Today's news tips:
Today's Fear and Greed Index dropped to 10, a new low since June 2024
Circle issues another 250 million USDC, Solana's total growth to $8.5 billion by 2025
MyShell (SHELL) is launched on Binance HODLer Airdrop
Coinbase Adds Cookie DAO (COOKIE) to its Listing Roadmap
Berachain Appoints Former Polygon Labs CTO Paul O'Leary as New CTO
Metaplanet will issue 2 billion yen zero-coupon ordinary bonds to purchase BTC
DTCC Lists First Solana Futures ETFs, $SOLZ and $SOLT
FBI: North Korean hacker group "TraderTraitor" stole $1.5 billion in crypto assets from Bybit
Regulatory/Macro
Metaplanet will issue 2 billion yen zero-coupon ordinary bonds to purchase BTC
Metaplanet, a Japanese listed company, announced that it has decided to issue the seventh series of ordinary bonds to EVO FUND, raising a total of 2 billion yen. The bonds will be used to purchase Bitcoin. The bonds are zero-interest bonds with a face value of 50 million yen each. They are scheduled to be redeemed in full on August 26, 2025, and bondholders are allowed to redeem them early.
Bitwise Aptos ETF is officially registered in Delaware as a statutory trust
According to Delaware company registration information, Bitwise Aptos ETF was established in Delaware on February 25, 2025. The entity type is a Statutory Trust, classified as a General Entity, and the registered agent is CSC Delaware Trust Company, with a registered address in Wilmington, DE. This registration information indicates that Bitwise may plan to launch an ETF with Aptos (APT) as the underlying asset, but it has not yet obtained regulatory approval or listing.
DTCC Lists First Solana Futures ETFs, $SOLZ and $SOLT
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has listed the first Solana futures ETFs, issued by Volatility Shares, namely: • $SOLZ (Volatility Shares Solana ETF) • $SOLT (Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF)
According to CoinDesk, the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee voted 26-16 to pass a resolution to initiate the repeal of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)'s new tax regulations on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. The resolution must be passed by a majority of the House and Senate and signed by the President before it can take effect. The IRS approved a transaction reporting system in December 2024 to incorporate DeFi protocols into the traditional broker tax framework, which was widely opposed by the crypto industry. Several institutions jointly signed an open letter calling on Congress to repeal the policy. Senator Ted Cruz has proposed a supporting resolution in the Senate. Republican lawmakers believe that the regulation exceeds legal authorization and will increase the compliance burden on U.S. taxpayers and the IRS, while Democratic lawmakers believe that it will help ensure that crypto transactions are taxed in accordance with the law. It is estimated that the repeal of the regulation will reduce tax revenue by $3.9 billion over the next decade.
Trump: Will soon announce 25% tariffs on EU
US President Trump: Tariffs on the EU will be announced soon. It may be a 25% tariff, which will apply to cars and all other items.
FBI: North Korean hacker group "TraderTraitor" stole $1.5 billion in crypto assets from Bybit
According to the FBI announcement, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that the North Korean hacker group "TraderTraitor" was responsible for the theft of $1.5 billion in crypto assets from the Bybit exchange on February 21. The FBI said that the hackers have converted some of the stolen funds into Bitcoin and stored them in multiple blockchain addresses, and it is expected that they will be exchanged for legal currency through money laundering channels in the future. The FBI urged RPC node operators, exchanges, DeFi service providers and blockchain analysis agencies to block addresses related to TraderTraitor to prevent further circulation of stolen assets. At the same time, the FBI listed multiple Ethereum addresses related to the organization and called on companies to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to jointly combat North Korean cybercrime activities.
US Treasury Secretary Hires Galaxy Digital Advisor Tyler Williams to Lead Crypto Policy
According to CoinDesk, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has appointed Galaxy Digital Regulatory Advisor Tyler Williams as his digital asset and blockchain policy advisor. Williams served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 2018 to 2020, focusing on digital asset regulation, and has worked on financial regulations in the Senate and House of Representatives. The appointment comes as the Treasury and Commerce Departments advance the creation of a sovereign wealth fund that may involve digital assets. U.S. President Trump signed an executive order earlier this month requiring the Treasury and Commerce Departments to study the establishment of digital asset reserves. Although Bitcoin has not been explicitly mentioned, the government may include it as part of the national reserve strategy.
U.S. court documents show that the SEC, Justin Sun, Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation and Rainberry jointly filed a motion with the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, requesting that the SEC's fraud lawsuit against Sun and Tron be suspended to consider "potential solutions." The document states that suspending the lawsuit is in the interests of all parties and will not cause damage to any party or the public. At the same time, it can avoid the court ruling on Tron's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and save judicial resources. If the judge approves, the case will be suspended for 60 days, during which both parties will need to submit a joint status report. The SEC sued Sun and his affiliates in 2023, accusing them of market manipulation, fraud and issuing unregistered securities. This application is similar to the SEC's handling of the Coinbase and Binance cases, and may indicate that the two parties are approaching a settlement.
