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Ray Dalio issues stark warning on the global order
Gold vs Bitcoin: Which one is a better store of value? (2:59)
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio says the post–World War II global order has officially broken down.
In a recent post on X, the Bridgewater Associates founder argued that both internal and external disorder are accelerating simultaneously. He described the world entering a “law of the jungle” phase in which power determines outcomes instead of rules.
According to Dalio, major powers are now trapped in a persistent “prisoner’s dilemma,” forced to escalate across trade, technology, capital markets, and even military tensions.
The danger, he warned, is that these dynamics make what he calls “stupid wars” frighteningly easy to trigger.
Related: Billionaire Ray Dalio warns banks are losing confidence in fiat
World is experiencing a new form of warfare
Dalio said leaders at the recent Munich Security Conference openly acknowledged that the post-1945 framework is no longer functioning. In its place, he sees a return to a power rivalry driven less by international law and more by relative strength.
In this environment, tactics such as sanctions, asset freezes, capital market restrictions, and embargoes become central tools of statecraft.
These measures are maybe short of open warfare, but they are economic weapons that expose how dependent traditional savings and payment systems are on political discretion.
Dalio argues that when the most powerful countries can freeze assets or restrict access to financial infrastructure, the global system begins to resemble a fragmented landscape rather than a cooperative order.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
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Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Internal stress fuels external conflict
External tensions rarely develop in isolation. Dalio’s framework emphasizes how geopolitical strain often collides with domestic economic stress.
When growth slows and wealth gaps widen, governments tend to respond with higher taxes and large increases in money creation, rather than explicit defaults. Historically, that approach devalues existing claims and weakens purchasing power.
Dalio cited the example of the World Wars, when money and credit were not commonly accepted between non-allied countries. This was because of a "justifiable wariness" about a currency's value.
At that time, precious metals like gold, silver, or, in some cases, barter, were "the coin of the realm."
While highlighting the pains of protecting one's wealth during times of war, he advised,
"As for investing, sell out of all debt and buy gold because wars are financed by borrowing and printing money, which devalues debt and money, and because there is a justifiable reluctance to accept credit."
Ray Dalio (Source: Getty Images)
Crypto investors renew the neutral money case
While Dalio openly vouches for gold in such times of crisis, for crypto advocates, his warning reinforces a familiar thesis.
As governments rely more heavily on sanctions, asset freezes, and money creation, investors may increasingly look to assets like gold that can operate outside state control.
Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists vouch for it as the next best candidate. It is often framed as apolitical and borderless, which does not rely on a centralized intermediary like a government or a central bank.
As concerns over dollar debasement intensified last October, Google searches for “Bitcoin” and “dollar debasement” surged to record levels.
At the same time, financial advisors and institutions are increasingly embracing digital assets.
However, in recent years, Bitcoin has also shown volatility to macroeconomic factors like Federal Reserve's rate decisions, geopolitical tensions, and even elections.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $67,685.37, still reeling from the ripples of the massive liquidation on Oct. 10.
Disclaimer: The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment or financial decisions.
Related: Ray Dalio: If Bitcoin Is Successful, Government Will ‘Kill It’
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio says the post–World War II global order has officially broken down.
In a recent post on X, the Bridgewater Associates founder argued that both internal and external disorder are accelerating simultaneously. He described the world entering a “law of the jungle” phase in which power determines outcomes instead of rules.
According to Dalio, major powers are now trapped in a persistent “prisoner’s dilemma,” forced to escalate across trade, technology, capital markets, and even military tensions.
The danger, he warned, is that these dynamics make what he calls “stupid wars” frighteningly easy to trigger.
Related: Billionaire Ray Dalio warns banks are losing confidence in fiat
World is experiencing a new form of warfare
Dalio said leaders at the recent Munich Security Conference openly acknowledged that the post-1945 framework is no longer functioning. In its place, he sees a return to a power rivalry driven less by international law and more by relative strength.
In this environment, tactics such as sanctions, asset freezes, capital market restrictions, and embargoes become central tools of statecraft.
These measures are maybe short of open warfare, but they are economic weapons that expose how dependent traditional savings and payment systems are on political discretion.
Dalio argues that when the most powerful countries can freeze assets or restrict access to financial infrastructure, the global system begins to resemble a fragmented landscape rather than a cooperative order.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Internal stress fuels external conflict
External tensions rarely develop in isolation. Dalio’s framework emphasizes how geopolitical strain often collides with domestic economic stress.
When growth slows and wealth gaps widen, governments tend to respond with higher taxes and large increases in money creation, rather than explicit defaults. Historically, that approach devalues existing claims and weakens purchasing power.
Dalio cited the example of the World Wars, when money and credit were not commonly accepted between non-allied countries. This was because of a "justifiable wariness" about a currency's value.
At that time, precious metals like gold, silver, or, in some cases, barter, were "the coin of the realm."
While highlighting the pains of protecting one's wealth during times of war, he advised,
"As for investing, sell out of all debt and buy gold because wars are financed by borrowing and printing money, which devalues debt and money, and because there is a justifiable reluctance to accept credit."
Ray Dalio (Source: Getty Images)
Crypto investors renew the neutral money case
While Dalio openly vouches for gold in such times of crisis, for crypto advocates, his warning reinforces a familiar thesis.
As governments rely more heavily on sanctions, asset freezes, and money creation, investors may increasingly look to assets like gold that can operate outside state control.
Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists vouch for it as the next best candidate. It is often framed as apolitical and borderless, which does not rely on a centralized intermediary like a government or a central bank.
As concerns over dollar debasement intensified last October, Google searches for “Bitcoin” and “dollar debasement” surged to record levels.
At the same time, financial advisors and institutions are increasingly embracing digital assets.
However, in recent years, Bitcoin has also shown volatility to macroeconomic factors like Federal Reserve's rate decisions, geopolitical tensions, and even elections.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $67,685.37, still reeling from the ripples of the massive liquidation on Oct. 10.
Disclaimer: The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment or financial decisions.
Related: Ray Dalio: If Bitcoin Is Successful, Government Will ‘Kill It’
Hedge fund manager gives blunt one-word verdict on U.S. dollar
Hedge fund manager has a blunt verdict for US dollar (2:44)
Veteran investor Peter Schiff has a long history of sounding alarms about the U.S. economy.
In an interview with Sujal Jethwani, he delivered perhaps his bluntest take yet, summing up the U.S. dollar in just one word: “bad.”
The hedge fund manager, known for predicting elements of the 2008 financial crisis, reiterated his belief that a far larger crisis is still ahead, one centered not on housing, but on the dollar itself.
Related: Billionaire fund manager drops no-nonsense verdict on US dollar
Crisis delayed, not avoided
Schiff revisited his earlier warnings about the housing bubble and its aftermath. While he acknowledged he did not predict every detail perfectly, he said he correctly anticipated that artificially low interest rates, government-backed mortgages, and speculative excess would end in a severe downturn.
More importantly, he argued that policymakers’ response to the 2008 crisis, which included slashing interest rates and launching quantitative easing, merely postponed a deeper reckoning.
"I also predicted that, as a consequence of what the government would do in response to the financial crisis that we would have an even bigger crisis. That crisis was gonna be a dollar crisis and a sovereign debt crisis. That's the crisis that we haven't had."
While acknowledging critics who say his hyperinflation and dollar crash predictions have been wrong so far, he is convinced of his prediction.
"And I think that the fact that we were able to delay it for as long as we did, it was only because we pursued policies that made all the problems worse, that will ultimately lead to that crisis."
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:
Ex-Google engineer warns of Big Tech holding 1984-level control
Popular hedge fund manager predicts Bitcoin will crash to zero
Nasdaq-listed company becomes first to offer gold dividends
Gold signals trouble ahead
Schiff pointed to gold’s recent performance as a warning sign. He said the metal’s steady rise suggests that markets may be preparing for instability in fiat currencies.
“I think that gold moving up the way it has is an indicator that the crisis is closer now,” he said, adding that even he has been surprised by how long the reckoning has taken to unfold.
Schiff’s central thesis is that the United States cannot indefinitely sustain rising debt levels and monetary expansion without consequences.
He believes a combination of mounting sovereign debt and continued reliance on money printing will eventually undermine confidence in the dollar.
During a rapid-fire segment of the interview, Schiff was asked to summarize several assets and trends in one word.
Gold? “Good.”
Bitcoin? “Add.”
U.S. dollar? “Bad.”
Related: Could Bitcoin replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency?
Veteran investor Peter Schiff has a long history of sounding alarms about the U.S. economy.
In an interview with Sujal Jethwani, he delivered perhaps his bluntest take yet, summing up the U.S. dollar in just one word: “bad.”
The hedge fund manager, known for predicting elements of the 2008 financial crisis, reiterated his belief that a far larger crisis is still ahead, one centered not on housing, but on the dollar itself.
Related: Billionaire fund manager drops no-nonsense verdict on US dollar
Crisis delayed, not avoided
Schiff revisited his earlier warnings about the housing bubble and its aftermath. While he acknowledged he did not predict every detail perfectly, he said he correctly anticipated that artificially low interest rates, government-backed mortgages, and speculative excess would end in a severe downturn.
More importantly, he argued that policymakers’ response to the 2008 crisis, which included slashing interest rates and launching quantitative easing, merely postponed a deeper reckoning.
"I also predicted that, as a consequence of what the government would do in response to the financial crisis that we would have an even bigger crisis. That crisis was gonna be a dollar crisis and a sovereign debt crisis. That's the crisis that we haven't had."
While acknowledging critics who say his hyperinflation and dollar crash predictions have been wrong so far, he is convinced of his prediction.
"And I think that the fact that we were able to delay it for as long as we did, it was only because we pursued policies that made all the problems worse, that will ultimately lead to that crisis."
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:
Ex-Google engineer warns of Big Tech holding 1984-level control
Popular hedge fund manager predicts Bitcoin will crash to zero
Nasdaq-listed company becomes first to offer gold dividends
Gold signals trouble ahead
Schiff pointed to gold’s recent performance as a warning sign. He said the metal’s steady rise suggests that markets may be preparing for instability in fiat currencies.
“I think that gold moving up the way it has is an indicator that the crisis is closer now,” he said, adding that even he has been surprised by how long the reckoning has taken to unfold.
Schiff’s central thesis is that the United States cannot indefinitely sustain rising debt levels and monetary expansion without consequences.
He believes a combination of mounting sovereign debt and continued reliance on money printing will eventually undermine confidence in the dollar.
During a rapid-fire segment of the interview, Schiff was asked to summarize several assets and trends in one word.
Gold? “Good.”
Bitcoin? “Add.”
U.S. dollar? “Bad.”
Related: Could Bitcoin replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency?
Nasdaq-listed company becomes first to offer gold dividends
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says CBDCs could turn money into a surveillance tool (3:11)
Tether, the crypto company well-known for its stablecoins, announced on Feb. 17 that Elemental Royalty Corporation (Nasdaq: ELE), a publicly traded gold royalty company, will offer select shareholders the option to receive their dividend in the form of Tether Gold (XAUT) tokens.
This is the first-ever instance of a public gold company offering shareholders the option to receive dividends in tokenized gold, Tether said.
Related: Top gold holder doubles down on precious metal
What is XAUT?
Tether's XAUT is a digital asset backed by physical gold, which combines the long-term stability of gold with the efficiency, accessibility, and transferability of blockchain technology.
It is available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and as a TRC20 token on the TRON blockchain.
The allocated gold is identifiable with a unique serial number, purity, and weight and is redeemable in the form of physical gold.
One XAUT is backed by one fine troy ounce of physical gold. It meets the Good Delivery standard of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
XAUT accounted for approximately 60% of the total gold-backed stablecoin supply, Tether earlier said.
More News:
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S&P downgrades Tether to lowest rating
Former White House advisor reveals 2026 plan to buy massive U.S. debt
Elemental Royalty shareholders can receive dividends in Tether's XAUT
Elemental Royalty Corporation said it anticipates that qualifying registered shareholders will be able to elect to receive their dividend in the form of Tether's XAUT tokens, of par value to the dividend price.
With dividends in XAUT, Elemental Royalty shareholders gain direct gold exposure instead of cash equivalents, aligning dividend distributions more closely with the underlying asset.
Elemental Royalty CEO David M. Cole said,
“The decision to offer investors a dividend in kind, in the form of Tether Gold, further differentiates Elemental as a forward-thinking, growth-oriented investment.”
Elemental Royalty executive chairman Juan Sartori said,
“We believe the initiation of this dividend policy is a world first for a royalty company.”
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said,
“Gold has always been one of the most trusted stores of value in the world, yet integrating it directly into modern financial distribution models has been difficult... Using XAUT for shareholder dividends changes that dynamic completely.”
As per CoinGecko, XAUT was trading at $4,870.27 at press time. With a market cap of $2.5 billion, it is the largest tokenized gold coin.
Related: 64-year-old Wall Street firm flags unusual gold accumulation
Tether, the crypto company well-known for its stablecoins, announced on Feb. 17 that Elemental Royalty Corporation (Nasdaq: ELE), a publicly traded gold royalty company, will offer select shareholders the option to receive their dividend in the form of Tether Gold (XAUT) tokens.
This is the first-ever instance of a public gold company offering shareholders the option to receive dividends in tokenized gold, Tether said.
Related: Top gold holder doubles down on precious metal
What is XAUT?
Tether's XAUT is a digital asset backed by physical gold, which combines the long-term stability of gold with the efficiency, accessibility, and transferability of blockchain technology.
It is available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and as a TRC20 token on the TRON blockchain.
The allocated gold is identifiable with a unique serial number, purity, and weight and is redeemable in the form of physical gold.
One XAUT is backed by one fine troy ounce of physical gold. It meets the Good Delivery standard of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
XAUT accounted for approximately 60% of the total gold-backed stablecoin supply, Tether earlier said.
More News:
Gold giant becomes major buyer of U.S. debt
S&P downgrades Tether to lowest rating
Former White House advisor reveals 2026 plan to buy massive U.S. debt
Elemental Royalty shareholders can receive dividends in Tether's XAUT
Elemental Royalty Corporation said it anticipates that qualifying registered shareholders will be able to elect to receive their dividend in the form of Tether's XAUT tokens, of par value to the dividend price.
With dividends in XAUT, Elemental Royalty shareholders gain direct gold exposure instead of cash equivalents, aligning dividend distributions more closely with the underlying asset.
Elemental Royalty CEO David M. Cole said,
“The decision to offer investors a dividend in kind, in the form of Tether Gold, further differentiates Elemental as a forward-thinking, growth-oriented investment.”
Elemental Royalty executive chairman Juan Sartori said,
“We believe the initiation of this dividend policy is a world first for a royalty company.”
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said,
“Gold has always been one of the most trusted stores of value in the world, yet integrating it directly into modern financial distribution models has been difficult... Using XAUT for shareholder dividends changes that dynamic completely.”
As per CoinGecko, XAUT was trading at $4,870.27 at press time. With a market cap of $2.5 billion, it is the largest tokenized gold coin.
Related: 64-year-old Wall Street firm flags unusual gold accumulation
Investor Dan Tapiero says AI agents won't wire money through JPMorgan
Dan Tapiero says fracturing of fracturing capital behind crypto crash (4:47)
Bitcoin’s (BTC) sharp pullback from $125,000 to near $60,000 has rattled investors who expected a routine correction, not a 50% drawdown.
Speaking with The Wolf of All Streets and TheStreet Roundtable host Scott Melker, 50T Holdings founder Dan Tapiero said the decline was deeper than anticipated but not thesis-breaking.
“We thought we were going to get a 20%-30% correction from $125,000 down to $100,000 or $90,000. That seemed okay,” Tapiero said. “This pullback has been a little more than I would have anticipated.”
Bitcoin has been hovering around $65,000 right now, with Tapiero suggesting the $50,000-$60,000 price range represents significant long-term value.
Tapiero reiterated a long-held view that $100,000 would act as a major resistance point.
“When we were at $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, I said we’re going to hit $100,000 and then it’s just going to stop,” he said.
Tapiero described it as a natural pause where early investors would be sitting on massive profits. Instead, Bitcoin surged to $125,000 before reversing sharply.
Related: Macro Guru Dan Tapiero says ‘all value is migrating on-chain’
Fracturing of speculative capital
According to Tapiero, the downturn reflects a broader “fracturing” of investible or speculative capital across markets.
“All of the venture tokens are down 90% plus,” he noted, highlighting widespread losses in early-stage crypto projects.
At the same time, Bitcoin itself has matured into what he describes as a fully institutional asset class. Spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have drawn substantial inflows, and several companies now hold Bitcoin or Ether (ETH) on their balance sheets through various structures like debt.
Tapiero estimated that 5%-10% of total supply in major digital assets is now held in institutional formats, marking a dramatic shift from just a few years ago.
“It’s success. It’s what we all wanted,” he said.
However, speculative capital has rotated into other areas, including artificial intelligence, robotics, precious metals and other emerging sectors. Tapiero, who also has exposure to gold through his company GBI, said that capital migration is visible across markets.
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Tapiero flags 'crappy' crypto projects
Tapiero also criticized the proliferation of low-quality crypto projects.
“We seem to shoot ourselves in the foot in the space with all of these crappy projects,” he argued that an oversupply of tokens has diluted investor focus and capital.
Yet while many speculative tokens struggle, Tapiero pointed to rapid growth in on-chain infrastructure and real-world adoption.
He cited decentralized crypto trading platforms such as Hyperliquid generating significant trading volume, as well as the rise of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Meanwhile, stablecoins processed $33 trillion in volume last year.
Tapiero sees this as only the beginning, noting that most current stablecoins are dollar-denominated, with non-dollar stablecoins yet to meaningfully scale.
'Blockchain is the money of AI'
Looking ahead, Tapiero framed blockchain technology as foundational to the coming wave of artificial intelligence (AI). “Blockchain is the money of AI,” he said.
As AI agents transact with one another, he argued, they will require programmable money rather than traditional banking rails.
“When they send value to each other, they’re not going to be wiring money through JPMorgan,” Tapiero said. “They’re going to be using programmable money, smart contracts embedded on blockchain.”
In his view, that dynamic cements crypto’s long-term utility regardless of near-term price volatility.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) sharp pullback from $125,000 to near $60,000 has rattled investors who expected a routine correction, not a 50% drawdown.
Speaking with The Wolf of All Streets and TheStreet Roundtable host Scott Melker, 50T Holdings founder Dan Tapiero said the decline was deeper than anticipated but not thesis-breaking.
“We thought we were going to get a 20%-30% correction from $125,000 down to $100,000 or $90,000. That seemed okay,” Tapiero said. “This pullback has been a little more than I would have anticipated.”
Bitcoin has been hovering around $65,000 right now, with Tapiero suggesting the $50,000-$60,000 price range represents significant long-term value.
Tapiero reiterated a long-held view that $100,000 would act as a major resistance point.
“When we were at $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, I said we’re going to hit $100,000 and then it’s just going to stop,” he said.
Tapiero described it as a natural pause where early investors would be sitting on massive profits. Instead, Bitcoin surged to $125,000 before reversing sharply.
Related: Macro Guru Dan Tapiero says ‘all value is migrating on-chain’
Fracturing of speculative capital
According to Tapiero, the downturn reflects a broader “fracturing” of investible or speculative capital across markets.
“All of the venture tokens are down 90% plus,” he noted, highlighting widespread losses in early-stage crypto projects.
At the same time, Bitcoin itself has matured into what he describes as a fully institutional asset class. Spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have drawn substantial inflows, and several companies now hold Bitcoin or Ether (ETH) on their balance sheets through various structures like debt.
Tapiero estimated that 5%-10% of total supply in major digital assets is now held in institutional formats, marking a dramatic shift from just a few years ago.
“It’s success. It’s what we all wanted,” he said.
However, speculative capital has rotated into other areas, including artificial intelligence, robotics, precious metals and other emerging sectors. Tapiero, who also has exposure to gold through his company GBI, said that capital migration is visible across markets.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Ripple CEO reveals CLARITY Act deadline
Charles Schwab quietly boosts stake in MicroStrategy
Popular crypto exchange joins growing list of Trump Accounts sponsors
Tapiero flags 'crappy' crypto projects
Tapiero also criticized the proliferation of low-quality crypto projects.
“We seem to shoot ourselves in the foot in the space with all of these crappy projects,” he argued that an oversupply of tokens has diluted investor focus and capital.
Yet while many speculative tokens struggle, Tapiero pointed to rapid growth in on-chain infrastructure and real-world adoption.
He cited decentralized crypto trading platforms such as Hyperliquid generating significant trading volume, as well as the rise of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Meanwhile, stablecoins processed $33 trillion in volume last year.
Tapiero sees this as only the beginning, noting that most current stablecoins are dollar-denominated, with non-dollar stablecoins yet to meaningfully scale.
'Blockchain is the money of AI'
Looking ahead, Tapiero framed blockchain technology as foundational to the coming wave of artificial intelligence (AI). “Blockchain is the money of AI,” he said.
As AI agents transact with one another, he argued, they will require programmable money rather than traditional banking rails.
“When they send value to each other, they’re not going to be wiring money through JPMorgan,” Tapiero said. “They’re going to be using programmable money, smart contracts embedded on blockchain.”
In his view, that dynamic cements crypto’s long-term utility regardless of near-term price volatility.
HIVE registers record Q3 revenue of $93.1M
HIVE VEGAS (4:10)
HIVE Digital Technologies (Nasdaq: HIVE), the Bitcoin mining giant, announced its financial results for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, on Feb. 17.
The company registered a record revenue of $93.1 million in the third quarter of 2025, a growth of 219% year-over-year (YoY). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) stood at $5.7 million.
It generated a digital currency hashrate revenue of $88.2 million during the quarter. The hashrate revenue was achieved at a direct cost of $57.8 million, including around 90% in energy costs.
Related: HIVE’s BUZZ signs $30M in AI cloud contracts
HIVE generated 885 Bitcoin in the third quarter of 2025, which marks a 23% quarter-on-quarter growth despite a 15% rise in network difficulty.
BUZZ high-performance compute (HPC) revenue stood at $4.9 million, against direct costs of $2.3 million.
GAAP net loss of $91.3 million was primarily driven by $57.4 million in accelerated depreciation related to the Paraguay expansion and non‑cash revaluation adjustments.
The company also completed the buildout of the 440 MW Paraguay facility and achieved the installed capacity of 25 EH/s. It also signed an additional 100 MW PPA in Yguazú and bought 10 hectares of land, with energization targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
After the quarter end, HIVE purchased an additional 63 hectares of land.
More News:
Bitcoin miners face steep costs as they pivot to AI and HPC, HIVE chair says
HIVE’s Frank Holmes says money printing will make Bitcoin ‘more valuable’
HIVE launches documentary on Paraguay’s hydro-powered Bitcoin mega-mine
AI and HPC growth
HIVE signed a two-year, $30 million contract for 504 Nvidia B200 GPUs in February to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) revenue. The company is targeting the annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $140 million by Q4 2026 for GPU AI Cloud with 11,000 GPUs.
The company is targeting $225 million ARR for total high-performing computing (HPC) revenue by the end of calendar 2026 or early 2027 as GPU cloud and colocation capacity expand.
HIVE's 'dual-engine' strategy
HIVE’s executive chairman, Frank Holmes, said, “This quarter marked an inflection point for HIVE. We delivered record revenue, scaled our renewable-powered Tier-I hashrate platform to 25 EH/s and accelerated our AI strategy."
He added, "Notably, we are also positioning Paraguay to be a leader in HPC for Latin America. With abundant and stable green energy, and a government that is strongly-aligned with the United States, we believe Tier-III data centers are the future in Paraguay."
HIVE is pursuing what it calls a “dual-engine” strategy: Bitcoin infrastructure as a cash generator and BUZZ AI Cloud as high-growth recurring revenue. The strategy provides diversification and capital allocation flexibility, the statement read.
Related: What is Bitcoin mining? Explained
HIVE Digital Technologies (Nasdaq: HIVE), the Bitcoin mining giant, announced its financial results for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, on Feb. 17.
The company registered a record revenue of $93.1 million in the third quarter of 2025, a growth of 219% year-over-year (YoY). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) stood at $5.7 million.
It generated a digital currency hashrate revenue of $88.2 million during the quarter. The hashrate revenue was achieved at a direct cost of $57.8 million, including around 90% in energy costs.
Related: HIVE’s BUZZ signs $30M in AI cloud contracts
HIVE generated 885 Bitcoin in the third quarter of 2025, which marks a 23% quarter-on-quarter growth despite a 15% rise in network difficulty.
BUZZ high-performance compute (HPC) revenue stood at $4.9 million, against direct costs of $2.3 million.
GAAP net loss of $91.3 million was primarily driven by $57.4 million in accelerated depreciation related to the Paraguay expansion and non‑cash revaluation adjustments.
The company also completed the buildout of the 440 MW Paraguay facility and achieved the installed capacity of 25 EH/s. It also signed an additional 100 MW PPA in Yguazú and bought 10 hectares of land, with energization targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
After the quarter end, HIVE purchased an additional 63 hectares of land.
More News:
Bitcoin miners face steep costs as they pivot to AI and HPC, HIVE chair says
HIVE’s Frank Holmes says money printing will make Bitcoin ‘more valuable’
HIVE launches documentary on Paraguay’s hydro-powered Bitcoin mega-mine
AI and HPC growth
HIVE signed a two-year, $30 million contract for 504 Nvidia B200 GPUs in February to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) revenue. The company is targeting the annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $140 million by Q4 2026 for GPU AI Cloud with 11,000 GPUs.
The company is targeting $225 million ARR for total high-performing computing (HPC) revenue by the end of calendar 2026 or early 2027 as GPU cloud and colocation capacity expand.
HIVE's 'dual-engine' strategy
HIVE’s executive chairman, Frank Holmes, said, “This quarter marked an inflection point for HIVE. We delivered record revenue, scaled our renewable-powered Tier-I hashrate platform to 25 EH/s and accelerated our AI strategy."
He added, "Notably, we are also positioning Paraguay to be a leader in HPC for Latin America. With abundant and stable green energy, and a government that is strongly-aligned with the United States, we believe Tier-III data centers are the future in Paraguay."
HIVE is pursuing what it calls a “dual-engine” strategy: Bitcoin infrastructure as a cash generator and BUZZ AI Cloud as high-growth recurring revenue. The strategy provides diversification and capital allocation flexibility, the statement read.
