Crypto World
Bitcoin ETFs Post $410M Outflows As Early-Week Momentum Fades
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw heightened selling on Thursday, with outflows accelerating the same day Standard Chartered lowered its 2026 Bitcoin forecast.
Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded $410.4 million in outflows, extending weekly losses to $375.1 million, according to SoSoValue data.
Unless Friday brings substantial inflows, the funds are on track for a fourth consecutive week of losses, with assets under management (AUM) nearing $80 billion, down from a peak of almost $170 billion in October 2025.
The selling coincided with Standard Chartered lowering its 2026 Bitcoin target from $150,000 to $100,000, warning that prices could fall to $50,000 before recovering.
“We expect further price capitulation over the next few months,” the bank said in a Thursday report shared with Cointelegraph, forecasting Bitcoin to drop to $50,000 and Ether (ETH) to $1,400.
“Once those lows are reached, we expect a price recovery for the remainder of the year,” Standard Chartered added, projecting year-end prices for BTC and ETH at $100,000 and $4,000, respectively.
Solana ETFs the only winners amid heavy crypto ETF outflows
Negative sentiment persisted across all 11 Bitcoin ETF products, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund suffering the largest outflows of $157.6 million and $104.1 million, respectively, according to Farside.
Ether ETFs faced similar pressure, with $113.1 million in daily outflows dragging weekly outflows to $171.4 million, marking a potential fourth consecutive week of losses.
XRP (XRP) ETFs saw their first outflows of $6.4 million since Feb. 3, while Solana (SOL) ETFs bucked the trend, recording a minor $2.7 million in inflows.
Extreme bear phase not yet here as analysts expect $55,000 bottom
Standard Chartered’s latest Bitcoin forecast follows previous analyst forecasts that Bitcoin could dip below $60,000 before testing a recovery.
Crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant reiterated that realized price support remains at around $55,000 and has not yet been tested.
“Bitcoin’s ultimate bear market bottom is around $55,000 today,” CryptoQuant said in a weekly update shared with Cointelegraph.
“Market cycle indicators remain in the bear phase, not extreme bear phase,” CryptoQuant noted, adding: “Our Bull-Bear Market Cycle Indicator has not entered the Extreme Bear regime that historically marks the start of bottoming processes, which typically persist for several months.”
Related: Bernstein calls Bitcoin sell-off ‘weakest bear case’ on record, keeps $150K 2026 target
Bitcoin hovered around $66,000 on Thursday, briefly dipping to $65,250, according to CoinGecko data.
Despite ongoing selling pressure, long-term holder (LTH) behavior does not indicate capitulation, with holders currently selling around breakeven. “Historical bear market bottoms formed when LTHs endured 30–40% losses, indicating further downside may be required for a full reset,” CryptoQuant added.
Magazine: Bitcoin difficulty plunges, Buterin sells off Ethereum: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 1 – 7
Crypto World
Crypto market wobbles as investors ignore good news, look for the ‘exit ramp’: Crypto Daybook Americas
Crypto Daybook Americas will not be published on Monday, Feb. 16 due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. We will be back on Feb. 17.
By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
Bitcoin is on track for a fourth straight weekly decline in its longest negative streak since mid-November. The largest cryptocurrency has lost 1.7% in the past 24 hours and 4.8% since Monday morning.
The broader CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) fell 2% in a market that, according to Bitwise research analyst Danny Nelson, is mostly driven by fear. Indeed, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has now been in “extreme fear” territory for almost two weeks.
“The market’s main driver right now is fear. Fear that we’ll go lower,” Nelson told CoinDesk. “In a market like this, good news doesn’t register with investors. If they see an exit ramp, they’re taking it.”
To illustrate his point, Nelson pointed to the reaction to Uniswap’s 25% increase after the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock (BLK), said it was making shares of its $2.2 billion tokenized U.S. treasury fund BUIDL tradable on the decentralized exchange. The token has now given back the gains made after that announcement.
