Daily Market Update: S&P 500 Futures Climb as Bitcoin Approaches $68,000 and Gold Holds $5,000

TLDR

• Bitcoin climbed toward $68,000 during Asia trading, but analysts see it as a relief rally, not a trend reversal.
• Gold held near $5,000 an ounce as U.S.-Iran tensions pushed investors toward safe-haven assets.
• Large Bitcoin holders sent record inflows to Binance, a pattern that often signals selling into strength.
• The Fed’s latest minutes showed a more hawkish tone, supporting the dollar and tightening financial conditions.
• U.S. stock futures rose Friday morning ahead of key PCE inflation and GDP data releases.

Bitcoin pushed toward $68,000 during Asian trading hours on Friday, February 20, 2026. The move came after a choppy week across risk markets.

The broader crypto market joined the bounce. XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, and Cardano each gained up to 2%. Ether stayed below $2,000, a level traders are watching closely.

Analysts are not calling this a trend reversal. The pattern looks more like a relief rally, where dip buyers push prices up before sellers use the strength to exit positions.

Each rebound this week has looked slightly more stable than the last. That suggests forced selling may be slowing down, even if strong conviction buying has not returned yet.

Large Holders Send Record Bitcoin to Binance

On-chain data from CryptoQuant shows large Bitcoin holders sent record inflows to Binance this week. That kind of activity has historically come before heavier selling in spot markets.

Research firm K33 has drawn comparisons between current market conditions and the later stages of the 2022 bear market. That period eventually led to a long consolidation phase before any real recovery.

Gold held steady near $5,000 an ounce after two days of gains. Investors moved toward safe-haven assets as U.S.-Iran tensions picked up.

President Trump said Thursday he would give Iran 10 to 15 days for nuclear deal talks, while U.S. forces reportedly increased their presence in the region. Oil prices also rose, with both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate contracts moving higher.

Fed Minutes Add to Market Caution

The latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes came in with a more hawkish tone than markets expected. Policymakers put rate hikes back on the table if inflation does not continue to cool.

SynFutures COO Wenny Cai said the key shift is not that hikes are now the base case. It is that the Fed has raised the bar for near-term rate cuts.

That shift has supported the U.S. dollar and tightened financial conditions slightly. Money has moved back toward cash and short-duration treasury bonds.

FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said the cautious tone in U.S. stocks raises the odds of retesting lows from the second half of 2024. He added that Ether would need to break below $1,500 to confirm a true breakdown from its long-term support line.

U.S. stock futures edged higher Friday morning. Dow futures rose 0.1%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were also up 0.3%.

Markets are now focused on Friday’s PCE inflation reading. Consensus estimates put headline PCE at 2.8% year over year, with core PCE at 3%. First-quarter GDP data is also due.

Nvidia and Dell are set to report earnings next week.

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