Crypto Weekly Digest | Elon's X Money Coming Soon; Cathie Wood's Bold Move: Buying Crypto Stocks While Market Hits Extreme Fear

Crypto-Moo joined discussion · Feb 16 01:43

Market Summary

Last week, the cryptocurrency market experienced heightened volatility with downward momentum. $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ retreated from around $70,000 to approximately $68,000, posting a weekly decline of roughly 3%. $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ saw sharper losses, sliding from near $2,140 to around $1,950, down over 8% for the week.

Crypto Weekly Digest | Elon's X Money Coming Soon; Cathie Wood's Bold Move: Buying Crypto Stocks While Market Hits Extreme Fear

The current Fear & Greed Index stands at 12 (Extreme Fear), indicating that the market sentiment is remaining fragile.

This Week's Key Upcoming Events

US Supreme Court to Rule on Trump Tariffs, Impacting Monetary Policy

The Supreme Court issues opinions Feb 20, including rulings on Trump's tariff policies. An unfavorable ruling could reshape global trade and market sentiment.

Why it matters: This is now a macro variable affecting Fed policy. Overturned tariffs ease inflation pressures, giving the Fed room to cut rates sooner. Upheld tariffs lock in persistent inflation, forcing hawkish Fed stance and delayed easing.

Fed January Minutes Due, Core PCE in Focus

Fed releases January meeting minutes Thursday 03:00. Friday 21:30 brings Q4 GDP and core PCE—the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Higher-than-expected PCE could slow 2026 rate cuts.

Why it matters: Core PCE tests Fed's inflation outlook. Data exceeding expectations strengthens hawks, narrowing rate cut window. Minutes reveal FOMC disagreements on 2026 path, offering key market signals.

Perspectives

Fed Governor Waller: Trump-Induced Crypto Frenzy May Be Fading

According to Bloomberg, Fed Governor Christopher Waller stated that with recent market sell-offs, the crypto market frenzy brought by the current US administration is gradually fading, with sell-offs shaking this asset class.

Speaking at the Global Interdependence Center conference in La Jolla, California, Waller noted that crypto market ups and downs are normal, and recent market volatility may stem from regulatory uncertainty and risk management operations by large financial institutions. He believes many institutions entering crypto from mainstream finance have sold off to adjust risk positions.

JPMorgan: Bitcoin Production Cost Drops to $77K, Bullish on 2026

JPMorgan estimates Bitcoin production cost fell from $90K to ~$77K (down 14%), creating a potential price floor that reduces selling pressure.

The firm remains bullish on 2026 crypto markets, expecting institutional capital inflows and regulatory clarity to drive growth. JPMorgan believes the market has completed a healthy washout, positioning well for 2026 institutional inflows.

Cathie Wood: Bitcoin Has Extremely Low Correlation with Gold, Buying Crypto Stocks in Batches

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood stated: " $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ once fell to about $60,000, almost halving from its October high. Calculating Bitcoin and gold's return correlation since 2019, the correlation coefficient is only 0.14, almost no correlation. Gold tends to rise before $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$, and this may happen again. We disclose trades daily; you can see we've been gradually buying crypto-related stocks in small amounts. We don't know how far the decline will go and can't guarantee it's ended, but when negative sentiment is so extreme, if our research is correct, we should enter in batches and gradually increase positions."

Bernstein Reiterates $150,000 Bitcoin Price Target for 2026

According to The Block, Bernstein analysts stated that Bitcoin's current decline reflects a confidence crisis rather than structural damage, calling it Bitcoin's "weakest bear market" in history. Additionally, analysts reiterated their $150,000 Bitcoin target for 2026, citing improved institutional investor acceptance, complete ETF infrastructure, and improved liquidity conditions.

