Bitcoin's simplicity as a non-programmable asset strengthens its position as a store of value. The programmability of crypto does not equate to it being money; it represents value in diverse ways. Investors often misclassify crypto assets, failing to recognize their distinct nature compared to tr...
The post Mert Mumtaz: Bitcoin’s simplicity enhances its store of value, programmability doesn’t define money, and Solana’s engineering sets a new standard | Raoul Pal appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
After the recent market pullback, crypto majors have moved into consolidation rather than continuation. Chainlink (LINK) price action reflects that shift clearly. The drop below $9 initially looked like a breakdown, yet the market refused to accelerate lower. With LINK price stabilizes near $8 and participation thinning, attention shifts beneath the surface to positioning and …
The bank also holds a large put option position on Strategy, potentially capitalizing on the company trading above the value of its BTC holdings.
XRP is trading near $1.50. That means 1,000 XRP tokens are currently worth about $1,500. After a sharp correction over the past year, many investors are now asking a simple question: What could that same 1,000 XRP be worth by the end of 2026? The answer mainly depends on two things: how big the overall …
Jake Claver is again laying out the conditions he says must line up for XRP to reach triple digits, framing the bet not as a chart call but as a sequencing problem tied to institutional tokenization, on-chain liquidity, and regulated market plumbing. In a “Memes and Markets” interview on Feb. 16 with Ben Leavitt and Keith D, Claver defended his so-called “Domino Theory”. Claver told the hosts he didn’t enter crypto until 2020, built a broader portfolio first, then consolidated into XRP after the 2022 drawdown because he viewed it as the “for sure thing.” The hosts pushed on his habit of speaking in absolutes, with Leavitt describing it as “the scariest thing” given how widely his clips circulate. Claver didn’t retreat from the posture. “I will put my nuts on the line and make statements,” he said, adding that his attorneys have advised him to refrain from doing so going forward. “I’m not going to back down. I have a very strong belief in this. And I’ve had enough validation from the right people that lead me to believe that this is the outcome that will take place.” Related Reading: Historic Trend That Led XRP To A Sharp 40% Trend Has Just Reappeared From there, the conversation moved into what Claver sees as the social base of the XRP trade. He argued that XRP attracts a “consistent type of person,” describing holders as disproportionately “faith-based,” generally older, and oriented toward family wealth and philanthropy rather than maximalist anti-bank narratives. Why XRP Could Reach $100 In his telling, that demographic preference is inseparable from the asset’s positioning. “They don’t think the banks are going to go away. They’re not going to be disintermediated,” Claver said. “They don’t think that this is going to be a free DeFi ecosystem, free for all where people can participate without compliance and oversight. And so XRP being the banker’s coin, right? Like that’s appealing to them.” Claver’s core mechanism is less about a single catalyst and more about preconditions. He pointed to timelines he says were aired by large financial institutions around tokenizing asset classes “in the next two years, by the end of 2028,” arguing that tokenization doesn’t matter without the ability to transact at scale. “It really doesn’t provide additional value today because there’s not enough liquidity in those ecosystems for people to transact like there is on the stock market or other markets,” he said. In his model, custody, identity, and liquidity are gating items; once those are in place, stablecoins could be issued on XRPL with XRP used as an intermediary asset, enabling marketplaces for tokenized stocks, private markets, and real estate to function “in a regulated environment.” Related Reading: XRP Outlook Slashed: Standard Chartered Lowers Forecast From $8 To $2 He also offered a cultural feedback loop: a long-running belief in “very high price” outcomes encourages holders to sit tight, reducing the tradable float. In Claver’s view, that scarcity (100 billion token supply) dynamic can amplify price pressure if demand arrives alongside institutional rails. “The more that gets taken off the market, the scarcer the supply is that’s openly traded and the higher the price will get pushed,” he said, arguing that many won’t sell “until they see the significantly higher prices that many people are hoping for.” The interview didn’t avoid the blowback from Claver’s missed New Year’s call. He said