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Nicki Minaj will participate in the Trump family's World Liberty Forum, a crypto summit held at Mar-a-Lago, signaling her deeper involvement in the political and crypto space. The event will gather major figures from finance and crypto, including CEOs from Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, Coinbase, and policymakers. Minaj, who previously promoted NFTs but has no personal crypto projects, now aligns herself with Trump's expanding crypto agenda amid broader celebrity opposition to his policies.

A7A5, a stablecoin pegged to the Russian ruble, plans to handle more than 20% of Russia's international trade settlements. The company targets demand primarily from businesses in Asia, Africa, and South America trading with Russia and operates under Kyrgyzstan's regulations with full KYC and AML compliance. However, use within Russia is currently restricted due to ongoing regulatory development.

Ethereum may surge to $2,500 if it surpasses crucial technical resistance levels. Significant whale accumulation was observed with 2.5 million ETH moving to accumulation addresses during February's decline. Chart patterns and liquidation data suggest potential volatility but also a strong bullish breakout possibility.

Oleg Ogienko of A7A5 promotes a ruble-pegged stablecoin aimed at facilitating cross-border trade despite U.S. sanctions. The company presents itself as compliant and committed to legal operations in a challenging regulatory environment. Efforts focus on growing the stablecoin's usage as an alternative payment rail amid geopolitical tensions.

Flagship Bank discovered unauthorized access to sensitive customer data including names, Social Security numbers, and financial information. The breach occurred on April 15, 2025, through a social engineering attack, with no evidence of identity theft found so far. The bank is offering 12 months of credit monitoring and enhanced employee training to mitigate future risks.

Elon Musk’s social media platform X is introducing Smart Cashtags to help users specify digital assets more precisely, but will not facilitate direct crypto trading. The feature will allow clearer identification of ticker symbols down to smart contracts, aiming to reduce confusion on Crypto Twitter. Although Musk’s payments service 'X Money' is progressing, it currently does not integrate crypto trading, and regulatory scrutiny remains a challenge.

MicroStrategy's stock price showed an 8.85% rise while Bitcoin fell 2.2%, but their 7-day rolling correlation surged to 0.98, indicating they are moving almost identically again. Technical indicators reveal a hidden bearish divergence and conflicting buying trends between institutional accumulation and retail selling, signaling potential downside risk for MSTR stock. Key support and resistance levels at $119 and $139 will likely determine whether MicroStrategy experiences a correction or a rally influenced by Bitcoin's next moves.

In the third week of February 2026, tokens worth more than $321 million will be unlocked across several major crypto projects including LayerZero (ZRO), YZY (YZY), and KAITO (KAITO). LayerZero will unlock 25.71 million tokens on February 20, YZY will unlock 62.5 million tokens on February 17, and KAITO will release 32.6 million tokens on February 20. These unlocks could increase market volatility and influence short-term price movements.

Bitcoin is nearing a record-breaking losing streak similar to that of the 2018 bear market, having declined about 53% since last October. If February ends with a loss, it will mark five straight months of declines, close to the six-month consecutive loss record from 2018. The current negative momentum suggests continued challenges ahead for Bitcoin's price recovery.

Steak 'n Shake, a U.S. fast-food chain, has reported a significant sales increase following the addition of Bitcoin as a payment method. The company began accepting Bitcoin payments at all its locations worldwide last year. This development highlights growing adoption of cryptocurrency in mainstream retail settings.

Logan Paul is facing accusations of scamming after his $16 million Pokémon card auction amid controversy surrounding his tokenization firm, Liquid MarketPlace. The Ontario Securities Commission has branded the firm a 'multi-layered fraud', alleging executives misappropriated funds. Despite Paul's distancing from the firm and legal issues, public criticism and doubts about the card's grading continue to affect his reputation.

In 2025 and early 2026, Bitcoin's market behavior has rotated between acting as a high-beta tech asset, a liquidity-sensitive asset, and only occasionally as a hedge like digital gold. Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq 100 has strengthened significantly, while correlations with gold and the US dollar have weakened to nearly zero. This shift indicates Bitcoin is currently trading more as a tech risk factor sensitive to financial plumbing and liquidity conditions rather than as a traditional hedge or inflation protection.

Bitcoin is on track for its longest consecutive monthly loss since the 2018 bear market, with five months of decline if February ends negatively. The cryptocurrency trades below key moving averages, indicating strong bearish momentum, while market sentiment remains dominated by fear. Broader macroeconomic factors and strong bearish trends in technical indicators suggest the downtrend may persist without a decisive recovery above $100K.

Aave Labs has proposed a governance plan directing all Aave-branded product revenue to its DAO treasury, indicating confidence in a softer U.S. regulatory climate. The proposal reflects reduced SEC crypto enforcement actions in 2025, enabling protocols like Aave to pursue institutional-style business models on-chain. Similar moves by Uniswap and other DeFi projects suggest a broader trend toward value accrual for tokenholders as regulatory risks ease.

Tokyo-based Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet disclosed a net loss of $619 million for fiscal 2025 due to a $666 million valuation drop in its Bitcoin holdings. Despite the loss, the company's revenue surged 738%, driven by premiums from Bitcoin option transactions, and it forecasts continued growth for fiscal 2026. Metaplanet holds 35,102 BTC, aiming for 210,000 BTC by 2027, but faces challenges from Bitcoin's price volatility.

Zcash's original development team has officially split from the Electric Coin Company (ECC) due to governance disputes and formed a new entity called Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL). The Zashi wallet is rebranded as Zodl and continues to fully support the Zcash blockchain, ensuring operational continuity. This split reflects a broader trend in decentralized projects where developer teams maintain influence over protocol direction independent of corporate ownership.

Amazon is set to pay $309 million in a settlement regarding allegations of failing to refund customers for properly returned items. The settlement funds unpaid refunds plus interest and is in addition to over $600 million previously issued for related claims. Amazon also agreed to implement reforms to improve refund processes and customer notifications, while denying any wrongdoing.

Wintermute, a crypto market maker, has launched institutional over-the-counter trading for tokenized gold products Pax Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT). The platform will facilitate trades of these tokenized assets against USDT, USDC, fiat currencies, and other major cryptocurrencies. The move comes amid rising gold prices and growing institutional interest, with the tokenized gold market projected to surpass $15 billion by 2026.

Bitcoin failed to break the key resistance level at $71,800, leading to bearish market sentiment and increased downside risk. It recently bounced off short-term support at $65,650 but remains vulnerable to retesting the $60,000 lows if support levels fail. Technical indicators highlight critical support at the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement near $57,800, with resistance clustered between $71,800 and $84,000.

Ethereum’s price remains stagnant around $2,000, struggling to break past key resistance at $2,051. On-chain data shows investors are selling at a loss, signaling potential panic, though historical patterns suggest this could precede price stabilization. However, a significant drop in new Ethereum addresses by 34% suggests a slowdown in fresh capital inflows, potentially limiting near-term price recovery.