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.

South Korean lawmakers criticized the Financial Services Commission after Bithumb mistakenly credited 620,000 BTC during a Feb. 6 promotion, triggering brief sell pressure. The FSC opened a probe on Feb. 10 and, initially due by Feb. 13, extended it toward the end of February; Bithumb said most assets were recovered, with 125 BTC ($8.6 million) still unrecovered.

Bitcoin is trading near $67,400 while defending the $66,000–$65,729 support zone amid rising geopolitical risk. According to Polymarket, bettors assign a 61% chance of a U.S. strike on Iran this month, and CryptoQuant data shows Short-Term Holder SOPR below 1.0. A daily close beneath support could refocus attention on $60,000.

On 19 February 2026, U.S.-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds saw about $165.8 million in net outflows, led by sizable redemptions from a major IBIT vehicle. Ethereum products registered roughly $130.1 million in withdrawals, while Solana and XRP ETFs posted smaller but positive net inflows of around $6.0 million and $4.05 million, signaling a cautious rotation into select alternative assets.