On Monday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs released the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (HR 6644), which includes an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act barring the Fed from issuing a US central bank digital currency until December 31, 2030. The measure, which preserves room for dollar-denominated open, permissionless and private stablecoins, advanced in the Senate on an 84-6 cloture vote, while similar past efforts to block a CBDC have stalled even as other countries pilot or launch their own digital currencies.

According to TD Securities, the New York Stock Exchange's proposal for a tokenized equities alternative trading system could mark a key institutional milestone for blockchain-based markets. The planned platform would allow tokenized stocks and ETFs to trade around the clock with near-instant settlement while remaining anchored to DTCC infrastructure and NBBO rules. TD Securities believes this hybrid model may reshape core market plumbing for collateral, liquidity, and settlement, even though tokenized assets still represent a small share of overall equity activity.

Tom Lee, co-founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC's Squawk Box that he expects a broad rebound in both crypto and stock markets starting in March 2026. He projected the S&P 500 could climb to 7,700 by year-end and reiterated a Bitcoin target of $200,000–$250,000, alongside an Ethereum rally toward $7,000–$9,000 by early 2026. Lee's outlook, which highlights AI-driven productivity and strong corporate earnings, has drawn skepticism from some social media users who point to his historically bullish calls.

On Saturday, crypto outflows from Iran's largest exchange Nobitex jumped more than 700% to over $500,000 within minutes of US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, later nearing $3 million in a single hour. Elliptic linked the spike to possible capital flight as funds moved to overseas exchanges, while TRM Labs argued the broader crypto ecosystem in Iran is instead slowing amid severe internet blackouts. The turmoil follows a major Iranian bank collapse, mounting risks for several other lenders, and an $81 million hack at Nobitex in June.

Bitcoin is trading in a weaker technical position after losing key support zones and major moving averages, increasing the risk of further selling. Shiba Inu remains in a bearish trend but is displaying a hidden bullish divergence on momentum indicators, while XRP has broken its rising trendline around the $1.30 area, undermining the earlier recovery structure. Overall market conditions suggest fragile sentiment, thin liquidity near support and elevated volatility potential.

CME Group has introduced cash-settled futures contracts linked to Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM), with trading on these products beginning on February 9. With these additions, the exchange now lists futures on seven leading crypto assets, a set it estimates reflects more than 75% of total cryptocurrency market value. The firm also reported an average daily volume of 278,300 crypto derivatives contracts in 2025, equivalent to about $12 billion in notional value, and plans to launch a Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures product on March 16, subject to regulatory approval.

Core Scientific reported fourth-quarter revenue of $79.8 million, down from $94.9 million a year earlier, as bitcoin mining income fell to $42.2 million from $79.9 million. At the same time, colocation services revenue increased to $31.3 million from $8.5 million, supported by an expansion of high-density infrastructure. The company ended the year with $533.4 million in liquidity but posted a negative adjusted EBITDA of $42.7 million, and its shares slipped slightly in after-hours trading.

On March 1, Ripple Labs released 1 billion XRP from escrow in three transactions worth about $1.377 billion, while the token ended February with a 16.45% monthly price decline. Over the same weekend, Solana led major cryptocurrencies with an 11% rebound to an intraday high of $88.89 after a $500 million liquidation event, and Elon Musk amplified a viral thread comparing Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei to FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried.