Crypto World
MicroStrategy Stock Faces Collapse Risk as Institutions Exit
The MicroStrategy stock price has staged a notable rebound in recent weeks, but that recovery may now be facing its biggest test. With markets set to reopen for the last week of February, the stock remains highly sensitive to both Bitcoin’s weakness and shifting investor sentiment.
MSTR is currently trading near $131 after rebounding nearly 30% from its February 5 low. Despite this bounce, the stock is still down about 19% over the past month and more than 60% over the past three months.
This weak recovery now faces mounting pressure from 100% institutional exit disclosures, weakening momentum, and key technical resistance.
Institutional Selling Raises New Questions About MicroStrategy Recovery
The biggest warning sign for MicroStrategy stock price is coming from institutional investors themselves, who have recently revealed their positioning from the last quarter.
Recent 13F filings (lagging disclosures) reveal a clear pattern of mid-sized investors reducing or fully exiting Strategy positions.
Angeles Wealth Management and Wealth Watch Advisors both exited completely, cutting their holdings by 100%. Caitlin John LLC reduced its position by 96.54%, leaving only a negligible stake.
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Other major investors followed similar paths. Kovitz Investment Group cut its share count by 19.31%, while the value of its holdings fell nearly 62%.
Atomi Financial Group also reduced its exposure by 18.61%, with its position value dropping more than 61%. Even firms that maintained positions suffered heavy losses. Invesco increased its holdings by 14.12%, but the total value of its investment still fell by over 46%.
Such exits often signal declining confidence, especially when the news breaks during rebounds.
At the same time, MSTR’s technical structure is showing a hidden bearish divergence. Between November 18 and February 20, the stock formed a lower high, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) formed a higher high.
RSI is a momentum indicator that measures the strength of price movements.
Because this divergence is appearing within a broader downtrend, it suggests the recent rebound may be losing strength.
This signal would strengthen if the stock fails to break above key resistance near $135.
These filings reveal positioning during the recent decline (reported in the previous quarter), highlighting weakening institutional conviction.
Declining Volume Suggests Weak Conviction Behind the Recovery
Technical volume indicators suggest that remaining support may not be strong.
One key metric is On-Balance Volume (OBV), which tracks cumulative buying and selling pressure. Since February 9, the MicroStrategy stock price has moved mostly sideways, but OBV has fallen much more sharply.
This shows that selling volume has been stronger than buying volume during the recovery.
When OBV declines faster than price, it usually signals weakening conviction among investors, possibly retail. This suggests that fewer participants are willing to accumulate the MSTR stock at current levels.
However, not all signals are negative. The Money Flow Index (MFI), which measures capital inflows and dip-buying activity, shows limited strength.
Between February 5 and February 19, MFI formed a slightly higher high even as the price struggled to continue rising.
MFI tracks buying and selling pressure using both price and volume. When MFI rises while price stalls, it shows that some investors are still buying dips. This dip buying may explain why MicroStrategy’s stock price has held above recent lows despite institutional exits and weak volume. This also explains 3% green tick over the past 5 days.
But dip buying alone rarely sustains long-term rallies. Without stronger participation from large investors, price recoveries often struggle to continue. This brings the focus to the most important factor now: key MSTR stock price levels.
Key Price Levels Could Decide MSRT’s Next Major Move
The MicroStrategy stock price is currently trading inside a falling broadening wedge pattern that has been forming since November. This structure reflects ongoing volatility and uncertainty.
For the recovery to continue, MicroStrategy must first break above $139. This level is especially important because it aligns with the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a trend indicator that tracks short-term price direction while giving more weight to recent price changes. The last time MicroStrategy reclaimed this level in January, the stock rallied nearly 15% shortly after.
If MSTR breaks above $139, it could gain strength for a move toward $163.
However, downside risks remain significantly stronger. If the MicroStrategy stock price falls below $119, the current structure would weaken considerably. A deeper drop below $106 could open the path toward $96 and potentially $86.
This would represent a decline of nearly 20% from current levels. MicroStrategy’s close relationship with Bitcoin makes this risk even more important.
The company currently holds over 717,000 BTC, meaning its valuation remains highly sensitive to Bitcoin price movements, which itself looks weak.
