Core Scientific operates in one of crypto's most capital-intensive segments, where energy costs and production efficiency shape long-term returns. Paloma's latest filing highlights how institutional investors are positioning around those mining fundamentals. According to an SEC filing dated February 17, 2026, Paloma Partners Management Co reduced its holdings in Core Scientific by 2,547,000 shares. The fund's position value fell by $46.32 million over the quarter, reflecting both trading activity and share price movement. Following the sale, Core Scientific now accounts for 0.49% of Paloma Partners Management Co's reportable U.S. equity assets. As of February 17, 2026, Core Scientific shares were priced at $17.23, up 39.1% over the past year. Core Scientific is a leading provider of digital asset mining and blockchain infrastructure services in North America, leveraging proprietary software and large-scale datacenter operations. The company's integrated approach combines self-mining with colocation hosting, enabling flexibility and operational scale. With a focus on advanced infrastructure and security, Core Scientific is positioned as a key enabler for institutional adoption of blockchain technologies. Core Scientific provides digital asset mining, blockchain infrastructure, and colocation hosting services, with revenue streams from mining for its own account and equipment hosting for third parties. The company operates a dual-segment model: direct mining of digital assets and offering large-scale datacenter colocation and equipment sales for blockchain participants. Core Scientific's primary customers include institutional miners, blockchain enterprises, and organizations seeking secure, scalable infrastructure for distributed ledger technology. Core Scientific sits at the intersection of Bitcoin price volatility and the high fixed costs of operating large-scale mining datacenters. After rising roughly 39% over the past year, the stock reflects improving crypto sentiment, but its underlying economics remain tied to production efficiency and power costs. Core Scientific generates revenue in two primary ways: mining Bitcoin for its own account and hosting equipment for institutional customers. The first depends not only on Bitcoin prices but also on mining difficulty and fleet efficiency, which determine how much Bitcoin can be produced per unit of energy. The second depends more on datacenter capacity, energy costs, and long-term hosting relationships. This mix provides upside potential when digital asset markets improve but also exposes the company to operational risk if prices or mining economics decline. For investors, the key factors to look out for are Core's Bitcoin production efficiency, power cost management, and the stability of its hosting business. Metrics such as Bitcoin output per megawatt, cost per coin, energy contracts, and debt flexibility will determine whether the recent rally signals stronger fundamentals or is merely a favorable phase in the crypto cycle. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services.

Ethereum (ETH) is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies today. Most people familiar with the crypto world know its name. This is because transactions, collateral, and smart contracts on the network require ETH. An article notes that, unlike traditional finance, “DeFi is entirely decentralized. This means that it is not controlled by a central entity or government. Because DeFi applications are not tied to any one entity, they can be accessed from anywhere, at any time, by anyone, all without needing a standard bank account. Additionally, by using blockchain technology, DeFi programs are able to offer complete transparency and substantial security. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), meanwhile, are assets like digital content, videos, or artworks that have been tokenized by way of a blockchain. These tokens can be traded and exchanged on platforms in networks like Ethereum for money, cryptocurrencies, or even other NFTs. Not every exchange platform accepts NFTs, but some DeFi applications do. This opens up new opportunities for financial transactions and investments on the Ethereum blockchain. ETH, the native token of Ethereum, is often used as collateral in decentralized lending, borrowing, and yield protocols. For instance, decentralized exchange protocols like Uniswap let people trade ETH and ERC-20 tokens, while protocols like DAI make decentralized stablecoins that are worth the same as the US dollar. The protocol that interacts more directly with ETH will probably have a stronger connection to changes in price than protocols that are less connected to ETH. With NFTs gradually gaining recurring popularity, possibly thanks to the increasing number of DeFi protocols and platforms on Ethereum, their value in relation to changes in ETH pricing has become more notable over time. This development is largely due to the fact that NFT minting, trading, and royalty-sharing are primarily executed in ETH. By monitoring NFT and DeFi market cycles, traders can sometimes gauge how current trends line up with past ones, thereby providing them with some means of predicting price changes for the near future. This speculation plays a significant role in crypto's notorious volatility, necessitating stabilizing forces like real-world utility. So, when the ecosystem grows quickly, it usually means that people will want ETH for a long time. This keeps the price of Ethereum stable and helps it grow. This idea is further supported by the fact that activity in DeFi and NFT markets typically indicates increased confidence in Ethereum's capabilities and long-term relevance. However, it is important to remember that these signals do not always mean growth or positive change, since there are so many factors that affect crypto prices at any given time. Ethereum remains popular largely because it does so much more than provide a novel means of storing wealth. Through the network's growing number of DeFi protocols and NFT markets, users can participate in a variety of financial transactions without dealing with central figures like banks. With ETH playing an instrumental role in supporting all of these functions on the Ethereum network, its price and the ways it fluctuates are worth noting and planning for in order to make transactions as favorable as possible. As a general rule, the more people use applications on crypto networks, the more valuable those networks tend to be for short- and long-term valuations alike. The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, financial, medical, or professional advice.

