Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (February 25) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$69,190.26, up by 7.4 percent over the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin price performance, February 25, 2026.
Chart via TradingView
After a “cautiously bearish” start to the week marked by institutional ETF outflows, the market has suddenly flipped green, surging toward the US$70k territory.
Analysts noted a double-bottom technical formation, a pattern that often signals the end of a short-term downtrend.
Amberdata’s recent snapshot highlighted a bullish divergence where stablecoin supply expanded by over US$773 million, creating a dry powder reserve that sidelined cash. Combined with an aggressive short position in the perpetuals market, the stage is set for a classic short squeeze.
Meanwhile, Glassnode analysts noted that a leverage reset was already complete and the market had shifted into an “accumulation backdrop.”
This structural thinning of sell-side pressure essentially created a liquidity vacuum, allowing today’s move to happen with explosive speed once buyers returned.
Crucially, open interest has climbed +1.57 percent in the last four hours and funding rates remain negative at -0.01 percent, indicating that the market isn’t overheated with leveraged buyers yet and that BTC may have more room to run before hitting the resistance at the US$70k- US$82k zone.
Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,074.84, up by 11.7 percent over the last 24 hours.
Altcoin price update
XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.47, up by eight percent over 24 hours.
Solana (SOL) was trading at US$89.75, up by 14.1 percent over 24 hours.
Today’s crypto news to know
Meta reportedly plans to integrate stablecoin payments this year
Anonymous sources for CoinDesk claim that Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is planning to integrate a third-party firm that will enable stablecoin payments across all three of its platforms – WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram – early in H2, as well as implement a new wallet.
Meta reportedly sent out a request for product to third-party firms. One source mentioned partner Stripe, which acquired stablecoin specialist Bridge in 2025, as a candidate for piloting a potential Meta stablecoin; however, a subsequent Tweet from senior communications executive Andy Stone clarified that Meta is not planning to launch its own stablecoin, but confirmed that the company is exploring opportunities to “(enable) people and businesses to make payments on our platforms using their preferred method.
Coinbase partners with Yahoo Finance
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) has announced the official launch of stock trading for all of its US -based users by partnering with Yahoo Finance. This puts the exchange directly in competition with broker Robinhood, widely considered the leading app-based platform for retail traders
The company is beginning with a selection of the market’s most popular stocks and intends to roll out 24/5 trading for additional companies in the coming months.
By Spring 2026, Coinbase will introduce stock perpetuals for international users. “Looking further ahead, our goal is to offer fully tokenized stocks, creating a seamless, 24/7 global market where your equities can even serve as on-chain collateral,” Coinbase said in its press announcement.
“Our Everything Exchange vision is about removing artificial boundaries between asset classes and building for the next generation of markets. This expansion is a foundational step toward unifying traditional investments and digital assets into a single platform, simplifying portfolio management and unlocking what comes next.”
Circle, Hut 8 report earnings
Hut 8 Mining (TSX:HUT) and Circle (NYSE:CRCL) both released Q4 2025 earnings reports today. Investors sent Circle shares up over 35 percent on the day after revenue exceeded expectations, growing 77 percent year-over-year to US$770.2 million. Earnings per share also far exceeded estimates of US$0.16, coming in at US$0.43.
Circulation of the company’s stablecoin, USDC, reached US$75.3 billion, up 72 percent, with on-chain transaction volume hitting US$11.9 trillion for the quarter.
Meanwhile, shares of Hut 8 closed down 6.57 percent after it reported a net loss of US$301.8 million for the quarter, largely as a result of losses on its BTC holdings of US$220 million. Revenue grew 45 percent year-over-year, driven by its ASIC mining and AI cloud segment.
Bitcoin rally fades during Trump address
Bitcoin briefly pushed above US$66,000 during Asian trading before trimming gains as President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address.
The token rose as much as 3.5 percent, its strongest intraday advance since mid-February, before slipping back toward the mid-US$65,000 range as the speech progressed. Ether climbed nearly 5 percent at one point, while Solana and XRP also posted solid early gains before momentum cooled.
The rebound followed a bruising stretch earlier in the week, when a Supreme Court ruling invalidating Trump’s emergency tariff authority and his subsequent move to impose 15 percent global tariffs rattled markets.
Still, caution remains visible in derivatives markets. Nearly US$230 million in put options expiring March 6 are clustered around the US$58,000 strike, according to Deribit data, signaling demand for protection against renewed downside.
Mastercard expands crypto push with new stablecoin, DeFi leadership role
Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is stepping up its digital asset strategy with a new senior hire aimed squarely at stablecoins and decentralized finance. The payments giant is recruiting a Director of Crypto Flows to oversee stablecoin-linked card products, DeFi integrations, and updates to its internal risk and network frameworks.
The move builds on partnerships forged in 2025 with Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), Paxos, and OKX that enabled spending from crypto wallets and merchant settlement in stablecoins.
The new role will focus in part on allowing users to spend blockchain-based dollars at more than 150 million Mastercard-accepting locations worldwide, while preserving familiar card features such as rewards and cashback. It will also explore connecting Mastercard’s rails to decentralized applications, enabling programmable payments and automated settlement flows.
Canaan buys deeper into Texas mining
Canaan (NASDAQ:CAN) has acquired a 49 percent stake in a joint venture tied to several West Texas Bitcoin mining projects from Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) in a US$39.75 million all-stock deal.
The transaction gives Canaan exposure to operations totaling 120 megawatts of energized capacity and roughly 4.4 exahashes per second of hashrate. The sites operate at an average efficiency of about 25.7 joules per terahash, placing them within competitive industry benchmarks.
As part of the agreement, Canaan also acquired 6,840 Avalon A15Pro rigs previously deployed at Cipher’s Black Pearl facility. That site is being converted into an artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center.
Cipher shares rose more than 6 percent following the announcement, while Canaan gained nearly 8 percent, suggesting investors welcomed the consolidation.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.