Crypto Market Update: BTC Retreats Again After Mid-week Pump

Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (February 25) as of 1:30 p.m. UTC.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrencymarket news


Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$65,260.11, down by 3,6 percent over the last 24 hours.

Chart via TradingView

Bitcoin price performance, February 27, 2026.

A US$8.9 billion crypto options expiry drove “Extreme Fear” in the market today, with price manipulation and re-hedging resulting in volatility.

BTC fell below the US$66,000 support level after a corrective rebound earlier in the week lost momentum, reflecting the fragility of the balance between risk appetite and available liquidity in global markets.

According to XS.com senior market analyst, Rania Gule, BTC’s swift pullback suggests the recent uptick was merely a technical bounce within a more complex macro environment, rather than the beginning of a sustainable bullish wave.

“In the near term, I expect Bitcoin to remain within a broad range between US$64,000 and US$70,000, with a slight bearish bias if geopolitical pressures persist and equity market momentum weakens.”

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$1,917.34, down by 5.5 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

  • XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.35, down by 3.7 percent over 24 hours.
  • Solana (SOL) was trading at US$81.42, down by 5.5 percent over 24 hours.

​Today's crypto news to know

Vitalik Buterin sells US$43 million in ETH

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold approximately 17,000 ETH, worth approximately US$43 million at the time of sale, to fund privacy and security initiatives.

Marathon Digital partners with Starwood on AI data center

Shares of BTC miner Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) surged after the company announced a partnership with Starwood, a leading global private investment firm focused on real estate, to build AI-focused data centers.

In a Wednesday (February 25) blog post, Zach Pandl, Grayscale's head of research, called the relationship between AI and blockchain “complementary from a fundamental standpoint.”

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.


The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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