Kalshi banned California gubernatorial candidate Kyle Langford for 5 years on suspicion of insider trading, fined YouTuber Artem Kaptur 20.000$. CFTC oversight is tightening. While crypto predictio...
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is urging the Ethereum ecosystem to treat oracle design and decentralization as a priority security problem, warning that key parts of DeFi’s stack still hide uncomfortable fragilities behind the industry’s recent growth. In a post outlining how the Ethereum Foundation is thinking about DeFi, Buterin framed decentralized finance as “a central part of the value that Ethereum provides” and argued that its next phase must pair renewed innovation with a harder line on security and centralization risks. “Defi is a central part of the value that Ethereum provides. Financial empowerment is a central part of what it means to have agency and freedom in our current world. Finance is far from the only thing that Ethereum is good for, but it is an important thing,” Buterin wrote, positioning DeFi not as a side quest, but as one of Ethereum’s flagship deliverables. Related Reading: Ethereum’s Legal Status Gains Clarity After SEC Leadership Signal Ethereum Foundation’s DeFi Crackdown: No Centralized Shortcuts Buterin’s thesis has two edges. The first is aspirational: DeFi should return to the early-era willingness to invent new primitives rather than iterating on the same product shapes. He pointed to AMMs as an example of the kind of paradigm shift he wants developers to chase again, arguing that teams should “dig a layer deeper” than surface-level improvements like “make a better stablecoin” and instead attack the underlying financial problems: risk management and hedging future expenses with new mechanisms. The second edge is a filter. Buterin said the Ethereum Foundation is not looking to support “onchain finance” or “defi” indiscriminately, but to push toward a narrower vision: “permissionless, open-source, private, security-first global finance that maximizes people’s control over their own assets, minimizes centralized chokepoints and trusted third parties, and democratizes risk management and wealth building … as well as payments.” A key standard in that vision is operational resilience. Buterin said the ecosystem should prefer protocols that “pass the walkaway test”: systems that keep functioning even if the founding team disappears overnight or worse, “becomes hostile / compromised without warning.” It’s a stark yardstick in a sector where governance keys, upgrade mechanisms, and offchain dependencies often concentrate power long after a protocol looks “decentralized” in marketing. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Holds Key 5-Year Demand Area Amid Heavy Whale Transfers Where the alarm bell rings loudest is oracles: the bridge between onchain logic and offchain reality. In a list of priority areas, Buterin singled out “oracle security and decentralization,” adding a blunt aside: “there’s A LOT of skeletons in the closet here, we as an ecosystem really need to point a big eye of sauron at it for a while.” The line is telling: it implies risks that are known, tolerated, or under-discussed, despite oracles sitting on the critical path for lending, stablecoins, derivatives, and liquidations. Buterin framed DeFi as a “complex toolchain” that mixes onchain components with user-side and other offchain pieces — wallets, local agents, and more. His roadmap-like list reflects that breadth: classic security work such as audits, standards, and wallet-side safeguards; newer approaches like “AI-assisted formal verification” and “user-side agents as safeguards”; privacy for both payments and more complex positions, including the question of what a “maximally privacy-preserving CDP” would look like; and renewed emphasis on open source licensing and forkability. The closing message is permissive but not passive. Ethereum will always allow people to deploy “insecure protocols” or systems that embed “ultimately unneeded centralized trust in the name of convenience,” Buterin wrote, as well as what he called “dopamine-maximizing gambleslop.” But he signaled the Foundation’s intent to actively collaborate with builders aligned around minimizing intermediaries and maximizing user agency, with the aim of making that version of DeFi not just Ethereum’s best option, but “a globally compelling way to manage funds” for anyone who values those properties. At press time, ETH traded at $1,912. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
VIRTUAL builds pressure beneath $0.70 as buyers position for structural reclaim.
