New York, USA, 16th February 2026, Chainwire

[PRESS RELEASE – New York, USA, February 16th, 2026]

Rain, fresh off $250M Series C, deploys unified detection-to-response framework to further protect stablecoin payments

Guardrail, a real-time blockchain security platform backed by Coinbase Ventures and Haun Ventures, has launched an integrated security model that connects continuous runtime detection directly to managed incident response. The model addresses the attack cycle at the crucial step between vulnerability exposure and live attacks.

Rain, the global stablecoin payments platform for enterprises, neobanks, and platforms, recently deployed this unified security framework within its smart contracts and wallets used for settlement with Visa, further improving security for millions of purchases in over 150 countries.

Stablecoin transaction volumes crossed $27.6 trillion in 2024, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. As traditional finance accelerates its move onchain, the security challenges and unique risks it poses are widening the gap.

The blockchain industry lost over $3.4 billion to theft in 2025. More than 90% of exploits targeted code where security audits and a comprehensive review were completed. The pattern is consistent: audits examine code during development, but attacks take place in production environments through compromised keys, operational failures, and runtime exploits that static code review cannot anticipate and prevent.

Why Post-Deployment Security Matters for Stablecoins

Stablecoin infrastructure operates differently from typical DeFi protocols. When software events translate directly into payment outcomes across 150+ countries, a configuration error or a malicious transaction pattern can cause immediate user harm, with limited options for reversal.

Each application of stablecoin technology by geography, financial application, underlying assets, and wallet infrastructure brings incredible potential while simultaneously growing security risk possibility for unique attack vectors. Industry data shows that off-chain incidents compromised keys, phishing, and operational failures now represent the majority of funds lost, underscoring the need for security extending the attacking surface to: onchain activity, offchain integrations, API dependencies, and user-facing entry points.

“As Web3 matures, risk management and proactive security measures that leading institutions have built into traditional products need to be offered when transacting with stablecoins, like their fiat counterparts. Unifying risk discovery, real-time detection and managed automated response is the gold standard we’re excited to be shaping for our industry,” said Samridh Saluja, CEO of Guardrail.

How the Framework Operates

Guardrail’s platform evaluates transactions and state changes in real time using configurable detection modules. These identify conditions beyond standard vulnerability signatures, economic anomalies, permission violations, oracle deviations, and abnormal approval patterns with sub-second detection across 30+ chains.

When an incident is flagged, alerts route directly into managed response workflows developed in collaboration with Cantina, a Web3 security firm. Response operates through 24/7 triage, pre-built playbooks across technical and governance tracks, and escalation paths with defined ownership. Evidence is captured throughout proactively, resulting in an informed security posture.

Institutional-Grade Security for Onchain Finance

As stablecoins move into enterprise payments and institutional custody, security expectations shift. Partners evaluating onchain infrastructure ask direct questions: Who owns containment? How is authority structured? What evidence trail exists? How does the system perform at 3am on a Saturday?

Rain’s security model with Guardrail and Cantina answers these questions universally. Runtime signals feed governed incident workflows. Escalations route to named owners. Containment follows documented playbooks. Evidence trails support both internal review and partner diligence.

“Our enterprise partners rely on Rain to protect real-world payment flows totaling billions of dollars annually. Integrating Guardrail’s real-time monitoring and Cantina’s managed response capabilities enhances our ability to detect anomalies early and act decisively,” said Charles Yoo-Naut, CTO and Co-founder of Rain. “This is an important addition to the broader set of onchain security partners we rely on to safeguard our ecosystem.”

The integrated detection and response model is a template for protocols operating stablecoin infrastructure, custody flows, enterprise payments, and onchain financial products.

About Guardrail

Guardrail is a real-time blockchain security platform with sub-second detection across 24+ chains. Backed by Coinbase Ventures and Haun Ventures, the platform uses AI-powered anomaly detection and configurable security modules to identify exploits before funds are drained, with automated response capabilities including contract pausing and circuit breakers. Guardrail currently protects over $20+ billion in TVL across thousands of contracts for protocols including Euler, EigenLayer, BadgerDAO, and Bluefin.

Website: https://www.guardrail.ai

• XRP changed hands at around $1.50 as the broader market remains mostly bearish.
• SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao has said the firm does not hold $10 billion XRP, but a 9% stake in Ripple Labs.
• Can bulls reclaim $2 amid broader market resilience?