Related: What is Bitcoin mining? Explained
Charles Schwab quietly boosts stake in MicroStrategy
Inside Michael Saylor's Bitcoin Strategy (4:18)
Institutional interest in MicroStrategy, now known as Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) appears to be intensifying despite Bitcoin crash.
Charles Schwab has reportedly increased its position in Michael Saylor's firm by purchasing an additional 91,859 shares, as per BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
The move brings the banking and brokerage giant’s total holdings to approximately 1.27 million shares, valued at roughly $168 million.
Related: Charles Schwab next in line for bitcoin ETF, analysts predict
Schwab expands exposure as Strategy doubles down
Strategy recently boosted its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings again, adding 2,486 BTC in a $168.4 million purchase. The company now holds 717,131 BTC in total.
It makes Strategy still the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.
However, the company’s financial statements show an inherent volatility in that strategy.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, Strategy reported $5.40 billion in unrealized losses on digital assets, partially offset by a $1.55 billion deferred tax benefit. In the fourth quarter alone, unrealized losses reached $17.44 billion, alongside a $5.01 billion deferred tax benefit.
As of year-end, Strategy carried a deferred tax liability of $2.42 billion.
Meanwhile, MSTR shares have been under pressure. At press time, the stock was down 4.46% at $127.91, falling 18.61% year-to-date and 64.82% over the past six months.
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Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
European bank makes MicroStrategy bet
Charles Schwab is not alone.
Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed a sizable put option position tied to Strategy shares, valued at approximately $184.6 million.
However, Put options give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell shares at a predetermined price. The structure of Intesa’s position suggests a more nuanced trade, potentially betting on convergence between Strategy’s stock price and the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
The mNAV trade
Strategy has historically traded at a premium to the value of its Bitcoin reserves, a metric commonly measured by multiple of net asset value, or mNAV.
At press time, the company's mNAV stood at 1.19.
This means the company is valued at a 19% premium to the market value of its Bitcoin holdings. In practical terms, investors are paying $1.19 for every $1.00 worth of Bitcoin on Strategy’s balance sheet.
That premium reflects expectations around leverage, future Bitcoin purchases, capital markets strategy, or equity market demand.
If mNAV falls from 1.19 to 1.0, the stock price would decline even if Bitcoin’s price remains unchanged. In that scenario, put options and short positions would benefit, since they profit from a falling stock price.
However, there is a risk for such bearish positions. If Bitcoin rallies strongly, mNAV can expand again. In such cases, the stock often outperforms Bitcoin itself, creating sharp upward moves and even short squeezes.
Related: Michael Saylor finally addresses short-sellers as mNav drops
Institutional interest in MicroStrategy, now known as Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) appears to be intensifying despite Bitcoin crash.
Charles Schwab has reportedly increased its position in Michael Saylor's firm by purchasing an additional 91,859 shares, as per BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
The move brings the banking and brokerage giant’s total holdings to approximately 1.27 million shares, valued at roughly $168 million.
Related: Charles Schwab next in line for bitcoin ETF, analysts predict
Schwab expands exposure as Strategy doubles down
Strategy recently boosted its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings again, adding 2,486 BTC in a $168.4 million purchase. The company now holds 717,131 BTC in total.
It makes Strategy still the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.
However, the company’s financial statements show an inherent volatility in that strategy.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, Strategy reported $5.40 billion in unrealized losses on digital assets, partially offset by a $1.55 billion deferred tax benefit. In the fourth quarter alone, unrealized losses reached $17.44 billion, alongside a $5.01 billion deferred tax benefit.
As of year-end, Strategy carried a deferred tax liability of $2.42 billion.
Meanwhile, MSTR shares have been under pressure. At press time, the stock was down 4.46% at $127.91, falling 18.61% year-to-date and 64.82% over the past six months.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
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European bank makes MicroStrategy bet
Charles Schwab is not alone.
Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed a sizable put option position tied to Strategy shares, valued at approximately $184.6 million.
However, Put options give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell shares at a predetermined price. The structure of Intesa’s position suggests a more nuanced trade, potentially betting on convergence between Strategy’s stock price and the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
The mNAV trade
Strategy has historically traded at a premium to the value of its Bitcoin reserves, a metric commonly measured by multiple of net asset value, or mNAV.
At press time, the company's mNAV stood at 1.19.
This means the company is valued at a 19% premium to the market value of its Bitcoin holdings. In practical terms, investors are paying $1.19 for every $1.00 worth of Bitcoin on Strategy’s balance sheet.
That premium reflects expectations around leverage, future Bitcoin purchases, capital markets strategy, or equity market demand.
If mNAV falls from 1.19 to 1.0, the stock price would decline even if Bitcoin’s price remains unchanged. In that scenario, put options and short positions would benefit, since they profit from a falling stock price.
However, there is a risk for such bearish positions. If Bitcoin rallies strongly, mNAV can expand again. In such cases, the stock often outperforms Bitcoin itself, creating sharp upward moves and even short squeezes.
Related: Michael Saylor finally addresses short-sellers as mNav drops
Ripple CEO reveals CLARITY Act deadline
Explained: Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (2:41)
It has been months since the Clarity Act has been stuck in limbo, but Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse thinks the crypto legislation is closer to reality.
As per Garlinghouse, the Act will get signed soon when the banking and crypto industries resolve their differences. In fact, he has even hinted at a deadline for the same.
Related: Coinbase, Ripple urge Senate Committee to preserve 'genius' rewards
Why is Clarity Act getting delayed?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a legislation that aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States by clarifying the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The legislation aims to define which assets are commodities for them to be regulated by the CFTC and which assets are securities to be regulated by the SEC.
While the House of Representatives passed the Clarity Act in July last year, it is still stuck in the Senate chambers.
The reason is the stalemate between the banking and crypto industries over a provision regarding stablecoin rewards in the bill.
Related: Explained: What is a stablecoin?
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that tries to keep its value stable by being pegged to a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins like Tether's USDT, Circle's USDC, and Ripple's RLUSD are pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and are treated as "digital dollars" by several payment infrastructure stakeholders.
A draft of the Clarity Act contains a provision that prohibits crypto platforms from offering rewards to users holding stablecoins so that these platforms can't support what would be de facto unregulated bank deposits.
The banking industry fears their users would withdraw their deposits and convert them into USD-pegged stablecoins as the reward crypto exchanges offer are higher than the interest paid by banks.
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research has warned warned that if the stablecoin market grows to $2 trillion, banks in developed economies could see around $500 billion in deposits get drained by the end of 2028.
But the crypto industry argues the banking industry is acting in an anti-competitive manner and doesn't want to let go of stablecoin rewards. Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., even withdrew support from the Senate's draft bill last month.
“We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong then.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently criticized what he described as “recalcitrant actors” resisting compromise. He earlier said that if deposits get drained from banks, these institutions would find it difficult to lend capital to community enterprises such as small businesses, agriculture, real estate, etc.
“We will continue to work to make sure there is no deposit volatility associated with this,” he assured the banking community.
As per Bessent, the legislation can get "across the line this year." President Donald Trump has also said the bill is close to passing.
More News:
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Treasury Secretary Bessent warns Coinbase is blocking major legislation
Crypto market bill nears Senate markup after Trump's nod
Ripple CEO hints deadline for Clarity Act
The White House has tried to bring both the banking and crypto industries to the negotiation table, with Ripple being a major player involved in negotiations.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse
Getty Images
On Feb. 17, CEO Brad Garlinghouse urged the crypto industry to accept the bill and not let perfection come in the way of progress even if there are certain aspects to it that the industry doesn't appreciate.
"I think it's so clear that clarity is better than chaos," he said.
While the Clarity Act is not perfect, but then, nobody has ever seen a perfect piece of legislation, Garlinghouse argued.
He cited the example of Ripple's long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged securities violations which kept on going for years but gave clarity that "XRP is not a security. That's clarity."
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse remains optimistic about the Clarity Act, giving it an 👀 80% chance of being signed by the end of April. 🏛️
While XRP has its legal clarity, the rest of the industry is still waiting. Progress over perfection is the goal. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/7DqQezE3U2
— 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸XRP (@BankXRP) February 16, 2026
But the crypto industry doesn't have clarity, so Ripple is a strong advocate of pushing the Clarity Act forward even if it doesn't like certain aspects, he added.
There is an 80% chance of the Clarity Act getting signed by the end of April, he predicted.
Related: 172-year-old bank cuts XRP price target after December upgrade
It has been months since the Clarity Act has been stuck in limbo, but Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse thinks the crypto legislation is closer to reality.
As per Garlinghouse, the Act will get signed soon when the banking and crypto industries resolve their differences. In fact, he has even hinted at a deadline for the same.
Related: Coinbase, Ripple urge Senate Committee to preserve 'genius' rewards
Why is Clarity Act getting delayed?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a legislation that aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States by clarifying the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The legislation aims to define which assets are commodities for them to be regulated by the CFTC and which assets are securities to be regulated by the SEC.
While the House of Representatives passed the Clarity Act in July last year, it is still stuck in the Senate chambers.
The reason is the stalemate between the banking and crypto industries over a provision regarding stablecoin rewards in the bill.
Related: Explained: What is a stablecoin?
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that tries to keep its value stable by being pegged to a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins like Tether's USDT, Circle's USDC, and Ripple's RLUSD are pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and are treated as "digital dollars" by several payment infrastructure stakeholders.
A draft of the Clarity Act contains a provision that prohibits crypto platforms from offering rewards to users holding stablecoins so that these platforms can't support what would be de facto unregulated bank deposits.
The banking industry fears their users would withdraw their deposits and convert them into USD-pegged stablecoins as the reward crypto exchanges offer are higher than the interest paid by banks.
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research has warned warned that if the stablecoin market grows to $2 trillion, banks in developed economies could see around $500 billion in deposits get drained by the end of 2028.
But the crypto industry argues the banking industry is acting in an anti-competitive manner and doesn't want to let go of stablecoin rewards. Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., even withdrew support from the Senate's draft bill last month.
“We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong then.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently criticized what he described as “recalcitrant actors” resisting compromise. He earlier said that if deposits get drained from banks, these institutions would find it difficult to lend capital to community enterprises such as small businesses, agriculture, real estate, etc.
“We will continue to work to make sure there is no deposit volatility associated with this,” he assured the banking community.
As per Bessent, the legislation can get "across the line this year." President Donald Trump has also said the bill is close to passing.
More News:
Congress delay on crypto legislation triggers $1 billion outflow
Treasury Secretary Bessent warns Coinbase is blocking major legislation
Crypto market bill nears Senate markup after Trump's nod
Ripple CEO hints deadline for Clarity Act
The White House has tried to bring both the banking and crypto industries to the negotiation table, with Ripple being a major player involved in negotiations.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse
Getty Images
On Feb. 17, CEO Brad Garlinghouse urged the crypto industry to accept the bill and not let perfection come in the way of progress even if there are certain aspects to it that the industry doesn't appreciate.
"I think it's so clear that clarity is better than chaos," he said.
While the Clarity Act is not perfect, but then, nobody has ever seen a perfect piece of legislation, Garlinghouse argued.
He cited the example of Ripple's long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged securities violations which kept on going for years but gave clarity that "XRP is not a security. That's clarity."
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse remains optimistic about the Clarity Act, giving it an 👀 80% chance of being signed by the end of April. 🏛️
While XRP has its legal clarity, the rest of the industry is still waiting. Progress over perfection is the goal. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/7DqQezE3U2
— 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸XRP (@BankXRP) February 16, 2026
But the crypto industry doesn't have clarity, so Ripple is a strong advocate of pushing the Clarity Act forward even if it doesn't like certain aspects, he added.
There is an 80% chance of the Clarity Act getting signed by the end of April, he predicted.
Related: 172-year-old bank cuts XRP price target after December upgrade
Rich Dad Poor Dad author says crashing markets do not scare him
Robert Kiyosaki’s long game from 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' to Bitcoin (3:28)
Markets have turned increasingly unstable in early 2026.
Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim the $70,000 level. At the same time, precious metals have pulled back sharply from recent highs.
Gold hit a record above $5,500 in late January 2026 before sliding back below $5,000 in February. Silver also surged past $120 in late January before dropping into the mid-$70K range during February’s sell-off.
On Feb. 16, financial commentary outlet The Kobeissi Letter flagged rising volatility beneath the surface of the stock market. It said the gap between two-week volatility in individual stocks and the Nasdaq 100 had climbed to 20.7 points, the highest level since 2020.
Spread of Nasdaq-100 (NDX) single-stock volatility vs index volatility.
The measure has doubled over the past month and now sits three times above its four-year average, showing that even if major indexes look calm, many individual stocks are experiencing extreme moves.
In response to current market conditions, Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki says he is not afraid of a crash.
Related: Gold and silver crash puts crypto back in focus
Market crash as buying opportunity
In a Feb. 17 post, Kiyosaki reiterated his long-held warning that a historic market crash was coming, saying the “giant crash is now imminent.”
Kiyosaki’s broader strategy centers on accumulating hard assets during periods of panic. He said he holds gold, silver, Ethereum and Bitcoin, and plans to increase his exposure if prices continue to fall, positioning himself as a buyer when others are selling.
“Market crashes are priceless assets going on sale,” he wrote, adding, “Let this crash make you richer.”
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Robert Kiyosaki is betting on scarcity
A core pillar of Kiyosaki’s bullish stance on Bitcoin is its fixed supply. The Bitcoin protocol caps total issuance at 21 million coins, a hard limit embedded in its code.