his conviction was partly tied to NDAs and partly to a public bet whose purpose, he claimed, was to ensure retail participants weren’t permanently stripped of XRP in side wagers. “Some people like to grind hard for the amount of XRP that they have,” he said. “And for them to just lose that to somebody else on a bet on Twitter, I didn’t feel good about. So all of those people have been returned their XRP.” Pressed on the risk that followers made “very poor financial decisions” around his timeline, Claver leaned on disclaimers and a wealth-management argument: big gains can be destabilizing without tax planning, estate structure, and stewardship. He noted that his advisory firm’s regulated advisors “would tell me I am being reckless and irresponsible with how I have made my allocation,” positioning his own posture as personal choice rather than template. At press time, XRP traded at $1.47. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
On some Ethereum L2s, bots now burn over half the gas just searching for MEV, and they don’t pay proportionally for it. That’s a scaling and market-fairness problem rooted in market structure. The privacy conversation in crypto has finally escaped the “anonymous money” framing that dominated the last cycle. In early 2026, the urgency is […]
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Bitcoin price today has recorded its worst quarter (Q1) performance in 8 years, falling more than 22% from its 2026 high of $97,689 to around $68,000. However, the sharp decline mirrors the historical data, which suggests the current Bitcoin price correction may be part of a market reset rather than the start of a new …
Ethereum’s tokenized real-world assets, including U.S. Treasuries, gold, and private credit, have crossed $15 billion, growing about 200% year-over-year. These blockchain tokens enable easier trading, yields, and fractional ownership. Ethereum holds 58% of the global non-stablecoin RWA market, with major players like BlackRock’s $1.8 billion BUIDL fund fueling growth. Transfer volumes doubled to $26 billion …
Institutional caution over quantum threats may slow Bitcoin's growth, prompting a focus on security innovations and core crypto assets.
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Your day-ahead look for Feb. 17, 2026
Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a second MiCA crypto bill, leaving companies without a domestic licensing path as the local regulator warns of a July 2026 deadline.
Bitcoin price has entered a make-or-break phase. After months of sustained strength and a rally to fresh highs above $126K, BTC is now retracing toward a major long-term support zone—one that previously defined cycle bottoms in 2018, 2020, and 2022. As price cools, signs of distribution are emerging: profit-taking has increased, whale wallets are moving …
TON Foundation and Banxa have partnered to enable stablecoin payments for APAC merchants using TON infrastructure.
Bitcoin falls to $68,000 as tech-led risk-off move deepens, gold extends correction and memecoins lead altcoin losses amid BTC dominance range.
Andrew MacKenzie, CEO of sterling stablecoin developer Agant, believes the U.K.’s crypto regulatory framework is moving in the right direction, but far too slowly to support Britain’s ambition of becoming a global digital asset hub. While the government has repeatedly positioned London as a future center for crypto innovation, comprehensive stablecoin and crypto legislation is …
Ethereum’s tokenized real-world asset market cap has topped $17 billion, up nearly 315% year over year as more TradFi giants move onchain.
The broader crypto market has moved into a cooling phase after recent volatility, with most large assets drifting sideways. In that environment, Monero (XMR) price action reclaims the spotlight. Recent sessions have displayed a shift in price structure, as buyers have absorbed supply and notably, a fresh TD Sequential buy signal has appeared at the …
Story Highlights The live price of the Ronin crypto is . Ronin (RON) eyes recovery in 2026 with Ethereum L2 migration and Uniswap v3 launch. Price could reach $0.85 in 2026 and $7.45 by 2030. After a 90% drop, Ronin (RON) may rebound via Layer 2 upgrades and ecosystem growth, targeting $0.85 in 2026 and …
Bitcoin’s recent price drop rattled investors across the market. But Arca CIO Jeff Dorman says crypto wasn’t the cause. In a Milk Road Show interview, Dorman explained that the crash came from big Wall Street funds pulling money out across all markets, not from crypto traders selling. He pointed out that institutional trading platforms saw …
American restaurant chain Steak ‘n Shake says its nine‑month burger‑to‑Bitcoin strategy has driven “dramatic” same‑store sales growth and a $15 million Bitcoin reserve.
