MarketWhisper

Michael Saylor proposed the concept of "Digital Credit" at the Strategy World 2026 Annual Conference, viewing Bitcoin as the foundational capital of the new financial system. He introduced the perpetual priority security STRC, backed by Bitcoin, aimed at solving investors' growth and yield challenges and promoting institutional adoption of Bitcoin. STRC offers high liquidity, fixed returns, and principal protection, but also faces risks from Bitcoin price volatility. Saylor predicts that the Bitcoin-backed credit market has the potential to reach $50 trillion.

The HB 1042 bill passed by the Indiana State Legislature provides legal protections for cryptocurrency investments, requiring designated retirement plans to offer at least one crypto option, and safeguarding individuals' rights to pay and hold. The bill prohibits the imposition of special taxes on crypto activities and, if signed by the governor, will take effect in 2026. This move aligns with the trend of states across the U.S. advancing digital asset legislation.

The U.S. government currently holds approximately 328,372 Bitcoins, of which about 30% originates from recovered assets from the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Although these assets are subject to legal disputes and the court has not yet determined ownership, if ordered to be returned, the dedicated reserve will decrease to approximately 234,000 coins. LEO tokens currently reflect market expectations of future compensation outcomes and are experiencing a significant market premium.

A Pokémon card sold for world record $16.5M as AJ Scaramucci won 1998 Pikachu Illustrator. Logan Paul gained 200%+ return. Scaramucci, Solari Capital founder, views the Pokémon card as investment, with Card Ladder showing Pokémon index up 145% versus S&P 500's 15.2%.

The IoTeX Foundation has launched a compensation plan for the ioTube cross-chain bridge security incident, promising full compensation to users holding affected assets. Users can apply for compensation through the Claims Portal on February 27, with two options: immediate full payout and installment payments. Over 86% of the stolen funds have been frozen, and the foundation will conduct an independent security audit and cooperate with law enforcement agencies to investigate the attackers.

Tom Lee-linked Bitmine Immersion faces $8.4 billion unrealized loss on Ethereum holdings, down 50.74% from peak. The paper loss reflects broader ETH downturn amid market volatility, underscoring scale of institutional crypto exposure.

WLFI proposes requiring token holders to stake WLFI for at least 180 days to participate in governance voting, aiming to reduce the influence of short-term speculators. Stakers will receive an annualized return of 2%, and will gain higher voting power based on the amount staked and the lock-up period. The proposal also promotes the adoption of the USD1 stablecoin, integrating WLFI tokens with DeFi incentives. If approved, the implementation will be carried out in three phases. WFI aims to strengthen USD1's position in the stablecoin market.

Bitwise Investment Director Matt Hougan pointed out that traditional investors' lack of understanding of cryptocurrencies due to the "anchoring effect" prevents them from seeing the structural changes in the financial system. Although major financial institutions have actively deployed on-chain tokenized assets, with a scale approaching $20 billion, investors still overlook this wave of transformation, creating rare opportunities for widespread deployment.

Ethereum (ETH) has recently increased by approximately 8%, with several large whale addresses collectively adding over $50 million worth of ETH, indicating active capital replenishment. Additionally, the Coinbase Premium Index turning positive suggests a rebound in demand from US institutional investors, while Ethereum's MVRV ratio has improved from "severely undervalued" to "mildly undervalued." These indicators all signal a rebound in the Ethereum market.

Stripe's CEO and co-founder stated in the annual open letter that as AI agents become the primary online transaction executors, blockchain needs to handle up to 1 billion transactions per second. The current blockchain throughput falls significantly short of this demand, and it is noted that the five levels of AI agent capabilities will gradually evolve, significantly increasing transaction requirements.

The Supreme People's Court of China will focus on cracking down on crimes involving the use of virtual currencies and underground banks for money laundering. According to reports, Chinese money laundering networks transfer approximately $44 million daily through cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins are favored due to their low volatility, and criminals continue to evolve in cross-border activities, posing challenges for law enforcement agencies.

Decentralized lending protocol Aave announces that its cumulative loan volume has surpassed $1 trillion, becoming the first protocol in the DeFi industry to reach this milestone, demonstrating its leading position in the market. In the future, it will focus on integration with traditional financial institutions, launching Aave Horizon to support institutional lending, while also facing internal governance disputes.

San Francisco-based startup t54 Labs has completed a $5 million seed round of funding, focusing on a trust system for AI agents that offers identity verification, risk control, and credit authorization functions, using XRP Ledger as the settlement layer. Ripple invests to strengthen the ecosystem and to address the infrastructure gap for the trust operation framework of AI agents in future financial markets.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's CMU OmniClear platform will officially launch in the second half of 2026, providing issuance and settlement infrastructure for tokenized bonds. This platform aims to address the "digital island" effect in the tokenization process and promote interconnection with the Asia-Pacific region. It will also issue fiat-backed stablecoin licenses to boost market activity, but cross-border interoperability remains a challenge.

GD Culture Group has decided to liquidate its holdings of 7,500 Bitcoins, with a market value of approximately $510 million, to fund a $100 million share buyback program. The market's valuation of the company at an mNAV below 0.5 makes the liquidation buyback a more certain return for shareholders. This move triggered a roughly 15% increase in the stock price.

Yushan Financial Holding Chairman Huang Nanzhou proposed the concept of "Three-Track Finance," emphasizing active participation in stablecoins and virtual asset finance. The company's strategy focuses on cross-border payments, blockchain financial services, and real asset tokenization. The usage rate of stablecoins in Taiwan has reached nearly 10%, indicating increasing demand. Regarding regulation, the central bank and industry stakeholders have differing views on stablecoin governance, and legislation for VASP (Virtual Asset Service Providers) is currently being promoted. The banking industry is taking virtual asset custody services as the first step to further penetrate the market.

The Ethereum Foundation's Strawmap roadmap released in 2026 plans to conduct seven protocol upgrades every six months before 2029, focusing on five core objectives: L1 scalability, post-quantum security, and privacy protection. This plan aims to enhance mainnet performance, improve user experience, and increase security.

NVIDIA's Q4 earnings report shows net profit doubling to $43 billion, surpassing expectations, mainly driven by data center business. Taiwanese trader 0xRay opened a $16.56 million NVIDIA futures long position on Hyperliquid, with a leverage of 6 times. Although the stock price initially rose after the earnings report, it ultimately declined due to Chinese competition and uncertain future outlook. 0xRay's operations have attracted attention, as its contracts do not represent actual stock holdings.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns that the current high-risk lending behaviors in the financial markets are similar to those before the 2008 financial crisis, and points out that rising asset prices and pessimistic expectations will lead to a deterioration of the credit cycle. Bank of America survey reveals that the AI bubble replacing traditional credit risk has become a major market concern, indicating increasing worries about the high debt risks of big tech companies.

The market value of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds is projected to reach $10.8 billion by 2026, a 50-fold increase over two years, primarily driven by the launch of BlackRock's BUIDL fund. DTCC also plans to introduce tokenization services, indicating that traditional financial institutions are beginning to enter the space and boosting market confidence. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries offer 24-hour liquidity and provide greater flexibility and efficiency compared to traditional bonds.