Crypto World
Best ICO Development Strategy for 2026
Raising capital in Web3 is no longer about choosing the loudest marketing channel or the fastest investor. In 2026, successful token launches are built on strategic capital design, investor quality, regulatory readiness, and long-term ecosystem growth.
Founders planning serious fundraising rounds are facing a critical decision. Should they rely on influencer-led community growth or pursue traditional venture capital backing? For growth-stage Web3 startups, this decision directly affects valuation, governance control, token stability, and market credibility. This guide explains both models in depth, compares their real-world impact, and shows why structured ICO development services are essential for designing scalable, compliant, and investor-ready fundraising systems in 2026.
Why Fundraising Strategy Matters More Than Ever in 2026
The Web3 funding landscape has matured. Investors are more selective. Regulators are more active. Communities are more skeptical. Token buyers expect transparency, utility, and governance frameworks. In earlier cycles, hype alone could drive millions in funding. That era is over. Today’s high-performing projects focus on:
- Sustainable capital inflows
- Institutional credibility
- Community retention
- Regulatory compliance
- Long-term token economics
A poorly designed fundraising approach now leads to weak liquidity, investor exits, governance disputes, and brand erosion. For founders targeting multi-million-dollar raises, the funding strategy is no longer a marketing decision. It is a business architecture decision.
Get your personalized ICO fundraising strategy.
Understanding Influencer-Led ICO Outreach
Influencer marketing in Web3 has evolved from casual promotions to structured community acquisition systems. Leading projects now collaborate with ecosystem leaders, analysts, educators, and regional community builders to build credibility, technical awareness, and long-term engagement. When aligned with professional ICO development services, influencer campaigns become scalable growth channels rather than short-term promotional tactics.
How Do Influencer Campaigns Work Today?
Modern influencer-driven ICO campaigns include
- Multi-platform educational content
- Private investor communities
- Regional ambassador programs
- Technical walkthrough sessions
- Live governance discussions
This approach focuses on building distributed awareness, informed participation, and early adoption across multiple market segments.
Advantages of Influencer-Led Fundraising
- Faster Market Entry: Campaigns can be launched within weeks, not months.
- Organic Community Formation: High-quality influencers bring engaged users rather than passive followers.
- Global Reach: Projects can penetrate multiple regions simultaneously.
- Early Liquidity Support: Strong communities support post-launch trading activity.
Limitations and Risks
However, influencer-led models carry risks:
- Inconsistent investor quality
- Short-term speculation
- Brand dependency on personalities
- Reputation exposure
- Compliance uncertainties
Without strong governance and token design, influencer-driven raises often suffer from volatility, reduced investor confidence, and long-term retention problems.
Understanding Venture Capital Funding for ICOs
Venture capital remains a dominant force in institutional crypto investment. Top-tier funds bring capital and strategic networks, governance expertise, regulatory guidance, and long-term market credibility. For many projects, VC backing also signals operational maturity, technical readiness, and serious commitment to sustainable growth, especially when supported by structured ICO development frameworks.
How Does VC-Led ICO Funding Work?
VC-backed projects usually follow this sequence:
- Private seed round
- Strategic investment round
- Advisory onboarding
- Token allocation agreements
- Gradual public exposure
This model prioritizes long-term institutional alignment, disciplined capital deployment, and controlled market entry, helping projects avoid premature volatility and reputational risks.
Advantages of VC Funding
- High Credibility: Institutional backing improves investor trust.
- Strategic Guidance: VCs provide operational and regulatory support.
- Network Access: Portfolio synergies accelerate partnerships.
- Stable Capital Base: Funds usually commit long-term capital.
Limitations and Trade-Offs
VC funding also introduces challenges:
- Dilution of founder control
- Extended negotiation timelines
- Token discount pressure
- Governance constraints
- Exit-driven decision-making
For many founders, the biggest concern is losing strategic autonomy, creative flexibility, and long-term influence over product direction and community governance.
