Trading

Synthetix's SNX rallied 27% in the past 24 hours as trading volume nearly doubled to about $140 million. Market focus now turns to whether buyers can push price toward a nearby liquidity area around $0.4254, with momentum aided by strengthening derivatives participation.

Peter Schiff, chairman of Schiff Gold, tweeted yesterday that Bitcoin may slide toward $20,000 if its long-term $50k support gives way. On February 12, he said the cryptocurrency's "initial support" was around $10k. At press time, Bitcoin was near $68k after a failed move above $70k.

Bittensor's TAO token fell 5.25% in just over 24 hours to $174.2 while its trading volume climbed 15% to $117.50 million, signaling intense selling pressure. Technical readings and market positioning point to a possible decline toward $144 if TAO remains under the $207 resistance, even as derivatives and spot data reveal a split between short sellers and aggressive buyers.

Deutsche Bank plans to leverage Ripple's blockchain-based infrastructure to speed up and reduce the cost of its cross-border payments. Around Feb. 19, XRP slipped under its 200-week moving average near $1.419 and lost support at $1.42, while the UAE has reportedly mined about $453.6 million in Bitcoin and holds over $1 billion in BTC, a push Binance's Changpeng Zhao says he supported. These developments highlight institutional interest in Ripple's solutions, shifting XRP price dynamics, and the UAE's growing role in Bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin has fallen 29% over the last 30 days, with VanEck's latest Bitcoin ChainCheck report arguing that leveraged positions have been cleared and "mid-cycle" sellers are largely spent. The asset manager also notes a sharp pullback in hash rate and mining profitability, while on-chain activity and transaction counts remain comparatively strong.

On Feb 18, 2026, Coinbase said it will leave Optimism’s OP Stack to develop a "unified stack," according to Bankless. The move follows a prolonged slump, with OP down 97% from its March 2024 ATH, and as Base has supplied ~97% of Superchain revenue. Ether.fi plans to migrate ~70,000 active cards and ~300,000 accounts to OP Mainnet over the coming months.

Bitcoin has moved between $65,900 and $70,500 over the past week, and a 4.3% push to $69,600 would liquidate more than $600 million in short futures. Derivatives funding remains soft after a Feb. 6 washout, while improving hashrate and the BIP-360 proposal may ease security concerns and support a run toward $70,000.

The SEC's Division of Trading and Markets issued guidance on Thursday allowing broker-dealers to apply a 2% haircut to proprietary positions in certain payment stablecoins. Commissioner Hester Peirce said the change could enable brokers to expand activities involving tokenized securities and other crypto assets. Industry voices added it may reduce friction by aligning treatment with money-market funds.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that the Executive Branch lacks authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. President Donald Trump criticized the decision and said he would seek "other alternatives" to restore tariffs. A 100% China tariff announced on Oct. 10, 2025 previously sent Bitcoin from about $122,000 to about $107,000 within minutes.

The Central Bank of Russia signaled that foreign crypto platforms can operate if they set up locally registered subsidiaries and comply with national rules. Under the forthcoming framework, transactions must go through regulated intermediaries, with administrative liability for using unlicensed services from July 1, 2027. First regulated crypto trades are expected by the end of 2026.