Open interest in the derivatives markets for Dogecoin and XRP has fallen back to levels last seen in 2024, according to data from Coinglass. Slower capital inflows into the broader crypto market and extended outflows have weighed on the price action of these cryptocurrencies, and the impact is now visible in their futures markets, where investor positioning has been scaled back. Dogecoin’s open interest, for one, is now below $1 billion, while XRP’s figure is now back to late November 2024 territory, effectively erasing over a year of position buildup in the futures market. Dogecoin Open Interest Falls Below $1 Billion Data from Coinglass shows that Dogecoin’s total open interest currently stands at 10.63 billion DOGE across multiple exchanges. Based on the current price action of Dogecoin, this total open interest is valued at $992.65 million. Interestingly, this is a return of Dogecoin’s open interest to sub-$1 billion levels in USD terms, something not seen since October 2024. Since late 2024, Dogecoin’s open interest has consistently held above the $1 billion mark, even during periods of price consolidation. However, this is not the case anymore in February 2026. Most of this can be attributed to the fact that Dogecoin has lost major price support levels since the beginning of 2026. A breakdown of exchange data shows that Binance holds 2.09 billion DOGE in open interest, worth approximately $195 million, accounting for 19.64% of the total. Gate leads in USD terms with about $228.99 million in open positions, representing 23.06% of the market share. OKX follows with $99.74 million, while Bybit holds $86.52 million. In the past 24 hours, the total Dogecoin open interest across exchanges is down 3.11%, reflecting continued deleveraging. Some exchanges have seen more declines, with Gate down 13.83% and BingX down 24.75% over the same period. XRP Open Interest Returns To Late November 2024 Levels XRP’s open interest has also suffered the same fate as Dogecoin, with total open contracts now standing at 1.65 billion XRP, valued at $2.27 billion. This brings XRP’s derivatives exposure back to levels last seen in late November 2024, when the XRP open interest was hovering just below $2.5 billion. On a 24-hour basis, total XRP open interest is down 0.61%. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) currently leads with 378.89 million XRP in open contracts, valued at $519.11 million. Binance comes second with 339.57 million XRP worth $465.17 million, accounting for 20.52% of open interest. Other notable positions include Bybit with $225.82 million and Gate with $200.67 million in open contracts. However, some exchanges have seen sharp daily declines, including Gate, which is down 17.24% over the past 24 hours, and BingX, which is down 31.19%.
Bitcoin Depot has finally launched a new rule requiring ID checks for all transactions. The company introduced the new identity check to prevent crypto ATM fraud and improve its compliance program. The Bitcoin ATM operator has begun a gradual implementation of the new rule. Customers must show ID for every transaction at its kiosks, as the company aims to improve protection against crypto ATM scams. Bitcoin Depot has been in business since 2016 and has over 25,000 kiosks around the world. The company is the first major BTC ATM operator to require ID verification for each transaction. The policy was activated this month and is now applied throughout Bitcoin Depot’s U.S. kiosks. It aims to “prevent account sharing, identity theft, and account takeover attempts as deployment continues.” The release had no official word yet on deployment timing in other countries. But the rollout of the new policy in the United States comes after Bitcoin Depot faced rising complaints about BTC ATM scams. Bitcoin Depot pays $1.9 million to scam victims Bitcoin Depot will pay $1.9 million to Maine to settle claims involving scams on its machines, according to a report by Cryptopolitan. The Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (BCCP) spent two years investigating Bitcoin Depot’s kiosk operations. The probe was launched after residents filed complaints saying scammers had used the company’s kiosks to defraud them. Bitcoin Depot must pay $1.9 million under the BCCP agreement to compensate Mainers who lost money to scams at its kiosks statewide. Maine residents scammed via Bitcoin Depot kiosks qualify for refunds under the state settlement. Victims qualify if they lived in Maine from 2022 to 2025 and used a Bitcoin Depot kiosk there to convert cash to cryptocurrency. They must also have transferred the money to an unhosted wallet controlled by a scammer. Victims must file a claim on or before April 1, 2026, and refunds are expected in May 2026. Bitcoin ATM scams cost Americans $333.5 million But Americans lost over $333.5 million to Bitcoin ATM scams in 2025, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This number is far greater than what Bitcoin Depot is paying to Maine residents. In 2024, the FBI reported losses of $250 million to crypto kiosk fraud. The figure has since increased by 33.4% to $333.5 million in one year. Coin ATM Radar shows that the top 10 operators run 27,419 crypto ATMs in the United States. This equates to 87.7% of all crypto kiosks across the country. The remaining 12.3% or 3,838 crypto ATMs are managed by 131 operators. Top crypto ATM operators in the United States. Source: Coin ATM Radar . The number of crypto ATMs has increased sharply in the U.S. from 4,251 to 31,256 kiosks spread across the country. In February 2026, 254 crypto kiosks were installed in the U.S. The speed of installations is averaging at 16 crypto kiosks daily. This creates more opportunities for scammers to target new victims. Athena Bitcoin, a crypto ATM operator, received multiple lawsuits and enforcement actions. The District of Columbia Attorney General sued the company last September. The lawsuit alleges Athena Bitcoin knowingly facilitated fraud through its crypto kiosks. Authorities found that 93% of all deposits made through Athena Bitcoin ATMs were connected to scams. Around 50% of transactions had been flagged by the company as suspected fraud. Investigators said the median age of victims was 71 years old. The median loss per scam transaction was $8,000, while one victim lost $98,000 through nineteen deposits made over several days. Missouri’s attorney general, began a civil probe of multiple crypto ATM operators. This follows national worries about misleading fees and fraud by criminals. The investigation is suspecting several crypto kiosk operators of breaking consumer protection laws and asks for details on their anti-fraud policies. CoinFlip, Rockitcoin, Bitcoin Depot, Athena Bitcoin, and Byte Federal were among the companies under investigation. Despite efforts to stop crypto ATM scams, Americans continue to lose money. A Kansas farm family lost $20K in a crypto ATM scam that started with a fake iPad message from Apple support. The scammer threatened the victim and manipulated her into withdrawing cash and depositing it into a crypto ATM, where the money was transferred and vanished within minutes. Join a premium crypto trading community free for 30 days - normally $100/mo.
