Crypto.com announced it has secured conditional approval for a U.S. national trust bank charter, opening the door for the digital‑asset exchange to deliver its crypto services as a federally regulated institution.
Vitalik Buterin explained that Bitcoin’s creators chose decentralization over privacy because early cryptographic tools could not support both. The original protocol makes every transaction publicly readable, sacrificing anonymity to achieve consensus without central authorities. This trade‑off was a technical necessity, not a ideological rejection of privacy. Since Bitcoin’s launch, zero‑knowledge proofs such as zk‑SNARKs have enabled verification without revealing transaction details. Developments like the Zerocoin protocol, Zcash, and modern zk‑rollups demonstrate that confidential transfers are now feasible on decentralized networks. These methods allow selective visibility of sender, receiver, and amount while preserving security. Ethereum’s later development timeline and flexible architecture have allowed integration of privacy solutions like Tornado Cash, Aztec, and various Layer‑2 zk‑rollups. These projects showcase how advanced cryptography can be applied where Bitcoin’s original design could not. However, they face scrutiny over compliance, complexity, and user adoption. Privacy‑focused blockchains confront anti‑money‑laundering and know‑your‑customer regulations that favor transparent ledgers. Emerging approaches—selective disclosure, auditability layers, and Layer‑2 confidentiality—seek to balance privacy with legal requirements. Ongoing research in homomorphic encryption, multi‑party computation, and more efficient zk‑SNARKs promises to reconcile decentralization with strong privacy in future systems.
India cut tariffs on electronics components, pharmaceutical raw materials and renewable‑energy equipment, lowering import costs and spurring domestic manufacturing. The Ministry of Commerce framed the move as part of a broader liberalisation that still protects emerging sectors. It aligns with WTO commitments and responds to partner concerns over market‑access barriers. The reductions have revived talks with the EU and the UK and strengthened India’s role in the Indo‑Pacific Economic Framework. Import volumes of the affected goods rose 18% in the first month, while foreign portfolio inflows hit $2.1 billion. ING projects a 0.8 % lift in India’s GDP over three years if major agreements are sealed. Amid supply‑chain diversification and climate‑focused trade, India positions itself as a reliable partner for diversified markets. The policy supports the goal of a $5 trillion economy by 2027 and helps curb inflation, with CPI falling to 4.2 %. Continued industrial upgrading will be needed to balance competition and growth.
WLFI reported that the USD1 stablecoin was targeted by a combined hacking and short‑selling campaign. The attack caused the token’s price to drop roughly 7 %, falling to 0.9924 USD. The incident occurred shortly after a forum related to former President Trump. Market indicators show a persistent downtrend, with the Relative Strength Index positioned at 42. The nearest support level is identified around 0.0961 USD. Binance’s involvement was noted in the ongoing developments.
The weekly candle closed below a key moving average, interrupting a 30‑month upward trend. This breach could signal that further price declines toward new lows are forthcoming.
Google Cloud defines AI success by three dimensions: raw intelligence, response latency, and cost‑effective scalability. This framework moves beyond pure performance metrics to address real business limits. Models such as Gemini Pro illustrate the intelligence frontier, instant‑reply use cases need the response‑time frontier, and large‑scale content moderation stresses the cost frontier. Agentic AI is still nascent, and many firms lack standardized audit, data‑access, and compliance patterns. Software engineering adopts faster because existing code‑review pipelines act as guardrails, whereas other sectors lag. Vertex AI embeds governance tools and ready‑made deployment patterns to close this infrastructure gap. The platform supplies a Model Garden, an Agent Engine, a Governance Framework, and optimization utilities that let enterprises pick model variants tuned for different frontier mixes. These features reduce risk and cost while preserving required intelligence. Customers such as Shopify and Thomson Reuters already run specialized applications on the stack. Google’s control of data centers, custom TPUs, and the full software stack enables simultaneous improvements in intelligence, latency, and expense—advantages few rivals can match. Organizations are now urged to evaluate AI solutions across all three frontiers rather than chasing sheer capability. This balanced view drives specialized model families and more prudent investment choices.
