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With the Bitcoin price steadily trading sideways over the past few weeks, determining a buying entry has become extremely difficult. However, a key on-chain metric is now in the spotlight, providing valuable insights into the matter and allowing investors to pinpoint when to re-enter the market.

Is Buying Bitcoin Now The Right Time?

The ongoing volatility across the broader cryptocurrency market has capped Bitcoin’s upside attempts, keeping it well below the $70,000 mark. In this unfavorable environment, investors and traders are watching closely for a definitive signal like a price bottom before they can reenter the market.

While investors ponder reentering the market, Joao Wedson, a market expert and founder of Alphractal, has published a chart that suggests that now is not the ideal time. After a period of bearish action, Bitcoin’s on-chain metrics are beginning to display signs of stabilization. However, a definitive buy signal has yet to emerge from the waning price performance.

The sole metric here is the Bitcoin Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) Trend Signal. Currently, this metric is on a downward trend, indicating that market players are either taking lesser profits on their transactions or experiencing losses more frequently. However, for a confirmed bottom signal to occur, it must drop further below the lower dotted line on the chart, and a crossover between the metrics must take place.

Even with pockets of accumulation and recent price consolidation, the indicator that has historically signaled significant market bottoms has not been activated. Meanwhile, the expert claims that it is possible that a price bottom earlier than in past market cycles, when compared to the time often needed.

Furthermore, it is possible there may be multiple purchase signals, one for the upcoming months and another for a later stage of the cycle. In the meantime, Wedson has declared that the best strategy for reacting to the current market state is to continue monitoring the Alpha metrics.

BTC Latent Profits Are Fading

Following an analysis of the Bitcoin Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL), Darkfost discloses that latent profits are melting away as BTC’s correction expands. The metric is an effective measure for gauging the weight of profits and losses in the market and offers a clear view of the market when it reaches bearish levels. 

Currently, the metric has fallen to 0.18, and a drop into negative territory signals that latent losses dominate the market, typically marking the last phase of capitulation. This positioning implies that the average latest profit is 18%, nearing 0. Meanwhile, the six-month average is positioned at 0.42, which shows how fast these corrections have grown, pushing the NUPL down rapidly.

When the metric falls this quickly and reaches such levels, it is a sign that Bitcoin is still in a bear phase. With reduced latent profits, investors become unstable. Darkfost stated that a trend reversal under these circumstances seems difficult and will take some time to materialize.

Crypto analyst Hov has released a fresh analysis on the XRP price, highlighting its recent movements amid ongoing market volatility. The chart shows trading around $1.41 as of February 19, with a history of sharp declines and recoveries marked by Elliott Wave labels dating back to 2018. This update comes as the altcoin clings to key support levels, aiming to preserve the conditions for a larger bullish continuation despite this week’s pullback. 

The next directional move could determine whether the recent decline marks the end of XRP’s prolonged corrective phase or the beginning of further downside. 

Update On Recent XRP Price Movements 

In a post on X, Hov noted that since his last update, the XRP price had declined more than expected, nearly breaking a clean diagonal pattern he had been closely watching. Despite this, the analyst noted that the cryptocurrency has not closed below the critical high-timeframe on the chart, which means the pattern is still technically valid. However, he said that price is “barely hanging on,” indicating that one more drop could cause the setup to fail. 

The accompanying chart illustrates this with horizontal blue support bands at around $0.42 and $1.41, where the price has bounced several times since late 2024. Based on the token’s recent move and current structure, Hov has updated his wave count to a “sideways combo correction” within a larger degree fourth wave, as depicted on the chart with labels like (w), (x), (y), and (z), showing flattened price action. 

This adjusted wave structure accounts for the extended consolidation observed between 2022 and 2025, during which XRP oscillated without decisive breaks. According to Hov, XRP’s price reached a “perfect tag of the 50,” evident around the 0.618 Fibonacci level on the chart. 

The chart also reveals a series of impulsive upward waves, labeled I through V, followed by corrective phases that have repeatedly tested lower support. Hov emphasized the need for the price to develop in five waves off the recent low to signal strength. Unlike many altcoins, which display three-wave structures, the analyst said XRP shows a decent five-wave micro pattern, suggesting stronger momentum despite the ongoing downtrend. 

What’s Next For The Altcoin? 