Crypto Stock Focus

Musk Reveals X Money Launch Timeline, Sparking Crypto Speculation

During an xAI "All Hands" presentation in February 2026, $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ CEO, Elon Musk announced that X Money—the missing piece in transforming X into a "super app"—is already in internal testing and will enter limited external beta within 1-2 months before rolling out worldwide. The payment platform, which has secured money transmitter licenses in over 40 US states and partnered with $Visa (V.US)$, aims to become "the central source of all monetary transactions," allowing users to handle messaging, shopping, and full personal asset management in one place.

Musk targets 600 million monthly active users, similar to China's WeChat model. While X Money hasn't confirmed crypto integration, investors are speculating about $Dogecoin (DOGE.CC)$ for micropayments—given Musk's previous endorsements, and $Ripple (XRP.CC)$ due to X's partner Cross River Bank's existing Ripple protocol integration for cross-border payments. Despite the buzz, both $Dogecoin (DOGE.CC)$ and $Ripple (XRP.CC)$ prices showed muted reactions to the announcement, though analysts believe X Money could become a "game-changer" for any crypto project accepting it as payment once it officially launches.

Robinhood Q4 Profit Down 34%, Crypto Slump Drags Revenue

Robinhood's Q4 net profit fell sharply, and while slightly above analyst expectations, total revenue missing estimates triggered investor concerns. On Tuesday, February 10, after-hours, $Robinhood (HOOD.US)$ reported Q4 net profit down 34% YoY to $605 million, or 66 cents per share, slightly above analysts' average estimate of 65 cents. But total revenue of $1.28 billion missed expectations of $1.351 billion.

Crypto trading revenue plummeted 38% YoY to $221 million, well below analyst expectations of $248 million. Bitcoin has cumulatively fallen over 50% since topping on October 6 last year. Dragged by this, Robinhood stock has fallen 24% this year; at press time, $Robinhood (HOOD.US)$ was down nearly 9% after-hours at $78.20.

Coinbase Q4 Results Miss Expectations but Continues Accumulating Bitcoin

Coinbase Q4 results missed expectations: total revenue $1.78 billion (est. $1.83B), adjusted EPS $0.66 (est. $0.86). Trading revenue dropped sharply to $983 million, down both QoQ and YoY, falling below one billion for the first time since 2023; subscription revenue of $727 million also declined QoQ. As of Q1 February 10, the company's trading revenue was approximately $420 million, with Q1 subscription revenue expected at $550-630 million.

Despite the miss, Coinbase added $39M in Bitcoin during Q4 via weekly purchases. As of Dec 31, 2025, it held ~14,548 BTC ($960M); total crypto assets valued at $2B.

$Coinbase (COIN.US)$ stated: We remain optimistic about crypto's long-term prospects. The market is cyclical—never as good or bad as it appears. While prices fluctuate, technological change and adoption continue.

Circle CEO: Stripe Launches AI Agent Payment Preview Supporting USDC and X.402 Standard

$Circle (CRCL.US)$ CEO Jeremy Allaire posted on X that Stripe has launched a preview of machine and AI agent payment functionality, supporting $USDCoin (USDC.CC)$ payments and integrating the x402 standard.

Strategy Launches Perpetual Preferred Stock to Address Volatility, Continues Accumulating Bitcoin

$Strategy (MSTR.US)$ CEO Phong Le stated the company will issue more perpetual preferred stock ("Stretch"), providing investors a tool to gain digital asset exposure while avoiding volatility. The product's dividend rate is currently 11.25%, reset monthly, designed to stabilize around the $100 par value.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor dismissed concerns about forced $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ sales, saying the company's net leverage ratio is only half that of typical investment-grade companies and has cash reserves to cover 50 years of dividends. He reiterated: "We will not sell; we will continue buying Bitcoin."

BlackRock Significantly Increases Bitmine Stake; Bitmine Buys Over 40,000 ETH in One Week

BlackRock significantly increased its $Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR.US)$ stake to over 9 million shares, up 165.6% from previous holdings, with a position value of approximately $246 million.

Bitmine's total staked ETH is 2,897,459, with a total value of $6.2 billion.