CryptoPotato

White House Suggests $500K Daily Fines for Avoiding Yield Restrictions

The White House is proposing strict regulatory measures, including daily $500,000 civil penalties, to prevent firms from offering yield or interest on stablecoin balances. These provisions are designed to stop firms from creating products that mimic yield farming on stablecoin balances. The latest discussions with crypto industry leaders are focused on whether firms can offer rewards linked to specific user activities. The proposed regulation would grant the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement authority to issue these civil penalties. Trade groups and crypto firms continue to negotiate and seek compromise on allowing stablecoin rewards. The objective is to reach a consensus by the end of the month.

Is XRP Primed for a Surge? Liquidity Trends Resembling Past Significant Upswings

XRP's market structure hints at a new phase of liquidity compression, signaled by exchange flows and on-chain liquidity conditions that have historically forebode heightened volatility. Large deposits on Binance exchange have previously surged before a significant XRP rally, a pattern often linked with escalating volatility rather than immediate selling. The current market conditions are different, with USD liquidity declining, indicating a thinner market depth compared to previous expansion phases. Furthermore, XRP's active supply for trading has decreased sharply, a pattern that also preceded the last rally. Investor interest remains high, with XRP being the second-most popular digital asset after Bitcoin. However, shrinking liquidity on both the USD and XRP side could lead to outsized impact on price from even minor changes in trading pressure, making the market fragile.

Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse Foresees a 90% Possibility of Imminent Approval for the CLARITY Act

Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse anticipates a 90% likelihood of the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act becoming law by April 2026, due to substantial legislative progress in Washington. This prediction reflects recent collaborations between lawmakers, the White House, cryptocurrency firms, and banking representatives. The CLARITY Act aims to set a unified federal framework for digital assets, with clearer boundaries to reduce legal uncertainty and encourage wider participation from financial institutions. However, the role of stablecoins remains a contentious issue. While banking groups warn of potential risks, crypto firms argue that restrictions may lead to activities shifting to other jurisdictions. The growing confidence in the bill's approval is reflected in market expectations.

Altcoins Feel the Heat as $730 Billion Disappears from Crypto Market in 100 Days

The crypto market has seen a decline of $730 billion in the last 100 days, with smaller altcoins facing rapid losses. The market cap of Bitcoin fell by 21.62% according to on-chain analyst GugaOnChain, while the top 20 cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin and stablecoins dropped 15.17%. Mid and small-cap altcoins also saw a plunge of 20.06%. As selling pressure continues, large transfers to exchanges suggest possible sale or rebalancing of holdings. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s dominance remains at 57%, indicating no significant shift of capital to altcoins. Network activity has fallen, with a decrease in unique Bitcoin addresses and new address creation. Overall, the market’s bearish sentiment deepens as sellers continue to dominate.

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A Year in Review: The Pi Network (PI) Journey - Progress, Hurdles, and Future Prospects

For the past year, the Pi Network has undergone significant changes with multiple upgrades, despite seeing its native token PI suffer a steep price decline. Its open network launch led to PI being listed on Bitget, OKX, and MEXC exchanges, causing a high initial demand that boosted its valuation. However, challenges like ongoing token unlocks and scam accusations led to a price drop. Despite a 94% decline from its all-time high, PI witnessed sporadic price revivals due to system upgrades. Significant developments include Pi Network Ventures' launch, a foray into the AI space, the introduction of the first Hackathon, and a partnership with CiDi Games. As the community anticipates another productive year, there are expectations of a major upgrade and possible listing on leading exchanges.

Cryptocurrency Valuation Breakdown for February-20: Examining ETH, XRP, ADA, BNB, and HYPE

This week saw a minor increase in Ethereum (ETH) of 1%, potentially indicating a future reversal as sell momentum fades. Ripple (XRP) had a 5% increase, but this wasn't enough to turn the chart bullish due to a sharp rejection at $1.6 resistance. Cardano (ADA) closed the week with a 6% gain, but struggles near the $0.28 support level suggest possible future losses. Binance Coin (BNB) saw a 3% gain while holding at the $580 support level, despite a yet-untested resistance at $690. Hyperliquid (HYPE) suffered a 5% loss, with a significant rejection at the $36 and $30 resistance levels signaling the potential for further lows.

How Might the $2B Bitcoin Options Expiry Today Influence the Crypto Markets?

