On February 13, 2026, IREN said it will be added to the MSCI USA Index, with inclusion slated for February 27. The stock rose roughly 7% after the announcement, alongside an AI-focused pivot that includes a five-year $9.7 billion Microsoft deal covering 200 MW. The firm is building toward 4.5 GW of secured power and has outlined annual recurring revenue targets.

The Netherlands' House of Representatives advanced a proposal to impose a 36% capital gains tax on savings and liquid investments, including cryptocurrencies. The measure cleared the 75-vote hurdle with 93 lawmakers in favor and would apply starting in the 2028 tax year if the Senate also approves it. Exemptions include equity in qualifying start-ups and physical property used for non-investment.

New York City has launched a $1.5 million guaranteed income pilot program providing $1,200 per month to residents aged 18 to 24 who have experienced homelessness. The initiative, which runs from December through June of 2026, also offers participants a one-time $5,000 lump-sum payment option. A 22-year-old participant living in a Bronx shelter says the cash allows her to build skills and plan for renting an apartment, highlighting the program's focus on stability and self-sufficiency.

According to Director Moloney, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance plans a crypto-asset taxonomy to clarify when tokens can cease being investment contracts. On January 28, three SEC divisions outlined four digital-asset categories, and a March 18, 2026 deadline was set for foreign private issuers to meet HFIAA insider-reporting requirements.

On Feb 13, 2026, Truth Social said it filed registration statements with the U.S. SEC for two digital asset ETFs. One product would hold BTC and ETH, with the ETH portion staked; the other would hold and stake Cronos (CRO). The announcement also identified Crypto.com as the expected custodian, liquidity provider, and staking services provider, pending approvals.

On 13 February 2026, tokenized gold’s market value surpassed $6 billion, adding more than $2 billion since the start of 2026. XAUT and PAXG together account for roughly 96%–97% of the segment, with over 1.2 million ounces of vaulted bullion backing on-chain supply. Trading activity and liquidity have expanded alongside gold’s price rally.

Santiment's data indicates that Bitcoin's aggregated funding rates across major exchanges have fallen to their most negative levels since August 2024, reflecting a heavy build-up of short positions. Following long liquidations on Binance on October 10, 2025, traders increasingly moved into leveraged shorts, creating one-sided bearish positioning that could set the stage for a potential short squeeze.

On February 12, three masked men allegedly broke into a residential building in Val-de-Marne looking for Binance France CEO David Prinçay but left after failing to locate him and stealing two phones. The suspects were later traced via the stolen devices and CCTV, arrested at Lyon’s Perrache train station, while separate incidents helped highlight France’s growing share of global crypto-related “wrench attacks”, which caused $40.9 million in confirmed losses in 2025.