U.today

The digital assets market, and Bitcoin in particular, enter Thursday’s session, Feb. 12, with risk positioning recalibrating ahead of Friday’s U.S. CPI release. This report's three big stories eloquently detail what's going on in crypto right now as XRP has turned positive on the day near $1.39, Binance confirms completion of its $1 billion SAFU fund with 15,000 BTC already in profit and Solana's Mert Mumtaz outlines three big upgrades for February 2026.

Quick summary

XRP reclaims $1.39 zone ahead of CPI release on Feb. 13.Binance’s $1B SAFU Fund now holds 15,000 BTC and is already up $1.89 million in profit.Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz confirms upcoming Solana rollouts this February: Privacy, predictions, perpetual futures and one "big surprise."XRP turns "green" ahead of Friday CPI

XRP has turned positive into the Thursday trading session, up nearly 2% to $1.3978, as perTradingView data. After holding support just 10% above the Oct. 10 capitulation zone around $1, the local structure now shows the price consolidating beneath the $1.48 resistance zone, a breakdown area from early February.

As seen on the daily chart, XRP is now inside a wide $1.20 and $1.48 range, with the lower boundary serving as reclaimed support after a deep flush last week. Reversal signals have not been confirmed, but the U.S. macro calendar could provide a catalyst.

The next U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13, per theBureau of Labor Statistics. This is the final major inflation print before the Federal Reserve’s March 4 interest rate decision.

The previous CPI report in January came slightly softer than expected at 2.6% — a minimum in four years. If February's figure shows further disinflation, risk-on assets, including crypto, may extend the recovery.

ForXRP, highly sensitive to macro shifts not only due to its institutional narrative and ETF flows but as an established cryptocurrency strongly tied to the U.S. dollar, the current setup is as follows: a break above $1.48 opens the path to $1.60-1.80, while the loss of the $1.20 zone makes retesting $1 the main priority.

Binance finalizes SAFU Fund completion with 15,000 BTC already generating profit

According to theofficial announcement on X, Binance has finalized the full transition of its SAFU user-protection reserve from stablecoins into Bitcoin, completing a $1 billion conversion program with the last tranche of 4,545 BTC today. The total SAFU fund of the world's largest crypto exchange now holds 15,000 BTC.

After today's acquisition, the average buy-in price for the BTC reserve stands at approximately $67,000, according to the company. At a spot price of $67,933, this puts the fund’s current notional value at around $1.018 billion, yielding an unrealized gain of around 1.39%, or $1.89 million already, as per Arkham.

For those who missed the news, previously, at the end of January, Binance announced its intent to move all SAFU holdings into BTC to improve transparency and mitigate stablecoin devaluation risks. The fund, which is used as an emergency insurance mechanism for users in case of critical failures, was previously denominated in BUSD and TUSD.

One major detail is that IfBitcoin holds above this level, Binance will continue to reflect mark-to-market profit. More to the point, if the BTC value drops and the fund falls below $800 million, Binance promised to inject more capital to return it to the $1 billion threshold.

This introduces a quasi-mechanical buy mechanism. If BTC experiences a severe drawdown and the fund’s valuation dips under $800 million, Binance would step in to replenish the reserve back to $1 billion, effectively accumulating more BTC.

On the broader chart, Bitcoin is currently trading near $67,930 after rebounding from sub-$60,000 lows earlier this month. Major resistance sits around $74,000 and $92,000, while structural support is concentrated near $60,000.

Solana prepares three key releases in next two weeks of February

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana-based infrastructure firm Helius, has confirmed that three major Solana protocol releases are scheduled to launch over the next two weeks in February.

In a new post on X, Mumtaz detailed what to expect, with privacy, predictions and perpetual futures as areas the rollouts will touch. Interestingly, the Helius CEO also hinted at "one small surprise."

Referred to only as a "small surprise," the teaser may relate to the Internet Capital Markets trend that gained traction onSolana last year, particularly with Believe, previously known as Launchcoin, at the forefront. That narrative centers on tokenized fundraising and on-chain capital formation native to Solana’s ecosystem.

3 big releases for Solana in the next 2 weeks followed by another 3 the next month privacy, predictions, perps; and one small surprise

— mert (@mert) February 11, 2026

This roadmap comes amid a surge in Solana ecosystem developer activity and builds on previous expectations from Delphi Digital, which labeled 2026 as a breakout year for Solana.

The three major initiatives driving the ecosystem include:

Alpenglow: A complete consensus overhaul introducing Votor and Rotor, Solana's most significant protocol upgrade to date.Firedancer: A performance-enhancing validator client by Jump, designed to process millions of transactions per second with deterministic latency.DoubleZero: A high-speed fiber-optic validator network inspired by traditional financial exchange infrastructure.

SOL itself has struggled to hold the $100 mark in early 2026 but continues to be viewed as the leading layer-1 blockchain play outside Ethereum due to its growing DePIN and DeFi sectors.

What to expect: XRP, BTC price outlook

The next 48 hours are defined by macro with CPI at the forefront. A lower-than-expected inflation print would likely revive risk appetite and reintroduce upside attempts across majors like Bitcoin and XRP. A higher reading could reinforce the repricing of rate cuts toward the second half of the year and pressure altcoins testing resistance.

Key levels to watch:

Bitcoin: $60,000 structural support, $74,000 near-term resistance.XRP: $1.2 short-term support, $1.48 critical resistance.

The March 4 Fed decision, with 3.75% expected to hold, remains a secondary but important marker. According to UBS, easing inflation should keep the Fed on track for two cuts later in 2026, potentially in June and September. Markets currently price the first move in July.

