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 February 21, 2026, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets updated guidance to permit broker-dealers to apply a 2% capital haircut to proprietary positions in qualifying payment stablecoins under Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1. Many firms had treated these assets with a 100% haircut; the change, subject to strict reserve, transparency and regulatory criteria, may enhance liquidity.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that President Trump could not rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to maintain broad import tariffs, leaving around $130 billion in paid duties unresolved. Hours later, Trump invoked Section 122 to introduce a temporary 10% tariff on goods from all countries, while bitcoin held near $68,000 despite previous market sell-offs during earlier tariff moves. Crypto investors are now watching to see whether this new trade action will trigger another sharp downturn similar to those seen in February and April last year.

Heading into the weekend, Bitcoin trades near $68,000, Ethereum around $1,960, and XRP close to $1.42. On February 20, 2026, Ali Charts said whales accumulated over 30,000 BTC in the past week and nearly 200,000 BTC over the last month, aligning with hidden bullish signals and resistance at $69,500–$70,000.

Deutsche Bank plans to leverage Ripple's blockchain-based infrastructure to speed up and reduce the cost of its cross-border payments. Around Feb. 19, XRP slipped under its 200-week moving average near $1.419 and lost support at $1.42, while the UAE has reportedly mined about $453.6 million in Bitcoin and holds over $1 billion in BTC, a push Binance's Changpeng Zhao says he supported. These developments highlight institutional interest in Ripple's solutions, shifting XRP price dynamics, and the UAE's growing role in Bitcoin mining.

On February 20, 2026, Sam Bankman-Fried published a "10 Myths" thread from detention, asserting FTX was solvent and customers would receive 119–143% of their holdings. Critics dispute the math, noting claims are valued at the November 11, 2022 bankruptcy date, while court records show his November 2023 conviction and March 2024, 25-year sentence.

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.

The SEC's Division of Trading and Markets issued guidance on Thursday allowing broker-dealers to apply a 2% haircut to proprietary positions in certain payment stablecoins. Commissioner Hester Peirce said the change could enable brokers to expand activities involving tokenized securities and other crypto assets. Industry voices added it may reduce friction by aligning treatment with money-market funds.