On February 21, around 31 million XRP moved into Binance, largely from wallets holding 100,000–1,000,000 XRP, while XRP network transactions rose about 40% to roughly 2.5 million. The host also highlighted SEC guidance that lets broker-dealers count stablecoins toward net capital with a 2% haircut, as Bitcoin's technicals keep risk appetite subdued.

In a recent video, analyst Kamilah Stevenson argued that many XRP holders misunderstand the token, which she characterizes as neutral settlement infrastructure rather than a typical speculative asset. She contends XRP is designed for periods of severe liquidity stress, when trust is scarce and markets are disordered, and that common assumptions about constantly available liquidity break down in such crises. According to her, XRP’s value could be in enabling large-scale settlement with fewer units under pressure, making price compression a functional feature instead of mere hype.

A crypto commentator links rising U.S.–Iran conflict risk and pending U.S. tariff decisions to potential volatility for XRP and other large‑cap digital assets. While a Trump adviser is cited as seeing a high chance of a limited strike on Iran that could drag markets lower, Ripple executives and Molt Media point to surging odds for the Clarity Act, with probabilities discussed at 84% by 2026 and up to 90% by the end of April. The video frames any war‑driven pullback as a possible entry point ahead of what it portrays as a regulatory‑driven uptrend for XRP.

In November 2025, the Bitcoin Lightning Network processed more than $1 billion in transaction volume and around 5.2 million payments, according to River. While the total volume hit a new record and average transaction size climbed to $223, the number of transactions was still below the 6.6 million peak seen in August 2023. Institutional and exchange-related transfers, including a reported $1 million payment from Secure Digital Markets to Kraken, played a key role in driving larger payment sizes and record network capacity above 5,600 BTC.

The Bitcoin Lightning Network processed more than $1 billion in payments in November 2025, marking its first billion‑dollar month and signaling rising real‑world usage. Researchers estimate the layer‑2 system handled about 5.2 million transactions in that period, while average transfer size climbed to $223, driven largely by exchange activity. Network capacity also exceeded 5,600 BTC, indicating expanding infrastructure for faster and cheaper Bitcoin payments.

Stellar Lumens is being reconsidered as a network built from inception for asset issuance and redemption rather than a general-purpose smart contract platform. Its architecture emphasizes fiat-backed tokens, anchors, and an on-chain order book for routing payments, while XLM mainly serves as a utility for fees and account reserves. As more financial products appear as tokenized instruments, debates around Stellar’s federated consensus, validator trust model, and anchor reliability are resurfacing among investors.

Kamilah Stevenson, host of a wealth-focused YouTube show, argues that crypto custody is less about passive storage and more about ensuring investors can act when markets or regulations shift. She contrasts retail's focus on safety alone with institutional practices that prioritize segregation, bankruptcy-remote structures, OTC execution, and tax-advantaged wrappers. The core message is that the main risk in a more regulated environment may be being locked into setups that limit movement, borrowing, or portfolio rotation when needed.

Lark Davis argues that, despite heavy selling and record oversold readings in Bitcoin and altcoins, crypto may be setting up for a bear‑market exit while traders hold roughly $25 billion in shorts. He links this positioning with fragile U.S. stock indices, a projected $15 trillion IPO pipeline, and long‑term AI and tokenization trends that could favor blockchain rails, even as spot demand in the United States remains weak.

On February 12, 2026, Aave Labs proposed the "Aave Will Win Framework", seeking $25 million in stablecoins and 75,000 AAVE tokens while pledging to direct all product revenue to the Aave DAO treasury. The move has intensified an ongoing conflict over governance, transparency, and ownership within Aave, as the DAO simultaneously reviews a conflict-of-interest policy and community members question funding size, token allocation, and bundled voting items.