Buterin&#8217;s initiative could enhance Ethereum&#8217;s resilience and security, 
potentially reshaping its ecosystem and addressing fragmentation issues.
The post Vitalik Buterin plans bolt-on cypherpunk layer to upgrade existing 
Ethereum appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Vitalik Buterin plans bolt-on cypherpunk layer to upgrade existing Ethereum

Data shows the Bitcoin Fear &amp; Greed Index continues to be inside the extreme 
fear zone as the cryptocurrency market continues to struggle. Bitcoin Fear &amp; 
Greed Index Is Still Pointing At &#8216;Extreme Fear&#8217; The &#8220;Fear &amp; Greed Index&#8221; 
refers to an indicator created by Alternative that tells us about the average 
sentiment present among traders in the Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency 
markets. The index uses the data of the following five factors to determine 
the market mentality: trading volume, market cap dominance, volatility, social 
media sentiment, and Google Trends. Related Reading: Bitcoin Big-Money Exits: 
Large-Holder Supply Hits Lowest Since May 2025 When the value of the metric is 
greater than 53, it means the sentiment shared by the majority of the 
investors is that of greed. On the other hand, the indicator being under 47 
suggests the investors are fearful. Naturally, values lying between the two 
thresholds indicate the presence of a net neutral mentality. Besides these 
three main zones, there are also two &#8216;extreme&#8217; areas called the extreme fear 
(25 and under) and extreme greed (above 75). Recently, the market has been 
inside the former of the two. Here is how the latest value of the Bitcoin Fear 
&amp; Greed Index looks: As is visible above, the Bitcoin Fear &amp; Greed Index has a 
value of 7, which is pretty deep into the extreme fear zone. In fact, this 
level of despair is something that the traders have rarely held historically. 
The Fear &amp; Greed Index has consistently been at similarly low levels during 
the last couple of weeks, as the below chart shows. Overall, the indicator has 
been stuck inside the extreme fear territory for 22 straight days now. The 
recent bad market sentiment is a result of the drawdown that the Bitcoin price 
has faced. In the past, cryptocurrency markets have often tended to move in 
the direction that goes contrary to the expectations of the majority. The 
probability of a contrarian move occurring has generally been the strongest in 
the extreme sentiment zones as that&#8217;s where the crowd is the most sure about 
the market&#8217;s outcome. Given this, the recent extreme fear mentality could help 
the sector bottom out. The lowest that the metric has gone this cycle is 5, 
which is similar to the lowest point of the previous bear market. In that bear 
market, however, the market consolidated and spent more time inside the 
extreme fear zone even after the low in the Fear &amp; Greed Index, before a 
bottom was eventually reached. Related Reading: XRP Social Sentiment Hits 
5-Week High—BTC, ETH Mood Still Off It now remains to be seen how long Bitcoin 
and others will take to hit a cyclical low this time around. BTC Price Bitcoin 
has been unable to make much recovery since its bounce from the $60,000 level 
as its price continues to trade around $67,700. Featured image from Dall-E, 
chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin Extreme Fear Streak Extends To 22 Days As Price Struggles

The government of El Salvador defended its continuous bitcoin purchases before 
critics, even as the market is currently experiencing a downturn. Vice- 
President Felix Ulloa stated that bitcoin was part of a reserve strategy and 
that the country is preparing for a world where fiat currencies will 
disappear. El Salvador States Bitcoin Is Not a Stock […]

‘Not A Stock:’ El Salvador Defends Bitcoin Purchases Amid Market Slump

Retail investors of the official TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins have recorded 
significant losses since their launch, leaving holders absorbing over $4 
billion in losses now that the tokens trade more than 90% below their early 
2025 highs. Related Reading: Analyst ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Dogecoin As 
Price Rally Stalls Trump Family Memecoins Leave Investors In Red On Friday, a 
CryptoRank report shared how retail investors have lost billions on the 
official Trump family memecoins while insiders seemingly pocketed millions of 
dollars. Over a year ago, President Trump surprised the industry by launching 
his official token ahead of the start of his second term. The memecoin rapidly 
skyrocketed to an all-time high (ATH) of $75, bringing massive profits for 
many early investors. Two days later, the US First Lady, Melania Trump, 
announced the launch of her memecoin, which quickly surged to an ATH of $13.05 
in less than 24 hours. However, the tokens faced significant backlash from the 
crypto community, with some X users calling the memecoins a “big red flag” as 
later reports revealed that one of the faces behind the MELANIA memecoin was 
Hayden Davis, the mastermind behind the LIBRA Token disaster. A year after 
their launch, the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins have sunk, collapsing 92% and 
99%, respectively, from their January 2025 highs. As of this writing, the 
token based on the US President trades around $3.55, while the First Lady’s 
token hovers around $0.11. According to CryptoRank, the damage to retail 
investors has been staggering, with holders absorbing losses at a 20-to-1 
ratio. “For every dollar insiders earned, ordinary investors lost $20,” the 
report noted. As a result, retail losses have exceeded $4.3 billion from 
nearly two million wallets currently underwater. Citing data from blockchain 
analytics firm Chainalysis, CNBC shared that most wallets that lost money held 
smaller amounts of the token. Insiders And Crypto Exchanges Generate Millions 
While retail holders bear the losses, CryptoRank highlighted that insiders 
have cashed out over $600 million through fees and token sales. Notably, 45 
wallets extracted approximately $1.2 billion combined, and 58 wallets made 
more than $10 million each, CNBC data shows. The report also noted that the 
selloff may not be over, as $2.7 billion in insider tokens that will be locked 
until 2028 suggests significant selling pressure is still on the horizon for 
the memecoins. As reported by NewsBTC, a Reuters analysis claimed that crypto 
exchanges were major beneficiaries of the presidential family’s memecoins, 
with the TRUMP token generating millions of dollars in revenue for some of the 
largest exchanges. Based on standard fee estimates compiled by the news 
outlet, the reviewed crypto platforms allegedly made more than $172 million in 
trading fees just six months after the token’s listing. Related Reading: SUI 
Eyes Price Recovery As Institutional Exposure Expands With Grayscale, Canary 
ETF Launches Meanwhile, the Trump family has also significantly benefited from 
their main crypto ventures, including World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and the 
TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins. According to recent Bloomberg data, the official 
presidential memecoins have generated gains worth roughly $280 million from 
the family’s holdings and associated proceeds. Featured Image from 
Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Investors In Trump Family Memecoins Record $4.3 Billion In Losses As Tokens Sink

Bitcoin may have carved out a $60,000 floor as Metaplanet signals relentless 
accumulation and long-term upside, reinforcing conviction that volatility 
won’t derail its aggressive bitcoin-per-share growth strategy. Metaplanet CEO 
Sees $60,000 Bitcoin Floor, Signals Ongoing Accumulation Metaplanet CEO Simon 
Gerovich shared on social media platform X on Feb. 19 his outlook on bitcoin’s 
price trajectory, […]

Cryptocurrency price in BTC