Crypto Macro News and Global Policy Updates

Clear Street has postponed its scheduled US IPO on Friday due to unfavorable market conditions, with the fundraising amount significantly reduced from $1.05 billion to $364 million, and the valuation dropping from $11.8 billion to $7.2 billion. The company is a major underwriter of cryptocurrency-related stocks.

On February 13, news reports indicated that the US spot Bitcoin ETF experienced a new round of selling. On the same day, Standard Chartered Bank downgraded its price forecast for Bitcoin in 2026, prompting the market to reassess its medium-term outlook. Data shows that on that day, the total net outflow of funds from the spot Bitcoin ETF was $410.4 million, with a total outflow of $375.1 million for the week. If there is no significant rebound afterward, this will be the fourth consecutive week of negative fund flow. The total assets under management of related funds have fallen back to approximately $80 billion, well below the peak of nearly $170 billion in October 2025.

ChainCatcher News, according to Gate Market Data, spot silver has surged 5.00% intraday, currently trading at $79.11 per ounce. Spot gold is now at $4,979.56 per ounce, up 1.04% intraday.

Gold tokenization is gaining traction as a stable crypto asset amid global uncertainty. Controlled by few entities, its growing utility in DeFi and low-risk portfolios signals a shift from speculation to credible, asset-backed tools in the crypto market.

The Central Bank of Malaysia has launched three initiatives to test the "Ringgit stablecoin" and "tokenized deposits," focusing on wholesale payments and settlements, paving the way for policies in 2026. These initiatives will be conducted in a controlled environment and will assess their impact on financial stability.

February 13 News, the Dutch House of Representatives passed the "Third Pillar Actual Yield Act" (Wet werkelijk rendement box 3) this week, planning to reshape the country's investment tax system starting January 2028. The new system will tax the "actual yield" of most investment assets such as stocks, cryptocurrencies, bonds, and others, at an approximate rate of 36%. This means that even if investors have not sold their assets, they are still required to pay annual taxes on unrealized gains. Under the current framework, taxes are largely based on assumed rates of return, whereas the new legislation will directly tax actual returns. This change is seen as a significant shift in the Dutch tax system. For highly volatile cryptocurrencies, the mechanism of taxing unrealized gains could lead to noticeable liquidity pressures. Some community members warn that if the market experiences a correction, investors may face the risk of their paper profits being rapidly eroded after paying taxes.

Kazakhstan is cautiously entering the crypto market, with its National Bank allocating up to $350 million for a national investment fund focused on crypto hedge funds, ETFs, and related companies, rather than directly purchasing Bitcoin. This strategy diversifies exposure while maintaining reserve security.

Daily Market Highlights and Trend Analysis, produced by PANews. 1. Market Observation The current macro market is experiencing a profound confidence crisis triggered by AI, with the narrative shifting from "AI frenzy" to "AI panic." Investors are no longer focused on who will benefit but are instead worried about which industries will be disrupted and replaced. On Thursday, financial markets experienced a broad sell-off, with US stock market capitalization evaporating by $1 trillion. Cisco plummeted 12% after releasing weak profit margin guidance. The Nasdaq dropped over 2%, the S&P 500 declined 1.57%, breaking below the 50-day moving average, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 50,000 points. The seven tech giants all declined, with Apple dropping over 5%, losing approximately $202 billion in market value in a single day. Amazon's stock price, after eight consecutive days of decline, officially entered a technical bear market on Thursday, down 21.4% from its high. Industry insiders expect NVIDIA's February 25 earnings report to become an important event in the AI field.

Market speculation suggests a Hong Kong hedge fund's distress contributed to Bitcoin's rapid decline from $90,000 to $60,000, with unusual ETF trading volumes revealed. Analysts caution against attributing the crash solely to this entity.

Several Taiwanese financial institutions, including private banks and pure online banks, have completed negotiations with partnered VASPs over the past year to submit applications to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) for a trial virtual asset custody business. However, they have been repeatedly rejected. The FSC's reason is that "the number of warning accounts is too high," and they require banks to significantly reduce the number of warning accounts before their applications can have a chance of success.

Protect Progress plans to spend $1.5 million on efforts to oppose Rep. Al Green in Texas. The cryptocurrency industry remains a significant investor in political campaigns in the U.S. Christian Menefee supports blockchain innovation and could benefit from pro-crypto funding. The pro-crypto polit

It is expected that in January, the overall US CPI will increase by 2.5% year-on-year, with core CPI also falling back to 2.5%. Analysts point out that the slowdown in housing cost increases may suppress service prices, but tariffs and price hikes could still support inflation. Despite the cooling data, the market believes there is a higher probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in the short term.

According to Forbes, Barron Trump has earned over $80 million from cryptocurrency investments, with an estimated net worth of around $150 million, and he is not even 20 years old. His wealth mainly comes from token sales and holdings in World Liberty Financial (WLFI). Forbes estimates these figures based on financial disclosures and market data, but the specific numbers are unconfirmed due to the difficulty in verifying cryptocurrency holdings.

The NY Fed has linked tariffs imposed on imports to inflation. Crypto prices are down, possibly in speculation of the upcoming inflation report. The US is working on deals to balance the tariffs effect. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or NY Fed, has published a report establishing a

Chinese listed companies distribute historic dividends before the Lunar New Year, totaling 348.8 billion RMB (approximately 50.5 billion USD), setting a new company record. Compared to previous years, this dividend distribution has increased by over 20%. The timing is just before China's peak consumption season, traditionally a period when excess liquidity leads investors to chase yields, and funds may shift to other investments. Historical data shows that similar liquidity events are accompanied by increased Bitcoin trading volume and rising risk appetite.

BlackRock has sharply increased its stake in Bitmine Immersion Technologies. The asset manager now holds about 9.05 million BMNR shares. The position is worth roughly $246 million, based on its latest 13F filing. The move represents a 165.6% jump from the previous quarter. It shows a stronger

Due to a lack of investor demand, traders are focusing on concerning US macroeconomic data, and Bitcoin open interest has fallen to $34 billion. Some of the decline is also attributed to forced liquidations, which totaled $5.2 billion over the past two weeks. In the past month, Bitcoin has dropped 28%, gold has regained the $5,000 psychological level, and the S&P 500 is only 1% away from its all-time high.

Foresight News: Data center operator and Bitcoin mining company IREN will be included in the MSCI USA Index after the market close on February 27.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig appoints a 35-member advisory committee of senior executives from the crypto industry to provide guidance on the regulation of breakthrough technologies such as AI and blockchain, with market founder Shayne Coplan of Polymarket predicted to be selected. Traditional financial giants including CME, DTCC, and Nasdaq representatives.