Cryptocurrency Market Performance

Currently, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is $2.8 trillion, with BTC accounting for 59.74%, amounting to $1.68 trillion.

The total cryptocurrency market cap is now $2.8 trillion, with BTC making up 59.74%, at $1.68 trillion. The market cap of stablecoins is $224.1 billion, with a recent 7-day decline of 0.77%, of which USDT accounts for 63.6%. This week, BTC's price has shown a downward trend, and ETH's price has also shown a downward trend, with the current price of BTC at $84,020 and the current price of ETH at $2,226. Among the top 200 projects on CoinMarketCap, most have declined while a few have risen, including: RAY with a 7-day decline of 45.22%, TAO with a 7-day decline of 27.15%, MELANIA with a 7-day decline of 32.18%, PNUT with a 7-day increase of 72.44%, and VANA with a 7-day increase of 41.04%. This week, there was a net outflow of $2.146 billion from U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs; a net outflow of $305.3 million from U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs. On February 28, the "Fear & Greed Index" was at 20 (lower than last week), with the sentiment this week being: 3 days of extreme fear, 2 days of fear, and 2 days of neutrality.

This week, the market experienced significant declines, mainly influenced by celebrity coin fraud, increased tariffs in the U.S., Bybit being hacked for $1.4 billion, and SOL facing large institutional unlocks. Stablecoins have seen negative growth, and the U.S. spot ETF has experienced the largest outflow of the week, with panic sentiment dropping to 10, a level not seen since the Luna crash in 2022. However, amidst extreme panic, crypto whales like Bitdeer are still accumulating BTC. Some positive news includes: regarding the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, 5 states have rejected it, 7 states have passed it, and 18 states are in progress; the January U.S. PCE price index met expectations; the SEC has settled with several crypto companies; and the possibility of a Fed rate cut in June exceeds 81.2%. From these, it can be inferred that the bull market still exists, we can still expect BTC to reach new highs within this year.

Now, let's take a look at the major events that happened this week:

On February 23, Slow Mist founder Yuxian stated that the hacker behind the CEX hack is the North Korean Lazarus Group, disclosing their attack methods: Lazarus Group initially targeted a CEX in December 2024, gaining access to an employee's device and injecting malware. They then stole BTC, ETH, and other tokens from the CEX's hot wallet. Afterwards, Lazarus Group used mixers to launder the stolen cryptocurrency.

On February 25, crypto research firm Bernstein released an analysis report stating that "the previous crypto market was forced to turn to 'useless' meme coins to avoid regulatory crackdown on utility tokens and NFT projects, but with the Trump administration easing regulations, analysts expect liquidity to return to DeFi, GameFi, and NFT sectors."

On February 25, Bloomberg reported that traditional financial giant Citadel Securities, the largest market maker on the NYSE with a market cap of $65 billion, plans to enter the cryptocurrency market, betting that President Trump's support for the crypto industry will bring market prosperity. Pointing out the advantages of investing in cryptocurrencies, the report highlighted that institutions are increasingly investing in digital assets, and despite the recent market downturn, several large institutions, including BlackRock and Fidelity, have applied for Bitcoin ETFs.

On February 26, WSJ reported that the U.S. SEC has dropped its investigation into DeFi company Uniswap Labs. The investigation, which began in 2024, focused on whether Uniswap should register as an exchange and if it sold unregistered securities. However, the SEC ultimately decided to close the case without any action being taken.

On February 26, Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi was promoted to Chair of the Ethereum Foundation. Aya Miyaguchi stated that she will uphold Ethereum's values, advocate for diversity, and expand the influence of Ethereum's vision and culture, aiming to ensure that Ethereum's technology and social innovations serve human values. In 2013, Aya Miyaguchi was responsible for operations in Japan at the trading platform Kraken. In February 2018, she joined the Ethereum Foundation as Executive Director, mainly responsible for coordinating and organizing the foundation's activities, including internal affairs and community member collaborations, such as