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.

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.

After 360T integrated the Kraken-backed xStocks platform on Feb. 9, Deutsche Börse executive Carlo Kölzer said tokenization reflects an evolution in market infrastructure rather than a threat. He outlined a plan for a hybrid setup linking traditional and tokenized assets, while addressing regulatory questions and concerns over synthetic "paper Bitcoin" exposure.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $133.3 million in net outflows on Wednesday, taking weekly losses to $238 million, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for $84 million, according to SoSoValue. Trading volumes slipped below $3 billion as sentiment stayed in "Extreme Fear" and BTC traded near $67,058, down about 24% year-to-date. Solana ETFs extended a six-day inflow streak, lifting year-to-date gains to roughly $113 million.

The European Central Bank plans to begin selecting EU-licensed payment service providers in the first quarter of 2026 for a limited digital euro pilot. Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the 12-month test is slated for the second half of 2027 and will include a small group of PSPs, merchants, and Eurosystem staff.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $104.9 million in net outflows on Tuesday, while total trading volume slipped to just over $3 billion from the $14.7 billion peak on Feb. 5. In Q4 2025, Hong Kong-based Laurore disclosed a $436.2 million single purchase of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF, alongside major position changes by institutions such as Jane Street, Brevan Howard and Mubadala Investment.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has obtained a Payment Institution license in Malta under the European Union payments framework to support its stablecoin-based services. The authorization aligns products such as OKX Pay and the OKX Card with MiCA and PSD2 requirements and follows the firm's earlier MiCA license from the Malta Financial Services Authority in January 2025. The OKX Card, launched in late January, enables users to spend stablecoins including USDC and USDG.

On Wednesday, ARK Invest led by Cathie Wood bought 433,806 Robinhood shares for about $33.8 million, along with additional Bullish and Circle stock totaling roughly $16 million, while the three names traded lower. Over the same session, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $276.3 million in net outflows and total Bitcoin ETF assets fell to $85.7 billion amid broader crypto market weakness.

The European Union is preparing a 20th sanctions package that aims to prohibit all cryptocurrency transactions with Russia and shut down Russia-linked crypto channels. The plan includes restricting access to Russian crypto platforms such as A7 and its ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5, while also targeting additional regional banks. Some analysts argue that fully enforcing such a broad ban will be difficult due to decentralized liquidity and the ability to swap tokens through onchain pools.