Tariffs, Whales, and Crypto Wails: The Market’s Midlife Crisis

What to know:

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless you’re in a time machine)

Tariff uncertainty is back, and it’s like that one relative who shows up uninvited, eats all the dip, and leaves you with the cleanup. Bitcoin traders, ever the optimists, are now clutching their put options like life preservers on the Titanic. Because, let’s face it, when Trump says “tariffs,” the market hears “emotional rollercoaster.”

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s emergency tariffs from last April. Within hours, he announced fresh ones, because apparently “international payment problems” is just code for “I miss the spotlight.” This means trade uncertainty is here to stay, and risk assets-like bitcoin-are now wearing emotional support vests.

Bitcoin traders reacted with the subtlety of a cat video going viral. Put options at $58,000, $60,000, and $62,000 saw surges in open interest on Deribit, because nothing says “I’m prepared” like betting on a decline. Meanwhile, bitcoin whipsawed around $66,000 over the weekend, only to drop to $64,481 on Monday. Blame it on a “whale” moving bitcoin to an exchange-probably to fund their summer yacht. Since then, the price has recovered to over $66,000, because nothing says “stability” like a cryptocurrency.

Ether (ETH) also bounced back from lows near $1,856, despite Vitalik Buterin selling faster than a Black Friday doorbuster. Trade tensions could dominate sentiment this week, with Nvidia’s earnings adding to the chaos. Analysts are pinning hopes on spot bitcoin ETF flows stabilizing the market, which is like hoping your cat will alphabetize your bookshelf.

“A flattening of outflows would suggest institutional selling is maturing,” said Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN. “For now, liquidity defines the environment. Supply persists. Conviction is thin. The market is waiting for either macro relief or structural demand to re-emerge,” he added, which is just a fancy way of saying, “We’re all winging it.”

In traditional markets, Goldman Sachs raised its oil forecast, citing lower OECD stockpiles. Crude prices are up due to fears of a U.S.-Iran conflict, because nothing says “global stability” like a potential war. A sharp rise in oil prices could add to inflation, weighing on risk assets. Stay alert, or at least pretend to be.

What to Watch

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead,” because who doesn’t love a good cliffhanger?

Token Events

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead,” because repetition is the soul of wit.

Conferences

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead,” because why not?

Day 1 of 4: Strategy World 2026 (Las Vegas)
Day 1 of 2: NEARCON (San Francisco)

Market Movements

BTC is down 1.99% from 4 p.m. ET Friday at $66,466.38 (24hrs: -2.67%), because gravity applies to crypto too.
ETH is down 2.75% at $1,920.06 (24hrs: -3.13%), because why should Bitcoin have all the fun?
CoinDesk 20 is down 2.7% at 1,913.13 (24hrs: -2.93%), because misery loves company.
Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 3 bps at 2.76%, because even staking rates need a nap.
BTC funding rate is at -0.0047% (-5.1531% annualized) on Binance, because negative rates are the new black.

DXY is down 0.14% at 97.66, because even the dollar needs a break.
Gold futures are up 2.03% at $5,184.10, because shiny things never go out of style.
Silver futures are up 5.41% at $86.79, because silver is the underrated hero of metals.
Nikkei 225 closed down 1.12% at 56,825.70, because Japan is just keeping it real.
Hang Seng closed up 2.53% at 27,081.91, because Hong Kong is having a moment.
FTSE is little changed at 10,682.09, because Britain is just sipping tea.
Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.07% at 6,127.32, because Europe is playing it cool.
DJIA closed on Friday up 0.47% at 49,625.97, because America loves a comeback.
S&P 500 closed up 0.69% at 6,909.51, because diversity is key.
Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.90% at 22,886.07, because tech never sleeps.
S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.66% at 33,817.51, because Canada is just being Canada.
S&P 40 Latin America closed up 1.63% at 3,799.71, because Latin America is bringing the heat.
U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 0.8 bps at 4.077%, because bonds are the original chill pill.
E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.25% at 6,905.75, because futures are just guessing.
E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.41% at 24,965.50, because tech futures are guessing harder.
E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.25% at 49,551.00, because even futures need a breather.

Bitcoin Stats

BTC Dominance: 58.75% (-0.44%), because Bitcoin is still the prom queen.
Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.02888 (-0.21%), because Ether is the loyal sidekick.
Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,016 EH/s, because miners are still mining.
Hashprice (spot): $29.02, because mining isn’t cheap.
Total fees: 1.88 BTC / $127,386, because transactions cost money.
CME Futures Open Interest: 119,015 BTC, because futures are popular.
BTC priced in gold: 12.9 oz., because gold is the original crypto.
BTC vs gold market cap: 4.44%, because Bitcoin is still catching up.

Technical Analysis

The chart shows bitcoin’s weekly price swings in candlestick format, because charts are just grown-up stick figures.
Long lower wicks on recent candles hint at seller fatigue: Sellers tried to hammer prices downward, but failed, because even sellers get tired.
This type of pattern after a notable selloff usually sets the stage for price bounces, because what goes down must come up.

Crypto Equities

Coinbase Global (COIN): closed on Friday at $171.35 (+3.26%), -1.60% at $168.60 in pre-market, because even Coinbase has mood swings.
Circle Internet (CRCL): closed at $63.02 (+1.78%), -1.05% at $62.36, because circles are endless.
Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $21.20 (-1.99%), -1.84% at $20.81, because galaxies are far, far away.
Bullish (BLSH): closed at $31.77 (-1.85%), -0.66% at $31.56, because bulls need a rest.
MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $7.97 (+0.13%), -1.63% at $7.84, because even MARA has off days.
Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $15.68 (-3.33%), -1.66% at $15.42, because riots are chaotic.
Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $17.30 (-3.78%), because science is hard.
CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.65 (-1.73%), -1.45% at $9.51, because clean energy is a tough business.
CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $38.85 (-4.53%), because even ETFs have bad days.
Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $9.86 (-5.37%), because exodus means leaving.

Crypto Treasury Companies

Strategy (MSTR): closed at $131.05 (+1.24%), -1.55% at $129.02, because strategies evolve.
Strive (ASST): closed at $8.15 (+0.37%), -2.09% at $7.98, because striving is hard work.
SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $6.72 (-1.18%), -2.53% at $6.55, because gaming is risky.
Upexi (UPXI): closed at $0.62 (-7.35%), +4.53% at $0.65, because even Upexi has ups and downs.
Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.11 (+0.91%), because lite is right.

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

Daily net flows: $88.1 million, because money never sleeps.
Cumulative net flows: $53.99 billion, because billions are the new millions.
Total BTC holdings ~1.26 million, because Bitcoin is hoarded.

Spot ETH ETFs

Daily net flows: $0 million, because Ether is taking a break.
Cumulative net flows: $11.55 billion, because billions are still impressive.
Total ETH holdings ~5.66 million, because Ether is also hoarded.

2026-02-23 15:34