Ether, Solana, Xrp Surge up to 10% as Majors Recover Saturday's War-Driven Losses
Crypto markets rebounded sharply on Sunday after a weekend sell‑off triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Bitcoin rose to $66,843, up 5.2% in 24 hours, while Solana surged 10.8% and Ether reclaimed $1,994, nearing the $2,000 mark. The rally occurred on thin weekend liquidity, mirroring the earlier drop, and left weekly performance largely unchanged, with only Solana and Ether posting modest gains. Analysts warn that the bounce’s durability will depend on how equity, oil and bond markets react when they reopen.
Ethereum Smart Accounts Are Finally Coming 'Within a Year' — Vitalik Buterin
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin announced that native account abstraction, also called smart accounts, will be delivered with the upcoming Hegata upgrade within a year, powered by the comprehensive EIP‑8141. The proposal solves the remaining technical hurdles for AA, enabling multi‑signature,...
Here's How Bitcoin's Price Rise Could Be Fueled by Job-Stealing AI Software
NYDIG research chief Greg Cipolaro argues that Bitcoin’s trajectory will be shaped more by AI’s macroeconomic impact than by its own technology. He highlights that AI‑driven automation could cut jobs, suppress consumer demand, and trigger central‑bank liquidity responses that may...
QuickLens Chrome Extension Steals Crypto, Shows ClickFix Attack
A Chrome extension called QuickLens – Search Screen with Google Lens was removed after a malicious version 5.8 compromised thousands of users. The update introduced a ClickFix attack, stripped security headers, and connected to a command‑and‑control server that delivered malicious JavaScript...
Bitcoin Is Stuck in a Rut but JPMorgan Says New Legislation Could Be the Ultimate Spark
Bitcoin remains range‑bound around $60,000 while crypto volumes thin, leaving the market searching for a catalyst. JPMorgan argues that the pending U.S. Clarity Act could deliver the regulatory certainty needed to revive institutional interest. The bill would split oversight between...
Crypto Treasury Companies Likely to Consolidate in 2026: Crypto Exec
Crypto treasury firms are poised to consolidate in 2026 as operating‑business players acquire distressed peers trading below net asset value. Companies that run validator services or issue tokenized credit generate cash flow, giving them a buying advantage. The 2025 market...
Iran Crisis Puts the Regime's $7.8 Billion Crypto Shadow Economy in Spotlight
Fresh U.S. and Israeli strikes have shone a spotlight on Iran’s parallel crypto economy, now estimated at $7.78 billion. Since legalising mining in 2019, Tehran subsidises electricity for licensed operators who sell Bitcoin to the central bank, using it to bypass...
Dune Analytics Introduces Stablecoin Datasets
Dune Analytics has launched a stablecoin dataset designed for enterprise and institutional users, consolidating transfer records, pricing, and token metadata across EVM‑compatible chains, Solana and soon Tron. The offering includes both free and premium tables that normalize balances, label addresses...
Bitcoin’s Self Custody Culture Created an Inheritance Time Bomb, and 2026 May Be when It Starts Detonating
Bitcoin’s self‑custody model is now confronting an inheritance crisis as early adopters age, creating a single‑point‑of‑failure that could lock away multigenerational wealth. A Gannett Trust report flags 2026 as the year holders will begin formalizing succession plans to avoid permanent...
Buyouts and Bitcoin: Inside the Messy Boardroom Fight at a Treasury Company that May Span to Others
Empery Digital, a publicly traded bitcoin treasury firm with 3,723 BTC worth about $235 million, is embroiled in a boardroom showdown with activist investor Tice P. Brown, who now holds roughly 10 % of the company and is demanding the resignation of co‑CEO Ryan Lane...
Stablecoin Yields in Spotlight as US Senators Raise Deposit Flight Alarm
U.S. Senate Banking Committee leaders raised alarms that stablecoin yields could trigger a deposit flight from traditional banks. Lawmakers worry the high‑interest returns on payment‑stablecoins mimic savings accounts but lack regulatory safeguards. The hearing highlighted the tension between stablecoins’ rapid,...
Bitcoin's Five-Month Slide: Why BTC Is Set for Worst Losing Streak Since 2018
Bitcoin is on track for its worst monthly losing streak since 2018, with February marking a fifth consecutive month of decline and a 16% drop to around $66,000. The cryptocurrency is down more than 25% year‑to‑date and its bitcoin‑to‑gold ratio...