For now, crypto sits in anticipation mode. XRP is attempting to reclaim lost ground ahead of resistance, Binance has formalized a $1 billion Bitcoin reserve with an embedded rebalance rule and Solana’s ecosystem prepares tangible protocol upgrades.

Friday’s CPI will determine whether these stories evolve into renewed upside expansion or resolve into another defensive rotation.

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In a recent tweet, RippleX engineer Antonio Kaplan highlights two necessities for regulated payments and FX on-chain, which are compliance and deep liquidity.

Kaplan noted that the upcoming XRP ledger feature Permissioned DEX set to launch on the mainnet in the next six days is expected to bring compliance and deep liquidity to the XRPL without fragmenting capital across private systems. The RippleX developer noted that this is a big step toward a true global settlement layer.

If you want regulated payments and FX onchain, you need two things: Compliance & Deep liquidityPermissioned DEX brings both to XRPL without fragmenting capital across private systems.Shared institutional liquidityInstant local payoutProtocol-level policy controlThis is a…

— Antonio Kaplan (@antoniokaplan) February 11, 2026

In a blog post written on behalf of RippleX developers, Kaplan noted that delivering an on-chain FX and settlement network with shared institutional liquidity, instant local payout and full policy control on the XRPL depends on a small set of core building blocks working together.

There are three building blocks in this category: first, Credentials (XLS-70), likened to a digital passport, are verifiable proofs of identity or compliance issued by trusted authorities.

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Permissioned Domains (XLS-80) are likened to the visa process, while Permissioned DEXes (XLS-81) are likened to the transportation network.

Permissioned DEXes

Th permissioned DEX feature introduces a permissioned DEX system for the XRP Ledger. The amendment integrates permissioning features directly into the DEX protocol, allowing regulated financial institutions to be able to participate in the XRPL's DEX while still adhering to their compliance requirements.

The permissioned DEX system will ultimately pave the way for broader institutional adoption of the XRP Ledger.

Regarding what happens to the open DEX, RippleX developer Antonio Kaplan stated that it is not going anywhere, as it will continue to function exactly as it does today, enabling anyone to place and fill offers. The Permissioned DEX will build alongside it, giving developers and institutions the option to create permissioned order books tied to verified credentials.

Kaplan noted that this remains the key to unlocking real-world financial flows, given that most regulated institutions cannot engage on open systems without counterparties being verified. By allowing credential-gated liquidity on the same ledger as open markets, XRP Ledger is expected to be a far more suitable option for institutional-grade payments, FX and settlement use cases.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has witnessed another near-total collapse in its deflationary mechanism, the burn rate, the lowest level in weeks. In the last 24 hours, this important metric experienced a 99% crash as fewer than 500 SHIB were incinerated. Despite the lack of burn activity, SHIB’s price has shown an interesting outlook.

Shiba Inu burn activity drops amid volatility concerns

As perdata from Shibburn, a platform that tracks the metric, only 483 SHIB were sent to dead wallets within this period. This figure indicates that community members were inactive and ignored the burn activity, which has been largely considered to stabilize the price outlook.

In the last 30 days, Shiba Inu has battled volatility concerns and continued on a downward movement. The meme coin has shed over 28.9% of its value within this time frame, with many investors worried about the future outlook.

Hence, regular burn activities are one way to reassure traders of a potential price reversal. The idea is to reduce the circulating supply of Shiba Inu and create scarcity. This, it is believed, could support price stability and possibly increase it.

With less than 500 SHIB eliminated from the total Shiba Inu supply, the circulating supply remains at 585,461,721,722,347 SHIB. This massive volume of SHIB still in circulation has prompted debate about the relevance of the deflationary mechanism.

As U.Today reported, there are those who argue that theburn surge does not even matter, as it only sounds great on paper. They insist that a surge in burn rate does not bring the expected result in price, as the total Shiba Inu volume remains staggering. While this figure is in the hundreds of trillions, only tens of millions of SHIB ever get incinerated.

SHIB price climbs despite 99% burn crash

Interestingly, despite the 99% collapse in burn rate, Shiba Inu’s price has registered a slight uptick. In the last 24 hours, fewer than 500 SHIB have been burned, and Shiba Inu hasclimbed by 5.14% and is trading at $0.000006115.

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The meme coin’s trading volume has also registered a 14.52% surge to $145.07 million within the same time frame. The primary reason for this increase is thatShiba Inu is in oversold territory.

This coincides with a slightly broader market recovery, which has supported upward momentum for the dog-themed meme coin.

SHIB’s price rally is likely to be short-lived if the meme coin fails to sustain current momentum. Some have argued that, regardless of doubts about the burn rate’s effect on price, the metric has a way of boosting investor confidence.

Thus, a collapse of this metric at a time when Shiba Inu is pushing for a reversal might not help the meme coin.

Bitcoin is hovering above $67,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $67,487, up 0.04% on the day, after dropping as low as $65,702 in the past day.

Long-term indicators are signaling a rebound following months of profit-taking that have left Bitcoin about 40% below its October all-time high.

According to AliCharts, Bitcoin has historically bottomed below the 1130-day SMA, which currently sits at $66,500, highlighting the significance of this level.

Bitcoin $BTC has historically bottomed below the 1130-day SMA.That level currently sits at $66,500. pic.twitter.com/lrMGH9itFU

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) February 12, 2026

Bitcoin has been declining since reaching an all-time high above $126,000 in October, with the sell-off increasing since the past month. Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Feb. 6, to reach a low of $60,001, where it rebounded.