XRP price hovered near $1.47 in Asian trading hours on Monday, Feb.16, 2026, with the cryptocurrency down 8% in the past 24 hours.

The altcoin’s intraday performance came after comments from SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao, who recently clarified the firm’s investment in Ripple and the token XRP.

XRP and a $10 billion SBI holding rumour

SBI, one of Ripple’s major partners, hit headlines last week amid news of its acquisition of a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange.

But alongside this was the circulation of a rumour claiming that the firm holds $10 billion in XRP tokens.

This prompted an X post response from SBI CEO Kitao, who clarified that SBI’s actual position is not in XRP, but a 9% stake in Ripple Labs.

XRP price retreated from highs of $1.60 to around $1.40 amid Kitao’s clarification that the Japanese financial giant’s focus is on Ripple’s blockchain ecosystem.

“When it comes to Ripple Lab.’s total valuation which obviously includes its ecosystem that Ripple has created, that would be enormous. SBI owns more than 9 % of that much,” he posted.

Ripple (XRP) price outlook

XRP’s price action over recent months has largely tracked broader trends in the cryptocurrency market.

Comments by the chief executive of SBI Holdings briefly unsettled traders, before buyers stepped in to defend levels above $1.40.

While the token remains under pressure as Bitcoin consolidates below $70,000, the recent move toward $1.60 and a rebound from weekend lows point to tentative stabilisation.

Sentiment linked to institutional backers such as SBI may support confidence in Ripple and its wider ecosystem.

The group’s expansion into Southeast Asia through recent acquisitions has also raised expectations of increased real-world adoption, which could support demand for XRP.

ETF inflows and regulatory developments are additional factors influencing sentiment.

Speculation around a potential Ripple initial public offering, alongside other positive catalysts, could further lift medium- to long-term confidence among XRP holders.

In the near term, traders are watching a major resistance zone between $1.90 and $2.35.

However, persistent macroeconomic and geopolitical risks could undermine short-term optimism.

In a weaker scenario, XRP may revisit support near $1.20 and potentially test levels below $1.00.

Following a quiet couple of weeks in terms of major crypto hacks, a recent uptick in front-end attacks has seen users themselves firmly in the crosshairs.

Two such attacks were detected today on platforms OpenEden and Curvance. Another attempt targeted users of Maple Finance last week. 

Front-end attacks rely on gaining access to, for example, a DeFi project’s website, and inserting malicious code which prompts users to unwittingly transfer their crypto assets to the attacker.

A wave of front-end attacks swept over the sector in 2024.

Read more: Compound Finance and Celer Network websites compromised in ‘front-end’ attacks

Early on Monday, Blockchain security firm Blockaid reported a front-end attack on real-world asset tokenization platform OpenEden.

The firm advised users to “refrain from signing transactions and avoid interactions with the dApp until the issue is resolved.”

Blockaid attributed the attack to the AngelFerno crypto wallet drainer.

OpenEden warned users not to interact with either openeden.com or portal.openeden.com “as it can cause you to lose your wallet’s assets.”

The post provides a link to the project’s proof of reserves, to reassure users that underlying assets are safe.

Double trouble

Just hours later, Ethereum Security Alliance member “pcaversaccio” warned of a domain compromise affecting lending platform Curvance’s website.

Read more: The DAO hacked again, but this time it’s the good guys

The tweet includes screenshots, one of which shows the domain having been updated earlier today with no DNSSEC signature. Another shows a malicious approvals transaction, also apparently generated by the AngelFerno drainer.

Curvance reassured users that “preventative measures were taken before any loss of funds occurred.” However, it recommends they “refrain from interacting with the front end until further notice.”

Last week, $2 billion “onchain asset manager” Maple Finance was hit with the same attack. The team updated users after regaining control, stating that “smart contracts and funds have remained safe and unaffected.“

Read more: Inside DeFi 004: ✨ DAO dramas reaching resolution?

Scam-as-a-service

Crypto wallet drainers, such as AngelFerno are so-called “scam-as-a-service” scripts which prompt malicious transactions depending on what’s in the connected victim’s wallet.

The scripts are distributed to phishing scammers and SIM swappers who find innovative ways to lure victims into engaging with the drainer.