Influencer vs VC: A Strategic Comparison
| Factor | Influencer Model | VC Model |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | High | Moderate |
| Capital Stability | Medium | High |
| Community Depth | High | Medium |
| Governance Control | High | Low |
| Brand Risk | Medium | Low |
| Brand Risk | Medium | Low |
| Valuation Impact | Variable | Predictable |
| Compliance Support | Low | High |
This comparison highlights that neither model is universally superior. The optimal choice depends on project maturity, market positioning, and long-term objectives, which is why many founders rely on professional ICO development services to design scalable and investor-ready fundraising frameworks.
Get expert guidance to structure, launch, and scale your ICO
The Real Problem: Why Most Projects Fail at Fundraising
Across hundreds of token launches, recurring failure patterns emerge. These mistakes are rarely caused by technology alone. Instead, they stem from poor strategic planning, misaligned fundraising priorities, weak execution frameworks, and the absence of experienced guidance during critical growth stages.
- Fragmented Capital Strategy: Projects pursue influencers and VCs independently, without alignment. This results in conflicting narratives, inconsistent investor expectations, and diluted market positioning.
- Weak Tokenomics Architecture: Poor supply design, vesting schedules, and incentive models undermine investor confidence and long-term ecosystem stability.
- No Institutional Readiness: Lack of documentation, compliance planning, and governance frameworks discourages serious capital and limits institutional participation.
- Marketing Without Infrastructure: Promotion is launched before the technical and operational foundations are complete, leading to erosion of trust and reduced conversion.
- Absence of Long-Term Liquidity Planning: Projects focus on the raise, not on post-launch market health, price stability, or investor retention.
This is where professional ICO development becomes essential.
Why High-Growth Projects Choose Hybrid Fundraising Models
In 2026, the most successful token launches use hybrid frameworks that integrate influencer reach with institutional capital.
What Do Hybrid Models Look Like?
A structured hybrid approach includes:
- Early institutional validation
- Controlled influencer onboarding
- Phased community expansion
- Strategic private rounds
- Governance-ready token design
This model delivers both speed and stability.
Benefits of Hybrid Fundraising
- Balanced investor portfolio
- Reduced volatility
- Stronger valuation defense
- Regulatory resilience
- Scalable governance
Hybrid systems are increasingly built through end-to-end ICO development frameworks rather than isolated marketing efforts.
How to Choose the Right Fundraising Strategy for Your Project
Founders should evaluate five core dimensions before selecting a fundraising model. A clear assessment across these areas helps determine whether influencer, VC, or hybrid approaches can be effectively supported through professional ICO development services.
Product Readiness: Is your protocol fully audited, thoroughly documented, security-tested, and scalable for long-term adoption?
- Market Timing: Does your solution align with current demand cycles, investor sentiment, and emerging industry trends?
- Capital Requirements: Are you raising primarily for product development, ecosystem expansion, strategic partnerships, or long-term liquidity?
- Governance Vision: Do you plan decentralized community control, structured DAO governance, or centralized leadership during early growth?
- Regulatory Exposure: Which jurisdictions will you operate in, and how will compliance requirements impact token distribution and investor participation?
Your answers determine whether influencer, VC, or hybrid models are optimal and how effectively they can be executed through a structured ICO development framework.
Final Verdict: Which Strategy Wins in 2026?
The evidence is clear.
- Influencer-led models deliver speed and community.
- VC-backed models deliver stability and credibility.
- Hybrid systems deliver scalable dominance.
Projects that succeed in 2026 do not choose between marketing and capital. They design unified fundraising ecosystems supported by professional infrastructure and end-to-end ICO development services that align growth, governance, and compliance from day one. This is where experienced partners like Antier play a critical role. We help founders build investor-ready frameworks that scale beyond the raise and sustain long-term ecosystem value by treating fundraising as a strategic asset rather than a short-term campaign. Start building your investor-ready ICO strategy today. Book a consultation and turn your fundraising vision into scalable success.
Frequently Asked Questions
01. What factors are crucial for successful token launches in 2026?
Successful token launches in 2026 rely on strategic capital design, investor quality, regulatory readiness, and long-term ecosystem growth.
02. How has the Web3 funding landscape changed for founders?
The Web3 funding landscape has matured, with investors becoming more selective, regulators more active, and communities more skeptical, making fundraising strategies critical for business architecture rather than just marketing.