Stablecore, integrated with Jack Henry, delivers stablecoin and Bitcoin solutions to 1,670 U.S. banks. The platform highlights round‑the‑clock payment capabilities and tokenized loan offerings. Bitcoin is trading at $64,590, with its Relative Strength Index indicating an oversold condition. Net Holding emerges as a notable element within the current landscape.
Bitcoin failed to break the $72,000 barrier as concerns over renewed tariff disputes and broader macroeconomic uncertainty weighed on the market. Sell‑off pressure intensified in the United States, deepening the decline across crypto assets. The story, titled “Bitcoin Slides as Tariff Tensions and Market Sell‑Offs Deepen Crypto Losses,” was first published on COINTURK NEWS.
TAO is testing primary support levels of $167.40 and $166.03. A break below could drive the price down to $142.80. The key resistance zones are at $173.60 and $190.63. A broader BTC downtrend is adding pressure to altcoins.
The journey extends from trustless executors to seamless interpreters, and a long road still lies ahead.
World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin briefly fell to $0.9934 after a coordinated attack but quickly returned to its $1 peg. The firm attributes the resilience to its mint‑and‑redeem design and strong market demand. Trading resumed under normal conditions, and the token’s reserves remain fully backed one‑to‑one. Hackers accessed accounts of co‑founders and paid influencers to spread doubt, aiming to profit from short positions. WLFI restored account access, confirmed reserves were untouched, and urged users to follow official updates. Co‑founder Zach Witkoff highlighted verifiable data and compliance with the GENIUS Act framework. WLFI announced a luxury resort project in the Maldives, issuing tokens during development to give investors early exposure and higher potential returns. Tokens will provide fixed yields and loan‑revenue streams. Early interest is driven by participants in the USD1 liquidity program on Binance, with 235 million WLFI tokens slated for distribution between February 20 and March 20. House Democrats, led by Rep. Gregory Meeks, have asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to examine WLFI’s financial ties, including an investment from a UAE royal family member. Lawmakers cite potential national‑security concerns and seek possible additional oversight. The request follows WLFI’s expanding role in stablecoins and real‑estate tokenization.
Solana Company (NASDAQ: HSDT) announced the Pacific Backbone, a low‑latency node cluster linking Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. Initial small‑node activations will boost security and efficiency, with full scaling and hardware upgrades planned for late‑2026. The network aims to serve market makers, high‑frequency traders and institutional partners needing fast execution and stable validation. Beyond staking, Solana will launch DeFi, liquid‑staking, AMMs, RPC services and execution tools for traditional finance users. The strategy seeks higher capture of staking value while holding long‑term SOL treasury exposure. By expanding product offerings, the firm expects to attract more developers, financial institutions and tech firms across Asia Pacific. SOL trades around $79, down 4.9% daily and about 6.5% weekly, with a market cap near $44.9 billion. Technical analysis shows a megaphone pattern; breaking below $80 could test $60 support, while holding may target $130‑$160 and a decisive breakout at $200.
Peter Steinberger, the developer behind OpenClaw, has instituted a strict no‑cryptocurrency rule on the project’s Discord server. The policy takes effect as he begins his role at OpenAI. He says the measure is intended to prevent conflicts of interest, keep discussions focused on the game, and align with OpenAI’s guidelines.
Former President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on imported goods, sending the AUD/USD pair to a three‑week low. The Australian dollar slipped about 0.8% as traders priced higher trade risk for Australia’s commodity‑driven economy. The move sparked immediate volatility across Asian and Pacific currency markets. The reaction mirrors previous US‑China tariff spikes between 2018 and 2020, when the Aussie fell 3‑5% before recovering on easing tensions. Those episodes taught markets to embed a larger risk premium for sustained trade disruptions. Today’s premium further pressures the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy balance. With roughly 20% of GDP tied to exports such as iron ore, LNG and agriculture, tariff‑induced demand drops quickly weaken the currency. Simultaneously the US dollar gains as investors flee to safe‑haven assets, creating a double headwind for the AUD. Analysts warn that any slowdown in Asian demand will amplify this effect. Australian mining and energy stocks fell, while domestic‑focused sectors showed relative resilience. Bond yields slipped as expectations of RBA rate hikes softened. Traders will monitor the detailed US tariff schedule, possible retaliation, commodity price moves and RBA commentary for further AUD/USD swings.