Any proceeds from a successful drain are automatically split between scammer and drainer developer according to its code.

Drainer victims are often lured in by false airdrop promises, spoofed front ends, or fake security scares. However, it’s not just naive newbies who fall into the trap; even hackers themselves have been known to get stung.

Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Bitcoin slides in February, but strong miner and long-term holder accumulation hints at possible price support.

The opening weeks of February have delivered a stark diagnosis for Bitcoin’s health, with nearly 43% of its circulating supply in a state of loss and quarterly price performance standing at just under -26%, according to analyst GugaOnChain.

According to them, there is little prospect for recovery before April.

On-Chain Metrics Show Widespread Capitulation

In their latest assessment of the Bitcoin market, CryptoQuant contributor GugaOnChain painted a grim picture for holders of the OG cryptocurrency. Per the analyst, 42.85% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply is now underwater, while the Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) indicator has slumped to 21.30%, which is firmly in fear territory.

GugaOnChain’s analysis was backed by experts at XWIN Research, who noted that the recent reading of 8 on the Fear and Greed Index was one that has rarely been seen, only appearing in previous stress events, including the 2018 bear market bottom, the March 2020 COVID crash, and the FTX collapse in November 2022.

The analysts pointed out that from a behavioral finance perspective, this reflects loss aversion and herd behavior, with investors reducing risk exposure after significant losses.

Looking at the quarterly price performance, it stands at -25.8%, with GugaOnChain seeing little prospect for recovery before Q2 2026. Additionally, spot Bitcoin ETF flows tell a similar story of institutional exhaustion. Since the start of the month, the products have seen net outflows of $2.17 billion, with the exodus accelerating as prices tumbled toward $60,000 on February 6.

Price Action Reflects Volatility

Other recent research provides context for the conditions described above. For instance, analytics firm Santiment reported that funding rates across exchanges had turned deeply negative, meaning traders were heavily positioned for price drops.

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BTC’s price movement is reflecting the tension, with data from CoinGecko showing the asset had fallen about 3% in the last seven days, 10% over two weeks, and 28% across the past month, while trading roughly 46% below its October 2025 all-time high when it went past $126,000.

The growth contraction extends beyond Bitcoin itself, with GugaOnChain’s analysis showing the broader crypto economy shrinking, as mid-cap and small-cap altcoins contracted by 18.3% while the growth rate of the top 20 assets folded by -12.48%.

However, even with prices collapsing, demand from accumulator addresses has stayed strong at 380,104 BTC over the last 30 days. Furthermore, miners appear to be holding their BTC rather than selling, with their operations supported in part by AI revenue streams.

Taken all together, the conditions described in GugaOnChain’s assessment frame the current phase as one defined by fear, defensive positioning, and selective accumulation with little broad market confidence. According to them, “the turn toward recovery now depends on investor resilience.”

In high-stakes Web3 funding rooms, conversations no longer start with token price or community size. They start with the governance structure. Institutional investors now scrutinize how decisions are made, how capital is protected, and how accountability is enforced long before they evaluate market traction. Governance has become the primary signal of whether a decentralized project is built for experimentation or for longevity. This is where strategic development defines competitive advantage.

This guide shows you how strategic DAO development transforms decentralized governance into an investor-ready operating model. You will learn how to design compliant frameworks, protect capital, strengthen transparency, and position your protocol for premium funding and sustainable growth.

The Institutional Shift: Why Governance Is Now a Funding Requirement

Institutional participation in Web3 has entered a new phase. Capital is no longer driven primarily by speculation, narratives, or short-term market cycles. It is increasingly guided by operational discipline, governance maturity, and long-term risk management. Recent industry research indicates that a majority of institutional investors planning digital asset exposure now prioritize infrastructure reliability, transparency, and governance readiness when evaluating blockchain projects. Governance quality has become a core signal of whether a protocol is built for experimentation or for sustainable growth.

Regulatory bodies and financial oversight organizations have also emphasized the importance of accountability structures, treasury controls, and transparency in decision-making in decentralized ecosystems. These frameworks are viewed as essential for market stability and institutional participation.

As a result, investor evaluation standards have evolved significantly:

• Governance structure is now a central component of institutional due diligence
• Treasury visibility and auditability are treated as baseline requirements
• Voting concentration and power distribution are closely reviewed
• Legal and compliance preparedness is increasingly assessed before funding

This evolution reflects a fundamental reality:

“Capital moves toward systems that demonstrate clarity, accountability, and operational resilience.”