Approximately 30,600 Bitcoin options contracts, equating to around $2 billion, are set to expire on February 20. The event, though smaller than the previous week's expiry, is unlikely to impact spot markets. Currently, the crypto markets are in bear territory, but have remained steady over the past week due to reduced volume and volatility. This week's Bitcoin options contracts have a put/call ratio of 0.59, indicating more expiring calls than puts. Open interest remains highest at $60,000, with bearish bets increasing. Additionally, 212,000 Ethereum contracts are also set to expire, bringing the total value of crypto options expiries to about $2.4 billion. The total market capitalization has been flat for the past 24 hours, and Bitcoin has slowly eroded since Monday, hitting a weekly low of $65,700.

Paul Atkins, SEC Chair, Advises Against Regulator Alarm Over Declining Cryptocurrency Values

SEC Chair Paul Atkins discourages regulators from panicking over falling crypto prices, including Bitcoin's decline towards $66,000. During an ETHDenver event, Atkins advocated for focusing on structural rulemaking rather than reacting to market volatility, dismissing short-term price action as irrelevant to the SEC's mission. He highlighted that the SEC's role isn't to respond to daily market swings and emphasized the importance of focusing beyond numbers. Atkins also outlined the SEC's regulatory plans under "Project Crypto," in association with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which include developing crypto asset classification frameworks and rules for tokenized securities trading. He reassured that the SEC's regulations should not hinder innovation and announced plans for an "innovation exemption" for limited trading of tokenized securities on decentralized platforms.

Stagnation in Bitcoin Network: Plateauing Active Supply Amid Diminishing Price Fluctuations

Bitcoin's trading value, which has been stagnating around the mid-$60,000s, has been unable to reach the pivotal $70,000 mark despite repeated attempts. Data from Alphractal shows stagnation in the on-chain activity of Bitcoin, indicating a slow-down in the active supply of the cryptocurrency. This suggests a decrease in Bitcoin transactions in the network due to a rise in idle coins resulting from "social demotivation". Meanwhile, despite the slowdown in on-chain participation, the accumulation of Bitcoin by large holders, or "whales", has increased, with over 200,000 BTC accumulated in recent weeks. This trend of accumulation is similar to the one noted during the market correction in April 2025, and with Bitcoin currently 46% below its peak, this could potentially encourage other large holders to accumulate.

Significant Update from Coinbase Regarding XRP, ADA and Additional Altcoin Investors

Coinbase, the US-based exchange, has broadened its crypto-backed loan service, Coinbase Borrow, to incorporate additional tokens such as XRP and ADA. This service allows users to loan up to $100,000 in USDC against their tokens without selling them. Although this service is available across the USA, New York State residents are excluded. Coinbase's support can potentially affect the reputation and accessibility of the involved cryptocurrencies. However, this was not reflected in the trading of XRP, ADA, DOGE, and LTC, as they continued to trade lower. The exchange has been actively providing additional trading options and recently announced that users can trade RaveDAO, Walrus, AZTEC, and Espresso on its platform. Despite an initial upswing in their prices, only RaveDAO has continued to show a weekly increase of 25%.

Ethereum Foundation Prioritizes Post-Quantum Security in 2026 Protocol Development Strategy

The Ethereum Foundation announced its focus on post-quantum security and raising the gas limit in its 2026 protocol roadmap. The foundation will restructure its development into three core tracks: scaling, user experience, and Layer 1 security. As the next phase of Ethereum, it aims to increase network capacity, maintain long-term security, and continue expanding the gas limit. Post-quantum preparedness will be a critical factor in protocol development areas due to increasing interest in cryptographic security as quantum computing advances. The three tracks of work will be Scale, Improve UX, and Harden the L1. Key upgrades planned for 2026 include higher gas limits, further blob scaling, stronger proposer-builder segregation, advanced native account abstraction, increased censorship resistance, and improved post-quantum security.

Pi Network's PI Takes the Lead in the Altcoin Market, Despite Potential Downturn on the Horizon

Pi Network's PI has outperformed other top 100 cryptocurrencies over the past week, increasing in value by nearly 40% and reaching a market capitalization of $1.7 billion, making it the 47th largest cryptocurrency. However, the upward trend may soon be reversed as the volume of coins held on crypto exchanges has significantly increased, a potential sign of an imminent price correction. An upcoming surge in token unlocks could also signal a downturn. Despite these indications, some community members predict a further short-term increase in PI's value, with speculation that it could reach $1 or $0.50 before Pi Day on March 14, a significant date for the Pi Network.