According to Hov’s projection, the next step for XRP is to develop a full five-wave advance from the recent low into the $2 region. A push toward $2 would reinforce the view that the corrective phase has likely ended and a bottom is in place. The analyst also recommends watching for a three-wave retracement back into support for further confirmation of XRP’s bullish setup.

If this confirmation occurs, the chart outlines a larger continuation path beyond $2. The projected targets suggest that XRP could gradually climb toward $3.42, corresponding to the 0 Fibonacci extension. After this, the ascending blue line on the chart indicates the next price target of around $5.7. Once the altcoin reaches this level, Hov anticipates the onset of a larger wave 5, with a potential target at $8.

On-chain analytics firm Parsec is calling it quits after five years in the business — a sign that one slice of the crypto tool market no longer matched trader needs.

Its CEO, Will Sheehan, summed it up plainly: the firm had been building for a version of crypto that stopped showing up in the same way.

“Parsec is shutting down,” the company disclosed Thursday. “The market zigged while we zagged a few too many times,” Sheehan said. Shift In On-Chain Demand

Parsec’s focus on decentralized finance and collectibles left it exposed when user behavior shifted. NFT volumes dropped.

Reports say sales fell to about $5.63 billion in 2025, a 37% decline from close to $9 billion the year before, and average prices slid from $124 to $96, according to CryptoSlam.

That kind of pullback makes running a niche analytics product harder, especially when fewer people chase quick gains.

End of the road for parsec I’m afraid. The market zigged while we zagged a few too many times

A little parsec lore for posterity, In early 2020 I started charting uniswap *v1* charts as a side project, this spiraled into a full blown DeFi terminal during DeFi summer and into the… https://t.co/5gmHng5BIU

— Will Sheehan (@wilburforce_) February 19, 2026

Some Support, Not A Lifeline

The startup had serious backers at launch in early 2021. Investors included Uniswap, Polychain Capital, and Galaxy Digital. That credibility mattered, but it didn’t guarantee a steady market.

After the collapse of FTX, certain types of high-risk borrowing and margin activity never came back in the same way, and trading patterns changed.

Funding And Timing Didn’t Guarantee Survival

The space is crowded now. Large platforms offer analytics at scale while a handful of focused tools try to keep specialist users. Nansen’s leader, Alex Svanevik, said Parsec “had a great run,” which felt like more than a polite line; it was a recognition that building for boom times can leave you exposed when flows cool.

Around the same time, other startups have pulled back. Reports say Entropy is also winding down, and Tom Farley predicted a wave of consolidation as money and users concentrate in fewer places.

Crypto Price Action

Midway through this market pause, Bitcoin has been running a cautious pattern. It has slid under key levels and then found pockets of support.

Geopolitical headlines have nudged traders toward safety at times, leaving thin trading windows where prices can swing more than usual. The result is a quieter trading picture for speculative niches, which depend on bold bets and deep liquidity.

What Comes Next For The Sector

What happens now will be practical. Some niche tools will be bought, others will close, and a few will be retooled to serve large clients or different data needs.

The move is not an end for DeFi or collectibles; they are still active, but they are smaller and more particular in who uses them.

Capital is choosier. Products built around the loudest moments of the past cycle are being tested in a calmer market.

In short, this is a reset. A handful of firms will be absorbed, some ideas will be reworked, and many teams will have to prove their fit with the current set of users. Those who can match where the flows actually are will have the best chance to keep running.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Charles Hoskinson said Cardano is tracking toward a hard fork “next month,” while the long-discussed Leios scalability work remains on schedule for “this year,” in a Feb. 19 livestream recorded after a trip through Japan and a stop at Consensus in Hong Kong.

Hoskinson framed the next few weeks as a convergence point for two parallel roadmaps: Cardano’s protocol and developer-stack upgrades on one side, and the Midnight network launch he expects “coming next month” on the other, an effort he described as unusually difficult to execute even for teams with prior experience shipping major chains.

Cardano Momentum: Midnight, LayerZero And USDCx

In the livestream, Hoskinson spent his opening stretch recapping what he characterized as a productive Consensus week, pointing to “a lot of great announcements” and relationships around the Midnight ecosystem, including infrastructure and distribution names he said were involved with the network. He argued that the ability to launch a large, exchange-listed project like Midnight is itself a signal about Cardano’s maturity as a platform for “tier one” efforts.

