Markets blinked hard this week. According to Checkonchain, a measure tied to recent Bitcoin buyers has dropped into extreme territory not seen since the late 2018 slump. Related Reading: XRP On The Spotlight As Arizona Advances Landmark Digital Asset Bill That metric compares where new buyers paid against price swings, and right now those who bought inside the last 155 days sit well below break-even on average. That creates stress. It can also mark a low if other pieces line up. Short-Term Holder Signal Flashes Again Reports say the Short-Term Holder Bollinger Band reading has pierced its lower band, a statistical cue that recent buyers are unusually underwater. In past cycles that kind of print arrived near major lows — a deep wash-out when selling activity peaked and then buying began to reclaim value. Realized losses among large short-term wallets have not exploded yet, which, based on reports from MatrixPort, hints that heavy hitters may be holding through the pullback rather than throwing in the towel. Reports note that a similar signal appeared before Bitcoin’s historic 1,900% rally from the late 2018 bottom to 2021. While past performance does not guarantee the same outcome, the comparison highlights how extreme stress among short-term holders has previously aligned with major long-term gains. ????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 Price Action And Market Moves Price behavior has been messy. Bitcoin slipped under $67,000–$70,000 as risk-off flows hit markets. Traders point to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the broader pull in risk assets as key drivers of the move. Reports say a note picked up by a popular media and TV firm relayed a Wells Fargo view that a seasonal surge in US tax refunds — the bank’s strategist described a sizable liquidity window — could re-route fresh cash toward risk bets, possibly supporting a rebound by the end of March. Bitcoin STH Bollingers most oversold in 8 years pic.twitter.com/tHyBv3V1Ge — Quinten | 048.eth (@QuintenFrancois) February 17, 2026 What History Can And Cannot Tell Us Looking back offers both comfort and caution. The oversold alarm flashed before a big rally after 2018, and a similar signal showed up ahead of the November 2022 trough that later produced a steep recovery. Reports note those moves unfolded against very different backdrops — money supply conditions, interest rates, and institutional involvement were not the same then as they are now. This time there are ETFs, more derivatives, and a tighter policy regime in some parts of the world. Past wins do not automatically repeat, but patterns can still guide risk-aware decisions. Related Reading: What Bitcoin Rout? Michael Saylor Unfazed, Teases New Accumulation Where This Leaves Traders And Longer-Term Holders Short-term pain may still come. Volatility can remain high while markets reconcile macro news and geopolitical shocks. Yet the stretched readings among recent buyers do improve the odds that a better buying window is near for anyone with a multi-year horizon. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Bitdeer plans $300 million convertible note offering to expand high-performance computing; shares drop 18%, down 37% this month.
Royal family-linked mining rigs are producing about 4 BTC a day, turning state-backed infrastructure into a steady sovereign bitcoin machine
CME Group will begin offering 24/7 cryptocurrency futures and options trading on May 29 as volumes hit record highs.
The Singapore-based bitcoin miner and AI data center firm is raising capital to repurchase notes and fund expansion.
Modernizing existing financial infrastructures is more effective than trying to reach every individual user directly. Businesses already connected with users can enhance services through modernization. Yellowcard is the largest licensed stablecoin payments infrastructure provider for emerging mar...
The post Chris Maurice: Modernizing financial infrastructures boosts access, Yellowcard leads in stablecoin payments for emerging markets, and information asymmetry hinders currency access | Empire appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Google searches for “Bitcoin going to zero” hit an all-time high score of 100 on February 13, according to Google Trends data. The reading marks the highest level in over 3.5 years, surpassing the previous peak of 72 during June 2022’s market crash. But while retail panic hits historic levels, some of the sharpest minds …
A Harvard-trained astrophysicist, Stephen, believes the next major Bitcoin price rally may not happen immediately, but when it does, it could follow a clear mathematical pattern. In a recent discussion, Stephen explained that he spent much of 2025 studying whether Bitcoin would form another large bubble. “Are we going to have a bubble? How big’s …
The Ethereum price has slipped below an important support zone, putting short-term momentum under pressure. After climbing to an intraday high near $1,987, ETH pulled back toward the $1,935 region, showing that sellers are still active at higher levels. The drop may not look dramatic, but losing this support shifts the tone of the market. …
Legislators must choose whether America leads the next generation of finance or watches from the sidelines.
Hyperliquid launched a policy center in Washington on Feb. 18, seeded with 1 million HYPE tokens worth roughly $28 million, led by Jake Chervinsky, the crypto lawyer who spent years building the industry's Capitol Hill playbook. The Hyperliquid Policy Center operates as a 501(c)(4) focused on decentralized finance and perpetual derivatives. This isn't just another […]
The post If CLARITY stalls, on-chain perps stay offshore — and US traders get pushed out appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Digital asset treasuries are companies holding crypto on their balance sheets, often trading at discounts. M NAV is a metric for valuing companies relative to their crypto holdings. The decline in crypto prices has significantly impacted M NAVs, raising questions about equilibrium.
