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An address presumed to belong to Bitmine has withdrawn 10,000 ETH, worth $19.57 million, from Kraken, Onchain Lens reported. Withdrawals from exchanges are typically interpreted as a move to hold the assets.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said that combining FOCIL (EIP-7805), a censorship resistance mechanism, with the account abstraction-based EIP-8141 can enable ETH smart wallets, gas-sponsored transactions, and privacy transactions to be included in blocks quickly and with strong censorship resistance. He explained that EIP-8141 grants these account types native on-chain status, while FOCIL is designed to randomly select 17 participants per slot to include transactions.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has risen two points from yesterday to 35. The index is determined by comparing the price performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins, against Bitcoin. A period is considered an altcoin season if 75% of these top 100 coins have outperformed Bitcoin over the past 90 days; otherwise, it is deemed a Bitcoin season. A score closer to 100 indicates a stronger altcoin season.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index from data provider Alternative has dropped two points from yesterday to 7, signaling a continued state of extreme fear. The index measures market sentiment on a scale of 0, representing extreme fear, to 100, indicating extreme optimism. It is calculated based on volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market cap dominance (10%), and Google search volume (10%).

According to crypto options exchange Deribit, Bitcoin options worth $2 billion are set to expire at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Feb. 20. The put/call ratio is 0.58, and the max pain price—the point at which the most option buyers would lose their premiums—is $70,000. Additionally, Ethereum options valued at $410 million will expire at the same time. For ETH, the put/call ratio is 0.73, with a max pain price of $2,025.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has effectively eased its net capital requirements for stablecoins held by broker-dealers, Forbes reported. The SEC announced that broker-dealers holding qualified payment stablecoins that meet certain criteria will now be subject to a 2% haircut when calculating their net capital. A haircut is a conservative valuation method that reduces an asset's stated value by a certain percentage. Previously, many stablecoins faced a 100% haircut, meaning they were not recognized as capital at all. The new rule allows 98% of the value of these qualified stablecoins to be counted toward a firm's capital. Forbes noted that the 2% haircut places these payment stablecoins on par with money market funds that hold underlying assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and other cash equivalents.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) projects a 20-25% probability of the U.S. economy entering a recession within the next 12 months, down from its 30% forecast in September, Walter Bloomberg reported.

The U.S. White House is leaning toward partially allowing stablecoin rewards under the proposed crypto market structure bill (CLARITY Act), rather than implementing a complete ban, CoinDesk reported. At a meeting hosted by the White House on Feb. 19 between banking and crypto industry representatives, the administration clarified its position to maintain some reward programs for stablecoins. The provision is expected to be included in the draft bill if the banking sector agrees.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower today. - S&P 500: -0.28% - Nasdaq: -0.31% - Dow Jones: -0.54%

Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting an investigation into World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi project linked to the Trump family, CNBC reported. The lawmakers are calling for a probe into potential conflicts of interest and the project's impact on national security. Representative Gregory Meeks stated that a $500 million deal between the Trump family and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) royal family not only creates national financial instability but also poses a serious security risk. He added that history will record whether the Treasury Secretary's loyalty lies with the American people or his backers.

Bitwise analyst Max Shannon has warned that Ethereum could fall as much as 22% to $1,500, DL News reported. Shannon noted that ETH is facing a potentially historic downturn, having recorded six consecutive months of declines. He predicted that without a clear macroeconomic or token-specific catalyst to restore momentum and investor sentiment, the price could drop to $1,500. Shannon also pointed to Bitcoin as a factor in Ethereum's sluggish performance, explaining that ETH has a high correlation with BTC and tends to move in the same direction but with greater volatility.

Following a White House-hosted meeting between cryptocurrency industry representatives and bankers on crypto legislation, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Paul Grewal said on X that while progress was made, no compromise has been reached yet. He added that the conversation was constructive and the atmosphere was cooperative. The meeting was the third held to discuss a bill on crypto market structure.

