TLDR:

• S&P assigned a BBB- rating to Ledn’s ABS senior notes, the first for a digital asset lender.
• The $188M offering was 2x oversubscribed, with institutional demand exceeding the full deal size.
• Ledn’s bitcoin collateral stays ring-fenced in custody and cannot be lent out by any party.
• The ABS creates a rated benchmark for bitcoin-backed loans, a first in crypto credit markets.

Ledn has closed a $188 million asset-backed security offering backed by its portfolio of Bitcoin-collateralized retail loans. 

Standard & Poor’s assigned the senior notes a BBB- rating, marking the first investment grade rating ever given to a digital asset lending portfolio. 

The deal drew twice the demand it sought, with institutional interest surpassing the full offering size. No crypto-native lender has hit this benchmark before.

Ledn Becomes First Crypto Lender to Earn Investment Grade ABS Rating From S&P

The rating places Ledn in a category previously reserved for traditional asset classes. 

Auto loans, mortgages, and similar instruments have long carried these benchmarks. Bitcoin-backed lending has not, until now. S&P’s decision signals a structural shift in how institutions view crypto credit.

Ledn shared details of the transaction via a blog post published alongside the announcement. The company stated that S&P evaluated its loan book using the same analytical frameworks applied to conventional lending assets. 

Operational procedures, custody standards, and technology platforms were all reviewed. The outcome confirmed that Ledn’s systems met institutional requirements.

The offering closed oversubscribed by a factor of two. 

Demand from institutional buyers exceeded the $188 million target. Ledn did not disclose the specific investors involved. The oversubscription reflects growing appetite for rated crypto credit products among traditional capital allocators.

Ledn noted the ABS structure does not change how client collateral is handled. Bitcoin posted as collateral remains in custody and stays ring-fenced. 

Neither Ledn, its funding partners, nor any financing vehicle can lend out that collateral. The company emphasized this in its blog post to address client concerns about counterparty exposure.

Bitcoin-Backed Lending Gets Its First Institutional Benchmark With This ABS Closing

The company has operated since 2018 and has navigated multiple market cycles, including the 2022 credit crisis. Its loan book maintained a clean performance record through those periods. 

S&P’s review covered that full history. The rating reflects durability across volatile conditions, not just recent performance.

Ledn described the ABS market access as a new liquidity frontier. The structure creates a direct channel between its bitcoin-backed loan portfolio and institutional credit markets. 

This allows funding that operates independently of broader digital asset market conditions. The company framed this as a long-term stability mechanism.

Pension funds and insurance companies typically require investment grade ratings before allocating capital. This deal now meets that threshold for the first time in the digital asset space. 

Ledn’s blog post described the milestone as validation of the standards it has worked to establish. The transaction sets a new pricing and risk benchmark for the sector.

You know what’s frustrating? Watching a coin you believe in go nowhere for months while something you never heard of quietly crosses $7.2 million in funding. That’s the story playing out right now between XRP and Pepeto.. And once you look at the math, the rotation makes perfect sense.

XRP sits at $1.43 today. Even the most optimistic Ripple forecast puts it at $5 this cycle. That’s roughly 3.5x from here. Solid, sure. But Pepeto is priced at $0.000000185 with a confirmed Binance listing and working products already live. The difference in upside potential isn’t even close.

Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week demanding they promise no taxpayer money goes toward propping up the crypto market. According to American Banker, Warren called out the Treasury Secretary for dodging questions about government intervention during a February 6 hearing. Bitcoin has lost roughly 50% since its October peak of $126,000. The letter signals that no bailout is coming. Investors who want upside need to find it on their own.

XRP price prediction for February 2026

XRP dipped 4.4% on February 19 to $1.40 before recovering to $1.43. The RSI reads 37, which means bearish pressure is still in control. The MACD keeps falling. If XRP holds above $1.35, a push toward $1.64 is possible. But even if it reaches $2, that’s only 40% from current levels. For investors chasing life changing returns, that math doesn’t excite anyone.