With institutional investor exits surfacing, volume weakening, and resistance overhead, the MicroStrategy stock price now faces a decisive moment. As markets reopen Monday, the next move could determine whether the recent 30% rebound holds or begins to reverse.
Check out how SHIB users can protect themselves.
Shiba Inu’s price may have declined substantially over the past several months, but its community remains among the biggest ones in the crypto space.
That said, it is no wonder that scammers often target the so-called SHIB Army using various and sophisticated attacks.
The Latest Danger
Just hours ago, Shibarium Trustwatch (an X account dedicated to warning Shiba Inu users about potential threats) sounded the alarm about multiple fraud attempts involving the SOU NFT.
The team asserted that the non-fungible token in question will never be airdropped to users’ wallets, and that eligible claimants can do so only through Shiba Inu’s official website.
“Do not click on shared, shortened, or copied links. Scammers often create fake websites that look identical to the real one in order to steal funds. Always type the official address directly into your browser and verify you are on the correct domain before connecting your wallet. Never share your private keys or seed phrase with anyone under any circumstances,” the alert reads.
One person commenting on the post was LUCIE , the pseudonymous marketing strategist of Shibarium. They urged the SHIB Army to remain vigilant, warning that fake ads impersonating Uniswap have already led to substantial user losses. They added that crypto scams and exploits have siphoned off roughly $370 million in January alone.
What Is SOU NFT?
The security of Shiba Inu’s layer-2 scaling solution, Shibarium, was breached in September last year, with some reports suggesting the attacker used a flash loan to purchase 4.6 million BONE tokens.
The incident severely disrupted the protocol’s activity, with daily transactions collapsing from millions to only a few hundred. Some analysts have repeatedly argued over the past months that Shiba Inu’s price resurgence may heavily depend on Shibarium’s revival.
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After the attack, Shiba Inu’s team created SOU (“Shib Owes You”) NFTs to compensate users for their losses. Each non-fungible token represents a verified claim recorded on Ethereum that shows the amount owed and the amount already repaid.
“You can hold the NFT and wait for repayment, or transfer it if you choose. Think of it like a digital IOU that lives forever on the blockchain instead of a promise in a spreadsheet,” the team recently explained.
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On February 12th, a company formerly known as The Singing Machine, yes, the one that sold karaoke equipment, wiped billions off the global logistics sector with a single press release.
The company, now rebranded as Algorithm Holdings, has a $6 million market cap and reported a net loss of nearly $3 million last quarter. Yet within hours of claiming its “AI logistics platform” could scale freight volumes by 300-400%, CH Robinson, one of the largest freight brokerages on the planet—plunged 24%. The entire Russell 3000 trucking index had its worst day since Liberation Day.
This wasn’t a one-off. It was the fifth time in ten days.
The Pattern Is the Story
In just ten days, the same sequence played out across eight different sectors: software, private credit, insurance, wealth management, real estate, logistics, drug distribution, and commercial office space. Different industries. Different companies. Different announcements. Identical market reaction: dump first, analyze later.
A Jefferies trader named it the “SaaS Apocalypse.” The name stuck. But what we’re actually watching isn’t a market efficiently pricing disruption. It’s something more dangerous.
Wall Street has developed an autoimmune disorder. The immune system — risk repricing — is attacking healthy tissue because it can no longer distinguish between what’s real and what’s noise.
The Real Damage Isn’t on the Stock Ticker
When CH Robinson drops 24% in a day, that’s not just a number. That’s a board meeting next week, a hiring freeze next month, and a Q2 roadmap getting torn apart to make room for a performative AI strategy, whether or not a coherent one actually exists.
Stock drops don’t just reflect reality. They create it.
Companies whose stocks crater on AI fears start behaving as if AI is an existential threat today even when the actual technology is years away from touching their core business. Innovation budgets get redirected from real product development to headline-friendly AI partnerships. Headcount gets cut. Not because AI replaced anyone, but because the market priced in the expectation that it would.
The stock market may recover in a week. The organizational damage will take years.