"I am so bullish on Bitcoin I am buying more and more as Bitcoin’s price goes down. Why? There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin and there are nearly 21 million Bitcoin already in circulation."
According to blockchain data from Blockchair, Bitcoin’s circulating supply currently stands at 19,990,871 BTC, meaning just over 1 million coins remain before the 21 million cap is reached. New coins are released at a decreasing rate through a process known as bitcoin mining, with periodic “halving” events cutting issuance in half roughly every four years.
Kiyosaki points to this built-in scarcity as a key reason he continues to accumulate during downturns.
With supply capped and demand fluctuating based on market cycles, he argues that panic-driven sell-offs present long-term buyers with discounted entry points into a finite asset.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $68,204.18, down 0.94% on the day, while Ethereum stood at $1,993.53, lower by 0.22% over the same period, according to data by CoinGecko.
Related: Markets slide on U.S.-Iran escalation
Markets have turned increasingly unstable in early 2026.
Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim the $70,000 level. At the same time, precious metals have pulled back sharply from recent highs.
Gold hit a record above $5,500 in late January 2026 before sliding back below $5,000 in February. Silver also surged past $120 in late January before dropping into the mid-$70K range during February’s sell-off.
On Feb. 16, financial commentary outlet The Kobeissi Letter flagged rising volatility beneath the surface of the stock market. It said the gap between two-week volatility in individual stocks and the Nasdaq 100 had climbed to 20.7 points, the highest level since 2020.
Spread of Nasdaq-100 (NDX) single-stock volatility vs index volatility.
The measure has doubled over the past month and now sits three times above its four-year average, showing that even if major indexes look calm, many individual stocks are experiencing extreme moves.
In response to current market conditions, Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki says he is not afraid of a crash.
Related: Gold and silver crash puts crypto back in focus
Market crash as buying opportunity
In a Feb. 17 post, Kiyosaki reiterated his long-held warning that a historic market crash was coming, saying the “giant crash is now imminent.”
Kiyosaki’s broader strategy centers on accumulating hard assets during periods of panic. He said he holds gold, silver, Ethereum and Bitcoin, and plans to increase his exposure if prices continue to fall, positioning himself as a buyer when others are selling.
“Market crashes are priceless assets going on sale,” he wrote, adding, “Let this crash make you richer.”
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Hedge fund manager predicts Bitcoin to $50M
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Robert Kiyosaki is betting on scarcity
A core pillar of Kiyosaki’s bullish stance on Bitcoin is its fixed supply. The Bitcoin protocol caps total issuance at 21 million coins, a hard limit embedded in its code.
"I am so bullish on Bitcoin I am buying more and more as Bitcoin’s price goes down. Why? There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin and there are nearly 21 million Bitcoin already in circulation."
According to blockchain data from Blockchair, Bitcoin’s circulating supply currently stands at 19,990,871 BTC, meaning just over 1 million coins remain before the 21 million cap is reached. New coins are released at a decreasing rate through a process known as bitcoin mining, with periodic “halving” events cutting issuance in half roughly every four years.
Kiyosaki points to this built-in scarcity as a key reason he continues to accumulate during downturns.
With supply capped and demand fluctuating based on market cycles, he argues that panic-driven sell-offs present long-term buyers with discounted entry points into a finite asset.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $68,204.18, down 0.94% on the day, while Ethereum stood at $1,993.53, lower by 0.22% over the same period, according to data by CoinGecko.
Related: Markets slide on U.S.-Iran escalation
Popular crypto exchange joins growing list of Trump Accounts sponsors
Donald Trump's Evolving Stance on Cryptocurrency (1:56)
Another major U.S. crypto trading exchange has joined the expanding list of digital asset firms backing “Trump Accounts.”
Trump Accounts are state-backed or privately sponsored savings accounts created for newborns, designed to promote long-term wealth building through early capital contributions, often supported by crypto firms and financial sponsors.
The initiative was established through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Under the program, children born between 2025 and 2028 will receive an initial $1,000 contribution from the government.
However, crypto products, including spot Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs, and tokenized assets, are not included for now.
Related: Largest U.S. crypto exchange announces support for Trump Accounts
Kraken backs newborn savings initiative
Popular cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Feb 16 that it will sponsor Trump Accounts for every child born in Wyoming in 2026.
The move puts Kraken alongside a growing number of crypto industry players supporting the initiative, such as Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD).
In a blog post, Kraken said the sponsorship reflects its belief that the United States should continue modernizing financial services by expanding access and encouraging broader participation in long-term wealth building.
“This commitment reflects our belief that the United States should continue modernizing financial services by expanding access, strengthening participation, and giving more Americans a simple pathway to benefit from long-term compounding.”
Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the initiative as a long-term investment rather than a one-time gesture.
“This is not a gift. It is an investment in Wyoming’s future,” Sethi said. “We chose Wyoming as our global headquarters because it leads the country in thoughtful crypto innovation and regulation.”
He added that seeding accounts for newborns reinforces Wyoming’s status as what he described as “America’s home for responsible crypto leadership.”
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Another company makes a U.S. comeback
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Wyoming’s crypto-friendly reputation
Wyoming has built a reputation as one of the most crypto-friendly states in the U.S. It chartered Kraken Financial as the nation’s first Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) and has advanced blockchain-focused legislation in recent years.
The state has also launched initiatives such as the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) stablecoin in collaboration with Franklin Templeton.
Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis welcomed Kraken’s sponsorship, calling it a meaningful investment in the state’s next generation.
“This investment in the next generation will ensure children in Wyoming have a financial head start.”
As more crypto firms align themselves with Trump Accounts and similar initiatives, the program appears to be gaining traction within parts of the digital asset industry.
Related: Kraken expands beyond crypto, offers U.S. stocks and ETFs trading commission-free
Another major U.S. crypto trading exchange has joined the expanding list of digital asset firms backing “Trump Accounts.”
Trump Accounts are state-backed or privately sponsored savings accounts created for newborns, designed to promote long-term wealth building through early capital contributions, often supported by crypto firms and financial sponsors.
The initiative was established through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Under the program, children born between 2025 and 2028 will receive an initial $1,000 contribution from the government.
However, crypto products, including spot Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs, and tokenized assets, are not included for now.
Related: Largest U.S. crypto exchange announces support for Trump Accounts
Kraken backs newborn savings initiative
Popular cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Feb 16 that it will sponsor Trump Accounts for every child born in Wyoming in 2026.
The move puts Kraken alongside a growing number of crypto industry players supporting the initiative, such as Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD).
In a blog post, Kraken said the sponsorship reflects its belief that the United States should continue modernizing financial services by expanding access and encouraging broader participation in long-term wealth building.
“This commitment reflects our belief that the United States should continue modernizing financial services by expanding access, strengthening participation, and giving more Americans a simple pathway to benefit from long-term compounding.”
Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the initiative as a long-term investment rather than a one-time gesture.
“This is not a gift. It is an investment in Wyoming’s future,” Sethi said. “We chose Wyoming as our global headquarters because it leads the country in thoughtful crypto innovation and regulation.”
He added that seeding accounts for newborns reinforces Wyoming’s status as what he described as “America’s home for responsible crypto leadership.”
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Wyoming’s crypto-friendly reputation
Wyoming has built a reputation as one of the most crypto-friendly states in the U.S. It chartered Kraken Financial as the nation’s first Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) and has advanced blockchain-focused legislation in recent years.
The state has also launched initiatives such as the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) stablecoin in collaboration with Franklin Templeton.
Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis welcomed Kraken’s sponsorship, calling it a meaningful investment in the state’s next generation.
“This investment in the next generation will ensure children in Wyoming have a financial head start.”
As more crypto firms align themselves with Trump Accounts and similar initiatives, the program appears to be gaining traction within parts of the digital asset industry.
Related: Kraken expands beyond crypto, offers U.S. stocks and ETFs trading commission-free
Markets slide on U.S.-Iran escalation
Iran explores crypto payments for war weapons (2:09)
As the second round of talks between Iran and the United States regarding Tehran's nuclear program took place in the Swiss city of Geneva, the two countries sharply escalated their militaristic rhetoric and action.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wanted to make a deal and it wouldn't want the consequences of not making it, referring to the American bombing of Iranian nuclear sites last year.
"We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s," Trump said. "I hope they're going to be more reasonable."
As the U.S. ramps up its military presence in West Asia, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said,
"More dangerous than an aircraft carrier is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea."
Related: Oil rally on Iran tensions deepens Bitcoin traders’ woes
Oil prices react to Iran's military drill in Strait of Hormuz
Iran responded to the U.S. military build-up by launching missiles into the Strait of Hormuz. Located in the Gulf between Oman and Iran, the Strait is considered a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states.
The country has closed parts of the Strait which carries about 20 million bpd, roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the crude oil benchmark in North America, rose 1.14% today to trade at $63.61 at the time of writing. Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, however, fell 0.19% today to trade at $68.52 at press time.
More News:
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Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Jim Cramer issues blunt warning, predicts next Bitcoin bottom
Gold, silver, crypto prices drop
In contrast to oil, precious metals fell today as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated.
Gold fell 1.55% today to $4,916.93 per ounce, and silver fell 3.31% to trade at $74.23 per ounce.
Cryptocurrencies, which are already under pressure, felt more stress following the escalation today.
Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency, fell 2.4% over the last 24 hours to trade at $68,023.80 at press time.
Ethereum (ETH) fell 1.5% to trade at $1,979. XRP fell 3.4% to $1.46, and Solana (SOL) fell 2% to $84.70.
The total crypto market cap fell 0.3% over the last 24 hours to $2.41 trillion.
Related: Iran strikes Israeli stock exchange in blow to financial hub
As the second round of talks between Iran and the United States regarding Tehran's nuclear program took place in the Swiss city of Geneva, the two countries sharply escalated their militaristic rhetoric and action.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wanted to make a deal and it wouldn't want the consequences of not making it, referring to the American bombing of Iranian nuclear sites last year.
"We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s," Trump said. "I hope they're going to be more reasonable."
As the U.S. ramps up its military presence in West Asia, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said,
"More dangerous than an aircraft carrier is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea."
Related: Oil rally on Iran tensions deepens Bitcoin traders’ woes
Oil prices react to Iran's military drill in Strait of Hormuz
Iran responded to the U.S. military build-up by launching missiles into the Strait of Hormuz. Located in the Gulf between Oman and Iran, the Strait is considered a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states.
The country has closed parts of the Strait which carries about 20 million bpd, roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the crude oil benchmark in North America, rose 1.14% today to trade at $63.61 at the time of writing. Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, however, fell 0.19% today to trade at $68.52 at press time.
More News:
172-year-old bank cuts XRP price target after December upgrade
Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Jim Cramer issues blunt warning, predicts next Bitcoin bottom
Gold, silver, crypto prices drop
In contrast to oil, precious metals fell today as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated.
Gold fell 1.55% today to $4,916.93 per ounce, and silver fell 3.31% to trade at $74.23 per ounce.
Cryptocurrencies, which are already under pressure, felt more stress following the escalation today.
Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency, fell 2.4% over the last 24 hours to trade at $68,023.80 at press time.
Ethereum (ETH) fell 1.5% to trade at $1,979. XRP fell 3.4% to $1.46, and Solana (SOL) fell 2% to $84.70.
The total crypto market cap fell 0.3% over the last 24 hours to $2.41 trillion.
Related: Iran strikes Israeli stock exchange in blow to financial hub
Veteran analyst warns of shocking Bitcoin crash to $10K
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says Oct. 10 hurt altcoins (3:39)
Bitcoin (BTC), the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency, was launched in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008. The goal was to give financial autonomy to the people and liberate them from the clutches of Wall Street.
But the way Bitcoin has increasingly become integrated into the mainstream financial system, macroeconomic forces now tend to affect King Crypto's price trajectory.
That is exactly what happened when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat against China led to a massive liquidation in the crypto market on Oct. 10 last year.
Bitcoin had hit its all-time high (ATH) of $126,080 only a few days earlier on Oct. 6 and it is currently trading 45% lower.
Related: Bitget CEO who predicted $200K Bitcoin says it’s a ‘good time to buy’
Investor identifies 6 factors behind crypto crash
Earlier this month, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan listed six major factors behind the crash in the crypto market.
First, long-term crypto investors have been selling to front-run the four-year cycle. The general thesis is that crypto has historically followed four-year cycles, with down years being 2014, 2018, and 2022 previously. So, traders think 2026 is also going to be a down year and are therefore exiting markets after making gains.
Second, though crypto remained the "most exciting, dynamic, and volatile segment" of the market, investors have now flocked to other exciting segments like artificial intelligence (AI) and precious metals.
Three, the crypto market took the blow of Trump's tariff threat alone, as Oct. 10 was followed by a weekend when Wall Street was closed for trading.
Four, Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chairman, who is seen to hold very hawkish views.
Five, there is a significant section of the Bitcoin community that fears the threat of quantum computing is near and not enough is being done to address the risk.
Six, Bitcoin has suffered from the broader market’s risk-off shift.
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Mike McGlone warns Bitcoin could crash to $10K
On Feb. 16, Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone warned that Bitcoin could even drop to $10,000.
While other analysts may talk of a "healthy correction" soon, a further decline is here, he said. But the buy-the-dip mantra since 2008 may be over, he added.
The U.S. stock market is rallying with low volatility, but the digital assets market has lost faith in Trump. He warned that the crypto bubble is imploding.