03. What role do influencer-led campaigns play in modern ICO fundraising?
Influencer-led campaigns in modern ICO fundraising focus on structured community acquisition through educational content, private investor communities, and regional ambassador programs, enhancing credibility and long-term engagement.
Binance is back in the spotlight. Former compliance investigators now claim the exchange allegedly processed more than $1B in transactions tied to Iran sanctions violations, even while operating under U.S. monitorship after its 2023 plea deal.
Changpeng Zhao is not staying quiet. Instead of denying activity outright, he argues the investigators were fired for failing to stop the breaches, not for exposing them.
Now the fight is turning public, risking a return of regulatory pressure just as Binance tries to steady its global footing.
Key Takeaways
- Former investigators allege Binance processed nearly $1 billion in transactions linked to Iran after its 2023 plea deal.
- The staff claim they were fired in retaliation for identifying and flagging the suspicious on-chain activity to management.
- CZ counters that the employees were dismissed for incompetence because they failed to block the illicit flows in the first place.
What is the $1B Sanctions Breach Allegation?
Five former Binance investigators say they were fired after uncovering major sanctions breaches. They claim wallets tied to Iranian entities, including the exchange Nobitex, allegedly moved around $1B through Binance even after the November 2023 DOJ settlement.
These investigators worked on chain forensics. They say bad actors used obfuscation methods to slip past screening systems. When they flagged it internally, they allege the response was not corrective but retaliatory.
Binance is still under a three-year monitorship from the DOJ and FinCEN, which means any compliance failure carries extra weight.
The Whistleblowers’ Case: Retaliation or Restructuring?
The former employees are framing this as whistleblower retaliation. They say once they flagged the $1B exposure, they became a problem for an exchange trying to show regulators it had cleaned up.
In their view, the issue was not just the transactions. It was how Binance handled the discovery. They argue the exchange focused more on containing the fallout than fixing the screening gaps.
They also point to the size of the flows as proof that automated filters were not catching everything. If the system failed and the people who caught it were removed, that would weaken internal defenses.
CZ’s Defense: ‘Fired for Cause’
CZ is pushing back as he always does. He says this is not whistleblower retaliation. It is a performance issue. If investigators uncovered $1B in illicit flows, why were those flows not stopped in the first place?
Binance claims the departures were part of a compliance overhaul. The company says it brought in stronger talent and points to a 97% drop in sanctions related transaction volume between early 2024 and mid 2025 as proof that reforms are working. It denies firing anyone for reporting violations.
The stakes are huge. Binance already paid $4.3B in penalties tied to AML and sanctions failures and is operating under a DOJ monitorship. If regulators conclude the exchange ignored new violations or retaliated against staff, it could jeopardize that agreement.
Everything hinges on intent. If the firings were performance based, fallout may be limited. If not, regulatory pressure could intensify fast.
Ultimately, the outcome of this dispute will likely hinge on the internal documentation of the firings. If the data supports CZ’s claim of incompetence, Binance moves on.
Discover: Here are the crypto likely to explode!
The post Binance vs. Whistleblowers: The $1B Iran Sanctions Breach Allegation appeared first on Cryptonews.
Lawmakers in Arizona have taken a significant step toward formalizing state-level engagement with digital assets by advancing legislation that would create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund, allowing the state to hold, invest and potentially lend seized cryptocurrencies.
Summary
- Arizona lawmakers advanced Senate Bill 1649, which would create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund allowing the state to hold, invest and potentially lend seized cryptocurrencies.
- The fund would be administered by the State Treasurer and capitalized using confiscated or forfeited crypto assets rather than taxpayer funds.
- Eligible assets include Bitcoin, XRP and DigiByte, marking a notable step toward formal state-level recognition of digital assets.
Arizona senate backs crypto reserve fund
The measure, Senate Bill 1649 (SB1649), cleared the Senate Finance Committee in a 4–2 vote and was subsequently approved by the Senate Rules Committee, moving it closer to a full Senate vote.
Under the proposed law, the Arizona State Treasurer would administer the reserve, using assets that have been confiscated, forfeited or surrendered through criminal or civil enforcement actions. Instead of relying on taxpayer dollars to acquire crypto on the open market, the fund would be capitalized with these seized holdings.