Bitcoin returned above $70,000, reaching $72,232 on Feb. 8, but has struggled to push higher from that, remaining in the range of $65,702 and $72,232.

Bitcoin whales buying

Bitcoin whale wallets bought about 53,000 coins in the past week, the largest buying spree since November, after weeks of heavy selling. This helped to stabilize prices after a sell-off, even as most other investors stayed on the sidelines.

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Glassnode data indicate that wallets holding more than 1,000 Bitcoin added more than $4 billion worth over the past week, interrupting months of sell-off that have left Bitcoin about 40% below its October peak.

Key levels to watch

Bitcoin remains defensive between $60,000 and $72,000 range while the resistance at $82,000 to $97,000 remains. Treasury outflows, declining spot volume and cooling futures might suggest shallow demand, restricting the Bitcoin price.

Bitcoin is confined between its True Market Mean at $79,200 and realized price at $55,000 while sell-side pressure continues to be absorbed in the $60,000 to $72,000 demand range.

Major supply clusters in the range between $82,000 to $97,000, and $100,000 to $117,000, are in unrealized losses, which might pose an overhead barrier during relief rallies.

Despite XRP's market price still being under pressure, XRP Ledger has seen a dramatic increase in payment activity, with over 773 million XRP moving between accounts in a single day. This has brought attention to on-chain dynamics once again. When compared to recent network averages, the spike is notable, which begs the crucial question for investors: does this movement simply represent large holders, or does it indicate growing real-world utility?

XRP network activity

The total amount of XRP sent across the network between accounts is measured by payment volume. A sharp increase in the amount of liquidity flowing through the ledger is reflected in the abrupt spike to hundreds of millions of XRP. Large holders, also known as whales, frequently rebalance their holdings or transfer money between exchanges and custodial platforms, which can result in such spikes.

The context is important, though. The fact that XRPL activity has been generally increasing over the past few months indicates that usage is not just restricted to isolated whale transfers. The expansion of cross-border settlement services, institutional integrations and XRPL-based payment infrastructure experiments may be partially explained by the increase in transaction volume.

However, the price movement of XRP reveals a more circumspect narrative. The asset is still below important moving averages and recently broke lower within a descending structure, suggesting that sellers continue to dominate the direction of the market as a whole. Liquidity movement alone is insufficient to change sentiment because the increase in payment volume has not yet resulted in a price recovery.

Prices might stabilize

The main lesson for investors is that while renewed market demand is still necessary for price recovery, increased network activity indicates ongoing relevance and utility. Payment volumes that are continuously high, rather than showing up as sporadic outbursts, may be a sign of growing structural adoption, which will ultimately help to stabilize prices.

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For the foreseeable future, traders should expect more volatility. XRP might level off following its recent decline, and the state of the larger cryptocurrency market, as well as continued network usage, will probably determine the price's future course.

One crucial point is highlighted by the 773 million XRP movement: XRPL liquidity is still strong. It will become more evident if high payment volumes continue in the upcoming weeks whether this surge signifies whale repositioning or a more profound utility-driven shift.

Prominent economist Nouriel Roubini, also known as Dr. Doom for his prediction of the 2008 financial crisis that came true, is a well-known cryptocurrency opponent. In today’s tweet, he slammed crypto — and altcoins in particular — referring to the news of a major crypto lending platform, BlockFills, suspending withdrawals for its customers.

To back his claims, Roubini added a source link to a Financial Times article about this incident.

Dr. Doom slams "crypto s-coin land" as BlockFills halts withdrawals

In a recent tweet, Nouriel Roubini has commented on the current crypto market turbulence that has wiped out several billion dollars through liquidations and pushed Bitcoin from $90,000 to $60,000. Altcoins have lost from 50% to 99% in a matter of weeks, he stated, “depending on which s-coin you were duped to invest in.”

Roubini gave an example of negative consequences of such plunges, which can be particularly painful in the crypto space. He referred to the Susquehanna-backed crypto lender BlockFills, which has suspended withdrawals of crypto for its clients. The Susquehanna International Group is a privately held global trading and technology firm.

First, you lose in a matter of weeks 50%% to 99% - depending on which shitcoin you were duped to invest in - and then they don’t even allow you to withdraw the remaining crumbs of your investments. Standard operating procedure in crypto shitcoin land. Susquehanna-backed crypto…

— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) February 12, 2026

Aside from withdrawals, BlockFills has restricted trading activities, thus stressing the recent turmoil that has been shaking the cryptocurrency market. Initially, BlockFills boasted as much as $60 billion in trading volumes in 2025; however, the Bitcoin price plunge has hit it particularly hard.

The aforementioned restrictions were implemented last year, but they remain now as well. It has approximately 2,000 financial institutions among its customers, including asset managers and crypto-focused hedge funds. Only investors who hold a minimum of $10 million worth of crypto assets are eligible to use its options products.

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Three-year "anniversary" of FTX crash

The last time multiple crypto companies shut down withdrawals (and also went bankrupt) was three years ago, when major crypto exchange FTX went broke and its founder, billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, went to prison for defrauding investors. Before that, in the summer of 2022, several crypto lenders became insolvent — Celsius, Voyager, BlockFi, Vauld and Genesis. Back then, the crypto market faced the loss of nearly 70% of its value.

BlockFills has officially commented on the current situation, saying that the restrictions have been introduced to protect customers and the company itself.

