Fhenix, a blockchain R&D firm, is rolling out a full-stack infrastructure for confidential DeFi that brings Fully Homomorphic Encryption-based computation to public blockchains. The company detailed its FHE-centric strategy in a press release on February 17 and an X livestream on February 16, highlighting tools like the CoFHE coprocessor on Base and the fhEVM environment for Solidity developers. Management says these advances aim to enable private smart contracts, encrypted verification and end-to-end protected payments for use cases ranging from governance and identity to institutional asset tokenization.

On Monday, February 16, Bitcoin derivatives funding rates climbed by more than 140%, indicating that leveraged traders significantly boosted their bullish positions. Despite this, overall open interest edged down 0.08%, suggesting existing traders are repositioning rather than new capital entering the market. Bitcoin's spot price was still about 1% lower around $68,520, leaving the market exposed to potential long squeezes if the anticipated rebound fails to appear.

On Thursday, February 12, Standard Chartered lowered its 2026 Bitcoin price target from $150,000 to $100,000, after previously cutting it from $300,000 in December. The bank pointed to sustained ETF outflows, a weaker macroeconomic outlook and delayed Federal Reserve rate cuts, with its analyst warning of further price capitulation and a potential drop toward $50,000 before stabilization.

From January 1 to February 4, 2026, BlackRock's net digital asset holdings declined from $78.36 billion to $68.06 billion, a drop of $10.3 billion largely tied to market weakness. Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for most of the change, alongside a reduction of 2,930 BTC and 138,240 ETH, while recent single-day moves saw BlackRock driving the majority of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum redemptions.

In 2025, verified physical assaults and kidnappings targeting crypto holders reached 72, a 75% year-over-year jump. Europe made up more than 40% of cases, while kidnappings rose 66% and physical assaults surged 250%. Reported financial losses exceeded $40.9 million.

On Monday, February 2, BlackRock trimmed its exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum by more than $600 million, offloading 6,306 BTC worth about $496.41 million and 58,327 ETH valued at roughly $138.23 million. These moves made the firm responsible for 78% of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF outflows and nearly 54% of Ethereum redemptions that day, while both BTC and ETH prices remained under pressure in early February.

On Monday, February 2, Bitcoin traded below $77,000 amid macro headwinds, institutional outflows, and liquidations. Finbold's AI tool, combining ChatGPT, Gemini 2.5 Flash, and Claude Sonnet 4, projects $76,667 for February 28, 2026, versus a current $76,784. Individual model calls range from $72,500 to $82,500, highlighting near-term uncertainty.

Macro analyst Michaël van de Poppe says gold’s momentum has driven its RSI above 91, a threshold last seen in December 1979 and higher than August 2020. He notes that after the 2020 spike, gold consolidated while Bitcoin advanced about 5–6x, prompting debate over whether a similar setup could unfold.

Ethereum has recently extended weekly losses to nearly 10%, with ETH trading around $2,905 amid a bearish technical backdrop. Under a base-case scenario of no major shocks and steady network adoption, ChatGPT estimates the price could reach about $3,400 by February 1, 2026, implying roughly 17% potential upside. The AI model also outlines downside risk toward $2,400 and an upside path above $4,000, depending on whether key support and resistance levels hold.