DeFi derivatives platform Polynomial will discontinue Polynomial Chain and Polynomial Trade after halting operations on Feb. 14, entering a structured wind-down phase, PANews reports. The protocol has set Feb. 18 for forced liquidations, will shut its liquidity layer on Feb. 24, and plans to stop all chain operations on March 3. Polynomial has also scrapped its previously scheduled token generation event for the first quarter of 2026, saying it does not want to issue tokens for a product that is shutting down. The team said it will retain participant data and grant early supporters priority access to future offerings from a new entity.

XRP exchange-traded funds held assets above $1.2 billion, while Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw combined net outflows exceeding $500 million on Feb. 12. Outflows from Ripple ETFs remained minimal despite broader market declines. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company could be worth $1 trillion.

Sui Group Holdings chief investment officer Stephen Mackintosh and Mysten Labs CEO Evan Cheng said institutional demand for crypto has accelerated, with Mackintosh calling 2025 a landmark year for institutional adoption at Consensus Hong Kong 2026. Mackintosh cited the boom in digital asset treasury vehicles, the success of spot bitcoin ETFs, record options volumes, and the entry of firms such as Citadel and Jane Street into crypto markets; he added that demand and awareness increased following the Genius Act, particularly around tokenization and stablecoins. Cheng contrasted settlement on T+1 or later in traditional products with T+0 in DeFi, saying tokenization and instant settlement allow investors to acquire an asset and immediately use it as collateral or layer on DeFi strategies. Both executives highlighted Sui architecture with low latency and high throughput, developed by former Facebook engineers behind Libra, as suited to tokenized finance and agentic commerce at the intersection of AI and onchain transactions.

Circle issued approximately $8.4 billion in USDC and redeemed approximately $5.8 billion in the seven days ending Feb. 12, increasing circulating supply by about $2.6 billion, ChainCatcher reports. USDC's total circulation stands at $73.1 billion, backed by reserves of approximately $73.4 billion: about $42.9 billion in overnight U.S. Treasury reverse repos, about $19.8 billion in U.S. Treasuries maturing within three months, about $10.1 billion in deposits at systemically important institutions, and about $600 million in other bank deposits.

USDC supply increased by approximately $2.6 billion in the week ended Feb. 12, with issuance of about $8.4 billion and redemptions of $5.8 billion, Circle data show. As of Feb. 12, total circulation stood at around $73.1 billion, backed by reserves valued at approximately $73.4 billion.

An OG whale transferred more than $543 million worth of ETH to Binance. The transaction moved Ethereum to the exchange, valued at over $543 million.

Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak has resigned, ChainCatcher reports. Consensus layer core contributor Greg said on X the move was unsurprising given long-standing internal power struggles and organizational inertia at the Foundation, claiming Vitalik Buterin had been largely absent over the past year, leading to inefficient resource allocation and stalled projects. Greg noted Stańczak brought experience from Nethermind, Flashbots and venture capital and had disclosed potential conflicts of interest in advance, yet still faced community questions and pushback when attempting to return to technical work while driving reform. Greg argued the Ethereum Foundation now needs leadership with real business experience and decision-making ability to improve operations, according to ChainCatcher.

Decentralized finance tokens posted 5–10% gains recently, supported by liquidity depth and protocol usage, market data show. Uniswap's UNI climbed about 5–8% on consistent trading and fee generation, while SushiSwap's SUSHI traded near the upper end of the range with improving on-chain metrics. PancakeSwap's CAKE rebounded roughly 6–9% from recent support levels on gradually rising volume, and 1inch's 1INCH advanced around 5–7% amid renewed interest in aggregation-based trading. dYdX's DYDX posted short-term gains close to 8–10%, with the derivatives-focused platform showing firm engagement and reduced downside pressure.

The queue of Ether awaiting activation for staking on the Ethereum network has remained around 4 million ETH for over two weeks, a level viewed as a bullish indicator given sustained demand to lock tokens on-chain. Over the same period, Ethereum's validator exit queue has declined to levels last seen in mid-2025.