Bitcoin ETF Outflows Persist as Altcoins Diverge; Major EVM Upgrade Today

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

US CPI and labor data revisions have eased inflation expectations, supporting a Bitcoin rebound. However, persistent core inflation and five weeks of Bitcoin ETF outflows reflect ongoing risk aversion and volatility. Regulatory focus intensifies as the US CLARITY Act nears a March 1 deadline, potentially reshaping stablecoin and digital asset oversight.

Crypto Market

The crypto market remains mixed, with BTC at $67,610 (-1.28%) and ETH at $1,950.9 (-1.97%) as ETF outflows and risk-off sentiment weigh on majors. Altcoins diverged: PIPPIN surged 23.6%, DCR rose 12.8%, and KITE gained 10.9% on strong volume and sector rotation, while ARB and FET fell over 6% amid broad DeFi weakness.

Today's Outlook

Key events today include a major EVM mainnet upgrade enhancing RWA integration, a Plasma token unlock of 4.15% supply, and a pivotal analyst call on market structure and derivatives. These developments may drive volatility and sector rotation across DEFI and infrastructure tokens.

Fear and Greed Index

62.00% Annual Percentile

14 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$2.31T

1.13%

Total Market Trading Volume

$50.72B

40.21%

Altcoin Season Index

41.67%

Quarterly Percentile

32 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.14B

0.28%

Futures

359.51B

3.35%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

US CPI cooled and 862,000 jobs were revised out of last year's data, easing inflation expectations and supporting a 5% Bitcoin price rebound as macro data drives crypto market sentiment.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a fifth consecutive week of net outflows totaling $316 million, reflecting weaker institutional demand and contributing to increased volatility and risk aversion in crypto markets.

Global headline CPI inflation in OECD countries moderated to 3.9% in November 2025, but core inflation remains sticky, sustaining uncertainty for risk assets and limiting bullish momentum in DeFi and crypto.

Recent labor market revisions and softer CPI have shifted market focus to Federal Reserve rate expectations, with real yields now acting as a key driver for Bitcoin and digital asset valuations.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The US SEC has updated its broker-dealer capital rules, now allowing eligible stablecoins to be included in regulatory capital with only a 2% haircut, significantly improving capital efficiency and supporting broader institutional adoption of stablecoins.

The White House has set a March 1 deadline for finalizing the CLARITY Act, with negotiations focusing on banning yield for idle stablecoin balances; this could reshape US crypto regulation and impact stablecoin market structures.

Société Générale launched its euro stablecoin, EUR CoinVertible, on the XRP Ledger on February 18, 2026, marking a major step in institutional blockchain adoption and signaling regulatory confidence in compliant stablecoin issuance.

Tether has ceased issuing its offshore Chinese yuan-backed stablecoin CNH₮ due to low demand, reflecting ongoing regulatory and market pressures on non-USD stablecoins and impacting stablecoin diversity in the global market.

USDKG has introduced a gold-backed stablecoin, Gold Dollar, with full sovereign oversight, aiming to enhance transparency and trust in stablecoin collateralization, which may boost institutional confidence in digital assets.

Pippin (PIPPIN): PIPPIN surged 22% in 24h, driven by strong spot buying, $201M net buy volume, and $15.7M shorts liquidated, with buyers dominating and RSI at 71.

Decred (DCR): DCR rose 12% in 24h, breaking out of a multi-week range with high-volume buying despite market turmoil, attracting investors as BTC declined.

KITE (KITE): KITE gained 11% in 24h, fueled by a 177% spike in daily trading volume, aggressive long positioning, and record 1.01M daily AI agent interactions, leading the AI agent sector.

Smart Money Movements

Grayscale Investments increased Cardano's allocation in its Smart Contract Fund to 20.12%, making ADA the fund's third-largest holding after Solana and Ethereum, reflecting sustained institutional interest despite ADA's price at $0.28.

Bitdeer liquidated its entire Bitcoin holdings, selling all 189.8 BTC mined last week and reducing its reserves by 943.1 BTC, resulting in zero BTC held as of February 20, 2026.

A whale withdrew 50,000 SOL, valued at approximately $4.25 million, from Binance and Bybit for staking after five months of inactivity, signaling renewed confidence in Solana's network.

A whale reopened a long position on Bitcoin, acquiring 58.12 BTC with 3x leverage at an average price of $67,908, following a previous profitable trade that netted around $1 million in daily profit.

HTX transferred 700,000,001 USDT, worth about $700 million, to the Aave DeFi platform, highlighting significant liquidity management activity within the stablecoin and DeFi ecosystem.

Events to Watch

Feb 23 (Mon)

KuCoin will conduct QR Ph Payment system maintenance from 00:00-01:00 (UTC+8); China to announce February 1-year and 5-year Loan Prime Rates (LPR).

Feb 25 (Wed)

VENOM and Humanity tokens will unlock; Korea announces February rate decision; Australia releases CPI data.

Feb 27 (Fri)

US, Switzerland, Canada Q4 GDP releases; US January PPI; Germany February flash CPI and HICP data.

Feb 28 (Sat)

Jupiter and Grass tokens scheduled for unlock, potentially impacting market liquidity.

Table of Contents