U.S. CPI: +2.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +2.9%); U.S. CORE CPI: +3.2% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.3%)

On February 14, Nikita Bier—X Product Lead and Solana Advisor—announced that X will roll out additional mechanisms to detect automated behavior and spam. The platform will continue strengthening related measures going forward. If the system detects an account has not been interacted with manually, the account and its associated accounts may be suspended. This restriction could be triggered even if the account is only used for technical testing or experimentation.

February 14th — A strategist at Ned Davis Research told clients this month that Bitcoin still faces further downside risk, despite sharp sell-offs in recent months. Ned Davis Research Chief Global Strategist Pat Tschosik and analyst Philippe Mouls noted that based on an analysis of Bitcoin’s past downtrend cycles, if the current bear market develops into a full-fledged “crypto winter,” the peak-to-trough decline could reach 70%-75%, pushing Bitcoin’s price as low as $31,000. Bitcoin has already fallen 44% from its October 2023 peak. A drop to $31,000 would mark a further 55% decline from current levels. Tschosik and Mouls added that historical data dating back to 2011 shows previous Bitcoin bear markets averaged an 84% decline over 225 days. However, only 129 days have passed since Bitcoin peaked in early October last year. That said, the two analysts stressed a “crypto winter” is not inevitable. Bitcoin now has more institutional buyers than in prior cycles, which could le

On February 14, the deadlock over stablecoin yields in the U.S. Senate’s Crypto Market Structure Bill (known as the CLARITY Act) escalated—with crypto advocates arguing user rewards are non-negotiable. This week, a second White House meeting between Wall Street bankers and crypto executives collapsed—despite Trump administration officials pressing for compromise. Banks adopted a hardline stance, claiming any stablecoin yield or reward is unacceptable, as it would undermine the U.S. banking system’s core deposit-taking business. Their position was laid out in a one-page paper: *“Revenue and Interest Prohibition Principle.”* On Friday, the Chamber of Digital Commerce (CoDC) countered with its own principles document, endorsing the Senate Banking Committee’s draft terms for acceptable reward scenarios. The group clarified it would back the bankers’ proposed two-year study on stablecoins’ impact on deposits—provided the study does not automatically trigger regulatory rulemaking. C

On February 14th, Grayscale Chief Legal Officer Craig Salm spoke at the Consensus Hong Kong conference, noting: “If you have a business need to send a large sum to a supplier but don’t want competitors or other firms to see that transaction—since it could expose sensitive business details—you’d want that deal to be private. Paying with Bitcoin won’t cut it here, though: the blockchain is transparent, and we’ve seen entities on explorer platforms that specialize in tracking on-chain transactions. So it’s easy to picture scenarios where this privacy need matters. Privacy-focused tokens like Zcash stand out for their ‘selective disclosure’ feature: you can share specific information only with the right party. For example, you could prove to tax authorities you paid correctly while keeping daily business or personal transactions private. We think this is a really interesting asset. We already have a sizable Zcash Trust, and we’re working to convert it into an ETF—just like we’ve do

**Binance Execs Push Back on Fortune’s Iran-Tied Transaction Report** On Feb 14, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) hit back at a Fortune report on social media titled *“Binance Fires Investigator Who Revealed $1 Billion USDT Flow to Alleged Iran Fund.”* CZ stated: “I don’t know the specifics or parties involved, but the article itself is self-contradictory. This incident can be twisted to fit any narrative, no matter how it’s reported. If true, it also means third-party tools (used by law enforcement too) didn’t flag it either. Media can put a negative spin on anything by finding a ‘dissatisfied’ or bribed anonymous source to spread panic.” Binance CEO He Yi added that compliance officers handle all types of cases, emphasizing the exchange has long proactively launched criminal investigations, shared results with law enforcement, and helped users avoid potential fraud losses. She noted the firm needs to keep upgrading its compliance talent—achievements in the space stem from

On Friday, February 14, Trump Media & Technology Group resubmitted applications to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs—days after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed multiple crypto ETF proposals. The company also plans to roll out the Truth Social Cronos Yield Maximization ETF, which will track CRO—the native token of crypto exchange Crypto.com, tied closely to the Trump family. While the SEC has significantly accelerated crypto ETF approval timelines, the agency delayed decisions on multiple proposals last August, including a series of Truth Social-linked funds. Currently, only a handful of funds with underlying asset staking have been approved, whereas funds tracking small-cap meme coins still face hurdles to listing. If approved, the new Truth Social ETFs will carry a 0.95% management fee. Purchases will be available via broker-dealer Foris Capital US LLC, which is owned by Crypto.com.