Projects that lack formal governance architecture, documented processes, and transparent controls often struggle to meet modern investment standards. Even technically strong platforms face delays or rejection when governance maturity does not match investor expectations.

How Investors Evaluate DAO Maturity Today

Modern investors use a multi-layered governance assessment model:

1. Control Architecture

• Who controls treasury access?
• How are upgrades approved?
• Are emergency powers centralized?

2. Decision Transparency

• Are votes traceable?
• Is quorum enforced?
• Is participation healthy?

3. Risk Management

• Are attack vectors documented?
• Are fallback mechanisms in place?
• Is insurance integrated?

4. Legal Defensibility

• Is the DAO structure jurisdiction-aware?
• Are contributors protected?
• Is liability minimized?

A professional DAO development company designs these layers systematically instead of leaving them to community improvisation.

Why Informal Governance Repels Institutional Capital

Many early-stage DAOs continue to operate without structured oversight, often lacking professional DAO development services to formalize decision-making frameworks. Instead, they rely on chat-based voting, off-chain signaling, founder-controlled wallets, loosely defined proposal systems, and manually executed treasury operations. While this approach may function during early experimentation, it rarely withstands ecosystem growth, regulatory scrutiny, or institutional evaluation.

As scale increases, informal governance creates decision bottlenecks, risks of power concentration, exposure to treasury mismanagement, and internal friction within the community. Institutional investors view these weaknesses as operational instability rather than decentralization strength. In capital markets, perceived governance risk directly reduces confidence, delays funding decisions, and ultimately suppresses valuation potential.

Strategic DAO Architecture: The Investor-Grade Framework

Successful DAOs are built on structured governance frameworks that separate authority, execution, finance, and compliance into clearly defined layers. Supported by professional DAO development services, this modular approach improves accountability, reduces operational risk, and enables scalable decision-making.

Rather than relying on informal coordination, investor-ready DAOs formalize governance responsibilities across multiple interconnected systems through well-defined governance architecture and enterprise-grade implementation practices.

Layer 1: Constitutional Governance

Defines the foundational rules that govern participation, authority, and protocol evolution.

Defines:

• Voting rights and eligibility criteria
• Proposal submission requirements
• Quorum and approval thresholds
• Emergency intervention mechanisms
• Protocol amendment and upgrade rules
• Founder and core contributor limitations

This layer functions as the DAO’s legal and operational constitution, establishing predictable governance behavior and preventing arbitrary control.

Layer 2: Operational Governance

Controls how daily activities, programs, and ecosystem initiatives are executed and supervised.

Controls:

• Annual and quarterly budget approvals
• Grant allocation and performance tracking
• Working group formation and oversight
• Vendor onboarding and contract management
• Service provider evaluation
• Milestone-based fund releases

This layer ensures that community-approved initiatives are implemented efficiently and remain aligned with strategic objectives.

Layer 3: Financial Governance

Manages capital allocation, risk exposure, and long-term financial sustainability.

Manages:

• Treasury diversification across asset classes
• Yield generation and liquidity strategies
• Reserve management and contingency funds
• Spending limits and authorization hierarchies
• Periodic financial reporting
• Internal and external audit schedules

This layer protects investor capital by enforcing disciplined financial management and transparent fund utilization.

Layer 4: Compliance Governance

Ensures legal alignment, regulatory readiness, and contributor protection across jurisdictions.

Ensures:

• KYC and AML framework integration
• Jurisdiction-specific legal structuring
• Regulatory reporting and disclosures
• Contributor agreements and IP protections
• Data privacy compliance
• Risk and liability mitigation policies

This layer enables DAOs to operate confidently in regulated environments while preserving decentralization principles. Professional DAO platform development embeds these governance layers directly into programmable smart contracts, automated workflows, and monitoring systems. As a result, governance becomes a living system rather than a static framework, capable of adapting to growth, regulation, and institutional expectations.

How Strategic Governance Drives Long-Term Valuation

In institutional markets, valuation depends on predictability as much as performance. Strategic governance, often supported by an experienced DAO development company, builds this predictability by embedding discipline, transparency, and accountability into daily operations.