Base's split from the OP Stack signals a pivotal shift in Ethereum's layer two landscape Share Bryan Pellegrino is the CEO and co-founder of LayerZero Labs, a cross-chain interoperability protocol that enables applications to communicate seamlessly across multiple blockchains. Before building LayerZero, Pellegrino was a professional poker player and serial entrepreneur who founded several tech companies, including Coder Den and OpenToken. His work at LayerZero addresses one of crypto's most fundamental challenges: enabling secure, frictionless communication and asset transfer between different blockchain networks. Base's split from the OP Stack signals a pivotal shift in Ethereum's layer two landscape Share Bryan Pellegrino is the CEO and co-founder of LayerZero Labs, a cross-chain interoperability protocol that enables applications to communicate seamlessly across multiple blockchains. Before building LayerZero, Pellegrino was a professional poker player and serial entrepreneur who founded several tech companies, including Coder Den and OpenToken. His work at LayerZero addresses one of crypto's most fundamental challenges: enabling secure, frictionless communication and asset transfer between different blockchain networks. © Decentral Media and Crypto Briefing® 2026. Sign in to your account Create your account Already have an account? Sign In Forgot your password? Sign In

As the digital asset ecosystem continues to mature, large financial players are increasingly shaping market dynamics through specialised trading approaches. Many organisations entering this space begin by exploring services such as crypto otc trading, which are designed to support large-scale transactions with efficiency, discretion, and reliability. This shift marks a clear distinction between retail participation and the more structured world of institutional involvement. At its core, institutional cryptocurrency trading refers to the buying and selling of digital assets by professional entities rather than individual investors. These entities include hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, corporate treasuries, and even traditional financial institutions. Their participation brings higher volumes, advanced strategies, and stricter operational standards to the crypto markets. Unlike retail traders, institutions operate with defined mandates, risk frameworks, and compliance requirements. Trades are often executed in large sizes and must align with broader portfolio strategies or business objectives. As a result, institutions require infrastructure that can handle complex execution needs, provide transparency, and integrate with existing financial systems. Large orders must be executed without causing significant price disruption, which is not always possible on public order books. This need has driven the growth of alternative execution venues and professional trading services tailored to high-volume participants. To address the limitations of traditional exchanges, many institutions rely on OTC markets. These over-the-counter venues allow buyers and sellers to negotiate trades directly, often with the support of a dedicated desk. By moving large transactions off public order books, institutions can avoid slippage, reduce market impact, and gain greater certainty around execution prices. OTC trading is particularly useful during periods of volatility or when handling strategic reallocations. It also offers flexibility in terms of settlement timing and trade structuring, which is valuable for organisations coordinating trades with internal treasury or accounting processes. Managing large digital asset positions requires more than execution capabilities. Institutional-grade custody services are designed to safeguard assets through advanced security controls, access management, and operational oversight. These solutions help institutions mitigate risks associated with private key exposure and internal misuse. Institutions also differentiate themselves through the use of algorithmic strategies. Automated trading systems analyse market data in real time, execute orders based on predefined rules, and manage exposure across multiple venues simultaneously. This approach allows institutions to operate efficiently at scale while reducing reliance on manual intervention. Algorithms are commonly used for tasks such as order slicing, price optimisation, and inventory management. When supported by robust infrastructure, these strategies can improve execution quality and consistency, even in fast-moving markets. Higher volumes, professional risk management, and structured execution contribute to more orderly markets. This, in turn, attracts additional participants and supports the long-term development of digital assets as a legitimate asset class. By combining personalised execution with secure settlement processes, such services enable professional participants to operate confidently in a complex and rapidly evolving market. Institutional crypto trading represents a significant step in the maturation of digital asset markets. It brings discipline, scale, and professionalism to an industry once dominated by retail activity. The content should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Before making any investment decisions, you should conduct your own research and seek independent financial advice from a qualified professional. The authors and publishers of this article are not responsible for any financial losses you may incur as a result of using or acting upon the information contained herein.

