CoinPhoton

Robert Kiyosaki says he would pick Bitcoin over gold if limited to one asset
Robert Kiyosaki said he would choose Bitcoin over gold if forced to hold only a single asset, pointing to Bitcoin’s fixed supply as a structural advantage. While he supports diversification across gold, silver, and Bitcoin, he stated that a hard cap of 21 million coins makes Bitcoin more attractive than gold, whose supply can expand as mining increases when prices rise.
The Rich Dad Poor Dad author remains strongly bullish on silver, projecting it could reach $200 per ounce by 2026. He also warned that fiat currencies are steadily losing purchasing power and argued that savers holding government-issued money face the greatest long-term risk.
Kiyosaki urged investors to focus on scarce and tangible assets such as gold, silver, real estate, Bitcoin, and Ethereum as hedges against inflation and monetary expansion.

A wave of senior crypto operators stepped down or shifted roles in early 2026, with several moving into AI-focused companies. Because these leaders typically coordinate capital, developer ecosystems, and product distribution, their near-simultaneous exits created concern about a potential talent drain in crypto.
AI is attracting talent and funding at a much larger scale, offering faster product cycles, stronger distribution, and abundant capital. This makes it appealing for experienced operators seeking higher upside and learning velocity compared to crypto’s slower, regulation-heavy infrastructure buildout.
However, developer data does not show a collapse in crypto’s core builder base. Reports from Electric Capital indicate that while new developer inflow has slowed, experienced developers continue to grow, suggesting resilience among long-term contributors.
Industry leaders argue this is cyclical rotation rather than a true exodus. Crypto still holds structural advantages in neutral settlement, programmable money, and stablecoin-based financial rails, with ecosystems such as Solana and scaling platforms like zkSync continuing to mature.
The key risk is not total talent flight but coordination loss: when senior operators leave, productization, compliance alignment, and institutional adoption can slow. The long-term outlook depends on whether crypto can convert regulatory clarity and institutional interest into real user distribution before AI permanently absorbs too many top operators.

Tether is expanding its gold strategy by quietly accumulating about 27 tons of physical gold and investing $150 million into Gold.com to strengthen distribution to crypto users. The deal includes integrating Tether Gold (XAU₮) into Gold.com’s retail platform, allowing users to move from USDT into tokenized or physical gold more easily.
The move reflects growing demand for on-chain “risk-off” assets as market volatility rises and gold prices rally. Tokenized gold’s market cap has surged in parallel, though concerns remain around custody, legal ownership, redemption rights, and regulation, according to Reuters.
Alongside tokenized gold, tokenized Treasuries are also growing quickly, with data from RWA.xyz showing billions in on-chain government debt products used for yield and capital preservation.
Strategically, Tether is positioning gold as both a core reserve asset and a core user hedge product. By pairing stablecoin liquidity with a retail gold storefront, it aims to give crypto users a direct, in-ecosystem path to defensive assets during periods of market stress.

Ethereum’s draft standard ERC-8004 proposes a trustless infrastructure layer that gives AI agents portable onchain identities, reputation histories, and third-party validation records across EVM-compatible networks. The goal is to let autonomous AI systems discover each other, evaluate credibility, and interact economically without relying on centralized directories or marketplaces.
ERC-8004 defines three core onchain registries. The Identity registry mints each agent as an ERC-721 NFT with a unique identifier and a machine-readable registration profile describing capabilities and endpoints. The Reputation registry stores structured feedback from users or other agents, including scores, tags, and references to supporting evidence, creating tamper-evident and queryable trust signals. The Validation registry adds an optional higher-assurance layer where independent validators can score and cryptographically attest to the quality of an agent’s outputs or completed tasks.
Reference deployments are already live, and more than 21,000 AI agents have been registered across multiple EVM chains, with the largest share on Ethereum mainnet and fast-growing clusters on Layer 2 networks. Current use cases include crypto market assistants, DeFi guidance bots, automated trading systems, and creative or analytical AI tools. Some agents also integrate machine-to-machine payment rails alongside reputation tracking.
While ERC-8004 does not eliminate risks such as Sybil attacks or dishonest validators, it introduces a layered, programmable trust model for agent interactions. Supporters view it as early infrastructure for an emerging agent economy, where AI systems can build portable reputations and transact across chains, with market-driven feedback determining which agents are most trusted and widely used.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, raised concerns that modern prediction markets are becoming overly focused on short-term, high-engagement bets — particularly crypto price speculation and sports gambling — which he believes distort incentives and provide little long-term societal value.
He said prediction markets have matured enough to support professional traders and can complement traditional media by aggregating information efficiently. However, he warned that many platforms are converging on “dopamine-driven” use cases that prioritize volume and revenue, especially during bear markets when teams feel pressure to monetize quickly. In his view, relying too heavily on uninformed or financially desperate participants creates unhealthy product dynamics and encourages low-quality market behavior.
Buterin described three core participant groups in prediction markets: informed traders who contribute signal and earn profits, naive traders who tend to lose due to poor assumptions, and hedgers who knowingly accept negative expected returns in exchange for risk reduction. He argues that today’s platforms depend too much on naive traders, while the more sustainable path is to grow hedging use cases.
He proposes shifting prediction markets toward generalized risk-hedging tools — for example, allowing investors to offset political or macro risks tied to their portfolios. He also connects this idea to the future of stable-value assets, suggesting that instead of relying purely on fiat-backed stablecoins, markets could create personalized hedging baskets linked to price indices of real-world goods and services. That model, he says, could improve decentralization and better match users’ actual stability needs.
Overall, Buterin urges builders to move prediction markets toward long-term financial infrastructure and risk management functions rather than short-term speculative betting demand.

