Day: February 19, 2026

Blockchain Data May Predict Drug Overdose Surges, Chainalysis Says

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Blockchain transaction data tied to cryptocurrency payments may provide an early signal of emerging drug crises, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The study, which examined illicit market activity across darknet drug and fraud ecosystems, found that crypto flows connected to darknet markets reached nearly $2.6 billion in 2025, showing that online drug markets continue to operate at scale despite repeated law-enforcement takedowns. Vendors typically receive payments from personal wallets and centralized exchanges. Beyond measuring criminal activity, Chainalysis argued that the data can track real-world health…

Polymarket’s Lawsuit Could Decide Who Regulates US Prediction Markets

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Key takeaways Polymarket’s federal lawsuit against Massachusetts could determine whether prediction markets are regulated solely by the CFTC or also by states. The dispute centers on whether event contracts qualify as financial derivatives under the Commodity Exchange Act or as gambling under state laws. The lawsuit followed state-level actions against platforms like Kalshi, with Massachusetts and Nevada moving to restrict sports-related prediction contracts. A ruling in favor of Polymarket could establish uniform national oversight and prevent a patchwork of differing state regulations. Prediction markets are platforms where people trade contracts…

Morgan Stanley, Top Bitmine Shareholders Increased BMNR Holdings in Q4

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The largest shareholders of Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) stock increased their investments in the leading Ethereum treasury company in the fourth quarter of 2025 despite a wider crypto market crash and poor stock price performance. Morgan Stanley, the top reported holder, increased its position by about 26% to more than 12.1 million shares, valued at $331 million at quarter end, according to its Form 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. ARK Investment Management, the second-largest holder, increased its stake by about 27% to more than 9.4 million…

Robinhood Chain Testnet Hits 4M Transactions in First Week, Tenev Says

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Robinhood’s Ethereum layer-2 network processed four million transactions in its first week of public testnet activity, according to CEO Vlad Tenev. In a Thursday post on X, Tenev said developers have begun experimenting with applications on the L2 network, which was built for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and blockchain-based financial services. “The next chapter of finance runs onchain,” he wrote. The trading platform launched the Robinhood Chain testnet last week as an Ethereum layer 2 built using Arbitrum technology. The launch followed roughly six months of private testing and is…

South Korean Authorities Recover 320 Bitcoin Lost in 2025 Investigation

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South Korean prosecutors say they have recovered more than 320 Bitcoin that disappeared from government custody in 2025 after the cryptocurrency was returned to an official wallet this week, local media reported. The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office said it unexpectedly recovered 320.88 Bitcoin (BTC) on Tuesday, worth about $21.3 million at the time of writing, local media outlet The Chosun Daily reported Thursday. Prosecutors confirmed to the outlet that the unknown hacker returned the stolen Bitcoin to the authorities’ cryptocurrency wallet on Tuesday, which was later transferred to a secure…

Ledn’s $188M Bitcoin-Backed ABS Deal Enters US Bond Market

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Bitcoin-backed loan platform Ledn sold about $188 million of bonds tied to Bitcoin‑collateralized consumer loans into the mainstream asset‑backed securities (ABS) market, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.  In a first-of-its-kind deal, one of the two tranches — the investment‑grade portion — was reportedly priced at a spread of about 335 basis points over a benchmark rate, implying that investors are demanding 3.35 percentage points in extra yield to hold crypto‑linked credit risk rather than conventional consumer ABS. The deal is structured through Ledn Issuer Trust…

Bitcoin ETFs Extend Losses as Solana Funds Keep Ground

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US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to bleed on Wednesday as market sentiment remained negative and BTC briefly dipped below $66,000. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $133.3 million in net outflows on Wednesday, bringing weekly losses to $238 million, according to SoSoValue data. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led outflows, with over $84 million exiting the fund. Trading volumes remained subdued, falling below $3 billion, highlighting the persistent lack of activity even as analysts previously noted potential inflection points amid the slowdown in outflows. Weekly flows in US spot Bitcoin…

Crypto, TradFi Execs Mingle At Trump Crypto Event

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Trump family-owned Mar-a-Lago was home to traditional finance giants, US government officials and crypto executives in a crypto forum on Wednesday, hosted by the family’s sprawling crypto company. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who Donald Trump pardoned last year, were at the exclusive World Liberty Forum event alongside Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and the heads of the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange. The event saw traditional finance executives and US regulators embrace crypto, with Solomon, a long-time crypto skeptic, saying on stage that he…

Why Address Poisoning Works Without Stealing Private Keys

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Key takeaways Address poisoning exploits behavior, not private keys. Attackers manipulate transaction history and rely on users mistakenly copying a malicious lookalike address. Cases such as the 50-million-USDT loss in 2025 and the 3.5 wBTC drain in February 2026 demonstrate how simple interface deception can lead to massive financial damage. Copy buttons, visible transaction history and unfiltered dust transfers make poisoned addresses appear trustworthy within wallet interfaces. Because blockchains are permissionless, anyone can send tokens to any address. Wallets typically display all transactions, including spam, which attackers use to plant…

Ethereum Foundation Outlines Main Priorities For 2026

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The Ethereum Foundation has announced it is targeting faster transactions, smarter wallets, better cross-chain transactions and quantum security measures as its “protocol priorities” in 2026. In a statement published on Wednesday, the Ethereum Foundation outlined several goals, including continuing to scale the gas limit — the maximum amount of computational work a block can handle — “toward and beyond” 100 million, which has been a major topic of discussion among the Ethereum community in 2025.  Source: Ethereum Foundation Some Ethereum community members anticipate that the gas limit will increase significantly…