📊 Oil is currently the single most important driver of global financial markets. Over the past 30 days, oil has shown a negative correlation with nearly every major asset class: • Global bonds: -0.67 • Developed market equities: -0.55 • Emerging market equities: -0.41 • Bitcoin: -0.28 The only major asset moving in the same direction as oil is the US Dollar, with a +0.45 correlation — as rising energy costs continue to fuel global demand for dollars. Even gold, which typically acts as a safe haven during periods of geopolitical stress, has shown a -0.15 correlation with oil, highlighting a breakdown in traditional relationships. Meanwhile, the divergence between equities and oil has become increasingly extreme: The S&P 500 ETF ($SPY) and the United States Oil ETF ($USO) have moved in opposite directions in 38 of the last 50 trading sessions — the highest level in at least 20 years, surpassing the previous peak of 36 during the Global Financial Crisis. Until oil prices stabilize, volatility across asset classes is likely to remain elevated.

🚦 Bitdeer Fully Liquidates Self-Held BTC to Reserve Liquidity for Expansion #Bitdeer has sold all its self-held Bitcoin as of Feb 20, 2026, with corporate BTC holdings dropping to 0 (excluding client deposits). The miner sold all 189.8 BTC mined this week, posting a net BTC change of -943.1. Founder Jihan Wu stressed this is not a long-term strategy, and the firm will adjust holdings dynamically. Bitdeer clarified the sale is to build liquidity for upcoming power and land acquisitions, as it shifts from BTC hoarding to balanced treasury management amid market volatility — not a bearish view on Bitcoin.

⚡ Wintermute: Triple Macro Shocks Trigger $2.55B Liquidation, Crypto Enters Deleveraging Bear Market Bitcoin wiped out all post-Trump election gains after falling below $80K amid $2.7B in liquidations, according to Wintermute latest report. This sell-off was driven by three macro shocks: 1️⃣ Mag7 tech earnings misses (e.g., Microsoft) cracking the AI narrative 2️⃣ Kevin Warsh’s surprise Fed chair nomination, resetting policy expectations 3️⃣ A precious metals liquidity crash (silver -26% in a day) spilling cross‑asset forced selling In Wintermute’s view, this is organic deleveraging, not systemic collapse. Stablecoin infrastructure remains intact, so recovery could come faster than prior bear markets. As macro fog clears in H2 2026, institutional capital is expected to return. #MAGA #Bitcoin #Liquidation

⏰ What happened in Crypto in the last ~24h: - [DEGEN] $KELLYCLAUDE $KellyClaude rallies on Base via fee burns and real-world AI product shipping (MC 7.5M) -[DEGEN] $BIGTROUT $BigTrout rallies on Solana as whale @BigTrout300 leads trust-driven community narrative (MC 4.4M) - $HYPE, $RNBW Listed on Coinbase spot - $UNI Bitwise files for first U.S. spot Uniswap ETF with the SEC - $ESP Espresso Foundation introduces ESP token to power decentralized rollup infrastructure - $POLY Polymarket parent files 'SYNOPTIC' trademark, signaling imminent $POLY token launch and airdrop - Gemini exits UK, EU, and Australia to focus on US prediction markets - Tether invests $100M in Anchorage Digital at a $4.2B valuation - Bitcoin treasury strategies post heavy losses following sudden crypto market crash - Japanese firms embrace Bitcoin treasuries as a strategic hedge against yen volatility - Treasury Secretary Bessent slams crypto nihilists opposing market structure bill —————————————————— $KELLYCLAUDE- Fee burn + daily new feature roadmap boost momentum; top AI Agent token linked to Austen Allred’s AI assistant narrative. $BIGTROUT- Whale @BigTrout300 reinvests fees into liquidity; 45M token 1y lock-up, exchange listing push. Potential whitewhale? $HTPE, $RNBW- Coinbase spot trading launched 02/05/26; HYPE=Hyperliquid Layer1/DEX token, RNBW=Rainbow Wallet ecosystem reward token. $UNI- Bitwise files SEC S-1 for U.S.’s first spot Uniswap ETF (DEX token); to bring DeFi into regulated institutional investment. $ESP- Espresso Network’s core token; 3.59B supply, 10% retroactive airdrop to 1M+ addresses. $POLY- Polymarket parent trademarks SYNOPTIC for; $9B valuation → imminent TGE + massive airdrop. Gemini is exiting the UK, EU, and Australia to consolidate its operations and refocus on the U.S. market. The exchange is implementing staff reductions while pivoting its strategic growth toward the emerging prediction markets sector. Tether has invested $100 million in Anchorage Digital at a $4.2 billion valuation to deepen its ties with the institutional crypto bank. The investment focuses on expanding Tether’s footprint in the regulated digital asset infrastructure and custody space. Crypto crash causes huge unrealized losses; BTC-heavy firms face scrutiny, reserve volatility risks highlighted. Japanese firms are increasingly adopting Bitcoin and other digital assets for their treasuries, viewing them as a strategic hedge against yen depreciation. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized "crypto nihilists" for opposing the proposed crypto market structure bill. He argued that resisting federal regulation hinders the industry’s path toward long-term legitimacy and institutional adoption. Bessent emphasized that clear rules are essential for creating a secure, transparent, and innovative digital asset ecosystem.

📈 This Week in Crypto: January Effect Ignites Leveraged Rally Market sentiment flipped from extreme fear to aggressive speculation this week, with a leveraged rebound reversing last week’s holiday lull — here are the key metrics: Derivatives trading volume +42.11% DEX trading volume +21.36% DeFi TVL +6.51% Lending platform effective loan volume +4.04% Staking volume +5.63% Stablecoin total market cap - 0.22% The rally is driven purely by existing capital re-leveraging & rebalancing (not fresh fiat inflows): users are collateralizing assets to borrow liquidity, amplified by repricing of Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade expectations. ⚠️ Critical red flag: The sharp volume-price divergence (soaring trading vs falling stablecoin market cap) points to an internal market game. With sky-high leverage, a BTC pullback could trigger massive cascading long squeezes. #CryptoMarket #BTC #DeFi #Derivatives #ETH