Why Institutions Still Prefer Ethereum Despite Faster Blockchains
Ethereum remains the dominant hub for stablecoins and DeFi despite newer, faster blockchains. Institutional investors prioritize deep liquidity and capital efficiency over raw transaction‑per‑second metrics, keeping the bulk of crypto‑linked capital on Ethereum. Layer‑2 rollups have mitigated fee spikes while...
Bitcoin Sets up Potential Short Squeeze as Funding Plunges to -6%
Bitcoin's perpetual funding rate plunged to -6%, the most negative level in three months, reflecting aggressive short positioning as the price briefly slipped to $63,000. Coin‑margined open interest climbed to 687,000 BTC, showing heightened participation despite the dip. Over $500 million...
Zap Africa Cuts 44% of Workforce in AI-Driven Restructuring
Zap Africa, a Nigerian cryptocurrency startup founded in 2023, slashed 44% of its staff in February 2026, reducing headcount from 18 to 10 as part of an AI‑driven efficiency shift. The cuts targeted design, operations, marketing and support roles, while...
JPMorgan Warns a ‘Parallel Banking System’ Is Emerging—And It Could Put Trillions in Deposits at Risk
JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum warned that interest‑bearing stablecoins are forming a "parallel banking system" that lacks the prudential safeguards of traditional deposits. Treasury estimates up to $6.6 trillion of bank deposits could be exposed if the regulatory loophole remains open. Lawmakers...
Bitcoin Price Drops to $63K as US, Israel Bomb Iran
Bitcoin fell to around $63,000 as President Donald Trump announced a joint US‑Israel bombing campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. The announcement triggered over $250 million in crypto liquidations within four hours while traditional markets remained closed, leaving crypto to react on...
Bitcoin Nears $63,000 as U.S. and Israel Launch Strikes on Iran
Bitcoin slipped below $64,000 on Saturday, trading near $63,000 after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. The cryptocurrency dropped about 3% in a matter of hours, marking its lowest level since the early‑February crash. Because crypto markets...
Mt. Gox's Former CEO Floats Hard Fork to Recover 80K Hacked Bitcoin
Mark Karpelès, former Mt. Gox CEO, has submitted a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal that would hard‑fork the network to move the 79,956 BTC stolen in the 2014 hack to a recovery address. The proposal aims to unlock roughly $5.2 billion for creditors, but it...
Tether Has Blocked $3.5 Billion in Crime-Linked Stablecoins Since 2023
Tether has frozen $3.5 billion of USDT linked to illicit activity since 2023, bringing the total frozen amount to $4.2 billion since the stablecoin’s launch. The company, which now has over $180 billion of USDT in circulation, can remotely lock tokens at law‑enforcement...
Crypto VC Paradigm Expands Into AI, Robotics with $1.5B Fund: WSJ
Crypto venture firm Paradigm is raising a $1.5 billion fund to invest in AI, robotics and other frontier technologies while maintaining its crypto portfolio. The firm, which manages $12.7 billion in assets, previously launched a $2.5 billion crypto fund in 2021 and an...
Morgan Stanley’s OCC Application Is Wall Street Colonizing Crypto’s Back Office
Morgan Stanley has filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create a new federally chartered entity, Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association, under a national trust bank charter. The charter would focus on...
Coinbase’s Head of Litigation Says States Are 'Gaslighting' On Prediction Markets
Coinbase’s VP of litigation, Ryan VanGrack, says state regulators are mischaracterizing federal law to block the firm’s new prediction‑market offerings launched with Kalshi. The company has filed lawsuits in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and Nevada after those states issued cease‑and‑desist letters...
Traders May Rotate Into Bitcoin if UBS’ Bearish US Stocks View Comes True
UBS downgraded U.S. equities to neutral, warning that high valuations, a weakening dollar and policy uncertainty limit upside for the S&P 500. The downgrade coincided with Bitcoin slipping below $65,500 as the market reacted to stronger-than‑expected U.S. inflation data and a...
