Authorities in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan have opened a criminal investigation against a local man suspected of financing terrorism, the state news agency TASS reported.

Russian arrested as scrutiny grows over crypto and terror financing

The case was initiated by investigators in Makhachkala, the region’s capital, where a man is accused of providing funds or material support that could have been used to assist extremist activities. The move reflects ongoing efforts by Russian law enforcement to clamp down on suspected financial networks linked to terrorism.

According to the TASS report, specific details about the actions that triggered the probe have not been disclosed publicly, but the initiation of a formal criminal case indicates that authorities believe there are sufficient grounds to pursue charges.

The suspect is currently under investigation while law enforcement continues to gather evidence.

Russia has been actively investigating and prosecuting individuals and groups accused of involvement in terrorism-related activity, particularly in the North Caucasus region where separatist and extremist networks have historically been a concern for federal authorities. Previous high-profile terrorism cases have drawn significant media attention and have often involved complex financial structures alleged to support violent acts.

The investigation comes amid heightened global attention on the role cryptocurrencies can play in illicit finance. Law enforcement agencies in Europe and elsewhere have increasingly warned that digital assets, particularly when routed through opaque or loosely regulated services, can create opportunities for money laundering, sanction evasion, and covert transfers.

This dynamic has placed crypto transactions under close watch by both national security and financial regulators.

Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing a sweeping ban on cryptocurrency transactions involving Russian entities as part of its latest sanctions package, aiming to close loopholes that allowed sanctioned actors to shift value via digital asset service providers.

The crypto market continued to exhibit weakness on Tuesday morning, broadly following a tech selloff across U.S. equities and a correction in the price of precious metals.

Bitcoin trades at $68,000, down 1.25% since midnight UTC, while Nasdaq futures and gold lost 0.55% and 2.4% respectively over the same period.

Altcoins also lost ground as popular memecoins PEPE, DOGE and TRUMP led the drawdown, losing between 3.5% and 4.5%.

The tech selloff has been driven by fears around artificial intelligence and how it might disrupt several industries. Bitcoin has been closely tied to Nasdaq since Feb. 3, with the correlation coefficient indicator rising from negative 0.68 to positive 0.72 over the past two weeks.

Gold, meanwhile, is currently trading at $4,928 after failing to establish a level of support above $5,000. The precious metal hit a record high of $5,600 on Jan. 28 before a historic 21.5% correction over the subsequent four days.

Derivatives positioning

• Crypto futures continue to see capital outflows. The cumulative industry wide notional open interest has declined by 1.5% to $93 billion in 24 hours, reaching fresh multi-month lows.
• Leveraged bets worth $229 billion have been liquidated by exchanges over 24 hours, with longs (bullish plays) accounting for most of the tally.
• Open interest in DOGE futures has declined by 4%, leading the trend in most majors. PEPE, LINK and AVAX have seen 3% to 5% declines in open interest.
• Open interest in futures tied to HYPE, the recent outperformer, has cooled to 44.45 million HYPE, the lowest since early December. This likely reflects profit-taking after the token outpeformed bitcoin and other majors during the recent crash.
• The market panic has ebbed, as evidenced from the sharp pullback in bitcoin and ether’s implied volatility indices from monthly highs.
• On Deribit, bitcoin and ether puts continue to trade pricier than calls, indicating lingering downside fears, however, the positioning is now longer as defensive as it was two weeks ago.

Token talk

• Altcoins continue to track bitcoin on as the “bitcoin dominance” metric has now ranged between 57.4% and 60.1% since September.
• Over the past seven days AI token MORPHO has posted a 23.5% gain, while privacy coin zcash ZEC$284.32 is up by 19% over the same period.
• Conversely, layer 1 blockchain token layer zero (ZRO) has lost 16% over the past week as it continues to lose momentum after announcing a deal to collaborate with Citadel Securities and DTCC.
• The relative weakness of several altcoins continues to persist on lower time frames, with HYPE, SUI and ASTER all losing between 3% and 4.8% since midnight UTC as the crypto market awaits a bullish catalyst.

Congress races to finalize US crypto market rules as Trump-backed bill nears passage, splitting SEC–CFTC powers and setting deadlines on exchanges and stablecoins.

CFTC launches CEO Innovation Council for crypto oversightUnder the proposed framework, the CFTC would assume primary regulatory authority over digital commodities including Bitcoin and Ethereum. The legislation provides brokers and exchanges a 180-day registration window to obtain provisional status following enactment.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has indicated the bill could reach the President’s desk within months, according to public statements. The framework would require joint SEC and CFTC rulemaking within 18 months to address complex areas including mixed transactions and margin structures.

The Senate Banking Committee must reconcile its version with the Agriculture Committee’s draft before the February 28 White House deadline for stablecoin frameworks, according to congressional schedules.

Congressional leaders continue to call for investigations into Trump-linked cryptocurrency ventures, including WLFI, according to statements from members of Congress.

As the GBP/JPY chart shows, the pound has dropped below the 12 February low against the Japanese yen, marking its weakest level since the beginning of 2026. The pair last traded beneath the 207.500 mark in mid-December 2025.

→ The yen’s strength is supported by expectations that economic stimulus measures introduced by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in coordination with the Bank of Japan, will underpin the national currency. Barclays forecasts further appreciation of the yen.