Strong governance delivers long-term advantages across four key areas.

• Capital Efficiency: Improves budget control, reduces waste, and strengthens capital allocation.
• Brand Credibility: Builds trust with partners, investors, and regulators through consistent governance practices.
• Community Stability: Encourages participation, reduces churn, and strengthens ecosystem alignment.
• Exit and Liquidity Readiness: Prepares projects for acquisitions, listings, and strategic partnerships.

Investors reward predictable, well-governed organizations with higher valuations.

Final Thoughts

Your protocol speaks through its governance. To investors, governance answers:

Can we trust you?

Can you scale?

Can you survive regulation?

Can you protect capital?

Strategic DAO development ensures the answer to each of these questions is yes. When governance is designed with institutional standards in mind, it becomes a foundation for confidence, resilience, and sustainable growth. This is where a specialized DAO development company plays a critical role in structuring governance for long-term scalability and compliance. If you are preparing for institutional capital, regulatory expansion, or ecosystem scale, your governance architecture must evolve accordingly.

This is where experienced partners like Antier help founders make a decisive leap from experimental governance to investor-ready infrastructure. By combining governance engineering and compliance-aligned. Ready to build investor-ready governance? If you are serious about attracting premium capital, strengthening compliance, and future-proofing your protocol, now is the time to act.

Partner with experts who understand both decentralization and institutional standards.

Is SHIB gearing up for a move toward $0.0000099?

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been on an evident downtrend in the past several months, reflecting a broader cooling of enthusiasm among traders and investors.

However, one popular analyst believes the meme coin has a chance to post a substantial price increase in the near future.

What Needs to Happen?

SHIB saw a strong rebound over the weekend, climbing to $0.0000072, the highest point since late January. Its rise coincided with a broader meme coin upswing triggered by news that X will soon allow users to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies directly from their timelines.

SHIB’s revival was short-lived, and it is currently worth around $0.000006596, representing a 3% decline over the past 24 hours. According to renowned analyst Ali Martinez, however, the asset may be poised for another jump.

He noted that SHIB has been pressing against the $0.0000067 resistance level. Should the token flip this area into support, Martinez believes it could open the door to a 50% rally to $0.0000099. Many X users who engaged with the post agreed with this potential scenario. Global Rashid, for instance, said:

“SHIB sitting right at decision time. Reclaim $0.0000067 as support and momentum shifts fast towards $0.0000099. Lose it, and this stays a range. Structure > hype.”

Some indicators point toward the possibility of a short-term rally. Shiba Inu’s burn rate has soared by 70% on a daily scale, resulting in more than three million tokens sent to a null address. While the USD equivalent of the destroyed stash is negligible, sustained efforts in that field can support price appreciation (especially if demand doesn’t decline).

SHIB’s exchange reserves are also worth observing. Recently, the number of coins stored on centralized platforms fell to a new five-year low, signaling that investors continue to shift toward self-custody, thereby reducing immediate selling pressure.

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The Doom Scenario?

Ali Martinez has been quite vocal about SHIB lately and, last week, outlined a completely different prediction. At the time, the price of the meme coin dipped well below $0.00000667, and the analyst viewed this as a precursor to a severe 80% decline.

Another element suggesting that a sustainable rally for the meme coin is far-fetched is the fading interest from market participants. SHIB has generated trading volume of just $167 million over the past 24 hours, a figure that pales in comparison to activity seen in other popular altcoins, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and many more.

Shibarium’s stalled progress is another worrying factor. Shiba Inu’s layer-2 blockchain solution was launched in the summer of 2023 and is designed to foster ecosystem growth by reducing transaction fees, improving speed, and enhancing scalability. At one point, daily transactions on the protocol were in the millions, but data show that activity has dropped to zero over the last few weeks.

Shibarium’s downfall appears to have begun in September last year, when its security was breached. Several reports claimed that the attack was carried out using a flash loan to purchase 4.6 million BONE tokens. LUCIE (the pseudonymous marketing strategist for Shibarium) refused to characterize the incident as a hack and assured investors that their funds were safe.

Analyst warns Bitcoin could crash to $10K as macro stress and risk-asset unwinding signal a bursting crypto bubble if equities slide further.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone has published a warning suggesting Bitcoin (BTC) could revert toward $10,000 as broader financial market turbulence spreads.