“Sellers bearish on the market’s short-term direction overwhelmed the bulls betting that institutional adoption will drive value long-term,” he said.
Earlier this week, stronger U.S. payroll data and a falling unemployment rate prompted traders to rethink rate-cut expectations for the year. Further guidance may come later today in the form of inflation figures for the world’s largest economy.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January is forecast to show 2.5% year-over-year inflation.
Adding to that uncertainty is concern over a partial U.S. government shutdown. Odds of that occurring tomorrow are now around 90% on prediction market Kalshi. If one materializes, expect even more volatility amid thin trading. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today
What to Watch
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead“.
- Crypto
- Macro
- Feb. 13, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. core inflation rate YoY for January (Prev. 2.6%); MoM Est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.2%)
- Feb. 13, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. inflation rate YoY for January (Prev. 2.7%); MoM Est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.3%)
- Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
- Feb. 13: Trump Media & Tech Group (DJT), post-market
- Feb. 13: HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE), post-market, -$0.07
Token Events
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead“.
- Governance votes & calls
- Unlocks
- Token Launches
Conferences
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead“.
Market Movements
- BTC is up 1.75% from 4 p.m. ET Thursday at $66,933.65 (24hrs: -0.83%)
- ETH is up 2.05% at $1,961.15 (24hrs: -0.97%)
- CoinDesk 20 is up 1.48% at 1,913.46 (24hrs: -1.96%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 15 bps at 2.85%
- BTC funding rate is at 0.0019% (2.0947% annualized) on Binance
- DXY is up 0.13% at 97.05
- Gold futures are up 1.41% at $4,993.10
- Silver futures are up 3.65% at $78.30
- Nikkei 225 closed down 1.21% at 56,941.97
- Hang Seng closed down 1.72% at 26,567.12
- FTSE 100 is up 0.12% at 10,414.44
- Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.16% at 6,001.38
- DJIA closed on Thursday down 1.34% at 49,451.98
- S&P 500 closed down 1.57% at 6,832.76
- Nasdaq Composite closed down 2.03% at 22,597.15
- S&P/TSX Composite closed down 2.37% at 32,465.30
- S&P 40 Latin America closed down 1.71% at 3,741.30
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 7 bps at 4.10%
- E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.27% at 6,832.50
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.29% at 24,696.00
- E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.33% at 49,358.00
Bitcoin Stats
- BTC Dominance: 59.01% (+0.41%)
- Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.02923 (-0.55%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,027 EH/s
- Hashprice (spot): $33.55
- Total fees: 2.55 BTC / $170,716
- CME Futures Open Interest: 116,875 BTC
- BTC priced in gold: 13.5 oz.
- BTC vs gold market cap: 4.48%
Technical Analysis
- Bitcoin remains pressured below the 200-week exponential moving average of $68,324.
- A confirmed weekly close below this level historically signals a further 20%-25% capitulation.
- The would take it toward the $51,000–$54,000 range before a bottom forms
Crypto Equities
- Coinbase Global (COIN): closed on Thursday at $141.09 (-7.90%), +5.87% at $149.37 in pre-market
- Circle Internet (CRCL): closed at $56.63 (-2.13%), +1.71% at $57.60
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $20.15 (-1.23%)
- Bullish (BLSH): closed at $31.71 (-0.53%), +0.28% at $31.80
- MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $7.25 (-4.10%), +1.10% at $7.33
- Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $14.20 (-4.05%), +0.85% at $14.32
- Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $17.48 (-3.37%), +0.11% at $17.50
- CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.31 (-3.22%), +1.18% at $9.42
- CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $40.10 (-3.70%)
- Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $10.19 (+1.09%)
Crypto Treasury Companies
- Strategy (MSTR): closed at $123.00 (-2.44%), +1.54% at $124.89
- Strive (ASST): closed at $7.70 (-4.82%), +0.52% at $7.74
- SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $6.54 (-1.21%), +1.07% at $6.61
- Upexi (UPXI): closed at $0.74 (-8.82%)
- Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.03 (-3.74%)
ETF Flows
Spot BTC ETFs
- Daily net flows: -$410.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $54.3 billion
- Total BTC holdings ~1.27 million
Spot ETH ETFs
- Daily net flows: -$113.1 million
- Cumulative net flows: $11.67 billion
- Total ETH holdings ~5.8 million
Source: Farside Investors
While You Were Sleeping
Cryptocurrency flows to services linked with suspected human trafficking surged 85% year over year in 2025.
