Important news from last night and this morning (February 23-February 24)

F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun: ETH rebounded to $4,956 within 4 months; investors should not be swayed by short-term panic.

F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun responded to recent cyclical fluctuations in the crypto market in an article published on the X platform, stating that Ethereum once fell to $1,386 in April 2025, but rebounded to $4,956 just four months later. He emphasized that the market is cyclical and investors should not be swayed by short-term panic.

Rhythmic, a stablecoin-based payment infrastructure provider, has raised $4 million in seed funding, led by Dragonfly and HadickM.

Aaron, a former payments and digital asset professional, announced that his company, Rhythmic, has completed a $4 million seed funding round, led by Dragonfly and HadickM, with participation from Mirana, The Fintech Fund, and others. Rhythmic is building a financial infrastructure platform for consumer internet companies, embedding accounts, stored value, cards, and rewards systems "natively" into their products, with stablecoins handling fund transfers and settlements at the underlying level. Users only experience "holding balance, receiving rewards, and making any purchases" on the front end, without directly interacting with wallets or using the concept of "using stablecoins." This round of funding will be used to improve the core platform, connect with initial partners, and expand the engineering and compliance teams.

iShares has applied to list a stakeable Ethereum spot ETF, ETHB, and plans to trade it on Nasdaq.

BlackRock's iShares has filed a revised S-1 form to launch the "iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF" (ticker symbol ETHB) and list it on Nasdaq. This trust is a legal trust in Truss, primarily holding ETH, and will stake approximately 70%–95% of its assets in Ethereum through third-party nodes such as Coinbase to earn staking rewards, without affecting its tax eligibility as the settlor.

Binance Leverage will delist some trading pairs and automatically liquidate related positions on February 26.

Binance Leverage will remove cross and isolated margin trading pairs for ALCX and related cryptocurrencies at 14:00 (UTC+8) on February 26, 2026, including POL/USDC, ALCX/USDT, SAPIEN/USDC, PNUT/USDC, ARKM/USDC, BROCCOLI714/USDC, OPEN/USDC, CKB/USDC, HOLO/USDC, and FIL/BTC.

Three Step Finance-related projects have shut down simultaneously; Remora claims its rToken is redeemable for USDC at a 1:1 ratio.

According to a statement released on X by Step Finance, Remora Markets, and SolanaFloor, Step Finance, SolanaFloor, and Remora Markets will cease operations immediately on February 24, 2026 (UTC+8). Step stated that its fundraising and acquisition attempts failed after the hacking incident at the end of January. Step will proceed with the STEP buyback according to the snapshot before the incident. Remora stated that all rTokens are still fully backed at a 1:1 ratio and is developing a redemption process for holders to exchange for USDC. SolanaFloor will cease updates, but its website, videos, and communications will be preserved as archives.

IoTeX has offered a 10% bounty to the cross-chain bridge hackers in an effort to recover approximately $4.4 million in stolen funds.

IoTeX sent an on-chain message to the attackers, promising a white-hat bounty of approximately 10% (about $440,000) for returning the funds within 48 hours, without pursuing legal action or providing their identity information to law enforcement. The project team stated that they have fully tracked the flow of funds, flagged and frozen the relevant exchange deposit addresses, identified four Bitcoin addresses holding approximately 66.6 BTC, and will introduce a blacklist of malicious addresses through the mainnet v2.3.4 upgrade.

Vitalik has sold a total of 10,723 ETH since February 2nd.

Vitalik Buterin sold 3,765 ETH in the past 2.5 days, earning approximately $7.08 million; since February 2, he has sold a total of 10,723 ETH, amounting to approximately $21.74 million, with an average price of approximately $2,027.

The Ethereum Foundation has established a DeFi team to advance the development of the "DeFipunk" protocol.

According to The Block, the Ethereum Foundation has established a new DeFi team under App Relations to support the development of new protocols that conform to the "DeFipunk" concept. Charles St. Louis, former CEO of DELV and former governance architect of MakerDAO, has been appointed as a DeFi protocol expert, and Ivan (ivangbi), co-founder of Gearbox Protocol, has been appointed as a DeFi coordinator.