→ Sterling weakened today following reports that UK unemployment reached a five-year high in December, while wage growth slowed. This may reinforce arguments in favour of additional interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.

Technical Analysis of GBP/JPY

Long-term moving averages are turning lower, signalling potential structural shifts and possible capital reallocation after five years of an overall uptrend in GBP/JPY.

Price action is forming a well-defined descending channel. In this context:
→ the median line has switched from acting as support to serving as resistance (as highlighted by the thicker lines);
→ today, GBP/JPY is trading in the lower quarter of the channel, indicating continued bearish dominance.

It is worth noting that yesterday’s breakout above local resistance (marked by an arrow) proved to be false, triggering renewed downward momentum.

On the other hand, after dipping below the 12 February low near 207.560, the pair has started to rebound, raising the possibility of a mirrored move and a false bearish breakout.

Nevertheless, the outlook for bulls remains challenging. Even if they manage to push prices slightly higher, they may encounter resistance around 208.315 — a level where sellers previously demonstrated strength when breaking local support (shown in purple).

Trade over 50 forex markets 24 hours a day with FXOpen. Take advantage of low commissions, deep liquidity, and spreads from 0.0 pips (additional fees may apply). Open your FXOpen account now or learn more about trading forex with FXOpen.

This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Solana DEXs now offer CEX-like pricing despite a 90% volume drop since 2024, as prop AMMs, wrapped SOL markets, and new staked-SOL liquidity tools reshape on-chain trading.

Solana’s on-chain trading infrastructure has demonstrated competitive pricing compared to centralized exchanges, according to recent market data.

Decentralized exchanges on the Solana network have achieved market depth sufficient to match or exceed prices quoted on major centralized platforms including Binance and OKX, according to trading data. The price differential between decentralized and centralized venues remains variable as arbitrage opportunities shift between platforms.

Proprietary automated market makers (Prop AMM) have contributed to improved price discovery on Solana’s decentralized exchanges, according to market observers. These specialized liquidity pools operate at specific price ranges, providing trading efficiency. Prop AMM exchanges have increased activity over the past month, offsetting declines in overall decentralized exchange volume.

Wrapped Solana tokens on Ethereum, Base, and BNB Chain trade at different price ranges compared to native Solana, according to market data. These markets face liquidity constraints and higher transaction costs related to trading and cross-chain bridging.

Trading volumes on Solana decentralized exchanges have declined approximately 90% since October 2024, according to network data.

Treasury entities currently hold over 20 million Solana tokens, with holdings remaining stable in recent months, according to blockchain data. Approximately 50% of treasury holdings are staked, the data showed.

Jupiter, a Solana-based platform, recently launched a tool enabling natively staked Solana to function as liquid tokens. The tool allows Solana validators to access liquidity while maintaining staking positions and earning block rewards and fees, according to the company’s announcement.

Solana has historically experienced extended periods of price decline followed by accumulation phases, according to market records. The token currently trades above previous baseline levels, though concerns regarding large holder liquidations persist, market participants noted.

Steak ‘n Shake says its same‑store sales have “risen dramatically” since it launched a burger‑to‑Bitcoin strategy in May 2025 that routes every Bitcoin payment into a corporate treasury reserve. 

In a Monday post on X, the US fast-food chain said that it had successfully combined a “decentralized, cash-producing operating business with the transformative power of Bitcoin,” and thanked Bitcoiners for making it possible. The chain did not provide figures or define what it meant by “risen dramatically.”

Steak ‘n Shake began accepting Bitcoin at participating locations on May 16, 2025, in a phased rollout.

Since then, Steak ‘n Shake has repeatedly tied higher sales to Bitcoin (BTC) adoption, reporting quarter‑over‑quarter same‑store sales growth of 11% in Q2 2025 and 15% in Q3 2025, outpacing major rivals including McDonald’s, Domino’s and Taco Bell over the same period.

Under the program, all Bitcoin receipts are funneled into the company’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that grows alongside customer spending. 

On Jan. 16, Steak ‘n Shake said its Bitcoin stash had grown by $10 million in notional value, without breaking down how much of that came from price appreciation versus additional accumulation. 

Four days later, on Jan. 20, Steak ‘n Shake unveiled plans to offer hourly employees a Bitcoin bonus of $0.21 per worked hour at company‑operated locations, with a two‑year vesting period, supported by Bitcoin rewards firm Fold.

The company framed the move as a way to tap into stronger crypto enthusiasm among Gen Z and Millennial workers, who make up the majority of restaurant and food service employees in the United States.

One week later, on Jan. 27, the company announced a further $5 million allocation to the reserve, bringing its total Bitcoin exposure to around $15 million.

Related: Canadian taco franchise uses NFTs for customer loyalty program

Burger-to-Bitcoin a success, but BTC treasury stash in red

According to BitcoinTreasuries, Steak ‘n Shake currently holds 161.6 BTC, worth approximately $10.96 million at current prices, implying an average cost basis of just under $92,851 per coin. 

That would put the position at roughly 26% below its average purchase price, meaning the company’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is sitting on a sizable unrealized loss despite its Bitcoin pivot reviving sales.

Cointelegraph reached out to Steak ‘n Shake but had not received a response by publication time.

Magazine: Bitget’s Gracy Chen is looking for ‘entrepreneurs, not wantrepreneurs’