According to XRPWallets, citingWhale Alert, 127.4 million XRP — worth $172.5 million — was recently transferred from a Coinbase-linked wallet to Bitstamp. At first glance, it seems like the usual XRP shuffle between exchanges, but there is an uncommon detail with the receiving wallet that has been monitored since late 2024 and is suspected of being tied to Ripple’s liquidity operations.

Ripple connection: Why this "unknown" wallet matters

Yes, Ripple exited its minority stake in Bitstamp during the 2025 sale to Robinhood, but the exchange remains a key node for the company's cross-border payments business. Moreover, it is still one of largest venues for XRP trading globally, with around130,7 million tokens on its balance, according toCoinMarketCap.

All things considered, the transfer's size, origin and destination suggest potential liquidity provisioning or infrastructure alignment, not just simple exchange deposits, especially asXRP dropped below key resistance at $1.48.

Here's something interesting. Been waiting for this. This is from one of the wallets I was tracking collecting XRP since NOV 2024. I need to see where it heads to next. But I believe it's a associated to Ripple. Will update.

— XRP_Liquidity (ETF 1Y 39.8B = Max 54.4B) (@XRPwallets) February 12, 2026

At first, today's 127,400,577 XRP transfer was marked by Whale Alert as one between the unknown wallets. However, community account XRPWallets quickly went behind the scenes, revealing the Coinbase-to-Bitstamp trail.

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The wallet receiving the funds is not new to researchers. It has been active since late 2024 and is believed to belong toRipple, which will not be surprising, with Bitstamp as both a strategic liquidity node of the company and a high-throughput venue for XRP flows — especially for fiat ramps in Europe.

From the first thought, today's transfer — from a U.S. platform to a high-volume XRP market — suggests the funds are being positioned by Ripple, if it is indeed its wallet, for structured use in cross-border services rather than liquidation.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, now supports Ripple USD stablecoin (RLUSD) on XRP Ledger. Ripple’s Middle East and Africa Managing Director, Reece Merrick,shared the development with the community and the broader crypto sector.

RLUSD competes in $150 billion stablecoin market

As per the announcement, with the integration now finalized, Binance will now allow deposits and withdrawals of the Ripple USD stablecoin on XRP Ledger. This means that users of the exchange can now transact RLUSD directly via XRP Ledger.

The development signals increased exposure of the asset to more users in the crypto space.

This indicates the rapid expansion of RLUSD within 14 months of its launch. Notably, Ripple USD stablecoin, launched on Dec. 17, 2024, was designed to facilitate cross-border payments and provide liquidity within Ripple’s ecosystem.

Lets go 🚀🚀🚀@binance has completed the integration of @Ripple USD (RLUSD) on the XRP (XRP Ledger) network.https://t.co/Rq7DAM1tlI

— Reece Merrick (@reece_merrick) February 12, 2026

Interestingly, the Ripple USD stablecoin entered a market dominated by industry giants like Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC). Despite the dominance of these two and other players in the sector, Ripple has continued to push for RLUSD to compete favorably with USDT and USDC.

The latest integration on Binance is amajor liquidity boost, as it allows RLUSD to gain massive exposure on the exchange. It also signals credibility that RLUSD is associated with the world’s largest crypto exchange. This, in turn, could drive more activity on the XRP Ledger as more users gain easier access.

XRP holders are celebrating the integration as a bullish development because it increases institutional-grade infrastructure around Ripple products. Additionally, it gives more visibility to RLUSD and positions it to take on industry giants.

At the Ripple USD stablecoin launch, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that the vision is to compete in the more than $150 billion stablecoin market.

Market growth, partnerships and global expansion

As of January 2026, RLUSD was struggling tobreak into the top 50-ranked crypto assets by market capitalization. That was despite volume soaring by 135% following active engagements by traders.

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Today, Ripple USD stablecoin sits in 44th place, evidence of increased growth.

This climb was achieved through variousstrategic partnership deals. For instance, in July 2025, Switzerland’s AMINA Bank became the first globally to offer custody and trading services in support of RLUSD.

About two months later, Ripple also made expansion moves into Africa by collaborating with major stakeholders like Chipper Cash, Yellow Card — a payment company — and VALR, a crypto exchange. These moves have helped to sustain Ripple USD stablecoin's astronomical rise in the sector.

After months of selling pressure that caused the token to drop to its lowest levels, Shiba Inu is making an effort to level out. SHIB briefly fell below the $0.000006 mark after a severe breakdown earlier in the week, before regaining that level, giving traders a possible early indication that selling momentum may finally be slowing. Following several drops, buyers have been stepping in close to local lows in recent sessions, resulting in a slight rebound.

It's still not enough

Although SHIB is still trading below moving averages that are still sloping lower, the overall trend is still bearish. However, the technical significance of the $0.000006 zone reclamation is noteworthy. This level now serves as an immediate support area, and the subsequent stage of movement will probably be determined by how the price moves around it.

The crucial question for investors is whether this rebound is the start of a longer-term uptrend or merely a brief lull in a longer-term decline. It might start creating a base if SHIB can maintain above $0.000006, which would enable the token to try a recovery toward adjacent resistance zones.

Stabilization next in line

After a sell-off, such stabilization might draw short-term traders seeking relief rallies. Risks are still high, though. Altcoin sentiment is still shaky, and SHIB has failed to maintain rallies on several occasions in recent months.

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An additional test of recent lows would be possible if there were a breakdown back below $0.000006, which would probably increase selling pressure. Compared to previous declines, momentum indicators indicate that selling intensity has decreased, which could allow the price to consolidate rather than plunge further. Depending on the overall state of the market, consolidation phases frequently come before either recovery attempts or another leg lower.