The post Steve Ehrlich: Digital asset treasuries are trading at deep discounts, M NAVs reveal market valuation challenges, and Ethereum’s staking makes it a superior asset | Unchained appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Crypto’s reputation is improving, but investors still complain that their banks are blocking their accounts for interacting with digital assets.
Binance Coin (BNB) was also among the underperformers, down 0.5% from Wednesday.
Blockchain is so broad these days that it’s hard to keep pace with what’s happening within a single sector, never mind in every regional hotspot. If you’re not up to speed on the latest developments within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) then, you can be forgiven. But we really should set that to rights, because …
Quantum computing has become the latest all-purpose explanation for Bitcoin’s recent drawdown, but NYDIG says the numbers don’t back the narrative. In a Feb. 17 research note, NYDIG research head Greg Cipolaro argues that “quantum fears” are loud, but not a primary driver of the sell-off when you look at search behavior, cross-asset correlations, and broader risk positioning. Quantum Panic Didn’t Sink Bitcoin NYDIG frames “Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers” as the theoretical endgame risk investors keep circling. The problem is that market behavior doesn’t look like a repricing of an imminent existential threat. First, Cipolaro points to Google Trends. Search interest for “quantum computing bitcoin” did rise, he wrote, but the timing matters. “Search interest for ‘quantum computing bitcoin’ has risen, but notably this occurred alongside bitcoin’s rally to new all-time highs, not ahead of sustained weakness,” the note said. “In other words, heightened searches about quantum risk coincided with price strength rather than weakness. If the market were repricing bitcoin on an imminent technological threat, we would expect search intensity to lead or amplify downside risk, not accompany a period of gains.” Related Reading: Is Jane Street Manipulating Bitcoin? The Viral Theory Explained Second, NYDIG looks at how Bitcoin traded versus publicly listed quantum computing equities, specifically IONQ, QBTS, RGTI, and QUBT. If investors were rotating out of Bitcoin because quantum advances were “catching up,” you would expect quantum-linked stocks to diverge positively as Bitcoin falls. NYDIG says it saw the opposite. Bitcoin was positively correlated with those equities, and those correlations strengthened during the drawdown, suggesting a shared driver rather than a direct quantum-to-Bitcoin causality. NYDIG’s conclusion is blunt on that point. “The data provides no evidence that quantum computing is the proximate cause of bitcoin’s weakness, even if it is the dominant risk narrative at the moment,” Cipolaro wrote. “The more plausible explanation is a broader macro repricing of risk across long-duration, expectation-driven assets. Bitcoin’s recent drawdown appears more consistent with shifts in overall risk appetite than with any discrete technological catalyst.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Momentum Losing Steam? Analyst Flags Key Metric The mechanism NYDIG highlights is familiar to anyone watching liquidity regimes. Quantum computing firms, it argues, are long-duration, expectation-driven assets with minimal revenues and high EV/revenue multiples. Bitcoin, while structurally different, often trades as a long-duration bet on future adoption and monetary dynamics. When risk appetite contracts, both can get hit together. Meanwhile, NYDIG flags a divergence in derivatives markets that, in its view, better captures the current tape than quantum headlines. The 1-month annualized basis on CME has “persistently traded above” Deribit, which NYDIG uses as a proxy for onshore US institutional positioning versus offshore positioning. Structurally higher CME basis implies US desks have remained more constructive, while the sharper decline in Deribit’s 1-month basis points to rising caution offshore and reduced appetite for leveraged long exposure. At press time, Bitcoin traded at $66,886. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Voltage launched a USD-settled Bitcoin Lightning Network revolving credit line following a $1 million institutional Lightning transaction.
Voltage has launched a US dollar‑settled revolving credit line that plugs directly into Bitcoin and Lightning payment flows, letting businesses send instant, Lightning‑style payments.
Soil has launched what it describes as the first compliant real-world asset-backed yield protocol on XRP Ledger for RLUSD.
The risk of human extinction due to uncontrolled AI development is significant, emphasizing the need for immediate action. Superintelligent AI systems could eventually surpass human dominance if proactive measures aren't taken. The evolution of AI is moving towards more autonomous agents, not jus...
