On 2026-02-23, ECB President Christine Lagarde was reported to be weighing an early departure ahead of France's April 2027 election, before her term ends in October 2027. The move could slow the digital euro timetable and oversight of stablecoins under MiCA, though analysts expect limited near-term market impact. An ECB spokesperson said she remains focused on her role and has not decided on the timing of her tenure.

On February 15, 2026, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said on X that inadequate privacy on public blockchains is constraining the use of crypto for payments. He highlighted risks such as revealing company payroll and personal activity, and industry observers argue that adoption will require solutions balancing transparency with confidentiality.

US mortgage lender Rate introduced RateFi, a nationwide program that lets qualified borrowers count verified cryptocurrency holdings toward mortgage reserve requirements without selling them. The product runs within the lender's non-qualified mortgage framework, applies AML/KYC checks, and still requires cash conversion for down payments or closing costs.

Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov told Cointelegraph that decentralized finance protocols must move away from inflationary token emissions and focus on generating real revenue to sustain yields. He contrasted the 2020 DeFi summer and its triple‑digit APYs with today's environment, where users are more cautious and DeFi's total value locked has dropped from $158 billion on Aug. 23, 2025, to about $98 billion over the last six months. Egorov also argued that tokens should primarily support decentralization and governance, while durable onchain businesses compete on revenue generation and capital efficiency rather than headline yields.

Crypto exchange Backpack said it will allocate 20% of its equity to users who stake its token for at least one year. The plan offers a fixed token-to-equity swap ratio and seeks to address incentive misalignment, according to founder Armani Ferrante. The exchange flagged the initiative in an X post on Monday.

Pig-butchering crypto scams cultivate long-term trust, then funnel victims into fake digital asset platforms. In January 2026, losses reached $370.3 million, with social engineering accounting for about $311 million. Authorities are pursuing networks and laundering operations, but cross-border structures and encrypted channels complicate enforcement.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in an X post on Sunday that AI-powered personal assistants could help users navigate DAO governance by handling routine votes and surfacing context. He pointed to participation rates of roughly 15%–25% and warned of centralization risks. Near Foundation researcher Lane Rettig described similar "digital twins" last year.

Neo SPCC released NeoFS Node v0.51.1, following v0.51.0 earlier this month. The update adds new CLI commands for container policy checks and mainchain management, a policer consistency metric, faster metabase resynchronization, and storage-layer fixes. Operators on v0.51.0 can upgrade in place; v0.50.x users should follow the v0.51.0 migration guidance.