Eligible assets named in the bill include Bitcoin (BTC), XRP (XRP) and DigiByte, alongside other digital assets that meet specified “fair value” criteria such as stablecoins and non-fungible tokens.
The inclusion of XRP in the reserve’s eligibility framework marks a notable development for the token, as it would represent one of the first instances of a U.S. government entity formally recognizing it as a potential reserve asset.
While the legislation does not require the state to immediately purchase or hold these assets, it establishes a legal structure for doing so in the future.
The bill’s progress highlights a broader trend in U.S. crypto policy, with several states exploring ways to integrate digital assets into public finance strategies.
However, similar initiatives in Arizona have faced pushback in the past from Governor Katie Hobbs, who has expressed caution about exposing state funds to cryptocurrency volatility. SB1649 must still pass both chambers of the legislature and survive executive review before becoming law.
Crypto World
Ethereum Foundation starts 70,000 ETH staking process to fund operations, bolster network
The Ethereum Foundation has started staking part of its treasury holdings, putting around 70,000 ETH to work as part of its plan to support ongoing operations in the Ethereum ecosystem.
The staking commenced with a 2,016 ETH deposit, and uses Dirk and Vouch, open-source validator tools developed by infrastructure firm Attestant, the Foundation said.
Dirk functions as a distributed signer that allows for coordination across multiple jurisdictions and reduces single points of failure, while Vouch handles validator duties.
The decision follows the public release of the Foundation’s treasury policy last year to manage crypto and fiat holdings in a way that balances long-term sustainability with Ethereum-aligned values such as decentralization, open-source access and user privacy.
Rather than letting ETH sit idle, the Foundation now plans to earn staking rewards and redirect those back into funding protocol research, ecosystem development, and community grants.
Based on the CoinDesk Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR), the current staking yield of the Ethereum validator population is around 2.808%. Data from Arkham Intelligence shows the Ethereum Foundation currently has 172,650 ETH it could deploy, along with an additional 10,000 wrapped ether (WETH).
The staking setup uses a combination of hosted infrastructure and self-managed hardware, including minority clients, spread across several countries, the Foundation said.
The Hashgraph Group, a Swiss technology company building on the Hedera network, launched TrackTrace, a platform aimed at helping prepare for upcoming European Union product-compliance requirements tied to digital product passports.
TrackTrace is designed to improve supply-chain visibility by tracking goods and recording product data, including emissions-related information, in a way that can be used for compliance reporting and authenticity checks, the company said in a Tuesday announcement.
The platform builds verifiable audit trails for product-specific data, sustainability credentials, durability and reparability, while incorporating agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to automate workflows for compliance reporting.
The blockchain-based solution comes in response to the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR), which went into effect on July 18, 2024. The ESPR creates a framework for product-specific rules that can include a Digital Product Passport (DPP) to standardize how key product information is recorded and shared across multiple supply chains.
A major early milestone is the EU’s battery passport requirement under the EU Battery Regulation, which is set to apply from Feb. 18, 2027, for certain categories including electric-vehicle and industrial batteries above 2 kilowatt-hours.
DPP requirements will extend to textiles, apparel, iron, steel and other priority items starting July 2027.
Related: EU to ban anonymous crypto accounts and privacy coins by 2027
EU climate targets drive data demands
The EU’s Green Deal aims to transform the bloc into a more resource-efficient economy and cut emissions by at least 50% by 2030. It also aims to reach net carbon neutrality by 2050 through the European Climate Act.
“The European Green Deal strives to establish the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and needs infrastructure it can trust to transform Europe into a modern, efficient, and sustainable economy,” wrote Stefan Deiss, co-founder and CEO at The Hashgraph Group.
“With TrackTrace built on Hedera, we deliver that critical trust data infrastructure layer that enables companies to comply with DPP regulation, while strengthening global supply chain integrity and fostering the transition to a sustainable, transparent, and circular economy.”
Businesses targeting EU markets will have to rely on solutions such as TrackTrace to ensure compliance with the ESPR.
