On the morning of Feb. 12, Binance France head David Princay was reportedly the target of two failed home invasions in Val-de-Marne and Vaucresson, during which three masked suspects allegedly stole two mobile phones. Police later traced the devices and used surveillance footage to locate the trio on a train to Lyon, where they were arrested at Lyon Perrache station and placed in custody. The incidents come amid a broader rise in France in so-called wrench attacks involving physical coercion to access crypto assets.

In 2025, retail traders reassessed futures risk as perpetual contracts kept positions open without expiry. Losses increasingly reflected prolonged exposure and ongoing structural costs rather than sudden price swings. With contract mechanics and time under leverage taking center stage, entry and exit timing became less decisive than a position's durability over duration.

In 2025, cryptocurrency transfers linked to suspected human trafficking activities increased by 85%, with total flows reaching several hundred million dollars. According to blockchain analytics from Chainalysis, the funds moved through international escort services, scam-related labor recruitment channels, and sellers of child sexual abuse material, raising fresh concerns about illicit crypto use.

Kalshi has entered a sports performance hedging partnership with Game Point Capital after its Super Bowl Sunday trading volume surpassed $1 billion and January activity hit a record $9.6 billion. The collaboration allows teams to hedge performance bonus payouts, with early NBA contracts on Kalshi reportedly pricing significantly below over-the-counter market quotes.

In Virginia, a federal court sentenced Praetorian Group International chief executive Ramil Ventura Palafox, 61, to 20 years in prison for operating a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme that raised over $200 million from investors between December 2019 and October 2021. Prosecutors said the operation took in more than 8,198 BTC and over $201 million in total, caused at least $62.7 million in losses, and falsely promised daily returns of up to 3%.

Crypto markets remained in a high-volatility deleveraging phase during the week of February 6–13, 2026. While Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized in the mid-$60,000s, structural shifts dominated the headlines: Tether executed a record $3.5 billion USDT burn, and global regulators tightened the noose on offshore stablecoins. With the Fear & Greed Index hitting historic lows at 5–10, institutional giants like MicroStrategy reported staggering $12.6 billion paper losses, signaling a brutal but necessary reset of the Digital Gold narrative.

On February 11, 2026, BlockFills said on X it had temporarily suspended client deposits and withdrawals after taking the action last week; trading access remains for managing positions. The Chicago-based firm serves about 2,000 institutional clients and processed $60 billion in 2025. Bitcoin touched $60,000 last Friday as analysts, including Alex Damsker, urged caution.

On February 12, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs registered – $410.2 million in net outflows, while Ethereum ETFs saw – $113.1 million, taking single-day withdrawals above $520 million. BlackRock and Fidelity products led the red prints, according to figures cited in the article, as Solana ETFs posted a $2.7 million net inflow and XRP ETFs recorded – $6.42 million in net outflows.