Solana (SOL) is leading a $170 billion crypto market relief rally, surging 10.6% to test a critical $90.35 resistance level on February 26, 2026. With $3.78 million in daily ETF inflows and a 755% spike in payment volume, analysts are watching if SOL can invalidate its triple top pattern and target $127, or if declining long-term holder conviction signals a deeper correction.

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) reported its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on February 25, 2026, delivering a blowout performance that has reframed the company as the premier flight-to-safety play in the digital asset ecosystem. Despite a turbulent late-2025 crypto winter that saw Bitcoin and major altcoins crater, Circle’s results provided a high-stakes validation of stablecoins as critical global financial infrastructure.

Crypto sentiment has deteriorated, and, according to reports, the Fear & Greed Index recently fell to 11. Analyst Jesse Eckel contends AI-driven equity gains are masking strain and could steer retail toward smaller crypto tokens. An AI model cited in the discussion targets Bitcoin at $155,000 by end-2026 and $240,000 in 2027.

On Wednesday, ETHZilla announced it is rebranding to Forum Markets and will do business as Forum. Shares rose over 13% to $3.91 as the company pivots from a crypto treasury strategy to tokenization, with a ticker change to FRMM set for Monday at market open pending Nasdaq approval.

Bitcoin Depot has started enforcing identity checks for every transaction at its U.S. crypto ATM kiosks after rising fraud tied to these machines. The operator, which runs more than 25,000 kiosks globally, will also pay $1.9 million to the state of Maine to reimburse residents who lost funds in scams between 2022 and 2025. FBI figures show Americans lost $333.5 million to Bitcoin ATM scams in 2025, up 33.4% from $250 million in 2024.

Prediction market platform Kalshi said on Wednesday it banned a former California gubernatorial candidate for five years and fined him $2,000 after he bet on his own race in violation of insider trading rules. The same platform also penalized a YouTube editor who traded about $4,000 on creator stream markets in 2025, issuing a two-year suspension and roughly $20,000 fine, while the CFTC has created a prediction markets advisory to pursue insider trading cases.

Major cryptocurrencies climbed on Wednesday, adding more than $170 billion in market value and posting one of the strongest single-day rebounds in weeks. The total market cap rose roughly 8% to nearly $2.5 trillion as bitcoin briefly exceeded $70,000, with Ethereum up over 13% and Solana more than 15%. Some analysts linked the move to a pause in a "10 a.m." selloff after a Jane Street lawsuit, though no public evidence shows fixed-time sales.

On a Wednesday in 2026, the board of GD Culture Group authorized the potential sale of its 7,500 Bitcoin treasury holdings to help fund an already announced stock buyback program of up to $100 million over six months. The AI and digital marketing-focused holding company acquired the BTC in a September 2025 deal worth $875 million, entering the market when Bitcoin traded between $109,000 and $117,000. Following the latest announcement, the firm's shares rose more than 24% to $4.13, while its Bitcoin reserve was valued at about $517.5 million and its market capitalization stood near $236.7 million.