The Hashgraph Group said it is working with PwC on digital product passport implementations for enterprise clients and that TrackTrace can support traceability across a product’s lifecycle. Cointelegraph reached out to The Hashgraph Group for more details on the collaboration.
Related: Bitcoin treasuries log rare selling streak as BTC trades near $66K
TrackTrace builds on identity tools
TrackTrace has integrated The Hashgraph Group’s existing decentralized identity solution, IDTrust, to provide verifiable credentials in a decentralized manner.
This enables the linkage between physical events and digital records in a tamper-proof environment, where digital business processes and immutable data audit trails are anchored on the Hedera network.
Hedera claims to be the world’s most energy-efficient distributed ledger technology (DLT) that is governed by a council of leading global organisations including Dell, Deutsche Telecom, EDF, FedEx, Google, Hitachi, IBM, Mondelēz and Standard Bank, among over 30 Hedera Council members.
Competing supply chain traceability solutions include the blockchain-based IBM Sterling Transparent Supply, TraceX, Circular for batteries and plastics, and TrusTrace for fashion and textile traceability.
Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026
PIPPIN continues to defy the overall market crash, while BCH has dumped the most from the larger caps.
Bitcoin’s price continues its underwhelming performance, dropping to another multi-week low of under $63,000 earlier today.
The altcoins are bleeding out as well, with another day of multiple losses of more than 3%. Some, such as BCH, have dumped by over 10%.
BTC Slides Again
BTC was rejected at over $70,000 at the beginning of the previous business week, and its bounce-off attempt was halted in its tracks. The following few days were less volatile, as the cryptocurrency remained sideways between $67,000 and $68,500. It slipped to $65,600 on Thursday, but quickly rebounded and stood close to $69,000 during the weekend.
Despite the most recent developments on the tariff front, which included a new global taxation after the US Supreme Court ruled against Trump, BTC remained relatively stable at first. However, it nosedived once the legacy futures markets opened late on Sunday.
In just over an hour, it dumped from $67,700 to $64,400, leaving millions in liquidations. It bounced off to $66,500 mid-day, but the bears resumed control of the market and drove it south hard once again. Earlier today, the asset dipped below $63,000 for the first time since the February 6 crash, when it plunged to $60,000.
It trades inches above that line now, with its market cap dumping to $1.260 trillion. Its dominance over the alts has also been hit hard and is below 56% on CG now.
Alts Tumble
Ethereum continues to lose value rapidly as well, dumping by 5% daily to just over $1,800. XRP is down by 4.5% and struggles to remain above $1.30. BNB, SOL, and TRX have marked similar losses, while DOGE, ADA, and HYPE have plunged by over 5%.
Bitcoin Cash has dropped the most from the larger caps. The asset has shed over 11% of value and now sits below $485. ZEC, RAIN, UNI, SUI, WLFI, and many others are deep in the red as well.
In contrast, PIPPIN continues to chart gains, surging to a new all-time high of $0.80 after another 11.5% daily jump.
The total crypto market cap, though, has lost more than $150 billion since Sunday and is down to $2.260 trillion on CG.
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Yesterday, shares in IBM Corporation opened above $254 but closed below $224. By some estimates, this marked the company’s largest single-day decline in the past 25 years. Since the start of February, the stock has fallen by roughly 27%, its worst monthly performance since 1968.
Why Did IBM’s Share Price Drop?
The main trigger was an announcement by Anthropic about the launch of a new AI tool, Claude Code, designed to modernise legacy COBOL code.
This is particularly significant for IBM, as much of “Big Blue’s” business is tied to mainframes processing transactions for banks and government institutions in COBOL. Traditionally, upgrading such systems required “armies of consultants” and multi-billion-dollar budgets.
The new AI solution promises to automate this process, making it faster and more cost-effective. This not only poses a direct threat to IBM’s services and support revenues, but also reignites concerns that AI could reshape the entire technology sector, rendering established business models less sustainable.
Technical Analysis of IBM Shares
Throughout 2025, IBM stock traded within an ascending channel, but the psychological $300 level proved to be strong resistance. The price attempted to secure a foothold above it for several months, without success. The earnings release on 28 January turned into a bull trap and marked the beginning of an extraordinary sell-off, accompanied by rising volume on bearish candles — a sign of market weakness.