Ripple is accelerating its push into institutional finance after deploying roughly $4 billion in acquisitions, as CEO Brad Garlinghouse positions the blockchain firm as core infrastructure linking traditional markets with digital assets. Ripple Channels Billions Into Powering the Next Era of Corporate Digital Assets, CEO Details Corporate adoption of digital assets continues to accelerate as
Bitcoin traders are showing growing bearish sentiment as derivatives markets tilt toward short positions, even though the flagship cryptocurrency continues to defend key support near $68,000–$69,000. Data from derivatives analytics platforms indicates that Bitcoin funding rates have plunged deep into negative territory. According to data from CryptoQuant, short sellers are paying long traders to keep their bearish positions open as funding rates have remained negative. This trend reflects rising bets on price declines, a dynamic typically associated with pessimistic market sentiment. Negative funding rates indicate that many traders expect the price to decline Fear is growing in the derivatives market because short sellers believe Bitcoin’s price could drop further and are willing to pay to keep their bearish bets open. However, the price of Bitcoin has pulled back from higher levels and now remains steady between $62,000 and $69,000. The spot price continues to hold key support near $68,000–$69,000 even though futures traders increase short positions. Based on these results, the market is divided between the futures market, which reflects pessimism, and the spot market, which shows stability. Buyers step in when the price approaches support, and even if they don’t raise the price, they prevent a crash. Back in November 2025, Bitcoin traded near $80,000 after a pullback, but traders continued to open long positions and pay to hold them because they believed the market would recover quickly. Yet traders today are opening short positions rather than buying aggressively because they expect further downside, even though Bitcoin is holding above major support. Similarly, selling pressure is at its highest because buyers are defending support but aren’t chasing breakouts. As a result, the price remains stable, but momentum weakens. Short sellers may rush to close their positions, creating sharp upward moves if the price suddenly rises. On the other hand, the bearish bets could strengthen and push the market lower if support finally breaks. Falling leverage helps clean up the market and makes it safer for traders For over a year, traders took out loans to invest in Bitcoin as the price kept rising, reaching a peak of $126,200 in October 2025. They increased the size of their positions and took out more loans because they believed the trend would continue. However, high leverage makes the market fragile because a small price drop can trigger forced selling. After its peak, Bitcoin’s price began to fall, triggering waves of liquidations as pullbacks repeated. Exchanges had to close many traders’ positions, reducing overall leverage in the system. Many traders lost their appetite for extreme leverage; thus, they stepped back to reduce risk rather than chase quick gains with borrowed money. And yes, liquidation cycles may look ugly in the short term as prices move quickly, people lose money, and the attitude is negative. But they also weed out the weak hands and drive out the people who relied too heavily on leverage. And when those positions are gone, the market stabilizes. This also means there is a reduced risk of cascading crashes. Funding rates remain negative, indicating that traders expect prices to continue to decline. The futures market remains bearish. But traders are less leveraged, meaning they don’t have as many large positions as they used to. Despite all the fear, it seems balanced. Sentiment appears extremely bearish at first glance. Leverage is still expected to decline, and funding rates reflect this. However, under the surface, a lot of the leverage has already been cleaned up. The system is cleaner than it was during the rally. Throughout history, similar resets often occurred just before a more sustainable recovery. This is because the market, in its efforts to remove extreme risk, is laying the foundation for a stronger trend. This does not guarantee a quick rally, but it does improve the foundation. The $60,000 level serves as support. If the price drops below this level, the current bearish trend might be confirmed. The decline might continue. The range of $67,000 – $69,000 acts as a short-term resistance level. If Bitcoin breaks above this level while many short positions are already open, it might trigger a short squeeze. The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them .
CFTC chair Mike Selig said the agency established a prediction markets advisory to help catch insider traders, warning there would be consequences.
Tether’s market capitalization has declined for a second straight month, a rare occurrence last seen after the 2022 Terra collapse. This contraction, alongside muted bitcoin ETF demand, points to fragile market conditions. Stablecoin Slowdown Signals Crypto Capital Outflows Tether ( USDT) is flashing a signal the crypto market hasn’t seen in years. The world’s largest
Market's attempt to recover got shut down by elevated exchange inflows of a substantial transition of capital.