Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin Pumps, Could Still Have Room to Run

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$69,190.26, up by 7.4 percent over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin price performance, February 25, 2026.

Chart via TradingView.

After a “cautiously bearish” start to the week marked by institutional exchange-traded fund outflows, the Bitcoin price suddenly flipped into the green, surging toward the US$70,000 territory.

Analysts noted a double-bottom technical formation, which often signals the end of a short-term downtrend.

Amberdata’s recent market snapshot highlights a bullish divergence where stablecoin supply expanded by over US$773 million, creating a dry powder reserve that sidelined cash. Combined with an aggressive short position in the perpetuals market, the firm believes the stage is set for a classic short squeeze.

Meanwhile, Glassnode analysts noted that a leverage reset has already been completed, with the market shifting into an “accumulation backdrop.” This structural thinning of sell-side pressure essentially created a liquidity vacuum, allowing Wednesday’s move to happen with explosive speed once buyers returned.

Crucially, open interest has climbed 1.57 percent in the last four hours and funding rates remain negative at -0.01 percent, indicating that the market isn’t overheated with leveraged buyers yet and that Bitcoin may have more room to run before hitting the resistance at the US$70,000 to US$82,000 zone.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,074.84, up by 11.7 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.47, up by 8 percent over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$89.75, up by 14.1 percent over 24 hours.

Today’s crypto news to know

Meta may integrate stablecoin payments this year

Anonymous sources for CoinDesk claim that Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is planning to integrate a third-party firm that will enable stablecoin payments across all three of its platforms — WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram — early in the second half of the year, as well as implement a new wallet.

Meta reportedly sent out a request for product to third-party firms. One source mentioned partner Stripe, which acquired stablecoin specialist Bridge in 2025, as a candidate for piloting a potential Meta stablecoin.

A subsequent X post from senior communications executive Andy Stone states that Meta is not planning to launch its own stablecoin; however, the company is exploring opportunities to “(enable) people and businesses to make payments on (Meta’s) platforms using their preferred method.’

Coinbase partners with Yahoo Finance

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) announced the launch of stock trading for all of its US-based users by partnering with Yahoo Finance. This puts the exchange directly in competition with broker Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD), widely considered the leading app-based platform for retail traders. The company is beginning with a selection of the market’s most popular stocks, and intends to roll out 24/5 trading for additional companies in the coming months.

By spring 2026, Coinbase will introduce stock perpetuals for international users.

“Looking further ahead, our goal is to offer fully tokenized stocks, creating a seamless, 24/7 global market where your equities can even serve as on-chain collateral,” Coinbase said in its announcement.

“Our Everything Exchange vision is about removing artificial boundaries between asset classes and building for the next generation of markets. This expansion is a foundational step toward unifying traditional investments and digital assets into a single platform, simplifying portfolio management and unlocking what comes next.”

Hut 8, Circle report latest earnings

Hut 8 (TSX:HUT,NASDAQ:HUT) and Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) have both released Q4 2025 earnings.

Circle shares rose over 35 percent on the day after revenue exceeded expectations, growing 77 percent year-on-year to US$770.2 million. Earnings per share also far exceeded estimates of US$0.16, coming in at US$0.43.

Circulation of the company’s stablecoin, USDC, reached US$75.3 billion, up 72 percent, with on-chain transaction volume hitting US$11.9 trillion for the quarter.

Meanwhile, shares of Hut 8 closed down 6.57 percent after the firm reported a net loss of US$301.8 million for the quarter, largely as a result of losses on its Bitcoin holdings of US$220 million. Revenue grew 45 percent year-on-year, driven by its ASIC mining and artificial intellgience cloud segment.

Mastercard expands crypto push with new stablecoin, DeFi leadership role

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is stepping up its digital asset strategy with a new senior hire aimed squarely at stablecoins and DeFi. The payments giant is recruiting a director of crypto flows to oversee stablecoin-linked card products, DeFi integrations and updates to its internal risk and network frameworks.

The move builds on partnerships forged in 2025 with Circle, Paxos and OKX that enabled spending from crypto wallets and merchant settlement in stablecoins.

The new role will focus in part on allowing users to spend blockchain-based dollars at more than 150 million Mastercard-accepting locations worldwide, while preserving familiar card features such as rewards and cashback.

It will also explore connecting Mastercard’s rails to decentralized applications, enabling programmable payments and automated settlement flows.

Canaan buys deeper into Texas mining

Canaan (NASDAQ:CAN) has acquired a 49 percent stake in a joint venture tied to several Texas Bitcoin-mining projects from Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) in a US$39.75 million all-stock deal.

The transaction gives Canaan exposure to operations totaling 120 megawatts of energized capacity and roughly 4.4 exahashes per second of hashrate. The sites operate at an average efficiency of about 25.7 joules per terahash, placing them within competitive industry benchmarks.

As part of the agreement, Canaan also acquired 6,840 Avalon A15Pro rigs previously deployed at Cipher’s Black Pearl facility. That site is being converted into an artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center.

Cipher shares rose more than 6 percent following the announcement, while Canaan gained nearly 8 percent, suggesting investors welcomed the consolidation.