Day: February 17, 2026

Peter Schiff: Gold and silver prices will continue to rise, central banks are increasing gold purchases, and investors are shifting from bonds to hard assets

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Gold and precious metals have validated long-term investment strategies as their prices rise. Precious metals mining stocks are currently undervalued despite recent gains in their profits. Gold and silver prices are expected to continue rising, not reverting to previous lower levels. Key Takeaways Gold and precious metals have validated long-term investment strategies as their prices rise. Precious metals mining stocks are currently undervalued despite recent gains in their profits. Gold and silver prices are expected to continue rising, not reverting to previous lower levels. Inflationary monetary policies are prompting a…

CFTC files brief to defend exclusive authority over US prediction markets

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency responsible for overseeing derivatives, has filed an amicus brief asserting its exclusive federal oversight of prediction markets in response to state lawsuits, said Chair Michael Selig in a video message released Tuesday. I have some big news to announce… pic.twitter.com/3OBNTaOnIL — Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) February 17, 2026 According to Selig, Congress gave the CFTC broad power over commodity-based contracts, such as prediction markets, and this authority should not be challenged by states or other regulators. “Thanks to POTUS, we’ve reversed course on…

CFTC Chair Doubles Down on Defending Prediction Markets

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Michael Selig, who chairs the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission under President Donald Trump, announced the agency would be responding to what he called an “onslaught of state-led litigation” against prediction market platforms. In a video posted to X on Tuesday, Selig said that the CFTC had filed an amicus brief — also known as a “friend of the court” brief — to “defend its exclusive jurisdiction” in regulating prediction markets, which he equated to derivative markets. The chair warned that any state-level entities challenging the CFTC’s authority over such…

Anthropic launches Claude Sonnet 4.6 with 1M token context window

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Anthropic has released Claude Sonnet 4.6, describing it as the most capable Sonnet model to date, with major upgrades across coding, long context reasoning, agent planning, computer use, and design. The model introduces a 1 million token context window in beta, enabling users to process entire codebases, lengthy contracts, or large research archives in a single prompt. Pricing remains unchanged from Sonnet 4.5 at $3 input and $15 output per million tokens, and Sonnet 4.6 is now the default model on Free and Pro tiers. Anthropic says performance that previously…

Dragonfly Raises $650M Fund as Crypto VC Landscape Evolves

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Crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital has closed its fourth fund, raising $650 million to invest in what it sees as the next phase of blockchain companies.  The new vehicle is Dragonfly’s fourth fund, according to an X post by fund general partner Rob Hadick. Fortune reported that rather than chasing consumer apps, the firm hinted that it is targeting more traditional financial products built on blockchain rails, including credit card-like services and money market-style funds, as well as tokens tied to real-world assets such as stocks and private credit.…

Nakamoto to Buy BTC Inc, UTXO in $107M Stock Deal

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Nakamoto, the Bitcoin treasury company formerly known as KindlyMD, has signed definitive agreements to acquire BTC Inc and UTXO Management GP, advancing its plan to build a Bitcoin-native operating company. The transaction will be financed entirely with Nakamoto’s common stock under a previously disclosed call option contained in a Marketing Services Agreement (MSA) with BTC Inc. The MSA granted Nakamoto the right to acquire BTC Inc, which in turn held a call option to acquire UTXO, the company disclosed Tuesday.  Under the terms, BTC Inc and UTXO holders will receive…

Strategy and Bitmine Expand BTC, ETH Holdings Amid Market Slump

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The two largest publicly traded crypto treasury companies expanded their digital asset holdings this week, with Strategy adding 2,486 Bitcoin and Bitmine Immersion Technologies buying 45,759 Ether, deploying about $260 million combined. Strategy said it spent $168.4 million on Bitcoin (BTC) purchases Feb. 9-16, bringing total holdings to 717,131 BTC. The acquisitions were funded through share sales under its at-the-market program, including 785,354 shares of STRC preferred stock for $78.4 million in net proceeds and 660,000 shares of Class A common stock for $90.5 million. Source: Strategy As of Monday,…

Bitcoin Falls Under $70K As US VIX Index Signals Risk-off Conditions

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Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to compress under $70,000 on Tuesday, and data suggests that the risk of new year-to-date lows remains a risk if bulls fail to turn the level into support. The whipsaw nature of Bitcoin’s price surged as US market volatility climbed back above a critical level, and Treasury yields saw their sharpest weekly drop in months. Analysts suggest this macro backdrop may hint at an extended slowdown phase for BTC price, while onchain data shows traders still waiting for a stronger bullish catalyst. Key takeaways: The CBOE…

Michael Selig: Prediction markets are reshaping pop culture engagement, the CFTC’s pivotal role in regulation, and insider trading complexities in commodities

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Prediction markets are increasingly integral to pop culture and consumer engagement. The regulatory landscape for prediction markets is expected to become more liberal. Unresolved issues in prediction markets include ambiguous outcomes and insider trading concerns. Key Takeaways Prediction markets are increasingly integral to pop culture and consumer engagement. The regulatory landscape for prediction markets is expected to become more liberal. Unresolved issues in prediction markets include ambiguous outcomes and insider trading concerns. The CFTC is at a pivotal moment to shape the future of emerging markets like prediction markets and…

Bitcoin Grabs Bid Liquidity Below $67,000 As Iran Tensions Flare

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Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $67,000 at Tuesday’s Wall Street open as risk assets responded to new geopolitical pressures. Key points: Bitcoin joins stocks in a geopolitics-driven sell-off to the start the US TradFi trading week. Bid liquidity gets crunched with the BTC price range still firmly in place. Strategy adding to its BTC stack failed to offer any relief for Bitcoin bulls. Tension in Iran keeps Bitcoin under pressure Data from TradingView showed daily BTC price losses of more than 3.8% on Bitstamp. BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView Bitcoin and…