At the same time, several major analysts (including those at Goldman Sachs and Jefferies) have maintained or reiterated their “Buy” ratings. Their optimism is based on the view that panic surrounding Anthropic’s tool may be overstated, while IBM’s financial fundamentals remain solid.
Although the sharp downward momentum may continue in the near term, a support zone could emerge where several technical levels converge:
→ the psychological $200 mark;
→ the 2025 low around $215;
→ the lower boundary of an increasingly clear channel (shown in red).
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Decentralized finance (DeFi) portfolio tracker Step Finance said it will wind down operations effective immediately.
The Solana-based platform was subject to a hack at the end of January, which saw 261,854 SOL, worth roughly $27 million at the time, stolen.
Step said it was unable to secure a viable outcome following the hack after it “explored every possible path forward, including financing and acquisition opportunities,” in a post on X on Monday.
The project is working on a buyback for holders of native token STEP based on a snpashot of holdings and value prior to the incident.
STEP lost nearly 96% of its value following the incident, and is a further 36% lower in the last 24 hours after the closure announcement.
Step Finance was founded in 2021 and offered an aggregation of yield farms, liquidity provider (LP) tokens and other DeFi positions from a single platform.
Affiliate projects SolanaFloor, a Solana-focused media outlet, and tokenization platform Remora Markets, will also close.
TLDR:
- Ethereum Foundation stakes 70,000 ETH to generate yield for ecosystem operations.
- Validators use Dirk and Vouch for distributed signing and client diversity risk mitigation.
- Type 2 withdrawal credentials allow flexible balance management across validator accounts.
- EF launches a dedicated DeFi team to expand ecosystem projects and protocol research.
Ethereum Foundation Treasury Staking Initiative marks a new phase in the organization’s capital management strategy.
The Ethereum Foundation has started staking part of its treasury in line with its previously announced Treasury Policy.
On February 24, 2026, the Foundation confirmed a 2,016 ETH deposit. It also stated that about 70,000 ETH will be staked, with rewards directed back into the treasury to support ongoing operations.
Treasury Deployment and Validator Configuration
Through a post shared by the Ethereum Foundation’s official account, the organization confirmed the rollout of its Treasury Staking Initiative.
The update stated that approximately 70,000 ETH will be committed to staking. Rewards generated from validators will return to the Ethereum Foundation treasury.
The Ethereum Foundation selected open-source tools developed by Attestant. Dirk will function as a distributed signer across several geographic regions. This structure reduces single points of failure and supports validator continuity during localized disruptions.
Vouch will coordinate multiple Beacon and Execution client pairings. Its configuration strategies are designed to reduce client diversity risk. The Ethereum Foundation confirmed the use of minority clients to strengthen network resilience.
Infrastructure will combine hosted services with self-managed hardware across multiple jurisdictions. This approach distributes operational responsibility.
It also aligns with the Foundation’s stated objective of maintaining geographic and technical diversity within its validator set.
Validator Credentials and Operational Structure
The Ethereum Foundation confirmed that validators use Type 2 (0x02) withdrawal credentials. These credentials allow validator balances to move between accounts through consolidations. As a result, signing-key custody can be adjusted more efficiently.
Each validator can hold a maximum effective balance of 2,048 ETH. This configuration lowers the total number of required signing keys to about 35. Reduced key management simplifies operational oversight without changing staking exposure.
Like 0x01 credentials, exits can be triggered by the withdrawal address even if validators are offline. This setup provides additional operational flexibility. It ensures withdrawal authority remains independent from validator uptime.
The Ethereum Foundation also stated it will build blocks locally instead of using proposer-builder separation sidecars.
By participating directly in consensus through solo staking, the Ethereum Foundation earns ETH-denominated yield.
The organization confirmed that staking rewards will help fund protocol research, ecosystem development, and community grants while operating within Ethereum’s native economic framework.
Software stocks have faced notable market headwinds amid growing investor fears regarding artificial intelligence disruption.
The broader equity pullback is also raising concerns for Bitcoin (BTC), which has closely tracked software stocks.
