On Wednesday, Strategy CEO Phong Le said the firm plans to rely more on its Stretch (STRC) perpetual preferred stock rather than issuing new common shares to fund additional Bitcoin purchases. STRC, the company's fourth perpetual preferred issue launched in July with an annual dividend above 11%, has now returned to its $100 par value, which could allow Strategy to restart offerings. Le also indicated the firm is not looking to acquire rival Bitcoin treasury companies, calling such deals a distraction from its core product. Strategy's common shares closed the same day down over 5% at $126.14.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said Paxful was ordered to pay a $4 million fine following its December guilty plea to conspiring to promote illegal prostitution, transmit criminal proceeds and breach anti‑money‑laundering rules. Prosecutors added the platform marketed itself as non‑KYC, handled over 26 million trades worth nearly $3 billion from January 2017 to September 2019, and agreed an appropriate penalty of $112.5 million but was assessed as unable to pay more than $4 million.

Crypto and banking representatives held a second White House meeting on the U.S. crypto market structure bill, but they remain divided over stablecoin yield restrictions. Banking groups are pushing for prohibitions on stablecoin rewards, while industry figures argue the bill should move forward without further delay. Both sides say more talks are needed to align innovation with financial stability concerns.

On Tuesday, Robinhood shares sank about 7.66% in after-hours trading after the firm posted record fourth-quarter net revenue of $1.28 billion, short of the $1.34 billion analysts expected. Crypto-related revenue slid 38% year-on-year to $221 million, while full-year 2025 net revenue rose 52% to $4.5 billion and net income climbed 35% to $1.9 billion.

Federal Reserve governor Chris Waller said at a Monday conference that the surge of enthusiasm for crypto following U.S. President Donald Trump's election win is now easing as the sector becomes more integrated with traditional finance. He argued that mainstream financial firms adjusting their risk exposure contributed to the recent sell-off and described crypto's sharp price swings as simply part of the business. Waller added that the Fed aims to launch limited-access "payment accounts" for fintech and crypto firms by the end of the year, following a public feedback period.

Backpack said on Monday it will launch a token with a 1 billion supply, starting with 25% available and further unlocks tied to milestones and a post-IPO schedule. CEO Armani Ferrante wrote that no founders, staff or investors will receive allocations, aiming to make insider "dumping on retail" impossible.

The Federal Reserve received 44 public responses on its proposal to create limited "payment accounts" for fintechs, with the comment window opening in December and closing on Friday. Crypto firms largely supported the framework, while banking associations urged caution over risk oversight and access to the central bank's payments infrastructure.

On Wednesday, CFTC Chair Mike Selig said the agency has withdrawn a 2024 proposed rule that sought to classify sports, political and war-related event contracts as contrary to the public interest. Selig, who criticized the earlier effort as merit-based regulation by the Biden administration, added that the CFTC will instead pursue new rulemaking under the Commodity Exchange Act and has also rescinded a separate staff letter on sports event contracts.

On Tuesday, Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said the Avara umbrella brand will be phased out and all present and future products, including the Aave App, Aave Pro and Aave Kit, will be consolidated under Aave Labs. The Apple iOS-based Family wallet will stop onboarding new users from April 1, with existing users supported until April 1, 2027 and their accounts maintained as core infrastructure within Aave Labs offerings.