Cardano is seeing a wave of visible activity — including product launches, integrations, and major technical upgrades — but industry voices stress that its long-term strength depends on less visible behind-the-scenes work.
According to the CEO of Anastasia Labs, a healthy ecosystem relies not only on big announcements and ideas, but also on ongoing editorial, review, coordination, and cleanup efforts that turn early proposals into usable standards. He highlighted contributor Robert Phair for playing a key role in advancing the CIP process through consistent editing, reviews, and proposal support, calling this largely unseen work foundational to ecosystem maturity.
On the development front, founder Charles Hoskinson said the USDCx stablecoin is expected to launch on Cardano soon, alongside improved wallet-to-exchange user experience. Cross-chain protocol LayerZero is also set to integrate, significantly expanding Cardano’s interoperability and potential access to cross-chain liquidity and tokenized assets.
Additional updates include the upcoming Midnight mainnet launch, progress on the Ouroboros Leios scaling upgrade targeting major TPS gains, a V2 release of the Strike perpetual protocol, and the launch of Cardano futures on CME Group. Together, these moves signal both visible growth and critical foundational work across the ecosystem.

Stablecoin market rebounds, adds $7.25B in two weeks
The stablecoin sector rebounded after slipping from a record peak of about $311.837 billion to $300.722 billion on Feb. 1, adding back roughly $7.251 billion over the past two weeks, with most of the growth concentrated in the last seven days.
Data from DeFiLlama shows total stablecoin market cap rose 2.16% between Feb. 7–14 to about $307.973 billion, accounting for nearly 90% of the two-week expansion.
Tether (USDT) remains dominant with a market cap near $183.7 billion and about 60% share. Circle (USDC) follows at roughly $73.6 billion after a weekly increase of about $1 billion.
Among other issuers, PYUSD from PayPal posted one of the strongest weekly gains, while BUIDL from BlackRock jumped more than 23%, marking a sharp reversal after prior outflows. By contrast, USDe from Ethena and DAI recorded weekly contractions.
Newer entrants such as RLUSD from Ripple and USD1 from World Liberty Financial also continued to grow, pointing to steady capital rotation across fiat-backed tokens.

X to launch Smart Cashtags for stocks and crypto within weeks
X head of product Nikita Bier said Smart Cashtags will roll out in the coming weeks, enabling users to view stock and crypto data directly from their timeline.
The feature will support near real-time pricing for onchain assets, including smaller-cap tokens, and expands the current $TICKER tagging system by letting users link specific assets or smart contract addresses. Tapping a cashtag will show live price charts, related posts, and trading links. The platform clarified it will not execute trades or act as a brokerage.
Bier also said new enforcement measures are coming to curb crypto-related spam, bot activity, and harassment-driven engagement apps across the platform.
Smart Cashtags are part of X’s broader financial push, alongside its X Money wallet initiative and payments partnership with Visa, backed by owner Elon Musk.

BNB Chain hits 5 million daily active users
Data from Artemis shows BNB Chain reached about 5 million daily active users in February 2026, ranking ahead of Tron and Solana, with roughly 10% month-over-month growth based on blockchain analytics estimates.
Community replies on social media expressed strong enthusiasm despite recent FUD surrounding Binance, using memes and commentary to highlight continued ecosystem building on BNB Chain.
The user growth aligns with high onchain activity in DeFi and gaming apps, with more than 31 million daily transactions and around $14 billion in stablecoin market capitalization reported in early-2026 network reviews.

