CRYPTO WORLD NETWORK NEWS

Russians move $129B in crypto yearly

February 24, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

Russia’s finance ministry and central bank are reportedly calling on the government to speed up the rollout of crypto market regulations amid a boom in digital asset adoption, claiming that citizens are spending almost 50 billion Russian rubles ($648 million) on crypto daily. According to a report from Russian news outlet RBC on Thursday, Russia’s deputy finance minister, Ivan Chebeskov, emphasized the importance of regulating the market, noting that most crypto spending occurs through unregulated channels. “We have always said that millions of citizens are involved in this activity, these…

Binance’s Mastercard crypto card launches across CIS countries

February 23, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

Binance rolls out its prepaid Mastercard crypto card to select CIS markets, offering instant crypto-to-fiat payments, cashback rewards, and a Valentine promo amid scam warnings. Binance has launched its prepaid Mastercard crypto card in several Commonwealth of Independent States countries, marketing lead Anka Tsintsadze confirmed on Friday. The cryptocurrency exchange, the world’s largest by trading volume, made the Binance Mastercard available to verified users in select CIS jurisdictions including Armenia. The card allows users to convert bitcoin, ethereum, stablecoins and more than 100 supported tokens instantly into local fiat currency…

Crypto hackers target Trezor and Ledger users in theft campaign

February 20, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

Crypto hackers are sending physical letters impersonating Trezor and Ledger to steal cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases. The phishing campaign claims recipients must complete mandatory “Authentication Check” or “Transaction Check” procedures. The hackers are also creating urgency through deadlines of February 15, 2026 for Trezor. Letters printed on official-looking letterhead direct users to scan QR codes leading to malicious websites. The phishing sites request 24-, 20-, or 12-word recovery phrases under the pretense of verifying device ownership. Once entered, recovery phrases transmit to threat actors through backend API endpoints, granting attackers…

Prediction markets should become hedging platforms, says Buterin

February 19, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he is starting to “worry” about the direction of prediction markets and suggested that they shift to become marketplaces to hedge against price exposure risk for consumers. Prediction markets are “over-converging” to “unhealthy” products that are focused on short-term price betting and speculative behavior as opposed to long-term building, Buterin said in an X post. Instead, onchain prediction markets coupled with large-language models (LLMs) should become general hedging mechanisms to provide consumers with price stability for goods and services, Buterin said. He explained how this…

Willy Woo warns quantum risk is eroding Bitcoin’s edge over gold

February 18, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

Onchain analyst and early Bitcoin adopter Willy Woo is warning that increasing attention to quantum computing risk is starting to weigh on Bitcoin’s long-term valuation case against gold. Woo argued in a Monday X post that markets had begun to price in the risk of a future “Q‑Day” breakthrough — shorthand for the moment when a powerful enough quantum computer exists to break today’s public key cryptography. Roughly 4 million “lost” Bitcoin — coins whose private keys are presumed gone — could be dragged back into play, Woo argued, if…

OKX secures EU payment license to expand stablecoin services

February 17, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX expanded its regulatory footprint in Europe, securing a license for stablecoin payments. OKX has obtained a Payment Institution (PI) license in Malta, the company told Cointelegraph. The authorization is issued under the European Union’s payments framework and is designed to bring OKX’s payment products into line with requirements under the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). Under these rules, crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) offering payment services involving stablecoins must hold either a PI or Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorization. OKX’s…

Bitcoin down 22%, could it be the worst Q1 since 2018?

February 16, 2026 RAA

Bitcoin may be headed for its worst first quarter in eight years, with data showing Bitcoin is already down 22.3% since the start of the year. The asset began the year trading around $87,700 and has declined by around $20,000 to current lows of around $68,000, putting it on track for its worst first quarter since the 2018 bear market — which fell almost 50%, according to CoinGlass. Bitcoin has declined in seven of the past thirteen Q1s, with the most recent being 2025 when it lost 11.8%, 2020 when…

ETHZilla Unveils Token Backed by Leased Jet Engines

February 13, 2026February 16, 2026 RAA

The engines are leased to a US air carrier under agreements running through 2028. The company is targeting an 11% return for investors who hold the token for the full lease term, with a minimum purchase of 10 tokens. Crypto treasury firm ETHZilla unveiled a new tokenized investment product backed by commercial aviation assets. This is a big shift away from a pure Ethereum accumulation strategy toward real-world asset tokenization. The company announced that it has launched the Eurus Aero Token I through its newly formed subsidiary, ETHZilla Aerospace. The…

Thailand Moves to Cement Bitcoin and Digital Assets in Regulated Derivatives Market

February 12, 2026February 13, 2026 RAA

Thailand is taking a major step toward integrating digital assets into its regulated financial markets. The country’s Cabinet recently approved a proposal allowing digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and tokens, to be used as underlying assets in the derivatives and capital markets. The decision reflects a growing recognition that digital assets are evolving beyond speculative instruments into a legitimate asset class capable of reshaping capital markets. Nirun Fuwattananukul, chief executive of Binance Thailand, described the move as a “watershed moment” for the country’s capital markets. “It sends a strong signal that…

XRP’s Millionaire Club Grows Despite Mild Price Dip

January 30, 2026January 29, 2026 RAA

In spite of the current market uncertainty, Ripple coin’s largest crypto whales have been seen stacking up the altcoin, defying the fearful trend that’s caught the retail by the nuts. Since the beginning of 2026, XRP’s market value dipped by 4%, but this modest figure comes along with 42 new millionaires, on-chain data suggests. Mainstream Hit Births Millionaires: A Good Long-Term Look? According to Santiment, this vibe is totally different from what the on-chain sleuths had seen in Q4 of 2025. Interestingly, 784 XRP millionaires had signed off from October…