Pepeto Presale Hits $7.27M While Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered Call for $200,000 Bitcoin Goldman Sachs' digital assets team isn't being subtle anymore. Their latest projection puts Bitcoin at $200,000 before this year ends. ETF inflows, big money piling in, and a clearer regulatory picture are all fueling the call (Forbes, January 2026). Standard Chartered backed it up with a $150,000 floor target. And anyone who's been through a crypto cycle knows what comes next. It happened in 2021 when Bitcoin topped $69,000 and SHIB turned $1,000 wallets into retirement money. Right now BTC is sitting around $67,000. CoinShares and Nexo say this dip is building the floor for the next move (CNBC, January 2026). Most people are staring at Bitcoin charts. The presale has raised $7.27M at $0.000000184 per token with three product demos already live. Unlike the coins that made headlines in past cycles, Pepeto isn't built on hype alone. It's built on infrastructure the meme economy has never had. Pepeto Announces Three Working Product Demos as Crypto News Highlights Altcoin Season Forming Every previous altcoin season rewarded projects that solved real problems. Most presales in 2026 still ship roadmaps and Telegram stickers. PepetoSwap handles cross chain meme coin trades. Pepeto Bridge routes tokens between fragmented ecosystems. All three exist as working demos right now. After buying $PEPETO, investors get immediate access to test every product before full launch. "Pepeto was built as infrastructure for a meme economy worth billions but fragmented across dozens of chains," said a Pepeto team representative. "We showed investors working products instead of asking them to trust a whitepaper." SolidProof and Coinsult completed dual audits. Created by a cofounder of Pepe. That combination of live demos, verified security, and exchange access is why the cap is already 70% filled. Pepeto's 250x Math Makes the Case Before Altcoins Start Moving Here's what separates Pepeto from large caps. But it won't change your life the way earlier cycles changed lives for people who found the right altcoin at the right time. Pepeto has three working demos, dual audits, zero tax, and a confirmed Binance listing at a price still starting with six zeros. If Pepeto reaches even a fraction of DOGE's peak, early participants are looking at 250x or more. Staking at 214% APY adds another layer. The real play is what happens to a six zero token with live products when capital rotates from Bitcoin into altcoins (CoinGecko, December 2025). Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, and Nexo all project Bitcoin heading higher. This time, it won't be random meme coins catching the wave. The investors who found DOGE and SHIB before listings didn't wait. What is the best crypto presale to buy before Bitcoin hits $200,000? Pepeto is a meme coin presale at $0.000000184 with three working demos, dual audits by SolidProof and Coinsult, zero tax, and a confirmed Binance listing. Analysts project a similar rotation once Bitcoin moves toward $200,000. PepetoSwap for cross chain trades, Pepeto Bridge for routing tokens between ecosystems, and Pepeto Exchange as the meme economy hub. How much can you earn staking Pepeto tokens? A $50,000 position generates approximately $107,000 in yearly returns at current rates. Copyright © 2026 Insider Inc and finanzen.net GmbH (Imprint).