The findings come from a new report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, which highlighted that the intersection of cryptocurrency and suspected human trafficking expanded markedly last year.
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Which Crypto Assets Are Most Used in Suspected Human Trafficking Networks?
The report outlined four primary categories of suspected crypto-facilitated human trafficking. This includes Telegram-based “international escort” services, forced labor recruitment linked to scam compounds, prostitution networks, and child sexual abuse material vendors (CSAM).
“The intersection of cryptocurrency and suspected human trafficking intensified in 2025, with total transaction volume reaching hundreds of millions of dollars across identified services, an 85% year-over-year (YoY) increase. The dollar amounts significantly understate the human toll of these crimes, where the true cost is measured in lives impacted rather than money transferred,” Chainalysis wrote.
According to the report, payment methods varied across categories. International escort services and prostitution networks used stablecoins.
“The ‘international escort services are tightly integrated with Chinese-language money laundering networks. These networks rapidly facilitate the conversion of USD stablecoins into local currencies, potentially blunting concerns that assets held in stablecoins might be frozen,” Chainalysis noted.
CSAM vendors have historically relied more heavily on Bitcoin (BTC). However, Bitcoin’s dominance has declined with the rise of alternative Layer 1 networks.
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In 2025, while these networks continue to accept mainstream cryptocurrencies for payments, they increasingly turn to Monero (XMR) to launder proceeds. According to Chainalysis,
“Instant exchangers, which provide rapid and anonymous cryptocurrency swapping without KYC requirements, play a crucial role in this process.”
The Dual Role of Crypto in Human Trafficking-Linked Transactions
Chainalysis noted that the surge in cryptocurrency flows to services linked with suspected human trafficking is not occurring in isolation. Instead, it mirrors the rapid expansion of Southeast Asia–based scam compounds, online casinos and gambling platforms, and Chinese-language money laundering (CMLN) and guarantee networks operating primarily through Telegram.
Together, these entities form a fast-growing regional illicit ecosystem with global reach. According to the report, Chinese-language services operating across mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and multiple Southeast Asian countries exhibit advanced payment processing capabilities and extensive cross-border networks.
Furthermore, geographic analysis reveals that while many trafficking-linked services are based in Southeast Asia, cryptocurrency inflows originate globally. Significant transaction flows were traced to countries including the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Australia.
“While traditional trafficking routes and patterns persist, these Southeast Asian services exemplify how cryptocurrency technology enables trafficking operations to facilitate payments and obscure money flows across borders more efficiently than ever before. The diversity of destination countries suggests these networks have developed sophisticated infrastructure for global operations,” the report read.
At the same time, Chainalysis stressed that blockchain transparency offers investigators deeper visibility into trafficking-related financial activity.
Unlike cash transactions, which leave little to no audit trail, blockchain-based transfers generate permanent, traceable records. This creates new opportunities for detection and disruption that are not possible with traditional payment systems.
Bitget, the world’s largest Universal Exchange (UEX), has launched Gracy AI, the first animated digital human in crypto designed to bring real leadership thinking into one-on-one conversations with users.
Built around the experience and decision-making approach of Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, Gracy AI moves beyond charts and short-term signals. Instead, it gives users a space to talk through market cycles, strategy, career questions, and mindset with an AI that reflects how a real industry leader thinks about growth, risk, and long-term direction.
The launch marks a shift in how exchanges use AI. Rather than acting as another data layer, Gracy AI focuses on interpretation and context. Users can ask about where the industry is heading, how to think through uncertainty, or how to approach decision-making when markets are noisy. The goal is not to predict prices, but to help users think more clearly about them.
