JUST IN: Apart from WhiteHouse Cryptocurrency talks advance still stable coin yield crush persists.
high-stakes series of meetings held at the White House in February 2026. The goal is to finalize the CLARITY Act, a major piece of legislation intended to create a federal regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto market.
🏛️ The Central Conflict: Yield vs. Deposits The core of the dispute is whether stablecoin issuers (like Circle or Tether) should be allowed to pay yield or interest to users who hold their tokens.
📉 Why This Matters Right Now This isn't just a technical debate; it has massive economic implications in early 2026:
**The "Deposit Flight" Risk: Treasury estimates have suggested that yield-bearing stablecoins could potentially draw down as much as $6.6 trillion from the traditional banking system.
**The Legislative Logjam: The CLARITY Act has already passed the House but is currently stalled in the Senate. The "yield" issue is the specific "fault line" preventing a final vote.
**Fed Access: A secondary part of these talks involves "skinny" master accounts, which would give crypto firms limited access to the Federal Reserve’s payment systems—something banks are also fighting.
⚖️ The Likely Outcome Market observers suggest a "partial compromise" might be the only way forward. This could involve:
Rebranding: Classifying payouts as "rewards" or "loyalty benefits" rather than "interest."
Capping Rates: Limiting how much yield can be offered so it doesn't directly compete with bank savings products.
Strict Licensing: Only allowing yield for "highly regulated" entities that meet bank-like capital requirements.
Note: As of February 10, 2026, the White House is continuing these sessions to "unfreeze" the bill. If a compromise isn't reached, the legislation risks being pushed back further into the year. $BTC $ETH $BNB
CRYPTO MARKET UPDATE : Sentiment Plummets as Fear Dominates the Space
The crypto market currently navigating one of its most turbulent periods in years .as of February 11, 2026, Extreme fear has become the defining sentiment, with the crypto Fear and Greet Index plummeting to a staggering low of 9/100 -levels not seen since the 2022 market crashes.
### The Sentiment Snapshot The shift from "Greed" to "Extreme Fear" has been swift. Just months ago, Bitcoin was coming off a record high of $126,000 (October 2025). Today, the atmosphere is vastly different:
Current Index: 9 (Extreme Fear). Monthly Trend: A rapid decline from 47 (Neutral) just 30 days ago. Market Cap: Over $2 trillion has been wiped off the global crypto market cap since the October peak. ### Why is the Market Panicking? Several high-impact events have converged to create a "perfect storm" for sellers:
Macroeconomic Pressure: Global markets are in a "risk-off" mode. Investors are fleeing speculative assets due to uncertainty surrounding U.S. jobs and inflation data, which has been delayed by a recent government shutdown.
The Bithumb Blunder: On February 6, South Korean exchange Bithumb accidentally distributed $40 billion worth of Bitcoin (620,000 BTC) to users instead of a small promotional reward. Though most was recovered, the brief 17% price flash-crash on the platform sparked global contagion.
Institutional Outflows: Spot Bitcoin ETFs, once the engine of the 2025 rally, have seen massive outflows. Reports indicate over $12 billion has left these funds since November.
Cascading Liquidations: Over $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in a single 24-hour window last week as Bitcoin tested the critical $60,000 support level. ### Current Price Action (Feb 11, 2026)
While the market saw a brief "relief rally" over the weekend, prices remain suppressed:
"MoonPay's" new 'Iron' infrastructure set to modernize payroll for 40,000 companies. MoonPay, a fintech company providing infrastructure for buying, selling, and exchanging cryptocurrencies using fiat money, plans to reach 40,000 companies across the EU and the UK with its new payroll initiative. MoonPay announced a partnership with payroll and human resources platform Deel, which will enable companies to pay employee salaries in stablecoins using Iron, a platform specializing in fiat infrastructure. A payroll project in the making since 2021
Wallenberg added that Deel processed $22 billion in global payroll payments in 2025 and is now “making a bold bet on crypto infrastructure.” The service will initially launch in the UK and the EU, though MoonPay has hinted at plans to expand the offering to the United States as well. Deel’s connection to crypto dates back to at least 2021, when the platform announced that workers could be paid in USDC or Solana. That same year, Deel raised $425 million in a Series D funding round. As we wrote, NYSE parent ICE eyes MoonPay funding at $5B valuation $BTC $ETH $SOL
The team behind Merkle and Farcaster just hopped over to join Tempo
Farcaster founders Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan have joined stablecoin-focused crypto startup Tempo in a move aimed at bringing the project to the mass market.