Jane Street is being sued by Terraform liquidators, accused of accelerating the collapse through insider trading.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Todd Snyder, the bankruptcy court-appointed administrator responsible for liquidating Terraform Labs, founded by Do Kwon, has sued market maker Jane Street, co-founder Robert Granieri, and employees Bryce Pratt and Michael Huang. The lawsuit accuses Jane Street of using non-public information obtained from Terraform insiders to trade, illegally profiting and accelerating the collapse of the Terraform ecosystem. Snyder is seeking damages from the defendants.

British media: Trump's "Peace Committee" plans to introduce a stablecoin to reshape Gaza's economy.

According to the Financial Times, five sources familiar with the matter revealed that officials working with Trump's Peace Commission are exploring the possibility of establishing a stablecoin for Gaza to revitalize the economy of the war-torn Palestinian enclave. Discussions surrounding the introduction of a stablecoin are still in their early stages, and many details regarding its implementation in Gaza remain to be determined. However, officials have already discussed the idea as part of the enclave's future plans. One source stated that the stablecoin is expected to be pegged to the US dollar, and it is hoped that companies from Gulf Arab states and Palestine with expertise in digital currencies will take the lead. The source added, "This will not be a 'Gaza dollar' or a new Palestinian currency, but rather a tool for enabling digital transactions for the people of Gaza."

A newly created wallet withdrew 500 BTC from Binance, worth $32.9 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a newly created wallet withdrew 500 BTC from Binance, worth $32.9 million.

World Liberty Fi co-founder: USD1 is 100% backed by reserves and verifiable at any time.

Zach Witkoff, co-founder and CEO of World Liberty Fi, a crypto project of the Trump family, posted on the X platform that USD1 aims to set a new standard by achieving full reserve backing and high transparency within a compliant framework. He stated that the team is "proud to be the most transparent stablecoin on the market" and that it has achieved 100% asset backing and 100% verifiability. He also emphasized that users can verify the 1:1 asset backing of USD1 at any time.

US-listed Bitcoin mining company Abits Group raised $2.1 million through a rights issue.

According to Globenewswire, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company Abits Group announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with institutional investors to raise $2.1 million by purchasing and selling common stock and prepaid warrants at a price of $2.65 per share. The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and operations.

The GWEI team distributed $6 million worth of tokens to 10 new wallets, some of which have already been transferred to exchanges.

According to Onchainschool, the GWEI team has distributed $6 million worth of tokens to 10 new wallets today. Some of the tokens have already been transferred to exchanges, and the rest are expected to be transferred in the future.

WLFI claims USD1 was the target of a coordinated attack; hackers breached Lianchuang's account and attempted to short it, but failed.

WLFI issued a statement on its X platform stating that USD1 suffered an organized attack this morning. The attackers allegedly compromised the accounts of several WLFI co-founders, paid influencers to spread fear-mongering (FUD) information, and massively shorted $WLFI, attempting to profit from artificially created market chaos. WLFI stated that the operation failed. Thanks to USD1's robust minting and redemption mechanism and 100% 1:1 asset backing, USD1 is currently trading stably near its face value. The team emphasized that no malicious actors can shake its long-term commitment to USD1. WLFI also reminded users to obtain accurate information only through officially verified channels and to be wary of misleading content.

Trump: As president, I don't need to seek congressional approval for tariffs.

According to Jinshi News, US President Trump stated on social media that as president, he no longer needs to return to Congress for tariff approval. These tariffs have already been approved in various forms, and this has been the case for a long time. Moreover, even that absurd and flawed Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed this point.

Eric Trump retweeted another WLFI-related tweet, seemingly in response to community criticism.

Eric Trump retweeted another WLFI-related tweet on the X platform, seemingly responding to community concerns. Previously, on-chain detective ZachXBT claimed he would release a major investigative report on a highly profitable crypto company on February 26th, after which WLFI briefly fell, and USD1 also briefly de-pegged.

Spot gold rose above $5,190 per ounce, while spot silver surged 4% intraday.

Market data shows that spot gold has risen above $5,190 per ounce, up 1.61% on the day. Spot silver surged 4.00% on the day, currently trading at $87.98 per ounce.

After three years of inactivity, a whale deposited 650.76 BTC into Gemini, which would yield a profit of $25.37 million if sold.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a whale deposited 650.76 BTC, worth $43.05 million, into Gemini after three years of inactivity. If it sells the BTC, it will make a profit of $25.37 million.

Trump: Any country that tries to "play tricks" on the Supreme Court ruling will face higher tariffs.

