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Interest in Ethereum staking has surged even as the cryptocurrency’s price falls to bear market lows. On Wednesday, on-chain analytics firm Santiment reported that the Ethereum proof-of-stake contract now holds more than half of all ETH in circulation, marking a first in the coin’s eleven-year history.

The headline figure can be misleading. Currently, roughly 37 million ETH are staked, which is about 30 percent of the total supply of 121.4 million tokens. Santiment clarified that the proof-of-stake address functions as a one-way vault that temporarily locks ETH to secure the network. Once coins are staked, they are removed from circulation and cannot be spent or traded while held in the contract.

When validators exit and withdraw, the staked ETH is released as newly issued coins on Ethereum’s main network, rather than being returned directly from the vault. This creates differences in supply calculations depending on whether pre-burned or post-burned coins are counted. Over time, the vault accumulates ETH in a way that makes its share of the total supply appear larger, producing the 50.18 percent figure based on historical issuance before burns. Santiment expects this percentage to grow, particularly during periods of low trading activity and bear markets.

The rise in staking activity is also evident in validator queues. Around 3.9 million ETH is waiting to be staked, with a current wait time of 67 days. In contrast, the exit queue has shrunk to its lowest level ever, with just 11,500 ETH and a wait time of under five hours.

Meanwhile, Ether’s price has dropped below $2,000 as retail traders engage in panic selling. ETH briefly hit this level during late Tuesday trading before falling to $1,970 during Wednesday morning sessions in Asia. Analyst Merlijn The Trader commented that Ethereum is “not expensive right now, it is boring” and added that “boring periods are when positions are built.

Even though the broader crypto market is in a bearish phase, some assets continue to stand out because of strong community engagement. One of them is XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, also known as the Ripple Network.

Recent data from Grayscale shows that XRP ranks as the second most discussed asset within its community, coming in just behind Bitcoin. This highlights the level of activity and enthusiasm surrounding XRP.

According to Rayhaneh Sharif Askary, Grayscale’s Head of Product and Research, who spoke during Ripple Community Day, XRP has a large and highly dedicated community. She noted that many Grayscale advisors report consistent client interest in the asset. In some cases, XRP is the second most frequently discussed cryptocurrency after Bitcoin.

Much of the excitement is driven by sustained demand for investment products tied to XRP. Investors view the XRP Ledger as a battle tested blockchain with real potential to capture additional market share, and many are looking for exposure to its ecosystem.

Sharif Askary also suggested that the narrative and price sentiment around XRP could shift. Growth may have been slowed in the past by regulatory uncertainty and challenges in achieving strong product market fit. However, continued positive sentiment from the community could help reshape the asset’s outlook.

Recent fund flow data supports this optimism. While many crypto investment products recorded a fourth consecutive week of outflows, XRP related products saw positive inflows. Bitcoin and Ethereum investment products experienced losses of 133 million dollars and 85 million dollars respectively last week. In contrast, XRP attracted more than 33.4 million dollars, reflecting relatively steady demand.

Analysts have also issued bullish price predictions for XRP. Over the weekend, the token was among the market’s top gainers, rising more than 16 percent amid speculation that it may be starting to move independently from larger cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, CoinMarketCap data showed XRP trading near 1.45 dollars, slightly down over the past 24 hours. Despite the short term dip, several market observers expect a potential breakout in the coming weeks.

Bitcoin miners have transferred over 36,000 BTC off exchanges since the beginning of February, signaling a shift in how they manage their holdings and hinting at confidence in future price growth.

Miner Activity Accelerates

A CryptoQuant report shows that more than 12,000 BTC were withdrawn from Binance, while the remaining 24,000 BTC was spread across other exchanges, indicating broad market activity rather than isolated transactions. Such movements are typically associated with long-term storage in cold wallets, reducing the amount of BTC immediately available for sale and potentially reflecting bullish sentiment.

Daily withdrawals have also accelerated, with one day seeing over 6,000 BTC moved off exchanges, the highest single-day total since November. Compared to January, February’s activity demonstrates that miners are actively repositioning.

Long-term holders are showing similar confidence, accumulating 380,104 BTC in the past 30 days, further reinforcing demand from investors with extended time horizons.

