Important news from last night and this morning (February 24-25)

US sanctions Russian company Operation Zero in connection with crypto-funded data theft case

The U.S. Treasury Department's OFAC announced sanctions against Russian cyber tools company Operation Zero and six individuals, including its head Sergey Zelenyuk, for allegedly endangering U.S. national security by selling cyber exploit tools. The case stems from a Justice Department investigation in which Australian Peter Williams admitted to stealing software secrets from U.S. defense contractors between 2022 and 2025 and selling them to Operation Zero for millions of dollars in crypto assets.

The U.S. Department of Justice's East Carolina Attorney's Office announced the seizure of $61 million USDT.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern Carolina announced that federal law enforcement officers seized over $61 million worth of Tether (USDT). Law enforcement stated that the funds flowed to wallet addresses linked to "pig butchering" cryptocurrency investment scams. Scammers typically gain victims' trust under the guise of romantic relationships, inducing them to deposit funds into fake cryptocurrency exchanges and encouraging further investment through fake high-yield accounts. When victims requested withdrawals, the scammers refused, citing reasons such as the need to pay "taxes." Once the funds were transferred to wallets controlled by the scammers, they were quickly tiered and transferred to launder the money. This operation was carried out by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after tracking the flow of funds from multiple victims, with Tether facilitating the asset transfer.

Bitwise acquires staking service provider Chorus One to strengthen its multi-chain staking portfolio.

According to a Bitwise announcement, the company has acquired Chorus One, an institutional-grade staking service provider managing over $2.2 billion in staked assets. Chorus One will be integrated into Bitwise Onchain Solutions (BOS), helping it expand to more than 30 PoS networks, including Solana, Avalanche, Sui, NEAR, Aptos, and TON. This transaction will add 50 technical staff and strengthen its protocol and governance research capabilities. Following the completion of the transaction, Bitwise will have nearly 200 employees and manage over $15 billion in client assets.

Coinbase's Bitcoin premium, after 40 days of negative readings, has finally turned positive, currently trading at 0.0159%.

As of 08:00 (UTC+8) on February 25, 2026, the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index was 0.0159%, ending approximately 40 consecutive days of negative values. During the same period, the price of BTC was $64,130.6.

White House: President Trump will not pardon FTX founder SBF

According to Fortune, Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the FTX fraud case, has recently been frequently posting on social media through X in support of Trump, attacks on the "deep state," and Judge Lewis Kaplan, which is seen as a social media campaign to garner a pardon from President Trump. A White House spokesperson reiterated that Trump made it clear in January that he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried, Robert Menendez, Nicolás Maduro, and others, stating that "the president is the final decision-maker in all pardon cases."

Meta Platforms spokesperson: Meta does not currently have a stablecoin.

Meta Platforms (META.O) spokesperson Andy Stone: There is currently no stablecoin from Meta.

Sources familiar with the matter: Stripe is considering acquiring all or part of PayPal's business.

Payment processing company Stripe is considering acquiring all or part of PayPal's (PYPL.O) business. Sources familiar with the matter say discussions are in the early stages and a deal is not yet finalized.

OpenAI appoints former Roblox executive Arvind KC as Chief Human Resources Officer

OpenAI announced on Tuesday the appointment of Arvind KC as Chief Human Resources Officer. The former Roblox executive will be responsible for recruiting, onboarding, and employee development as OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, continues its expansion. According to an OpenAI spokesperson, KC will report to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. The AI ​​startup is currently in the midst of a new funding round, expected to raise over $100 billion, and has recently taken steps to advance its IPO plans.

Huang Licheng deposited another 245,000 USDC into Hyperliquid to continue his long position.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, every time Huang Licheng's account is liquidated to almost zero, he deposits more funds into Hyperliquid to continue going long. He just deposited another 245,000 USDC into Hyperliquid.

Stripe was valued at $159 billion in its employee stock buyout offer.