“Honestly, I still find it a little funny to see an AI avatar of me on screen,” said Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget. She added:
“But a big part of my job is listening to user concerns, getting close to the details, and helping people understand what’s really happening in the market. The team built Gracy AI around that same approach so more users can connect, learn and grow feeling supported by me and the team.”
Gracy AI is part of Bitget’s broader AI roadmap as part of its UEX transformation. After GetAgent established Bitget’s AI capability in analytics and decision support, Gracy AI represents the more human-facing side of that strategy, where technology supports understanding rather than just execution.
To mark the launch, Bitget is rolling out themed Gracy AI conversations tied to moments of reflection and renewal. Valentine’s Day introduces self-care-focused chats, while Chinese New Year features guided conversations around goals, perspective, and new beginnings. These campaigns are designed to make AI interaction feel personal, timely, and useful, rather than transactional.
The Gracy AI launch builds on Bitget’s broader push to make AI genuinely useful for everyday traders. From AI-powered market insights and smart trading tools to products like GetAgent, which helps users navigate volatility with clearer signals and context,
Bitget has steadily integrated AI to reduce friction and improve decision-making. Gracy AI extends that approach by putting experience, perspective, and real-time intelligence into a more accessible, conversational layer for users. As Bitget continues to evolve into a Universal Exchange, Gracy AI reflects a simple idea: better tools matter, but better thinking matters more.
Experience Gracy AI here.
About Bitget
Bitget is the world’s largest Universal Exchange (UEX), serving over 125 million users and offering access to over 2M crypto tokens, 100+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals such as gold. The ecosystem is committed to helping users trade smarter with its AI agent, which co-pilots trade execution. Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships with LALIGA and MotoGP™. Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget currently leads in the tokenized TradFi market, providing the industry’s lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions worldwide.
For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord
Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.
Ethereum is trying to stabilize after weeks of heavy selling. The price is holding near the $1,950 zone, up around 6% from its recent low. At the same time, the biggest Ethereum whales have started accumulating aggressively.
But short-term sellers and derivatives traders remain cautious, creating a growing tug-of-war around the next move.
Biggest Ethereum Whales Accumulate as Bullish Divergence Stays Intact
On-chain data shows that the largest Ethereum holders are positioning for a rebound. Since February 9, addresses holding between 1 million and 10 million ETH have increased their holdings from around 5.17 million ETH to nearly 6.27 million ETH. That is an addition of more than 1.1 million ETH, worth roughly $2 billion at current prices.
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Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.
This accumulation aligns with a bullish technical signal on the 12-hour chart.
Between January 25 and February 12, Ethereum’s price made a lower low, while the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, formed a higher low. RSI measures momentum by comparing recent gains and losses. When price falls, but RSI rises, it often signals weakening selling pressure.
This bullish divergence suggests downside momentum is fading.
The structure remains valid as long as Ethereum holds above $1,890, as the same signal flashed even on February 11 and still seems to be holding. A breakdown below this level would invalidate the divergence for now and weaken the rebound case.
For now, whales appear to be betting that this support will hold.
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Short-Term Holders Are Selling?
While large investors are accumulating, short-term holders are behaving very differently.
The Spent Coins Age Band for the 7-day to 30-day cohort has surged sharply. Since February 9 (the same time when the whale pickup started), this metric has risen from around 14,000 to nearly 107,000, an increase of more than 660%. This indicator tracks how many recently acquired coins are being moved. Rising values usually signal possible profit-taking and distribution.
In simple terms, short-term traders are exiting positions. This pattern appeared earlier in February as well. On February 5, a spike in short-term coin activity occurred near $2,140. Within one day, Ethereum dropped by around 13%.
That history shows how aggressive selling from this group can quickly reverse moves. As long as short-term holders remain active sellers, upside moves are likely to face resistance.
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Derivatives Data Shows Heavy Bearish Positioning
Derivatives markets are reinforcing this cautious outlook. Current liquidation data shows nearly $3.06 billion in short positions stacked against only about $755 million in long leverage. This creates a heavily bearish imbalance with almost 80% of the market betting on the short side.