The US under President Donald Trump's orders could soon strike Iran and that's not great news for cryptocurrencies. “We're already starting to see the uncertainty there weigh on crypto and equity markets,” Carlos Guzman of GSR Research said. The warning comes as Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market have lost about half their total value since October, with many analysts saying things could get worse from here. Bitcoin has long-been touted a hedge against global uncertainty, be that macroeconomic or geopolitical. “A true bottom requires ownership to change hands, and right now it's kind of like all the same people — it's like, who's the next buyer?” Just last year, when tensions flared between neighbours Israel and Iran — with later involvement from the US — investors shorted Bitcoin. Bitcoin's price fell sharply following Israel's June 2025 “Operation Midnight Hammer” strike and dipped again later that month when the US joined in. Crypto prices then recovered after Trump signalled a pause in attacks. Bitcoin and Ethereum have slumped severely following a brutal October $19 billion liquidation event that has continued to unwind. Bitcoin was trading above $100,000 per coin during last year's strikes and now trades around $67,000. “In the current context of a bear market, geopolitical headwinds would exacerbate selling pressure on digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, causing prices to decline further,” Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant's head of research, told DL News. Regardless of a war, experts added, the bottom is not in, and a large war in the Middle East could do more harm than good. “That said, if Bitcoin holds its ground and fails to move lower despite the macro headwinds, that would actually be a notably strong bullish signal — demonstrating real resilience in the face of risk-off sentiment,” he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Trump's tariff regime in a 6-3 decision. "No President has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope," the court ruling said. As has been typical in crypto lately, though, the gain was reversed within minutes, returning to just below $67,000 at the current time. Crypto's fleeting gains stood in contrast to what's appearing more sustainable in stocks, with the Nasdaq rising 0.6% to a session high. Alongside core personal consumer expenditure prices rose 3% year-over-year, faster than the hoped for 2.9% and up from 2.8% previously. "Today's economic data delivered a messy message of both hotter than expected inflation, and slower than anticipated growth," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, said. What next for XRP as volatility sinks to 2024 lows Technical traders see a compression setup, with $1.39 as key support and $1.44 as near-term resistance that could open a move toward $1.50 to $1.62 if reclaimed. Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services.

On-chain analytics platform Parsec has shut down after five years of operation, founder Will Sheehan confirmed in a public statement, citing shifting market conditions and changes in on-chain activity. “The market zigged while we zagged a few too many times,” he wrote. Parsec began in early 2020 as a side project focused on charting Uniswap v1 activity. Sheehan said Parsec's most significant traction came during the 2022 deleveraging cycle. According to Sheehan, decentralized finance activity changed materially after the collapse of FTX. He stated that DeFi spot lending leverage “never really came back in the same way,” adding that on-chain behavior evolved into patterns the team did not fully understand. While the platform experienced temporary spikes in usage—including dashboards tied to Friendtech and a Polymarket election tracker that drew several hundred thousand visits in a single night—those moments did not translate into sustained product momentum. Sheehan described the increasing ephemerality of crypto trends as a structural challenge. Parsec will not continue operations, but Sheehan said he plans to remain active in the industry through writing and other contributions. Parsec's focus on DeFi and NFT data tracking came at a time when market activity has evolved from its earlier patterns, with slower growth in these segments and less leverage in key DeFi protocols than in prior cycles. NFT sales volumes fell during 2025 compared with 2024, reflecting cooler market interest in that sector. Parsec also experimented with artificial-intelligence-powered tools such as Parsec Agent, which used language models to analyze market activity and social sentiment. The closure of Parsec arrives amid broader consolidation in the crypto analytics space as some firms struggle to maintain relevance and sustainable business models in a shifting market environment.

All our videos are published on YouTube first. Check out our interviews, reviews, news and videos. Be the first to know when a story breaks. France's gambling watchdog is now taking applications from companies that want to offer games with resellable digital content, moving a big legal experiment from law to everyday supervision. The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) said operators must now submit a prior declaration before making a JONUM game available in France. ANJ says declarations must be filed through an online process. A JONUM title is an online game that combines a paid stake, an element of chance, and the award of monetisable digital objects that can later be resold, such as NFT-style items or blockchain-linked tokens. The regime is designed to keep a clear separation from licensed gambling products. JONUM games can involve digital items that may hold value on resale, but they are not meant to operate like cash-prize gambling. The rules also keep minors out of these games. The regulator held an exchange session for interested Web3 companies on 19 February, giving studios and publishers a first official chance to test their understanding of the requirements and what the regulator expects in a declaration. All our videos are published on YouTube first. Check out our interviews, reviews, news and videos. Be the first to know when a story breaks. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. At iGamingToday, we are dedicated to bringing you the latest and most relevant news from the world of online gaming. Our team of experts provides up-to-date insights, industry trends, and exclusive updates to keep you informed and ahead of the curve.

