subsequent five-year Bitcoin mining ban in Buryatia, mounting lawsuits, and tax evasion accusations against its founder. The failed investment is seen as a major factor in BitRiver’s broader operational and financial troubles across Russia.

Bitcoin remains under the "True Market Mean" near $79,000, while the Realized Price around $54,900 defines the lower structural boundary. Analysts say persistent U.S. spot ETF outflows, tight liquidity and muted large-holder demand have kept price action confined to the $60,000–$70,000 band heading into late February.

x402 has gone live on the XRP Ledger, enabling AI agents to pay for services directly in XRP and RLUSD without using API keys or traditional accounts. Payments are handled per request using the x402 HTTP 402 "Payment Required" standard, with settlement occurring on-chain. Separately, phase two of Dubai's Real Estate Tokenization Project on the XRP Ledger has started, adding controlled secondary market trading for tokenized properties.

According to developer Mononaut, Bitcoin's mining difficulty has jumped by about 15% to 144.4 trillion, marking one of the largest increases on record and fully reversing the previous epoch's sharp downward adjustment. As of February 20, 2026, this rebound in hashrate to 1 ZH/s is pressuring miners in the short term while Bitcoin trades around $68,104.38 with rising whale accumulation.