Is the Withdrawal of 200M XRP from Binance a Positive Indication or Just a Misinterpretation?

Over the past ten days, approximately 200 million XRP tokens have been withdrawn from Binance, despite the Ripple token trading 27% lower than a month ago. This suggests that some investors are using the current prices as an opportunity to accumulate more tokens, rather than exiting the market. The drop in XRP balances on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange indicates a shift in investor strategy towards longer-term holding. As the tokens moved to private custody are less accessible for quick trades, it reduces immediate selling pressure. The timing of these outflows coincides with a challenging period for XRP holders, with the asset correcting about 40% since the start of the year. Despite the price pressure, XRP continues to draw attention from investors and analysts.

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Bitcoin Self-Custody Holders Suffer $27.8B in Unrealized Losses as ETFs Lose $8.5B

Bitcoin holders practicing self-custody are facing an unrealized loss of $27.89 billion, reflecting a similar downturn in the U.S. institutional market where ETF exposure has dropped by two-thirds since late 2024. This is not just a Wall Street occurrence but a systemic event affecting long-term investors using cold storage. Both self-custody holders and institutional giants trading via CME futures and ETFs have experienced significant losses. Despite these losses, whales are accumulating more Bitcoins, anticipating a long-term gain, contrasting with short-term retail demand which has significantly cooled. While support pillars have delayed an immediate collapse, the broader trend remains negative with a 27% drop over 30 days and a 42% drop across six months.

Bitcoin (BTC) Declines to $67K and Ripple (XRP) Suffers 5% Daily Loss: Cryptocurrency Update

Bitcoin's value has been unstable since the start of the week, falling under $66,000 before bouncing back to $67,000. It had a significant drop on February 6th, going to a 15-month low at $60,000 and then jumping to $72,000. However, it has struggled to recover more significantly since then, facing several rejections at the $71,000-$72,000 resistance level. Bitcoin's market capitalization is now below $1.340 trillion, and its dominance over other cryptocurrencies is under 56.5%. Concurrently, most altcoins are also experiencing a decline, including Ethereum, which lost its $2,000 support. Ripple's XRP and SOL are amongst the worst performers, with nearly 5% losses. This has resulted in the total crypto market cap erasing another $50 billion, falling to $2.370 trillion.

Major Shift in Bitcoin Value Expected: Will BTC Fall Under $60K?

Bitcoin's price has been experiencing a slump since late January, falling from $90,000 to a 15-month low of $60,000 within just ten days, and has since been generally stagnant, hovering below $70,000. Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CIO of MN Fund, suggested that a significant price move is imminent due to the low volatility and expressed intentions to buy if the price dips or sell if it hits the $80,000-$85,000 range. Other analysts also highlighted the criticality of the current $67,000 level and speculated a possible drop to $55,000 or even below $50,000. Meanwhile, Doctor Profit predicted 2026 to be a year for precious metals like gold and silver, which have also seen significant volatility this year.

Analysts Predict Bitcoin May Decline to $55,000 Amidst Market Pressure

Bitcoin's price is under pressure, having broken below the "True Market Mean" and is now trending towards the "Realized Price" of around $55,000, according to a report by on-chain analytics provider Glassnode. The company continues to hold a bearish outlook as demand across spot and derivative markets remains weak. Historically, the lower boundary during deeper bear market phases aligns with the Realized Price, which currently stands near $54,900. Glassnode also noted that the market is transitioning from reactive liquidation to controlled consolidation, with sellers in control as demonstrated by the negative Spot Cumulative Volume Delta. For a sustainable recovery, improved liquidity conditions, sustained accumulation, and renewed spot demand will be necessary.

Report Indicates More Cautious Bitcoin Purchasing Trend

Bitcoin's brutal fluctuation from over $126,000 to around $60,000 hasn't deterred buyers anticipating price appreciation. However, data from Alphractal shows a deceleration in the rate of Bitcoin accumulation by short-term holders, indicating weakening short-term demand momentum. This trend has historically preceded periods of market consolidation, increased volatility or larger regime shifts. Despite recent institutional buying, short-term holder demand hasn't strengthened. Conversely, CryptoQuant’s analysis suggests that large Bitcoin holders, or "whales," have increased their holdings by more than 200,000 BTC. Despite recent increases in whale inflows to exchanges, usually linked to short-term selling activity, the overall holdings of these large players continue to grow. They speculate that some whales may be leveraging the current 46% consolidation below Bitcoin's most recent all-time high.