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According to Gate market data, the S&P 500 index opened up 14.56 points on February 18 (Wednesday), an increase of 0.21%, reporting at 6,857.78 points; the Nasdaq Composite index opened up 41.86 points, an increase of 0.19%, reporting at 22,620.25 points; the Dow Jones index opened up 85.66 points, an increase of 0.17%, reporting at 49,618.85 points.

Battery Ventures' representative portfolio includes Coinbase, Databricks, Affirm, Shopify, and Wayfair.

According to market news, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is considering stepping down before her term ends in October 2027, so that French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz can reach an agreement on her successor before the French elections in April 2027.A spokesperson for the European Central Bank later responded that Lagarde is "fully focused on her mission and has not made any decisions regarding the end of her term." Lagarde's potential early departure comes at a critical time for the advancement of the digital euro by the European Central Bank. Under her leadership, the European Central Bank has been continuously advancing the preparations for the digital euro and has repeatedly emphasized the need to manage the risks of private digital currencies such as stablecoins within the framework of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.Lagarde herself has long held a critical stance towards cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, describing them as "highly speculative," "worthless," and "not backed by any underlying assets." If there is a change in the leadership of the European Central Bank, it could affect the institution's communication focus and priorities regarding the digital euro, stablecoin regulation, and crypto-related payment arrangements, although the overall regulatory direction has already been established at the EU level.

According to CNBC, Wells Fargo stated that some taxpayers may receive larger refunds this year compared to previous years, which could drive funds into risk assets such as stocks and Bitcoin. This is due to provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer that are favorable to taxpayers in 2025.Additionally, the IRS did not update its withholding tax tables last year, so wage earners are less likely to face surprises from adjustments to taxes already withheld.Wells Fargo noted in its latest analyst report that these factors could lead to as much as $150 billion flowing into the market by the end of March, as over 60% of refunds are issued.The bank's analysts added that the expected liquidity injection could boost Bitcoin as well as stocks favored by retail investors, such as Boeing and Robinhood. Wells Fargo analyst Ohsung Kwon stated in a report on Sunday, "We believe the additional savings from tax refunds—especially for high-income consumers—will flow back into the stock market.""Increased savings will drive speculative sentiment... We expect the 'YOLO' mentality to return." The analysts pointed out that Bitcoin could serve as a proxy indicator for liquidity, signaling a shift in investment patterns. According to Wells Fargo data, domestic liquidity has decreased by $105 billion over the past four weeks, while Bitcoin has retraced about 29% in the past month.

According to official news, the cross-border payment platform Payoneer announced that it will provide its nearly 2 million customers with the ability to hold, send, and receive stablecoins through a partnership with stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge.It is reported that Bridge is dedicated to enabling businesses to quickly, securely, and conveniently integrate stablecoin payment processes into their existing products. This collaboration will help Payoneer users directly use stablecoins for cross-border payments and settlements within their familiar product experience.

According to Jinshi, Fed's Daly stated that it is necessary to ensure that the vulnerabilities in the labor market do not evolve into substantial weakness.

According to the official announcement from Pump.fun, the platform has launched a new feature called Cashback Coins, allowing token creators to choose to return all Creator Fees to traders before issuance, rather than to the token deployers. Pump.fun stated that while Creator Fees play a positive role in helping teams, creators, and founders grow and succeed, many tokens have succeeded without a team or project leader, which has led to disproportionate rewards for token deployers who should not receive fees. Unlike tokens that charge Creator Fees, Cashback Coins cannot undergo CTO (Creator Token Offering). Users can claim cash back rewards through the "Rewards" section of the Pump.fun mobile app. Once the token is issued, this decision will be permanently locked.

According to quiverquant data, financial giant Jane Street increased its holdings by 7,105,206 shares of IBIT in Q4 last year, valued at $276 million. The company currently holds 20,315,780 shares of IBIT, valued at $790 million.There were previous community rumors that Jane Street was allegedly suppressing Bitcoin prices through high-frequency trading at 10 AM Eastern Time every morning. Additionally, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley increased their holdings by over 2.37 million shares of IBIT in Q4 last year.

According to official news, the TON Foundation has partnered with the cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Banxa (a subsidiary of OSL Group) to provide regulated stablecoin payment infrastructure to thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region.This collaboration will make TON the operational payment layer for actual business activities in the Asian region. Through OSL's merchant and institutional network and Banxa's payment channels, small and medium-sized enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region can now use TON for practical payment processes such as inter-business settlements, cross-border transactions, and consumer-to-merchant payments.Banxa is responsible for handling the conversion between local currencies and digital assets. TON's peer-to-peer payment infrastructure has been widely used in the region, and this partnership will extend it to enterprise-level business use cases.

According to Financefeeds, stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK has obtained a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), allowing it to offer digital asset services regulated under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Malta and expand these services across the European Economic Area (EEA).This license enables BVNK to operate under the EU's unified regulatory framework for crypto and digital asset service providers. BVNK stated that this approval strengthens its role as a regulated bridge between traditional euro payment rails and stablecoin settlements, primarily targeting businesses seeking compliant cross-border settlement solutions.