Investors should keep an eye on SHIB's ability to create support above the level that was reclaimed and progressively generate higher lows. The price may be able to overcome higher resistance levels if there is consistent trading above $0 000006, which would indicate that buyers are beginning to regain confidence.

As of right now, SHIB seems to be at a turning point. Maintaining current support might be the first step toward stabilization, but further strength in the upcoming sessions will be needed for confirmation.

Gold advocate and long-time crypto skeptic Peter Schiffbelieves that Bitcoin is on track to plunge to $10,000, and that level might not hold.

"Looking at a long-term Bitcoin chart, it looks like it will have some initial support around $10K," Schiff wrote on X.

Schiff's victory lap

Following Bitcoin's enormous crash to $60,000, Schiff is still taking a victory lap. He has dismissed the severity of the current drop, implying the worst is yet to come.

"That's hardly a crash," Schiff retorted. "Bitcoin is going much lower than that."

Schiff also took aim at MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, who recently claimed his company could withstand a drop to $8,000 per Bitcoin over the next four years.

The odious economist argued that such a scenario would spell the end for the corporate giant.

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"He won't be able to buy as if Bitcoin is at $8K in four years, there is no way MSTR can refinance," Schiff argued. "The company will go out of business, that's the point. It will also prove that all the hype about Bitcoin was a lie."

Schiff also expressed doubt that the decline would be a slow burn. He doubts that "it will take a whole four years for Bitcoin to get down to $8K."

Of course, he has also noted that Bitcoin had fallen back below the value of 13 ounces of gold.

"People who sold gold to buy Bitcoin made a huge mistake," Schiff stated. "The longer they wait to correct it, the more costly it becomes."

Finally, the economist has slammed financial news networks, specifically CNBC, for what he perceives as biased coverage.

"The biased and clueless mainstream financial media covers Bitcoin's 'unexpected' 50% decline as if it's just another great buying opportunity," Schiff wrote. "The real opportunity is to sell Bitcoin before it loses the other half of its market value."

He went as far as to suggest that networks could be liable for their bullish bias.

"Since CNBC is more like a Bitcoin infomercial, masquerading as an objective financial news network, its lack of disclaimers may mean viewers have a free put if they buy and lose money," he argued.

David Schwartz, Ripple’s newly appointed CTO Emeritus and co-creator of the XRP Ledger, hasdescribed Bitcoin as "a technological dead end."

He argues that the world’s largest cryptocurrency no longer relies on technological innovation for its success.

Schwartz recently revealed that he had sold nearly all of his Bitcoin holdings for $7,500.

"The technology just doesn't seem to matter"

The comment came in response to a question from an XRP community member who asked if Schwartz had considered working on Bitcoin development again. The former Ripple CTO, however, has bluntly rejected the idea.

"Not really. I think bitcoin is largely a technological dead end for the same reason the dollar is," Schwartz wrote. "The technology just doesn't seem to matter all that much to its success, at least not at the blockchain layer."

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The implication is that Bitcoin has fossilized into a monetary standard where "upgrades" are secondary to stability.

Schwartz's recent Bitcoin takes

Schwartz has frequently challenged the narrative that Bitcoin is purely decentralized and permissionless.

"In more than a decade, no XRP transaction has ever been censored or treated unfairly while bitcoin miners routinely delay transactions they disfavor for any reason at all," he stated in December.

Recently, he also noted that the leading cryptocurrency had had at least two incidents that showed way more centralization than theXRPL genesis glitch.

In November, he argued that all blockchains, including Bitcoin, rely on human intervention during crises. "Any problem with XRP can be fixed by XRPL's governance, as Bitcoin had to do in 2013. And it will be because every chain's governance cares," he wrote.

He has also raised concerns about Bitcoin's proof-of-work consensus eh algorithm. He outlined a potential death spiral scenario where "people really want bitcoin to remain PoW because they see that as part of its core value," but high prices and low transaction volumes create a security vacuum.

One of the most significant market stories at the moment is the conflict between Bitcoin and gold, as investors choose where to put their money in the face of increased global uncertainty and a changing willingness to take on risk. Bitcoin has long been marketed as digital gold, but recent market activity indicates that traditional gold has drawn much larger flows, putting pressure on the cryptocurrency markets.

Nothing without Bitcoin

Bitcoin saw a dramatic breakdown after failing to hold onto higher support levels, which caused the price to quickly move toward the mid-$60,000 region. Current attempts at stabilization have not been successful, and the asset is currently trading far below important moving averages. Market sentiment has been significantly impacted by selling pressure and liquidation cascades, making traders wary of the likelihood of an immediate recovery.

Gold is still showing strength, though. Due to its consistent upward trajectory, the precious metal has drawn investors looking for stability and defense against macroeconomic risks. The fact that gold prices are rising suggests that investors continue to prioritize traditional safe-haven assets over erratic substitutes like cryptocurrencies.

For markets, this dynamic results in a crucial crossroads. The rivalry between Bitcoin and gold is more than just symbolic; it shows where institutional and individual investors feel most comfortable allocating their funds. The cryptocurrency markets might stay in a defensive stance if gold keeps outperforming, with altcoins and speculative assets enduring persistent selling pressure.

But if Bitcoin starts to beat gold and once again emerges as the more visually appealing asset, the ramifications might be profound. The digital asset industry's risk appetite would probably be rekindled by a significant shift in capital flows back toward Bitcoin, which could lead to a recovery of the larger cryptocurrency market.