Best crypto presale to buy: Why Pepeto is where the real 100X sits

Pepeto is cutting through this bear cycle without breaking a sweat. Priced at $0.000000185, this project has attracted over $7.2 million from investors who clearly see something special. And they’re not buying hype. They are buying into a working platform you can actually test after joining the presale at pepeto.io.

PepetoSwap handles instant meme token trades. The cross chain bridge moves assets between networks. The upcoming exchange only lists verified projects, cutting scams out completely. Four products. All in demo stage. That is not a roadmap promise. That is real infrastructure built during a downturn.

But here is the part most people miss. The staking at 214% APY is nice. Put in $7,000 and collect $14,980 a year. But don’t confuse the yield with the main play. The main play is the gap between the presale price and what happens after Binance listing. SHIB went from nothing to $40 billion without a single product. PEPE reached $7 billion on memes alone. Pepeto has actual utility at a micro cap valuation. According to The Motley Fool, Wall Street firms predict Bitcoin at $150K this year. When the tide turns, projects like Pepeto benefit first. Founded by a Pepe cofounder, dual audited by SolidProof and Coinsult, zero tax. 70% filled.

Final verdict

The XRP price prediction shows moderate potential, maybe $2 by month end if sentiment shifts. But Pepeto at $0.000000185 with confirmed listing, working products, and $7.2M raised offers something XRP can’t: ground floor access before the world notices.

Click To Visit Official Website To Buy Pepeto: https://pepeto.io

FAQs

How high will XRP go in February 2026?

Technical indicators show XRP could reach $2 if it holds $1.35 support and Bitcoin recovers. But at $1.43, that’s roughly 40% upside. Pepeto at $0.000000184 offers asymmetric returns that XRP’s market cap simply can’t match.

Is Pepeto a better buy than XRP right now?

XRP is established but needs massive capital inflow for modest gains. Pepeto has a confirmed Binance listing, working demo, dual audits, and zero tax at a fraction of XRP’s market cap. For 100X potential, the math favors Pepeto.

Can Pepeto really reach 100X after listing?

SHIB hit $40 billion with no products. Pepeto has swap, bridge, exchange demo, audits, and a Pepe cofounder at a micro cap entry. 100X is conservative when you compare it to what pure hype tokens achieved.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Key Takeaways

• The Stash: Sharplink now holds 867,798 ETH, staking nearly 100% of the assets to generate continuous yield.
• The Support: Institutional ownership has surged to 46% as of Dec. 31, driven by confidence in CEO Joseph Chalom’s strategy.
• The Yield: The firm utilized liquid staking protocols to generate over 13,000 ETH in rewards to date.

Key takeaways

• Whale holdings of 1,000–10,000 BTC climbed to 3.09 million BTC, up from 2.86 million BTC on Dec. 10, 2025, restoring levels seen before the October 2025 market wobble.
• The three-month accumulation included a net addition of about 230,000 BTC, signaling renewed demand from medium-to-large holders.
• Over the last 30 days, whale reserves reversed earlier declines with a gain of roughly 98,000 BTC, suggesting renewed on-chain interest.
• BTC spot market data shows large-average order sizes in 2026, ranging from 950 to 1,100 BTC, the strongest stretch of meaningful blocks since late-2024.
• Binance rail for whale flows reached about $8.24 billion in 30 days, a 14-month high, while retail flows were about $11.91 billion with a retail-to-whale ratio of 1.45.
• Glassnode reports a 3.5% average withdrawal rate of exchange-held BTC from whales over 30 days, indicating net exchange balances may remain relatively stable despite rising inflows.

Tickers mentioned: $BTC

Sentiment: Neutral

Market context: The observed on-chain activity unfolds against ongoing liquidity shifts and evolving risk sentiment in crypto markets, with whales reaccumulating as retail participation remains active and exchange balances show a mix of inflows and offsetting withdrawals.