Three Categories the Market Is Treating as One
Here’s where the panic becomes a genuine mispricing:
Category 1: Real disruption, happening now. SaaS companies built on per-seat pricing models are legitimately at risk. AI coding tools like Cursor are growing faster than almost any software product in history. Palantir posted 70% revenue growth. The assumption that all software bottlenecks on humans are already breaking down. These companies need to adapt fast.
Category 2: Real disruption, but not this quarter. Wealth management, insurance brokerage, financial advisory. An AI tax planning tool doesn’t replace a wealth advisor whose core value is trust, behavioral coaching, and relationship management. These sectors will change, but on a 3-5 year horizon, not by earnings season.
Category 3: The market has completely lost the plot. A former karaoke company’s press release does not invalidate CH Robinson’s relationships with 100,000 shippers, its proprietary freight data, or its ability to manage the physical and regulatory complexity of cross-border logistics. CBRE’s property transaction expertise doesn’t evaporate because Claude can draft a lease summary.
The market is pricing all three categories identically. That’s the error and that’s where the opportunity lives.
The Career Asymmetry Nobody Is Talking About
If you work in any of these sectors, the scare trade is creating a very sharp split.
The people most at risk right now aren’t those whose jobs AI can actually replace. They’re the ones in cost centers at companies whose stock just dropped, anyone whose contribution is synthesis, summarization, or aggregating other people’s work. You’re now competing with a tool that does that faster and cheaper, and the CEO just became very aware of it.
But here’s the asymmetry: every company panicking about AI is about to spend heavily on AI capabilities. That spending creates roles, budgets, and career paths that didn’t exist three months ago.
The most valuable person in every org chart being redrawn right now is the domain translator, someone who can walk into a room of panicking executives and say: Here’s what Claude can actually do with our contract review workflow. It handles 70% of initial analysis accurately. Here’s where it fails, here’s where we need a human check, and here’s how we cut review time by 40% and outside counsel spend by $200K. This is the implementation plan.
That person doesn’t exist at most companies right now. The technical people know the models but not the business. The business people know the workflows but haven’t used the tools. The consultants know neither — just the frameworks.
The gap between “I’ve heard AI can do this” and “I’ve tested it and here’s exactly what it does for our business” is a canyon. The scare trade just made crossing that canyon the most valuable thing anyone in any organization can do.
The Bottom Line
AI disruption is real. But it’s not evenly distributed, and the market’s current method of pricing it—sector-wide panic triggered by press releases from $6 million companies—is creating a mispricing so severe it’s simultaneously a historic investment opportunity and a historic reallocation of organizational attention.
The companies that will lose are the ones that mistake market panic for strategic signal. The ones that gut their product teams, sign a splashy AI partnership, and pray the stock recovers.
The companies that win will use the panic as cover to invest in genuine AI capability in the domain expertise that makes AI actually useful, and in the people who understand both the tech and the business well enough to know where real leverage lies.
Somehow, a karaoke company helped kick all of this off.
Bitcoin (BTC) battled US sellers at Monday’s Wall Street open amid mixed feelings over the short-term BTC price outlook.
Key points:
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Bitcoin price targets include a $60,000 drop as well as a recovery amid uncertain moves.
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Bitcoin attempts to absorb repeat rounds of selling into the TradFi trading week.
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US tariffs remain the key macro catalyst on the radar.
Bitcoin outlook splits with BTC in “tricky place”
Data from TradingView showed rangebound market moves focusing on $66,000, with BTC/USD down around 2.5% on the day.
US weakness compounded an already bearish start to Monday, with sell-side pressure clearly in evidence at the weekly open.
“$BTC flushed 4.5K in one move,” crypto analyst IT Tech, a contributor onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, wrote in his latest market commentary on X.
IT Tech described current price moves as indicating “confusion,” warning that the day’s $62,250 lows could come in for a retest.
“The long cluster at 64.2K got partially swept. If 65K fails, we retest it. Support: 65K → 64.2K / Resistance: 66.5K → 68.7K,” he summarized.
Trader Jelle eyed a potential sweep of the $60,000 mark should bulls fail to build a foundation in the current narrow range.
Others were more hopeful. Commentator Exitpump flagged an ongoing tentative recovery in the Coinbase Premium as an early sign that conditions might improve.
