On February 20 2026, Russia’s Federal Tax Service initiated bankruptcy proceedings against BitRiver-B, a BitRiver subsidiary behind a 100 MW data center project in Buryatia that never went live. The group had invested 1.4 billion rubles (over $18 million) in the facility but was hit by expanding regional mining restrictions, a subsequent five-year Bitcoin mining ban in Buryatia, mounting lawsuits, and tax evasion accusations against its founder. The failed investment is seen as a major factor in BitRiver’s broader operational and financial troubles across Russia.

The White House has reportedly set a March 1 target to finalize negotiations on a U.S. crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act, aiming to move the proposal forward by the end of the month. A draft discussed with major crypto firms and banking associations would prohibit yield on idle stablecoin balances, empower the SEC, Treasury, and CFTC to enforce the rules with penalties up to $500,000 per violation per day, and keep a bank-requested deposit outflow study on the table.

Aztec (AZTEC) has skyrocketed nearly 67% in the last 24 hours, hitting an all-time high of $0.038 as South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb officially opened spot trading pairs for the token. The move, characterized by a 626% explosion in trading volume, has pushed Aztec’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) back above $320 million, making it the most aggressively traded privacy-focused Layer 2 asset in the market today.

On 19 February 2026, U.S.-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds saw about $165.8 million in net outflows, led by sizable redemptions from a major IBIT vehicle. Ethereum products registered roughly $130.1 million in withdrawals, while Solana and XRP ETFs posted smaller but positive net inflows of around $6.0 million and $4.05 million, signaling a cautious rotation into select alternative assets.

According to CryptoQuant, Ethereum derivatives have seen sharp deleveraging, with aggregate open interest sliding from $33.3 billion to about $11 billion, a 66% decline. CoinGlass also tracked roughly $189 million in 24‑hour liquidations as price moved toward $1,900, while exchange balances reached a multi‑year low of 16.1 million ETH.

About 30,600 Bitcoin options with roughly $2 billion notional are expiring on Friday, Feb. 20. Coinglass places max pain near $70,000 and Deribit cites a 0.59 put/call ratio; another 212,000 Ethereum contracts worth about $404 million also roll off. Spot markets remain range-bound, with Bitcoin near $67,290 after a $65,700 weekly low.

Crypto and banking representatives met at the White House on Thursday for a third session in 16 days, following meetings on Feb. 2 and Feb. 10. Adviser Patrick Witt pushed a trade‑off to permit stablecoin rewards only on transaction activity, not balances. No agreement was reached, but Ripple and Coinbase executives described the talks as constructive.

In a Thursday interview in Palm Beach, Eric Trump said that despite Bitcoin's recent drop below $67,000 and its extended downturn, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are still poised to underpin mainstream financial systems. He highlighted World Liberty Financial's tokenized Maldives resort project and the USD1 stablecoin, while also discussing pending U.S. policy debates on stablecoin yields and ongoing lawsuits over alleged politically motivated bank account closures.