According to Jinshi News, US President Trump stated that any country that tries to "play tricks" on the Supreme Court ruling will face higher tariffs, with more severe consequences.

A whale deposited 6 million WLFI tokens into Binance 20 minutes ago.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, a whale deposited 6 million WLFI into Binance 20 minutes ago. It is reported that the whale received 26.6 million WLFI from the WLFI management wallet two days ago, worth $3.2 million.

Bloomberg: CZ remains a major shareholder of Binance.US, and may explore deeper banking cooperation.

According to Bloomberg, CZ remains a major shareholder of Binance.US, a US-based exchange operating under the Binance brand and with its own management team. CZ stated his desire to expand operations in the US, bringing high-quality products to the country and making them more accessible to American consumers. However, he clarified that his comments referred only to Binance.US, not the global exchange Binance, and that his expertise lies primarily in technology, not regulation. CZ noted that the improved regulatory environment has made some previously seemingly unattainable options, including deeper banking partnerships, "entirely feasible," but stressed that any such moves depend on the right team and legal guidance.

Today, US Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of 1292 BTC, while Ethereum ETFs experienced a net outflow of 57543 ETH.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, today the US Bitcoin ETF saw a net inflow of 1292 BTC, compared to a net outflow of 4459 BTC over the past 7 days; the Ethereum ETF saw a net outflow of 57543 ETH, compared to a net outflow of 65691 ETH over the past 7 days; and the Solana ETF saw a net inflow of 39169 SOL, compared to a net inflow of 166521 SOL over the past 7 days.

Trump's second son appears to have deleted a retweet of a WLFI tweet, causing WLFI to briefly drop.

Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump and co-founder of World Liberty Financial, deleted a tweet he had previously retweeted that "more USD1 trading pairs will be listed on Binance." Possibly as a result, WLFI briefly fell by more than 4%, and the USD1 stablecoin briefly de-pegged to 0.9802 USDT.

Strategy currently has a paper loss of $7.059 billion, while Bitmine has a paper loss of $8.208 billion.

According to on-chain analyst Ember, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR) purchased 592 BTC ($39.8 million) last week at approximately $67,286. They now hold a total of 717,722 BTC ($47.501 billion), with an average cost of $76,020, resulting in a paper loss of $7.059 billion. Ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) purchased 51,162 ETH ($99.4 million) last week at approximately $1,943. They now hold a total of 4,422,659 ETH ($8.504 billion), with an average cost of $3,779, resulting in a paper loss of $8.208 billion.

Continue Capital deposited 812,000 HYPE tokens into Bybit, worth $22.2 million.

According to on-chain data monitoring, Continue Capital deposited 812,000 HYPE tokens, worth $22.2 million, into Bybit 10 minutes ago.

After a five-day period of inactivity, a whale deposited 13,249.5 ETH into OKX.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, a whale deposited 13,249.5 ETH into OKX after a five-day period of inactivity, which is worth approximately $24.94 million.

A newly created wallet deposited 1.5 million USDC into HyperLiquid to open a 25x leveraged long position in ETH.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, about five hours ago, a newly created wallet deposited 1.5 million USDC into HyperLiquid to open a 25x leveraged long position in ETH. The current position is 15,103 ETH, worth $29 million, with a liquidation price of $1,819.6.

Analysis: Bitcoin prices have remained within the $66,000–$70,000 range, and the crypto market is gradually entering a consolidation phase.

A recent report from Bitfinex Alpha indicates that Bitcoin has been consolidating within the $66,000–$70,000 range since its February 5th drop. This is the deepest correction in this cycle, with narrowing volatility and weakening momentum, suggesting the market is shifting from a liquidation-driven downtrend to a more balanced consolidation environment. On-chain data shows that most of the recent decline has been absorbed by the $60,000–$69,000 demand zone. These near-break-even holders have not yet accelerated their selling, contributing to price stability and a sideways trading pattern. Institutional flows remain cautious, with Bitcoin ETFs experiencing net outflows of approximately $166 million in a single week, and Ethereum-related products also seeing continued redemptions, indicating that the accumulation phase has not yet reversed. While weekend inflows provided initial signs of stabilization, overall liquidity remains low.

Based has completed an $11.5 million Series A funding round, led by Pantera Capital.

