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South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced it will list Ethergas (GWEI) on its KRW market at 5:00 a.m. UTC on Feb. 26.

Centrifuge (CFG) has surged sharply ahead of its listing on South Korean exchange Upbit, scheduled for 5:00 a.m. UTC today. On OKX, which accounts for the largest share of its trading volume, CFG is currently trading at $0.252, up 187.11%.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has sold more ETH than the amount he previously announced he would sell to support the ecosystem, Onchain Lens reported. While the planned sale announced late last month was for 16,384 ETH, the cumulative amount sold has now reached 16,420 ETH, valued at $32.84 million. The average selling price was $2,000.

OKX has announced that it will list perpetual futures for the stocks of Intel (INTC), Palantir (PLTR), Amazon (AMZN), Coinbase (COIN), and Circle (CRCL) at 7:00 a.m. UTC today. The new listings will support up to 5x leverage.

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit announced it will list Centrifuge (CFG) for trading against the Korean won (KRW), BTC, and USDT at 5:00 a.m. UTC on Feb. 26.

South Korea's National Tax Service has begun developing a new IT system to analyze virtual asset transactions ahead of the planned introduction of individual taxation next January, The Herald Business reported. The agency posted preliminary specifications for its "Virtual Asset Integrated Analysis System" project on the Public Procurement Service on Feb. 20. The project's scope includes: - Establishing an integrated management system for virtual asset information - Creating a framework for analyzing transaction data - Implementing a user-centric system - Ensuring a stable operational foundation System design and development are set to begin in April, with a target launch in November following a testing and pilot phase. Starting next year, the tax service plans to impose an "other income" tax of 20% (22% including local taxes) on gains from the sale or lending of virtual assets.

South Korea's Tax Tribunal has ruled that virtual assets received for participating in a blockchain project constitute earned income and are subject to taxation, Digital Asset exclusively reported. The decision stems from a 2021 case where the National Tax Service (NTS) imposed earned income tax on a corporation that had paid its executives with a self-developed virtual asset. The NTS argued the company failed to withhold taxes or submit payment details, calculating the tax based on the asset's market value at the time of distribution. The corporation contended that the assets were not earned income, claiming they were distributed autonomously to participants according to the project's white paper and were not company-owned property. However, the NTS countered that the virtual asset was developed with corporate funds, managed as a company asset with its costs recorded as expenses, and given to executives as compensation for their services. The Tax Tribunal ultimately sided with the NTS, dismissing the corporation's appeal.

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the GENIUS Act for stablecoin regulation and is now seeking public comment. The proposal outlines regulations applicable to issuers of domestic and international payment stablecoins, as well as custody activities for institutions under the OCC's jurisdiction. However, the notice excludes provisions related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), anti-money laundering (AML), and sanctions enforced by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The public comment period will remain open for the next 60 days.

Tether's partner company, Antalpha, deposited 1,000 Tether Gold (XAUT), worth $5.16 million, to Bybit approximately 15 hours ago, Onchain Lens reported. Deposits to exchanges are typically interpreted as an intent to sell.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has released a new plan called "Strawmap," which aims to maximize Layer 1 performance through seven forks by 2029. The plan is part of a broader 10-year vision for Ethereum. According to a document shared on X by EF researcher Justin Drake, the objectives include creating a faster Layer 1, a "Gigagas" Layer 1 capable of processing 10,000 transactions per second, a "Teragas" Layer 2 for 10 million transactions, a post-quantum Layer 1 to counter threats from quantum computing, and a private Layer 1 to ensure user privacy. Drake added that the roadmap is intended for ecosystem coordination rather than as a firm prediction, noting that the timeline could be accelerated by the future adoption of AI or new verification technologies.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is discussing a new WLFI staking system through its governance process. Under the proposal, holders of unlocked WLFI would need to stake their tokens for a minimum of 180 days to participate in governance votes. Voting power would be calculated based on the amount staked and the remaining lock-up period. Active participants would receive an annual reward of 2% in WLFI, which would operate independently of protocol revenue. Additionally, nodes staking over 10 million WLFI ($1 million) would be authorized to swap WLFI's stablecoin, USD1, for USDT and USDC at a 1:1 ratio via over-the-counter (OTC) trades. Stakers with more than 50 million WLFI would receive further incentives, including priority in partnership discussions with the team. A vote on the proposal is scheduled to take place within the next seven days.

Bitcoin miner Hut 8 posted a net loss of $248 million last year, The Block reported. The result marks a shift from a net profit of $331.4 million in 2024. The company attributed the performance to impairment losses on its digital asset holdings. Hut 8 currently holds 13,696 BTC.

Wemade has released the StableNet Wallet, a test wallet that allows users to preview the ecosystem of StableNet, its dedicated mainnet for a won-denominated stablecoin, iNews24 reported. The company previously unveiled StableNet last year as a Layer 1 network for its proprietary stablecoin, StableOne.

