Ethereum is trading below the $2,000 mark with elevated volatility and weak sentiment as traders stay cautious around this psychological level. Over the past 30 days, futures open interest across major exchanges has contracted by more than 80 million ETH, signaling broad deleveraging and a reset in derivatives exposure. Price action now shows persistent downside pressure, with key support seen in the $1,600–$1,700 area as the market searches for a stable base.

Grok AI outlines ambitious targets for XRP, Cardano and Bitcoin by the end of 2026, projecting fresh all-time highs. It sees XRP near $8 from about $1.36, ADA around $6 from roughly $0.26, and BTC toward $225,000. Technical readings and ecosystem developments are cited as supportive, though volatility and downside risks remain.

In February 2026, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Praetorian Group International founder Ramil Ventura Palafox to 20 years for wire fraud and concealment money laundering linked to a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors said the operation raised more than $201 million, took in at least 8,198 BTC, and drew over 90,000 investors, with confirmed losses of at least $62.7 million.

Shiba Inu's price has climbed back over $0.000006 after a sharp breakdown, with traders watching whether this level can hold as support. Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz has described Bitcoin as a "technological dead end" while confirming he sold most of his BTC for $7,500. Goldman Sachs has reported a $152 million allocation to XRP spot ETFs, an amount that represents nearly 14% of net XRP ETF inflows over the past year.

Solana leads execution, processing roughly three times more daily transactions than Ethereum L1 and all L2s combined, according to TokenTerminal. Despite about 285 million daily transactions and 3,300 TPS, DeFiLlama shows chain fees near $622,000, while whale flows exceeded 100,000 SOL with a realized loss of roughly $7.38 million.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said banks should not view stablecoin yield offerings as a threat and urged compromise between lenders and crypto platforms. He argued the debate has delayed the CLARITY market structure bill, which defines SEC/CFTC roles, and warned lawmakers face a narrowing window ahead of the 2026 US midterms.

On Friday, Ether reclaimed $2,000 after a cooler U.S. CPI print, putting ETH/USD on course for its first positive weekly close since mid‑January. According to CryptoQuant, futures open interest dropped by 80 million ETH over 30 days and Binance funding hit -0.006, the lowest since early December 2022. Traders say a short squeeze toward $2,500 is possible if $2,000 support holds.

Solana Company (NASDAQ: HSDT) said on Friday it introduced a way for institutions to borrow against natively staked SOL while keeping tokens in custody through Anchorage Digital and Kamino. The announcement sent the stock up roughly 17% to about $2.30 after hitting an all-time low near $1.80 earlier this week.