Satlantis debuted as a ticketing platform built on Bitcoin and powered by the Lightning Network. The service highlights ultra‑low fees, seamless Stripe integration, and upcoming support for stablecoins. Lightning Network transaction volume has surpassed $1.1 billion, while institutional Bitcoin news features developments from Net Holding.
The USD/CAD pair is holding a tight range as US dollar weakness and plunging oil prices cancel each other out. The DXY has slipped for three sessions while Brent fell below key technical levels, removing its usual support for the loonie. Analysts note the classic 80% inverse oil‑CAD link is muted by the concurrent dollar softness, so both drivers must be watched separately. Dollar weakness is driven by cooler inflation data, boosting expectations of earlier Fed rate cuts, and by narrowing yield spreads versus Eurozone and German bonds. Stronger economic signals from major trading partners are also pulling capital away from the dollar. Traders now focus on the upcoming CPI release for the next directional cue. Canada’s currency is hit by a 12% drop in WTI since February, caused by higher OPEC+ output, reserve sales and lower demand forecasts. Each $10‑barrel move typically shifts USD/CAD by about 3 cents, with current support at 1.3480 and resistance near 1.3600, while volatility stays low. The balance could tip either way, affecting cross‑border trade, import costs and consumer prices.
Banks may switch to the XRP Ledger without public notice, allowing customers to continue usual transactions while underlying settlement moves to a blockchain system. This covert upgrade preserves user trust and avoids disruption. The change could happen invisibly, making the new infrastructure a hidden backbone of global payments. Financial institutions seek faster cross‑border settlement, lower costs, and freed capital from pre‑funded accounts. The XRPL settles in seconds, removes intermediaries, and unlocks trillions in liquidity. Such efficiencies motivate banks to adopt the platform quietly. Widespread bank use of XRP would drive massive real‑world demand, pushing transaction volumes to unprecedented levels. The ledger handles high‑frequency, low‑cost transfers at scale, supporting trillions of dollars without the energy load of traditional networks. This could lift XRP’s price through genuine usage rather than speculation. Early XRP holders stand to benefit as institutional adoption boosts liquidity and valuation. While the public may not notice the shift, the token becomes a core component of global finance. This creates a strategic upside for investors positioned before the transition.
Bitcoin eliminated its recent weekend rally, sliding from approximately $68,600 to around $64,161. The decline was driven by heightened macroeconomic uncertainty after President Trump announced a blanket 15% tariff on imports. On Monday, Feb. 23, the leading cryptocurrency’s rally hit a wall, wiping out most of its earlier gains.
Trader Tardigrade’s X post shows Ethereum’s price often moves opposite to the DXY. Four major cycles displayed peaks in the dollar matching ETH bottoms, and vice‑versa. Perplexity AI confirmed this pattern as one of the clearest in crypto. When the dollar strengthens, investors shift to safe assets, pushing ETH down. A weakening DXY eases liquidity and attracts crypto inflows. The AI model estimates that 40‑60% of ETH’s price swings align with DXY movements, especially during rate‑policy changes. The DXY has slipped below its long‑term support to around 97.8, suggesting further downside. If the trend continues, the chart projects ETH could break $3,000 and eventually test $10,000. Analysts warn a lag of days to months before the effect fully appears. A confirmed, prolonged dollar weakness combined with improving on‑chain and derivatives metrics would validate an ETH rise. Historical episodes in 2020 and 2022 show similar dollar‑ETH turning points. Monitoring these factors will indicate whether the next expansion phase is imminent.
Public metrics show a sharp fall in XRPL usage. Active users dropped from over 200 k to about 38 k, payment volume fell from 2.5 bn XRP to roughly 80 m, and unique sending accounts slid to ~3 k from >40 k. Analyst Arthur calls the numbers “bad” but notes they may not capture true demand. The decline coincides with the Feb 18 launch of XLS‑81, a permissioned DEX that lets regulated entities trade in private pools. Transactions in those pools are excluded from public trackers, moving activity off‑chain. Arthur suggests the 2025 retail spike was on‑chain, while institutional flow is now hidden. XRP traded around $1.39, down 2 % in 24 h, 5 % in a week and 27 % in a month, a 46 % loss year‑to‑date and >60 % below its July 2025 peak. Critics rebuke viral forecasts of $15–$70, arguing liquidity and macro factors dominate. Bitcoin has been sideways, limiting alt‑coin direction. Santiment reports the largest realized loss spike since 2022 as XRP fell from $3.60 to $1.10, a pattern that historically preceded a 114 % rally, though no repeat is promised. MVRV ratios rank XRP as the third most undervalued major crypto at –4.1 % after ETH and BTC. Large transfers of >31 m XRP to Binance may add $45 m of sell pressure if realized.
