Spring Festival Holiday Must Watch | PCE readings may disrupt the rate cut pace; the hearing for Qian Zhimin's case will be held on February 16

Next Week’s Key Highlights

February 16 (Chinese New Year’s Eve)

6 Million Bitcoin Money Laundering Case Hearing on February 16, affecting nearly 130,000 Chinese victims, with involved amounts exceeding 30 billion yuan;

February 18 (Second Day of Lunar New Year)

Polymarket plans to expand fee coverage to sports markets on February 18, initially testing NCAA and Serie A markets;

February 19 (Third Day of Lunar New Year)

Federal Reserve to release minutes of the monetary policy meeting;

February 20 (Fourth Day of Lunar New Year)

U.S. to publish Q4 GDP preliminary figures and core PCE price index;

U.S. Supreme Court to issue opinion on Trump tariffs case on February 20;

Other (Exact times TBD)

Elon Musk: Grok 4.2 to be released next week;

From February 16 to 22, more industry events to watch, details below.

February 16 (Chinese New Year’s Eve)

6 Million Bitcoin Money Laundering Case Hearing on February 16, affecting nearly 130,000 Chinese victims, with involved amounts exceeding 30 billion yuan

Odaily Planet Daily reported that 8,300 Chinese victims have filed claims. The assets from the 60,000 Bitcoin laundering case are at an impasse, with multiple law firms acting independently, leading to issues like duplicate submissions, repeated debates, and prolonged procedures, which have also driven up legal fees, ultimately to be paid by Chinese victims. It is reported that on Chinese New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar year (February 16-17, 2026), the UK High Court will hold a hearing involving over 30 billion yuan RMB and nearly 130,000 Chinese victims. This is the asset disposal process for the much-watched 60,000 Bitcoin laundering case. Additionally, Bitcoin prices have been volatile; the market value of 60,000 BTC peaked at about 54 billion RMB on October 6, 2025, and has shrunk to approximately 31 billion RMB in early February 2026. (Caixin)

February 17 (First Day of Lunar New Year)

21Shares to distribute staking rewards to Solana ETF holders on February 17

Odaily Planet Daily reported that crypto exchange product provider 21Shares announced it will distribute staking rewards to holders of its Solana ETF (TSOL). Each TSOL share will receive $0.316871, payable on February 17, 2026. (GlobeNewswire)

February 18 (Second Day of Lunar New Year)

Polymarket to expand fee coverage to sports markets, charging for NCAA and Serie A events starting February 18

Odaily Planet Daily reported that Polymarket official Rodrigo announced on Discord that fee mechanisms will be extended to college basketball (NCAA) and Serie A markets. The fee structure is the same as the “15-minute crypto price fluctuation markets”: taker pays a fee, maker receives a rebate, but with some differences — the fee rate is 0.0175, index 1, with a 25% rebate for makers, resulting in overall lower costs.

Starting from UTC 2026-02-18 at midnight, all new NCAA and Serie A related events created after this time will follow the new fee structure. Existing events are unaffected. The first rebate distribution will occur at UTC 2026-02-19 midnight.

ETH Denver to be held February 18-21

Odaily Planet Daily reported ETHDenver will take place from February 18 to 21 in Denver, USA.

WLFI to hold the first World Liberty Forum at Lake Tahoe on February 18

Odaily Planet Daily reported WLFI will hold its inaugural World Liberty Forum at Lake Tahoe on February 18. Topics will include financial market evolution, digital assets, artificial intelligence, geopolitical risks, and public-private partnerships.

February 19 (Third Day of Lunar New Year)

Federal Reserve to release minutes of the monetary policy meeting

Odaily Planet Daily reported that at 3:00 AM on February 19, the Federal Reserve will publish the minutes of its recent monetary policy meeting.

February 20 (Fourth Day of Lunar New Year)

U.S. to release Q4 GDP preliminary figures and core PCE price index

Odaily Planet Daily reported that at 9:30 PM on February 20, the U.S. will release December’s core PCE price index annual rate, personal expenditure monthly rate, Q4 real GDP annualized quarterly rate, Q4 real personal consumption expenditure quarterly rate, Q4 core PCE price index annualized quarterly rate, and December’s core PCE price index monthly rate.

Q4 GDP preliminary figures and core PCE index are market focal points. As the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, if the PCE readings exceed expectations, it could influence the pace of policy easing this year.

U.S. Supreme Court to issue opinion on Trump tariffs case on February 20

Odaily Planet Daily reported that the U.S. Supreme Court has designated February 20 as the next opinion release date, amid anticipation of a ruling that could invalidate most of former President Trump’s signature tariffs. Justices are also expected to release opinions on February 24 and 25. This tariff dispute is one of 12 cases pending, with arguments held in October or November but no rulings yet. U.S. federal data shows that these tariffs cause over $16 billion in monthly losses for importers. Analyst Chris Kennedy estimates that at this rate, the total tariffs collected under the core legal framework, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, could exceed $170 billion by February 20. (Jin10)

February 21

No events scheduled

February 22

No events scheduled

February 23 (Sixth Day of Lunar New Year)

NFT platform Nifty Gateway to close on February 23, 2026, now in withdrawal-only mode

Odaily Planet Daily reported that Nifty Gateway Studio announced on X platform that the platform will shut down on February 23, 2026. Effective immediately, Nifty Gateway has entered withdrawal-only mode. Customers holding USD, ETH, or NFTs will receive email notifications with instructions on how to transfer their assets out of Nifty Gateway.

Strategy World 2026 to be held February 23-26 in Las Vegas, USA

Odaily Planet Daily reported that the Strategy-hosted summit Strategy World 2026 will take place from February 23 to 26 in Las Vegas, featuring over 80 sessions and practical workshops.

Other (Exact times TBD)

Elon Musk: Grok 4.2 to be released next week

Odaily Planet Daily reported that Elon Musk posted on X that Grok 4.2 will finally be released next week, with significant improvements over version 4.1.