Crypto

The on-chain analytics firm‘s focus on decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens had fallen out of step with the industry‘s current trajectory. On-chain analytics firm Parsec is closing down after five years, as crypto trader flows and on-chain activity no longer resemble what they once did. “Parsec is shutting down,” the company said in an X post on Thursday, while its CEO, Will Sheehan, said the “market zigged while we zagged a few too many times.” Sheehan added that Parsec’s primary focus on decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) fell out of step with where the industry has now headed. Read more

Another week has ended, and Friday has arrived, which means another batch of Bitcoin options contracts is expiring while spot markets remain sideways.

Bitcoin is on course for its first ever back to back declines in January and February.

Simon Gerovich defends disclosure standards, options trading model, and hotel operations.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt reportedly refocused crypto and bank lobby talks on a crypto bill to allow stablecoin rewards tied to transaction activity. The White House has reportedly refocused talks between crypto and bank lobbyists on limiting how stablecoin rewards should be paid in the third meeting between the two groups over a crypto market structure bill. Crypto and banking industry representatives met at the White House on Thursday for the third time in 16 days to discuss stablecoin provisions that have stalled the crypto bill, which the Senate is looking to pass. No agreement was reached on Thursday, but executives at Coinbase and Ripple said progress was made, as one of the White House’s crypto advisers urged a trade-off that would let third parties, such as exchanges, offer stablecoin rewards only on transaction activity, not on balances. Read more

At ETH Denver, Caitlin Long said the ethics controversy around Trump-linked crypto projects has complicated Senate support.

Bitdeer has launched its second-ever convertible senior note offering, which has seen its shares tumble 29% so far this year. Shares in Bitdeer Technologies Group took a hit on Thursday after the Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence infrastructure firm announced a $300 million convertible senior note offering.  Bitdeer said that it intends to offer a “principal amount” of $300 million in convertible senior notes with an option for purchasers to buy an additional $45 million in a private placement.  It is the second convertible note offering from the firm, following a $150 million offering in April 2024 that also triggered an 18% stock slump.  Read more

Capital is rotating out of DeFi into tokenized assets as experts say the shift reflects maturing markets, not capitulation.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari says crypto is “utterly useless” compared to AI, and that pro-stablecoin arguments are “a buzzword salad.” Neel Kashkari, the president of the US Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, says that crypto is “utterly useless” in comparison to artificial intelligence and took a swipe at stablecoins, saying they don’t have many uses. Speaking at the 2026 Midwest Economic Outlook summit on Thursday, Kashkari drew comparisons between AI and crypto, saying the latter “has been around for more than a decade, and it's utterly useless.” “AI has not been around very long, and people are using it every day,” he added. “This is demonstrating to me that this thing is real and it has real long-term potential for the US economy as opposed to crypto.” Read more

Sanctions evasion networks, guarantee marketplaces, and large-scale money laundering schemes dominated illicit stablecoin use, says TRM Labs. Illicit entities received around $141 billion via stablecoins in 2025, the highest level observed in the last five years, says blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. TRM said in a report released on Tuesday that the increase doesn’t reflect a broader growth in crypto-enabled crime, but does show a “deeper reliance on stablecoins within specific activity types where they offer clear operational advantages.” Stablecoins have been particularly used in sanctions-linked networks and large-scale money movement services, it said.  Read more

Bitcoin developer Matt Carallo says Bitcoiners are looking to “blame something” for the asset’s sluggish price, dismissing quantum fears as the culprit. Bitcoin’s recent sell-off isn’t due to quantum computing fears, because if that were the case, Ether would be soaring, says Bitcoin developer Matt Carallo. “I strongly disagree with the characterization that Bitcoin's current price is materially, because of some kind of quantum risk,” Carallo told journalist Laura Shin on the Unchained podcast on Thursday. “If that were true, then Ethereum would be up substantially on Bitcoin,” he added. Ether (ETH) is down 58% since a major crypto market crash in early October, trading at $1,957 at the time of publication. Read more

U.S. prosecutors say the former defense contractor executive took about $1.26 million in crypto to transfer sensitive exploit tools tied to Five Eyes intelligence work.

Making Bitcoin quantum secure is the biggest challenge the protocol has ever faced. Here are the six biggest obstacles to be overcome.

Tech investor Jason Calacanis says he’s paying around $110,000 annualized to run an AI agent, more than most US salaries, and it’s not running at full capacity. The high costs of deploying and running artificial intelligence agents in the workforce may prevent them from replacing humans who can do the same work at lower cost, say two multimillionaire tech investors. Tech investor Jason Calacanis said on the All-In podcast on Saturday that he has been paying $300 per day for an Anthropic Claude AI agent to help run his businesses, despite the bot only operating at 10% to 20% of full capacity. “When do tokens outpace the salary of the employee?” Calacanis questioned, referring to the usage allowance, called tokens, that users must purchase to use most AI models. Read more

Stablecoin incentives remain a key unresolved issue as lawmakers seek to advance digital-asset market-structure legislation.

Sources familiar with the talks on stablecoin yields say the White House urged bankers to get on board with a deal that lets the market structure bill advance.

A mix of fresh industry catalysts and improving technical signals suggests XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin could be lining up for new all-time highs (ATHs) sooner than many expect.Here’s a closer examination of the narratives emerging in the news and on the charts that could significantly lift prices by the end of Q2.Discover: The best meme […] The post Crypto Price Prediction Today 19 February – XRP, Solana, Dogecoin appeared first on Cryptonews.

Running a well-crafted prompt through Alibaba AI model KIMI can surface some eye-opening 2026 price scenarios for XRP, Shiba Inu, and Pepe.According to Alibaba’s outlook, all three digital assets could generate substantial returns by New Year, perhaps much sooner than investors expect.Below is a closer look at the projections and the logic behind them.XRP ($XRP): […] The post China’s Alibaba AI Predicts the Price of XRP, Shiba Inu and PEPE By the End of 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin may stay capped under $70,000 as traders deploy bearish options strategies, and spot BTC ETF outflows point to a retest of the yearly low. Key takeaways: Professional traders are paying a 13% premium for downside protection as Bitcoin struggles to maintain support above $66,000. While stocks and gold remain strong, $910 million in Bitcoin ETF outflows suggest that institutional investor caution is rising. Read more

Ripple just made a move most traders missed.The XRP Ledger rolled out XLS 81. It adds a permissioned DEX directly on chain. Think members-only trading venues. Only approved players can trade and match orders.This is not for retail degens. It is built for banks and regulated firms. Full compliance. KYC. AML. Controlled access. The kind […] The post XRP Price Prediction: Ripple Just Built a “Fast Lane” for Banks – Why Big Money Is Choosing XRP Over Every Other Coin appeared first on Cryptonews.