London, United Kingdom, 20th February 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, CT3 has announced the launch of the CT3 On-Chain Commerce Ecosystem – a Web3 layer for businesses that enables companies to distribute digital products through NFT access keys backed by decentralized storage. With this release, CT3 introduces a full-cycle flow for digital commerce: sellers upload a digital product to CT3, receive an NFT “key,” and list it on supported marketplaces. The first marketplace integration has already been successfully launched with OpenSea. Digital sales are still burdened by payment gateways, chargebacks, manual fulfillment, and fragmented tools. CT3 replaces this complexity with a wallet-first model: purchase → ownership → instant delivery, available globally and 24/7, without the need for traditional storefront infrastructure. CT3 is a company that has been operating since 2022 and is developing a decentralized cloud storage solution: you upload a file, it is stored across a distributed network, and access is granted through an NFT key. This approach virtually eliminates the risk of shutdowns, data leaks, and makes cyberattacks significantly harder: data is split into fragments and stored on different nodes, access is controlled cryptographically, and the system does not rely on a single provider- so there is no single point of failure. The company believes that everyone has the right to protect their data, maintain privacy, and express their thoughts freely without fear of censorship or information leaks. CT3 invites sellers of digital products to collaborate – including licenses, subscriptions, tickets, certificates, promo codes, private releases, as well as databases and datasets. Anyone looking for wallet-native distribution with automated delivery and a verifiable usage status can contact CT3 to join the first wave of merchants.

Find here the essentials on BNP Paribas: governance, strategy, organisation and key figures. BNP Paribas Asset Management has issued a tokenised share class of French‑domiciled money market fund, recorded on public blockchain infrastructure. Conducted as an intra‑group experiment, the project leverages the joint expertise of BNP Paribas Asset Management, CIB AssetFoundryTM and BNP Paribas' Securities Services business to test new end‑to‑end fund processes. BNP Paribas Asset Management has issued a tokenised share class of an existing French-domiciled money market fund, marking a new step in its exploration of fund tokenisation using public blockchain infrastructure. The tokenised shares are issued under a permissioned access model, whereby holdings and transfers are restricted to eligible and authorised participants, in line with applicable regulatory requirements. This initiative follows BNP Paribas Asset Management's earlier tokenised money market fund issuance in Luxembourg on a private blockchain. Together, these initiatives reflect BNP Paribas' approach to exploring multiple tokenisation and distribution models to better serve the fund managers and their investors. Leveraging BNP Paribas' cutting edge capabilities across the Group's integrated model Within this project, BNP Paribas Asset Management acted as the fund issuer. BNP Paribas Securities Services business acted as transfer agent and fund dealing services provider, while BNP Paribas CIB's AssetFoundryTM platform provided the tokenisation and connectivity layer to the public blockchain network. This approach allows BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Asset Management to assess, how public blockchains can be integrated into regulated fund structures, while maintaining the highest standards of governance, investor protection, and operational robustness. Tokenisation is an innovative technology that is being explored across the financial industry for its potential to enhance how investment funds are issued and distributed over time. For money market funds in particular, which play a central role in liquidity management for corporate and institutional investors, tokenisation could be used as an alternative to traditional batch‑based fund processing, including more regular and flexible processing of fund related operations, while preserving the regulated nature of these funds. “BNP Paribas Asset Management is committed to driving innovation that will ultimately benefits our clients. This second issuance of tokenised money market funds, this time using public blockchain infrastructure, supports our ongoing efforts to explore how tokenisation can contribute to greater operational efficiency and security within a regulated framework.” Edouard Legrand, Chief Digital and Data Officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management “BNP Paribas' AssetFoundryTM platform delivers key digital-assets capabilities, from tokenisation to network connectivity and wallet-related functionalities within a controlled setup. This initiative allows us to better understand the operational and governance implications of tokenisation for money market funds.” Julien Clausse, Head of AssetFoundryTM (Digital Assets & Tokenisation) at BNP Paribas CIB “BNP Paribas' Securities Services business transforms innovation into tangible value for our clients. By acting as transfer agent and leveraging the Group's tokenisation infrastructure, we deliver a streamlined and secure operational setup that supports fund processes enabled by public blockchain infrastructure, within a regulated and permissioned context.” Paul Daly, Head of Distribution Product Solutions at BNP Paribas' Securities Services business Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated commercial & personal banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Türkiye, and Eastern Europe. BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group's performance and stability.