Fintech firm Newity has raised $11 million in a funding round led by CMT Digital, according to The Block. The names of other individual and institutional investors who participated were not disclosed. The company is exploring ways to bring a lending platform for small and medium-sized businesses onto the blockchain.

On-chain data platform Parsec is shutting down after five years of operation and has begun refunding subscription fees, The Block reported. The outlet noted that despite being backed by major investors like Galaxy Digital and Uniswap Ventures and being active in the DeFi and NFT analytics space, the platform has abruptly ceased its services.

According to Google Trends data, search queries asking if Bitcoin's value will fall to zero or if the cryptocurrency is dead have recently surged to their highest levels since 2022. Meanwhile, BTC is trading at $66,955.88, up 1%, according to CoinMarketCap.

The leadership of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a draft proposal for an "Innovation Exemption" aimed at facilitating the introduction of on-chain securities, The Block reported. The measure would grant regulatory exemptions under specific conditions. Speaking at the ETHDenver conference, U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce said the exemption would allow for the limited trading of certain tokenized securities on new platforms, serving as a stepping stone for a long-term regulatory framework. The move comes as global demand for tokenized assets has surged over the past year, with traditional financial firms like Nasdaq and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), as well as crypto companies such as Kraken and Robinhood, entering the market for tokenized stocks and real-world assets (RWA). The SEC is expected to announce a specific plan for processing approvals of related products in the near future.

Bitcoin's on-chain floor price is $54,900, Cointelegraph reported, citing a recent analysis by Glassnode. The analytics firm noted that BTC entered a correction phase after falling from $79,000 in January and is currently consolidating in its 2024 support range between $60,000 and $69,000, a level being defended by medium-term holders. However, Glassnode explained that if this support fails, the price could see a further decline to its realized price of $54,900. The firm added that exchange inflows are decreasing while coins continue to be absorbed by long-term holder addresses, reducing the circulating supply on the market.

Polymarket has acquired API-focused startup Dome, The Block reported. The move marks Polymarket's second official acquisition, following its earlier purchase of derivatives exchange QCEX. Dome specializes in technology that connects multiple prediction market platforms through a single API.

Crypto lending platform Blockfills is pursuing a sale after suffering a $75 million loan loss due to increased market volatility, CoinDesk reported. The company also blocked customer deposits and withdrawals last week amid the recent downturn.

OpenAI's Know Your Customer (KYC) provider, Persona, has been accused of providing user cryptocurrency addresses to a federal agency, DL News reported. The company is alleged to have shared customer data, including crypto addresses, with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $67,000. BTC is trading at $67,000 on the Binance USDT market.

Whale Alert reported that 3,107 BTC has been transferred from an unknown wallet to Coinbase Institutional. The transaction is valued at about $206 million.

Nasdaq-listed Sharplink, which previously announced plans to strategically reserve Ethereum (ETH), held 867,798 ETH as of Feb. 15, worth approximately $1.68 billion, The Block reported. The company also paid out 13,615 ETH in staking rewards over the past year, according to a report. Joseph Chalom, CEO of Sharplink and former head of digital assets at BlackRock, stated that the company is staking nearly all of its Ethereum holdings and continues to increase its position despite recent market volatility. He added that institutional investors trust Sharplink to generate long-term shareholder value, irrespective of price fluctuations. A recent securities ownership filing (13F) showed that as of Dec. 31, institutional investors held 46% of Sharplink's common stock, with the company attracting around 60 new institutional backers during the fourth quarter.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stated on X that cryptocurrency has never needed a bailout and never will. His comments follow a letter from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a known crypto opponent, to the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve (Fed), in which she urged that cryptocurrency billionaires should not be granted bailout authority.

Global asset manager ProShares has listed a dedicated money market ETF, IQMM, for U.S. stablecoin issuers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), The Block reported. The ETF is the first financial product designed to meet the reserve requirements of the U.S. stablecoin regulation known as the GENIUS Act, which took effect last July.