NASDAQ 100 Index Put/Call Ratio Rises to Highest Level Since 2022 Bear Market Low

**Thirdweb CTO & Co-Founder Jake Loo Resigns to Go All-In on AI (Feb 26)** Jake Loo, co-founder and CTO of Web3 development tool platform thirdweb, announced his resignation on February 26. In a statement, Loo said: “At thirdweb, we’ve built and deployed multiple AI agents across our product and organizational structure. I’ve watched AI evolve from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a transformative technology that fundamentally changes how we work. This experience shifted my mindset—nothing feels more critical right now than AI. This isn’t hype: it’s brought tangible changes to how software is built and used, how teams operate, and how the entire industry is restructuring. So I’m going all-in.” ### Notes on American English adaptation: 1. **Conciseness**: Used casual contractions (*we’ve, I’ve, I’m*) common in informal-to-semi-formal statements (natural for a founder’s announcement). 2. **Flow**: Split long sentences for readability (e.g., separated the “shifted mindset” clause with an

February 26: On-chain analyst Ai Auntie (@ai_9684xtpa) reports that address 0xAb5…0b767 has purchased 7,008.8 ETH on-chain over the past 5 hours at an average price of $2,075, totaling $14.54 million in value. This marks the first time the address has accumulated ETH.

February 26 — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a proposed rule implementing the GENIUS Act and is seeking public comment, per crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett. The framework will establish baseline rules for OCC-regulated charter stablecoin issuers and foreign payment stablecoin issuers, while also covering certain custody activities. OCC Acting Comptroller Jonathan Gould noted the rule aims to create a system where stablecoins can “thrive in a safe and sound manner.” Notably, the rule does not currently include provisions for the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) or the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); those matters will be addressed separately following coordination with the Treasury Department.

On February 26, rumors circulated that Chinese regulators were reviewing Jane Street’s trading activity in the Chinese ETF market. However, a source close to Jane Street stated, “I have no knowledge of these rumors, nor any reason to believe they are true—and these rumors should not be linked to Jane Street.” This week, Jane Street, its co-founder, and two employees were charged with insider trading, fraud, and market manipulation. These actions are also blamed for accelerating the 2022 collapse of the $40 billion TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and its sister token Luna. Founded in 1999, Jane Street is one of the world’s largest proprietary quantitative trading firms. It reported over $20 billion in net trading income and nearly $13 billion in net profit in 2024. Unlike hedge funds, Jane Street does not accept external client funds, so its disclosure requirements are far lower than those of traditional asset management firms—a structure that has long kept the firm shrouded in mystery.

**U.S. Accused of Using Tech Hegemony to Seize Over $30B in Global Virtual Assets (2022-2025) – Chinese Report** A joint report from China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and other agencies alleges the U.S. has leveraged technological dominance to seize virtual assets worldwide, citing incomplete statistics. Key details: - **Total seizures (2022-2025):** Over $30 billion across cases. - **Largest single case: Chen Zhi** (founder of Cambodia’s Prince Group): - In October 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged Chen with telecommunications fraud and money laundering. - Seized ~127,000 bitcoins under his control, valued at ~$15 billion (then-market rates) – the **largest virtual asset seizure in U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) history**. This case accounted for 50% of total U.S. virtual asset seizures from 2022-2025. - **Binance founder Changpeng Zhao case:** - From 2023-2025, the U.S. pursued Zhao with **

Speculation surrounding Jane Street sparked fresh debate over Bitcoin spot ETF trading mechanisms on February 26, as analysts and industry insiders weighed in on the fund’s operational framework. Analysts noted that Authorized Participants (APs) can create or redeem spot ETF shares under a regulatory exemptive order framework—no immediate open-market Bitcoin buying or selling required. In scenarios like futures contango, APs may also hedge using derivatives such as futures, creating a timing mismatch between ETF fund inflows, spot market buying pressure, and short-term price movements. Industry insiders cited in reports emphasized the mechanism is a common, legitimate ETF practice and does not directly indicate misconduct by any single institution. However, they added it reflects Bitcoin price discovery is increasingly shaped by institutional trading venues—including the futures market. Source: Decrypt