According to Bloomberg, payment processing company Stripe was valued at $159 billion in an employee stock buyout offer, a significant increase from $106.7 billion last year. Co-founder and President John Collison stated that the company currently has no plans to go public. Stripe's annual letter shows that total payment processing volume will reach $1.9 trillion in 2025, a 34% year-over-year increase. Stripe has expanded its business into cryptocurrency-related payments, including acquiring stablecoin orchestration platform Bridge and crypto wallet provider Privy, and launching its own blockchain, Tempo. Stripe stated that the stablecoin payment market doubled to approximately $400 billion last year, with about 60% being inter-enterprise transactions, and Bridge's transaction volume more than quadrupling during the same period.

Analysts predict that Bitcoin may face a "massive cleansing" and fall towards $55,000 as capital outflows accelerate.

According to The Block, Bitcoin continued its decline on Tuesday, briefly falling below $62,900, a daily drop of about 4%. Analysts warned that against the backdrop of continued capital outflows and accumulating macroeconomic risks, the market may face a more significant "cleansing." Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com, stated that Bitcoin has moved out of its consolidation phase and entered a new downward cycle, with geopolitical tensions, tariff uncertainty, and tightening liquidity accelerating the exodus of funds from the crypto market. He believes that if selling pressure continues, the $53,000 to $55,000 range is a potential downside target. Matt Howells-Barby, vice president of Kraken, pointed out that Bitcoin may see its first six-week losing streak since May 2022, with $60,000 being a key support level; a break below this level could see a drop to around $55,000.

Kraken launches tokenized US stock perpetual contracts, supporting 24/7 trading and 20x leverage.

According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has launched its first regulated tokenized equity perpetual futures contract, open to qualified non-US users in over 110 countries. Initial offerings include tokenized versions of the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and the SPDR Gold ETF. The product is based on xStocks, Kraken's tokenized equity service acquired last December. The underlying xStocks tokens are fully collateralized and 1:1 backed by the underlying assets, providing a pricing anchor even when US exchanges are closed. The perpetual contracts have no expiration date, are available for 24/7 trading, and support up to 20x leverage, offering users continuous access and a capital-efficient risk management experience.

Analysis: Bitcoin traders are showing signs of "excessive losses," which could push the price below $44,000.

According to Cointelegraph, Glassnode data shows that Bitcoin traders' realized profit/loss ratio (90-day moving average) has fallen below 1, indicating that investors are selling their positions at a loss. This is the first time such a signal has appeared since 2022. Historical data shows that when this indicator falls below 1, it is usually accompanied by at least six months of realized losses and foreshadows further price declines: in the 2022 bear market, Bitcoin fell 25% within six months after the indicator fell below 1, and in 2018, it fell more than 50% within five months. Glassnode points out that if history repeats itself, Bitcoin may "enter a full-blown phase of excessive realized losses," and the price decline could last for more than five months.

Sources say Meta plans to re-enter the stablecoin market in the second half of this year.

According to CoinDesk, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Mark Zuckerberg's tech giant Meta plans to re-enter the stablecoin space in the second half of this year, planning to integrate third-party vendors to support stablecoin payments and launch a new wallet. The sources said that Meta has issued product request invitations to third-party companies, with long-term partner Stripe being a potential candidate for the pilot program. Stripe acquired stablecoin specialist Bridge last year, and its CEO, Patrick Collison, will join Meta's board of directors in April 2025. Meta, Stripe, and Bridge did not respond to requests for comment.

The 21Shares SUI ETF is now trading on Nasdaq.

According to an official announcement from the Sui Foundation, the 21Shares-issued spot SUI ETF (NASDAQ: TSUI) began trading on Nasdaq on February 24, providing U.S. investors with regulated, highly liquid direct exposure to SUI through their existing brokerage accounts. The ETF recently received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Binance re-enters the tokenized stock market through a partnership with Ondo Finance.

According to The Block, Binance has re-entered the tokenized stock market through a partnership with Ondo Finance. Ondo Finance President Ian De Bode stated that Binance has launched 10 Ondo tokenized US stocks and ETFs on Binance Alpha and Binance Wallet, including AAPLon, GOOGLon, TSLAon, NVDAon, and QQQon. A Binance spokesperson stated that Ondo tokens are digital securities, and Binance offers these products through its regulatory license from the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Authority. Neither Binance nor Ondo's tokenized stocks and ETFs are available to US users.