Why it matters

The reaccumulation by larger Bitcoin holders suggests an orientation toward longer-term custody and potential readiness to absorb buying pressure if market conditions improve. While price action remains contingent on macro signals and liquidity, the on-chain readouts point to a market that is gradually shifting from a phase of dispersion toward a more balanced posture where large entities are rebuilding positions while smaller players continue to transact in smaller blocks.

For traders, the pattern underscores the importance of watching cross-venue flows and the balance between inflows to exchanges and outbound movements. If whales keep moving BTC off exchanges or into more secure custody, the available supply for immediate selling could decline, potentially reducing near-term downside risk in the event of broader market stress. Conversely, sustained large-order activity on the buy side could provide a floor under price discovery, especially if macro catalysts align with a pickup in risk appetite among institutional players.

For developers and investors, the data emphasize the value of analyzing on-chain signals in conjunction with exchange flows and the behavior of different holder cohorts. The evolving distribution among whales, retail participants, and exchange inventories offers a nuanced view of the crypto liquidity landscape and the strategies that might shape price action in the coming months.

What to watch next

• Monitor whether the total balance of large holders (1k–10k BTC) continues to approach or exceed 3.1 million BTC in the coming weeks.
• Track net exchange balances to see if withdrawals persist or if inflows begin to outpace outflows again.
• Observe Binance inflows and outflows for whale BTC to gauge where large holders are moving portions of their stock and whether this signals shifting custody preferences.
• Watch the 30-day moving averages of large-order activity to confirm whether the 950–1,100 BTC order-size trend persists beyond 2026.
• Keep an eye on macro and regulatory developments that could influence risk appetite and liquidity across crypto markets.

Sources & verification

• CryptoQuant quicktake: Whales reaccumulate everything they sold since October (https://cryptoquant.com/insights/quicktake/69983917c876a02133a04bc2-Whales-reaccumulate-everything-they-sold-since-October)
• CryptoQuant quicktake: 82B in Whale BTC Flows to Binance (https://cryptoquant.com/insights/quicktake/69982730312550148f4ec237-82B-in-Whale-BTC-Flows-to-Binance-creating-a-14-Month-High)
• CryptoQuant: BTC spot average order size (https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc/chart/market-indicator/spot-average-order)
• Glassnode data on exchange withdrawals (as cited in the article)
• Cointelegraph: Related piece on resilient bitcoin holders and market dynamics (https://cointelegraph.com/news/resilient-bitcoin-holders-defend-btc-but-bear-floor-sits-20-lower-glassnode)

What to watch next

• 3–5 forward-looking checks (dates, filings, unlocks, governance votes, product launches, regulatory steps) ONLY if consistent with the source.

TLDR:

• BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. serves as qualified custodian within Figure’s OPEN on-chain public equity network.
• Figure’s OPEN network launched in February 2026, enabling equity issuance and trading on Provenance Blockchain. 
• The BitGo–Figure integration separates custody from execution, preserving counterparty risk protections for institutions. 
• Real-time on-chain settlement reduces reconciliation layers, lowering operational costs for broker-dealers and asset managers. 

Blockchain-native equity trading reached a new milestone as BitGo and Figure completed their first tokenized equity trades.

The trades were executed through Figure’s Alternative Trading System, operating on the Provenance Blockchain. BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. served as the qualified custodian within Figure’s Onchain Public Equity Network.

The integration brings regulated custody and near real-time settlement to on-chain public equities, offering institutions a more efficient trading framework.

OPEN Network Brings Regulated On-Chain Equity Infrastructure to Market

Figure’s OPEN network launched in February 2026 as a regulated electronic trading venue. It enables companies to issue and trade equity directly on blockchain infrastructure.

Issuance, trading, and settlement are embedded into a single on-chain environment. This removes multiple intermediary layers that traditionally slow down public equity markets.

BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. operates as a qualified custodian within the OPEN framework. The bank safeguards assets and provides regulated infrastructure for all participants.

Its custodian role ensures compliance with existing financial regulations for institutions. Consequently, regulated participants can access blockchain-native equity within a familiar oversight structure.