But precious metal traders are making huge profits, he underlined the contrast.
McGlone shared a price chart comparing Bitcoin divided by 10 for scaling with the S&P 500.
Collapsing Bitcoin/Cryptos May Guide the Next Recession -
"Healthy Correction" is what we should hear soon from stock market analysts (who risk unemployment if not onboard), following collapsing cryptos. The buy the dips mantra since 2008 may be over, here's why:
- US stock… pic.twitter.com/fPPc2fV3EU
— Mike McGlone (@mikemcglone11) February 15, 2026
The stock market benchmark closed at 6,836.17 points on Feb. 13, and since Bitcoin doesn't sleep even on Presidents' Day, it was trading at $67,952.02 at press time. Both assets are hovering below $7,000 in the chart McGlone shared.
He thinks the initial normal reversion for the S&P 500 is toward 5,600, so it should be $56,000 for Bitcoin. In a base case, he thinks Bitcoin could revert toward $10,000, given the equities market hits a peak.
Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, is also bearish but not as much as McGlone. He believes Bitcoin could slide toward $50,000 in the coming months.
JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, however, remain bullish and predicted earlier this month that BTC could eventually hit $266,000.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile and risky. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
Related: JPMorgan turns bullish on crypto in 2026 despite crash
Bitcoin (BTC), the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency, was launched in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008. The goal was to give financial autonomy to the people and liberate them from the clutches of Wall Street.
But the way Bitcoin has increasingly become integrated into the mainstream financial system, macroeconomic forces now tend to affect King Crypto's price trajectory.
That is exactly what happened when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat against China led to a massive liquidation in the crypto market on Oct. 10 last year.
Bitcoin had hit its all-time high (ATH) of $126,080 only a few days earlier on Oct. 6 and it is currently trading 45% lower.
Related: Bitget CEO who predicted $200K Bitcoin says it’s a ‘good time to buy’
Investor identifies 6 factors behind crypto crash
Earlier this month, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan listed six major factors behind the crash in the crypto market.
First, long-term crypto investors have been selling to front-run the four-year cycle. The general thesis is that crypto has historically followed four-year cycles, with down years being 2014, 2018, and 2022 previously. So, traders think 2026 is also going to be a down year and are therefore exiting markets after making gains.
Second, though crypto remained the "most exciting, dynamic, and volatile segment" of the market, investors have now flocked to other exciting segments like artificial intelligence (AI) and precious metals.
Three, the crypto market took the blow of Trump's tariff threat alone, as Oct. 10 was followed by a weekend when Wall Street was closed for trading.
Four, Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chairman, who is seen to hold very hawkish views.
Five, there is a significant section of the Bitcoin community that fears the threat of quantum computing is near and not enough is being done to address the risk.
Six, Bitcoin has suffered from the broader market’s risk-off shift.
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Mike McGlone warns Bitcoin could crash to $10K
On Feb. 16, Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone warned that Bitcoin could even drop to $10,000.
While other analysts may talk of a "healthy correction" soon, a further decline is here, he said. But the buy-the-dip mantra since 2008 may be over, he added.
The U.S. stock market is rallying with low volatility, but the digital assets market has lost faith in Trump. He warned that the crypto bubble is imploding.
But precious metal traders are making huge profits, he underlined the contrast.
McGlone shared a price chart comparing Bitcoin divided by 10 for scaling with the S&P 500.
Collapsing Bitcoin/Cryptos May Guide the Next Recession -
"Healthy Correction" is what we should hear soon from stock market analysts (who risk unemployment if not onboard), following collapsing cryptos. The buy the dips mantra since 2008 may be over, here's why:
- US stock… pic.twitter.com/fPPc2fV3EU
— Mike McGlone (@mikemcglone11) February 15, 2026
The stock market benchmark closed at 6,836.17 points on Feb. 13, and since Bitcoin doesn't sleep even on Presidents' Day, it was trading at $67,952.02 at press time. Both assets are hovering below $7,000 in the chart McGlone shared.
He thinks the initial normal reversion for the S&P 500 is toward 5,600, so it should be $56,000 for Bitcoin. In a base case, he thinks Bitcoin could revert toward $10,000, given the equities market hits a peak.
Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, is also bearish but not as much as McGlone. He believes Bitcoin could slide toward $50,000 in the coming months.
JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, however, remain bullish and predicted earlier this month that BTC could eventually hit $266,000.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile and risky. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
Related: JPMorgan turns bullish on crypto in 2026 despite crash
Popular crypto lending platform shuts down amid market pressures
Why crypto bankruptcies are rising again in 2026 (3:22)
Crypto lending began gaining traction around the 2020-2021 bull market.
The idea of borrowing or lending against cryptocurrency with speed and accessibility that traditional finance couldn't guarantee increased its appeal.
Among the many early entrants in the space was ZeroLend, a multi-chain decentralized crypto lending protocol. It is built on zkSync, a Layer-2 (L2) scaling protocol for Ethereum (ETH).
But today it has announced it will wind down operations, citing sustainability challenges and prolonged operating losses.
The closure adds to a growing list of DeFi lending platforms that have struggled to maintain profitability in a fragmented, security-challenged environment in crypto’s lending landscape.
Related: California and Manhattan crackdown tighten pressure on crypto lenders
Liquidity declines and security pressures
In a statement shared with its community on Feb. 16, the team said that after three years of building and running the protocol, it had made the “difficult decision” to shut down.
According to the team, several blockchains that ZeroLend supported during its early growth phase have since become inactive or significantly less liquid.
In some cases, oracle providers discontinued support, making it harder to operate lending markets reliably or generate stable revenue.
Oracle providers supply real-world data, such as prices, to blockchain smart contracts and enable decentralized applications to function accurately and securely.
At the same time, the protocol faced increasing attention from malicious actors, including hackers and scammers. Combined with the inherently thin margins and high-risk profile of lending platforms, these pressures resulted in extended periods of operating at a loss.
“Despite the team’s continued efforts, it has become clear that the protocol is no longer sustainable in its current form,” the statement read.
More on Shutdowns and Bankruptcies:
Popular crypto exchange denies shutdown rumors
Another NFT platform is closing permanently
Major crypto company shuts down, refunds investors
Users urged to withdraw funds
ZeroLend said its immediate priority is ensuring users can safely withdraw their assets. Most lending markets have already been set to 0% loan-to-value (LTV), and users have been strongly encouraged to remove any remaining funds from the platform.
However, some assets remain tied up on chains such as Manta, Zircuit and XLayer, where liquidity has significantly deteriorated. In those cases, funds are currently locked in positions linked to illiquid or inactive environments.
To address this, ZeroLend plans to execute a timelock upgrade that would allow redistribution of affected assets. The move will involve updates to the protocol’s smart contracts and is aimed at maximizing recovery for users.
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ZeroLend addresses exploit incident
The team also mentioned an incident involving LBTC users on Base in February of last year.
On Feb. 23, 2025, ZeroLend’s LBTC market on Base experienced an exploit. At the time, the protocol made no public announcement.
Users flooded Discord with complaints about frozen withdrawals, but moderators reportedly attributed the issue to “high utilization” and “maintenance.” It wasn’t until late 2025 that on-chain researcher Torakapa publicly revealed what had happened.
According to blockchain data, a single wallet borrowed 3.92 LBTC across three transactions executed within 45 minutes. The attacker then bridged the funds out through Across Protocol, effectively extracting the value from the vault.
What was left behind was worthless PT-LBTC collateral.
The debt token associated with the exploit remains visible on-chain, serving as a permanent record of the transaction. However, the protocol did not immediately acknowledge the incident or classify it as a hack.
The tactics in the exploit were similar to those in other DeFi lending attacks during that period. Attackers would leverage weak collateral parameters, oracle vulnerabilities or mispriced assets to drain liquidity while leaving technically “valid” debt positions behind.
ZeroLend said in the recent post that with support from a LINEA airdrop allocation, affected LBTC suppliers on Base are expected to receive a partial refund.
Related: Another crypto lender shuts down, leaves behind a teary note
Crypto lending began gaining traction around the 2020-2021 bull market.
The idea of borrowing or lending against cryptocurrency with speed and accessibility that traditional finance couldn't guarantee increased its appeal.
Among the many early entrants in the space was ZeroLend, a multi-chain decentralized crypto lending protocol. It is built on zkSync, a Layer-2 (L2) scaling protocol for Ethereum (ETH).
But today it has announced it will wind down operations, citing sustainability challenges and prolonged operating losses.
The closure adds to a growing list of DeFi lending platforms that have struggled to maintain profitability in a fragmented, security-challenged environment in crypto’s lending landscape.
Related: California and Manhattan crackdown tighten pressure on crypto lenders
Liquidity declines and security pressures
In a statement shared with its community on Feb. 16, the team said that after three years of building and running the protocol, it had made the “difficult decision” to shut down.
According to the team, several blockchains that ZeroLend supported during its early growth phase have since become inactive or significantly less liquid.
In some cases, oracle providers discontinued support, making it harder to operate lending markets reliably or generate stable revenue.
Oracle providers supply real-world data, such as prices, to blockchain smart contracts and enable decentralized applications to function accurately and securely.
At the same time, the protocol faced increasing attention from malicious actors, including hackers and scammers. Combined with the inherently thin margins and high-risk profile of lending platforms, these pressures resulted in extended periods of operating at a loss.
“Despite the team’s continued efforts, it has become clear that the protocol is no longer sustainable in its current form,” the statement read.
More on Shutdowns and Bankruptcies:
Popular crypto exchange denies shutdown rumors
Another NFT platform is closing permanently
Major crypto company shuts down, refunds investors
Users urged to withdraw funds
ZeroLend said its immediate priority is ensuring users can safely withdraw their assets. Most lending markets have already been set to 0% loan-to-value (LTV), and users have been strongly encouraged to remove any remaining funds from the platform.
However, some assets remain tied up on chains such as Manta, Zircuit and XLayer, where liquidity has significantly deteriorated. In those cases, funds are currently locked in positions linked to illiquid or inactive environments.
To address this, ZeroLend plans to execute a timelock upgrade that would allow redistribution of affected assets. The move will involve updates to the protocol’s smart contracts and is aimed at maximizing recovery for users.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
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ZeroLend addresses exploit incident
The team also mentioned an incident involving LBTC users on Base in February of last year.
On Feb. 23, 2025, ZeroLend’s LBTC market on Base experienced an exploit. At the time, the protocol made no public announcement.
Users flooded Discord with complaints about frozen withdrawals, but moderators reportedly attributed the issue to “high utilization” and “maintenance.” It wasn’t until late 2025 that on-chain researcher Torakapa publicly revealed what had happened.
According to blockchain data, a single wallet borrowed 3.92 LBTC across three transactions executed within 45 minutes. The attacker then bridged the funds out through Across Protocol, effectively extracting the value from the vault.
What was left behind was worthless PT-LBTC collateral.
The debt token associated with the exploit remains visible on-chain, serving as a permanent record of the transaction. However, the protocol did not immediately acknowledge the incident or classify it as a hack.
The tactics in the exploit were similar to those in other DeFi lending attacks during that period. Attackers would leverage weak collateral parameters, oracle vulnerabilities or mispriced assets to drain liquidity while leaving technically “valid” debt positions behind.
ZeroLend said in the recent post that with support from a LINEA airdrop allocation, affected LBTC suppliers on Base are expected to receive a partial refund.
Related: Another crypto lender shuts down, leaves behind a teary note
OKX Ventures to invest in STBL to launch RWA-backed stablecoin on X Layer
On Feb. 12, OKX Ventures announced a strategic investment in STBL, a stablecoin and yield infrastructure provider.
At the same time, STBL said it is partnering with Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) and Securitize to launch a real-world-asset-backed stablecoin on X Layer, OKX’s EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain.
Hamilton Lane is a global private markets investment firm. Securitize provides regulated digital securities issuance and tokenization services.
Related: Explained: What is a stablecoin?
The capital from OKX Ventures supports STBL’s mission to build money-as-a-service infrastructure and help ecosystems issue their own branded RWA-backed stablecoins.
“The collaboration strengthens the foundation for highly capital-efficient RWA products across the network,” said OKX Ventures founder Jeff Ren.
“Working with STBL and Hamilton Lane allows us to accelerate that mission and bring users a more mature RWA ecosystem,” he added.
The partnership aims to contribute to the evolution of blockchain-based financial infrastructure and bring together institutional private credit, regulated tokenization and programmable settlement infrastructure to advance regulated onchain financial products.
The asset framework behind the launch incorporates a feeder fund to Hamilton Lane's Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (SCOPE), issued and tokenized via Securitize as an institutional-grade component within the broader collateral architecture.
The structure is designed to support scalable, regulated stablecoin issuance backed by tokenized RWAs, according to the statement.
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STBL will also introduce the first Ecosystem-Specific Stablecoin (ESS) on X Layer, using its dual-token architecture to distinguish liquid settlement from yield generation.
STBL founder and CEO Dr. Avtar Sehra said, “STBL provides a purpose-built architecture for RWA-backed stablecoins combined with compliant yield management. Working with Hamilton Lane and OKX Ventures, we are seeking to unlock deeper liquidity, yield management and efficient utility across onchain ecosystems.”
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said, “By embedding institutional private credit directly into onchain money flows, we’re turning tokenized assets into functional building blocks: assets that can be settled, composed and used across financial applications, not just held.”
