Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has obtained a payment institution (PI) license in Malta, aligning with European Union regulatory requirements that take effect in March.

The license allows OKX to continue offering stablecoin-related payment services across the EU in full compliance with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), the company said in a press release on Monday.

Under the updated PSD2 framework, crypto-asset service providers engaging in payment activities involving stablecoins, legally classified as electronic money tokens (EMTs), must hold a PI or electronic money institution (EMI) authorization.

“We have recently launched real-world payment products, including OKX Pay and our OKX Card, that bring stablecoins into everyday use. Securing a Payment Institution license ensures that these products operate on a fully compliant footing,” said Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe.

At the end of last month, OKX introduced a crypto payment card in Europe in association with Mastercard. The exchange is enthusiastic about stablecoins entering mainstream finance. OKX Ventures, the firm’s innovation investment arm, recently backed stablecoin issuance platform STBL.

Bitcoin price has confirmed a bullish divergence on the daily chart as liquidation levels shot up on Monday.

The daily chart for Bitcoin shows that its Relative Strength Index has formed a bullish divergence with its price, which has been in a prolonged downtrend since mid-January.

A bullish RSI divergence occurs when the RSI records higher lows while the related asset’s price continues to set lower lows. Such a technical formation has often been a precursor to a significant trend reversal or a relief rally.

Besides the bullish RSI, another positive indicator came from the MACD histogram and moving averages, which showed the MACD line had just crossed over the signal line, a telltale sign of an incoming bullish trend. Together, these indicators suggest that bullish momentum seems to be building, with bulls starting to assert dominance over the market.

The shift comes after Bitcoin bulls attempted a rebound after the bellwether fell near the $65k support zone on Thursday. The asset rose sharply over the following days but faced resistance around $71k for the second time in the past 7 days, as investors remained on the sidelines awaiting key economic data expected to be released this week.

First, Federal Reserve Governor Michael S. Barr’s speech on Wednesday, Feb. 18, is expected to focus on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and the labor market. On the same day, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its January meeting, offering further clarity on the central bank’s stance on monetary policy. Finally, on Friday, the U.S. will release Q4 GDP and core PCE inflation data, which will also act as a major market catalyst.

Upcoming macro data should illuminate the Fed’s stance on monetary easing for the remainder of 2026, offering the structural clarity necessary for Bitcoin to establish its next trend.

Key levels to watch

For now, the path of least resistance for Bitcoin (BTC) appears to be higher, with the $71K resistance line acting as the next key resistance level that traders will keep an eye on this week. 

A decisive break above it could lead to a reclaim of $75,000, which has previously served as a key support area in past cycles. On the contrary, a drop under $65,000 could validate the downtrend towards a likely retrenchment towards the $60K low observed on Feb. 6.

In the meantime, massive liquidations have been sweeping through the broader crypto market. In the past 24 hours alone, the crypto market saw nearly $300 million liquidated, with Bitcoin alone accounting for over $75 million worth of positions being liquidated. Persistent liquidations may keep Bitcoin price under pressure throughout the upcoming sessions.

Strategy plans to reduce the debt on its balance sheet by converting its $6 billion in convertible bonds into equity over the coming years, according to founder Michael Saylor.

In a Sunday X post, Saylor confirmed the plan in response to a statement from the company’s account, reiterating that the firm can “withstand a drawdown in BTC price to $8,000” before facing any shortfall in covering its debt.

What this essentially means is the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder plans to systematically turn the company’s lenders into shareholders by converting outstanding convertible bonds into common equity. This is expected to transpire over the next “3-6 years,” Saylor said.

Currently, the company has a convertible debt load of roughly $6 billion and Bitcoin holdings that amount to approximately $49 billion based on current prices, with more than 714,000 BTC on its balance sheet.

Although the move may be able to shield its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy from refinancing pressure, the conversion could also dilute existing shareholders once the debt is exchanged for newly issued stock.