Crypto markets are leaning toward their quietest mood in years, and some analysts say that could be the signal sellers have run out of steam. According to Matrixport, a slump in investor mood has pushed its measures to levels that have in the past lined up with market turning points. Related Reading: XRP Spotlighted In German Media With Bold $9 Projection Crypto Sentiment At Multi-Year Lows According to Matrixport, its Bitcoin fear-and-greed gauge has the 21-day moving average below zero and starting to turn up, which is the kind of shift that in prior episodes marked the end of broad selling. Reports note Alternative.me’s Fear and Greed Index sits near 10 out of 100, a reading that lines up with what traders call “extreme fear.” Those are blunt, unsightly numbers. They also tend to make a few investors start looking for bargains. Similar Readings From The Past Past moments with similar readings came after steep drops. June 2024 and November 2025 were named by Matrixport as earlier times when market mood hit comparable depths, and each was followed by at least a temporary change in price action. That pattern doesn’t promise a rebound every time, but it does show how deeply negative views can eventually be absorbed by buyers who step back in at lower prices. ????Today’s #Matrixport Daily Chart – February 17, 2026 ⬇️ Bitcoin Sentiment Hits Extreme Lows ⁰— Durable Bottom Are Emerging? #Matrixport #Bitcoin #BTC #CryptoMarkets #MarketSentiment #FearAndGreed #RiskManagement #Volatility #CryptoResearch pic.twitter.com/WxJg3xrHSf — Matrixport Official (@Matrixport_EN) February 17, 2026 Technical Indicators Flash Oversold Signals Frank Holmes of Hive says Bitcoin is about two standard deviations below its 20-day trading norm — a rare reading seen only a few times in five years. Reports note that these extremes have historically produced short-term bounces over the following 20 trading days. Bitcoin itself has been moving sharply: it briefly climbed above $70,000 over the weekend, only to fall back about 2.5%, trading near $68,750 at the time of writing. Other trackers report it dipped close to $60,000, marking one of the deepest drops in several years. Traders are keeping a close eye on US GDP and income data, which could influence risk appetite and the next moves for crypto markets. Selling Pressure May Be Near Exhaustion Reports say Matrixport still warns that prices could move lower before any meaningful bottom is cemented. The firm points to a cyclical link between mood and price — deep pessimism often precedes an inflection, but cycles can be messy and extend. Selling pressure can be exhausted and yet new headlines or data can push prices down further before buyers feel confident enough to stay. Related Reading: Bitcoin At $8,000? Michael Saylor Says Strategy Still Won’t Break What Traders Might Do Next Some investors see present readings as an attractive entry point, while others prefer to wait for clearer confirmation from price and volume. Long-term holders often point to the underlying network metrics and institutional interest as reasons to remain optimistic, and their positions are being watched closely. Short-term players, by contrast, are taking a cautious stance, using stops, scaling entries, or sitting out until signals firm up. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
XRP is showing signs of a potential major move as it forms key technical setups like triangles and rising channels. Analysts point to breakout levels between $2.80 and $3.30, which could push the price above $5 if buying momentum increases. Strong support around $2.00 to $2.30 is crucial to keep the bullish outlook intact, and …
The probe will examine Grok’s AI image processing for lawful use, built-in safeguards, and impact assessments.
Paxos, the regulated blockchain and tokenization platform, posted a direct message to banks today. The old stablecoin playbook no longer applies. In a post shared on X, Paxos called out four common banking industry beliefs about stablecoins and explained why each one is now outdated. The trigger is the GENIUS Act, signed into law by …
TRM Labs says Monero usage remains above pre-2022 levels as darknet markets shift toward XMR, while unusual node behavior may offer investigators network-level clues.