The completed trades demonstrate how tokenized equities can function in a continuous on-chain environment. Settlement activity occurs in real time within a regulated framework on Figure’s ATS.

Trade records are also published directly on-chain, adding a layer of market transparency. This approach removes several reconciliation steps found in traditional market infrastructure.

Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, spoke directly to the partnership’s broader purpose for market participants.

“At BitGo, our goal is to provide institutions the infrastructure and ability to trade, secure and build on anything on-chain. Our partnership with Figure moves the industry in that direction with BitGo operating as the independent trust layer to reduce risk, increase transparency and instill confidence in continuous markets.”

Custody Separation and Cost Efficiency Support Institutional Participation

BitGo and Figure maintain a clear separation between custody and trade execution throughout their integration. This preserves the counterparty risk protections that traditional market structure depends on.

Institutions can therefore engage with blockchain-native equity without compromising governance standards. The model mirrors core principles from conventional finance while running on blockchain rails.

By cutting reconciliation layers, the integration reduces operational overhead for market participants. Capital efficiency also improves compared to traditional batch-based settlement systems.

Broker-dealers and asset managers can use this as a repeatable integration model. As a result, on-chain equity products become more accessible to a broader range of regulated institutions.

Mike Cagney, Figure’s Executive Chairman, addressed how qualified custody makes institutional engagement more practical.

“Partnering with BitGo brings qualified custody and institutional-grade controls to the OPEN on-chain public equity network. With instant settlement on Provenance and the potential to meaningfully reduce market-structure friction and costs, this is a concrete step toward modernizing how public equities trade and settle.”

Together, BitGo and Figure have established a scalable framework for blockchain-native equity markets. The model combines blockchain efficiency with governance standards that institutions already recognize and trust.

Three presales keep showing up in every crypto conversation this month. Pepeto, DeepSnitch AI, and Bitcoin Hyper. All three claim big returns. But most investors overlook the real question. It is not who raised the most. It is who built the most useful products at the cheapest entry point. And when you answer that honestly, one name pulls ahead by a wide margin.

Robinhood just launched its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain and the public testnet handled 4 million transactions in seven days. According to Fortune, partners include Alchemy, LayerZero, and Chainlink. This tells you where crypto is heading in 2026. Infrastructure wins. Products win. Everything else is noise.

Best crypto presale: Pepeto builds what the meme economy actually needs

Think about what happens every time a new meme coin launches. Traders scramble to buy it. Then they realize they can’t swap it easily. They can’t bridge it across chains. They can’t verify if the project is legit. Pepeto (PEPETO) solves all three problems with tools that already work.

PepetoSwap lets you trade meme tokens instantly without waiting for centralized exchange listings. The cross chain bridge moves assets between blockchains so you are never stuck on the wrong network. And the upcoming exchange only accepts verified meme projects, filtering out rug pulls before they reach your wallet.

No other presale in 2026 offers this combination. Three tools working together as one ecosystem built specifically for the meme coin economy, which already sits at over $50 billion in total market cap. And the person behind it is a Pepe cofounder. Not an anonymous dev team. Someone who helped create one of the most successful meme coins in history and is now building the trading layer the entire sector needs.

Dual audits from SolidProof and Coinsult confirm clean contracts. Zero transaction tax means every dollar works for you. $7.2M raised during extreme market fear. And the entry price? $0.000000185. Thousands of times cheaper than either competitor. At that price, even a tiny fraction of SHIB’s $40 billion peak means returns that change everything. The 214% staking APY generates $10,700 a year on $5,000. But staking is just the bonus for holding. The real play is what this price becomes once the full ecosystem launches and volume flows in. 70% already filled.

DeepSnitch AI: Smart tools, but narrower scope

DeepSnitch AI raised $1.66M at $0.04064 with five AI agents that scan contracts and track sentiment. The utility is real. But think about the difference. DeepSnitch gives you information. Pepeto gives you the entire trading layer. Swap, bridge, and exchange under one roof. One helps you research. The other helps you research, trade, move assets, and avoid scams all in one place.

