TLDR:

• Aptos slashed staking rewards from 5.19% to 2.6%, cutting sell pressure on APT nearly in half immediately.
• The Aptos Foundation locked 210 million APT, removing roughly 18% of the total circulating supply from the market.
• Programmatic buybacks and a 32 million APT annual burn were introduced to create consistent token demand.
• Despite strong tokenomics reforms, the APT price saw no reaction due to weak retail interest and no clear narrative.

APT, the native token of the Aptos blockchain, recently received a major tokenomics upgrade. The changes addressed long-standing structural concerns around inflation and supply pressure.

However, the price showed little reaction following the announcement. Analysts point to a deeper problem rooted in weakened market confidence.

The fixes may improve the foundation, but demand has not followed. The central question now is whether these reforms came too late to matter this cycle.

What the Aptos Tokenomics Upgrade Actually Changed

Aptos cut staking rewards nearly in half, dropping from 5.19% to 2.6%. This move directly reduces the selling pressure that had weighed on APT for months.

The Aptos Foundation also locked 210 million APT, removing roughly 18% of the circulating supply. A hard cap of 2.1 billion tokens was also clarified for the market.

Beyond supply controls, the project introduced programmatic buybacks and a projected annual burn of 32 million APT. Grant issuance was shifted to a performance-based model, tightening how new tokens enter circulation.

Together, these changes represent a meaningful pivot in how the project manages its token economy. On paper, the reforms are serious and directly responsive to earlier criticism.

Crypto analyst account @ourcryptotalk noted the changes address structural issues it raised two months prior. The account stated that emissions cut nearly in half immediately reduces selling pressure.

It also noted the foundation lock removes roughly 18% of the circulating supply permanently. Buybacks, it added, create systematic demand.

Still, the market responded with indifference. Retail investors have not rotated into APT following the announcement.

Institutions have not signaled a clear preference for the asset either. On-chain activity has not produced the kind of demand shock that typically moves prices.

Why Price Ignored the News and What Comes Next

Markets generally do not reward projects for correcting past mistakes. The lack of price reaction reflects this well-established pattern in crypto.

Trust, once broken by poor tokenomics design and unlock cycles, requires more than adjusted numbers to rebuild. It requires a visible surge in usage and ecosystem activity.

Aptos also lacks a dominant narrative in the current market cycle. Move language is a technical feature, not a category-defining story.

Competing chains have captured niches in areas like real-world assets, gaming, and institutional infrastructure. Aptos has not yet claimed ownership of any single space.

Ourcryptotalk framed the remaining challenge clearly. The project needs live dashboards for burn, emissions, and buybacks to build transparency.

It also needs to route ecosystem fees into stakers or burns to make APT feel like true ownership. Without a killer narrative, the token risks fading even with improved supply mechanics.

If ecosystem growth accelerates while emissions remain suppressed, a supply squeeze could quietly develop. Without that growth, the tokenomics upgrade alone is unlikely to drive a sustained rally.

At one point, TRUMP’s market capitalization approached the psychological mark of $1 billion.

Several Trump-related meme coins experienced a significant resurgence on Friday, following an intriguing announcement made by the President of the United States.

However, the asset lost almost all gains in the following hours, perhaps driven by a blow against Trump from the US Supreme Court.

The Trump Effect or Just a Coincidence?

Official Trump (TRUMP) – the biggest meme coin related to the POTUS – jumped to almost $3.80 on Friday, its highest point since the beginning of February. Its market capitalization neared $900 million, solidifying it as the sixth-largest meme coin.

Other Trump-themed tokens, including Pepe Trump (PTRUMP), Super Trump (STRUMP), and SUI TRUMP (SUITRUMP), also headed north, albeit charting more modest gains.

Their revival coincides with the president’s pledge to direct the Secretary of War and other relevant departments to begin identifying and releasing government files concerning alien and extraterrestrial life. The topic has always fascinated the public, but a recent podcast featuring the former US leader Barack Obama has further amplified attention.

Asked about the existence of aliens, he affirmed they are real but clarified that he has never personally seen any. Moreover, Obama said they are not being kept at the notorious Area 51 “unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”

It is important to note that Trump’s pledge on that front may not be the only factor fueling a resurgence for the aforementioned meme coins. The broader cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin (BTC) and many altcoins have seen minor increases over the last 24 hours, could also have played a role.

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What’s Next?