Crypto Biz: A Bitcoin Treasury Shareholder Revolt
Public companies that loaded their balance sheets with Bitcoin are now under fire, as Empery Digital’s largest shareholder is demanding the sale of its 4,081 BTC and the resignation of its CEO. At the same time, stablecoin issuer Circle posted...
Citi and Morgan Stanley Expand Bitcoin and Crypto Custody, Trading and Tokenization Efforts
Citigroup announced it will launch institutional‑grade Bitcoin custody later this year, integrating crypto into its existing custody, reporting and settlement infrastructure. The service will allow clients to manage Bitcoin alongside securities and cash through a single master account, with transaction...
SBI Holdings Teams Up with Startale to Introduce Regulated Yen-Pegged Stablecoin
SBI Holdings has signed an MOU with blockchain firm Startale Group to create Japan’s first fully regulated yen‑pegged stablecoin. The token will be issued as a Type 3 Electronic Payment Instrument, backed by assets held in Shinsei Trust & Banking, and...
Indiana Aims to Advance Crypto Access in Public Retirement Plans Amid Key Federal Regulatory Developments
Indiana’s House Bill 1042, approved by both chambers, requires state‑managed retirement and savings plans to offer self‑directed brokerage accounts with at least one cryptocurrency option, and protects citizens’ ability to use crypto for payments and wallet custody. The measure awaits...
Bitcoin's Rebound Cancelled as U.S. Stocks Fall, Gold Surges, Amid Mounting Macro Risks
Bitcoin slipped below $66,000 on Friday, erasing most of its mid‑week surge and falling 3% to around $65,600. The decline coincided with a broader risk‑off shift as U.S. equities dropped—Nasdaq down 0.8% and S&P 500 down 0.6%—while gold rose above $5,230...
Crypto Worth $580 Million Seized From Chinese Transnational Criminal Networks
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of more than $580 million in cryptocurrency tied to Chinese transnational criminal groups. The operation was driven by the DC Scam Center and the Strike Force, a joint law‑enforcement initiative targeting cross‑border crypto...
Bitcoin Drops 3% as Inflation Hots up Again, and a Quiet Services Spike Just Changed the Rate Cut Story
Bitcoin fell about 3% after January's producer‑price index (PPI) posted a 2.9% year‑over‑year rise, outpacing the 2.6% consensus. The surprise was driven by a services‑inflation spike, with trade‑service margins up 2.5%, while consumer‑price inflation (CPI) cooled to 2.4% YoY. The...
Barclays Evaluates Blockchain-Based Settlement
Barclays is assessing blockchain‑based settlement platforms to integrate stablecoins and tokenized deposits, with a vendor expected to be chosen by April 2026. The move marks a reversal from its earlier cautious stance on crypto toward active blockchain investment. Barclays also...
MoonPay and M0 Launch PYUSDx Stablecoin Development Framework
MoonPay and M0 have introduced PYUSDx, a development framework that lets developers launch application‑specific stablecoins backed by PayPal’s PYUSD. The platform combines M0’s universal stablecoin engine with MoonPay’s distribution network, offering branded tokens, cross‑chain support, rapid time‑to‑market and transparent reserve...
This Startup Is Moving Nigeria’s Land Records to the Blockchain
Sytemap, formerly HouseAfrica, is building a blockchain‑based map directory that digitises private developers’ land records across Lagos and other Nigerian states. By geo‑referencing each plot with satellite imagery and recording allocations on an immutable ledger, the startup aims to eliminate...
South Korean Authorities Accidentally Hand Hackers $4.8M in Crypto
South Korea's National Tax Service mistakenly published a photo containing the mnemonic recovery phrase of a seized cryptocurrency wallet. Hackers used the exposed phrase to transfer approximately $4.8 million worth of digital assets to their own accounts. The blunder underscores a...
Luno Nigeria to Offer Derivates in ‘All-in-One’ Investment Strategy Push
Luno Nigeria announced plans to launch perpetuals trading and potentially futures contracts in 2026, extending its crypto offering into derivatives. The move is part of a broader strategy to become an all‑in‑one investment app, building on recent launches of staking,...
MetaMask Is Now Also Available in Card Form via Mastercard Partnership
MetaMask, the leading Ethereum wallet, has introduced a co‑branded payment card in partnership with Mastercard. The MetaMask Card is now available in 49 U.S. states, marking its first rollout in New York. The card allows users to spend crypto holdings...