In a post on X, Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) shared a CryptoQuant chart tracking the share of Binance-listed altcoins trading below their 50-week moving average alongside Bitcoin's price. His headline claim: “LIQUIDITY CRUNCH PUSHES 83% OF ALTCOINS INTO BEAR TREND,” arguing that most investors exposed to non-Bitcoin, non-stablecoin assets are “now in significant difficulty,” particularly those still holding positions. Darkfost's chart, titled “Altcoins performance (Binance)”, shows the percentage of altcoins below the 50-week moving average rising back into historically stressed territory. In his latest read, 83% of Binance altcoins are below that threshold, a sign that weakness is not isolated to a handful of names but spread across the tape. He also pointed to an even more extreme episode earlier this month. “Since the end of the bear market in 2023, a new record was set on February 7, with more than 92% of altcoins on Binance trading below this key technical support,” he wrote, describing it as a post-2023-cycle high in downside participation. That stands in stark contrast to the conditions seen during earlier upside phases. Outside of those multi-month windows, he added, at least half of altcoins remained under the threshold, behavior he characterized as meaningfully different from the prior cycle's breadth dynamics. “The market continues to be driven by BTC's movements, which has been in a downtrend since October 2025 following an ATH at $126,000. The chart itself marks BTC near the mid-$60,000 range, underscoring his broader point: in a regime where Bitcoin direction is unclear and macro inputs are hostile to duration and volatility, breadth in higher-beta tokens can deteriorate quickly and then stay impaired. Darkfost emphasized the 50-week moving average as a long-horizon filter used by market participants to separate corrective phases from structurally constructive ones. When a majority of tokens sit below it, rallies tend to be narrower, selection pressure rises, and “alt season” narratives become harder to sustain without a decisive shift in liquidity conditions. In that environment, he argued, outperforming becomes less about broad beta exposure and more about understanding how market structure has changed. CUSIP Database provided by FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved. SEC fillings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2026 TradingView, Inc.

Few business topics are garnering more coverage than Michael Saylor's unconventional strategy at Strategy, the software purveyor turned Bitcoin treasury outfit he still controls as top shareholder and executive chairman (the firm was formerly known as MicroStrategy). But one big shift has gone almost entirely unnoticed: As Bitcoin prices plunged, Saylor has attempted to remediate the situation by unleashing a torrent of new shares, at a scale never before witnessed at a big market-cap U.S. company. This immense dilution is keeping his Bitcoin stash growing as a point of pride—but dragging shareholders into dangerous territory. At the close of Q2 2020, shortly before Saylor started buying Bitcoin, Strategy had 76 million shares of Class A common stock outstanding (it also has Class B shares harboring extra voting rights that are mostly owned by Saylor; I'll focus on Class A shares since they account for all the issuance over the past six years). In third place is software provider Twilio at 27%. Strategy pioneered a model based on constantly increasing the amount of Bitcoin its investors own per share, or its key metric of BPS (Bitcoin per share). Until this year, when it also moved into preferred stock in a big way, Strategy relied mostly on raising funds from equity offerings to amass the signature virtual currency. The process amounted to a kind of magical arbitrage: Strategy's stock price kept increasing much faster than the price of Bitcoin. So by selling shares at what now look like highly inflated prices and buying ever more coins, Saylor could keep hiking the count every shareholder effectively “owned.” But by the time Strategy's market cap reached its summit just after Independence Day last year, it could purchase 3.8 tokens, or 150% more, selling the same amount of stock. For a while, Saylor ran what was essentially an “accretion” machine. Well past midyear, Saylor kept cranking on stock sales despite the worsening math. As a result, the accretion game no longer worked. Every time Saylor sells stock to buy Bitcoin now, instead of sweetening the mix, he's watering it down. The vaunted BPS ratio funded by equity keeps dropping. The investor presentation trumpeted: “Our business objective is increasing Bitcoin per share.” Why didn't all the shares Saylor kept selling as his stock price tanked lead to a big dilution in BPS? He offset that drag by reverting to a different and dangerous scheme: issuing tons of preferred stock. The investor presentation boasts that Strategy also reigned as America's largest issuer of preferreds last year, collecting an additional $7 billion from the offerings or one-third of every dollar Wall Street raised. The huge influx of cash from preferreds has enabled Saylor to keep BPS more or less constant. Even before Strategy went big on preferreds, it had accumulated a large pile of debt that now stands at $8.2 billion. The preferred stock is paying junk rates at an average of over 10%, costing the company $888 million a year in dividends. Plus, Strategy