On 20 February 2026, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich defended the firm's Bitcoin accumulation strategy after the company posted a $619 million net loss for fiscal year 2025, mainly from non-cash mark-to-market adjustments. The firm holds 35,102 BTC as of February 2026 and has approved a $137 million capital raise to pursue its target of 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.

On 20 February 2026, economist Peter Schiff warned that a drop in Bitcoin below the $50,000 level could trigger a decline toward $20,000, representing an 84% slide from its October 2025 peak above $126,000. He highlighted elevated leverage, institutional ETF outflows, and gold’s stronger performance as reasons he believes downside risks for Bitcoin have increased. Schiff also argued that recent market divergences have intensified the long-running debate between Bitcoin and gold.

Google Trends data showed that searches for "Bitcoin going to zero" hit an all-time high in January and February 2026, as BTC traded around $60k. Historical episodes in 2021, 2022 and 2025 suggest such spikes have coincided with local or cycle bottoms and were followed by major rebounds. The Bitcoin Rainbow chart currently places price in the "Bitcoin is dead" band, which has previously aligned with market low zones, though upcoming macro events could still influence whether a durable bottom forms.

According to River's third annual Lightning report shared on February 19, Bitcoin's Lightning Network handled an estimated $1.17 billion in monthly volume and 5.22 million transactions in late 2025. The study cites expanding exchange integrations and real-world payments, while the average payment size rose to roughly $223.

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.

Aztec (AZTEC) has skyrocketed nearly 67% in the last 24 hours, hitting an all-time high of $0.038 as South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb officially opened spot trading pairs for the token. The move, characterized by a 626% explosion in trading volume, has pushed Aztec’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) back above $320 million, making it the most aggressively traded privacy-focused Layer 2 asset in the market today.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse forecasts a 90% chance the U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act will pass by the end of April, citing a March 1 White House target for stablecoin negotiations. He contrasted this with prediction markets near 78% by year end and argued clearer SEC–CFTC roles could ease headwinds for utility tokens such as XRP.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich has publicly rejected accusations from anonymous online critics that the firm concealed losses and key details related to its leveraged Bitcoin trades. He argued that all major BTC purchases, options strategies and BTC-backed borrowings in 2025 were disclosed in a timely manner, and pointed to strong revenue growth from Bitcoin-related activities despite large accounting losses.