According to The Block, Based, a web trading and payment application built on Hyperliquid infrastructure, announced the completion of an $11.5 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, and Karatage. Based stated that it has over 100,000 registered users, 30,000 monthly active users, a cumulative transaction volume of approximately $40 billion, and cumulative revenue of nearly $14 million. The company plans to expand its AI-driven "agentic commerce" business and into the North American market. This funding round, which began in the fourth quarter of 2025 and closed last week, was structured as equity investment plus token warrants.

Federal Reserve Governor Waller: Supporting a March rate cut or maintaining the current rate is like a coin toss.

According to Jinshi News, Federal Reserve Governor Waller stated that his stance on whether to cut interest rates in March or keep rates unchanged is like a "coin toss," and this will heavily depend on the February employment data. If the January employment data exceeded expectations and February continues this trend, it may be appropriate to keep interest rates unchanged.

Strategy disclosed that it spent $39.8 million last week to acquire 592 bitcoins.

According to market sources, Strategy disclosed that it spent $39.8 million last week to acquire 592 bitcoins, with an average purchase price of $67,286.

Currently, Hyperliquid's largest ETH long position has a paper loss of $10.35 million.

According to on-chain analyst Ember, Hyperliquid's largest ETH long position added another 15,000 ETH this morning. He now holds 120,000 ETH through two addresses, with a position valued at $230 million, currently showing a floating loss of $10.35 million.

Metaplanet CEO: AI Economy Fuels Digital Capital, Bitcoin May Become Machine's Preferred Store of Value

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich stated in an article on the X platform that the benefits of a productivity boom are almost entirely flowing to the owners of computing and capital, rather than workers or governments. He said, "Every company holding cash or bonds is demanding a system whose tax base is disappearing, and the system's response is to print money. This trend is accelerating." Gerovich further emphasized that AI agents have no bank accounts or brand loyalty, and when machines optimize the financial system, they will bypass traditional banking systems and payment networks, choosing to use digital assets for transactions. When there is a need to store value, AI will not settle in money market funds, but will hold digital capital—especially Bitcoin. As the AI ​​economy expands, digital assets may become the primary store of value in the machine age.

Analysis: Increased Bitcoin volatility prompts investors to chase put options to hedge against tariffs and uncertainty.

According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin experienced significant short-term volatility on Monday, rebounding from $64,270 to $66,300 amid low market liquidity. In the derivatives market, leverage demand remained weak, with total open interest in crypto futures remaining below $100 billion for the second consecutive week. Investors continued to allocate to futures linked to traditional assets, with Tether Gold open interest increasing by 14% in the past 24 hours. Furthermore, traders actively pursued Bitcoin put options, with strike prices concentrated at $58,000, $60,000, and $62,000, indicating that Trump's tariff plans have increased market uncertainty. Bitcoin and Ethereum put options were trading at a premium to call options across all maturities, reflecting continued downside risk.

Trump: Other tariffs could be used in a more powerful and aggressive way.

According to Jinshi News, Trump stated when discussing tariffs that other tariffs "could be used in a much more powerful and aggressive manner." The US Supreme Court "unintentionally and unknowingly" granted the president "far greater power" than before the ruling.

OKX will launch pre-market perpetual contracts for OPN (Opinion).

According to the official announcement, OPN (Opinion) pre-market trading will be launched soon. The specific schedule is as follows: OPN/USDT pre-market trading will open at 20:00 on February 23, 2026 (UTC+8).

Backpack launches token equity program: Users who stake tokens for at least one year can exchange them for company equity at a fixed ratio.

Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante stated in an article on the X platform that he entered the crypto space nine years ago not to issue "junk coins" or get rich quickly, but because he believed the industry would change the world. However, through multiple bull and bear markets, decentralized hype, and scams, the industry has gradually deviated from its original intentions. Most projects' promises are unfulfilled, remaining merely "promises," and the more centralized the token, the more limited its value. Apart from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a few public chains, the actual utility of most tokens remains mere rhetoric. To address this issue, Backpack launched an innovative token model: users who stake their platform tokens for at least one year can exchange them for company equity at a fixed ratio, currently 20%. This is the first case where users can obtain company equity simply by using the product, demonstrating a long-term commitment to the community.

Standard Chartered: Stablecoins may drive $1 trillion in demand for US Treasury bonds; US Treasury may adjust issuance structure.