On one hand, this setup creates fuel for a potential short squeeze if prices rise. On the other hand, it shows that most traders still expect further weakness. This keeps momentum muted but keeps the bounce hope alive if the whale buying pushes the prices up, even a little bit, crossing past key clusters.
On-chain cost basis data helps explain why Ethereum struggles to break higher. Around $1,980, roughly 1.58% of the circulating supply, was acquired. Near $2,020, another 1.23% of supply sits at breakeven. These zones represent large groups of holders waiting to exit without losses.
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When price approaches these levels, selling pressure increases as investors try to recover capital. This has repeatedly capped recent bounces. Only a strong leverage-driven move or short squeeze would likely be powerful enough to push through these supply clusters.
Until then, these zones remain major barriers.
Key Ethereum Price Levels To Track Now
With whales buying and sellers resisting, Ethereum price levels now matter more than narratives.
On the upside, the first major resistance sits near $2,010. A clean 12-hour close above this level would increase the probability of short liquidations. And it sits near the key supply cluster.
If that happens, Ethereum could target $2,140 next, a strong resistance zone with multiple touchpoints. It also sits around 10% from the current levels. On the downside, $1,890 remains the critical support. A break below this level would invalidate the bullish divergence and signal renewed downside pressure. Below that, the next major support sits near $1,740.
As long as Ethereum holds above $1,890 and continues testing $2,010, the rebound structure remains intact. A sustained breakdown below support would cancel the current recovery attempt.
A US federal judge in Virginia sentenced the chief executive of Praetorian Group International to 20 years in prison for running a $200 million cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded tens of thousands of investors.
According to the Department of Justice, 61-year-old Ramil Ventura Palafox, a dual US and Philippine citizen, was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering for what prosecutors described as a Ponzi scheme that falsely promised daily returns of up to 3% from Bitcoin trading.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said investors poured over $201 million into PGI between December 2019 and October 2021, including at least 8,198 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at about $171.5 million at the time. According to prosecutors, victims suffered losses of at least $62.7 million.
The sentencing concludes the criminal case brought by the DOJ and follows a parallel civil action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, marking one of the larger crypto-related fraud cases in recent years by investor count and funds involved.
Fake trading claims and luxury spending
Court filings said Palafox told investors PGI was engaged in large-scale Bitcoin trading capable of generating consistent daily profits.
However, prosecutors said the company was not trading at a level sufficient to support the promised returns. Instead, new investor funds were used to pay earlier participants.
Authorities said Palafox operated an online portal that falsely displayed steady gains, giving investors the impression their accounts were growing. He also used a multilevel marketing structure, offering referral incentives to recruit new members.
The DOJ said Palafox spent millions in investor funds on personal expenses, including $3 million on luxury vehicles, over $6 million on homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on penthouse suites and high-end retail purchases.
Authorities said he also transferred at least $800,000 and 100 BTC to a family member.
Related: Sam Bankman-Fried claims Biden DOJ silenced witnesses during FTX trial
Civil charges and international reach
The scheme began to unravel as regulators scrutinized PGI’s trading claims and fund flows.
In April 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint alleging that Palafox misrepresented PGI’s Bitcoin trading activity and used new investor money to pay earlier participants.
The complaint said PGI promoted an AI-powered trading platform and guaranteed daily returns despite lacking trading operations capable of generating those profits.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia later unsealed criminal charges accusing Palafox of wire fraud and money laundering arising from the same conduct.
Authorities had seized the company’s website in 2021, and related operations were shut down in the United Kingdom, signaling cross-border enforcement scrutiny before the US criminal case advanced.
The DOJ said victims may be eligible for restitution and directed them to the US Attorney’s Office website for information on filing claims.
