News Highlights from February 15th to 23rd:

Trump: Global tariffs to be raised from 10% to 15%
Product Manager X: We will use all available tools to combat bots and undisclosed AI accounts to ensure the authenticity of "Global Square".
The Pentagon has threatened to punish artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
Wu Jihan responds to Bitdeer's liquidation of Bitcoin: This does not mean he will not hold Bitcoin in the future.
WLFI claims USD1 was the target of a coordinated attack; hackers breached Lianchuang's account and attempted to short it, but failed.
Strategy currently has a paper loss of $7.059 billion, while Bitmine has a paper loss of $8.208 billion.
Brother Machi has placed 25 limit sell orders for Ethereum in the $1965-$2050 range and added to his long positions.
Tom Lee: Crypto bear market may end by April at the latest.

AI/Macro

Product Manager X: We will use all available tools to combat bots and undisclosed AI accounts to ensure the authenticity of "Global Square".

PANews reported on February 23 that Nikita Bier, product manager at social platform X and a consultant for Solana, stated that the platform will utilize "all available tools and strategies" to combat bot accounts and undisclosed AI-generated content accounts in the AI era. She pointed out that users come to X to "feel a pulse on humanity," therefore the platform must do its utmost to prevent any distortion or alteration of this authentic expression. She also emphasized that "nothing is more disturbing than thinking you're reading human text, only to discover it's machine-generated content, or an account controlled by an undisclosed commercial or government entity." In the AI era, X's product design, policies, and overall strategy need to evolve meaningfully.

Trump: Global tariffs to be raised from 10% to 15%

PANews reported on February 22 that Trump posted on social media, stating that based on a full, detailed, and complete review of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs on February 20, he hereby declares that, as President of the United States, he will immediately raise the 10% global tariffs imposed on many countries to a fully legal and legally tested 15%. Many of these countries have been "exploiting" the United States for decades without any punishment (until I took office!). In the coming months, the Trump administration will identify and enact new legal tariffs, which will continue the extraordinary process of making America great again.

OpenAI: Revenue is expected to exceed $280 billion by 2030

PANews reported on February 21st that, according to a source familiar with the matter, OpenAI expects its revenue to grow rapidly in the coming years, exceeding $280 billion by 2030. This revenue forecast reflects OpenAI's strong growth momentum in selling AI software subscription services to consumers and enterprises. OpenAI has also recently begun testing advertising services with a select group of users, creating a new potential revenue stream for the company. Furthermore, OpenAI plans to keep its total computing power expenditure to approximately $600 billion by 2030, while simultaneously paving the way for an IPO with a potential valuation of up to $1 trillion.

Anthropic expects to pay at least $80 billion over three years to Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to run Claude AI on cloud servers.

PANews reported on February 18th that, according to The Information, AI giant Anthropic recently made its most optimistic prediction, expecting to pay at least $80 billion to Amazon, Google, and Microsoft by 2029 to run its Claude AI system on their cloud servers. However, this isn't the only way these tech giants profit from Anthropic: they also receive a share of the revenue generated if their customers purchase Anthropic's AI products, and this revenue stream is growing rapidly. According to Anthropic's own data, the company paid only about $1.3 million in AI sales royalties to cloud service providers in 2024.

Three executives from cryptocurrency exchange Gemini resigned several months after its IPO.

PANews reported on February 17th that cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Space Station Inc. announced on Tuesday that its Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Legal Officer will be leaving the company immediately. Notably, Marshall Beard, who also serves on Gemini's board of directors, has also resigned. The company stated that his departure was not due to any disagreements with the company.

The Pentagon has threatened to punish artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

PANews reported on February 16th that, according to Jinshi, a senior Pentagon official stated that US Defense Secretary Hergsays is "about to" sever commercial ties with Anthropic and designate the artificial intelligence company as a "supply chain risk," meaning anyone wanting to do business with the US military must cut ties with the company. Anthropic's Claude is currently the only available AI model in the US military's classified systems and is a world leader in many commercial applications. Pentagon officials have highly praised Claude's capabilities. However, the Pentagon accuses Anthropic of imposing harsh restrictions on how the US Department of Defense uses its tools, including wanting to ensure that its tools are not used for mass surveillance of Americans or for developing weapons that can be launched without human intervention.

Charles Schwab is hiring a product manager for stablecoin-related businesses.

PANews reported on February 16 that, according to job postings on Charles Schwab's official website, the company is recruiting product managers (senior managers) for digital assets and stablecoin-related businesses. It is understood that its digital asset business unit is building crypto products for retail clients, covering account opening, fund transfers, crypto trading, and on-chain transfers.