According to The Block, stablecoin issuers are becoming the largest potential buyers of U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills), which is expected to profoundly impact the U.S. debt financing landscape in the coming years. Standard Chartered Bank analysis suggests that as the market capitalization of stablecoins could reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028, issuers will generate an additional $0.8 to $1 trillion in demand for short-term U.S. Treasury bonds as reserve assets. If current issuance patterns remain unchanged, this demand could lead to a supply-demand gap of approximately $0.9 trillion in U.S. Treasury bills over the next three years. Currently, the stablecoin supply is approximately $300 billion, and growth has slowed due to the sluggish crypto market and slow progress in the GENIUS Act regulatory process, but analysts believe this is a cyclical rather than structural factor. The GENIUS Act requires U.S. regulators to hold high-quality liquid assets for stablecoins, with short-term Treasury bonds being the core.

CryptoQuant warns of extreme pressure on USDT liquidity, suggesting Bitcoin price may be nearing its bottom.

CryptoQuant, in an analysis published on the X platform, pointed out that USDT is currently under extreme liquidity pressure, similar to the market bottom in 2022. Meanwhile, net inflows into stablecoin exchanges have fallen from a high of $616 million in November 2025 to $27 million, indicating weakening marginal buying power and a contraction in liquidity deployable in the crypto market. Furthermore, prediction market data shows that traders are increasing their bets on further Bitcoin declines. On the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket, the probability of Bitcoin falling below $55,000 has risen to 72%, with related contracts accumulating a trading volume of $1.2 billion. Additionally, the probabilities of falling below $50,000 and $45,000 are 67% and 47% respectively, corresponding to trading volumes of approximately $170,000 and $1.4 billion respectively.

Analysis: Binance's BTC holdings have climbed to a near four-month high, raising expectations of increasing selling pressure from exchanges.

According to CoinDesk, data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that the Bitcoin balance linked to Binance exchange wallets rose to 676,834.84 BTC (approximately $44.53 billion) on Sunday, the highest level since November 2024, representing a roughly 9.3% increase from the multi-month low of 618,782 BTC in November last year. It is unclear whether the asset has been sold off, but the market initially retreated in early Asian trading on Monday, with Bitcoin falling from $67,600 to $64,400 before rebounding slightly to around $65,850. Analysts point out that an increase in Bitcoin balances on exchanges is often seen as a potential signal of selling pressure, meaning investors may be preparing to sell the asset or use it as margin for derivatives trading, both of which typically exacerbate price volatility.

QCP: BTC breaks below key level, triggering long liquidation; mining companies under pressure and ETF basis liquidation reshape market landscape.

A recent report by QCP Group points out that with Bitcoin prices still significantly below average mining costs, mining companies are facing pressure, prioritizing liquidity over hoarding strategies. Bitdeer's liquidation of its Bitcoin reserves is a recent signal of miners diversifying their risk appetite and partially shifting towards AI. Bitcoin fell below $65,000 in early trading today, triggering approximately $230 million in long liquidations. The market is under pressure as it digests the new round of tariff risks, with US President Trump's move to raise global tariffs from 10% to 15% further exacerbating the cooling of macro risk appetite. However, the market is not entirely bearish; the current liquidation chain reaction is significantly milder than earlier this year, and the market's reaction to news is more restrained.

Brother Machi has placed 25 limit sell orders for Ethereum in the $1965-$2050 range and added to his long positions.

According to on-chain data monitoring, Huang Licheng (aka "Machi Dage") has just added a small amount to his 25x leveraged long position in Ethereum, currently holding approximately 3,325 ETH with a floating profit of about $100,000 and a liquidation price of about $1,879. In addition, Huang Licheng also placed 25 limit sell orders in the $1,965 to $2,050 range, selling a total of 950 ETH.

10x Research: Ethereum is at a critical turning point; investors need to carefully assess whether it is a cyclical bottom or structural damage.

Crypto research firm 10x Research published an article on its X platform stating that Ethereum treasury company Bitmine is currently suffering approximately $8.8 billion in paper losses, exceeding the roughly $8 billion in losses suffered by clients at the beginning of the FTX crash. Bitmine's significant ETH purchases at a time of weakening demand and ETH prices approaching April 2021 levels have further exacerbated market controversy. This comparison highlights the potentially huge divergence in capital allocation outcomes and how timing and governance decisions ultimately determine the long-term value creation. Currently, Ethereum is at a critical juncture, facing both valuation and fundamental challenges. The market needs to determine whether its current downturn is a cyclical bottom or indicates deeper structural damage.