Magazine: Hong Kong stablecoins in Q1, BitConnect kidnapping arrests: Asia Express
Crypto World
Ark Invest buys $18 million of crypto stocks including 10th consecutive Bullish (BLSH) purchase
Ark Invest added another $18 million worth of crypto-adjacent stocks to its holdings on Thursday, including a $2 million purchase of shares in cryptocurrency exchange Bullish (BLSH).
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based company also bought $12 million worth of crypto-friendly trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) and $4 million worth of ether treasury firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), according to an emailed disclosure on Friday.
Ark’s investment in Bullish, the parent company of CoinDesk, extends its run of consecutive equity purchases in the crypto exchange to 10 days. Bullish shares fell 0.53% to $31.71 on Thursday.
BLSH shares have lifted from a trough of around $24 on Feb. 5 to trade either side of the $30 mark over the last week. They remain, however, more than 16% lower year-to-date.
HOOD shares fell 8.9% on Thursday, closing at $71.12 as U.S tech stocks sank, taking bitcoin with them.
Bitmine defied the broader market to rise 1.39% to $19.74.
The CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI) was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the U.S. for running a global Ponzi scheme that falsely claimed to invest in bitcoin and foreign exchange trading.
Ramil Ventura Palafox, 61, promised daily returns of up to 3%, misleading more than 90,000 investors and draining over $62.7 million in funds, according to a Thursday statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
PGI collected more than $201 million from investors between late 2019 and 2021, including over 8,000 bitcoin , according to court records. Instead of investing the money, prosecutors said Palafox used new investor funds to pay old ones while siphoning millions for himself.
To keep the illusion going, Palafox built an online portal where investors could track their supposed profits, with numbers that were entirely fabricated.
In reality, Palafox was buying Lamborghinis, luxury homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and penthouse suites at high-end hotels. Prosecutors say he spent $3 million on luxury cars and another $3 million on designer clothing, watches, and jewelry.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS. Victims may be eligible for restitution. The SEC is pursuing civil penalties, and Palafox remains banned from handling securities.
Ethereum price continues to lag its 2021 peak as institutions rotate cautiously into ETH exposure while weighing ETF flows, on-chain activity, and broader macro risk.
Summary
- BlackRock lifts its Bitmine stake 166% to $246M, doubling down on a levered Ethereum price proxy even as ETH trades ~60% below its peak and Bitmine stock is down ~70%.
- Vitalik Buterin and Stani Kulechov recently sold millions in ETH while BlackRock and Goldman Sachs add exposure via Bitmine and Ethereum ETFs, treating the drawdown as opportunity.
- BlackRock’s thesis leans on Ethereum’s dominance in tokenized real‑world assets, with Larry Fink calling tokenization “necessary” as BTC, ETH and SOL trade as high‑beta macro risk proxies.
BlackRock is leaning into the pain on Ethereum (ETH) price, quietly ramping up its exposure to Bitmine even as blue‑chip crypto names slide and prominent insiders head for the exits.
BlackRock’s leveraged Ethereum bet
According to a 13F‑HR filing collated by Fintel, BlackRock’s Bitmine stake jumped 166% in Q4 2025 to about $246 million, cementing the asset manager as a key backer of the Ethereum‑heavy treasury vehicle. Bitmine, the second‑largest digital asset treasury firm and a levered proxy on Ether, has seen its own stock price crater nearly 70% over six months to roughly $20 per share. The move drew an approving response from Bitmine chair Tom Lee, who has publicly floated a $250,000 price target for Ethereum and responded with clapping emojis to the disclosure in a post on X.
BlackRock’s buying spree lands as Ethereum trades just under $2,000, roughly 60% below its August peak, with Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick warning the token could drop a further 25% toward $1,400. “The best investment opportunities in crypto have presented themselves after declines,” Lee said on Monday, after Bitmine added another $80 million of Ether to its already underwater position, which is sitting on at least $6.6 billion in paper losses.
Insiders sell, Wall Street buys
February has seen crypto pioneers unload sizable Ether positions, even as Wall Street leans in. Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin sold at least $7 million worth of ETH last week to fund new initiatives, while Aave founder Stani Kulechov offloaded more than $8 million. At the same time, Goldman Sachs disclosed holdings of just over $1 billion in Ethereum exchange‑traded funds, joining BlackRock in treating the drawdown as an entry point.
