Crypto-linked equities rallied on Wednesday, with treasury firm Strategy up more than 10%, Coinbase gaining over 14%, Hut 8 climbing 13.89% and American Bitcoin Corp rising 11.65%. Over the same 24-hour period, Bitcoin advanced around 7.6% to trade near $72,866 and Ether increased more than 8.3% to about $2,132, as investors reacted to pro-crypto remarks from Donald Trump and ongoing regulatory moves in the United States.

On Wednesday, Europol said a coalition including Coinbase and Microsoft dismantled key infrastructure of Tycoon 2FA, a phishing‑as‑a‑service platform used to bypass multi‑factor authentication. By mid‑2025, Tycoon 2FA represented 62% of phishing attempts blocked by Microsoft, with more than 30 million malicious emails in a single month, and Coinbase traced blockchain transactions linked to the alleged operator and customers.

Australia could capture up to 24 billion Australian dollars ($17 billion) in yearly economic benefits from tokenized markets and digital assets if it advances regulation, according to a new report. The Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre projects that, without substantial changes, the country may realize only 1 billion Australian dollars ($710 million) in crypto-related gains by 2030. The report highlights regulatory uncertainty, coordination issues and limited scaling paths for pilots as key obstacles to unlocking this potential.

Cybersecurity researchers report that "ClickFix" attacks are now being used by scammers posing as venture capital firms on LinkedIn and by hijacking the QuickLens Chrome extension. The VC-themed campaign lures victims into fake video calls, while the compromised extension was updated with malware after a February 1 ownership change and reached around 7,000 users before removal.

PeckShield reported that crypto hacks and scams totaled $26.5 million in February, the lowest monthly losses since March 2025. Of 15 incidents, a $10 million price-manipulation hit on YieldBlox’s DAO lending pool and an about $8.9 million IoTeX private key exploit on Feb. 21 comprised most of the damage. The tally fell 69.2% from just over $86 million in January.

At the XRP Australia 2026 event in Sydney on Friday, Coinbase’s John O'Loghlen said Australia is seeing regulatory momentum and expanding institutional access through Bitcoin and Ether ETFs launched in June 2024 and October 2024. OKX’s Kate Cooper highlighted rising SMSF participation, while an Independent Reserve 2025 report showed crypto adoption at 31%, up from 28% in 2024.

On Wednesday, World Liberty Financial proposed a governance staking framework requiring at least 180 days locked and offering a 2% APR conditional on two votes. The plan adds USD1 usage incentives, plus conversion and off-ramp access for large holders. USD1’s market cap is $4.7 billion, while USDT and USDC lead the stablecoin sector.

Matt Western, who chairs the UK's Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, urged a temporary moratorium on crypto donations in a Monday letter to minister Steve Reed. He asked for the pause to be added to the Representation of the People Bill until Electoral Commission guidance is issued; the bill was introduced on Feb. 12 and has a second reading on March 2.

Bitcoin Depot, the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the United States, began rolling out a requirement in February for users to verify their identity for every transaction at its crypto ATMs. The company first introduced ID checks for all new users in October and is expanding this to all transactions to detect suspicious activity and curb misuse such as scams and identity theft. The move comes as multiple U.S. state attorneys general pursue lawsuits and settlements alleging the firm failed to implement sufficient protections against fraud.