Precious metal gold and silver prices are crashing today. In just 30 minutes, nearly $2.5 trillion was wiped from the overall market. The gold price has fallen below $4,900. Similarly Silver price has declined even more sharply to under $75 per ounce.The sudden drop has left many investors asking why Gold and Silver prices are …
XRP is sliding even as the XRP Ledger (XRPL) rolls out features that supporters have long framed as a bridge to institutional adoption. According to CryptoSlate's data, the token has been trading around $1.47, while a mix of fresh supply signals, cooling marginal demand, and broader risk-off behavior continues to pressure the price. At the […]
The post Standard Chartered slashes XRP price target by 65% as whales send millions of tokens to Binance appeared first on CryptoSlate.
With Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around 50% below its all-time high of $126,000 reached last October, investors are increasingly questioning when the cryptocurrency might finally establish its next bottom. According to market expert and technical analyst Altcoin Sherpa, the current bear phase is unlikely to drag on for another full year. In his view, Bitcoin could complete its downturn in less than 365 days and potentially resume its broader uptrend before year-end. Has Bitcoin Bottomed? In a recent analysis published on X, Sherpa clarified that his timeline refers specifically to the move from peak to bottom and does not include the accumulation period that typically follows. Accumulation, he explained, is characterized by choppy, sideways price action with relatively low volatility and subdued trading volume. Historically, this phase has lasted anywhere from two to four months. Related Reading: Can XRP Hold Above $1? Token Tumbles 11% as Breakdown Fuels Crash Concerns Looking back at previous cycles, Sherpa notes a fairly consistent rhythm. Bitcoin experienced a powerful rally in 2017 and again in 2021, each followed by a steep year-long decline in 2018 and 2022. After those major drawdowns came an extended stretch of accumulation, as seen in 2019 and 2020. From the top in 2017 to the bottom in 2018, and similarly from 2021 to 2022, it took about one year for Bitcoin to complete its downward move. Another common feature of past bear markets, he argues, has been a final capitulation event — a sharp, dramatic sell-off that effectively marks the end of the downtrend. Sherpa believes a capitulation may have already occurred in 2026, pointing to Bitcoin’s drop from $100,000 to $60,000 as a potential final flush. If that interpretation is correct, the market could already be in the early stages of accumulation. Accumulation Could Already Be Underway Because the 2024 and 2025 rallies were structurally different, Sherpa believes the decline will also differ. While the last two bear markets each lasted about a year from peak to bottom and saw drawdowns of approximately 85% and 75%, respectively, he does not expect the current downturn to mirror that pattern exactly. One reason, he says, is the growing role of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Although ETF products can and do decline along with the broader market, they have changed the structure of capital flows. He also points to the lengthy consolidation between $50,000 and $70,000, where Bitcoin traded for roughly eight months. From a technical analysis perspective, such extended trading ranges often act as strong support zones during pullbacks. Related Reading: Dogecoin (DOGE) Gives Back Gains, Support Level Under Spotlight As for timing, broader macroeconomic forces — including equities, metals, overall risk appetite and even developments in artificial intelligence — remain critical variables. Still, Sherpa does not think BTC needs another seven months of steady decline to form a bottom. If the recent $100,000 to $60,000 slide was indeed the final Bitcoin price capitulation, then accumulation may already be underway. Historically, that phase has lasted between two and four months, or roughly 60 to 120 days. However, he acknowledges one key risk to his outlook: the possibility that a final capitulation has not yet occurred. If another sell-off emerges — for example, a drop from $75,000 toward $50,000— he would interpret that as the definitive bottoming event. In that scenario, accumulation would likely follow for several months. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Newly surfaced 2018 emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s files have reignited controversy after referencing potential discussions about cryptocurrency with Gary Gensler, years before he became SEC Chair. The emails suggest Epstein mentioned plans to speak with Gensler about crypto and informed former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers that Gensler would arrive early for such discussions. Summers …
Key derivatives metrics and ETF flows suggest lack of demand, but macro forces offer hope.