In February 2026, Logan Paul's $16.49 million auction of a PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card via Goldin drew criticism from Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz over its buyback structure, as fractional investors now threaten legal action. Dogecoin traders endured a 12,928% long liquidation imbalance when the price slipped from $0.103 to $0.09862, while XRP network activity weakened, with fees burned plunging from 519 XRP to 126 XRP, a 75% drop in 24 hours. Across these markets, prolonged volatility and bearish sentiment have pressured prices and shaken trader confidence.

TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg wrote Wednesday that U.S. states retain a slight legal edge over sports-focused prediction markets, despite the CFTC backing federal oversight with an amicus brief filed Tuesday. He said the Crypto.com vs. Nevada case could reach the Supreme Court, extending regulatory uncertainty into 2027–2028.

On February 18, 2026, minutes from the Federal Reserve's January FOMC meeting showed broad support for keeping the federal funds rate in the 3.50%–3.75% range, with only a few officials favoring a cut. Policymakers cited persistent inflation, steady economic growth and stabilizing job gains for the pause, while markets now expect a 25 basis point reduction in June.

On Feb. 18, technical charts show Bitcoin consolidating between $68,000 and $65,000, with analysts watching $65,118 as a key support whose loss could open a slide toward the $60,000 area and potentially the $50,000 range. Major altcoins including Ether, XRP, BNB, Solana, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Hyperliquid and Monero are attempting recoveries, but sellers are still active near moving averages and overhead resistance zones. Traders are focusing on whether bullish momentum can reclaim these resistance levels or if renewed downside pressure will push prices back toward recent lows.

On Wednesday, crypto exchange Kraken said it purchased token management platform Magna, its sixth acquisition in the last 12 months. Magna, launched in 2021 and valued at $70 million in its most recent round, specializes in managing vesting schedules, airdrops and token allocations and reportedly reached a peak TVL of $60 billion in 2025.

Peter Thiel has exited ETHZilla, cutting his roughly 7.5% position to 0% by the end of 2025, according to an SEC filing. In December 2025, ETHZilla sold 24,291 ETH for $74.5 million to repay debt and pivot toward real-world asset tokenization, after which its stock fell 8.7% to $6.30 and Pomerantz LLP opened a securities probe.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan told clients in a Tuesday memo that decentralized finance, supported by stronger fundamentals and institutional activity, could help pull the crypto market out of its current downturn. He highlighted governance changes at Aave, heavy usage at Uniswap and new investments from firms such as BlackRock and Apollo as key signals. Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor separately said in a Fox Business interview that the ongoing crypto winter appears milder than prior cycles and argued that growing backing from the banking system supports a coming bitcoin recovery.

Binance's stablecoin reserves have climbed to about $47.5 billion, giving it roughly 65% of the stablecoin balances held on centralized exchanges. Flows have been choppy but keep returning, and the stack is led by USDT with smaller USDC shares. Pending U.S. rules and growing ERC20 supply add to the liquidity backdrop.