Crypto market capitalization rose 3.7% by roughly $120 billion to $2.43 trillion as BTC approached $70,000 before sliding to $68,000. On February 25, 2026, Santiment flagged renewed FOMO, while analysts debated a bull trap versus a relief rally, citing a Binance Fund Flow Ratio of 0.012.

The bankruptcy estate of Terraform Labs has filed a lawsuit accusing Jane Street of insider trading, prompting debate over whether the firm's role in Bitcoin ETFs affects price discovery. Bitwise advisor Jeff Park argues that a regulatory carve-out in Regulation SHO creates a "grey window" where authorized participants like Jane Street, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs can short without standard locate requirements, potentially weakening spot-buying incentives. Park concludes that no authorized participant is directly pushing Bitcoin's price down, but the ETF structure may undermine the integrity of the price discovery process, a view that several market participants dispute.

Indiana's House Bill 1042, focused on the regulation and investment of cryptocurrency, has cleared both legislative chambers and is now awaiting the governor's decision. The measure would require certain state-run retirement and savings plans to offer at least one crypto option through self-directed brokerage accounts, while also limiting public agencies from restricting lawful digital asset use or imposing special taxes on such transactions.

Bitcoin’s long-term holders are increasingly active around a cost basis of $38,900 while the spot price trades far higher, highlighting potential downside risk if historical patterns repeat. On-chain indicators show renewed coin movements and modest profit-taking from long-term investors, but recent selling has been led mainly by short-term holders.

Bitcoin advanced above $68,000 after building support over $66,000, setting a high at $70,000. It is trading above $67,500 and the 100‑hour simple moving average, with resistance at $68,500 and $69,200; failure to break higher could send price back toward $67,200, $66,250, $66,000, and the main support at $65,500.

On Feb 26, 2026, Bitcoin’s derivatives metrics showed deeply negative funding as traders added short exposure, according to CryptoQuant. Despite the bearish futures tilt, spot price action continued to defend the $68,000–$69,000 area, with a broader range between $62,000 and $69,000 and a key support reference near $60,000.

An Elliott Wave specialist on X has outlined a bearish roadmap suggesting Bitcoin is entering the final leg of its current downtrend, with Wave 5 now in play and the prior corrective Wave 4 structure considered complete. The analysis maps an initial downside objective around $60,385 from a spot price near $65,000, followed by a deeper potential trough near $55,759 based on Fibonacci levels.

Bitcoin traders are preparing for Friday's $10.5 billion monthly options expiry, with current data showing put options holding the upper hand while BTC trades around $68,800. Deribit leads the market with the bulk of open interest, and scenarios modeled around price ranges between $65,000 and $74,000 all currently favor sellers unless Bitcoin can stage a 9% move back above $75,000. A strong 90% correlation with the Nasdaq 100 suggests that tech sector sentiment and major earnings, including Nvidia, may heavily influence the expiry outcome.