Note: The X account is not owned by the original Enron entity. Users should be aware of the risk.

Inference Research, an AI quantitative trading firm, has closed a $20 million seed funding round led by Avenir Group, the family office of Li Lin. The capital will go toward expanding its in-house R&D infrastructure to integrate traditional finance and digital assets, while accelerating team expansion.

On February 12, QCP Capital Client Coverage Lead Elbert Iswara said during a podcast that the current bear market is less a structural collapse and more a liquidity reset. He noted this cycle’s volatility is intense but historically typical, adding the rebound from ~$60k signals lingering underlying demand—particularly from long-term holders and institutions. Iswara explained the market’s direction is driven by broader risk-off sentiment, including liquidity tightening and shifting rate expectations. Crypto-specific factors—ETF outflows, derivative position shifts, leveraged liquidations—have amplified this volatility, speeding up and intensifying its swings. Right now, Bitcoin trades as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset, especially amid contraction or stress. Iswara noted this doesn’t negate Bitcoin’s store-of-value narrative—but investors shouldn’t expect it to act as a hedge in every sell-off. Bitcoin remains a hybrid asset whose role will shift with the macro cycle. Iswara

**Binance Futures to Transition AZTECUSDT Perpetual Contract to USD-Settled Standard Starting Feb 12** (Beijing, Feb 12) — Binance Futures will begin gradually transitioning its AZTECUSDT perpetual contract from pre-trading to a standard USD-settled version at 15:00 Beijing time on February 12, 2026, per official sources. The conversion process may take up to 3 hours, depending on price volatility and the availability of the stability index price. Trading will remain unaffected during the transition, and unfilled orders and open positions will not be canceled.

On February 12, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley took to social media to share that a wealth management client—whom the firm connected with two years ago and had never allocated to cryptocurrency prior—just invested $11 million in Bitcoin today amid the ongoing downturn. For many investors still on the sidelines of crypto, market dips are viewed as buying opportunities. It’s easy to overlook that many professional investors are staunch "buy-the-dip" proponents. While that wasn’t always the case, an increasing number of mainstream investors have now entered the crypto space. To them, price declines aren’t signals of failure—they’re rare buying chances, just like bear markets in any other asset class. The crypto market is maturing.

On February 12, Arkham Monitor reported that the bankruptcy trustee for Alameda Research has distributed $15.6 million worth of SOL to creditors in its latest monthly payment batch. The transfer included 25 separate addresses as part of the firm’s 21-month continuous distribution plan. Alameda still holds $314.95 million worth of SOL in its on-chain wallets.

February 12 — Per Coinglass data, Bitcoin has recently traded in a narrow, low-range consolidation pattern. Funding rates across major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges currently reflect bearish market sentiment, with specific rates detailed in the accompanying chart. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto exchanges to align perpetual contract prices with their underlying assets. They facilitate fund transfers between long and short traders (exchanges do not collect these fees), adjusting holding costs or profits to keep contract prices tethered to the underlying asset. A 0.01% rate is the baseline: rates above 0.01% signal bullish sentiment, while rates below 0.005% indicate bearish market mood.