will need to refinance $6 billion in debt in 2028, and guess how Saylor plans to do it? By issuing more shares in a campaign to “equitize” the borrowings. It's already proved a lousy investment in the past two years, dropping by 30%. The major tech players from Apple to Microsoft consider it a matter of pride to keep shrinking their share counts. Michael Saylor took the opposite tack on steroids. He can only pursue his vaunted game plan by taking on huge dividend payments that he's paying from shrinking reserves since Strategy generates no cash. The more Bitcoin's price drops, the more it looks like Saylor divided those holdings among too many shares. His investors are lately paying the price for financing that Saylor claimed was supercheap and now looks extremely expensive. Shawn Tully is a senior editor-at-large at Fortune, covering the biggest trends in business, aviation, politics, and leadership. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

On Friday, Ether changed hands at $1,955.79, slipping 0.73% in the previous 24 hours. About $18.0 billion worth of Ether was traded, according to data from CoinMarketCap. This round, some investors are pointing to “utility” NFTs—think ticketing or licensing projects—as the main driver, instead of yet another hype cycle. Meyka, in a Feb. 19 note to UK clients, pegged ether at $1,963.24, down 1.39% for the day, highlighting that the relative strength index (RSI) was sitting close to 30, a mark plenty of traders see as oversold territory. The note also pointed to a wave of enterprise-grade NFT platforms now touting features like custody, fiat rails, KYC requirements and even dispute resolution. Meanwhile, project teams keep diversifying: Ethereum, layer-2 rollups, and competitors like Solana are all in play as efforts to shave down costs and hunt liquidity ramp up. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin—who was among the early backers of Polymarket—flagged concerns on X, cautioning that the space could slide into “corposlop” fixated on “low-value gambling.” He specifically pointed to short-term bets on crypto prices, according to Business Insider. Macro risks are still front and center for major tokens. “No major catalyst looks set to push [cryptocurrencies] higher,” said Gerry O'Shea, head of market insights at Hashdex, in comments to Barron's, highlighting lingering uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy and the broader economy. Bitcoin hovered around $67,088 as late U.S. trading wound down Thursday; ether edged up about 0.3%, per Dow Jones Market Data referenced by Barron's. Utility isn't just about NFTs, and plenty of it flies under the radar. Meyka, in a Feb. 11 note, highlighted things like enterprise pilots for luxury authentication, tokenized loyalty programs—think loyalty points as tokens—and Scope 3 emissions reporting, which tracks indirect emissions across a company's value chain. According to the note, these applications generate steady, smaller on-chain transactions, which help drive both base fees and validator income—the payouts for network operators. Ethereum keeps it simple: each transaction comes with a gas fee, usually settled in ether. Should transactions with steeper fees pick up and remain, validators pocket more, potentially lifting demand for the token that covers those costs. Layer-2s bundle up transactions, return them to Ethereum, which keeps user fees down.

Sentiment remains fragile as investors weigh macro uncertainty, liquidity conditions, and the lack of sustained bullish catalysts. While periodic rebounds have emerged, most altcoins remain well below previous cycle highs, reinforcing a cautious environment across the broader market. A recent CryptoQuant report provides additional perspective on this dynamic. Despite ongoing pressure, certain segments of the market are forming notable buying walls, indicating that demand has not disappeared entirely. Trading volume across altcoins has risen significantly since Ethereum established its recent bottom, reaching levels that are difficult to compare directly with the previous cycle. This increase in activity, even while prices remain depressed, may reflect repositioning rather than pure capitulation. Importantly, most altcoins have yet to stage meaningful recoveries, suggesting that current participation could represent accumulation, speculative positioning, or a mix of both as the market searches for direction. The CryptoQuant analysis indicates that much of the current altcoin selling pressure is being driven by retail participants reacting defensively to volatility and prolonged drawdowns. Fear-driven liquidations often emerge during uncertain phases, particularly when liquidity tightens, and price recovery lacks momentum. This behavior tends to amplify short-term weakness, especially across mid- and lower-cap crypto assets. However, the same data suggests that a portion of this selling volume is being systematically absorbed by larger or more patient market participants. This absorption dynamic typically reflects positioning rather than speculation, as buyers accumulate exposure while sentiment remains fragile. Historically, such phases have preceded structural market transitions, although timing remains uncertain and outcomes are not guaranteed. Some analysts argue that the current cycle may be characterized by unusually strong preparatory accumulation compared with previous market phases. Elevated spot volumes alongside