Crypto Weekly Digest
February 16-22, 2026
It’s been a rough week in crypto land, not gonna lie. If you’ve been checking your portfolio and feeling a bit queasy, you’re definitely not alone. Let me walk you through what’s been happening.
Bitcoin Faces Real Struggle
Bitcoin is currently hovering around $67,000-$68,000, and honestly? That’s after dropping more than 40% from its October peak. We’re talking about one of the worst starts to a year that Bitcoin has seen in over a decade down about 24% since January 1st. Ethereum’s having an even tougher time, down 34% this year to around $2,000.
What’s Unfolding? The market’s basically in panic mode. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit just 8 out of 100 that’s not just fear, that’s straight-up terror. Google searches for “Bitcoin to zero” in the U.S. hit an all-time high this week, which tells you everything about retail investor sentiment right now.
The weird thing? While stocks are actually doing okay (the S&P 500 is slightly up this year), crypto has completely diverged from traditional markets. Gold is outperforming Bitcoin as a macro hedge. Stablecoins are winning the payments race. It’s like crypto is having an identity crisis.
Funds are Evaporating
Here’s a number that stings: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $360 million in net outflows over the past week. That’s the fourth consecutive week of money leaving. When you combine that with geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions (thanks to new tariffs), and fears about what the Federal Reserve might do with interest rates, you’ve got a perfect storm of “risk-off” sentiment.
Institutional investors aren’t exactly rushing in to save the day either. The money that usually flows into crypto during bullish times? Right now, it’s sitting in stablecoins, waiting on the sidelines. About 8% of the total crypto market cap is currently parked in Tether money that could flow back into Bitcoin and other cryptos when sentiment shifts, but for now, it’s staying put.
Netherlands Releases a Tax Bomb
If you thought prices were your biggest worry, investors in the Netherlands just got hit with some seriously concerning news. The Dutch House of Representatives passed a bill that would impose a 36% tax on unrealized crypto gains starting January 1, 2028.
Let me repeat that: unrealized gains. Meaning if your Bitcoin goes up $10,000 in value in a year, even if you don’t sell it, you’d owe 36% tax on that paper gain (after a small €1,800 exemption).
This has sent shockwaves through the Dutch crypto community. The criticism is pretty straightforward in a volatile market like crypto, you could get taxed on gains that evaporate by the time you actually need to pay the bill. Some investors might have to sell just to cover their tax liability.
The bill still needs Senate approval, but if it passes, the Netherlands would become one of the most aggressive crypto tax jurisdictions in Europe. Unsurprisingly, people are already talking about relocating to friendlier tax havens within the EU.
Ethereum’s Focuses on Long-Terms
Not everything’s doom and gloom though. The Ethereum Foundation released its 2026 roadmap this week, and it’s actually pretty ambitious. They’re organizing development around three main tracks:
1. Scale: They want to push Ethereum’s gas limit to 100 million (up from 60 million currently). This means more transactions, less congestion, and potentially lower fees. They’re also working on expanding “blobs”—the data structures that help Layer 2 solutions run more efficiently.
2. Improve UX: Making wallets easier to use through native account abstraction. The goal is to make smart contract wallets work seamlessly without extra costs or complexity.
3. Harden the L1: This is the security stuff—preparing for post-quantum computing threats, improving censorship resistance, and making sure the network stays resilient as it scales.
Two major upgrades are coming: Glamsterdam in the first half of 2026 and Hegotá later in the year. The Foundation is clearly playing the long game here, which is actually reassuring when everything else feels chaotic.
A Glimmer of Hope?
Despite the carnage, some analysts are cautiously optimistic. Wall Street firms are still predicting Bitcoin could hit $150,000 by the end of 2026. Their reasoning?
• The extreme fear in the market historically signals we’re near a bottom
• Two major pieces of crypto legislation (the Genius Act for stablecoins and the Clarity Act) are expected to pass by summer 2026, which could trigger institutional adoption
• BlackRock calculated that even a tiny 1% allocation from institutional investors could bring $2 trillion into crypto
The sentiment is basically: “Yes, it’s bad now, but the fundamentals for long-term growth are still there.”
What Does It All Mean?
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it we’re in what people are calling a new “Crypto Winter.” Even though Bitcoin was hitting all-time highs just four months ago, sentiment has completely flipped. The market isn’t responding to good news anymore, which is textbook bear market behavior.
But here’s the thing: crypto has been here before. Multiple times. The survivors of previous winters? They’re the ones who either held through the pain or bought when everyone else was running for the exits.
The market’s testing everyone’s conviction right now. Trade wars, regulatory uncertainty, tax concerns, institutional hesitation it’s all piling on. But the underlying technology isn’t going anywhere, and the regulatory framework (at least in the U.S.) is actually moving in a positive direction.
In Conclusion
We’re in a difficult period, no question about it. Prices are down significantly, fear is at extreme levels, and new challenges (like the Netherlands tax situation) keep popping up. But the infrastructure is still being built, regulation is (slowly) getting clearer, and institutional interest hasn’t disappeared it’s just waiting for better entry points.
If you’re feeling stressed, remember that crypto has always been volatile. This is the price of admission. Stay informed, don’t invest more than you can afford to lose, and maybe don’t check your portfolio every five minutes (trust me on this one).
See you next week. Hopefully with better news.
Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Crypto is risky. Do your own research. Talk to a financial advisor if you’re making big decisions.
Stay safe out there,
Golden Exchange Crypto News Crew