Market Context and Outlook

Bitcoin’s price fell near $60,000 earlier in February and has fluctuated between just under $70,000 and slightly above $67,000 in recent days, representing a decline of over 28 percent in the past month according to CoinGecko data. Analysts at VanEck describe the current downtrend as an “orderly deleveraging” rather than a sudden crash, noting that futures open interest has decreased by around 20 percent, suggesting leveraged positions are being reduced gradually.

The market’s performance in February has been influenced by institutional outflows, macroeconomic pressures, and tax-related factors. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen outflows surpass inflows, indicating profit-taking or a shift to defensive assets such as gold. The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates near 3.75 percent with inflation at 2.4 percent, while the introduction of the IRS 1099-DA form has added compliance considerations for investors.

Taken together, the combination of miner withdrawals, long-term holder accumulation, and orderly market adjustments suggests growing confidence in Bitcoin’s potential upside, despite short-term volatility and external pressures.

The world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin has taken advantage of the recent market slump to increase its BTC holdings below $70,000.

Strategy’s co-founder, Michael Saylor, announced that the company purchased 2,486 BTC for nearly $170 million at an average price of $67,710 per coin. This brings the firm’s total Bitcoin holdings to 717,131 BTC, acquired at an average price of $76,027 per unit.

Despite these purchases, the recent cryptocurrency decline has put Strategy’s position into the red. With Bitcoin trading around $68,000 at the time of reporting, the company’s holdings are valued at less than $49 billion, resulting in an unrealized loss of over $5 billion. This marks the first time the firm has been in a negative position since the end of the 2023 bear market.

Strategy has maintained that it has no intention of selling any Bitcoin, even amid ongoing volatility. Its stock price has also reflected broader market fluctuations, dropping from $140 to $120 last week before stabilizing near $134.

Bitcoin has once again faced resistance at the $70,000 level and dropped over $2,000 in the hours following, trading below $68,000 at the time of reporting. The cryptocurrency had previously plunged to $60,000 on February 6, its lowest level since October 2024, before rebounding to nearly $72,000. Price action since then has ranged between $68,000 and $72,000, with bulls managing to prevent further declines after last Friday’s dip. Despite attempts to move higher over the weekend, BTC was rejected again and fell below $68,000, with its market capitalization dropping to $1.355 trillion and dominance over altcoins slipping below 56.5 percent.

Most large-cap altcoins remain subdued. Ethereum failed to reclaim $2,000, XRP dropped below $1.50, and DOGE fell under $0.10, nearly erasing weekend gains. SOL, ADA, HYPE, and LINK saw minor losses, while BNB and TRX recorded modest increases.

Meanwhile, Pi Network’s native token PI has returned to the top 50 altcoins by market capitalization, trading near $0.18 after a volatile week ranging from $0.1312 to above $0.20. Its market cap currently stands at $1.6 billion. Other notable gainers among the top 100 altcoins include STABLE, up 15 percent; M, up 14 percent; and NEXO, up 8 percent. Despite these gains, the total crypto market capitalization has retreated to $2.4 trillion according to CoinGecko.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized that users do not need to share his views on applications, trust assumptions, politics, decentralized finance, social platforms, privacy payments, artificial intelligence, or cultural preferences to freely use the Ethereum network. He believes that disagreement on one topic does not imply agreement or disagreement on any other.

“Corposlop” Is Not Censorship

In a detailed post on X, Buterin clarified that he does not represent the entire Ethereum ecosystem. He described Ethereum as a decentralized protocol built for permissionless use and censorship resistance, allowing anyone to interact with the network regardless of his opinions, the Ethereum Foundation, or Ethereum client developers.

He stated that labeling applications he dislikes as “corposlop” does not constitute censorship. Free speech, he argued, means individuals cannot prevent others from acting, though criticism is allowed and expected, just as critics themselves can be critiqued.

Buterin rejected the idea of “pretend neutrality,” where individuals claim openness to all perspectives while avoiding taking clear positions. He said neutrality is appropriate for protocols such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, or HTTP, but individuals should clearly state their principles, identify what conflicts with them, and collaborate with like-minded people to build metaverses that respect those principles as a baseline. He explained that principles naturally extend beyond protocol design into decisions about what should be built on top of the protocol and into broader social and cultural contexts.

Freedom Extends Beyond Technology

He also warned against treating freedom as relevant only to technical design, calling this approach hollow. Decentralized protocols do not belong to a single metaverse, and people often agree on some aspects while disagreeing on others.