MARA Holdings announces Q4 2024 financial results, with revenue increasing 37% year-on-year
Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings announced its Q4 2024 financial report. The company's revenue this quarter reached US$214.4 million, a year-on-year increase of 37%, and its full-year revenue reached US$656.4 million, a year-on-year increase of 69%. Net profit increased by 248% year-on-year to US$528.3 million, and full-year net profit increased by 107% to US$541 million. • Direct energy costs were US$28,801 per Bitcoin, and the cost per kilowatt-hour was US$0.039. • Total hash rate increased by 115% year-on-year to 53.2 EH/s. • Bitcoin holdings increased by 197% to 44,893 BTC (about US$4.6 billion), of which 10,374 BTC were loaned out or used as collateral for loans. • A total of 2,492 BTC were mined in Q4, and 15,574 BTC were purchased through zero-interest convertible senior notes. • The company did not sell any Bitcoin in Q4.
SEC closes Gemini Trust investigation, no enforcement action
SEC documents show that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its investigation into Gemini Trust Company, LLC and decided not to take enforcement action. Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss confirmed on social media that the investigation lasted 699 days and received a Wells notice 277 days ago. Winklevoss criticized the SEC's regulatory actions for causing huge losses to the crypto industry, accusing the agency of enforcing the law without establishing clear rules, causing companies to incur high legal fees and economic losses. He called on the government to carry out regulatory reforms, including requiring the SEC to compensate affected companies for three times the legal fees, dismissing relevant law enforcement personnel, and prohibiting those who abuse regulatory power from holding government positions again. Previously, the agency (SEC) had withdrawn its lawsuit against Coinbase and terminated its investigation into OpenSea, Robinhood, and Uniswap.
Financing
Phantom acquires SimpleHash to enhance wallet’s real-time token data capabilities
According to Phantom's official announcement, Phantom has acquired SimpleHash, a leading token data platform that provides real-time and comprehensive blockchain data analysis. This acquisition is Phantom's third acquisition in eight months and aims to enhance users' token data experience. SimpleHash supports more than 80 blockchains and has high concurrent processing capabilities. It will provide Phantom wallets with more accurate real-time prices, NFT metadata updates, and market activity monitoring, and strengthen junk token detection. Officials said that the integration will optimize the user experience and make wallet data faster, more accurate, and more secure. SimpleHash has notified existing customers that the current service will be gradually closed.
QuickNode Launches $65 Million Layer 2 Accelerator with Google and Coinbase Ventures Joining
According to The Block, Web3 infrastructure provider QuickNode announced the launch of the "RollOut" accelerator program with a scale of US$65 million to support the next generation of Layer 2 projects. The program will be launched in March and will provide participants with technical tools, financial support and industry resources. Partners include more than 30 institutions such as Google, Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly, Arbitrum, Chainlink, Fireblocks and Protocol Labs. RollOut lasts for eight weeks and will provide training in ecosystem construction, community development, token economics and market strategy, and provide data availability subsidies and security audit discounts for selected projects. QuickNode predicts that by 2030, the Layer 2 market size may reach US$1 trillion, and hopes to use the program to incubate high-quality projects and promote innovation in decentralized applications (dApps).
AI
Nvidia's Q4 revenue soared 78% to $39.3 billion, driven by strong demand for AI chips
Nvidia's quarterly revenue grew sharply, exceeding Wall Street expectations, as demand for its AI-specific chips surged. The company's revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 increased 78% year-on-year to $39.3 billion, higher than the market's expectation of around $38 billion. Nvidia (NVDA.O) had a net profit of $22.091 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, compared with market expectations of $19.611 billion and $12.285 billion in the same period last year. Nvidia said it expects revenue of $43 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations of about $42 billion. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the demand for Blackwell is staggering because reasoning artificial intelligence adds another law of expansion-increasing training calculations to make models smarter, and increasing long-term thinking calculations to make answers smarter. Nvidia's stock price rose by more than 3.5% after the U.S. stock market.
Project News
Cobo, a digital asset custody and wallet technology provider, announced the launch of the Safe{Wallet} co-signing service, which allows users to independently parse and risk control Safe multi-signature transactions within the custody address, further improving transaction security. This solution introduces Cobo address MPC or Web3 wallet to participate in the signature in Safe{Wallet}. As an independent third party, Cobo guarantees to use an independent signature solution with other signatories to avoid single-point risks caused by each signatory relying on a common infrastructure. At the same time, combined with Cobo's powerful risk control system, each transaction is detected for anomalies, potential unexpected behaviors are prevented in a timely manner, and transaction audits and cross-verifications are implemented through the encrypted asset security protection system Cobo Guard, effectively preventing data tampering or forgery, and ensuring the authenticity and validity of transactions.
