Important news from last night and this morning (February 12-13)

Coinbase announces $39 million increase in Bitcoin holdings

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Coinbase disclosed that it has increased its Bitcoin holdings by $39 million through regular weekly purchases.

Coinbase has revealed its three priorities for this year: developing a full-fledged trading platform, expanding stablecoin payments, and bringing the world's largest blockchain to life.

In its letter to shareholders, Coinbase stated that in 2026 it will focus its investments on three key priorities: Developing a comprehensive trading platform: Expanding Coinbase into the only trusted platform for customers to trade all types of assets (cryptocurrencies, derivatives, stocks, and prediction markets), helping customers manage more portfolios and deepen engagement. Expanding stablecoins and payments: Accelerating the utility of USDC and the payment technology stack (APIs, wallets, and merchant channels) to make value transfer faster, cheaper, and easier, and seizing the next wave of opportunities. The wave of real-world applications beyond trading. Bringing the world on-chain: Expanding the Base app by increasing DeFi integration within the Coinbase app and focusing more on trading, making the on-chain experience simpler and more accessible.

"A long position of 105,000 ETH accumulated" added 3,000 ETH to its long position 5 hours ago.

According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, ETH has fallen below $2,000 again, and a "long position" holder with a cumulative long position of 105,000 ETH has added 3,000 ETH to their position. Five hours ago, they added 3,000 ETH at $1,919, bringing their long position back to 60,000 ETH. The two addresses now hold a total of 105,000 ETH, worth $204 million, with a floating loss of $10.229 million. Address 0xa5B…01D41: Holds 60,000 ETH ($116 million), opened at $2,048.9, with a floating loss of $6.36 million. Address 0x6C8…D84F6: Holds 45,000 ETH ($87.34 million), opened at $2,029.38, with a floating loss of $3.869 million.

JPMorgan Chase: Bitcoin production costs have fallen from $90,000 at the beginning of the year to $77,000.

According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts stated that their estimated Bitcoin production cost—historically considered a "soft price support"—has fallen from $90,000 at the beginning of the year to $77,000, primarily due to a recent decrease in network hashrate and mining difficulty. Analysts pointed out that the recent decline in Bitcoin network hashrate triggered the largest reduction in mining difficulty since China's mining ban in 2021, with a cumulative decrease of approximately 15% year-to-date. The decrease in difficulty provides breathing room for miners still operating, and efficient miners are seizing market share lost by high-cost miners forced to shut down. Analysts stated that they have observed a rebound in hashrate and expect production costs to rebound at the next difficulty adjustment. The report attributes the difficulty decrease to two factors: first, the drop in Bitcoin prices made high-cost miners unprofitable; and second, winter snowstorms in the United States caused temporary shutdowns of large mining farms in Texas and other areas.

The London Stock Exchange Group plans to provide on-chain settlement services for institutional investors.

According to Cryptopolitan, the London Stock Exchange Group announced on Thursday its plans to launch an on-chain settlement service for institutional investors, named the LSEG Digital Securities Depository. The platform will connect traditional securities markets with blockchain networks, supporting the trading and settlement of tokenized bonds, stocks, and private market assets, while maintaining compatibility with existing infrastructure. The system will be compatible with multiple blockchain networks, with initial delivery targeted for 2026, subject to regulatory approval. LSEG already operates a blockchain platform for private equity funds on Microsoft Azure, and this new system represents a further expansion of its digital asset strategy. The company stated it will form a strategic partner group to gather market feedback during development and build a cross-timezone, multi-payment-supporting ecosystem that connects digital and traditional markets.

South Korean Finance Minister: Will Strengthen Regulation of Cryptocurrency Market

According to Jinshi News, South Korea's Finance Minister stated that the country will strengthen regulation of the cryptocurrency market.

Key US Democratic senators are calling for the advancement of crypto legislation, while the SEC chairman says the lack of legislation could lead to policy regression.

