Ethereum fell below $2,000 this week, sparking debate about selling after trackers flagged wallet activity linked to Vitalik Buterin. On-chain data indicates roughly 19,300 ETH, worth near $39 million, were moved and sold around $2,000, while Arkham reports the founder still holds over 224,000 ETH. Technicals show lower highs and lows since late January.

On 23 February, ZachXBT signaled an upcoming insider-trading investigation, and on 26 February he named Axiom Exchange, alleging staff misused internal tools for profit. Shortly before the reveal, a Polymarket account funded with about $70,000 in USDC bet roughly $65,800 on Axiom being implicated, later earning more than $400,000, and was subsequently linked on-chain to an active Axiom user's Solana wallet.

On 25 February, World Liberty Financial introduced a governance proposal that ties WLFI token staking and lock-up duration to voting power and annual rewards of roughly 2%. The plan also links higher-level node participation to USD1 stablecoin conversion and liquidity programs, while aiming to shift value from intermediaries to long-term ecosystem participants. Final adoption will depend on a tokenholder vote, with any approved changes to be implemented in stages.

MANTRA’s OM token is undergoing a governance-approved migration to MANTRA Chain, a 1:4 redenomination into MANTRA, and a ticker change, leading some platforms to halt OM perpetual futures trading. Coinbase Advanced and Coinbase International Exchange have paused OM perps as a precaution around the upgrade, while spot markets and custody can be handled separately. OM recently traded near $0.067 with an increase of over 5%, amid a broader downtrend since late 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority said in a public statement that leveraged crypto derivatives, including perpetual contracts, fall under existing EU Contract for Difference rules. The watchdog reaffirmed the bloc's "same risk, same rules" approach, meaning leverage limits, risk warnings, margin close-out and negative balance protection apply to retail offerings.

During Tuesday’s session, Bitcoin slid toward $62,000 after briefly trading just above $62,500, then steadied near $64,000. On Polymarket, odds for a February close above $80,000 or $90,000 are 2% or less, while the probability of $60,000 or below is around 23%. Sentiment has cooled after failed rebounds earlier in the month.

Bitcoin and Ethereum led a sharp market pullback as leveraged longs were forced out across major venues. Over the past 24 hours, around $600 million in positions were liquidated, with longs dominating, while BTC slid from the mid-$67,000s toward $64,000 and ETH fell from near $1,950 below $1,850. Broad declines hit large caps as stablecoins held steady.

World Liberty Financial reported that its USD1 stablecoin briefly traded in the $0.995–$0.998 range on 23 February before returning to its $1 target. The firm alleges a coordinated attack involving compromised cofounder-linked accounts, social media fear amplification, and short positions, while market data indicates a rapid recovery consistent with liquidity-driven volatility.

Bitcoin’s recent pullback has seen wallets holding 0.1–1 BTC steadily accumulate, boosting their balances by about 1.05% since the October price peak. In contrast, holders with 1–10 BTC have trimmed exposure to a 38‑month low, while SOPR data shows both long‑ and short‑term participants increasingly transacting near breakeven or at losses.