Related: OKX launches U.S. exchange, a self-custody wallet and names new CEO
At the same time, STBL said it is partnering with Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) and Securitize to launch a real-world-asset-backed stablecoin on X Layer, OKX’s EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain.
Hamilton Lane is a global private markets investment firm. Securitize provides regulated digital securities issuance and tokenization services.
Related: Explained: What is a stablecoin?
The capital from OKX Ventures supports STBL’s mission to build money-as-a-service infrastructure and help ecosystems issue their own branded RWA-backed stablecoins.
“The collaboration strengthens the foundation for highly capital-efficient RWA products across the network,” said OKX Ventures founder Jeff Ren.
“Working with STBL and Hamilton Lane allows us to accelerate that mission and bring users a more mature RWA ecosystem,” he added.
The partnership aims to contribute to the evolution of blockchain-based financial infrastructure and bring together institutional private credit, regulated tokenization and programmable settlement infrastructure to advance regulated onchain financial products.
The asset framework behind the launch incorporates a feeder fund to Hamilton Lane's Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (SCOPE), issued and tokenized via Securitize as an institutional-grade component within the broader collateral architecture.
The structure is designed to support scalable, regulated stablecoin issuance backed by tokenized RWAs, according to the statement.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soarAnother company makes a U.S. comebackGold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
STBL will also introduce the first Ecosystem-Specific Stablecoin (ESS) on X Layer, using its dual-token architecture to distinguish liquid settlement from yield generation.
STBL founder and CEO Dr. Avtar Sehra said, “STBL provides a purpose-built architecture for RWA-backed stablecoins combined with compliant yield management. Working with Hamilton Lane and OKX Ventures, we are seeking to unlock deeper liquidity, yield management and efficient utility across onchain ecosystems.”
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said, “By embedding institutional private credit directly into onchain money flows, we’re turning tokenized assets into functional building blocks: assets that can be settled, composed and used across financial applications, not just held.”
Related: OKX launches U.S. exchange, a self-custody wallet and names new CEO
Hedge fund manager predicts Bitcoin to $50M
Understanding Bitcoin Dominance (2:47)
Back in 2009, when Bitcoin (BTC) first launched, few could have imagined it would ever approach $100,000.
Today, it might be trading around the $67,000 mark, but just last year, King Crypto climbed to a record $124,000 in October.
Still, one hedge fund manager believes that even six-figure prices barely scratch the surface of Bitcoin’s long-term potential.
Related: Cardano founder predicts Bitcoin could hit $250K by 2026 — Is it realistic?
Hedge fund manager’s wild Bitcoin prediction
In an interview with Phil Rosen, EMJ Capital CEO Eric Jackson has projected that Bitcoin could reach $50 million per coin by 2041,
At current prices, that would represent roughly a 74,527% increase.
His thesis is based on what he describes as a long-term collateral transformation in global finance. He argued that Bitcoin could evolve into what he calls “neutral global collateral.”
“This isn’t just digital gold, this isn’t some Beanie Babies,” Jackson said. “It is actually going to be a dominant way that we borrow against to do things.”
Rather than replacing existing systems outright, Jackson believes Bitcoin could operate beneath them, serving as a foundational asset that global markets borrow against. However, he stressed that this vision depends on Bitcoin maintaining its apolitical character and functioning as a neutral reserve asset.
To illustrate the concept, he pointed to gold’s historical role in global finance.
“The thing that you hear most about is, ‘oh it’s digital gold,’ ‘is this going to be like the new version of gold?’” Jackson said. “And you can say, ‘well how big is gold today? How many central banks around the world own it? How many sovereigns own it?’ So, could Bitcoin be as big as gold one day? That seems like a safe assumption.”
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Bitcoin's journey to $50 million
Jackson’s $50 million forecast is tied to what he calls “Vision 2041,” a long-term framework built around the size and structure of global sovereign debt markets. He explains that global finance has historically evolved through different forms of collateral, and the next shift could center on Bitcoin.
He traced the evolution of financial systems from gold-backed monetary regimes to offshore dollar markets that expanded in the 1960s.
According to Jackson, the Eurodollar system, which os a network of U.S. dollar deposits held outside the United States, played a key role in shaping modern global liquidity and today’s debt-driven structure.
The Eurodollar market consists of U.S. dollar–denominated deposits held in banks outside the United States, originally in Europe but now globally. These deposits are not subject to U.S. banking regulations or Federal Reserve oversight. Over time, the Eurodollar market became a major source of offshore dollar liquidity, supporting international lending, trade finance, and capital flows.
Jackson believes Bitcoin could eventually take on a similar role, replacing the Eurodollar as a neutral collateral asset underpinning global borrowing.
He described Bitcoin as “much superior” collateral because it is digital, scarce, "apolitical" and operates outside central bank control. However, he clarified that this shift would not necessarily displace the U.S. dollar or Treasuries directly.
Instead, Bitcoin could function alongside existing systems, as a foundational reserve asset in a future global financial architecture.
Related: JPMorgan turns bullish on crypto in 2026 despite crash
Back in 2009, when Bitcoin (BTC) first launched, few could have imagined it would ever approach $100,000.
Today, it might be trading around the $67,000 mark, but just last year, King Crypto climbed to a record $124,000 in October.
Still, one hedge fund manager believes that even six-figure prices barely scratch the surface of Bitcoin’s long-term potential.
Related: Cardano founder predicts Bitcoin could hit $250K by 2026 — Is it realistic?
Hedge fund manager’s wild Bitcoin prediction
In an interview with Phil Rosen, EMJ Capital CEO Eric Jackson has projected that Bitcoin could reach $50 million per coin by 2041,
At current prices, that would represent roughly a 74,527% increase.
His thesis is based on what he describes as a long-term collateral transformation in global finance. He argued that Bitcoin could evolve into what he calls “neutral global collateral.”
“This isn’t just digital gold, this isn’t some Beanie Babies,” Jackson said. “It is actually going to be a dominant way that we borrow against to do things.”
Rather than replacing existing systems outright, Jackson believes Bitcoin could operate beneath them, serving as a foundational asset that global markets borrow against. However, he stressed that this vision depends on Bitcoin maintaining its apolitical character and functioning as a neutral reserve asset.
To illustrate the concept, he pointed to gold’s historical role in global finance.
“The thing that you hear most about is, ‘oh it’s digital gold,’ ‘is this going to be like the new version of gold?’” Jackson said. “And you can say, ‘well how big is gold today? How many central banks around the world own it? How many sovereigns own it?’ So, could Bitcoin be as big as gold one day? That seems like a safe assumption.”
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Bitcoin's journey to $50 million
Jackson’s $50 million forecast is tied to what he calls “Vision 2041,” a long-term framework built around the size and structure of global sovereign debt markets. He explains that global finance has historically evolved through different forms of collateral, and the next shift could center on Bitcoin.
He traced the evolution of financial systems from gold-backed monetary regimes to offshore dollar markets that expanded in the 1960s.
According to Jackson, the Eurodollar system, which os a network of U.S. dollar deposits held outside the United States, played a key role in shaping modern global liquidity and today’s debt-driven structure.
The Eurodollar market consists of U.S. dollar–denominated deposits held in banks outside the United States, originally in Europe but now globally. These deposits are not subject to U.S. banking regulations or Federal Reserve oversight. Over time, the Eurodollar market became a major source of offshore dollar liquidity, supporting international lending, trade finance, and capital flows.
Jackson believes Bitcoin could eventually take on a similar role, replacing the Eurodollar as a neutral collateral asset underpinning global borrowing.
He described Bitcoin as “much superior” collateral because it is digital, scarce, "apolitical" and operates outside central bank control. However, he clarified that this shift would not necessarily displace the U.S. dollar or Treasuries directly.
Instead, Bitcoin could function alongside existing systems, as a foundational reserve asset in a future global financial architecture.
Related: JPMorgan turns bullish on crypto in 2026 despite crash
172-year-old bank cuts XRP price target after December upgrade
Understanding Ripple, XRP and XRPL (3:17)
The crypto market crash has spared no virtual asset and XRP is no exception.
The cryptocurrency has declined more than 30% over the last three months and now, a 172-year-old banking institution has lowered its year-end price target by 65%.
Related: Gold, XRP extend losses on Presidents’ Day
XRP scores regulatory win yet struggles
With a market capitalization of $90 billion, XRP is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether's USDT.
Launched in 2012, XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger. Some of the members who built the blockchain network, such as Jed McCaleb, David Schwartz, and Arthur Britto, later went on to found Ripple Labs (originally OpenCoin).
XRP faced significant regulatory trouble for a few years after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple Labs in December 2020 for offering unregistered securities via the sale of XRP tokens.
XRP is a digital currency, not a security, Ripple said.
In July 2023, District Judge Analisa Torres issued a landmark ruling that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP on crypto exchanges didn't constitute securities transactions, but the sale of these tokens to institutions violated securities laws.
Ripple and the SEC decided to drag the matter further in the courts and it went on for a long time until both parties reached a settlement last year.
The launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by Canary, Franklin Templeton, and Bitwise tied to XRP this year also gave hope.
However, the enthusiasm within the XRP community proved to be rather short-lived as the Oct. 10 liquidation event hit the entire crypto market and XRP is yet to recover.
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Standard Chartered lowers XRP price target
Standard Chartered is a 172-year-old British banking institution that keeps a sharp eye on digital assets.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, recently wrote a note to investors in which he slashed the end-of-year price target for XRP by 65%.
In December, Kendrick was rather bullish on the cryptocurrency due to regulatory clarity around XRP as a financial asset and the progress on ETFs and predicted that it would hit $8 by the end of 2026.
Nearly two and a half months after the Oct. 10 crash, it was a highly optimistic prediction. But it's mid-February now and the crypto market is yet to recover, forcing Kendrick to lower XRP's price target.
“Recent price action for digital assets has been challenging, to say the least,” Kendrick wrote. “We expect further declines near-term and we lower our forecasts across the asset class.”
Given the conditions, the analyst has lowered XRP's price target by the end of 2026 to $2.8—a sharp decline of 65%.
Kendrick has also lowered price targets for other leading cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin (BTC): $150,000 to $100,000
Ethereum (ETH): $7,000 to $4,000
Solana (SOL): $250 to $135
XRP was trading at $1.48 at press time, down 3% over the last seven days.
The crypto market crash has spared no virtual asset and XRP is no exception.
The cryptocurrency has declined more than 30% over the last three months and now, a 172-year-old banking institution has lowered its year-end price target by 65%.
Related: Gold, XRP extend losses on Presidents’ Day
XRP scores regulatory win yet struggles
With a market capitalization of $90 billion, XRP is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether's USDT.
Launched in 2012, XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger. Some of the members who built the blockchain network, such as Jed McCaleb, David Schwartz, and Arthur Britto, later went on to found Ripple Labs (originally OpenCoin).
XRP faced significant regulatory trouble for a few years after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple Labs in December 2020 for offering unregistered securities via the sale of XRP tokens.
XRP is a digital currency, not a security, Ripple said.
In July 2023, District Judge Analisa Torres issued a landmark ruling that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP on crypto exchanges didn't constitute securities transactions, but the sale of these tokens to institutions violated securities laws.
Ripple and the SEC decided to drag the matter further in the courts and it went on for a long time until both parties reached a settlement last year.
The launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by Canary, Franklin Templeton, and Bitwise tied to XRP this year also gave hope.
However, the enthusiasm within the XRP community proved to be rather short-lived as the Oct. 10 liquidation event hit the entire crypto market and XRP is yet to recover.
More News:
Ripple, Circle's banking ambitions face huge roadblock
Bitget CEO who predicted $200K Bitcoin says it’s a ‘good time to buy’
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Standard Chartered lowers XRP price target
Standard Chartered is a 172-year-old British banking institution that keeps a sharp eye on digital assets.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, recently wrote a note to investors in which he slashed the end-of-year price target for XRP by 65%.
In December, Kendrick was rather bullish on the cryptocurrency due to regulatory clarity around XRP as a financial asset and the progress on ETFs and predicted that it would hit $8 by the end of 2026.
Nearly two and a half months after the Oct. 10 crash, it was a highly optimistic prediction. But it's mid-February now and the crypto market is yet to recover, forcing Kendrick to lower XRP's price target.
“Recent price action for digital assets has been challenging, to say the least,” Kendrick wrote. “We expect further declines near-term and we lower our forecasts across the asset class.”
Given the conditions, the analyst has lowered XRP's price target by the end of 2026 to $2.8—a sharp decline of 65%.
Kendrick has also lowered price targets for other leading cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin (BTC): $150,000 to $100,000
Ethereum (ETH): $7,000 to $4,000
Solana (SOL): $250 to $135
XRP was trading at $1.48 at press time, down 3% over the last seven days.
Ex-Google engineer warns of Big Tech holding 1984-level control
NEAR Protocol co-founder says Big Tech control worse than Patriot Act (3:59)
Illia Polosukhin knows the architecture of modern AI better than almost anyone. As one of the co-authors of the "Attention Is All You Need" paper—the research that introduced the Transformer model powering ChatGPT, Gemini, and virtually every major AI system today—he helped build the technology now reshaping the world.
But Polosukhin is sounding an alarm. In a recent conversation with Sujal Jethwani, the NEAR Protocol co-founder warned that the current trajectory of AI development leads to a dystopian future where a handful of corporations control how billions of people perceive reality.