Then there is price. At $0.04064, DeepSnitch needs to reach $4.06 for a 100X. That requires a market cap north of $4 billion. Pepeto at $0.000000185 reaches 100X territory with a fraction of that valuation. According to The Motley Fool, billions in stablecoin capital sit on the sidelines. Entry price matters when that capital starts moving.

Bitcoin Hyper: Massive raise, limited upside left

Bitcoin Hyper raised over $31 million building a Bitcoin Layer 2 for faster transactions. The tech is solid. But $31 million already in means new buyers pay a premium. Analysts project 2X to 3X from here. Compare that to Pepeto’s three product ecosystem at $0.000000185 with a Pepe cofounder behind it. The risk reward gap speaks for itself.

The bottom line

Three presales. Only one has a three product ecosystem for the $50 billion meme market, a Pepe cofounder, dual audits, zero tax, and a price thousands of times cheaper. Pepeto is the best crypto presale to buy.

Click To Visit Official Website To Buy Pepeto: https://pepeto.io

FAQs

Why is Pepeto the best crypto presale over DeepSnitch AI and Bitcoin Hyper?

Pepeto offers three working tools (swap, bridge, exchange) for the meme economy, a Pepe cofounder, dual audits, zero tax, at $0.000000185. DeepSnitch focuses on analytics at a higher price. Bitcoin Hyper’s $31M raise limits new buyer upside. Pepeto’s utility, credibility, and entry price are unmatched.

Can I try Pepeto’s tools before buying?

After joining the presale at pepeto.io you can access the PepetoSwap demo and explore the ecosystem. The tools are functional, not concept renders.

How does Pepeto’s entry price compare to the others?

Pepeto: $0.000000185. DeepSnitch AI: $0.04064. Bitcoin Hyper: around $0.013. Pepeto’s price is thousands of times lower, meaning the same investment buys massively more upside potential when the ecosystem goes live.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Entities in Dubai and the archipelagic nation of the Maldives are moving forward with tokenized real estate development projects worth millions of dollars, combined.

On Friday, the Dubai Land Department announced that it would launch the second phase of a real estate tokenization pilot program. The move followed about $5 million worth of real estate in Dubai being tokenized, allowing the resale of about 7.8 million tokens.

The tokenization infrastructure partner for the pilot, called Ctrl Alt, which is also licensed as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in Dubai, will issue “Asset-Referenced Virtual Asset management tokens” to facilitate the transfer of the tokens on secondary markets.

According to Ctrl Alt, all onchain transactions for the real estate tokens will be recorded on the XRP Ledger and secured by Ripple Custody.

Related: Ripple CEO confirms White House meeting between crypto, banking reps

The Dubai Land Department predicted in May 2025 that the tokenization project could contribute about $16 billion by 2033, equivalent to 7% of the jurisdiction’s total property transactions.

Some experts have said Dubai’s real estate market and crypto-friendly regulatory environment have made the emirate stand out among other jurisdictions globally.

Trump-tied hotel deal in the Maldives is also looking to tokenize

Ctrl Alt’s announcement came a few days after real estate development company DarGlobal and World Liberty Financial, a crypto company backed by US President Donald Trump and his sons, announced plans to tokenize the development phase of a Trump-branded resort in the Maldives. 

The tokenization deal will happen in partnership with financial technology company Securitize.

“We definitely see this as taking over the way other projects are being funded,” DarGlobal CEO Ziad El Chaar told Cointelegraph, adding:

“[Tokenization] will open the door to many more investors, who would like to take part in investing in real estate but don’t have access today.” 

World Liberty announced the deal at a crypto-aligned event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Wednesday.

Attendees included traditional finance players like Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, crypto industry representatives including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Senators Ashley Moody and Bernie Moreno.

Magazine: Here’s why crypto is moving to Dubai and Abu Dhabi