“We had aggressive spot buying, but it stopped for now, funding is negative and Coinbase premium is almost back. Tricky place, but I am bullish here,” Exitpump told X followers.
Crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe had similar feelings on the day.
“Pretty good wick on the markets for $BTC,” he wrote about the local lows.
“That would be a signal that this won’t continue to fall, however, it still needs to hold above $65K and get continuation in the coming days to clearly signal this. First steps are great.”
Tariffs provide “immediate catalyst” for crypto
US stocks continued a nervous start to the week on futures, thanks to the threat of fresh US trade tariffs.
Related: Hodlers have ‘given up’ at $65K: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week
The 15% blanket levies were announced by President Donald Trump over the weekend after the Supreme Court struck down some previous measures.
🇺🇸 JUST IN: Donald Trump says he can use licenses and approved tariffs in a absolutely “terrible” way against countries he claims have taken advantage of the US. pic.twitter.com/ZEXY9hI7NA
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) February 23, 2026
Responding, trading company QCP Capital described the tariff debacle as an “immediate catalyst” for Bitcoin.
“This escalation has added another layer of policy uncertainty at a time when macro risk appetite is already thinning,” it wrote in its latest “Asia Color” market update.
QCP also attempted to find a reason for optimism, noting the lack of a broad market flush around the headlines.
“After several aggressive flushes this year, both the scale of volatility spikes and the intensity of liquidation cascades have somewhat moderated,” it continued.
“Even on the latest tariff headline from Trump, spot didn’t immediately gap lower on the news as it typically has in prior episodes, instead softening into the Asia open. That shift in reaction function is notable.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
TLDR
- U.S. same-store sales grew 3.7% in Q4, beating analyst estimates of 3.47%
- Revenue hit $1.54B, up 6.4% year-over-year and $20M above expectations
- EPS came in at $5.35, slightly below the consensus estimate of $5.37–$5.39
- Quarterly dividend raised by more than 14%, the latest in a string of increases
- DPZ stock climbed as much as 6% at Monday’s open following the results
Domino’s Pizza had a busy Monday morning. The pizza giant posted Q4 results that sent its stock climbing nearly 6% at the open, fueled by strong domestic sales, a dividend hike, and its 32nd consecutive year of international same-store sales growth.
U.S. same-store sales rose 3.7% for the quarter. That beat analyst expectations of 3.47% growth, driven by value-focused promotions and new menu items.
International same-store sales told a slightly different story. Growth came in at 0.7% for the quarter per Investing.com, or 1.9% according to Seeking Alpha’s figures, both reflecting pressure in markets like Australia and Japan where competition is fierce and demand has been soft.
Total revenue for Q4 reached $1.54 billion, a 6.4% increase from the same period last year. That came in roughly $20 million ahead of what analysts had penciled in.
Earnings per share landed at $5.35, up from $4.89 a year earlier — a 9.4% jump. But it missed the consensus estimate, which ranged between $5.37 and $5.39 depending on the source.
The stronger profit figure was helped by $80 million in share buybacks during the year, which reduced the weighted average share count.
Dividend Boost
Domino’s raised its quarterly dividend by 14.4%. That’s a meaningful bump and came alongside what the company described as company-wide profit growth of 9%.
Revenue growth was supported by a 1.7% increase in food basket pricing, higher franchisee profits, and improved sales in both domestic and international markets.
Margin Pressure
Not everything moved in the right direction. The U.S. company-owned store gross margin narrowed sharply, falling 540 basis points to 15.5%. Higher insurance, labor, and food costs were to blame.
Overall gross margin, which includes international markets, told a better story — expanding 50 basis points to 39.7%.
CEO Russell Weiner pointed to the company’s “Hungry for MORE” strategy as the driver behind the results. “In 2025 we demonstrated that when we execute our Hungry for MORE strategy, it delivers MORE sales, MORE stores, and MORE profits,” he said.
Looking ahead, Weiner said the company expects to “meaningfully increase” its market share in the U.S. quick-service pizza category in 2026.
DPZ stock has declined 15.6% over the past 12 months. The stock was trading at $403.04 in premarket on Monday, up 4.8% at that point.
