Reports say a popular risk metric has fallen into territory that, in the past, 
lined up with major buying opportunities for Bitcoin. Related Reading: Bitcoin 
Market Bleeds $1 Trillion, Saylor Signals Strongest Crypto Conviction Yet The 
short-term Sharpe Ratio has plunged to about -38.38, a level that markets 
rarely see. Traders who follow on-chain and statistical signals point out that 
similar extremes showed up around the lows of 2015, 2019, and late 2022 — 
moments that later saw sizable recoveries, CryptoQuant verified author Moreno 
said. Sharpe Ratio Hits Unusual Low The Sharpe Ratio measures returns against 
volatility. When it drops far below zero over short stretches, it means 
investors have been taking heavy losses relative to how wildly the market is 
moving. A -38.38 reading is extreme. Reports note this kind of reading has 
happened only four times in Bitcoin’s history, and each time followed a 
stretch of high stress and weak sentiment. That pattern suggests selling can 
exhaust itself even when the charts look bleak. Bitcoin’s Short-Term Sharpe 
Ratio Hit a Level Historically Reserved For Generational Buying Zones “The 
arrows in the chart illustrate this clearly: each prior extreme negative 
reading was followed by violent recoveries to new highs.” – By @MorenoDV_ 
pic.twitter.com/nxFBUgHxi9 — CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) February 19, 
2026 Historical Lows And Recoveries Past cycles give one way to read the 
signal. Around $287 in 2015, and near $4,100 in early 2019, and again around 
$15,000 in late 2022, risk measures and mood were at their worst before money 
flowed back in. Based on reports from on-chain analysts, those moments shared 
common traits: many traders had capitulated, volume was thin, and volatility 
spiked. Yet those conditions later coincided with multi-month rallies that 
erased large parts of the prior losses. Bitcoin Price Action Bitcoin’s price 
has been sensitive to headlines lately. It slid under psychological levels as 
risk assets weakened, and trading has been muted. Markets reacted to 
diplomatic rows and conflict-related stories, causing bigger moves in thin 
markets. Sometimes BTC held up and brushed off sharp risk-off flows. Other 
times it fell further, especially when liquidity dried up. That stop-and-start 
behavior has left short-term traders cautious, while longer-term holders watch 
for signs that selling momentum is fading. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Record 
Red Month May Be Setting Up A Reversal: Analysts Clear Coast Ahead? Based on 
reports and the data, this signal is not a magic ticket. External forces — 
such as tightening liquidity or a macro shock — can keep downward pressure 
longer than statistical patterns alone would predict. The recent 50% fall from 
an all-time high near $126,200 in October 2025 to about $65,700 shows much of 
the move is already behind us, but it does not rule out more pain. Risk 
management matters. Position sizing and clear entry plans will help anyone who 
decides to act around these levels. Featured image from Anne Connelly &#8211; 
Medium, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Enters Historic Buying Zone, Indicator Suggests

SEC leaders unveiled a coordinated push to integrate tokenized securities into 
U.S. markets, signaling innovation exemptions, safe harbors, and joint 
rulemaking with the CFTC to reshape crypto oversight. SEC Accelerates Crypto 
Clarity Agenda With CFTC Coordination and Pro-Growth Innovation Exemptions 
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul S. Atkins and 
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce […]

SEC Talks Crypto Clarity, Coordination, and Innovation Exemptions to Reshape Crypto Oversight

The crypto industry is gaining recognition and achieving its objectives, 
signaling a positive trajectory. Despite challenges, the infrastructure for 
crypto is evolving with a focus on modular solutions and interoperability. 
Bitcoin and stablecoins serve as alternatives to fiat currencies, each wi&#8230;
The post Jill Gunter: Crypto&#8217;s Evolving Landscape, Privacy Concerns, and Regulatory Shifts | Empire appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Jill Gunter: Crypto’s Evolving Landscape, Privacy Concerns, and Regulatory Shifts | Empire

On-chain data shows the key Bitcoin investors have been distributing recently, 
with their supply share dropping to the lowest level in months. Large Holder 
Demand For Bitcoin Has Remained Weak Recently In a new post on X, on-chain 
analytics firm Santiment has talked about how the Bitcoin investor behavior 
has compared between the top and low ends of the market. Related Reading: XRP 
Social Sentiment Hits 5-Week High—BTC, ETH Mood Still Off The analytics firm 
has chosen these wallet ranges to represent the two sides: 0 to 0.01 BTC and 
10 to 10,000 BTC. The former includes the smallest of retail investors, while 
the latter includes key investor cohorts like the sharks and whales. Below is 
the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in the percentage of the 
total circulating Bitcoin supply held by each cohort. As is visible in the 
graph, the 0 to 0.01 BTC cohort has been expanding its supply since the 
October price peak. Bitcoin has witnessed a deep drawdown inside this window, 
but the data would imply that it hasn&#8217;t held back retail traders from 
accumulating. In total, this accumulation has expanded the holdings of these 
small hands by 2.5%, taking their percentage supply share to the highest level 
since June 2024. While retail has been buying, the sharks and whales have 
shown a different trajectory. From the chart, it&#8217;s apparent that the 10 to 
10,000 BTC holders sold alongside the market drawdown between October and 
December. In January, these investors participated in some buying, which 
interestingly coincided with a drop in retail holdings. Then, the drawdown 
toward the end of the month again kicked off a selloff from the key investors. 
This selloff was steep, in fact sharper than any part of Q4 2025&#8217;s 
distribution phase. Recently, even as Bitcoin has made some recovery from its 
$60,000 low and found some stability, the big-money investors haven&#8217;t shown 
any return of bullish conviction. Compared to the October peak, the supply of 
the 10 to 10,000 BTC holders is now down 0.8%, which has taken the network 
share of this group to the lowest since May 2025. Related Reading: Bitcoin 
Consolidating In A Triangle—Is A 15% Move Next? The analytics firm explained: 
Optimally, we begin to see these two Bitcoin groups begin to reverse course. 
Without key stakeholder support, any spark of a rally will tend to be slightly 
limited due to the lack of large capital. In another X post, Santiment has 
also discussed the behavior of the mid-tier Bitcoin holders, occupying the 
space between retail and large investors. As displayed in the chart, the 0.01 
to 1 BTC wallets have seen their combined Bitcoin supply hit a 15-month high 
following a 1.05% increase since October. Meanwhile, the 1 to 10 BTC hands 
have reduced their holdings by 0.49% in the same period. BTC Price At the time 
of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $67,400, up 0.7% over the last week. 
Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin Big-Money Exits: Large-Holder Supply Hits Lowest Since May 2025

The battle over BIP-110 and the related BIP-444 represents a fundamental 
schism in the Bitcoin community over whether the network should remain a 
neutral data protocol or become a curated financial ledger. Philosophical: 
Neutrality vs. Curation An ideological clash is erupting over Bitcoin 
Improvement Proposal 110 (BIP-110)—often discussed alongside the broader 
BIP-444 framework—a temporary soft […]

Cryptocurrency price in ZAR