In late 2025, the Federal Reserve proposed tailored "payment accounts" that would let qualified non-bank crypto exchanges and fintech firms connect directly to systems such as FedNow and Fedwire without full banking licenses. The plan, which drew public comments from December 2025 until February 6, 2026, has prompted strong opposition from major U.S. banks over systemic risk concerns and strict limits on interest, emergency lending, and overnight balances. Coinbase has emerged as a key supporter, arguing that direct access could cut digital asset payment costs by 20–30 percent, though it warns that current restrictions may make the framework impractical for large-scale operations.

X outlined plans on February 14, 2026 to let users execute stock and crypto trades directly from their feeds by tapping ticker symbols like $BTC or $TSLA. The in-feed tool is part of a broader push that includes money-transmission licenses in more than 40 U.S. states, a Visa payments tie-up, and internal tests of the X Money wallet.

US consumer prices rose 2.4% in the 12 months through January 2026, easing from 2.7% in December and undershooting economists' expectations. While the softer reading and modest monthly gains suggest some relief on inflation, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee signaled the central bank is not ready to cut interest rates until it sees more sustained progress. Traders largely expect the Federal Reserve to hold rates at its March 18, 2026, meeting, with future moves dependent on upcoming inflation and labor data.

Bitcoin is trading near $67,000 in early 2026 while the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has fallen to a rare 5–8 range, signaling extreme pessimism. Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz has described Bitcoin as a technological dead end that mainly depends on user trust, even as JPMorgan strategists project a future rebound in digital assets driven by institutional investors.

African stablecoin cash-out costs vary widely, with Botswana’s median fee at 19.4% in January 2026 and the continental median near 3%. Markets with more providers, such as South Africa at about 1.5%, tend to be cheaper, while limited competition keeps fees elevated in places like Congo above 13%.

On February 11 2026, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission outlined new rules that allow licensed brokers to offer margin lending for virtual assets and introduce a regulated framework for leveraged perpetual contracts. Margin financing will initially be backed only by Bitcoin and Ether as collateral, while perpetual swaps will be restricted to professional investors on approved platforms. The measures form part of the ASPIRe initiative and are expected to work alongside forthcoming stablecoin licensing and broader crypto regulatory clarity later in 2026.

In early February 2026, a $188 million bond backed by bitcoin loans from Ledn came under pressure after a 27% slide from bitcoin's mid-January peak triggered forced liquidations on about a quarter of the underlying loans. The collateral package for the Jefferies-arranged deal shifted from $199 million in loans plus $1 million in cash to roughly $150 million in loans and $50 million in cash, while the transaction remains slated to close on February 18. The episode has raised concerns about the resilience of asset-backed securities tied to volatile crypto markets, even as the bonds aim to offer yields several percentage points above benchmark rates.

Kalshi recorded over $1 billion in trades tied to the Super Bowl on February 8, 2026, the highest single-day volume in the platform's history. Users drove heavy activity in entertainment markets, including $113 million on Bad Bunny's opening song and $47 million on surprise guests, while the firm rolled out surveillance measures to address insider trading concerns. The surge pushed Kalshi to the top of the App Store and exposed system strains as the company emphasized its status as a regulated CFTC market.

On Monday, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told a symposium in La Jolla, California that Bitcoin’s drop from a late-2025 peak of $125,000 to about $60,000–$70,000 is a normal correction, not a systemic failure. He attributed much of the selloff to institutional investors adjusting risk and noted that uncertainty around the stalled CLARITY Act is weighing on sentiment. Waller also said the Fed aims to roll out restricted "payment accounts" for tech and crypto firms by the end of 2026, offering limited access to the central banking system without interest or overdrafts.