According to Jinshi News, the US dollar has risen slightly for the second consecutive trading day, completely ignoring the market's expectation of about three interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. The options market shows that recent bearish sentiment towards the dollar has eased, with the front-end risk reversal indicator dropping to its lowest negative level in nearly a month. Some strategists believe that the expectations for interest rate cuts are excessive and may exceed the reasonable range supported by data, increasing the risk of a dollar rebound. Elias Haddad, Global Head of Market Strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, stated that economic growth is strong and inflation levels remain above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

According to The Block, based on the latest SEC filing, Harvard Management Company reduced its holdings in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by 21% in the fourth quarter of 2025, while also making its first purchase of the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) worth $86.8 million.Despite the reduction, the Bitcoin ETF remains Harvard's largest publicly traded position with a valuation of $265.8 million.

According to Frank Chaparro, project director at The Block, Wells Fargo posted a position for a Head of Digital Asset Services four days ago. Responsibilities include: developing a three to five-year strategy covering tokenized deposits, on-chain collateral, intraday liquidity, and 24/7 programmable payments—fully integrated with wire transfers, ACH, RTP, FedNow, and SWIFT.Not long ago, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan also hired senior leadership talent in the cryptocurrency space.

Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante posted on X that compared to TGE in a bull market, TGE in a bear market is less likely to result in retail investors being harvested.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform that enabling more x402 checkout processes is very important so that customer service personnel can work more efficiently.

According to Decrypt, a 24-year-old man from Connecticut, Elmin Redzepagic, faces up to 375 years in prison for allegedly embezzling nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency investor funds to gamble on the Stake platform.Prosecutors accuse him of posing as a cryptocurrency investment expert working for a market master named "The Chef," promising clients high returns while actually using the funds for gambling. Last month, a federal grand jury indicted him on 21 counts, including 7 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of international money laundering, and 3 counts of making false statements to IRS criminal investigators.On Thursday, Redzepagic pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $500,000 bail.

Bitget announces the launch of Agent Hub, further expanding the infrastructure capabilities for AI Agents to deeply participate in trading within the crypto and TradFi markets. Agent Hub is built on the Bitget API and introduces the officially packaged Model Context Protocol (MCP) toolkit, enabling AI Agents to securely access market data and execution capabilities through standardized interfaces. The platform provides MCP servers maintained by the exchange and supports quick access, allowing developers to complete integration in as little as three minutes, while also equipped with a dedicated sub-account system to enhance permission isolation and asset security.AI is one of Bitget's three core strategies for 2026, and Agent Hub will be embedded within the Bitget panoramic exchange UEX architecture, supporting cross-asset class operations under a unified account and risk system, transforming AI agents from experimental tools into true market participants, and providing production-grade infrastructure support for AI-driven trading.

According to Crypto Politan, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced its updated regulatory framework for crypto tokens last year and released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to assist businesses in understanding and implementing the new regulations.The new framework allows entities regulated by the DFSA within the Dubai International Financial Centre to choose the crypto tokens they wish to work with without requiring prior approval from the DFSA, and this update has been effective since 2026. The FAQ clarifies that the new regulations cover crypto tokens used for payment or investment purposes, excluding investment tokens such as NFTs, utility tokens, securities tokens, and stablecoins.Stablecoins are limited to use by asset managers for payments. Businesses offering crypto token-related products must comply with the token regime and related requirements, with token suitability assessment criteria including their characteristics, regulatory status in other jurisdictions, global market size and liquidity, relevant technology, and whether they may hinder compliance.

According to DL News, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in an interview with CNBC that advancing long-stalled cryptocurrency legislation such as the "Clarity Act" will help stabilize the currently weak market and restore investor confidence.Bessent pointed out that Bitcoin has a history of volatility, but some of the current fluctuations are "self-inflicted." He mentioned that a group of Democrats wishes to collaborate with Republicans to advance market structure legislation, but some cryptocurrency companies have been obstructing this.He stated that providing clarity for the "Clarity Act" during a time of historic market volatility and sell-offs would bring great comfort to the market, and it is crucial to complete this work as soon as possible. The cryptocurrency industry and the banking sector must reach an agreement on the market structure legislation before March 1.Bessent indicated that there is a wealth of innovation in the cryptocurrency and its derivative fields like blockchain and DeFi, and the legislation should be pushed for submission to the President for signing in the spring.

According to Cointelegraph, the Dutch House of Representatives passed a legislative proposal on February 13, aiming to impose a 36% capital gains tax on savings and most liquid investments, including cryptocurrencies. The proposal was approved with 93 votes, surpassing the 75-vote threshold required for passage.Under the proposal, earnings from savings accounts, cryptocurrencies, most equity investments, and interest-bearing financial instruments will be taxable, regardless of whether the assets are sold. Certain assets, such as startup equity and non-investment physical assets, may be exempt. The proposal must be approved by the Dutch Senate before it can take effect, and if passed, it will be officially implemented in the 2028 tax year. Opponents argue that the bill will encourage capital to flow to jurisdictions with more favorable tax policies.Investor calculations show that an investor who contributes 1,000 euros per month for 40 years will see their final earnings drop from 3.32 million euros to 1.885 million euros under a 36% tax rate, resulting in a difference of 1.435 million euros.