XRP touches ceiling

Ironically, XRP may have already reached what traders refer to as a price ceiling much earlier than many anticipated, despite the fact that it is still declining. XRP's upside potential may be limited for the near future due to weakening network activity and declining trader participation, despite the fact that price action is currently characterized by a strong downtrend.

Technically, after failing to maintain its descending channel structure, XRP has broken through several support levels in recent weeks, moving the asset toward the $1.30-$1.40 zone. Recovery attempts are still flimsy, as sellers swiftly regain control following each bounce, and moving averages continue to slope downward, confirming ongoing bearish momentum.

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In a typical scenario, declining prices would eventually lead to new activity and appealing entrance points. On the other hand, on-chain signals indicate the opposite. The volume of transactions and payments on the XRP Ledger has drastically decreased from previous highs, suggesting that traders and institutions' overall activity has slowed. Because fewer transfers and settlement flows traverse the ecosystem, decreased network usage frequently reflects waning speculative interest.

Because XRP's valuation has historically benefited from strong transactional use and liquidity flows, this decline in ledger activity is especially significant. A decrease in network participation makes it more difficult for prices to gain sustained upward momentum, thereby capping attempts at recovery, even as prices continue to fall.

That is to say, XRP might have already hit a functional price ceiling — not in the sense of reaching all-time highs, but rather in the sense that there is little room for growth as demand declines. Rally duration is at risk if traders do not participate more actively and with renewed vigor.

Dogecoin might recover

Although Dogecoin is currently trading close to levels that put the asset at a crucial technical crossroads, it is crucial to remember that nothing clearly bearish has happened thus far. Price action currently stands in an area where historical buying interest has previously emerged, making a bounce more than likely, even though months of gradual decline have pushed DOGE back toward the $0.09 region.

The broader trend still points downward, with DOGE trading below major moving averages and forming lower highs over recent months. The asset has been steadily declining due to selling pressure, and speculative interest in meme coins has subsided in comparison to previous market cycles. But as of yet, neither a structural collapse nor a period of panic-driven capitulation have been brought on by the most recent decline.

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Rather, Dogecoin is currently trading in an area that has historically served as a base of support, and new candles indicate that sellers might be slowing down. Momentum indicators are getting close to oversold territory, which means that if buyers intervene at current levels, the downside pressure may soon subside.

Rekindled speculative interest may result from a successful recovery from this region, particularly if sentiment on the larger cryptocurrency market stabilizes. In this case, DOGE might start to make up ground and possibly eliminate a decimal place once more by driving the price back above the psychologically significant $0.10 threshold, which would remove a zero from the quoted price.

DOGE might have to deal with another selling wave before locating a stable floor if support does not hold. As a result, market participants continue to exercise caution and keep a close eye on whether buyers will defend current levels in the upcoming sessions.

The XRP Ledger Foundation (XRPLF) has appointed Brett Mollin as its new Executive Director, according to a Wednesdayannouncement.

Mollin, a veteran developer with over 11 years of experience building on the XRP Ledger, will work on enhancing scalability and developing infrastructure for institutional adoption.

A veteran at the helm

Mollin most recently served as Technical Director at Ripple, where he worked closely with developers and institutions launching projects on the ledger.

His tenure in the community spans more than a decade. During this impressive stint, he has operated infrastructure and built relationships across the diverse group of validators and core developers.

"For the past 11 years, I’ve built on the XRP Ledger as a developer, infrastructure operator, and community participant. Stepping into the Executive Director role at the XRPL Foundation is an opportunity to help steward the network through its next phase of growth."

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According to Mollin, the XRP Ledger has reached a stage where long-term stewardship of the network is critical. He will focus on ensuring the ledger remains "resilient, scalable, and well-governed."

Key priorities

According to the Foundation, Mollin’s leadership will primarily focus on operational readiness.

He will also work on technical upgrades designed to handle future spikes in transaction demand without compromising network performance.

Finally, Mollin plans to increase active participation from various developers who build the tools and services that rely on the ledger.

The XRP Ledger Foundation operates under a nonprofit governance model. This Board of Directors oversees the main direction of the foundation and leadership appointments like Mollin’s.

During a recentappearance on X's "Spaces," Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stressed that XRP is the "North Star" for Ripple.

"It's our purpose. When we think about what we are doing on Ripple Payments, or Ripple Prime, or Ripple Treasury, or Custody, or RLUSD, this is all focused on how we can drive utility, trust, and…liquidity around XRP and the XRP Ledger," Garlinghouse said.

XRP is the "heartbeat" ofRipple, which is a platform company for financial infrastructure.

"Zoom out"

Garlinghouse has acknowledged that last week was an absolute "bloodbath" for the market. He has described the current state of the market as "frustrating." However, as reported by U.Today, Garlinghouse recently suggested that there could be a buying opportunity.

"Whenever I see people being exceptionally fearful, I feel greedy," he said during the appearance on Spaces.

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The drawdown is comparable to the 2022 bear cycle, but crypto has done better than that, Garlinghouse says. Moreover, as he noted, XRP is one of the best-performing major cryptocurrencies since November 2024. Bitcoin, for comparison, is essentially flat.

"It is important to zoom out and look at the broader landscape as well," he said.

Going on offense

After years of playing defense due to regulatory woes, Ripple finally went on offense with aggressive acquisitions, Garlinghouse says. "That has felt great…We've lost some time, which is frustrating, but we gonna work hard in 2026 to make up that time," he noted.

Garlinghouse has stressed that the company was very focused on going outside the echo chamber by bringing traditional finance and crypto with its acquisition spree.