Bitcoin price is consolidating after recent volatility, trading within a neutral structure. The crypto king has struggled to establish a decisive trend over the past two weeks.
Currently, Bitcoin remains rangebound, reflecting balanced pressure between buyers and sellers. This equilibrium suggests that investor behavior from here will likely determine the next directional move.
Worry From Whales, Support From MTHs
On-chain data indicates that younger holders are choosing to HODL rather than exit positions. HODL waves show that the supply held by investors aged one to three months has declined by 5%. This supply has matured into the three- to six-month cohort, signaling reduced short-term selling.
This shift reflects improving holder resilience despite recent drawdowns. Bitcoin investors who remain underwater are not engaging in panic-driven liquidation. Instead, coins are aging into longer-term categories, which historically supports price stability. Reduced short-term distribution often limits downside volatility and strengthens structural support zones.
Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.
While some holders’ behavior appears stable, whale activity presents a contrasting dynamic. Since February 13, large holders have moved approximately 900,000 BTC, valued at $60 billion. This transfer activity suggests that significant capital may be preparing to exit positions following limited price appreciation.
Persistent whale selling can introduce supply shocks, particularly in range-bound conditions. Large distributions increase overhead resistance and weaken bullish momentum. If critical holders grow increasingly impatient, sustained selling pressure could undermine BTC’s stability and elevate the probability of a broader correction.
BTC Price Breakout or Breakdown Ahead?
Bitcoin is trading at $66,188 at the time of writing after slipping below the $67,394 support level. The asset remains confined between $65,000 and $70,000. This consolidation range reflects ongoing equilibrium. A decisive breakout or breakdown will likely define the next major move in Bitcoin price.
Over the past two weeks, BTC has formed a symmetrical triangle pattern. Price action shows no clear directional bias. However, continued whale selling could tip the balance downward. A breakdown below the triangle support may send Bitcoin toward $64,142. Losing that level would expose BTC to a potential decline toward $60,000. Notably, a recent long lower wick signaled dip buying interest.
Conversely, if whale distribution slows and mid-term holders transition into long-term holders, recovery prospects could strengthen. Renewed demand may trigger a breakout above the range resistance. A sustained move toward $71,963 would invalidate the immediate bearish outlook. Clearing that level could extend gains toward $74,789, restoring bullish momentum in the broader crypto market.
Missouri lawmakers advanced House Bill 2080 to the House Commerce Committee on February 19, taking a significant step toward establishing a state-run Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund.
Sponsored by Representative Ben Keathley, the legislation mandates a five-year holding period for digital assets and positions Missouri alongside other Republican-led states aggressively integrating cryptocurrency into public finance.
Key Takeaways
- HB 2080 authorizes the State Treasurer to custody Bitcoin for a minimum of five years.
- The fund relies exclusively on private gifts and grants, prohibiting taxpayer funding for purchases.
- Missouri joins Arizona and Texas in competing to formalize state-level digital asset reserves.
Missouri Legislation Revives Crypto Treasury Push
HB 2080 would amend Chapter 30 of Missouri law to allow the State Treasurer to receive and hold Bitcoin. This is Representative Ben Keathley’s second try after a similar bill failed in March 2025. Now it has been perfected and sent to the House Commerce Committee, showing the issue is back on the agenda.
The timing is interesting. While Missouri is pushing a long term Bitcoin reserve, recent data shows spot Bitcoin ETFs have logged multiple weeks of outflows, hinting that short term institutional demand has cooled.
If approved, the reserve would go live by August 28, 2026. Supporters frame it as a hedge against federal inflation, focusing on long term strategy rather than daily price swings.
Strict Holding Periods and Funding Mechanics
The bill is clear on one thing. Any donated Bitcoin must be held for at least five years before it can be sold or transferred.
The Treasurer would have to use cold storage, keeping private keys offline to reduce security risks.
There is also a transparency layer. The state must publish reports every two years covering fund activity, security audits, and transactions.
State Policy Joins Federal Momentum
Missouri is not acting alone. Several states are racing to position themselves as crypto friendly hubs. By creating a legal path to hold Bitcoin, lawmakers hope to attract talent and capital.