Why Are Software Stocks Down?
According to the Global Markets Investor, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) has fallen 15% in February alone, putting it on pace for its worst monthly performance since 2008. The ETF is now testing its April 2025 lows and sits roughly 35% below its peak.
“Software stocks are having their WORST month since the Great Financial Crisis,” the post read.
Artificial intelligence sits at the center of the recent drawdown, with investors selling shares of companies perceived as vulnerable to disruption by advancing AI tools. Two major developments in recent days have accelerated the downturn.
On February 20, Anthropic introduced “Claude Code Security,” a new capability embedded within Claude Code. The tool scans codebases for security vulnerabilities and recommends targeted patches for human review, aiming to detect and fix issues that traditional security tools may overlook.
The announcement triggered an immediate reaction across cybersecurity stocks. According to The Kobeissi Letter, CrowdStrike erased $20 billion in market value within two trading sessions. Furthermore, IBM shares fell more than 10%.
“The software selloff continues, w/cybersecurity stocks particularly hard hit following the release of Anthropic’s Claude Code Security due to fears that this code-focused tool will change the industry. This indicates that there is nowhere to hide when it comes to software stocks. Even the Goldman Sachs basket of supposedly AI-immune software stocks has come under heavy pressure recently,” said Holger Zschaepitz, Senior Editor at the Economic and Financial desk of the German daily Die Welt and its Sunday edition Welt am Sonntag.
Pressure intensified again on Monday after Citrini Research published a report. The report presents a hypothetical scenario set in June 2028 in which AI automation drives higher corporate profits.
At the same time, it models significant disruption to white-collar employment, weaker consumer demand, rising credit stress, and structural economic challenges.
“What follows is a scenario, not a prediction. The sole intent of this piece is modeling a scenario that’s been relatively underexplored. Hopefully, reading this leaves you more prepared for potential left tail risks as AI makes the economy increasingly weird,” the report read.
Following the report’s release, shares of delivery, payments, and software companies moved lower.
Rising Tech Volatility Tightens Grip on Bitcoin
The impact is not confined to traditional equity markets. Grayscale observed that Bitcoin’s price action closely mirrored US software stocks during the latest wave of selling.
Several market participants have highlighted the correlation between US software stocks and Bitcoin. This suggests that, rather than behaving as a hedge, Bitcoin has at times traded like a high-beta extension of the tech sector.
Thus, if software stocks continue to weaken, Bitcoin may also remain under pressure. Prolonged weakness in high-growth equities can contribute to tighter financial conditions through wealth effects, higher equity risk premia, increased volatility, and systematic deleveraging across high-beta assets, including cryptocurrencies.
However, a divergence remains possible. If investors begin to view Bitcoin as a monetary hedge against structural AI-driven labor disruption, currency debasement, or policy responses such as aggressive stimulus, its correlation with software equities could weaken.
Canaan Inc. (CAN), a manufacturer of bitcoin mining hardware and an operator of crypto mining infrastructure, said it bought a 49% equity interest in a joint venture tied to several mining projects in West Texas from Cipher Mining (CIFR) for $39.75 million in stock.
The transaction covers Cipher’s stake in the ABC Projects, which include Alborz LLC, Bear LLC and Chief Mountain LLC. The rest of the venture is owned by WindHQ, according to a Monday statement.
The purchase was funded through the issuance of 806.4 million Class A ordinary shares, equivalent to 53.8 million American depositary shares, and makes Cipher, a U.S.-based bitcoin mining company that develops and operates large-scale data centers, a major shareholder in Singapore-based Canaan. The shares are subject to a six-month lock-up.
Canaan shares fell 6% on Monday, while Cipher shares rose 4%. Cipher is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens on Feb. 24.
The sites collectively operate 120 megawatts of energized power capacity and support approximately 4.4 exahashes per second (EH/s) of hashrate. Fleet efficiency stands at roughly 25.7 joules per terahash (J/TH).
As part of the agreement, Canaan also purchased 6,840 Avalon A15Pro mining rigs that were previously deployed at Cipher’s Black Pearl facility, which is being converted into an AI and high-performance computing data center.
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