On 22 February 2026, Brickken's Q4 2025 research found RWA tokenization is chiefly used to raise capital. 53.8% of issuers prioritize fundraising, while only 15.4% cite liquidity as a core driver; nearly half expect secondary-market access within 6–12 months. 69.2% of projects are live, and 84.6% report regulatory friction as the main obstacle.

On 21 February 2026, macro strategist Lyn Alden explained on the Coin Stories podcast why Bitcoin's cycle is subdued. She said capital has flowed into AI equities like Nvidia, leaving BTC near $67,849 versus its October 2025 high of $126,100, and cautioned against a rapid rebound. Alden sees potential $10,000–$20,000 downside before a durable bottom.

On 20 February 2026, major U.S. financial institutions were reported to hold 136,702,386 Bitmine shares worth about $2.86 billion, backing the company's large-scale Ethereum accumulation strategy. Bitmine currently controls 4,371,497 ETH, equal to 3.62% of the circulating supply, and aims to reach roughly 6 million ETH, while staking operations are projected to generate up to $252 million in annual rewards after its MAVAN infrastructure goes live in Q1 2026.

On 20 February 2026, the Ethereum Foundation outlined a shift to two network upgrades per year, beginning in 2026. The plan prioritizes scaling, improved user experience, and stronger L1 security, with a gas limit target of 100M+ and named upgrades Glamsterdam in H1 and Hegotá in H2.

On 19 February 2026, Ethereum passed a key threshold as more than half of all ETH became locked in the proof-of-stake contract for the first time. The share is cited at 50.18% on a pre-burn basis, while about 120M ETH currently exist after burns, indicating a tighter liquid float and deeper validator participation. A proposal dubbed ERC-5564 also introduces stealth addresses for programmable on-chain privacy.

On 12 February 2026, Bridge, Stripe’s digital dollar platform, received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Bridge National Trust Bank. The proposed national trust bank charter would let Bridge issue and manage stablecoins, custody digital assets, and oversee token reserves, while prohibiting insured deposits and traditional lending until full approval is granted.

On 17 February 2026, data showed Binance had logged three consecutive months of net stablecoin outflows, with February's withdrawals nearing -$3B by mid-month. Since November, the exchange's stablecoin reserves have fallen from roughly $50.9B to about $41.8B, indicating reduced on-exchange liquidity and an extended de-risking phase. This sustained drain in stablecoin balances points to more cautious positioning among market participants.

On 16 February 2026, Animoca Brands received a virtual asset service provider license from Dubai's VARA, allowing it to operate crypto broker-dealer and investment services in the emirate. Around the same time, Arkham Intelligence tracked a newly created wallet allocating about $2.75 million in USDC into WLFI, highlighting renewed speculative flows into emerging tokens.

On 15 February 2026, it was reported that multiple publicly listed Bitcoin miners had reoriented their business models toward AI and high-performance computing after the April 2024 halving cut block rewards. Companies such as TeraWulf, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and others are selling Bitcoin holdings, signing multiyear AI hosting contracts, and expanding power capacity to build out GPU-focused data centers with potentially higher and more predictable margins than traditional mining.