His remarks framed the current market slide as part of a broader risk-asset unwind tied to stocks, volatility cycles, and macro liquidity.

Macro Stress Signals Point to Rising Pressure

McGlone linked his outlook to several macro signals, including U.S. stock market capitalization relative to GDP at century highs, unusually low 180-day volatility in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, and a rally in gold and silver that he said is occurring at speeds last seen about fifty years ago.

He characterizes the current environment as one where “the crypto bubble is imploding” and framed 2026 as potentially reminiscent of 2008 in terms of market turbulence.

The analyst shared a chart that compared Bitcoin divided by ten with the S&P 500, which showed both hovering below 7,000 on February 13. He added that if equities revert toward 5,600 on the S&P, BTC could mirror that move toward about $56,000, then potentially much lower if stocks peak.

“It seems unlikely that volatile and beta-dependent Bitcoin can stay above this threshold if beta doesn’t,” McGlone wrote, which serves as the centerpiece of his bearish outlook. “Initial normal reversion is toward 5,600 SPX ($56K Bitcoin), then what? Part of my base case for Bitcoin to revert toward $10,000 is a US stock market peak. 7,000 S&P 500, 50,000 Dow can’t be tops — or else.”

Recent performance data shows why such warnings are gaining traction. Bitcoin is down about 2% in 24 hours and nearly 28% over the past month, with six-month losses near 39%. Trading activity remains elevated, with roughly $44 billion in futures volume and open interest near the same level, suggesting heavy derivatives positioning during the decline.

Furthermore, a February 16 report from CryptoQuant found that about 43% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply is currently at a loss, while the Fear and Greed Index dropped to 8, a level seen during prior crisis periods such as the FTX collapse.

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Long-Term Holders and Institutions Still Accumulating

Despite the bearish signals, not all indicators point down, especially considering that data from CryptoQuant shows so-called accumulator addresses are buying about 372,000 BTC per month, up from about 10,000 in September 2024.

These wallets meet strict criteria, such as no outflows and multi-year activity, which analysts say reduces distortion and suggests long-term positioning rather than short-term trading.

Institutional behavior also shows major players still have faith in BTC, with Binance confirming it completed converting its $1 billion SAFU insurance reserve entirely into Bitcoin and is now holding about 15,000 BTC. Days earlier, a filing showed Goldman Sachs still had exposure to 13,740 BTC through spot ETFs, even though the value of those holdings had fallen sharply with the price.

Meanwhile, some commentators, like economist Holger Zschaepitz, are watching cross-asset links to explain the prevailing market conditions. The analyst wrote on X that Bitcoin has recently moved alongside software stocks under pressure from AI disruption, suggesting tech investors, many of whom hold BTC, may be selling crypto to raise cash.

• Bittensor price rose to highs of $207 amid Upbit’s listing announcement.
• However, buyers retreated and saw TAO touch lows of $179.
• The daily chart signals a potential bullish move, and $300 could be the next target.

Bittensor (TAO) has retested the $200 mark, reaching intraday highs of $207 in early trading on Monday as top cryptocurrencies look to hold key levels.

While the TAO price made gains in early trading, it has fluctuated heavily in the past hours, with the volatility coming amid a major exchange listing and broader market weakness.

Bittensor pares gains as Upbit lists TAO pairs

At the time of writing, TAO traded around $185, slightly off intraday highs and about 2% down in the past 24 hours.

The latest uptick and subsequent sharp decline align with the listing announcement from South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit.

신규 디지털 자산 비트텐서(TAO) 거래지원 안내

✅ 지원 마켓: KRW, BTC, USDT 마켓
📅 거래지원 개시 시점 : 2026-02-16 16:00 KST 예정

Advertisement

🔗공지 바로가기:https://t.co/2Zre01hLuM#Upbit #TAO@opentensor pic.twitter.com/3LsILJZxU5

— Upbit Korea (@Official_Upbit) February 16, 2026

The exchange has added TAO pairs on its spot trading platform, a development that sparked immediate price action.

According to Upbit, traders can now access TAO/KRW, TAO/BTC, and TAO/USDT trading pairs as of Feb.16, which is a notable move set to bolster accessibility for TAO across one of Asia’s largest crypto markets.

Localized demand has often seen tokens listed on Korean exchanges post sharp gains, and that’s what TAO experienced.