Buterin’s remarks follow his recent comments supporting Bitcoin maximalists’ concerns about digital sovereignty. He argued that today’s internet favors corporate-controlled systems that erode user autonomy and that true sovereignty involves protecting privacy, attention, and control from profit-driven platforms not just resisting governments.

Bitcoin’s price has been rangebound between $60,000 and $70,000, reflecting continued uncertainty and fear of further declines. Recent on-chain data highlights rising risks near Short-Term Holder Realized Price bands, levels historically associated with the exit of weaker hands and the accumulation activity of stronger, long-term investors.

High-Risk, High-Opportunity Zone

Alphractal reports that Bitcoin is trading within a narrow range defined by these Short-Term Holder Realized Price levels, with price action closely respecting the -1σ and -1.5σ deviation bands in recent weeks. Historical patterns indicate that when BTC falls below the lower deviation band, the market can either form a local bottom or enter a deeper capitulation phase before accumulation begins. These bands have repeatedly acted as natural support and resistance across multiple cycles, with the -1.5σ level marking periods of maximum stress when short-term selling intensifies and long-term investors begin accumulating.

Joao Wedson, founder of Alphractal, emphasized that while short-term stress is high, longer-term metrics suggest the market may not yet have reached a true bottom. The Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) for long-term holders, which measures whether the most resilient investors are in unrealized profit or loss, currently stands at 0.36. This indicates that despite recent volatility, long-term holders remain profitable. Historical data shows that the clearest signal of a late bear market appears only when this metric turns negative, reflecting extreme pessimism and exhaustion among sellers conditions that have typically marked the end of bear markets rather than the start of a new upward cycle.

Miners Adjust Holdings Amid Market Stress

Further on-chain data points to significant miner activity as Bitcoin hovers near these critical stress levels. CryptoQuant reports that more than 36,000 BTC have been withdrawn from exchanges since the start of February, an accelerated pace compared to previous months. Withdrawals included over 12,000 BTC from Binance and more than 24,000 BTC from other exchanges, suggesting widespread repositioning rather than isolated activity.

These movements are generally associated with long-term storage strategies, as miners transfer assets off exchanges into cold wallets, reducing immediate sell-side supply. Daily withdrawals peaked above 6,000 BTC, the highest since November and well above January levels, highlighting that miners are actively managing liquidity and repositioning in response to ongoing market uncertainty.

Taken together, these indicators suggest that while short-term stress is high and selling pressure from weaker holders is evident, accumulation by stronger hands continues, and long-term holders remain profitable. This combination points to a market that is navigating a critical stress zone, with the potential for further volatility before a sustainable bottom is established.

A year after the LIBRA meme coin collapse, blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps has tracked Hayden Davis resuming on-chain trading. This time, however, his activity has led to significant losses rather than the insider gains seen during previous projects.

From Profitable Insider Trades to Meme Coin Losses

Bubblemaps reports that Davis, previously linked to LIBRA and YZY tokens, became active again after a period of wallet dormancy. Over the past 30 days, large transfers were detected into a deposit address labeled CPGZ1i, which led to six active wallets in the same cluster.

Davis has been trading primarily in trending Solana meme coins, including PUMP, TROVE, and PENGUIN. Unlike his earlier profitable trades, the majority of these positions were unprofitable. Bubblemaps estimates losses of roughly $2.5 million on PUMP, $100,000 on PENGUIN, $29,000 on KABUTO, with smaller losses on tokens such as LOUD and BAGWORK.

LIBRA Fallout Continues to Influence Activity

Davis did not leave the market after the LIBRA collapse, which had previously been linked to over $100 million in insider profits. Earlier investigations by Bubblemaps mapped wallet networks connected to LIBRA and MELANIA token launches, showing coordinated sniping, cross-chain transfers, and rapid cash-outs tied to Davis and associated addresses.

Bubblemaps noted that Davis’ financial situation evolved in the meantime. A judge unfroze $57 million of his assets, he continued making profits from opportunistic trades such as YZY, and he received a substantial MET airdrop. The latest data now shows him engaged in regular on-chain trading, although recent bets on Solana meme coins have led to significant losses rather than the profits he once enjoyed.

