On 20 February 2026, the Ethereum Foundation outlined a shift to two network upgrades per year, beginning in 2026. The plan prioritizes scaling, improved user experience, and stronger L1 security, with a gas limit target of 100M+ and named upgrades Glamsterdam in H1 and Hegotá in H2.

On 19 February 2026, Ethereum passed a key threshold as more than half of all ETH became locked in the proof-of-stake contract for the first time. The share is cited at 50.18% on a pre-burn basis, while about 120M ETH currently exist after burns, indicating a tighter liquid float and deeper validator participation. A proposal dubbed ERC-5564 also introduces stealth addresses for programmable on-chain privacy.

On 12 February 2026, Bridge, Stripe’s digital dollar platform, received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Bridge National Trust Bank. The proposed national trust bank charter would let Bridge issue and manage stablecoins, custody digital assets, and oversee token reserves, while prohibiting insured deposits and traditional lending until full approval is granted.

On 17 February 2026, data showed Binance had logged three consecutive months of net stablecoin outflows, with February's withdrawals nearing -$3B by mid-month. Since November, the exchange's stablecoin reserves have fallen from roughly $50.9B to about $41.8B, indicating reduced on-exchange liquidity and an extended de-risking phase. This sustained drain in stablecoin balances points to more cautious positioning among market participants.

On 16 February 2026, Animoca Brands received a virtual asset service provider license from Dubai's VARA, allowing it to operate crypto broker-dealer and investment services in the emirate. Around the same time, Arkham Intelligence tracked a newly created wallet allocating about $2.75 million in USDC into WLFI, highlighting renewed speculative flows into emerging tokens.

On 15 February 2026, it was reported that multiple publicly listed Bitcoin miners had reoriented their business models toward AI and high-performance computing after the April 2024 halving cut block rewards. Companies such as TeraWulf, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and others are selling Bitcoin holdings, signing multiyear AI hosting contracts, and expanding power capacity to build out GPU-focused data centers with potentially higher and more predictable margins than traditional mining.

On 14 February 2026, Coinbase Global Inc. disclosed it had filed a formal response on 6 February 2026 to the Federal Reserve concerning its proposed Reserve Bank Payment Account framework. The structure, if adopted, could permit eligible non-bank institutions to hold accounts directly with a Reserve Bank and access core U.S. payment settlement systems without intermediary banks. The framework is still under review and has not yet received regulatory approval.

On 14 February 2026, MARA Holdings CEO Fred Thiel said Bitcoin is shifting from a speculative asset to strategic infrastructure tied to energy, geopolitics and AI. MARA is reorganizing around control of low-cost power, acquiring data centers and power assets, expanding into European AI cloud services, and actively deploying a treasury of more than 52,000 BTC to generate additional income.

On 14 February 2026, Figure Technology said a social‑engineering attack let intruders access an employee account and extract internal files. The group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility and posted about 2.5GB of customer data. Figure began a forensic investigation, notified affected users, and offered credit monitoring, while shares of Figure (FIGR) closed up more than 3% at $35.29.