BlackRock’s conviction rests on tokenisation. In January, the firm said Ethereum will lead the tokenisation of real‑world assets, noting that around 66% of all tokenised instruments sit on Ethereum, compared with about 10% on BNB Chain, 5% on Solana, 4% on Arbitrum, 4% on Stellar, and 3% on Avalanche. CEO Larry Fink has called tokenisation “necessary,” arguing in Davos that the goal is to bring “the entire financial system on one common blockchain.”
Market backdrop and key levels
The broader tape remains fragile. Bitcoin is down about 0.7% over the past 24 hours, trading near $66,582, while Ethereum has slipped roughly 0.4% to around $1,955. Spot dashboards show Bitcoin changing hands close to $66,618 with roughly $44.9 billion in 24‑hour volume, as Ethereum hovers near $1,961 on about $20.1 billion traded. Solana, another high‑beta proxy for crypto risk, trades around $192, with leading centralized exchanges printing quotes in the $191–$193 band on heavy liquidity.
This parabolic move comes as digital assets continue to trade as the purest expression of macro risk appetite. Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering around $66,600, with a 24‑hour range roughly between $65,000 and $68,400, on more than $30 billion in dollar volumes. Ethereum (ETH) changes hands close to $1,960, with about $20 billion in 24‑hour turnover and spot quotes clustering just below the $2,000 mark. Solana (SOL) trades near $192, fractionally lower on the day, with leading venues reporting individual pairs clearing hundreds of millions in volume.
For now, BlackRock is treating the selloff as structural opportunity rather than terminal decline, aligning its Bitmine bet with a broader thesis that Ethereum’s role in real‑world asset rails will outlast this drawdown.
Bitcoin rose to test $67,000 early Friday and was quickly rebuffed, though it remains about 1% higher since midnight UTC with ether rising half as much. The derivatives market, too, is showing signs of positivity.
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) is little changed, up just 0.7% in the period.
While the gains mark a recovery from yesterday’s U.S. trading, which saw the cryptocurrency market fall back toward last week’s lows, bitcoin is still on track for a fourth straight week of declines. That’s the longest falling streak since mid-November.
Meantime, a slowdown in trading and fading volatility are weighing on volumes.
It’s likely that traders are looking to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) print coming later today for hints on direction. A higher-than-forecast reading could lift bond yields and the dollar, putting additional pressure on risk assets. A lower reading might signal the easier conditions that are more conducive to risk-taking.
Even so, it will take quite a jump to push the bitcoin price to $85,000, a level that Deribiti’s chief commercial officer, Jean-David Péquignot, said would signal the largest cryptocurrency’s long-term rally is no longer “broken.”
Derivatives
- The market is showing signs of renewed life as open interest (OI) dropped to $15.5 billion, suggesting a cleanup of late-cycle leverage.
- Perpetual funding rates have flipped neutral to positive across all venues, now ranging between 0% and 8%. This broader optimism is being mirrored by institutions, as the three-month annualized basis spiked to just over 3%, signaling the first real uptick in professional conviction.
- The bitcoin options market shows returning call volume at 65%, even as the one-week 25-delta skew eased to 17.9%. Despite this “bottom-fishing” activity, the implied volatility (IV) term structure remains in short-term backwardation, confirming that traders are still paying a high “panic premium” for immediate downside protection.
- Coinglass data shows $256 million in 24-hour liquidations, split 69-31 between longs and shorts. Bitcoin ($112 million), ether ($52 million) and others ($16 million) were the leaders in terms of notional liquidations.
- The Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $68,800 as a core liquidation level to monitor in case of a price rise.
Token Talk
- PUMP, the token of Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, is up more than 5% in the past 24 hours.
- The platform rolled out a new way for token communities to allocate fees directly through its mobile app with the inclusion of GitHub account integration.