The post Andrea Miotti: The risk of human extinction from uncontrolled AI is imminent, why superintelligence must be banned, and the urgent need for regulation | The Peter McCormack Show appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
What was witnessed in the MYX price isn’t just a dip. It collapsed severely. From an early February high of $6.94, the token has dumped over 80%, even slicing through a long-term ascending trendline that had been intact for months. This breach was the most unexpected, but it still occurred and even lost the crucial …
Carlo Kölzer says tokenization is not threatening but is reshaping traditional markets after the company's 360T platform integrates Kraken-backed xStocks.
History suggests the current move could lead to consolidation around the $60,000 region in the months ahead before the next leg upward.
The FGRD token represents common shares of the company issued natively onchain with instant settlement and built-in lending tools.
Homeownership plays a crucial role in community engagement and can lead to better life outcomes for individuals. Delayed homeownership among young people may impact wealth transfer and community stability in the long term. Rising transaction costs in home buying have significantly reduced housing...
The post Kaz Nejatian: Delayed homeownership threatens wealth transfer and community stability | The Pomp Podcast appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
One of the major hurdles in the way of DeFi has always been its lack of support for the more sophisticated trading mechanisms found in traditional finance, but that is changing with the rise of newer, Layer-3 infrastructure protocols. While the earliest decentralized exchange platforms were extremely innovative, a key limitation was that they could …
The French banking giant expands its euro stablecoin to a third blockchain, deepening institutional use of XRPL for compliant digital assets and onchain settlement
“Bitcoin going to zero” Google searches have spiked to their highest level since the FTX collapse, even as institutional buyers accumulate BTC and macro uncertainty hits record highs.
As the first two spot SUI exchange-traded funds (ETFs) debut in the US, some analysts have suggested that the cryptocurrency could be preparing for a massive recovery after bouncing from a crucial support level. Related Reading: BNB Chain’s AI Agent Ecosystem Surges As Crypto Markets Bleed SUI’s Institutional Momentum Expands On Wednesday, Grayscale and Canary Capital debuted the first two spot SUI ETFs, offering direct, regulated exposure to the cryptocurrency while allowing investors to benefit from staking rewards. Notably, Grayscale expanded its lineup of crypto-based products by converting its Grayscale SUI Trust into a spot ETF, which is now live on NYSE Arca under the GSUI ticker. According to the announcement, the fund is designed to “provide investors with exposure to SUI and its staking activity through an ETP, offering a convenient way to gain exposure to a network designed for scalable, real-world applications, and the next generation of digital experiences.” Krista Lynch, Senior Vice President, ETF Capital Markets, at Grayscale, affirmed that “GSUI’s launch on NYSE Arca marks an important milestone in expanding the range of exchange-traded products tied to the Sui ecosystem, including exposure to potential staking rewards.” Meanwhile, Canary Capital launched the first US spot ETF for the cryptocurrency on Nasdaq under the SUIS ticker. The Canary Capital Staked SUI ETF “brings that exposure into a regulated, exchange-traded structure, providing investors access to SUI and its staking reward potential,” stated Steven McClurg, CEO at Canary Capital. “Canary continues to deliver on its strategy to translate emerging blockchain networks into accessible, exchange-traded investment vehicles, and we’re pleased to add SUIS in the category,” he continued. The Sui Foundation highlighted that the latest launches added to a series of institutional milestones in the ecosystem, including multiple Sui-linked investment products and strategic initiatives from firms like 21Shares, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton. SUI Preparing For Major Price Recovery? Amid the spot ETFs’ debut, SUI’s price continued its sideways movement under the $1.00 barrier, trading between $0.93 and $0.98 throughout the day. Ali Martinez suggested that the cryptocurrency could be preparing for a move to higher levels, noting it recently retested a key support level. As Martinex explained, SUI tested and bounced from a two-year rising support line after the early February market crash. This ascending trendline has previously triggered major rallies. According to the chart, the last two times the cryptocurrency hit this support line, it jumped 365% and 850% rallied respectively, with the latest sending its price toward its $5.35 all-time high (ATH) in the following months. To the analyst, if SUI holds the $0.80 area, “history suggests upside could follow. And this time, fundamentals are lining up too.” He pointed out that the growing institutional exposure and the technical structure alignment could set up a base “for something much bigger.” Related Reading: Crypto Funds Bleed $173M As Outflows Extend To Fourth Week – Report Similarly, market observer Bitcoinsensus highlighted SUI’s macro structure, which signals a potential leg up toward new highs. Per the post, the altcoin “has been moving up in a very technical structure” since its launch, repeating a 5-wave up followed by a 3-wave correction. The chart shows that the price is likely near the end of the C-wave of its corrective move, suggesting a new impulsive 5-wave structure could develop in the coming months. “If this trend continues, we could see SUI reach prices above 10$ per coin,” the analyst concluded. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Larger crypto payments to darknet markets were linked to higher stimulant hospitalizations and deaths in Canadian health data.