Stocks

According to Bank of America, institutional investors offloaded $8.3 billion of U.S. equities last week, marking the second-largest weekly sale on record. Retail buyers purchased $1.0 billion and hedge funds added $1.2 billion, while equity ETFs drew $2.2 billion and single-name outflows totaled $8.3 billion; outflows occurred in 13 of the past 15 weeks, reaching $52.0 billion.

BlackRock is preparing the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), an ETF designed to generate yield via Ethereum staking. The fund plans to stake 70%–95% of holdings, maintain a 5%–30% liquidity sleeve, and distribute 82% of staking rewards to investors, with a 0.25% sponsor fee. It is widely expected to launch in H1 2026.

On February 20, 2026, MARA Holdings said it completed the cash purchase of a 64% controlling stake in Exaion, a French computing infrastructure firm owned by EDF, for $168 million. First announced in August 2025, the deal received final approval from French regulators, and includes an option to lift ownership to 75% by 2027 for an additional $127 million.

On Feb. 20, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $88.1 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock's IBIT with $64.5 million and Fidelity's FBTC with $23.6 million. The move followed a $165.8 million outflow on Feb. 19, while Ethereum flows were broadly flat and Solana funds added $3.7 million.

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller reallocated $290,836,000, increasing Duquesne Family Office's positions in Alphabet by 277% to 385,000 shares and in Amazon by 69% to 737,940 shares. Filings also show he exited Citigroup, Bank of America and Capital One, reducing each holding to zero.

On 21 February 2026, macro strategist Lyn Alden explained on the Coin Stories podcast why Bitcoin's cycle is subdued. She said capital has flowed into AI equities like Nvidia, leaving BTC near $67,849 versus its October 2025 high of $126,100, and cautioned against a rapid rebound. Alden sees potential $10,000–$20,000 downside before a durable bottom.

OpenAI told investors it plans about $600 billion in compute spending by 2030, replacing the $1.4 trillion figure previously discussed by Sam Altman. The company projects over $280 billion in 2030 revenue, nearly evenly split between consumer and enterprise, while Nvidia confirmed talks on a potential $30 billion investment separate from a September $100 billion framework.

According to a recent analysis by Fortune, Bitcoin and Ethereum are enduring one of their toughest year openings on record, with Bitcoin about 46% below its all-time high and Ethereum roughly 60% under its peak. Since January, the S&P 500 is up approximately 0.4%, the Dow Jones has gained 2.3%, and gold and silver have advanced around 17% and 14%, underscoring a divergence from crypto.

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.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $165.8 million of outflows on Thursday, lifting weekly withdrawals to $403.9 million. According to session data, year-to-date losses are nearing $2.7 billion as trading volumes fell about 21% to their lowest since late December. Analysts describe the start of 2026 as historically weak for the category.