Franklin Templeton's first Form 10-Q for the Franklin XRP ETF (ticker XRPZ) shows the fund held more than 118 million XRP by the end of 2025, alongside $243.60 million in assets under management. While XRP ETFs collectively control $1.06 billion, representing about 1.17% of XRP's total market cap, recent data indicate that daily net inflows across the five leading issuers have stalled at $0.00 after a volatile two-week stretch.

On Tuesday, MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said in a Fox Business interview that the market has entered a "crypto winter," calling it the fifth major Bitcoin drawdown since he joined the space five years ago. He argued this downturn should be milder and shorter, citing institutional and policy support, while Fox Business noted MicroStrategy's average BTC cost near $76,000 sits above current prices.

According to analyst David Lawant, collapsing premiums on CME Bitcoin futures indicate that institutional demand for leveraged exposure has dropped to levels last seen in October 2023. Traders are now showing less interest in upside leverage than during major stress events such as the April 2025 "Liberation Day" sell-off and the mid-2024 "German/JPY" unwind, signaling a shift from panic to deep market apathy.

On February 17, 2026, veteran trader Peter Brandt publicly challenged a viral claim that Bitcoin is developing a massive multi‑year inverse head and shoulders formation. He argued that, while Bitcoin's price could still rise, the widely shared "6‑year" bullish pattern does not meet classical charting criteria and reflects weak technical analysis by some influencers.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said there is an 80% chance the CLARITY Act will be enacted by the end of April, urging the industry to accept compromise rather than pursue an ideal bill. He noted the measure has been stuck in the Senate Banking Committee since January, with Coinbase withdrawing support over stablecoin yield and other issues, while negotiations seek a breakthrough before the spring recess.

Based on monthly return data from Coinglass, Bitcoin is set to finish January 2026 down 10.17% after briefly topping $97,000, while February 2026 is tracking a 12.12% decline following a drop to $60,000. If March 2026 also closes negative, it would mark six straight red months, exceeding the five-month stretch recorded in 2018.

SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said the firm does not hold $10 billion in XRP, correcting a social media claim and highlighting its more than 9% equity stake in Ripple Labs. On Friday, SBI announced a majority acquisition of Singapore's Coinhako, a MAS-licensed exchange. Recent private market reports value Ripple at around $50 billion, implying approximately $4.5 billion for SBI's stake.

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz stated on X that native XRP has no issuer and that the XRP Ledger's XLS-39 "clawback" does not apply to XRP itself. The remark followed a post from the Global Trade Finance (GTF) aggregator claiming its VC wallet was compromised by a "fake NFT offer" and "XRP Voucher Scam," affecting a major LP holder.

A recent update from 10x Research links Bitcoin's sharp fall from $90,000 to $60,000 within a few weeks to heavy institutional flows and unwinding of structured positions. The firm highlighted unusually high trading volumes in BlackRock's IBIT ETF and concentrated Asian-session gains, which have fueled market speculation about distress at a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund based in Hong Kong, while cautioning against blaming a single entity.