According to CoinDesk, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that while the agency has the authority to provide regulatory clarity to the crypto industry through rulemaking, such rules lack "future adaptability" and are easily overturned by subsequent governments. Therefore, they "need to be based on a solid legal foundation to prevent future setbacks." Atkins stated that the SEC currently has "considerably broad powers" to advance rulemaking through the "Project Crypto" agenda, but he emphasized that "a good law from Congress is needed to support these rules."

A Federal Reserve document proposes setting initial margin weights for cryptocurrency derivatives.

According to Cointelegraph, a new analysis released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday proposes that cryptocurrencies should be classified as a separate asset class for initial margin requirements in the "unsettled" derivatives market (including over-the-counter transactions and other transactions not conducted through a centralized clearinghouse). The report points out that the volatility of floating crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as pegged crypto assets such as stablecoins, differs significantly from traditional asset classes, making it impossible to apply the existing risk classifications used in standardized initial margin models for interest rates, stocks, foreign exchange, and commodities. The authors suggest assigning differentiated risk weights to these two types of crypto assets and calibrating more accurate risk weights by constructing a benchmark index with equal weighting for floating digital assets and pegged stablecoins, serving as a proxy variable to simulate crypto market volatility and behavior.

Aave Labs has proposed transferring 100% of its protocol revenue to the DAO in exchange for operating funds.

According to The Block, Aave Labs has submitted a framework proposal to transfer 100% of the revenue from all its Aave-branded products to the Aave DAO treasury, and to transfer related trademarks and intellectual property to the newly established Aave Foundation. The proposal also requests financial support from the DAO for its operations. Under the proposal, Aave Labs will relinquish all revenue from future business lines including the Aave v3 and v4 protocols, aave.com front-end revenue, Aave Card, and AAVE ETF.

US SEC Chairman: Prediction markets are a "huge problem," and legal attention is steadily increasing.

According to The Block, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that prediction markets are a "huge problem" and a shared regulatory focus with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig. Atkins pointed out that prediction markets have "potential jurisdictional overlap," currently primarily under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, but the two agencies will work together. When asked about the development of clear rules, he said "we'll have to wait and see," adding that "securities are securities, and the definition of prediction markets and their products depends on the specific wording." CFTC Chairman Selig stated that he will ensure "reasonable rules and safeguards" are in place for prediction markets to prevent them from being pushed overseas. The allocation of regulatory authority over prediction markets has become a point of contention between federal and state governments.

The CFTC chairman appointed several crypto company executives to a 35-member innovation advisory group.

According to The Block, Michael S. Selig, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced the formation of a 35-member Innovation Advisory Committee, with several cryptocurrency industry executives appointed. Selig stated that the committee will assist the CFTC in developing a regulatory framework for the role of "breakthrough technologies" such as artificial intelligence and blockchain in financial markets, ensuring that its decisions reflect market realities and establishing clear rules for a "golden age of U.S. financial markets."

Coinbase released its Q4 financial report: a net loss of $667 million and a 20% drop in revenue.

According to Bloomberg, Coinbase's fourth-quarter earnings report showed that revenue fell 20% year-over-year to $1.8 billion, exceeding market expectations, due to declining trading activity caused by falling cryptocurrency prices. After accounting for unrealized losses to reduce its cryptocurrency holdings and investment value, the company recorded a net loss of $667 million, compared to a profit of $1.3 billion in the same period last year. Coinbase stated that despite the weakening market environment, its total trading volume outperformed the overall market, supported by its derivatives business. In recent years, the company has continuously reduced its reliance on spot trading through acquisitions such as Deribit and the launch of stock trading and prediction markets. Analysts believe that the key focus for the market will be whether Coinbase can diversify its business to create a stable revenue stream that can weather economic cycles.

Japanese digital finance platform PayPay files for US IPO.

Japanese digital financial platform PayPay has filed for a US IPO. This follows previous reports that SoftBank-owned PayPay will acquire a 40% stake in Binance Japan.