Bitcoin’s Entity-Adjusted Liveliness metric, which tracks spent coin days relative to newly created coin days while filtering out internal transfers, has begun to decline after peaking in December 2025. Analysts say this signals the end of the distribution phase and the potential start of a new accumulation period, which historically lasts between 1.1 and 2.5 years.

On February 17, analyst Axel Adler Jr. highlighted that the liveliness reading reached 0.02676 in December 2025 and has trended downward since. He noted that similar patterns occurred in 2020 and 2022, when peaks in liveliness appeared shortly after price highs and were followed by extended periods of accumulation. Adler pointed out that Bitcoin reached over $126,000 in October 2025 before dropping roughly 45 percent and emphasized that liveliness typically lags price because it is cumulative. Current readings remain below short-term averages, which Adler interprets as an early-stage transition rather than a full confirmation of a longer-term trend. He added that a further decline in the 90-day average below the 365-day line would strengthen the case for an extended reset phase.

Despite these on-chain signals, analysts differ on how severe the downturn may be. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan argued that the current crypto slump is milder than previous cycles such as 2018 and 2022, citing stronger market infrastructure, the presence of exchange-traded funds, and increased institutional involvement from firms like BlackRock and Apollo. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong noted that retail investor balances in February matched or exceeded December levels, suggesting continued accumulation despite a 49 percent decline in total market capitalization from the October 2025 peak of $4.4 trillion. The current market contraction is less severe than the 88 percent drop in 2018 and the 73 percent fall in 2022.

Still, caution persists among some commentators. Analyst Mippo warned that the current environment could evolve into a prolonged crypto winter as valuations adjust to regulatory clarity and greater emphasis on revenue generation.

Metrics on long-term holders provide additional perspective. Joao Wedson of Alphractal reported that the Net Unrealized Profit/Loss for long-term investors currently sits around 0.36, indicating they remain in profit overall. Historically, major market rallies have begun only after this metric turned negative, reflecting periods when even patient holders faced unrealized losses.

Adler’s analysis suggests that Bitcoin may be entering a multi-year accumulation phase, with the potential for a gradual reset rather than an immediate recovery. While institutional and retail participation could influence the pace and depth of this transition, the liveliness metric indicates that the market is moving into a period of consolidation before the next significant upward cycle.

Bitcoin sentiment has dropped to its lowest levels in years, with Matrixport’s Greed and Fear Index suggesting that selling pressure may be nearing exhaustion. The firm’s latest analysis indicates that the market could be approaching a turning point, even as short-term price uncertainty persists.

Sentiment Hits Multi-Year Lows

On February 17, Matrixport reported that its 21-day average Greed and Fear Index had fallen below zero, a level that in previous cycles often appeared near price floors. The index measures changes in market positioning and volatility, and past occurrences of similar readings typically preceded periods of stabilization. While prices may continue to decline before recovery, historically such extreme pessimism has aligned with what Matrixport describes as attractive entry opportunities.

The company emphasized that traders should remain vigilant, noting that current conditions require heightened focus in preparation for scenarios that historically precede meaningful rebounds.

Institutional Flows Reflect Caution

Evidence of this cautious environment can be seen in institutional activity. Lookonchain reported that Bitcoin investment products experienced $380 million in outflows over the past week. BlackRock’s IBIT saw 3,538 BTC withdrawn, followed by Fidelity with over 2,000 BTC, valued at approximately $143 million.

Despite Bitcoin trading around $68,000 at the time of reporting, it has declined nearly 3 percent over the past week, with larger losses over longer timeframes, including a 28 percent drop in 30 days and more than a 40 percent decrease over six months, according to CoinGlass data.

Derivatives Market Shows Contraction

Other indicators also reflect market apprehension. Alternative.me’s Fear and Greed Index recently reached its lowest point since 2019 after Bitcoin lost around $30,000 in under ten days. Analyst Darkfost highlighted shrinking open interest across exchanges since the October 2025 peak, with Binance down about 39 percent, Bybit down 33 percent, and BitMEX down 24 percent.

Darkfost explained that these trends indicate investors are reducing exposure, cutting risk, or being forced out through liquidations driven by ongoing volatility. They warned that under such conditions, it is difficult to expect Bitcoin to stabilize sustainably or trigger a bullish trend in the near term.

Matrixport’s analysis suggests that while extreme fear may signal a potential inflection point, traders should approach the market with caution and prepare for continued volatility before any sustained recovery.