MyShell (SHELL) is launched on Binance HODLer Airdrop
Binance announced the 10th project of its HODLer Airdrops program - MyShell (SHELL). This airdrop totals 25 million SHELL (2.5% of the total supply), and another 25 million SHELL will be airdropped 6 months later. The total issuance of SHELL is 1 billion, and the first batch of circulation is 270 million (accounting for 27%). From February 14 to 18, 2025 (UTC), users who subscribe BNB to Simple Earn or On-Chain Yields will receive airdrops, and tokens will be issued 1 hour before trading opens. Binance will launch MyShell (SHELL) at 21:00 (UTC+8) today, opening SHELL/BTC, USDT, USDC, BNB, FDUSD, and TRY trading pairs.
Coinbase Adds Cookie DAO (COOKIE) to its Listing Roadmap
Coinbase has added the Cookie DAO (COOKIE) token to its listing roadmap, according to Coinbase Assets.
Coinbase launches Morpho (MORPHO), supporting Ethereum and Base networks
Coinbase announced that it will list the Morpho (MORPHO) token and support Ethereum (ERC-20) and Base networks. Users need to ensure that they transfer funds on the correct network, otherwise they may lose funds. MORPHO deposits are now open, and trading is expected to start at 1:00 am Beijing time on February 28 (9:00 am PT on February 27), depending on liquidity conditions. The MORPHO-USD trading pair will be launched in stages, but some regions may be subject to trading restrictions.
Berachain Appoints Former Polygon Labs CTO Paul O'Leary as New CTO
The Berachain Foundation announced that Berachain has officially appointed Paul O'Leary as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). O'Leary previously served as CTO of Polygon Labs and has 20 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience in the blockchain and big data fields. O'Leary joined Berachain at the beginning of this year and has led the team to promote the launch of the mainnet. He will use his extensive experience in engineering management to promote the development of Berachain.
Ondo Finance partners with Mastercard to bring RWA to MTN
According to the Ondo Finance announcement, Mastercard has incorporated Ondo Finance into its Multi-Token Network (MTN), becoming the first real-world asset (RWA) provider on the network. Ondo's Short-Term U.S. Treasury Bond Fund (OUSG) will become the first tokenized RWA solution on MTN, enabling companies to obtain daily returns and flexible cash management services on the chain. This integration allows MTN corporate users to access OUSG directly on the public blockchain and settle through traditional banking channels without the need for additional cryptographic infrastructure. OUSG is supported by BlackRock's BUIDL Fund and institutions such as Franklin Templeton and WisdomTree, providing stability and liquidity.
Viewpoint
WOO CEO: The craze for Meme coins is coming to an end, and AI will play an important role in DeFi
In a recent interview, Jack Tan, co-founder and CEO of WOO, shared his vision for the WOO ecosystem and his outlook on the future of the crypto market. He said that WOO's goal is to become a decentralized CME, providing users with a fair and interesting trading environment. As for future development, he believes that AI will play an important role in DeFi, especially in personalized services and risk warnings. He also pointed out that the complexity of DeFi and blockchain needs to be simplified by AI, which will eventually promote the popularity of Web3. Talking about market trends, Jack Tan believes that the free market will evolve itself and value will eventually return. He is optimistic about the long-term development of value coins and believes that the craze for Meme coins is coming to an end. In addition, he is optimistic about the potential of the Asia-Pacific market and believes that if Hong Kong further relaxes its policies, it will occupy a more important position in the global crypto ecosystem. For crypto novices, he recommends gradually understanding the market through learning and practice, and believes that the entry threshold will continue to decrease in the future due to the emergence of new products.
Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said in a client report on Wednesday that in the worst case, Bitcoin could fall to the $72,000 to $74,000 range, and expected that area to become a potential rebound point. He pointed out that there is a lagging correlation between Bitcoin prices and global central bank liquidity indicators, which may have an impact on market trends. Currently, the price of Bitcoin has rebounded from its previous low of $82,000 to $86,000. Thielen found that $82,000 is a potential demand zone by analyzing the on-chain indicator "short-term holders' realized price" (that is, the average purchase price of wallets that hold coins for less than 155 days). Historical data shows that in bull markets, Bitcoin rarely stays below this indicator for a long time, while in bear markets it may continue to stay below this level. Thielen added that the consolidation pattern in the summer of 2024 showed that Bitcoin once fell below this indicator at $9,620. If a similar pattern reappears, Bitcoin may stabilize around $82,000 and usher in a stable period. The indicator is currently at $92,800, and the market will pay close attention to its support for prices.