The Farcaster co-founders said on Monday that they are joining the stablecoin company Tempo, marking their next step after stepping down from leadership roles at the decentralized social protocol earlier this year.
Romero and Srinivasan’s move to Tempo follows the sale of Farcaster to Neynar and the founders’ exit from executive positions at the social network. Meanwhile, Tempo, founded last year with backing from Stripe and Paradigm, has become one of the most well-funded new networks focused on stablecoin-based payments.
Tempo positions itself as a payments-focused blockchain optimized for stablecoin settlement and global transfers—an area drawing increasing attention as banks, fintech firms, and crypto companies seek to modernize cross-border payment systems. Backed by Stripe and Paradigm, the company raised $500 million last year at a $5 billion valuation.
In December, Tempo launched a public testnet for its layer-1 blockchain and said companies such as Mastercard, UBS, and Kalshi are development partners, while firms including Klarna plan to issue stablecoins on its network.
Romero and Srinivasan had previously said they planned to build a crypto wallet for Farcaster after the protocol was acquired by decentralized social infrastructure firm Neynar. However, they are now shifting their focus to stablecoins, with the Merkle Manufactory team behind Farcaster also moving to Tempo. As we wrote, Stripe and Paradigm unveil Tempo blockchain for instant global payments
Big Story Protocol IP token drop moved to August 2026
Story Protocol (IP) is delaying its first major token unlock until August 2026 in an effort to buy time for new partnerships amid a sharp decline in the token’s price over recent months.
Story Protocol announced it will postpone the first large unlock of its IP token by six months, moving the release of tokens allocated to the team and investors to August 2026.
The delay could help reduce short-term supply overhang and support the IP price, which has fallen by around 90% from its all-time high of $13.7 reached in October 2025 to its current level of $1.23. In an interview with CoinDesk, project founder SY Lee pointed to Worldcoin’s 2024 decision to extend token lockups for investors and the team from three to five years. That move reduced short-term circulating supply, was framed as an extension of the development timeline, and was followed by double-digit price gains within hours of the announcement. Story is following a similar logic, although the IP token has not yet reacted to the news.
$BTC Selloff the weakest bearish in history reaffirming 150k target
Bernstein has reaffirmed its $150,000 Bitcoin price target, calling the recent decline the “weakest bear market scenario in history,” even as some traders warn that Bitcoin could fall to $50,000. So who should investors believe?
Bernstein analysts said the latest Bitcoin sell-off reflects a “self-inflicted confidence crisis” rather than structural damage, describing it as the weakest bear-market setup the asset has ever seen. Based on this assessment, Bernstein reiterated its $150,000 BTC price target in its latest investor note.
As reported by The Block, the firm noted that none of the typical bear-market catalysts have emerged, pointing to the absence of major failures, hidden leverage, or systemic breakdowns.
Analysts added that Bitcoin continues to trade as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset rather than a mature safe haven, helping explain its underperformance versus gold amid tighter financial conditions.
Bernstein also dismissed concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence, arguing that blockchains and programmable wallets are well positioned for the emerging agent-based economy, which requires global financial rails.
In addition, Bernstein said potential quantum computing risks warrant preparation but are not unique to Bitcoin, noting that all critical digital systems will eventually migrate to quantum-resistant standards. Stronger corporate balance sheets and diversified miner revenues have also reduced the risk of forced selling.
Against this backdrop, Michael Saylor’s Strategy purchased an additional 1,142 BTC for roughly $90 million at an average price of $78,815, as the total value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings remains below its cost basis. Strategy’s total holdings now stand at 714,644 BTC, worth about $49.2 billion.
The purchases were funded through at-the-market sales of Strategy’s Class A common stock, with the company reporting that around $8 billion worth of MSTR shares remains available under the program.