On the Cardano side, he highlighted a newly announced LayerZero integration that he said connects Cardano “to more than 80 blockchains,” positioning it as a step away from the perception that the network operates in isolation. In the same segment, Hoskinson pointed to USDCx as a stablecoin-like asset he said is designed for “these non-EVM systems,” and emphasized the user-experience work around exchange flows—“autoconvert,” as he described it, so users can move value “straight to the exchange, straight back from the exchange.”

He also drew a distinction between USDCx and “basically USDC,” saying the tradeoff for Cardano users is an asset that, in his telling, preserves “privacy” and “can’t be frozen.” Hoskinson positioned that as “the best compromise” available for a “tier one stablecoin of that nature” in the Cardano ecosystem, while arguing that the LayerZero integration could open the door to “eight major stablecoins” over time, depending on integration sequencing.

Hard Fork ‘Next Month,’ Leios ‘This Year’

The most concrete near-term timing signal came when Hoskinson addressed the protocol schedule directly, saying: “Cardano hard fork is happening I believe next month. But you know the community is kind of working its way through that and getting these things done.”

In the same breath, he reiterated that Leios, Cardano’s scalability initiative, remains on track, noting recent travel and discussions with product manager Michael Smolenski about progress. “All things considered we’re pretty happy with the rate of progress of Cardano,” Hoskinson said, while also pointing to a new Plutus version, continued development of Aiken, and “node diversity coming this year,” alongside Leios.

Hoskinson also flagged developer activity he expects in March, referencing a “Dev Builder Fest down in Argentina” and describing the “integration of Pyth” into the ecosystem, which he presented as the arrival of a “tier one Oracle” for Cardano.

Beyond shipping timelines, Hoskinson used the livestream to argue that the industry’s central fight is shifting from enforcement actions to culture and narrative, particularly around non-custodial wallets and permissionless settlement. He warned about what he called “factions” that want crypto transactions routed through “permission federated networks owned and operated by large financial institutions,” and singled out US policy debates as part of that backdrop.

“What’s not okay is to build a network that’s forever owned and operated by five or 10 or 20 banks and they basically lord and leverage that power and position over the users,” he said. “And once they have absolute control, they just simply flip a switch and you’re at their mercy and they own all your money. And unfortunately, the system is moving in that direction right now.”

At press time, ADA traded at $0.2748.

In 2025, about $141 billion in stablecoins reportedly ended up in the hands of illicit actors. Much of this activity was funneled through a few networks that favored stablecoins for their predictable value and quick transfers.

Much of that movement is tied to a small number of networks that use stablecoins for their speed and price stability. That does not mean widespread criminal use across all stablecoins. It points to concentrated channels where these tokens meet a specific need: moving value reliably outside regular banking rails.

Sanctions Linked Networks Drive The Bulk Of Flows

According To TRM Labs, sanctions-related flows made up roughly 86% of detected illicit crypto transfers last year. Around $72 billion of the stablecoin total traced back to a ruble-pegged token linked to Russian networks.

These networks are not isolated. Reports note overlaps with entities tied to China, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, which shows how stablecoins can act as bridges between different sanctioned systems.

The mechanics are simple: price stability matters when you need predictable settlement and low volatility risk. Stablecoins offer that.

Guarantee Marketplaces And Human Trafficking Rely On Stablecoins

Volume on certain marketplaces surged, mostly in stablecoins. Some escrow and guarantee sites — which act like middlemen for high-value transfers — saw tens of billions of dollars flow through their systems.

Reports note these venues are almost totally stablecoin-denominated, which raises red flags about their role in moving funds tied to illicit trade. Chainalysis and others have also pointed to sharp increases in flows to networks connected to human trafficking and escort services, and those operations leaned heavily on stablecoins for payments.

In these cases, payment certainty and liquidity matter more to the buyers and sellers than the chance of gains.

Different Types Of Crime Use Different Paths

Scams, ransomware, and thefts often start in Bitcoin or Ether and then shift into stablecoins later in the laundering chain. That pattern is common because attackers want an asset that holds value while they move it through fewer hands.

Market Cap

Meanwhile, the global stablecoin market has grown into a multi‑hundred‑billion‑dollar sector, with total market capitalization topping roughly $270 billion in early 2026.