- The integration offers a simpler way for creators to assign automatic payouts generated by a token’s community, and more social features are expected to be introduced in the future.
- In practice, this means communities can start supporting creators on GitHub through a portion of the fees generated. To receive the fees, creators will need to claim them through the platform’s mobile app.
- Pump.fun was largely behind a major memecoin trading frenzy early last year that saw its monthly trading volume surge past $11 billion. Volume has since plunged to $1 billion last month, according to DeFiLlama data.
- Bitcoin saw spot ETF outflows of over $410 million as prices struggled.
- Over $2.5 billion in Bitcoin options expired on Friday.
- Analysts say “worst of downturn” likely over but market remains bearish.
Bitcoin ETFs experienced a net outflow of over $410 million on February 12, as investors withdrew capital from the exchange-traded funds amid growing fears of a broader crypto market downturn.
And on Friday morning, Feb. 13, BTC price fluctuated near $66,800 as the market recorded a massive $2.5 billion Bitcoin options expiry.
Crypto analysts have shared their thoughts on what this could mean for the Bitcoin price in the short term.
Bitcoin ETF outflows and $2.5 billion options expiry
Data showed that on US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of over $410 million yesterday, with none of the 12 spot ETFs notching net inflows.
BlackRock’s IBIT led with nearly $158 million, Fidelity’s FBTC had $104 million, and Grayscale’s GBTC had over $59 million in exits.
This marked the second consecutive day of redemptions, following $276 million on February 11.
Institutional investors are pulling back amid Bitcoin’s struggles around the $67,500-$65,450 range.
The fresh ETF outflows coincide with a pivotal weekly options expiry at 08:00 UTC on Feb. 13.
Approximately 38,000 Bitcoin contracts worth $2.5 billion in notional value have expired, primarily on Deribit, with a put/call ratio of 0.72 and maximum pain near $74,000.
Ethereum also saw 215,000 ETH options worth $410 million expire, with a put/call ratio of 0.82 and a maximum pain point at $2,100.
These maximum pain points are at values well above spot BTC and ETH levels, and likely the driver of downward pressure as market makers look to hedge delta exposure on out-of-the-money calls.
February 13 Options Expiration Data
38,000 BTC options expired with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.71, maximum pain point at $74,000, and notional value of $2.5 billion.
215,000 ETH options expired with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.82, maximum pain point at $2,100, and notional value of $410… pic.twitter.com/07TKfJxmMi— Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) February 13, 2026
Bitcoin price prediction
The ETF outflows and broader market weakness hinder bulls, and sentiment is skewed bearish, analysts say.
“Today saw the expiration of options accounting for 9% of total open interest, totaling nearly $2.9 billion. This week, implied volatility for Bitcoin and Ethereum has declined, with BTC’s main-term IV at 50% and ETH’s at 70%. While the downward price trend has moderated, market confidence remains weak,” analysts at Greeks.live noted via X.
Despite this outlook, the market may have “the most violent leg of the downturn” behind it. If sentiment improves, prices could pick up an upside trajectory.
In this case, a relief rally to above the critical $70,000 mark is likely.
However, ETF bleeding and macroeconomic headwinds could greatly cap upside momentum.
On Thursday, Standard Chartered forecast Bitcoin price could retest $50k before rising to $100k by the end of 2026. The bank cites ETF outflows, macro pressures and broader risk asset sentiment as negative catalysts.
$410M outflows in a single day.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs just logged their 4th straight week of bleeding.
AUM down from $170B (Oct ‘25 peak) to ~ $80B.
At the same time, Standard Chartered cuts 2026 BTC target from $150K → $100K and warns of a possible $50K flush first.
ETH ETFs… pic.twitter.com/H9W8lmAvRq
— Dear Bitcoiner ⚡️ (@DearBitcoiner) February 13, 2026
Notably, BTC tested support at $60k this month, and the elevated implied volatility, coupled with ETF exits, signals aggressive downside protection.
If outflows continue amid other highlighted downside triggers, the $50k level could be the next target.
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