On Feb. 12, Strategy CEO Phong Le said the company will increasingly rely on perpetual preferred shares such as Stretch (STRC) to fund future Bitcoin purchases while reducing reliance on common stock sales.

Strategy shares have struggled over the past few months due to Bitcoin’s latest downturn, but rallied over 8% to close at $133.88 on Friday, rallying another 0.24% in after-hours trading, as Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $70k mark. 

The rally was short-lived, and Bitcoin has receded back towards $68,700 at press time, down roughly 2% in the past 24 hours.

According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, Strategy is now down over 9.7% on its investment, with an average buying price of $76,052. Meanwhile, the company’s shares are down 70% from their all-time high reached last year.

Ethereum’s correction appears to be accelerating, with price sliding toward the critical $1,900 support level and futures sentiment hitting its most bearish reading in three months.

At press time, Ethereum was changing hands at $1,958, marking a 6.4% drop in the last 24 hours as continued selling dragged prices lower. Over the past week, the coin has fluctuated between $1,907 and $2,129, but it has stayed under pressure across every major timeframe.

In the last seven days, Ethereum (ETH) has slipped 6.3%. The losses deepen when you zoom out. It is down 40% over the past month and 27% compared with a year ago, showing how strong and persistent this correction has been.

Trading activity in the spot market picked up as prices fell. During the sell-off, 24-hour volume jumped 34% to reach $31 billion, suggesting that more traders stepped in while the price tested important support levels.

Derivatives, on the other hand, tells a more cautious story, pointing to a market that remains on edge. As per CoinGlass data, derivatives volume rose 18% to $40 billion while open interest dropped 7% to $23 billion. This combination suggests that traders are closing positions into volatility rather than adding fresh leverage.

Futures sentiment flips extremely bearish

Additional pressure is coming from longer-term derivatives sentiment. A Feb. 15 analysis by CryptoQuant contributor CryptoOnchain revealed a notable shift in futures behavior on Binance. The Ethereum Taker Buy/Sell Ratio (30-day moving average) has dropped to 0.97, its lowest reading since November 2025.

When this ratio drops below 1.00, it shows that aggressive sell orders are outpacing aggressive buys. Using a 30-day average helps filter out daily fluctuations, turning this into a structural signal rather than a short-term reaction.

At the current levels, the data indicate that futures traders have been leaning on the sell side for several weeks, either hedging their exposure or taking a defensive stance as prices weaken.

If spot market demand is unable to absorb the supply close to support, this ongoing imbalance raises the possibility of prolonged consolidation or additional losses, but it does not guarantee that prices will continue to decline right away.

Ethereum price technical analysis

Ethereum is still clearly in a downward trend. Since late December, there have been consistently lower highs and lower lows, suggesting that the correction is still ongoing. Sellers continue to dominate the market, as shown by the price remaining below the 20-day moving average.

Volatility has spiked sharply. The recent downturn pushed ETH close to the lower Bollinger Band around $1,600, with the bands widening, a classic sign of a strong directional move. Despite a minor recovery from that extreme, the price is still trading close to the lower half of the range, suggesting that selling pressure has lessened but not reversed. 

A crucial psychological and technical level is now the $1,900 mark. It lines up with a previous consolidation zone where buyers once tried to stabilize prices. If Ethereum breaks below this level decisively, it could drop toward $1,600–$1,650, near the lower edge of the recent volatility range.

Momentum readings remain weak. The relative strength index sits around 32–33, recently brushing near oversold territory. Such levels sometimes trigger short-term rallies, but no bullish divergence has appeared. Throughout the correction, RSI has failed to climb back above 50, keeping overall momentum firmly in the bearish camp.

For bulls to regain control, a daily close holding above $1,900 and RSI pushing back into the 40–45 range would be necessary. If $1,900 fails, downside risk remains elevated. 

A move toward $1,600, and potentially lower, would be consistent with both the current technical structure and further bearish tilt in futures sentiment.

