Day: February 20, 2026

Bitcoin, Altcoin Gains Hold But Top Sellers Enforce The Range Ceiling

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Key points: Bitcoin bulls are struggling to sustain the intraday rallies, indicating that every minor rise is being sold into. Select major altcoins are showing weakness, signaling a drop to their strong support levels. Bitcoin (BTC) bulls pushed the price above $68,300 but are struggling to maintain the higher levels. BTC is likely to record its fifth consecutive red monthly candle in the absence of a major rally in the next few days. That is the longest losing streak since 2018/19 when BTC fell for six successive months. A minor…

Bitcoin Mining difficulty Jumps 15% after US Storm Disruption

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Bitcoin’s mining difficulty jumped about 15% to 144.4 trillion on Feb. 20, according to CoinWarz data, reversing an 11% drop earlier this month that marked the sharpest decline since China’s 2021 mining ban. The earlier decline followed a sharp drop in hash rate after severe winter storms swept across much of the United States, disrupting power grids and forcing miners offline. In late January, Foundry USA, the largest mining pool by hash rate, briefly saw its computing power fall to about 198 exahashes per second from nearly 400 EH/s, before…

Bitcoin whale Garrett Jin sends $761 million in BTC to Binance

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A crypto wallet tied to prominent trader Garrett Jin deposited 6,318 Bitcoin, worth roughly $425 million, to Binance in the past few minutes, continuing a series of large transfers that have drawn attention from blockchain analysts, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. Earlier today, the address sent about $336 million worth of Bitcoin to Binance. In total, 11,318 coins valued at $761 million have now been transferred to the crypto exchange. Jin, a pseudonymous trader also known as Garrett Bullish, who previously served as chief executive of the now-defunct BitForex…

Crypto Treasury Execs Say Basel Risk Weights for Crypto Need Updating

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Crypto treasury executives are calling on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), an international banking regulatory body, to revise the 1,250% risk weight for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the Basel III framework. The 1,250% capital requirement means that banks must back any Bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheets at a 1:1 ratio with approved collateral, making BTC holding more costly than other asset classes. For comparison, cash, physical gold and government debt carry a 0% risk weight under the Basel III framework. Basel III risk weights for different…

Dutch regulator orders Polymarket to halt operations or face €840,000 penalty

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The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit, has ordered Polymarket to stop offering its services in the Netherlands, concluding the platform operates unlicensed games of chance under Dutch law. In a public decision dated January 20, 2026, the authority found that Adventure One QSS Inc., identified as the operator of polymarket.com, allowed Dutch users to register, deposit funds and place wagers without holding a local gambling license nether. Regulators confirmed from a Dutch IP address that users could create accounts, deposit €10 through a Dutch bank via Mastercard and place bets on…

Bryan Pellegrino: Base’s shift signals independence from OP Stack, why fragmentation is the future of blockchain, and the rising importance of interoperability for institutions

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Base’s split from the OP Stack signals a pivotal shift in Ethereum’s layer two landscape Key takeaways Base is breaking away from the OP Stack, signaling a major shift in Ethereum’s layer two ecosystem. The move by Base reflects a reaction to being perceived as second-class citizens in the scaling roadmap. Switching chains to follow outdated trends is not a strategic move. Layer twos that don’t inherit layer one’s security may become independent blockchains. The super chain’s development is now more focused on speed and pragmatism. Fragmentation in the Ethereum…

Core Technical Contributor to Cease Involvement with Aave DAO

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BGD Labs, a core technical contributor to decentralized finance protocol Aave, said it will conclude its involvement with the project’s DAO on April 1 after four years. In a Friday forum post on Aave, BGD cited an “asymmetric organizational scenario,” which it said the DAO has “badly executed” without consideration of contributors’ expertise. The contributor added that Aave had taken an “adversarial position” of the third version (v3) of its protocol to promote features in the fourth (v4). “While all previous points that BGD should just keep contributing on the…

US Supreme Court Tariff Ruling Steals The Show As Bitcoin Sticks To $67,000

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Bitcoin (BTC) saw choppy price action after Friday’s Wall Street open as markets reacted to the US Supreme Court decision on President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Key points: The US Supreme Court rules that certain US tariffs are illegal, sparking a modest risk-asset response. US inflation data further cuts market hopes of a March interest-rate cut. Bitcoin price action stays rooted in a firm range, with consensus seeing bears “in control.” Supreme Court ruling attacks Trump tariffs Data from TradingView showed $67,000 forming a focus for BTC price action, while…

OpenAI plans AI device lineup, including speaker and smart glasses

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OpenAI is building a family of AI powered consumer devices, including a smart speaker, smart glasses and potentially other connected hardware, according to a report from The Information. The first device, a smart speaker, is designed to passively observe its surroundings and deliver context-aware responses through ChatGPT, enabling features such as automated grocery ordering based on object recognition and personalized advice drawn from real-time environmental data. The speaker is expected to launch as early as February 2027, with a projected price between $200 and $300, positioning it to compete directly…

Trump tariffs blocked by Supreme Court ruling

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The ruling nullifies Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on countries like China and a 25% tariff on certain Canadian, Chinese, and Mexican goods linked to fentanyl. The Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a rare legal defeat, ruling 6-3 that the administration exceeded its executive authority in imposing the levies. The decision, which upholds earlier lower court rulings, found that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the president authority to set tariffs on imported goods. Trump had declared a national emergency in April 2025, citing the trade deficit, seeking…