According to the Financial Times, Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of crypto asset management company Bitwise, pointed out that the price of Ethereum has fallen by 23% in the past month, while Solana, the token that carries most of the Meme coin blockchain, has fallen by 42%. Cryptocurrencies are currently digesting the end of the Meme coin craze, and the market will continue to be dragged down before institutional interest in cryptocurrencies recovers. In addition, traders are increasingly frustrated because Trump has not implemented some of the reforms he promised during the campaign more quickly, and market sentiment has turned to disappointment due to the slower-than-expected introduction of major pro-cryptocurrency policies.
According to Dominic Williams, founder of ICP, a North Korean hacker group recently successfully stole $1.5 billion from Bybit, mainly by exploiting a web vulnerability in Safe{Wallet}, an interface that is hosted in the cloud rather than on a smart contract. Williams criticized some Web3 projects for running only on a "fake onchain," which poses a security risk, and suggested using ICP (Internet Computer) for on-chain computing, data storage, and user experience verification to improve security. He proposed that Safe{Wallet} be migrated to ICP and that it adopt an encrypted authentication mechanism and multi-party consensus governance (such as SNS DAO) to enhance security. Related reading: Is Safe Wallet Safe? A quick look at the Bybit forensic investigation report
According to Cointelegraph, the legal and consulting fees for the FTX bankruptcy case have accumulated to $950 million, making it one of the most expensive bankruptcy cases in U.S. history, second only to the Lehman Brothers case. Among them, the cost of restructuring consultant Alvarez & Marsal was close to $400 million, the cost of legal consultant Sullivan & Cromwell was over $300 million, and the cost of John Ray's consulting company was nearly $10 million. The overall legal and financial advisory fees are still growing, and it is expected that the final cost may exceed $1 billion.
Important data
32,000 ETH transferred to Binance, worth more than $75.28 million
According to Whale Alert monitoring, about 32,000 Ethereum (ETH) was transferred from an unknown wallet to Binance at 15:01, with a total transaction value of approximately US$75.287 million.
FalconX deposits 340,000 SOL worth $46.8 million to multiple CEX exchanges
According to Lookonchain monitoring, about 30 minutes ago, FalconX deposited 340,000 Solana (SOL) to Coinbase, Binance, OKX and Bybit, with a total value of approximately US$46.8 million.
According to SoSoValue data, on February 26 (EST), Bitcoin spot ETFs had a net outflow of $755 million in a single day, marking the seventh consecutive day of capital outflows. Among them, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) had a net outflow of $22.6573 million in a single day, with a historical cumulative net outflow of $22.255 billion, and Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) had a net outflow of $55.9694 million in a single day, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $1.051 billion. As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs reached $95.162 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market value) of 5.69%, and a historical cumulative net inflow of $37.123 billion.
Ethereum spot ETF outflows of $94.2662 million yesterday, with net outflows for 5 consecutive days
According to SoSoValue data, on February 26 (EST), the Ethereum spot ETF had a net outflow of $94.2662 million in a single day, and has been outflowing funds for 5 consecutive days. Among them, Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) had a net outflow of $3.3126 million in a single day, with a historical cumulative net outflow of $4.044 billion, while Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH) had a net outflow of $0 on the same day, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $605 million. As of press time, the total net asset value of the Ethereum spot ETF reached $8.556 billion, the ETF net asset ratio (market value ratio) was 3.03%, and the historical cumulative net inflow was $2.931 billion.
Safe (SAFE) has risen 32.5% in the past 24 hours and is now trading at $0.6728
Coingecko data shows that the Safe (SAFE) token has risen 32.5% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $0.6728 per coin.
A whale shorted ETH with 50x leverage on HyperLiquid, making a profit of more than $62.4 million
According to Onchain Lens, a whale shorted ETH with 50x leverage on HyperLiquid, and the current floating profit has exceeded $62.4 million. The whale not only profited from the decline in ETH prices, but also earned additional income from the funding rate, achieving two-way profits.
Circle issues another 250 million USDC, Solana's total growth to $8.5 billion by 2025
According to Onchain Lens, Circle issued an additional 250 million USDC on the Solana network 9 hours ago. So far, Circle has issued a total of 8.5 billion USDC on the Solana chain in 2025.
Today's Fear and Greed Index dropped to 10, the lowest since June 2024
According to Alternative.me data, today's cryptocurrency panic and greed index dropped to 10 (yesterday's was 21), a new low since June 2024, and the level is extreme panic. Note: The panic index threshold is 0-100, including indicators: volatility (25%) + market trading volume (25%) + social media heat (15%) + market research (15%) + Bitcoin's proportion in the entire market (10%) + Google hot word analysis (10%).