Short positions in the US dollar have reached their highest level since January 2012.

PANews reported on February 16th that, according to Bank of America's latest foreign exchange and interest rate sentiment survey, market sentiment towards the US dollar in February was at its most negative level in 14 years. Currently, short positions in the US dollar have reached their highest level since January 2012.

Opinion

Wu Jihan responds to Bitdeer's liquidation of Bitcoin: This does not mean he will not hold Bitcoin in the future.

PANews reported on February 22 that in response to news of Bitdeer liquidating its Bitcoin holdings, its Chairman and CEO, Jihan Wu, stated that holding zero Bitcoin now does not mean it will remain so in the future. Previously, Bitdeer's latest BTC holding data showed that its total Bitcoin holdings had dropped to zero, and all mining output from this week had been sold.

Analysis: BTC has fallen below key on-chain valuation levels and liquidity is tight; the next support level may be around $54,900.

PANews reported on February 21st that, according to The Block, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode analyzed that Bitcoin has fallen below the "True Market Mean," a historical indicator that typically serves as a dividing line between expansion and contraction cycles. The current structural support level may be around $54,900. Furthermore, net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs have resumed to continuous outflows, weakening the previous support level as a source of marginal demand. In the derivatives market, panic has subsided somewhat, but optimism has not yet emerged. Implied volatility has fallen from its highs, indicating that traders are unwinding downside protection positions but have not yet established large-scale long exposure.

Wintermute founder: The crypto industry has deviated from its cypherpunk roots; Ethereum ecosystem TVL is mostly "dormant capital."

PANews reported on February 21 that Evgeny Gaevoy, founder of crypto market maker Wintermute, recently stated on Fortune magazine's Crypto Playbook podcast that despite the industry's positive developments, such as pro-blockchain government and Wall Street adoption, the crypto industry is gradually being dominated by a "number go up" mentality, deviating from its original cypherpunk ideals. Bitcoin was originally designed to build a decentralized monetary system free from government and bank control, but the current development direction of the industry revolves more around financialization and speculation. The crypto industry should return to the cypherpunk spirit in the future, rather than fully integrating into Wall Street.

UniCredit: BTC recovery needs support from market sentiment and ETF inflows; a drop below $50,000 may face a structural shift.

PANews reported on February 21 that Thomas Strobel, a strategist at UniCredit, stated that the recent decline in Bitcoin primarily reflects weak market sentiment and macroeconomic pressures. While easing US regulatory uncertainty has somewhat reduced policy risks, the bank maintains a neutral stance, estimating Bitcoin's fair value at approximately $75,000. A price drop of about 35% from that level, especially if it remains below $50,000, could signal a deeper structural shift. A recovery in Bitcoin's price would depend on improved sentiment, a rebound in ETF inflows, and an overall improvement in liquidity.

Deutsche Bank: When gold prices reach $5,790/ounce, central bank gold reserves will exceed dollar reserves.

PANews reported on February 20th that a financial magazine published an article titled "When Will Central Banks Stop Hoarding Gold?", pointing out that while the Federal Reserve is committed to maintaining stable interest rates, the Trump administration is pushing for rate cuts, making the global interest rate and inflation situation uncertain. The latest data from the World Gold Council shows that central banks' total foreign exchange reserves are approximately $13 trillion, and their official gold holdings are 36,000 tons. At the current gold price of $5,500 per ounce, the value of central bank gold holdings is approximately $6.37 trillion. According to research by Deutsche Bank, when the gold price reaches $5,790 per ounce, central bank gold reserves will exceed their dollar reserves, at which point gold will become the world's "primary" reserve asset.

K33: Bitcoin has entered the "late stage of a bear market," and market signals are similar to the 2022 bottom.

PANews reported on February 18th that, according to The Block, research and brokerage firm K33 stated that the current Bitcoin market structure, derivatives positions, and ETF fund flows are highly similar to the late stages of the 2022 bear market, suggesting a potential long-term consolidation rather than a rapid rebound. Vetle Lunde, Head of Research at K33, stated that their proprietary indicators show a “striking similarity” to September and November 2022 (near the bottom of the bear market). However, historical experience shows that market bottoms are often followed by prolonged consolidation, with an average 90-day return of only about 3% in similar environments. Data shows that Bitcoin has fallen nearly 28% since January, funding rates have been negative for 11 consecutive days, open interest has fallen below 260,000 BTC, and long positions are being liquidated. Spot trading volume has decreased by 59% week-on-week, and futures open interest has fallen to a four-month low.