However, amid profit taking, which has coincided with a 51% uptick in daily volume, prices have revisited support at $179.

Can Bittensor hold onto momentum?

Beyond the Upbit catalyst, Bittensor’s recent price rally from lows of $145 ties closely to a recent pivotal leadership shift.

This is because Jacob Steeves, known as “const,” announced he had stepped down as CEO of the OpenTensor Foundation, marking a key transition to a “headless” protocol free from centralized control.

Steeves’ announcement amplified decentralization sentiment among investors, positioning Bittensor as a resilient AI infrastructure play.

With dynamic TAO upgrades and subnet competition already live, the protocol now operates as a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Grayscale has also highlighted potential institutional interest in the token, particularly with its TAO ETP filing.

Bittensor price prediction: more pain or $300 next?

The cryptocurrency market’s struggles have led to most altcoins tracking losses over the past several months.

Bittensor price mirrors this outlook, and with Bitcoin constrained around $70,000, sentiment remains largely bearish.

Despite this, can TAO break towards the $300 mark?

The daily chart paints a slightly bullish picture, given the RSI and MACD indicators.

Bulls can solidify control near $180 and look to reclaim the critical $200 level.

Such a breakout from the descending channel could allow buyers to target the 50-day moving average and swing highs of $240.

From here, the next target of $300 would come into view.

However, failure to successfully reclaim $200 risks a retest of demand zones seen in recent months.

The area around $144 could mark a key short-term support level.

Momentum is rotating aggressively within the meme coin sector, with select names breaking structure and attracting speculative inflows. 

Several tokens are pressing into key technical inflection points, where confirmation could unlock continuation moves. BeInCrypto has analysed three such meme coins that the investors should watch in the third week of February.

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Pippin (PIPPIN)

PIPPIN has gone vertical, rallying by 142% in the last seven days and trading at $0.690 at the time of writing. It’s currently the best performer in the meme coin space this week. Structurally, price has broken out of the descending broadening wedge, a setup that typically precedes high-volatility expansion if confirmed.

The pattern projects a target rally of roughly 221%. The key trigger level sits at $0.772, the current ATH. A decisive reclaim and hold above that level — turning resistance into support — would confirm the breakout and open the door for continuation. Even a conservative follow-through could see momentum carry price toward $1.000, with the technical projection extending toward $1.357.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

That said, risk management matters here. If the NVT ratio starts climbing while exchange inflows increase, it would suggest weakening on-chain activity relative to valuation — a classic early warning sign. In that scenario, a retrace toward $0.514 becomes likely, with $0.372 as deeper structural support. A breakdown to those levels would invalidate the bullish setup and flip short-term momentum bearish.

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Mubarak (MUBARAK)

MUBARAK is changing hands at $0.0189, having reclaimed the $0.0174 (0.5 Fib) and is now pressing into $0.0189 (0.618 Fib) — a key decision level. Flipping this level into support suggests continuation toward higher retracement targets.

The MFI at 64.37 reflects strong buying pressure without flashing overbought conditions above 80.0. A strong daily close above $0.0189 would confirm bullish control and expose the meme coin $0.0210 (0.786 Fib) as the next upside objective, followed by $0.0237 (1.0 Fib).

On the downside, $0.0174 now acts as immediate support, with $0.0159 (0.382 Fib) and $0.0141 (0.236 Fib) below. A decisive daily close back under $0.0174 would weaken structure, while a breakdown through $0.0141 would invalidate the bullish setup.

BAN has emerged as one of the stronger-performing meme coins this week, climbing 30% to trade at $0.0987 at the time of writing. The rally pushed the price above the $0.0914 resistance level. This breakout reflects growing speculative interest and improved short-term trading momentum.

The altcoin is now eyeing a move above the $0.1000 psychological barrier. BAN’s correlation with Bitcoin stands at -0.27, indicating mild inverse movement. As Bitcoin trends lower, BAN may benefit from independent momentum. Sustained demand could drive the meme coin toward the $0.1094 resistance zone.

However, volatility remains elevated across the cryptocurrency market. If investors begin locking in profits, selling pressure could intensify quickly. A decline toward $0.0846 would signal weakening momentum. Losing that support may expose BAN to further downside near $0.0752, invalidating the current bullish outlook.