Some commentators on X noted TRUMP’s recent pump, suggesting it might have more fuel left for additional gains. The analyst who goes by the moniker Don claimed the meme coin “looks good,” hinting that its price structure signals potential upside to $13.29.

Nonetheless, investors and traders should be extremely cautious when dealing with such assets due to their infamous volatility. TRUMP, which saw the light of day in January last year, initially exploded above $70 only to crash by double digits mere days later.

The asset’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) also indicates a possible correction ahead. The technical analysis tool measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes and provides traders with an idea of potential reversal points. It ranges from 0 to 100, with ratios around and above 70 suggesting the token is overbought and due for a pullback. On the other hand, anything below 30 is considered a buying opportunity. Currently, the RSI stands just south of the bearish zone.

Bitcoin price has rebounded more than 4% since February 19, helping it recover above $68,200. This bounce offered temporary relief after weeks of weakness. However, new technical and on-chain signals now show that Bitcoin may be approaching its most dangerous level of 2026.

A combination of bearish chart structure, heavy supply clusters below price, and rising leverage risk suggests a deeper correction could begin soon.

Bitcoin’s 8-hour chart currently shows a head-and-shoulders pattern. This is a bearish reversal structure that forms when price creates three peaks, with the middle peak higher than the others. It signals weakening buying strength and increasing selling pressure.

At the same time, Bitcoin has formed a hidden bearish divergence between February 6 and February 20. During this period, the Bitcoin price created a lower high, meaning the recovery failed to fully regain its previous peak.

However, the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, formed a higher high.

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RSI measures buying and selling momentum on a scale from 0 to 100. When RSI rises, but price fails to rise equally, it shows that buying strength is weakening. This pattern often appears before price declines or pullbacks.

The biggest risk now comes from Bitcoin’s on-chain cost basis levels. Data from the UTXO Realized Price Distribution, or URPD, shows that the largest supply cluster sits at above $66,800. This level holds 3.17% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply.

Another major cluster sits at $65,636, holding an additional 1.38% of supply.

These levels are important because they represent prices at which many investors bought Bitcoin. If Bitcoin falls below these levels, holders may begin selling to avoid losses. This can accelerate the price decline quickly.

Together, these clusters represent more than 4.5% of Bitcoin’s supply concentrated just below the current price. This creates a high-risk zone directly under Bitcoin’s support. That explains the biggest price warning

If Bitcoin closes below this region, the head-and-shoulders pattern realization could gain strength.

Rising Leverage and ETF Outflows Increase Liquidation Threat

Derivatives data shows rising liquidation risk as Bitcoin rebounded. Open interest, which measures the total value of active futures positions, has increased from $19.54 billion on February 19 to about $20.71 billion now, during the bounce.

This means more traders have entered leveraged positions during the recovery.

At the same time, funding rates have turned positive. Funding rates are payments between long and short traders. Positive funding means more traders are betting on price increases. This creates a dangerous situation.

If the Bitcoin price starts falling, these leveraged long positions may be forced to close. This triggers a long squeeze, where bullish traders are pushed out of their positions. Such forced exits can create a liquidation cascade, adding extra selling pressure and accelerating the price drop.

Institutional sentiment also remains weak. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have now recorded five consecutive weeks of net outflows. This shows that institutional investors are still withdrawing capital rather than accumulating.

This reduces support during price declines.

Bitcoin Price Faces Critical Test Below Institutional Resistance

Bitcoin also remains below its monthly Volume Weighted Average Price, or VWAP, which sits near $70,000. VWAP represents the average price weighted by trading volume. Monthly VWAP is widely used as a proxy for institutional cost basis.

When Bitcoin trades below VWAP, it means the average institutional position is currently at a loss. This often causes institutions to reduce exposure or avoid new buying, explaining the ETF apathy.

A recovery above $70,000 would signal renewed institutional strength. But as long as Bitcoin stays below this level, recovery attempts may remain limited, and the broader structure remains bearish.

On the downside, Bitcoin’s first key support sits near $67,300. If this level breaks, the next support appears at $66,500, followed by $65,300. These levels align closely with the major supply clusters mentioned earlier. Failure to hold these levels could trigger the larger head-and-shoulders breakdown near the $60,800 neckline.

A breakdown can then trigger a price breakdown target of over 7.5%, hinting at a target price of $56,000, in the near-to-mid-term.

On the upside, Bitcoin must reclaim $68,200 to stabilize its short-term structure. However, a full recovery would require reclaiming the $70,000 VWAP level.