Banks Need to Choose Carefully Between Public and Private Blockchains
Stellar’s CEO warns banks that choosing between private and public blockchain infrastructures will create lasting path dependencies. With the tokenized real‑world‑asset market valued around $33 billion, banks are already piloting blockchain‑based settlement and fund tokenization. The article outlines three critical questions—who...
Polymarket Bettors Appear to Have Insider-Traded on a Market Designed to Catch Insider Traders
A group of at least 12 wallets on Polymarket collectively pocketed more than $1 million by betting on Axiom being the target of ZachXBT’s insider‑trading investigation before the report was public. The largest holder, dubbed predictorxyz, bought 477,415 shares at an...
World Liberty Financial Ties Voting Power to Staking as USD1 Supply Tops $4.7 Billion
World Liberty Financial has submitted a governance proposal that obliges WLFI token holders to stake their tokens for at least 180 days before they can vote. The framework creates two tiered statuses—Node at 10 million WLFI and Super Node at 50 million WLFI—offering...
Figure Doubles Consumer Loan Volume and Adds Auto Lending
Figure Technology Solutions reported a 131% year‑over‑year surge in its Consumer Loan Marketplace, reaching $2.7 billion in Q4 2025. More than half of that volume, $1.5 billion, flowed through its newly launched Figure Connect platform, marking a rapid shift toward a capital‑light...
How to Accept Crypto Payments in Your Business (2026 Guide)
Crypto adoption has exploded to about 741 million users, making digital‑asset payments a mainstream expectation. Modern crypto payment gateways now provide plug‑and‑play solutions that remove the need for in‑house wallet management. Businesses across ecommerce, SaaS, and retail can integrate crypto checkout...
OCC May Give Senators Warren and Scott Access to Trump Bank Application
The OCC’s comptroller, Jonathan Gould, indicated he will consider providing Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott with the unredacted bank charter application of World Liberty Financial, a Trump‑family‑linked DeFi firm. The application, submitted in January, seeks a national trust bank...
Vietnam: Building a Regulated Digital Asset Market: Vietnam
Vietnam is set to launch its first pilot crypto‑asset exchange before 28 February 2026, following the government’s five‑year pilot programme and new licensing rules issued in January 2026. The Ministry of Finance’s detailed procedures codify market entry criteria, capital thresholds, and supervisory safeguards,...
Decibel Perpetuals Exchange Launches on Aptos
Decibel, an Aptos‑incubated perpetual derivatives DEX, went live on the Aptos mainnet alongside its Amps points incentive program. The platform debuted with a central limit order book model, on‑chain risk engine, and cross‑chain support for Ethereum and Solana deposits. Testnet...
Bitcoin Miner MARA Jumps 17% After Striking a Deal with Starwood to Build AI Data Centers
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) announced a partnership with Starwood Capital to transform select U.S. bitcoin mining sites into AI‑focused data centers. The joint venture aims to deliver about 1 GW of compute capacity initially, with plans to exceed 2.5 GW over time,...
Korean CEX Listings Continue to Boost Altcoins
South Korean centralized exchanges Bithumb and UpBit have again demonstrated their power to move altcoin prices, with recent listings of Centrifuge’s CFG and Espresso’s ESP driving 177% and 103% gains respectively. The spikes, however, are typically short‑lived as trading volumes...
Crypto Exchange NoOnes Confirms Ray Youssef Is No Longer CEO
NoOnes announced on X that Ray Youssef is no longer involved in the exchange’s management, citing ongoing personal legal matters. Youssef had led NoOnes for just over two years, during which the platform expanded across Africa and Southeast Asia. The...
Bloomberg Extends Financial Data to $25B Tokenized Markets via Kaiko
Bloomberg is partnering with Kaiko to embed the newswire’s licensed financial data directly onto blockchain platforms, tackling the fragmented information problem in tokenized markets. The collaboration targets tokenized U.S. Treasury and repo products on the permissioned Canton Network, offering a...
PIPPIN Jumps 23% as AI and Meme Tokens Gain Momentum
PIPPIN, an AI‑driven memecoin on Solana, surged 23% in the last 24 hours, outpacing major cryptocurrencies. The token now trades around $0.87, marking a 70% weekly gain and a 169% rise over the past month. Its market cap sits near...