A short but busy week lies ahead on the United States economic calendar as spot crypto markets lose recent gains again.

All eyes will be on the PCE inflation report this week, following last week’s CPI, and the Federal Reserve minutes on Wednesday.

January’s CPI came in slightly below expectations, with headline inflation at 2.38% year-on-year and core CPI at 2.5%, the lowest since early 2021. This boosted the stock and crypto markets on Friday, but gains in the latter were soon eroded over the weekend.

“Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions remain, and macroeconomic uncertainty is elevated,” said the Kobeissi Letter, cautioning of “more volatility this week.”

Economic Events Feb. 16 to 20

Traditional markets are closed in the US on Monday for the President’s Day holiday.

There is an ADP employment update on Tuesday, followed by the January Retail Sales report. Wednesday sees more consumer spending data with the delayed December Durable Goods Orders numbers.

The Fed meeting minutes are also released on Wednesday, and there will be 10 central bank speaker events, which could shed light on future monetary policy decisions.

Investors will also get an early look at economic growth for the fourth quarter with the Thursday release of the GDP report.

However, the big data of the week is the December Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation report.

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Based on the January CPI data, Goldman Sachs raised its PCE outlook, according to reports.

“We estimate that the core PCE price index rose 0.40% in January,” said economists.

The growth projections were due to rising consumer electronics and IT prices, which are more heavily weighted in PCE than CPI. A global RAM and storage shortage due to AI data center demand has caused computer and component prices to surge.

“So far, data doesn’t offer much reason for the Fed to cut rates at its next meeting in March,” wrote The Street.

The CME Fed Watch Tool has a 90% probability that rates will remain unchanged.

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Crypto Market Outlook

Crypto markets have lost last week’s late gains, with total capitalization dropping 2.5% over the past 24 hours in a fall back to $2.41 trillion.

Bitcoin failed to hold above $70,000 for long and retreated to $68,300 in early Asian trading on Monday. The asset has remained rangebound for the past ten days.

Ether prices have tanked hard, shedding 5% from almost $2,100 back to $1,950 at the time of writing, while the altcoins continue to bleed out.

Animoca Brands has secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), clearing the way for the company to broaden its crypto operations across the Middle East.

The license allows the Hong Kong-founded Web3 investor and platform developer to offer broker-dealer services and investment management related to virtual assets in and from Dubai, excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre, according to a Monday announcement. The services are aimed primarily at institutional and qualified investors worldwide.

“This licence enhances our ability to engage with Web3 foundations as well as global institutional and qualified investors within a well-regulated framework,” Omar Elassar, managing director for the Middle East and head of global strategic partnerships at Animoca Brands, said.

VARA, established in March 2022, is responsible for regulating and overseeing the provision, use, and exchange of digital assets across Dubai’s mainland and free zones.

Related: Dubai and UAE move to align crypto frameworks under new partnership

Animoca to serve institutional investors in Dubai

VARA’s public register shows that the license was issued on Feb. 5. It permits the firm to serve institutional and qualified investors under the oversight of Dubai’s VARA.

Animoca Brands develops blockchain platforms and supports Web3 ecosystems, including The Sandbox, Open Campus and Moca Network, while also backing early-stage projects. The company says its investment portfolio spans more than 600 companies and digital-asset initiatives.

In January, Animoca Brands acquired gaming and digital collectibles company Somo, adding Somo’s playable and tradable collectibles to its broader portfolio of blockchain-based projects.

Related: What Dubai’s ban on Monero and Zcash signals for regulated crypto

Crypto firms expand crypto operations in Dubai

The move adds to a growing list of crypto firms establishing regulated operations in Dubai. In October 2025, digital asset infrastructure firm BitGo also obtained a broker-dealer license from Dubai’s VARA, allowing its Middle East and North Africa unit to provide regulated digital-asset trading and intermediation services to institutional clients in the emirate.