persistent volatility suggest capital rotation rather than outright market exit in certain segments. That said, projections about a future altcoin bull phase being significantly stronger than the previous cycle remain speculative. Market structure, macro liquidity conditions, regulatory developments, and Bitcoin dominance will all influence whether such expectations materialize. Recent price action shows the market hovering near roughly $170B, significantly below previous highs and still trending downward. Price has moved below the shorter-term moving averages and is testing longer-term support zones. The inability to reclaim these averages suggests declining momentum rather than a consolidation phase. Volume spikes accompanying downward moves also indicate that selling activity remains dominant, not merely passive drift. Historically, similar configurations have occurred during late corrective phases when capital rotates back toward Bitcoin and larger-cap assets. This typically reflects risk reduction rather than outright market exit, but it nonetheless suppresses altcoin performance for extended periods. Importantly, the absence of strong recovery attempts suggests liquidity constraints remain a key factor. Unless broader market sentiment improves or Bitcoin stabilizes convincingly, the altcoin segment may continue to face headwinds. Sebastian's journey into the world of crypto began four years ago, driven by a fascination with the potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize financial systems. His goal was to expose valuable trends and insights to a wider audience, fostering a deeper understanding of the rapidly evolving crypto landscape. Sebastian's contributions quickly gained recognition, and he became a trusted voice in the online crypto community. To further enhance his expertise, Sebastian pursued a UC Berkeley Fintech: Frameworks, Applications, and Strategies certification. This rigorous program equipped him with valuable skills and knowledge regarding Financial Technology, bridging the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Sebastian's passion for finance and writing is evident in his work. His ability to navigate the complex world of crypto, combined with his passion for financial research and communication, makes him a valuable asset to the industry.

The kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie – the mother of news anchor Savannah Guthrie – is the latest in a string of crimes in which ransoms have reportedly been demanded in Bitcoin. Now, renewed movement in the Bitcoin wallet linked to the case has intensified scrutiny – and raised a critical question: although Bitcoin is not inherently untraceable, can perpetrators ultimately profit without being identified? Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency often described as anonymous and private. That perception has made it attractive to criminals who believe it offers a convenient way to receive, transfer and store funds beyond the reach of authorities. But experts say that belief is dangerously outdated. It is a signal," says Bezalel Eithan Raviv, CEO of Lionsgate Network, a crypto-forensics and recovery firm. "In some cases, it is operational, testing access, moving funds, trying to stay ahead. In others, it is noise, designed to confuse investigators and the public. But here is the reality we see every day. According to Bezalel, every transaction creates a permanent data point. In many cases, movement happens because pressure is building." "Bitcoin is one of the most transparent financial systems ever created. No one can edit a transaction after the fact." He argues that in high-profile cases especially, criminals may be underestimating the scrutiny that follows public exposure. "In many cases, yes," he says, when asked whether offenders misjudge blockchain transparency. "Criminals still believe Bitcoin gives them protection. Exchanges monitor, analysts track, investigators collaborate." Unlike physical cash, cryptocurrency must eventually be converted into usable money. You cannot directly consume it," Bezalel explains. "To use it in the real world, criminals need someone willing to convert it into fiat currency, usually through a centralized exchange. That is where intervention becomes possible." When funds reach regulated services, he says, "blockchain transparency becomes a bridge to real world identity." Modern investigations combine blockchain analysis with traditional detective work. "We map transaction patterns, identify clusters of wallets, track interactions across chains, and correlate activity with services such as exchanges and payment processors," Bezalel says. "Sometimes attribution happens quickly when funds reach a known entity. In other cases, it takes time. The trail remains, waiting to be connected." As for whether renewed wallet activity signals investigative progress or misdirection, Bezalel says it can be both. And often, it is in these moments that mistakes are made and cases move forward." For victims and families watching closely, the distinction matters. While Bitcoin's association with extortion and ransomware has fuelled fear that funds simply vanish into the digital ether, specialists insist that narrative is incomplete. In a case as high profile and emotionally charged as the alleged kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, every transaction will now be examined not just as a payment attempt – but as a potential clue.