Shiba Inu saw a drop alongside other major cryptocurrencies as investors reacted ahead of the release of the delayed January jobs report.

Shiba Inu extended its drop into the fifth day from a high of $0.00000642 on Feb. 7, with its daily RSI weakening further.

At the time of writing, SHIB was down 1.91% in the last 24 hours to $0.00000585 and down 12.25% weekly. Amid the drop, Shiba Inu's daily RSI is nearing oversold levels below 30, currently at 32.

A drop below 30 might confirm oversold levels, which might precede a price reversal; however, Shiba Inu's recovery might be dependent on broader market sentiment.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index currently sits at 9, indicating "extreme fear" on the market. This suggests that traders might be taking caution amid a prolonged sell-off on the market, which saw many crypto assets plunge to multimonth lows.

Potential scenarios for SHIB price

The previously delayed nonfarm payrolls report for January was released on Wednesday.

Job growth was stronger than expected to start 2026, providing some relief to concerns about the state of the labor market.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 for January, above the estimated 55,000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Markets rose following the news, with stock market futures ticking higher.

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The impact will be watched on the crypto market. If a reversal occurs and the market rebounds, Shiba Inu might aim for $0.000006.

On the other hand, Shiba Inu might continue to trade sideways between $0.000005 and $0.000006 if the current uncertainty continues, with support expected at $0.000005.

New shift emerges on crypto market

Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz suggests that the recent crypto sell-off might be a reflection of a larger industry shift.

In a CNBC interview, Novogratz stated that crypto’s "age of speculation," in which investors expected outsized returns, may be ending as more risk-averse players enter the sector.

"It’s going to be real world assets with much lower returns," Novogratz said, highlighting a market shift.

The Monero (XMR) price has charted a different pathway from Bitcoin as bearish market sentiment is extended. In the past 24 hours, the XMR price hasjumped by more than 3%, a rally that compares with the 2.42% drop in the price of BTC. This decoupling might prove bullish as other Monero metrics point to this outlook.

Monero volume and uptick outlook

At the time of writing, Monero's price was changing hands for $340.55, a level that has reduced its sell-off in the past week to 11.79%. While Monero is still trading at a loss, the privacy coin has seen its core performance indicators flip bullish.

The 24-hour trading volume has rallied by 14% and is pegged at $97.59 million. To complement the uptick showcased by this volume, XMR’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) has a value of 37 on the daily chart.

Combined with the price trading around the lower Bollinger Bands, more upside may be seen for Monero in the short to long term. Despite flashing negative trends in the past month, including adeath cross formation, Monero has displayed resilience.

This resilience hinges on how attractive privacy coins are in the wake of the growing Bitcoin quantum threat.

General market slides deep into fear

Despite the positivity surrounding Monero, the digital currency may soon reverse its growth trends. This is because the market is strongly showcasing fear, an outlook characterized by high volatility.

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Besides Bitcoin, other altcoins like Ethereum, Cardano and XRP are also seeing massive drawdowns from their all-time highs. In the wake of the market meltdown,XRP has flipped Binance Coin. This is a quiet displacement that might also impact Ethereum, as Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone has teased the possibility if the ETH price falls below $1,500.

In the wake of the sell-offs, crypto innovators are building out their infrastructures to accommodate institutional investors. While Ethereum is working on a series ofupdates proposed by Vitalik Buterin, Ripple has partnered with Aviva to drive RWA tokenization on XRP Ledger.

The Bitcoin developer team has announced a new Bitcoin Core version: Bitcoin Core 29.3, which was published on Feb. 10, 2026.

This release includes various bug fixes and performance improvements, as well as updated translations.

Notable changes include those of P2P, validation and wallets. Wallet changes include that which identifies spending 0-value outputs and adds tests for anchor outputs in a wallet. The release also fixes an unnamed legacy wallet migration failure with additional cleanups for migration. It also fixes a migration issue, allowing the avoidance of a spendable wallet from a watch-only legacy wallet.

Bitcoin Core v29.3 was released!It is available from: https://t.co/MnKO0EOydVRelease notes: https://t.co/OCCe3MlwlI

— Bitcoin Core Project (@bitcoincoreorg) February 11, 2026

A wallet migration bug was detected in Bitcoin Core wallet releases v 30.0 and 30.1. This situation occurred under rare circumstances; migrating a legacy (BDB) wallet can delete all wallet files on the same node, and if these wallets are not backed up, this can result in a loss of funds.

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On Jan. 8, Bitcoin developers disclosed a new release candidate of Bitcoin Core, v30.2rc1, which fixes this issue. This version, a minor release which followed v30.1, fixed a legacy wallet migration failure.

Bitcoin price action

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading down 2.92% in the last 24 hours to $66,873 as the broader crypto market saw selling pressure early Wednesday.

The crypto market largely traded in red as investors awaited the release of the delayed January jobs report. Investors are anticipating the nonfarm payrolls report for January on Wednesday, set to be published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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Bitcoin has been declining since reaching an all-time high above $126,000 in October, with the sell-off intensifying over the last month. Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 on Feb. 5 and slid to hold just above $60,000, which is seen as a key level.

Bitcoin then recovered from those lows and was back above $70,000 but has struggled to push higher from that, remaining in the range of $66,000 and $72,000.

The largest cryptocurrency is currently down 46.94% from its record high.

RippleX Senior Vice President Markus Infanger has publiclyendorsed the company’s strategic partnership with Aviva Investors, calling it a “genuinely huge moment” for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) as traditional U.K. finance begins moving on-chain.

