Shield: The KiloEx Attacker Tagged Address has returned approximately 1.4 million USDT to KiloEx

On February 15, per market reports, a senior Iranian official has confirmed the second round of indirect talks with the U.S. will take place in Geneva on Tuesday. (FX Street)

February 15 — Per The Fintech Times, UAE digital bank Zand has expanded its partnership with Ripple. Specific moves include: supporting RLUSD in Zand’s regulated digital asset custody service; exploring a regulated Dirham stablecoin (AEDZ) and RLUSD direct liquidity solution; and exploring AEDZ issuance on the XRPL.

As of Feb. 15, HyperInsight monitoring shows that the entity "Pal" ramped up positions ahead of the Spring Festival, capitalized on the ETH rebound, and continues to add to its ETH long positions today. As of press time, its 25x-leveraged ETH long position is now valued at $6.06 million. Additionally, "Pal" has added a 3x-leveraged VVV long position, with a current size of 5,500 tokens.

**February 15th: Tom Lee’s Crypto Insights & Predictions** In an interview with Rug Radio founder Farokh Sarmad, Tom Lee said the current crypto market is in a “mini winter” — not a prolonged bear market — but will take time to digest. He advised investors against waiting for the “perfect bottom”; instead, start buying in batches at current lows now. The downturn could last 3–6 months, he noted, but a major turning point is on the horizon for 2026. Lee added he has no regrets about buying ETH early. ETH is currently near its bottom (with potential brief dips below $1800 or $1890), and there have been 8 historical V-shaped rebounds for the asset. Long-term, he views ETH as a “15-year story” — the backbone of stablecoins, AI, and the creator economy. Finally, Lee reaffirmed his predictions: Bitcoin will hit $200,000–$250,000 by 2026, while Ethereum is set to reach $12,000–$22,000 (aligning with historical ratios).

February 15th — Venture capitalist Nic Carter recently noted on a podcast that Bitcoin developers’ longstanding inaction toward the cryptocurrency’s vulnerability to potential quantum computing threats could stoke dissatisfaction among large institutions with sizeable Bitcoin holdings (e.g., BlackRock) — ultimately spurring an “institutional takeover.” Carter warned institutions won’t tolerate the long-term sidelining of Bitcoin’s core security concerns: “If developers keep doing nothing, institutions will lose patience, fire the current team, and bring in new talent.” (Cointelegraph)

**February 15th Crypto Update** Per Coinglass data, Bitcoin has surged past $70,000, while Ethereum briefly climbed above $2,100. Currently, funding rates across major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges show the market remains bearish overall—but bearish sentiment toward Ethereum has eased sharply. Almost all platforms now report neutral ETH funding rates. Specific rate details are in the attached image. --- **BlockBeats Note** Funding rates are fees set by crypto trading platforms to keep contract prices aligned with underlying asset values, typically for perpetual contracts. They act as a fund transfer between long and short traders (the platform does not charge this fee), adjusting traders’ holding costs or profits to narrow gaps between contract and spot prices. **Rate Breakdown** - 0.01% = baseline rate - Above 0.01% = bullish market bias - Below 0.005% = bearish market bias This rewrite uses concise, American English phrasing common in cryp