Bitmax, a South Korean listed crypto treasury company, has effectively abandoned its bid to acquire Nasdaq-listed Solowin Holdings (AXG), Chosun Biz reported. The company had pursued the acquisition to diversify its business as it faces a substantive delisting review following the recent crypto market downturn. According to the report, the deal is now on hold due to market conditions. As of February, Bitmax holds approximately 551 BTC, with its last purchase made in August of last year.

The Bank of Korea has held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.50%. This marks the sixth consecutive time the rate has been held, following similar decisions from July to November last year and again this past January.

Although Bitcoin's rebound yesterday has sparked market optimism, an analysis suggests it is too early to call it a complete trend reversal. In a contribution to CryptoQuant, crypto analyst firm XWIN Research Japan noted that Bitcoin's open interest (OI) has significantly decreased from its previous high, falling in tandem with the price during the recent downturn. This indicates the decline was likely caused more by liquidations and the clearing of futures positions than by spot selling. "While this process can stabilize the market, it does not mean new demand has recovered," the firm stated. The analysis points out that the fund inflow ratio to Binance is still low at 0.012. While this suggests selling pressure is limited, it does not signify strong accumulation. "It is difficult to say that structural demand has recovered," the firm added. In the current low-leverage environment, a price rebound can easily trigger a short squeeze, but the resulting price increase is due to the liquidation of short positions rather than an expansion of demand. The analysis concluded that a shift to a market uptrend requires sustained capital inflows and a recovery in demand.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has sold approximately 94% of a previously announced batch of ETH, according to Onchain Lens. Since Feb. 2, Buterin has sold 15,479 ETH, worth $30.94 million, at an average price of $1,999. Late last month, he stated his intention to sell 16,384 ETH to support the Ethereum ecosystem. Onchain Lens noted that the remaining 905 ETH is expected to be sold within the next three to four hours.

Bitcoin spot trading volume has fallen to its lowest level in two years, signaling a sharp contraction in market liquidity, according to an analysis by crypto analyst Darkfost. In a contribution to CryptoQuant, he noted that February spot volumes were $75 billion on Binance, $25 billion on Gate.io, and $20 billion on Bybit. Darkfost suggested that growing uncertainty surrounding BTC appears to have significantly reduced investors' risk appetite. He explained that after a record-breaking forced liquidation event on Oct. 10 of last year, open interest plummeted and approximately $8 billion in capital evaporated from the market. Since that event, trading volume on major exchanges has been cut in half. "The current decline in volume can be interpreted as investors prioritizing capital preservation over directional trading, adopting a wait-and-see approach for a new trigger," he added.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index currently stands at 34, down one point from yesterday. The index is calculated by comparing the price performance of the top 100 coins by market capitalization—excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins—against that of Bitcoin over the last 90 days. An "altcoin season" is declared when 75% of these coins outperform Bitcoin over that period. Conversely, periods of Bitcoin dominance are referred to as a "Bitcoin season." A score closer to 100 indicates a stronger trend toward an altcoin season.

Some market-making firms, including Jane Street, are suppressing Bitcoin's price, according to an analysis by Jeff Park, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at ProCap. Writing on X, Park explained that large securities firms and investment banks, acting as Authorized Participants (APs), are leveraging an exemption from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) short sale regulation (SHO). This allows them to build short positions without buying the underlying shares and to hedge with futures instead of spot BTC. This practice, he argued, distorts the market's natural price discovery mechanism. Park asserted that this is not an issue limited to Jane Street but rather a structural flaw within the entire ETF system. He noted that even with the recent introduction of in-kind redemptions, APs continue to insist on hedging with futures. For Bitcoin to rise naturally, Park concluded, the ETF redemption mechanism and the incentive structures for APs must be re-examined. The analysis follows recent and widespread controversy across multiple online communities alleging that APs, including Jane Street, have used algorithmic selling at specific times to drive down the price of BTC.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index from data provider Alternative stands at 11 today, unchanged from yesterday, keeping the market in a state of "Extreme Fear." The index measures sentiment on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 representing extreme fear and 100 indicating extreme optimism. The score is calculated based on several factors: volatility (25%), market volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market cap dominance (10%), and Google search trends (10%).

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $68,000. BTC is trading at $67,975.07 on the Binance USDT market.

Although BTC has rebounded to around $69,000, analysis suggests a trend reversal remains uncertain. CoinDesk reported that a short squeeze, driven by fear and an accumulation of short positions after the recent drop, has lifted altcoins and related stocks. The outlet noted, however, a lack of clear fundamental catalysts. Echoing this view, LMAX Group analyst Joel Kruger described the move as a technical rebound in a thin liquidity environment. He added that the rally should be approached with caution given the lack of liquidity. Meanwhile, the market is watching whether BTC can break through resistance at $72,000 and $78,000 as a key inflection point for the trend.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) founder Marc Andreessen and head of crypto investing Chris Dixon have discussed the crypto market structure bill (CLARITY) with U.S. Republican senators, according to a post on X by Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto in America. They urged for the bill's passage and emphasized the need for the U.S. to secure leadership in the crypto sector.

Nvidia announced fourth-quarter revenue of $68.1 billion, surpassing the expected $65.9 billion. The company also reported data center revenue of $62.3 billion for the same period, exceeding the forecast of $60.36 billion.