His comment follows today's announcement that Aviva, a $300 billion asset manager, will tokenize regulated fund structures on XRPL — an institutional milestone that pushes Ripple beyond pilot programs and into live integration with one of the U.K.’s largest financial entities.

Beyond payments: Infanger on why Aviva marks turning point for XRPL

Infanger’s reaction highlights the broader transformation Ripple is targeting: deploying XRPL not just for payments but as infrastructure for real-world assets like tokenized funds, bonds and structured finance products.

By naming this specific integration as a pivotal moment, the senior vice president of RippleX draws a line under Ripple’s RWA roadmap and the readiness of XRPL to meet regulatory and operational demands from legacy institutions.

A genuinely huge moment for XRPL as traditional finance moves onchain!Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of leading UK insurer Aviva plc, has announced a partnership with @Ripple with the intention of tokenising traditional fund structures on the XRPL.Read…

— Markus Infanger (@markusinfanger) February 11, 2026

The remarks by Infanger also land as U.K. regulators prepare formal guidelines for fund tokenization pilots, makingAviva’s choice of XRP Ledger both timely and strategically significant. Infanger’s tone suggests that Ripple views this as a validation of its long-term thesis: that capital markets infrastructure will migrate on-chain — and XRPL will be one of its core rails.

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WhileRipple has not disclosed rollout details, Infanger’s emphasis signals confidence in XRPL’s smart contract upgrades — such as Hooks and XLS-30 — as institutional-grade components.

With London joining Ripple’s other RWA hubs in Singapore and Dubai, Infanger’s statement marks a clear turning point:XRPL is no longer peripheral to TradFi infrastructure but is being embedded.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant has provided insights into Binance's latest BTC volatility metric, which suggests that the crypto market is set to enter a new phase.

The metric, which provides a sense of relief to investors as the recent crypto market crash has triggered doubts and fear. Bitcoin plunged more than 50% from its ATH, sparking discussions across the crypto community.

While Bitcoin has continued to trade below $70,000 for the past few days, the charts showcased by the analyst reveal that the seven-day annualized volatility has surged to approximately 1.51. This marks the highest level the Binance volatility metric has reached since 2022.

While the level has historically represented a period of major repricing and a broad crypto market shift, the metric suggests that the crypto market bloodbath may be drawing near its end.

Bitcoin’s price outlook

It is important to note that such a sharp increase in short-term volatility often signals a major transition from prolonged consolidation rather than mere temporary price swings.

As such, the crypto market might be set to transition into a period of bullish momentum accompanied with a series of major price recoveries after the prolonged crypto market bloodbath.

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Notably, the chart further shows that the 30-day annualized volatility currently sits around 0.81, while the 90-day period hovers near 0.56. This downward movement seen across different time frames suggests that recent volatility spikes have been short-lived rather than sustained. Notably, this is a pattern commonly observed during moments of market rebalancing.

Nonetheless, Bitcoin has continued trading below the $70,000 level, hovering around $67,000 in recent days and showing notable daily losses.

With Binance’s BTC volatility metric surging to its highest level since 2022, the crypto community is optimistic about a potential price resurgence for Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies, including XRP.

Bitcoin is trading near $67,800 at the time of writing, with daily volume hovering around $45 billion, as per CoinMarketCap, placing it directly inside the debate now dividing two veteran market voices — Peter Brandt and Jurrien Timmer.

According toPeter Brandt’s latest Power Law V2.0 outlook, BTC remains in a tightening logarithmic corridor with diminishing upside extremes. On the opposite side stands Fidelity macro director Jurrien Timmer, who projects expanding valuation ceilings tied to wallet growth and adoption waves for the cryptocurrency.

With theprice of Bitcoin sitting near the lower green support band on Brandt’s weekly structure, the disagreement is no longer theoretical, but a real matter of market positioning. Brandt’s framework is cycle-driven.

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In a recent update on X, the veteran trader highlighted a 53-week (371-day) post-halving rhythm, which historically marks transitional phases between impulse rallies and consolidation regimes. Under his narrowing-band thesis — to which he refers as "Bitcoin Banana" — future peaks compress in amplitude as volatility declines.

Hello @TimmerFidelity Interesting that you are playing around with your own version of the Bitcoin Banana $BTC although whereas my forward look calls for a narrowing, yours calls for broadeningYour food from Aruba looks fabulous 🥩🥩🥩 pic.twitter.com/GpKw568xwy

— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) February 11, 2026

If that structure holds,Bitcoin would likely remain contained within a progressively tighter range through Q4, 2026, with a structural floor potentially sitting below current levels.

Brandt vs. Timmer: Network diffusion or structural maturity?

In contrast, Timmer’s model ties the price to network economics rather than just Bitcoin price chart geometry. By mapping wallet growth to demand waves, his outlook identifies five completed adoption phases and anticipates a sixth expansion wave.

Continued user growth under this model supports a long-term valuation corridor extending toward $290,425, conditional on sustained participation metrics rather than purely technical repetition.

Key checkpoints for both outlooks in 2026:

Post-halving cycle duration: Will the 371-day rhythm trigger the next major shift?Wallet growth acceleration: Can network diffusion sustain Timmer’s sixth wave?Support integrity: Whether BTC decisively holds or loses the high $60,000 zone.

For investors, the divergence defines two measurable outcomes: structural maturity with compressed volatility, or renewed adoption expansion with widening valuation ceilings. The next 12 months will determine whose thesis — Brandt's or Timmer's — aligns with observable Bitcoin market data.