Lighter and Circle reach a USDC deposit earnings sharing agreement

Stablecoin yield platform Lighter has partnered with USDC issuer Circle to share the earnings generated from approximately $920 million in USDC deposits on the platform. Previously, Lighter had attracted approximately $920 million in USDC deposits; this agreement will distribute the interest income from these funds between Lighter and Circle.

Vitalik comments on Fileverse token incentives: Crypto applications should focus their main efforts on refining practically usable products.

Issuing tokens indiscriminately to expand user base can attract short-term users who are only interested in making money, which is detrimental to community quality, especially in social applications. Vitalik emphasized that successful crypto applications should focus their efforts on refining practically usable products rather than creating speculative bubbles through incentive narratives.

Coinbase will list Aztec and Espresso (ESP) spot trading.

Coinbase will launch spot trading for Aztec (AZTEC) and Espresso (ESP), adding AZTEC-USD and ESP-USD trading pairs. The specific opening time will depend on liquidity conditions and will be available in supported regions. Simultaneously, Aztec and Espresso will also be available on coinbase.com, the Coinbase App, and Coinbase Advanced, with institutional access possible directly through Coinbase Exchange. Previously, Coinbase announced that AZTEC perpetual contracts (AZTEC-PERP) would launch on the same day, open to retail users in select regions.

Binance Wallet launches Story (IP) Alpha airdrop event

According to a Binance Wallet announcement, Story (IP) has been launched on Binance Alpha, and the platform has simultaneously launched an IP token airdrop. Users holding at least 240 Binance Alpha Points can claim 30 IP tokens on a first-come, first-served basis. If the reward pool is not fully distributed, the points threshold will automatically decrease by 5 points every 5 minutes. Completing the claim will consume 15 Alpha Points, and users must confirm on the Alpha Events page within 24 hours, otherwise they will be deemed to have forfeited their airdrop eligibility.

Binance adds Espresso (ESP) to its Earn, leveraged, and contract product lines.

According to a Binance announcement, Binance will list Espresso (ESP) and integrate it with products such as Simple Earn, Buy Crypto, Convert, Margin, VIP Loan, and Futures. ESP will open for subscription on Simple Earn at 21:00 (UTC+8) on February 12th and will be available as a borrowable asset for cross/isolated margin and portfolio margin trading, supporting ESP/USDT and ESP/USDC leveraged trading. Binance Convert will open zero-fee conversion with assets such as BTC and USDT within one hour of ESP's spot listing.

The Espresso Foundation is now offering ESP token airdrops.

The Espresso Foundation has announced the official launch of the ESP token, which users can claim and stake through its official website.

Mining company Cango receives approximately $75.8 million in equity investment to advance its AI and computing power strategy.

According to PR Newswire, Cango Inc. (NYSE: CANG), a US-listed Bitcoin mining company, announced that it has completed a $10.5 million Class B common stock investment from Enduring Wealth Capital Limited (EWCL) and signed a proposed $65 million Class A common stock investment agreement with Armada Network Limited, a wholly-owned entity of Chairman Xin Jin, and Fortune Peak Limited, a wholly-owned entity of Director Chang-Wei Chiu. EWCL will subscribe for 7 million Class B common shares at $1.50 per share, increasing its stake to approximately 4.71% and its voting rights to approximately 49.71%.

Coinbase CEO sells approximately $550 million worth of Coinbase stock in the past year.

According to Solid Intel, VanEck disclosed that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sold more than 1.5 million Coinbase shares (ticker symbol: COIN) between April 2025 and January 2026, cashing out approximately $550 million.

The Bhutanese government sent 100 BTC, worth $6.77 million, to QCP Capital.

On-chain data shows that the Royal Government of Bhutan sent 100 BTC, worth $6.77 million, to QCP Capital.

Coinbase launches AZTEC perpetual contract trading

Coinbase International and Coinbase Advanced have launched full trading mode for the AZTEC-PERP perpetual contract market, supporting order types such as limit, market, stop, and stop-limit.