According to data tracking site Stablecoin.com, the combined value of all major stablecoins consistently sits above the mid‑hundreds of billions mark, with fiat‑backed coins accounting for most of that total.

Two issuers dominate the sector. Tether’s USDT leads by a wide margin, with a market cap often reported at around $180 billion or more, and representing more than two‑thirds of the total stablecoin market.

Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) sits in second place with a market cap often above $70 billion, jointly holding over 90% of stablecoin capitalization when combined with USDT.

Smaller stablecoins like Ethena USDe, DAI, and PayPal USD make up a much smaller portion of the market but signal ongoing diversification among providers, the data tracker said.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse used a Feb. 18 appearance on Fox to argue that US crypto policy is nearing a turning point, predicting the long-stalled CLARITY Act will pass by the end of April and framing regulatory certainty as a direct catalyst for broader industry growth, including for XRP, which he emphasized has already cleared a key legal hurdle.

Why Ripple CEO Garlinghouse Is Bullish

Garlinghouse pointed to shifting Washington momentum and said prediction markets have moved in favor of passage. “The CLARITY Act spiked because of comments yesterday, from [a] senator […] I think now 90% will pass by the end of April,” he said. “I said a couple weeks ago I thought at the end of April […] people talked about [being] optimistic.”

He added that the White House is now actively pressing stakeholders, describing a meeting “today with a lot of leaders on both sides (crypto and banking) in the White House, […] [with] the White House pushing hard.”

Pressed on Ripple’s position, Garlinghouse argued the bill’s flaws are less important than ending what he cast as a policy vacuum that has pushed the sector into enforcement battles. “Our position [is] very much, don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress,” he said. “No bill is perfect […] we need clarity.”

He contrasted Ripple’s posture with the broader industry’s situation by referencing the company’s long-running US legal fight. “Ripple has been fortunate — sued by [the] government — a judge […] say[ing] XRP is not a security. We have clarity,” Garlinghouse said, before reiterating the point in starker terms when asked directly: “Not a security. Courts ruled clearly.”

In his telling, the CLARITY Act is meant to keep crypto from being forced into a securities regime that doesn’t map cleanly onto how many networks and tokens function. “If something is a security, all kinds of obligations because […] you own part of the company,” he said, contrasting that with crypto tokens where holders typically don’t receive dividends or governance rights analogous to electing a board. He also claimed the prior administration’s approach “failed in courts,” arguing that a modern framework is required for the US to compete.

Ripple’ Strategy And XRP

The interview also touched on the sector’s pullback from highs. Garlinghouse tied some of that weakness to policy delays. He said the CLARITY Act getting “pushed [and] stalled, late January […] did not help,” while arguing Ripple entered 2026 with strong momentum after what he called “a tremendous year in 2025.”

On relative performance, he claimed XRP has held up better than other majors. “To your point, crypto markets, XRP best performing major crypto, down 20%,” he said, while noting other assets were down materially more from peaks.

He framed Ripple’s strategy as proving demand through enterprise use cases rather than retail narratives: “The more we demonstrate real practical utility using technologies to solve real problems, [the] more you see that play out in a positive way.”

Garlinghouse cited Ripple’s M&A push as part of a broader effort to build infrastructure that appeals to corporate finance teams. He said Ripple has spent “three billion dollars [on] acquisitions since 2023,” including expanding into “custody, prime [brokerage], treasury management, stablecoin [and] payment” capabilities.

He highlighted the treasury-management firm it acquired, saying it “processed 13 trillion dollars payments last year,” and emphasizing how early institutional stablecoin adoption still is: “Crypto-enabled, zero of those were stablecoin enabled.”

For now, he suggested dealmaking is taking a back seat to integration. “We bought two big companies last year […] the first half of this year [is] very much on let’s pause […] integrate,” he said, adding: “For time being, we’re going to slow down, before we speed up.”

Garlinghouse also argued the CLARITY fight is no longer “crypto versus banks,” pointing to big incumbents wanting a rulebook. He said the “vast majority of the crypto industry” is prepared to accept imperfect language, including around customer rewards, because it would be “a major step forward.” He added that banks are now leaning in as well, citing Goldman Sachs leadership as wanting “the same level playing field” to compete as traditional finance moves deeper into crypto.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.4196.