NEW: — Bitcoin.com News (@BitcoinNews) February 17, 2026
Arizona's Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund bill (SB1649) cleared the Senate Finance Committee in a 4-2 vote.
Eligible assets explicitly include #Bitcoin, $XRP, Digibyte, and stablecoins. 
The bill now advances to the Rules Committee. pic.twitter.com/kpN6ds0dBv
The broader regulatory backdrop is also shifting. Federal discussions around clearer crypto rules are gaining momentum, which could make state level reserves easier to expand in the future.
Right now, the bill only allows donation based accumulation. But it sets a precedent. If federal clarity improves, that framework could grow.
If HB 2080 passes, Missouri becomes an early test case for putting decentralized assets inside a state treasury system.
Discover: Here are the crypto likely to explode!
The post Missouri Advances Bitcoin Reserve Bill to House Committee in Policy Push appeared first on Cryptonews.
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 1917.67, down 2.4% (-47.79) since 4 p.m. ET on Friday.
Two of the 20 assets are trading higher.
Leaders: AAVE (+1.7%) and UNI (+0.5%).
Laggards: SUI (-4.8%) and SOL (-4.8%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.
- Ethereum traded around $1,921 as Bitcoin bounced from lows of $65,000.
- Analysts are bullish on ETH despite $36 million in weekly outflows from ETH investment products.
- ETH could revisit $1,500 or bounce as macro pressures ease to target $3,000.
Ethereum price is struggling to break above $2,000 as losses seen over the weekend extend into early US trading hours on Monday.
Bitcoin fell to below $65,000, ETH dropped to $1,848, and Solana pared gains to under $80.
The sell-off across crypto has accelerated in recent weeks amid negative sentiment, resulting in huge capital outflows from crypto-related investment products.
Ethereum sees further capital outflows
Downside pressure for BTC has cascaded into top altcoins, and the latest down move for ETH coincides with losses for US equity futures ahead of opening on Monday, February 23, 2026.
Risk-off sentiment has flared after an initial risk-on outlook hit markets amid the US Supreme Court’s decision on President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The dump for top coins alludes to overall weakness, and one indicator of this trajectory is the fifth consecutive week of net outflows from digital asset investment products.
Ethereum hit over $36 million in weekly outflows last week, bringing month-to-date flows to -$117 million and year-to-date flows to over $494 million.
That marked a fifth consecutive week of outflows and coincides with ETH struggling to decisively breach the $2k level.
Analysts on ETH price outlook
ETH’s slump below $2k aligns with institutional selling and macro and geopolitical risks.
According to analysts at QCP, investors have priced in new tariff risks as well as geopolitical tensions, and ETH has shown weakness similar to BTC.
ETH has witnessed nearly $500 million in ETF outflows year-to-date, but rather than being bearish about it, analysts say outflows mirror trade unwinds and are not a “structural exit”.
“Options still show a downside bias in both $BTC and $ETH, but skew is less extreme, suggesting positioning is cleaner and panic hedging has eased. ETF outflows also appear more consistent with trade unwinds than a structural exit,” QCP posted on X.
Short-term price movement for ETH may also align with whale selling, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin among those who have recently sold ETH.
Crypto Rover says “large ETH whales are underwater,” and previous instances have historically highlighted bottoms.
Large $ETH whales are underwater. 🐋
Last 3 times this happened it marked bottoms. pic.twitter.com/FfNZv7QuPK
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) February 23, 2026
Despite this, some crypto treasury companies, led by Bitmine, have doubled down on the altcoin as they weigh the “buy-the-dip” opportunity.
Whales who sold earlier, like ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees, are also buying ETH again.
As such, there’s a possibility the coin may fail to reclaim and hold above the psychological level, risking further declines to the $1,500 level.
However, recovery for Bitcoin to above $74,000 could signal a shift in broader market sentiment. Ethereum will target $2,300-$3,000 as initial supply wall risk areas.
Several Russian-linked crypto exchanges continue to allow transactions linked to sanctioned entities, according to a report published Friday by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
The report outlines how certain platforms enable users to convert rubles into cryptocurrencies, transfer funds across borders outside traditional banking channels, and cash out through overseas brokers or exchanges. Elliptic said these transaction pathways can reduce reliance on the conventional financial system and complicate sanctions enforcement.