The founder of a well-known "Black Swan Fund" warns: The S&P 500 may plummet after reaching 8,000 points.

PANews reported on February 18th that Mark Spitznagel, founder and chief investment officer of the "Black Swan Fund" Universa Investments, stated that the multi-year upward trend in US stocks is far from over—at least for now. In a recent letter to investors, Spitznagel wrote that the market will continue to be in the "Goldilocks zone" over the next year—inflation and interest rates are declining, the economy is slowing but not excessively, market sentiment is turning euphoric—and the stock market will continue to climb and end with a surge. However, he added that "the biggest bubble in human history" is now in its final stages. Spitznagel's hedge fund has been operating for nearly two decades, focusing on tail risk hedging, that is, protecting investors' portfolios from the impact of the next major crash.

Tom Lee: Crypto bear market may end by April at the latest.

PANews reported on February 15th, citing Hokanews, that Fundstrat co-founder and BitMine chairman Tom Lee stated that the prolonged downturn in digital assets may be nearing its end. The crypto bear market has either ended or will officially bottom out by April at the latest, with the market possibly needing one more dip to confirm the bottom. Lee's outlook suggests that the current cycle may be following a similar historical pattern, in which the capitulation phase is typically marked by a final wave of selling, followed by market stabilization.

Galaxy Digital executive: The crypto market will not see a V-shaped recovery; it will experience a period of fluctuation before gradually rising.

PANews reported on February 15th, citing Coindesk, that Steve Kurz, Global Head of Asset Management and Co-Head of Digital Assets at Galaxy Digital, believes the recent cryptocurrency decline was driven by liquidity and leverage releases rather than a systemic failure. This signifies a more mature cryptocurrency cycle than in 2022, with most of the forced sell-off likely already absorbed by the market. Stablecoins, tokenization, and the integration of blockchain with traditional finance are accelerating, making cryptocurrencies both a financial asset and a core part of the financial system. Kurz predicts that cryptocurrencies will not experience a V-shaped recovery but rather a period of range-bound trading, followed by a gradual price increase as institutional capital inflows and the continued integration of cryptocurrencies with traditional finance progress.

Project Updates

WLFI claims USD1 was the target of a coordinated attack; hackers breached Lianchuang's account and attempted to short it, but failed.

PANews reported on February 23 that WLFI stated on its X platform that USD1 suffered an organized attack this morning. The attackers allegedly compromised the accounts of several WLFI co-founders, paid influencers to spread fear-mongering (FUD) information, and massively shorted $WLFI, attempting to profit from artificially created market chaos. WLFI stated that the operation failed. Thanks to USD1's robust minting and redemption mechanism and 100% 1:1 asset backing, USD1 is currently trading stably near its face value. The team emphasized that no malicious actors can shake its long-term commitment to USD1. WLFI also reminded users to obtain accurate information only through officially verified channels and to be wary of misleading content.

AI trading bot Lobstar Wilde may have "gifted" $250,000 worth of all its Meme coins due to an API error.

PANWS reported on February 23 that " Lobstar Wilde," an AI trading bot developed by OpenAI employee Nik Pash, mistakenly transferred all of its Memecoin tokens, worth $250,000, to a user requesting 4 SOL. Due to liquidity issues, the recipient only managed to sell the tokens for approximately $40,000. The incident may have been caused by the bot misunderstanding API data.

Base announced it would abandon the OP Stack, causing OP to drop by over 20%, hitting a record low.

PANews reported on February 19 that the OP token plummeted by more than 20% after Base announced it would abandon the OP Stack and transition to its own "unified stack." Base's decision removed a key catalyst from the Optimism ecosystem, exacerbating the downward trend of OP.

Ethereum Foundation releases 2026 protocol priority update: Glamsterdam upgrade planned for the first half of the year.

PANews reported on February 19th that the Ethereum Foundation released its 2026 protocol priority update, outlining three tracks for future development: scaling (integrating L1 execution and Blob scaling), improving user experience (focusing on native account abstraction and cross-chain interoperability), and strengthening the L1 layer (enhancing security, censorship resistance, and network resilience). Furthermore, the Ethereum Foundation stated it will continue to push for a Gas Limit increase to 100M and above, advance ePBS and further adjust Blob parameters, advance the zkEVM attester client, and work on censorship resistance and post-quantum security. The next major upgrade to Glamsterdam is targeted for the first half of 2026, with Hegotá planning to follow up later this year.