White House officials say Trump's plan to impose a 15% tariff rate "remains unchanged," and it is unclear when it will be changed to 15%.

According to Jinshi News, White House officials stated that President Trump's plan to impose a 15% tariff rate under Section 122 remains "unchanged," and it is unclear when the rate will be changed to 15%.

MoonPay launches MoonPay Agents, allowing AI agents to autonomously access wallets, funds, and conduct transactions.

According to PRNewswire, cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay has announced the launch of MoonPay Agents, a non-custodial software layer that allows AI agents to autonomously access wallets, funds, and conduct transactions via the MoonPay CLI. After users verify and deposit funds into their wallets through MoonPay, the AI ​​agents can act on their behalf to conduct token transactions, exchanges, and digital asset transfers. MoonPay Agents are built on the developer-friendly command-line interface MoonPay CLI, enabling the AI ​​system to generate and manage non-custodial wallets, deposit funds through MoonPay's global portal, and programmatically execute on-chain transactions.

An independent Bitcoin miner successfully mined block 938092, earning a block reward of approximately $200,000.

According to Mempool data, at 16:04 Beijing time on February 24, an independent Bitcoin miner successfully mined block 938092, receiving a block reward of 3.128 BTC, worth approximately $197,500.

Coinbase partners with Yahoo Finance to open stock trading to all US users

According to The Block, Coinbase has rolled out its stock trading feature to all US users, a full expansion following a limited pilot program last December. The exchange has also partnered with Yahoo Finance to add a "Trade [Asset] on Coinbase" button to the latter's stock and crypto asset pages. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. This partnership will offer Yahoo Finance users a one-month free trial of Coinbase One Basic, including zero trading fees and USDC rewards. Coinbase plans to share more details about its tokenized stocks in the coming months and intends to offer perpetual US stocks to traders outside the US this spring, pending regulatory approval at its Bermuda subsidiary.

Agent of "1011 Insider Whale": This will be a long winter, not just in the crypto space.

Garrett Jin, an agent for “1011 Insider Whale,” posted on the X platform: “This is going to be a long winter, not just in the crypto space.”

Huang Licheng's 25x ETH long position was partially liquidated again today.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, just 12 hours after Machi Brother Huang Licheng's entire position was liquidated, his ETH 25x long position was partially liquidated again today.

Michael Saylor: Bitcoin is experiencing a "valley of despair" similar to Apple's in 2013.

According to CoinDesk, Strategy founder Michael Saylor, in a podcast interview, compared Bitcoin's current 45% pullback to Apple's 2013 slump. At that time, Apple's stock price fell 45% from its peak, its price-to-earnings ratio dropped below 10, and the market lost confidence in its future. However, it ultimately took seven years, with the support of Carl Icahn and Warren Buffett, to fully recover its valuation. Saylor believes that any successful technology investment must experience a 45% pullback and a "valley of despair." Bitcoin's pullback has currently lasted 137 days, but it could continue for two, three, or even seven years.

WisdomTree will launch 24/7 trading and instant settlement services for tokenized money market fund shares.

According to Businesswire, WisdomTree announced that its WisdomTree Treasury Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX) now offers 24/7 trading and instant settlement. This marks the first time registered tokenized mutual fund units have been approved for 24/7 trading and instant settlement through a dealer-principal liquidity model within the US regulatory framework. The rollout of this feature required coordination of multiple regulatory approvals, with several WisdomTree entities receiving exemptions from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Bhutan launches digital nomad visa powered by Solana

According to Cointelegraph, Bhutan has launched a digital nomad visa powered by Solana, allowing residents to stay for 36 months by investing $10,000 in TER tokens and paying $2,800.

Glassnode: Over 400,000 Bitcoins have accumulated in the $60,000 to $70,000 range, forming a dense cost support zone.

