Crypto

Crypto, real estate and politics collided at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club as insiders debated tokenization and regulation.

Ledn's $188 million securitization marks the moment Bitcoin-backed consumer credit started looking like mainstream asset-backed debt. Ledn Issuer Trust 2026-1 packages 5,441 fixed-rate balloon loans into rated, tradable notes with investment-grade and subordinated tranches, custody arrangements, liquidity reserves, and all the structural scaffolding that allows institutional investors to buy Bitcoin-linked yield without ever touching spot […] The post Bitcoin-backed loans with sub-prime-style incentives, but with liquidation triggers hit Wall Street appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH), down 2.1% from Thursday, was also among the underperformers.

Some of the most prominent names in the crypto industry believe the bill will be approved soon. Meanwhile, BTC's price struggles continue.

US Federal Judge Aleta Trauger granted Kalshi a preliminary injunction against Tennessee, finding its sports event contracts fall under CFTC jurisdiction. A US federal judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its gambling laws against prediction markets operator Kalshi’s sports event contracts.  The ruling, issued by Judge Aleta Trauger of the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on Thursday, allows Kalshi to continue offering sports-related event contracts to users in the state while its lawsuit against Tennessee regulators proceeds. Trauger found that Kalshi is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that federal commodities law preempts Tennessee’s attempt to regulate its sports markets as illegal gambling.  Read more

Draft rules from the White House suggest daily fines could stack fast, signaling regulators want zero loopholes in stablecoin reward designs.

Base is taking their ball (onchain revenue) and going home (to their own chain).

Stablecoin ecosystem A7A5 has faced accusations of sanctions evasion and, according to some analysts, is creating an alternative, sanctions-free financial network. As cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly intertwined with the traditional financial world, it’s also forming the foundation of a parallel, shadow financial system. A January report from TRM Labs found a surge in illicit or illegal crypto use to an all-time high of $158 billion. This included a massive increase in crypto flows related to sanctions evasion. This was led primarily by A7A5, a Russian ruble-based stablecoin launched by Russia-based company A7. Some $39 billion in sanctions-related crypto flows were attributed to the A7 wallet cluster. Read more

Here are some of the projected scenarios involving BTC, XRP, and SHIB.

Technical traders see a compression setup, with $1.39 as key support and $1.44 as near-term resistance that could open a move toward $1.50 to $1.62 if reclaimed.

The derivatives exchange giant's switch to around-the-clock crypto trading will have a visible impact on liquidity and volatility on weekends, analysts said.

House Democrats are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over World Liberty Financial’s push for a national trust bank charter, citing systemic risk. Democrats in the US House of Representatives are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over how regulators are handling World Liberty Financial’s bid for a national trust bank charter to issue a dollar-backed token. In a letter on Thursday, 41 House Financial Services Committee Democrats led by Representative Gregory Meeks cited systemic risk, foreign ownership and potential political pressure on the bank chartering process.  They asked Bessent to explain what safeguards exist to prevent foreign government officials or politically connected investors from using the charter process to gain leverage over the US financial system. Read more

Tether’s USDT is nearing its largest monthly supply drop since the collapse of FTX, with whales and smart money traders continuing to reduce their USDT holdings. Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest US dollar-pegged stablecoin, is heading for its steepest monthly supply decline in years as big holders step up redemptions, according to blockchain data. The circulating supply of USDt (USDT) has fallen by about $1.5 billion so far in February, following a $1.2 billion decrease in January, according to Artemis Analytics data reported by Bloomberg. This puts USDT on track for its biggest monthly drop in three years, since the weeks following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022. The USDT supply logged a $2 billion decrease in December 2022 after the collapse of FTX and its 150 subsidiaries sent shockwaves through the crypto industry. Read more

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are approaching a five-week outflow streak, with $2.7 billion in net redemptions year-to-date, as BTC posts one of its weakest starts to a year. Selling pressure in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs continued Thursday, with analysts noting the cryptocurrency is on track for one of its worst yearly starts. Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $165.8 million in outflows Thursday, bringing weekly losses to $403.9 million, according to SoSoValue data. The redemptions moved the funds closer to a possible five-week outflow streak, with year-to-date (YTD) losses totaling $2.7 billion. Read more

Two spot Sui ETFs began trading in US markets on Feb. 18. Canary's SUIS is listed on Nasdaq, while Grayscale's GSUI appeared on NYSE Arca. Both products offer staking-enabled exposure to Sui, the layer-1 blockchain positioned as a high-throughput alternative to Ethereum. By the end of the first trading session, GSUI had moved roughly 8,000 […] The post Sui ETFs just launched — and the volume is collapsing because nobody’s showing up appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Your day-ahead look for Feb. 20, 2026

Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb both added local currency pairs for the privacy-focused layer-2 token, triggering a sharp move in a thinly traded market.

Bitcoin rebounded above $68,000 as ETF outflows hit $6.8 billion and funding flips positive. A break above $72,000 is needed to confirm a bullish shift.

Historical data depicts XRP rallies followed periods of tight liquidity, though sustained moves required expanding USD market depth.

Bitcoin ETF outflows near $4 billion over the past five weeks, as experts debate whether the streak signals a reset or structural weakness.