In a recent hour-long video, Charles Hoskinson outlined how Cardano's ecosystem funding is expected to work in 2026, focusing on infrastructure, utility, and experience layers. He proposed shifting more resources toward utility and user experience, including token index investments in dApps and requirements for projects to buy ADA and return it to the treasury. Hoskinson also argued the ecosystem must finance its own growth through unified strategy, hackathons, and stronger community and wallet support.

Antalpha, a fintech firm that accumulated $241 million of Tether Gold (XAUt), is now sitting on more than $100 million in unrealized profit after a strong gold rally. On-chain data indicates that $15 million in XAUt was recently moved to custody provider Cobo, suggesting the company may be preparing to actively manage or partially realize its gold exposure.

Internet Computer (ICP) surged about 16%, climbing from roughly $2.35 to $2.73 within minutes after it was listed on South Korean exchange Upbit. The coin now trades against KRW, BTC and USDT, while its 24‑hour volume of around $147 million has risen about 170%, alongside a market capitalization near $550 million.

Ripple has announced plans to obtain an Australian Financial Services License by acquiring BC Payments Australia Pty Ltd., aiming to expand its licensed payments services in the country. The license would allow Ripple to manage the full transaction lifecycle, including onboarding, compliance, forex, liquidity, and payouts, and forms part of a broader international licensing strategy spanning several jurisdictions.

Payward, the company behind the US-based crypto exchange Kraken, has announced a collaboration with Nasdaq to develop tokenized equities using its xStockz product. The initiative will use a permissionless infrastructure layer to support issuer-sponsored equity tokens and expands on xStockz's reported total transaction volume of over $25 billion. Kraken will act as a distribution partner in a move that reflects the broader trend of bringing traditional equities and commodities into blockchain-based markets.

Oil prices, which had surged to nearly $120 per barrel amid the armed conflict involving Iran, the US, and Israel, dropped sharply after reports that G7 members may discuss a coordinated release of up to 400 million barrels from reserves. US crude slid toward $101, while Bitcoin rebounded from an intraday low near $65,600 to around $67,400 as the broader crypto market's capitalization rose to $2.38 trillion, up 0.2% over the past 24 hours.

In February 2026, Elon Musk said X Money, the payments arm of X, was already running in a closed beta inside the company and would move to a limited external beta before a global rollout. Actor William Shatner shared screenshots showing features such as a debit card with cashback, fueling expectations that the service could later add crypto functionality, especially after Musk reacted positively to a post mentioning potential crypto integration.

Over the last 24 hours, Google researchers detailed a powerful iPhone exploit kit dubbed Coruna that threatens crypto wallet seed phrases on older iOS versions. In parallel, Morgan Stanley moved toward a Bitcoin trust product with Coinbase and BNY Mellon, Zerohash applied for a U.S. National Trust Bank Charter, a16z targeted around $2 billion for a new crypto fund, and Tether backed Eight Sleep at a $1.5 billion valuation.

Kraken’s banking subsidiary, Kraken Financial, has obtained a limited-purpose master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, becoming the first crypto-linked firm with this type of access. The account lets Kraken connect directly to core Fed payment rails and reduce dependence on intermediary banks, although it does not include commercial-bank privileges such as interest on reserves or Fed lending facilities. The move is seen as a key infrastructure milestone for integrating digital asset businesses into the traditional US dollar payments system and broader financial markets.