"We're effectively in like 1984 style, the George Orwell book, where your phone is telling you what to do," Polosukhin warned.
It is making Big Brother-style to make decisions for you, he added.
Related: Sundar Pichai responds to Polymarket predicting Gemini 3 update
Manipulation risk is already here
Polosukhin, who spent years at Google working on natural language processing (NLP) before leaving to start NEAR, argues that the incentives of large AI companies are fundamentally misaligned with user interests.
"Imagine one of the AI companies makes a breakthrough, and now all the citizens are using this company," he explained.
"In ChatGPT right now, you can add in the system prompt: 'subtly convince people to vote for this candidate.' Now every time you use ChatGPT, every other question you ask, it pulls this thing into your context. Mass manipulation."
He compared this with past scandals like Cambridge Analytica, calling AI-powered influence "way worse" because it's direct, personalized, and invisible to the user.
The problem, Polosukhin said, is structural. Once companies saturate their markets, they need to extract more value from existing users—often by shaping behavior.
"Every product starts with, 'Hey, I want to make users' lives better,'" he noted. "But then at some point when they reach escape velocity, they're like, 'Okay, now we need to make money. We need to return to shareholders.' So they start squeezing. They forget about the original mission."
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Alternative is user-owned AI
Polosukhin believes blockchain technology offers a path forward. NEAR Protocol is building what he calls "user-owned AI"—artificial intelligence that runs privately, keeps your data encrypted, and works for you rather than extracting from you.
"If your AI knows everything about you—the meetings you have, the discussions, your medical data, your financial status—it can be way smarter," he said. "Privacy is the major unlock to get smarter AI in everybody's pocket."
He pointed to the United Nations' declaration of privacy as a core human right, arguing that the technology now exists to deliver on that promise.
"We have ZK, we have multi-party computation, we have trusted execution environments that are pretty robust," Polosukhin said. "We have the technology to really enable privacy."
The first products are already here
NEAR recently launched a travel booking agent that combines AI with crypto. Users describe their trip, and the AI constructs an itinerary, finds providers, and books everything with one click—all while keeping user data private.
Polosukhin framed this as the opening shot in a broader transformation. "Imagine 2030: all of our devices are just going to be AI-operated," he said. "The operating system itself is going to be AI. That AI goes out through intent architecture, finds counterparties, negotiates, and settles on blockchain."
Related: Popular hedge fund manager predicts Bitcoin will crash to zero
Illia Polosukhin knows the architecture of modern AI better than almost anyone. As one of the co-authors of the "Attention Is All You Need" paper—the research that introduced the Transformer model powering ChatGPT, Gemini, and virtually every major AI system today—he helped build the technology now reshaping the world.
But Polosukhin is sounding an alarm. In a recent conversation with Sujal Jethwani, the NEAR Protocol co-founder warned that the current trajectory of AI development leads to a dystopian future where a handful of corporations control how billions of people perceive reality.
"We're effectively in like 1984 style, the George Orwell book, where your phone is telling you what to do," Polosukhin warned.
It is making Big Brother-style to make decisions for you, he added.
Related: Sundar Pichai responds to Polymarket predicting Gemini 3 update
Manipulation risk is already here
Polosukhin, who spent years at Google working on natural language processing (NLP) before leaving to start NEAR, argues that the incentives of large AI companies are fundamentally misaligned with user interests.
"Imagine one of the AI companies makes a breakthrough, and now all the citizens are using this company," he explained.
"In ChatGPT right now, you can add in the system prompt: 'subtly convince people to vote for this candidate.' Now every time you use ChatGPT, every other question you ask, it pulls this thing into your context. Mass manipulation."
He compared this with past scandals like Cambridge Analytica, calling AI-powered influence "way worse" because it's direct, personalized, and invisible to the user.
The problem, Polosukhin said, is structural. Once companies saturate their markets, they need to extract more value from existing users—often by shaping behavior.
"Every product starts with, 'Hey, I want to make users' lives better,'" he noted. "But then at some point when they reach escape velocity, they're like, 'Okay, now we need to make money. We need to return to shareholders.' So they start squeezing. They forget about the original mission."
More News:
Popular North American company shuts down Bitcoin mining operations for AI
Payments will be the real bridge between crypto and artificial intelligence
Bit Digital spins out AI unit as banks shy away from crypto exposure, CEO says
Alternative is user-owned AI
Polosukhin believes blockchain technology offers a path forward. NEAR Protocol is building what he calls "user-owned AI"—artificial intelligence that runs privately, keeps your data encrypted, and works for you rather than extracting from you.
"If your AI knows everything about you—the meetings you have, the discussions, your medical data, your financial status—it can be way smarter," he said. "Privacy is the major unlock to get smarter AI in everybody's pocket."
He pointed to the United Nations' declaration of privacy as a core human right, arguing that the technology now exists to deliver on that promise.
"We have ZK, we have multi-party computation, we have trusted execution environments that are pretty robust," Polosukhin said. "We have the technology to really enable privacy."
The first products are already here
NEAR recently launched a travel booking agent that combines AI with crypto. Users describe their trip, and the AI constructs an itinerary, finds providers, and books everything with one click—all while keeping user data private.
Polosukhin framed this as the opening shot in a broader transformation. "Imagine 2030: all of our devices are just going to be AI-operated," he said. "The operating system itself is going to be AI. That AI goes out through intent architecture, finds counterparties, negotiates, and settles on blockchain."
Related: Popular hedge fund manager predicts Bitcoin will crash to zero
MicroStrategy claims it can survive Bitcoin crash to $8,000
Inside Michael Saylor's Bitcoin Strategy (4:18)
There seems to be no stop for MicroStrategy's Bitcoin (BTC) shopping.
Every week, there is at least one purchase. In fact, at press time, MicroStrategy, now better known as Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), has 714,644 Bitcoin in its coffers.
That is 3.4% of the total 21 million Bitcoin supply.
But with great Bitcoin exposure comes great risks.
Related: Analyst slashes MicroStrategy price target ahead of Q4 earnings
During its fourth quarter earnings call, the company addressed the ongoing cryptocurrency market downtrends. At that time, Bitcoin prices had crashed to new lows. Crypto-heavy companies like Strategy could see the valuation of their assets drop below their purchase rates.
CEO Phong Le assured that while the current market situation was not a threat to the company, the real risk was a potential scenario in which Bitcoin falls to $8,000.
Just 11 days after that comment was made, Strategy assures there is no risk at all.
MicroStrategy's balance sheet problem
Last year was all about Strategy's balance sheet.
In 2026, MSCI proposed to exclude companies with more than 50% of their balance sheet filled with digital assets from its indices. One of the first companies that faced the risk of exclusion was Strategy.
In January 2026, Strategy finally breathed a sigh of relief after MSCI decided to temporarily skip deciding on the matter.
However, concerns about Strategy's ability to handle extreme market crashes have not died down.
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MicroStrategy boasts self-sufficiency
In a post on X on Feb 15, Strategy defended its balance sheet.
"Strategy can withstand a drawdown in $BTC price to $8K and still have sufficient assets to fully cover our debt."
The post also showed a graphical representation of their Bitcoin reserves. At current levels, with Bitcoin priced around $69,000, Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves are valued at approximately $49.3 billion, while its net debt stands at about $6.0 billion.
This means the company’s Bitcoin holdings are worth more than eight times its net debt.
There was also a graph for an extreme downside scenario when Bitcoin’s price drops by 88% from $69,000 to $8,000. In that situation, the value of Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves would fall to roughly $6.0 billion.This would effectively match its $6.0 billion in net debt.
Strategy boasts Bitcoin reserves for current and extreme cases (Source: Strategy)
This would result in a 1.0x coverage ratio, meaning that even after such a dramatic crash, the company’s Bitcoin holdings would theoretically still be enough to repay all outstanding debt.
Beyond the raw numbers, Strategy also emphasized the structure of its debt. Its convertible notes have staggered maturities and put dates between 2027 and 2032, which reduces short-term refinancing pressure. This means the company does not face immediate repayment demands or forced liquidation risk in the near term.
Moreover, Strategy states it plans to gradually convert existing convertible debt into equity rather than issue additional senior debt.
Related: Michael Saylor 'reveals' 21 truths of Bitcoin
There seems to be no stop for MicroStrategy's Bitcoin (BTC) shopping.
Every week, there is at least one purchase. In fact, at press time, MicroStrategy, now better known as Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), has 714,644 Bitcoin in its coffers.
That is 3.4% of the total 21 million Bitcoin supply.
But with great Bitcoin exposure comes great risks.
Related: Analyst slashes MicroStrategy price target ahead of Q4 earnings
During its fourth quarter earnings call, the company addressed the ongoing cryptocurrency market downtrends. At that time, Bitcoin prices had crashed to new lows. Crypto-heavy companies like Strategy could see the valuation of their assets drop below their purchase rates.
CEO Phong Le assured that while the current market situation was not a threat to the company, the real risk was a potential scenario in which Bitcoin falls to $8,000.
Just 11 days after that comment was made, Strategy assures there is no risk at all.
MicroStrategy's balance sheet problem
Last year was all about Strategy's balance sheet.
In 2026, MSCI proposed to exclude companies with more than 50% of their balance sheet filled with digital assets from its indices. One of the first companies that faced the risk of exclusion was Strategy.
In January 2026, Strategy finally breathed a sigh of relief after MSCI decided to temporarily skip deciding on the matter.
However, concerns about Strategy's ability to handle extreme market crashes have not died down.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
Select Americans receive $1,200 in monthly payments as rents soar
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
MicroStrategy boasts self-sufficiency
In a post on X on Feb 15, Strategy defended its balance sheet.
"Strategy can withstand a drawdown in $BTC price to $8K and still have sufficient assets to fully cover our debt."
The post also showed a graphical representation of their Bitcoin reserves. At current levels, with Bitcoin priced around $69,000, Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves are valued at approximately $49.3 billion, while its net debt stands at about $6.0 billion.
This means the company’s Bitcoin holdings are worth more than eight times its net debt.
There was also a graph for an extreme downside scenario when Bitcoin’s price drops by 88% from $69,000 to $8,000. In that situation, the value of Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves would fall to roughly $6.0 billion.This would effectively match its $6.0 billion in net debt.
Strategy boasts Bitcoin reserves for current and extreme cases (Source: Strategy)
This would result in a 1.0x coverage ratio, meaning that even after such a dramatic crash, the company’s Bitcoin holdings would theoretically still be enough to repay all outstanding debt.
Beyond the raw numbers, Strategy also emphasized the structure of its debt. Its convertible notes have staggered maturities and put dates between 2027 and 2032, which reduces short-term refinancing pressure. This means the company does not face immediate repayment demands or forced liquidation risk in the near term.
Moreover, Strategy states it plans to gradually convert existing convertible debt into equity rather than issue additional senior debt.
Related: Michael Saylor 'reveals' 21 truths of Bitcoin
Harvard adds a surprising new favorite to its portfolio
Why Bitcoin Treasuries are trading at a discount (7:02)
Harvard has a new crypto preference and it's not Bitcoin (BTC).
New filings show the Ivy League endowment manager is no longer treating Bitcoin as the only preferable cryptocurrency, even after building one of the more closely watched exchange-traded fund (ETF) positions in U.S. academia.
Related: Analyst predicts next big crash for Bitcoin as markets rally
Institutional investors deepen crypto exposure
Big money has been leaning further into crypto ever since ETFs lowered the barrier for traditional players to enter the space. Custody and compliance have also evolved in the last couple of years.
According to recent fund flow data by Farside Investors, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw sharp outflows at the end of January, including a single-day net withdrawal of $817.8 million on Jan. 29 and another $509.7 million on Jan. 30.
Bitcoin ETF Flow tracker by Farside Investors
Between Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 alone, total net outflows reached $686.5 million before stabilizing. Since launch, however, the products have still accumulated a cumulative net inflow of $54.31 billion.
Even with that volatility, large asset managers have continued building exposure through regulated crypto investment products.
Goldman Sachs has disclosed holdings across multiple crypto-linked ETFs, including Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) funds, and has also participated in products tied to XRP and Solana exposure.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 6, Morgan Stanley applied with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust.
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Harvard’s evolving crypto portfolio
Harvard Management Company first disclosed a roughly $116 million stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in 2025, gaining exposure to Bitcoin through a regulated spot ETF rather than direct custody.
In the following quarter, Harvard tripled the exposure to about $443 million, making the Bitcoin ETF its largest publicly disclosed U.S. equity holding at the time.
Related: Harvard University reveals shocking Bitcoin investment
Harvard trims Bitcoin exposure amid market sell-off
In its Form 13F filing for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Harvard Management Company reported holding 5,351,234 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, down 21% from 6,809,091 shares as of Sept. 30, 2025.
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During the same fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Harvard initiated a new position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust, purchasing 3,873,562 shares valued at $86.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2025. The filing marked the endowment’s first publicly disclosed exposure to an Ethereum-based ETF.
The cryptocurrency markets in 2026 are in a bearish cycle.
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have endured a prolonged drawdown after peaking in late 2025. After hitting multi-year highs, Bitcoin has fallen sharply into the mid $60,000s this year, leaving prices roughly 22% below the start of 2026 and marking one of the weakest opening quarters since 2018.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $68,473.77, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum was changing hands at $1,968.96, after slipping 2.0% on the day, as per data from CoinGecko.
Related: Another crypto company halts withdrawals as markets slide
Harvard has a new crypto preference and it's not Bitcoin (BTC).
New filings show the Ivy League endowment manager is no longer treating Bitcoin as the only preferable cryptocurrency, even after building one of the more closely watched exchange-traded fund (ETF) positions in U.S. academia.
Related: Analyst predicts next big crash for Bitcoin as markets rally
Institutional investors deepen crypto exposure
Big money has been leaning further into crypto ever since ETFs lowered the barrier for traditional players to enter the space. Custody and compliance have also evolved in the last couple of years.
According to recent fund flow data by Farside Investors, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw sharp outflows at the end of January, including a single-day net withdrawal of $817.8 million on Jan. 29 and another $509.7 million on Jan. 30.
Bitcoin ETF Flow tracker by Farside Investors
Between Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 alone, total net outflows reached $686.5 million before stabilizing. Since launch, however, the products have still accumulated a cumulative net inflow of $54.31 billion.
Even with that volatility, large asset managers have continued building exposure through regulated crypto investment products.
Goldman Sachs has disclosed holdings across multiple crypto-linked ETFs, including Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) funds, and has also participated in products tied to XRP and Solana exposure.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 6, Morgan Stanley applied with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
64-year-old Wall Street firm flags unusual gold accumulation
Analyst upgrades Robinhood rating ahead of earnings
JPMorgan revisits Bitcoin forecast after crash
Harvard’s evolving crypto portfolio
Harvard Management Company first disclosed a roughly $116 million stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in 2025, gaining exposure to Bitcoin through a regulated spot ETF rather than direct custody.
In the following quarter, Harvard tripled the exposure to about $443 million, making the Bitcoin ETF its largest publicly disclosed U.S. equity holding at the time.
Related: Harvard University reveals shocking Bitcoin investment
Harvard trims Bitcoin exposure amid market sell-off
In its Form 13F filing for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Harvard Management Company reported holding 5,351,234 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, down 21% from 6,809,091 shares as of Sept. 30, 2025.
More News:
Bitget CEO who predicted $200K Bitcoin says it’s a ‘good time to buy’
Coinbase suffers over half-billion-dollar loss as markets crash
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
During the same fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Harvard initiated a new position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust, purchasing 3,873,562 shares valued at $86.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2025. The filing marked the endowment’s first publicly disclosed exposure to an Ethereum-based ETF.
The cryptocurrency markets in 2026 are in a bearish cycle.
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have endured a prolonged drawdown after peaking in late 2025. After hitting multi-year highs, Bitcoin has fallen sharply into the mid $60,000s this year, leaving prices roughly 22% below the start of 2026 and marking one of the weakest opening quarters since 2018.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $68,473.77, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum was changing hands at $1,968.96, after slipping 2.0% on the day, as per data from CoinGecko.
Related: Another crypto company halts withdrawals as markets slide
Another company makes a U.S. comeback
Hester Peirce says SEC’s generic ETP standards will speed crypto ETF launches (3:33)
In September last year, the crypto-based prediction market Polymarket received the regulatory greenlight to return to the U.S. market after a long exile.
Now, another company is returning to the United States after regulatory issues get resolved during the Donald Trump administration.
Related: Gold, XRP extend losses on Presidents’ Day
Nexo returns to United States after 2 years
Nexo, a popular digital asset wealth platform, announced on Feb. 16 that it is returning to the U.S. market.
The comeback comes two years after a regulatory standoff and makes a renewed push into one of the crypto industry’s most closely watched jurisdictions.
The platform said it has officially rolled out a suite of crypto offerings and trading infrastructure powered by U.S.-based Bakkt, signaling what it describes as a long-term commitment to operating within a compliant framework.
Nexo retreated from the U.S. in 2022, citing what it called a “dead end” in negotiations with regulators over its "Earn Interest Product." The company then said it could no longer operate in an “impossible environment” following a series of enforcement actions, including from regulatory bodies in California and New York.
In January 2023, the platform agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle the charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over unregistered offering of Earn Interest Product.
The conditions have now changed enough to justify a return, Nexo said. It was in April last year that it announced plans to return to the U.S., reporting $11 billion in assets under management (AUM).
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New crypto product suite
Nexo’s U.S. produce suite includes:
An integrated crypto exchange
Crypto-backed credit lines
Fixed and flexible yield programs
The company said the products are offered within a compliant framework designed to support both retail and institutional clients. Fiat on- and off-ramps will be available via ACH transfers and wire services, allowing users to move funds between traditional banking systems and digital asset accounts.
Expansion push
The U.S. relaunch comes as part of Nexo’s broader global expansion strategy. The company said it has processed $371 billion in transactions to date across its platform.
By leveraging infrastructure from Bakkt and emphasizing compliance, Nexo appears to be positioning itself for a more sustainable foothold in large markets like the U.S.
In September last year, the crypto-based prediction market Polymarket received the regulatory greenlight to return to the U.S. market after a long exile.
Now, another company is returning to the United States after regulatory issues get resolved during the Donald Trump administration.
Related: Gold, XRP extend losses on Presidents’ Day
Nexo returns to United States after 2 years
Nexo, a popular digital asset wealth platform, announced on Feb. 16 that it is returning to the U.S. market.
The comeback comes two years after a regulatory standoff and makes a renewed push into one of the crypto industry’s most closely watched jurisdictions.
The platform said it has officially rolled out a suite of crypto offerings and trading infrastructure powered by U.S.-based Bakkt, signaling what it describes as a long-term commitment to operating within a compliant framework.
Nexo retreated from the U.S. in 2022, citing what it called a “dead end” in negotiations with regulators over its "Earn Interest Product." The company then said it could no longer operate in an “impossible environment” following a series of enforcement actions, including from regulatory bodies in California and New York.
In January 2023, the platform agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle the charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over unregistered offering of Earn Interest Product.
The conditions have now changed enough to justify a return, Nexo said. It was in April last year that it announced plans to return to the U.S., reporting $11 billion in assets under management (AUM).
More News:
Popular crypto company shuts down as Bitcoin crashes
Major crypto company shuts down, refunds investors
Another popular crypto platform shuts down
New crypto product suite
Nexo’s U.S. produce suite includes:
An integrated crypto exchange
Crypto-backed credit lines
Fixed and flexible yield programs
The company said the products are offered within a compliant framework designed to support both retail and institutional clients. Fiat on- and off-ramps will be available via ACH transfers and wire services, allowing users to move funds between traditional banking systems and digital asset accounts.
Expansion push
The U.S. relaunch comes as part of Nexo’s broader global expansion strategy. The company said it has processed $371 billion in transactions to date across its platform.
By leveraging infrastructure from Bakkt and emphasizing compliance, Nexo appears to be positioning itself for a more sustainable foothold in large markets like the U.S.
Goldman Sachs sends harsh warning to U.S. credit card users
Bitcoin Miami 2023: Are Crypto-Backed Mortgages the Future of Real Estate? (10:29)
American households are feeling the squeeze, and Goldman Sachs says the pressure is structural, not temporary.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a new report that shows credit card balances jumped by $44 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing total credit card debt to $1.28 trillion. Mortgage balances rose even faster, climbing $98 billion to reach $13.2 trillion.
Taken together, the figures point to a broader issue that Goldman Sachs chief U.S. economist David Mericle is calling an “affordability problem.”
Related: Goldman issues warning about post-halving bitcoin price projections
Housing costs are straining household finances
In a video on Feb. 10, Mericle said the biggest pressure point is owner-occupied housing.
"It’s really the cost of financing your own single family owner-occupied housing that stands out by historical standards. Prices have risen a lot. Now mortgages have risen as well and both the down payment as a share of income and the mortgage financing cost as a share of income are now both quite high by historical standards.”
But housing is not just another line item in a monthly budget.
Mericle emphasized that for many Americans, especially lower-income households, homeownership is often the primary, and sometimes only, way to build wealth.
Beyond finances, housing also serves as a gateway to social mobility, access to stronger school systems, and better job opportunities.
When homeownership becomes harder to achieve, it doesn’t just change spending habits. It can alter the entire wealth-building journey.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
U.S. household debt hits $18.8T as missed payments surge
Standard Chartered slashes 50% price target for Bitcoin
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Bitcoin as an alternative wealth path
As traditional pathways like homeownership grow more expensive, younger Americans are increasingly exploring alternative assets.
Over the past decade, Bitcoin (BTC) has been framed by supporters as a hedge against expanding credit and rising debt levels.
During a recent interview with TheStreet Roundtable, SALT Lending’s chief revenue officer Hunter Albright described Bitcoin less as a speculative technology and more as a practical tool for wealth preservation, calling it “a store of value right now.”
Albright pointed to generational challenges. He noted that Gen Z faces significant barriers to entering the housing market. For previous generations, buying a home was often the first major step toward financial security. Today, that step feels out of reach for many.
Crypto-backed lending has also gained traction among long-term Bitcoin holders. Rather than selling their assets, some investors borrow against their Bitcoin to access liquidity. According to Albright, this allows users to tap fiat currency “for what they need, when they need it,” without liquidating their long-term holdings.
While Bitcoin remains far more volatile than housing or equities, its fixed supply has made it appealing to investors concerned about currency debasement and expanding debt.
A generational divide in financial trust
The shift toward digital assets also reflects a broader trust gap.
A January 2026 OKX survey of 1,000 Americans found that 40% of Gen Z and 41% of Millennials rated their trust in crypto platforms at 7 or higher on a 10-point scale. Among Baby Boomers, just 9% expressed similar confidence.
Traditional finance tells the opposite story. Nearly three-quarters of Boomers reported high trust in banks, while only about one in five younger respondents shared that sentiment.
Even as credit card and mortgage balances continue to rise, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted steady long-term capital over the past year. At press time, the total assets under management, or AUM, for crypto ETFs stood at $108.64 billion, as per CoinMarketCap.
AUM in an ETF represents the total market value of all securities the fund holds on behalf of investors.
Despite recent volatility and some outflows in late 2025, the total AUM pointed at sustained long-term capital in the space.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile and risky. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
Related: BlackRock shares 2026 shocking crypto outlook
American households are feeling the squeeze, and Goldman Sachs says the pressure is structural, not temporary.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a new report that shows credit card balances jumped by $44 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing total credit card debt to $1.28 trillion. Mortgage balances rose even faster, climbing $98 billion to reach $13.2 trillion.
Taken together, the figures point to a broader issue that Goldman Sachs chief U.S. economist David Mericle is calling an “affordability problem.”
Related: Goldman issues warning about post-halving bitcoin price projections
Housing costs are straining household finances
In a video on Feb. 10, Mericle said the biggest pressure point is owner-occupied housing.
"It’s really the cost of financing your own single family owner-occupied housing that stands out by historical standards. Prices have risen a lot. Now mortgages have risen as well and both the down payment as a share of income and the mortgage financing cost as a share of income are now both quite high by historical standards.”
But housing is not just another line item in a monthly budget.
Mericle emphasized that for many Americans, especially lower-income households, homeownership is often the primary, and sometimes only, way to build wealth.
Beyond finances, housing also serves as a gateway to social mobility, access to stronger school systems, and better job opportunities.
When homeownership becomes harder to achieve, it doesn’t just change spending habits. It can alter the entire wealth-building journey.
Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:
U.S. household debt hits $18.8T as missed payments surge
Standard Chartered slashes 50% price target for Bitcoin
Gold, silver, S&P 500, crypto crash again amid extreme fear
Bitcoin as an alternative wealth path
As traditional pathways like homeownership grow more expensive, younger Americans are increasingly exploring alternative assets.
Over the past decade, Bitcoin (BTC) has been framed by supporters as a hedge against expanding credit and rising debt levels.
During a recent interview with TheStreet Roundtable, SALT Lending’s chief revenue officer Hunter Albright described Bitcoin less as a speculative technology and more as a practical tool for wealth preservation, calling it “a store of value right now.”
Albright pointed to generational challenges. He noted that Gen Z faces significant barriers to entering the housing market. For previous generations, buying a home was often the first major step toward financial security. Today, that step feels out of reach for many.
Crypto-backed lending has also gained traction among long-term Bitcoin holders. Rather than selling their assets, some investors borrow against their Bitcoin to access liquidity. According to Albright, this allows users to tap fiat currency “for what they need, when they need it,” without liquidating their long-term holdings.
While Bitcoin remains far more volatile than housing or equities, its fixed supply has made it appealing to investors concerned about currency debasement and expanding debt.
A generational divide in financial trust
The shift toward digital assets also reflects a broader trust gap.
A January 2026 OKX survey of 1,000 Americans found that 40% of Gen Z and 41% of Millennials rated their trust in crypto platforms at 7 or higher on a 10-point scale. Among Baby Boomers, just 9% expressed similar confidence.
Traditional finance tells the opposite story. Nearly three-quarters of Boomers reported high trust in banks, while only about one in five younger respondents shared that sentiment.
Even as credit card and mortgage balances continue to rise, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted steady long-term capital over the past year. At press time, the total assets under management, or AUM, for crypto ETFs stood at $108.64 billion, as per CoinMarketCap.
AUM in an ETF represents the total market value of all securities the fund holds on behalf of investors.
Despite recent volatility and some outflows in late 2025, the total AUM pointed at sustained long-term capital in the space.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile and risky. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
Related: BlackRock shares 2026 shocking crypto outlook
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