Senators urge CFIUS review of UAE stake in World Liberty Financial
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim have asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to determine whether the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) should review a reported 49% UAE-linked stake in crypto project World Liberty Financial, setting a March 5 deadline for a response.
The request follows a separate House probe launched last week by Representative Ro Khanna, expanding congressional scrutiny around the Trump family–linked venture and its reported ties to the United Arab Emirates.
Lawmakers said the transaction may raise national security concerns, citing foreign ownership risk and potential access to sensitive user data, and asked whether CFIUS has already reviewed the deal or made any recommendation.

Benchmark cuts COIN price target to $267, keeps buy rating
Mark Palmer of Benchmark lowered his price target for Coinbase shares to $267 from $421, citing worsening crypto market conditions, while reiterating a buy rating.
He reduced his full-year 2026 EPS estimate by 21% to $5.34, with first-half projections coming in well below Wall Street consensus. The revision followed Coinbase’s weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, where both revenue and earnings missed estimates and the company posted a GAAP net loss due largely to unrealized crypto portfolio losses and strategic investment write-downs.
Despite the cuts, Palmer said the quarter showed a more diversified business mix. Institutional trading revenue rose sharply, supported by contributions from Deribit, while stablecoin revenue increased and average USDC balances reached a record high. Subscription and services revenue accounted for about 43% of net revenue in the quarter.
Management, led by CEO Brian Armstrong, highlighted derivatives, stablecoins, equities trading, and prediction markets as key growth drivers going forward. The company ended the year with $11.3 billion in cash and expanded its share buyback authorization.

Jupiter proposes plan to bring net JUP issuance to zero
On Feb. 14, Jupiter announced on X that its team has submitted a major proposal aimed at reducing the net release of JUP tokens to zero for the foreseeable future.
Proposed measures include indefinitely suspending issuance from team reserves, routing any team token sales into the Jupiter treasury, postponing Jupuary activities without a new timeline, and accelerating while offsetting the Mercurial vesting plan.
The final decision on the proposal will be determined through a DAO vote.

Morpho signs cooperation deal with Apollo
Morpho Association has announced a cooperation agreement with affiliates of Apollo Global Management to support the growth of onchain lending markets built on the Morpho protocol.
Under the agreement, Apollo or its affiliates may acquire MORPHO tokens through a mix of open-market purchases, OTC trades, and other contractual arrangements. The total ownership is capped at 90 million MORPHO tokens over a 48-month period, with transfer and trading restrictions applied.
Both sides will work together to strengthen onchain lending activity and liquidity across the Morpho ecosystem, including curator-managed vaults.
Galaxy Digital UK Limited acted as exclusive financial adviser to Morpho.
Morpho is an open network for onchain lending, providing infrastructure for lending markets and vaults governed by MORPHO token holders.

Four upcoming perp DEXs with confirmed airdrop allocations

Four major perpetual DEX protocols are approaching their token generation events (TGE) with confirmed airdrop allocations and strong institutional backing, including EdgeX, Paradex, Backpack, and GRVT. Each project is promoting trading and liquidity activity ahead of launch as part of their rewards and points programs.

EdgeX is a hybrid derivatives exchange backed by Amber Group and Circle Ventures, with 25% of total token supply reserved for a Genesis airdrop and a token launch planned before the end of March. Paradex, incubated by Paradigm and built as an appchain on Starknet, has allocated 25% of supply to airdrops and offers stablecoin yield plus XP incentives tied to trading volume and liquidations.

Backpack, developed by the Mad Lads team, positions itself as a regulated “super app” exchange under oversight from VARA and has set aside 25% of token supply for community distribution while negotiating a new funding round reportedly targeting up to $50 million. GRVT, built as the first official hyperchain in the zkSync ecosystem and backed by Matter Labs, has confirmed a 20% token airdrop allocation alongside seasonal mystery box reward campaigns.

Top 10 perp DEXs for vault and LP yield farming
News brief: Current market conditions are highly favorable for liquidity providers, with LP vault APRs across perpetual DEX platforms ranging from roughly 6% to 80%. Returns vary depending on vault limits, market-making strategies, and liquidation-driven gains during volatile periods.
For example, the HLP vault on Hyperliquid reportedly generated about $50 million during the Oct. 10 market crash and another ~$20 million on Jan. 31, significantly boosting recent APR performance. Beyond earning passive stablecoin yield, supplying liquidity to pre-TGE protocols may also help users accumulate points tied to potential future airdrops.
Leading perp DEXs currently used for stablecoin vault and LP farming include Nado, edgeX, Ethereal, GRVT, Lighter, Extended, Drift, Avantis, and Paradex.