Strategy's Bitcoin holding cost has fallen for the first time in nearly two and a half years.

PANews reported on February 18th that, according to Arkham monitoring, Strategy recently increased its Bitcoin holdings by $168.4 million, reducing MSTR's average holding cost by $29 to $76,027. The last time the average cost decreased was on September 25, 2023, nearly two and a half years ago.

data

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $316 million last week, marking the fifth consecutive week of net outflows.

PANews reported on February 23 that , according to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $316 million last week (February 16 to February 20, Eastern Time). As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs was $85.31 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market capitalization as a percentage of Bitcoin's total market capitalization) of 6.30%. Historically, the cumulative net inflow has reached $54.01 billion.

The Fear & Greed Index dropped to 5 again today, indicating that the index has been in a state of extreme fear throughout February.

PANews reported on February 23 that , according to data from Alternative.me, the cryptocurrency fear and greed index fell to 5 again today, following its drop on February 12, a further decline from yesterday's 9, indicating that market sentiment remains in a state of "extreme fear." Currently, the index has remained in the extreme fear range throughout February.

A user was banned after mentioning "Bitcoin" on OpenClaw Discord. The founder stated: Mentioning cryptocurrencies is prohibited.

On February 22 , PANWS reported that Peter Steinberger, founder of OpenClaw, responded on social media to an incident where a user was banned for mentioning "Bitcoin" on the OpenClaw Discord server. He stated that the server has strict rules, which users agree to upon entering the server, explicitly prohibiting any content related to cryptocurrency.

The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index has been in negative territory for 33 consecutive days, marking its longest losing streak since May 2023.

PANews reported on February 17th that, according to Coinglass data, the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index has been in negative territory for 33 consecutive days, currently at -0.0477%, marking the longest consecutive negative period since May 2023. This surpasses the approximately 30 consecutive days of negative premiums during the "10/11 crash." The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index measures the difference between the price of Bitcoin on Coinbase (a major US trading platform) and the average price in the global market. A negative premium typically reflects significant selling pressure in the US market, decreased investor risk appetite, increased market risk aversion, or capital outflows.

Institutional/KOL holdings

Strategy currently has a paper loss of $7.059 billion, while Bitmine has a paper loss of $8.208 billion.

PANews reported on February 23 that, according to on-chain analyst Ember, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR) purchased 592 BTC ($39.8 million) last week at approximately $67,286. They now hold a total of 717,722 BTC ($47.501 billion), with an average cost of $76,020, resulting in a paper loss of $7.059 billion. Ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) purchased 51,162 ETH ($99.4 million) last week at approximately $1,943. They now hold a total of 4,422,659 ETH ($8.504 billion), with an average cost of $3,779, resulting in a paper loss of $8.208 billion.

Continue Capital deposited 812,000 HYPE tokens into Bybit, worth $22.2 million.

PANews reported on February 23 that, according to on-chain data monitoring, Continue Capital deposited 812,000 HYPE tokens, worth $22.2 million, into Bybit 10 minutes ago.

Brother Machi has placed 25 limit sell orders for Ethereum in the $1965-$2050 range and added to his long positions.

PANews reported on February 23 that, according to on-chain data monitoring, Huang Licheng (aka "Machi Dage") recently added a small amount to his 25x leveraged long position in Ethereum, currently holding approximately 3,325 ETH with a floating profit of about $100,000 and a liquidation price of approximately $1,879. In addition, Huang also placed 25 limit sell orders in the $1,965 to $2,050 range, selling a total of 950 ETH.

Arthur Hayes shared his personal investment portfolio, which includes crypto assets such as ZEC and HYPE.

PANews reported on February 23 that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes shared his current investment portfolio on social media, which includes stocks (gold, silver, copper, uranium miners, oil giants, "war merchants", Latin American energy companies), crypto assets (BTC, ETH, ZEC, HYPE) and physical gold.

Bitdeer liquidated its Bitcoin holdings, selling off all mining output this week.

According to official news released by Bitdeer (BTDR) on February 22 , its total Bitcoin holdings (purely its own holdings, excluding customer deposits) have dropped to 0 as of February 20. This week, its Bitcoin mining output was 189.8 BTC, and it sold 189.8 BTC during the same period, resulting in a net outflow of 943.1 BTC for the week.

A newly created wallet spent 840 BNB to purchase 4 tokens 8 hours ago

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