Global crypto ETF assets fell 50% from $195.1 bn in Oct 2024 to $95.9 bn by Jul 2025, a $99 bn loss. The drop is the steepest drawdown in digital‑asset fund history. All categories—Bitcoin, Ethereum and broader baskets—registered negative performance. A 40‑60% plunge in cryptocurrency prices, tighter monetary policy and regulatory uncertainty triggered large redemptions. Institutional investors led the first wave of withdrawals, followed by retail rebalancing. Compared with traditional equity, fixed‑income and commodity ETFs, crypto ETFs saw far larger outflows, highlighting their sensitivity to sentiment. Continued consolidation is expected as smaller providers exit and larger funds absorb assets. Clearer regulatory frameworks and improved risk tools could stabilize inflows. The market may mature, with survivor products exhibiting greater resilience.
The Missouri House advanced House Bill 2080 to the Commerce Committee for hearings and possible amendment. Lawmakers will hear expert testimony before a full floor vote. The committee stage gives the proposal a clearer path despite the session’s time constraints. The bill creates a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund within the state treasury, managed by the treasurer. Bitcoin can enter the fund as gifts, grants, donations, bequests, or transfers from eligible residents and certain agencies. Assets must remain locked for at least five years before any sale or transfer. Custody safeguards require cold‑storage and prohibit dealings with foreign or illicit actors; third‑party custodians may be used. The treasurer must issue a biennial report detailing holdings, transactions, and security measures. Reports are due by December 31 of each even‑numbered year. Proponents argue the reserve lets the state accept crypto gifts without risking general funds. Critics warn of Bitcoin’s price volatility and political exposure of public assets. Debate will focus on the adequacy of safeguards and the necessity of state involvement in cryptocurrency.
Twin fiscal and current‑account deficits force the dollar to seek foreign capital. Higher debt‑to‑GDP and faster overseas growth cut its edge. Reserve managers shift assets from the dollar to other currencies and gold. The Fed remains data‑dependent, using a ‘wait‑and‑see’ stance to keep inflation near 2 %. It avoids quick rate moves, keeping a higher‑for‑longer yield. This caution gives short‑term dollar support while protecting growth. The tug‑of‑war yields range‑bound EUR/USD and USD/JPY, spiking on key data. A stronger dollar pressures emerging‑market debt; a weaker one eases costs. Investors must watch fiscal health, reserve shifts, and policy cues. Analysts see short‑term dollar strength when policy diverges, yet structural drags limit momentum. Watch TIC flows, trade balance, CPI/PCE, and FOMC releases. Expect controlled volatility and range‑trading through 2025.
Citrini Research warns that autonomous AI agents could trigger a self‑reinforcing economic collapse within two years. By automating complex white‑collar tasks, firms may cut staff, leading to sharp unemployment and falling consumer demand. The resulting negative feedback loop could double job losses and erase more than a third of global stock market value by 2028. Unlike past automation focused on manufacturing, agentic AI can perceive, plan and act in knowledge‑intensive roles such as procurement, legal research, and financial analysis. Rapid displacement of high‑skill workers would compress margins, push companies to further automate, and create a deflationary spiral. Sectors most at risk include professional services, BPO, middle management and finance. Economists are split: some see the scenario as a plausible near‑term systemic risk, citing historical tech shocks, while others argue markets will adapt and new jobs will emerge. Critics question the assumed rigidity of demand and the speed of regulatory pushback. Nonetheless the report maps a clear causal chain that many find compelling. The authors urge policymakers to prepare by investing in reskilling, exploring adaptive safety nets, and incentivizing human‑AI collaboration rather than outright replacement. Without such measures, the efficiency drive of AI agents could destabilise the labor market and financial system. The debate shifts from sci‑fi superintelligence fears to concrete economic resilience.