Bitcoin nears undervalued zone, CryptoQuant data shows
News brief: According to on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, Bitcoin is approaching what could be considered an undervalued zone after roughly four months in a downtrend following its October 2025 all-time high. The MVRV ratio — which compares market value to realized value — is currently around 1.1, moving closer to the level below 1 that has historically signaled undervaluation.
Analysts note that, unlike prior cycles, the latest bull run did not push deeply into a clearly overvalued range, marking a structural difference in market behavior. As a result, the current drawdown and potential bottoming process may not mirror previous cycles. Historically, for assets with long-term upward trajectories, preparation during downturn phases has tended to improve the probability of favorable long-term outcomes.

An attempted home invasion aimed at the France head of Binance was disrupted before it could be completed, according to reports, and three suspects were taken into custody by police. Authorities said the attackers allegedly targeted the residence but failed to carry out the plan as security forces responded and secured the scene. Investigators are now examining how the suspects organized the operation, whether the executive was specifically singled out because of their position in the crypto sector, and if additional individuals were involved behind the scenes.
No serious injuries have been reported, and officials are continuing to gather forensic evidence, review surveillance footage, and question those detained. The case remains under active investigation as police work to determine motives, possible links, and any broader security risks connected to the incident.

Ripple pushes Fed to update payment account rules for stablecoin issuers
Ripple has urged the Federal Reserve to modernize its payment account framework to better support stablecoin issuers, arguing that targeted reforms could strengthen dollar dominance, lower systemic risk, and speed up compliant digital asset integration into U.S. financial infrastructure.
In a formal comment letter, Ripple proposed four key changes: limited-purpose Discount Window access for permitted stablecoin issuers, interest on reserve balances, replacing the fixed $500 million overnight cap with a proportional asset-based threshold, and a pre-funded ACH settlement model to remove credit risk. The company said its stablecoin RLUSD and infrastructure built around XRP support fast, low-cost, and transparent settlement.
Ripple has also received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank and has applied for a Fed master account through its custody subsidiary, which remains under review.

A new proposal in the Bitcoin improvement process — Pay-to-Merkle-Root (BIP-0360) — has been merged into the official BIP repository, but it is only a documented draft, not a network upgrade or emergency patch. No activation timeline exists, no nodes need to update, and publication does not imply consensus or eventual adoption.
P2MR defines a new output type similar to Taproot but deliberately removes the key-path spending option. Instead, every spend must use the script path and reveal a Merkle proof. This increases transaction size and fees on purpose, but reduces long-term exposure to quantum attacks by eliminating always-visible public keys that could be targeted by future quantum computers.
The proposal frames quantum risk in two ways: long-exposure attacks on keys already visible on-chain, and short-exposure attacks during the brief window when a transaction is unconfirmed. P2MR mainly addresses the long-exposure scenario, while broader post-quantum signature schemes would be needed to defend against short-exposure threats.
The core message is about early preparation. Because Bitcoin upgrades require years of specification, review, debate, wallet support, and user migration, developers are exploring low-risk transition tools well in advance of any confirmed quantum timeline. If ever activated through a soft fork, P2MR would be opt-in, with gradual adoption driven by users and institutions willing to trade higher fees and lower privacy for reduced long-term quantum risk.

Rumors of a possible “bank run” at Binance gained traction after viral posts and third-party dashboards suggested more than $2 billion in recent outflows and a sharp decline in reserve values. The narrative was fueled by social media warnings from market commentators, data aggregator charts, and a short-lived withdrawal delay that raised fresh concerns about liquidity. Given the crypto market’s lingering sensitivity after the collapse of FTX, many traders quickly interpreted the disruption as a potential solvency signal rather than a routine technical issue.
However, a closer review of on-chain and reserve-tracking data suggests the situation may be less severe than feared. Public dashboards still estimate Binance holds around $132 billion in observable assets across major blockchains. Analysts note that a large portion of the reported reserve decline is likely due to falling token prices rather than pure customer withdrawals. Separate on-chain metrics also indicate that the exchange’s Bitcoin reserves have recently increased, not decreased.
Binance publicly rejected insolvency claims, arguing that some third-party figures rely on incomplete wallet labeling and delayed reconciliation. The company pointed users to its proof-of-reserves disclosures and external flow trackers, while executives described the panic as a coordinated withdrawal wave that ultimately did not drain balances. They also encouraged users to practice self-custody and perform periodic withdrawal tests. Overall, the episode highlights how quickly fear can spread in crypto markets, even when underlying reserve data does not confirm a true liquidity crisis.