BlackRock has filed the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, expected to trade as ETHB, which plans to stake 70–95% of its Ether and distribute 82% of staking rewards to investors while charging a 0.25% sponsor fee. A December 17 regulatory document noted a seed purchase of 4,000 shares at $0.25 each, and market participants expect a first‑half 2026 rollout.

On 21 February 2026, Russian authorities reported that more than 5,500 crypto miners had registered with the Federal Tax Service after mining was legalized on 1 November 2024. From 2025, cryptocurrency is taxed as property, with income from mining subject to personal and corporate profit tax while remaining exempt from VAT. Individuals may mine without registration only below a 6,000 kWh monthly electricity threshold, and draft 2026 rules could introduce fines up to 2.5 million rubles and prison terms of up to five years for large-scale unregistered operations.

On 20 February 2026, Tether announced it will discontinue its offshore yuan-pegged stablecoin CNH₦ as part of a broader product reshuffle. New token issuance has already been halted, and holders have until February 2027 to redeem, while the company shifts resources toward USD₦, USA₦ and its Hadron tokenization platform and continues liquidating EUR₦.

On 21 February 2026, Bitwise Asset Management CIO Matt Hougan reaffirmed Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Chainlink as the firm's core crypto assets for the current market cycle. He argues these networks form the backbone of a maturing digital asset economy, with Bitcoin and Ethereum dominating and Solana and Chainlink positioned as high-upside infrastructure plays. Bitwise's index fund allocations and planned products mirror this focus, concentrating heavily on BTC and ETH while maintaining smaller positions in SOL and LINK.

On 20 February 2026, BNP Paribas launched a pilot that tokenizes a share class of a French money market fund on the public Ethereum network using the ERC-3643 standard and a permissioned, regulated framework. The bank is also spearheading Qivalis, a euro-pegged stablecoin backed by a consortium of 12 European banks, which aims for a commercial rollout in the second half of 2026. Together these initiatives indicate a wider move toward on-chain finance focused on institutional payments and compliant access to blockchain infrastructure.

On 21 February 2026, Capriole Fund founder Charles Edwards argued that Bitcoin's fair value should already be marked down by about 20% to reflect the rising threat from quantum computing. He warns that if the network fails to transition to quantum-resistant cryptography, a future "Q-Day" could expose 20–30% of the supply to theft and forced selling, potentially driving much steeper valuation discounts in the coming years.

On 20 February 2026, a Bloomberg Research report highlighted that the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index plunged to 5, a reading below past major shock episodes, even as the price held mostly between 65,000 and 70,000 dollars. While the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance and reduced expectations for 2026 rate cuts are pressuring risk assets, institutional investors continue to accumulate BTC through spot ETFs and DeFi exposure despite several weeks of fund outflows. Revenue-generating DeFi protocols such as Hyperliquid, PancakeSwap, and Uniswap have outpaced broader crypto benchmarks, pointing to a shift toward infrastructure- and income-focused projects.

On 20 February 2026, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich defended the firm's Bitcoin accumulation strategy after the company posted a $619 million net loss for fiscal year 2025, mainly from non-cash mark-to-market adjustments. The firm holds 35,102 BTC as of February 2026 and has approved a $137 million capital raise to pursue its target of 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.

On May 29, 2026, CME Group plans to introduce 24/7 trading for its cryptocurrency futures and options, subject to final regulatory approval. The new schedule will cover products tied to Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and other recently listed tokens, and is designed to mirror the continuous trading seen in spot crypto markets. The change follows record notional volumes in 2025 and rising institutional participation in CME's digital asset contracts.