Last month, a separate Elliptic report revealed that while Tether’s USDT has become a key asset for Russia to evade Western sanctions imposed after the Ukraine invasion in 2022, transactions with the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 surpassed $100 billion. Since Russia’s full-scale Ukraine invasion, Western governments imposed sanctions targeting energy, finance and strategic goods. The EU froze roughly $250 billion of Russian assets and the U.K., nearly $35 billion.
Elliptic’s report follows another one by TRM Labs last week that showed illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins in 2025, the highest in five years, and more than half of which was linked to the ruble-pegged A7A5 token, whose Russian executives dispute claims that their operations are illegal. Sanctions-related activity accounted for 86% of illicit crypto flows, TRM’s report said, with bad actors mostly relying on stablecoin platforms.
Among the exchanges highlighted in Elliptic’s report is Bitpapa, a UAE-registered peer-to-peer platform primarily serving Russian users. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Bitpapa in March 2024.
Elliptic estimated that roughly 9.7% of the exchange’s outgoing crypto flows were sent to sanctioned entities, including about 5% to the Russia-linked exchange Garantex. The firm also alleges that Bitpapa rotates wallet addresses in a manner designed to hinder transaction tracing.
The report also named ABCeX, which operates from Moscow’s Federation Tower, and said it has processed at least $11 billion in crypto transactions, including flows to sanctioned exchanges such as Garantex and Aifory Pro.
Other exchanges cited include Rapira, which Elliptic says processed more than $72 million in transactions with sanctioned exchange Grinex, and Aifory Pro, a service offering cash-to-crypto transactions in Moscow, Dubai and Türkiye.
The findings highlight the ongoing role of crypto infrastructure in cross-border financial activity linked to sanctioned actors, even as regulators increase scrutiny of the sector.
BitMine stock price remains in a tight range this week, even as Ethereum dropped to a multi-week low of $1,880.
Summary
- BitMine stock has formed a large falling wedge pattern on the three-day chart.
- It continued to accumulate ETH as it moved towards owning 5%.
- Data shows that the short interest has jumped to 6%.
The BMNR stock was trading at the key support level at $20, down by almost 90% from its highest level in July last year.
BitMine stock has wavered as the company has continued accumulating Ethereum (ETH). Data shows that the company has bought over 168,000 Ethereum tokens in the last 30 days, bringing the cumulative total to 4.7 million, which are currently worth over $8.3 billion.
The company’s goal is to ultimately own 5% of ETH coins and generate a monthly return through staking. Data compiled by StakingRewards shows that the average staking return on Ethereum is about 2.9%, meaning that the company will be generating over $350 million in annual staking revenue.
BitMine also holds over $600 million in cash, which it has invested in short-term government bonds, which earn over 4%.
At the same time, Tom Lee has invested in other companies, including Beast Industries, the company owned by Mr. Beast. It offers numerous products, including chocolate bars and financial services. It recently acquired Step, a company that provides financial literacy solutions to young people.
BitMine has access to more money to make investments as its shareholders recently increased its authorized shares to 50 billion. This means that it may issue additional shares to make these investments.
This performance, together with Ethereum’s track record of bouncing back, explains why top institutional investors have continued buying the stock. Some of the top holders of the BMNR stock are companies like Morgan Stanley, ARK Investment, BlackRock, Citadel, and Goldman Sachs.
The main risk facing the BMNR stock price is the ongoing Ethereum price crash and the rising short interest. Short interest jumped to 6%, meaning that many investors anticipate it to keep falling.
BitMine stock price technical analysis
The daily chart shows that the BMNR stock price has slumped in the past few months. This retreat has pushed it to move below all moving averages, a sign that bears have prevailed.
A closer look shows that the stock has formed a giant falling wedge pattern. This pattern is made up of two descending and converging trendlines. A bullish breakout normally happens when the two lines are about to converge.
Therefore, the most likely BitMine stock price forecast is bullish, with the initial target being at $35, its highest level in January this year.
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