According to CoinDesk, Glassnode data shows that over 400,000 BTC accumulated in the $60,000 to $70,000 price range during Bitcoin's recent decline. The supply within this price range increased from approximately 997,000 on January 1st to approximately 1.43 million currently, a 43% increase, representing over 8% of the non-exchange circulating supply and forming a dense cost zone for holding coins. This analysis is based on Glassnode's UTXO implemented price distribution metric, which groups the existing supply according to the price at the time of each Bitcoin's last on-chain movement and excludes intra-entity transfers and exchange balances through entity adjustments to more clearly reflect the cost basis of genuine investors. The $70,000 to $80,000 area has previously been described as an "air layer," historically characterized by sparse trading volume.

Saxo Bank: Cryptocurrencies fall due to heightened risk aversion.

According to *Walter Bloomberg, Saxo Bank analysts stated that cryptocurrencies fell along with other risk assets as concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence and tariff uncertainty dampened investor sentiment. The U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of approximately $203.8 million and $49.5 million respectively, indicating decreased risk appetite. Analysts noted that cryptocurrencies are currently trading in tandem with overall market sentiment rather than following their own fundamentals.

The National Bank of the UAE has opened up the possibility of allocating Bitcoin in its investment process.

An executive at Emirates NBD, in an interview with CNBC, stated that the bank has opened up the possibility of allocating Bitcoin in its investment process, viewing it as a store of value and "digital gold," acknowledging its proof-of-work mechanism, limited supply, and low inflation characteristics. The executive stated that Bitcoin's current valuation is more attractive than it was six months ago, when its price was considered too high. He revealed that the bank's internal fair value model indicates a reasonable price for Bitcoin within 12 months could approach $100,000, and the bank is still refining the model. He also indicated that the bank has not yet finalized its Bitcoin allocation, but if it is included in its portfolio in the future, it will be in a limited proportion. This is because Bitcoin is correlated with market risk appetite and exhibits extreme volatility, while the bank prioritizes portfolio diversification.

BlackRock deposited 1,814 BTC and 24,472 ETH into Coinbase.

According to Onchain Lens, BlackRock deposited 1,814 BTC ($114 million) and 24,472 ETH ($44.57 million) into Coinbase, and may continue to deposit.

YZi Labs transferred 13.54 million AI tokens and 11.11 million WOO tokens to Binance.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, following the liquidation of IDs half a month ago, YZi Labs transferred 13.54 million AI tokens (approximately $278,000) and 11.11 million WOO tokens (approximately $176,000) to Binance 5 hours ago. These tokens were all obtained by YZi Labs as an investment institution through vesting unlocking.

Russia has launched an investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of aiding and abetting terrorist activities.

According to ForkLog, multiple Russian media outlets, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB), reported that Telegram founder Pavel Durov is under criminal investigation under Article 205.1, Paragraph 1.1 (assisting in terrorist activities) of the Russian Criminal Code for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism. The investigation concerns the dissemination of illegal content, alleging that platform administrators ignored demands from Russian communications regulators to remove banned channels and chats, and that Telegram was used for criminal activities and the distribution of material from extremist and terrorist organizations. Russian communications regulators began restricting the service in the summer of 2025 due to increased fraud, and in February 2026, they tightened restrictions on traffic due to the platform's non-compliance with Russian law. Durov responded at the time by stating that "Telegram defends freedom of expression and privacy."

Cathie Wood: Bitcoin is "undoubtedly" superior to gold

According to The Crypto Basic, Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood reiterated her strong belief in Bitcoin in an interview with Bloomberg, stating that it is "undoubtedly" superior to gold. She believes Bitcoin hedges against both inflation and deflation, and its digital attributes give it a structural advantage in the modern financial system, while the demand landscape for gold has matured. Wood pointed out that Bitcoin is still in the early stages of institutional and retail adoption, institutional exposure is still developing, and younger investors are increasingly favoring digital assets over physical gold. She believes Bitcoin represents a generational shift in value storage investments.