[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, UAE, February 20th, 2026]

Feed Every Gorilla (FEG), a decentralized finance infrastructure project established in 2021, marks its five-year anniversary, reflecting continued development of blockchain-based protocol infrastructure designed to support decentralized token ecosystems and on-chain financial systems.

Since its launch, FEG has focused on developing transparent and verifiable smart contract infrastructure intended to support decentralized finance participants. Over the past five years, the project has implemented multiple protocol improvements, strengthened its contract architecture, and completed independent security audits to support system integrity and operational reliability.

A central component of the ecosystem is the SmartDeFi Launchpad, a decentralized protocol framework designed to support token creation, deployment, and lifecycle management through transparent on-chain mechanisms. The infrastructure enables developers to deploy and manage tokens within a structured protocol environment designed to improve accessibility and consistency across decentralized ecosystems.

As part of its ongoing roadmap, SmartDeFi’s bonding curve infrastructure is currently in the final stages of testing. This protocol-level mechanism is designed to introduce structured liquidity functionality directly within token infrastructure. The SmartDeFi Launchpad is also preparing for expansion across additional EVM-compatible blockchain networks, supporting broader developer participation and ecosystem accessibility.

The five-year milestone represents continued protocol development and infrastructure expansion, as FEG focuses on supporting decentralized finance through transparent, blockchain-based systems.

About Feed Every Gorilla (FEG)

Feed Every Gorilla (FEG) is a decentralized finance infrastructure project focused on developing blockchain-based protocol frameworks and tools designed to support decentralized token ecosystems. Established in 2021, the project develops infrastructure for token deployment, on-chain trading systems, and decentralized ecosystem management.

Its core protocol, the SmartDeFi Launchpad, provides decentralized infrastructure for token creation and lifecycle management using transparent smart contract systems. FEG’s development efforts emphasize verifiable on-chain functionality, protocol transparency, and ongoing infrastructure advancement.

The project continues to expand its infrastructure and protocol capabilities to support decentralized finance participants, developers, and blockchain ecosystems globally.

Website: https://FEG.io

Launchpad: https://SmartDeFi.com

MARA Holdings has completed the purchase of a majority stake in French computing infrastructure operator Exaion, deepening its push into artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services.

The deal, first agreed in August 2025 with EDF Pulse Ventures, gives MARA France a 64% stake in Exaion after required regulatory approvals were secured, the Bitcoin miner said in a Friday announcement. French energy giant EDF will remain a minority shareholder and continue as a customer of the business.

The investment also creates a broader alliance. NJJ Capital, the investment vehicle of telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel, will acquire a 10% stake in MARA France as part of a partnership with MARA.

Governance of Exaion will reflect the new ownership structure. The company’s board will include three representatives from MARA, three from EDF Pulse Ventures and one from NJJ, alongside Exaion’s chief executive and co-founder. Niel and MARA CEO Fred Thiel will both hold seats on the board.

Related: Bitcoin miners chase 30 GW AI capacity to offset hashprice pressure

Bitcoin miners pivot to AI amid pressure

Bitcoin mining companies are increasingly turning to AI and data center computing as pressure on mining economics grows. After the 2024 halving cut block rewards and rising network difficulty squeezed margins, several publicly traded miners began adopting a hybrid model, keeping mining as a source of cash flow while building steadier revenue from AI cloud and high-performance computing services.

HIVE Digital Technologies is one example of the shift. The company reported strong results even during weaker Bitcoin prices, supported by expanding AI operations. CoreWeave has also moved from crypto mining to become a major AI infrastructure provider after GPU mining demand fell.

Other firms, including TeraWulf, Hut 8, IREN and MARA, are also repurposing mining facilities and energy capacity into AI data centers.

In November last year, CleanSpark announced plans to raise roughly $1.13 billion in net proceeds, up to $1.28 billion if additional notes are purchased, through a $1.15 billion senior convertible note offering to fund expansion of its Bitcoin mining and data center operations.

Related: Crypto miner Bitdeer tanks 17% after $300M debt offering

Bitcoin mining difficulty jumps 15%

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty rose about 15% to 144.4 trillion on Friday, reversing an 11% drop earlier in the month, the steepest decline since China’s 2021 mining ban. The earlier fall followed severe winter storms across the United States that disrupted power grids and temporarily forced many miners offline, sharply reducing hash rate.