Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (February 23) as of 9:00 a.m. UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$65,671.16, down by 2.8 percent over the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin price performance, February 23, 2026.
Chart via TradingView
Ether (ETH) was priced at US$1,880.48, down by 3.2 percent over the last 24 hours.
Altcoin price update
- XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.36, down by 1.8 over 24 hours.
- Solana (SOL) was trading at US$78.74, down by 6.1 percent over 24 hours.
Today’s crypto news to know
Trump tariff reset rattles crypto as Bitcoin breaks US$65,000
Bitcoin slid below US$65,000 early Monday after President Donald Trump said he would lift the US global tariff rate to 15 percent.
The increase replaces earlier “Liberation Day” duties that the US Supreme Court ruled illegal on February 20. The administration is now invoking Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows tariffs for up to 150 days unless Congress extends them, injecting fresh uncertainty into trade policy.
Bitcoin fell as much as 4.6 percent in under two hours during Asian trading, dropping from about US$67,600 to near US$64,400 before paring losses, with more than US$470 million in leveraged positions wiped out across crypto markets.
Over a 24-hour stretch, total liquidations topped US$500 million, according to CoinGlass. Ethereum dropped more than 4 percent, XRP fell over 3 percent, and crypto-linked equities including Robinhood and Strategy traded lower in premarket action.
Open-source AI project distances itself from crypto
An open-source AI agent framework known as OpenClaw has inadvertently become the center of a crypto controversy.
The project, built to power autonomous agents capable of browsing the web and executing complex tasks, was briefly rebranded amid a naming dispute before scammers launched a fake Solana-based token using its former branding.
The token’s market capitalization surged to roughly US$16 million within hours before collapsing more than 90 percent after developer Peter Steinberger disavowed any connection.
Steinberger publicly rejected the speculation, writing on X: “To all crypto folks: please stop pinging me, stop harassing me. I will never do a coin. Any project that lists me as coin owner is a SCAM.”
USDT contraction flashes rare stress signal
Tether’s USDT stablecoin is signaling liquidity strain reminiscent of the market turmoil following the FTX collapse.
According to CryptoQuant, the 60-day change in USDT supply has dropped to negative US$3 billion, which marks only the second time such a contraction has occurred. Bloomberg reported that USDT is on pace for its steepest monthly supply decline since December 2022, already shrinking by roughly US$1.5 billion in February alone.
Large-scale redemptions typically suggest institutions or major holders are pulling capital out of the crypto ecosystem rather than simply rotating between tokens.
The last comparable contraction came as Bitcoin fell toward $16,000 during the FTX crisis, before stabilizing and beginning a multi-year recovery.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
