TL;DR

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed during the Trump era are illegal, potentially leading to refunds in the short term and possibly boosting nominal economic growth.

• Key data this week includes PPI, factory orders, Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, Chicago Fed National Activity Index, among others.

• Last week, BTC and ETH performed relatively resiliently (BTC down 1.73%, ETH down 0.42%), ETH/BTC ratio increased by 1.3% to 0.0287.

• ETF capital flows and market sentiment sharply worsened: BTC spot ETF net outflow of $315.86 million, ETH spot ETF net outflow of $123.37 million, Fear & Greed Index dropped from 12 to 5 (extreme fear).

• WLFI led the market rally (+12.2%) after announcing partnerships with Securitize and DarGlobal to promote RWA, and collaborating with Apex Group on a USD 1 stablecoin settlement pilot.

• CME plans to launch 24/7 crypto derivatives trading in May.

• Bitcoin mining company MARA acquires majority stake in AI data center firm Exaion.

• Sports prediction market Novig completes $75 million Series B funding, valuation reaches $500 million.

Macro Overview

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed during the Trump administration are illegal, which may lead to refunds and could boost nominal economic growth in the short term.

After the U.S. International Trade Court and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals respectively ruled the “Trump tariffs” unlawful, on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court confirmed that tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by the Trump administration are illegal. Following the ruling, the Trump administration announced a new tariff policy, stating that, based on Section 122 of the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, an additional 10% tariff would be levied on global goods on top of normal tariffs. The next day, Trump further indicated on Truth Social that tariffs on some countries would be increased to 15%, though specific countries were not disclosed.

As of January 2026, the U.S. government reportedly collected approximately $15–17 billion in IEEPA tariffs. After the court ruling, the authority to issue refunds is expected to be delegated to lower courts. Importers will need to apply individually, undergo verification, and bear associated legal and compliance costs. This may pose refund difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises, with total refunds possibly amounting to about half of the tariffs collected. If about half of the refunds are processed over the next two quarters, it could equate to a 0.5–0.6% annualized GDP stimulus in 2025. The tariff refunds are expected to resonate with the “One Big and Beautiful Act” policy, potentially boosting U.S. nominal GDP growth in the short term.

This week’s key data includes PPI, factory orders, Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Chicago PMI, Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index, among others. PPI for January is expected to rise 0.3% YoY, slowing from 0.5% in December. Core PPI is forecasted to increase 0.3%, lower than last month’s 0.7%.(1)

DXY

As of last Friday, the US dollar index reached 97.789, reflecting strong economic growth, a stable labor market, and uncertainties from tariff policies.(2)

US 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields

Despite market confidence in US assets recovering, the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling introduces uncertainty, pushing Treasury yields higher.(3)

Gold

Last week, gold prices regained upward momentum, hitting a monthly high. The Supreme Court’s ruling on global tariffs triggered short-term volatility in safe-haven assets.(4)

Cryptocurrency Market Overview

1. Mainstream Assets

BTC Price

ETH Price

ETH/BTC Ratio

Last week, BTC declined 1.73%, ETH fell 0.42%. BTC spot ETF net outflows hit a record $315.86 million, ETH spot ETF net outflows $123.37 million.(5)

Market sentiment further deteriorated, with the Fear & Greed Index dropping from 12 to 5 (extreme fear). Meanwhile, the ETH/BTC ratio rose slightly by 1.3% to 0.0287.(6)

2. Total Market Cap

Cryptocurrency Total Market Cap

Total market cap excluding BTC and ETH

Total market cap excluding the top ten assets

Last week, the total market cap of the cryptocurrency market decreased by 3.49%. Excluding BTC and ETH, the market cap fell by 1.72%, and the altcoin market declined by 3.14%.

3. Performance of the Top 30 Crypto Assets

Source: CoinMarketCap and Gate Ventures, data as of February 23, 2025

The top 30 assets averaged a decline of about 4.4%, with only WLFI, XAUt, and TRX showing gains.

WLFI performed strongly, rising 12.2%, driven by two short-term positive catalysts: i.) partnership with Securitize and DarGlobal on RWA, with the first deal involving Trump International Hotel & Resort Maldives; ii.) Apex Group piloting WLFI’s USD 1 stablecoin as a settlement channel for tokenized funds, reinforcing the “real-world application + infrastructure” narrative.(7)

Crypto Market News

1. CME plans to launch 24/7 crypto derivatives trading in May

CME Group plans to convert its crypto futures and options on CME Globex to near 24/7 trading starting May 29 (pending regulatory approval), with only at least 2 hours of maintenance per week. Weekend and holiday trading will be settled and reported on the next business day. This aligns with discussions among U.S. regulators about extending trading hours and is synchronized with Nasdaq’s (expected in late 2026) and NYSE’s similar initiatives, which are developing an around-the-clock tokenized securities platform supporting multi-chain settlement.(8)

2. MARA, a mining company, acquires majority stake in AI data center firm Exaion

MARA Holdings, through its subsidiary MARA France, acquired a 64% stake in French computing infrastructure provider Exaion, further expanding into AI and cloud services to counteract mining economic pressures. EDF Pulse Ventures remains a minority shareholder and customer, while Xavier Niel’s NJJ Capital will hold 10% of MARA France. The governance structure will reflect the new ownership distribution, with board members including representatives from MARA, EDF, and NJJ.(9)

3. Voltage launches USD-settled Bitcoin Lightning Network corporate credit line

Voltage officially launched Voltage Credit, embedding a revolving credit line settled in USD into the Lightning Network payment flow. Companies can perform “pay first, repay later” instant Lightning payments, settled in USD or Bitcoin, without holding crypto assets on their balance sheets. The credit line is dynamically assessed based on real-time payment volume, not static BTC collateral, providing a flexible operational funding layer for the Lightning Network.(10)

Venture Capital Trends

1. Sports prediction market Novig completes $75 million Series B, valuation hits $500 million

Novig, a zero-commission peer-to-peer sports prediction platform, led by Pantera Capital, raised $75 million in Series B funding, valuing the company at $500 million. It charges institutional users and is seeking CFTC registration to expand nationwide. The new funds will be used for compliance expansion, liquidity enhancement, and development of sports-native trading infrastructure.(11)

2. PRED launches on-chain sports prediction exchange, raises $2.5 million seed

PRED, an on-chain sports prediction exchange built on Base chain, designed for high-speed sports trading, uses peer-to-peer on-chain settlement instead of traditional bookmaker-bettor models. It completed a $2.5 million seed round led by Accel, with Coinbase Ventures and angels Kevin Kelly II, Petrit Berisha, and Tatsuya Saito participating. Funds will be used for liquidity development, expanding to more sports, and building on-chain trading infrastructure.(12)

3. Unicity Labs raises $3 million seed to build autonomous agent marketplace infrastructure

Unicity Labs completed a $3 million seed round to develop the Unicity Protocol, a peer-to-peer cryptographic architecture supporting autonomous AI agents that can discover counterparties and execute trustless trades at machine speed. Led by Blockchange Ventures, with participation from Tawasal and Outlier Ventures, the protocol separates trade execution from validation, aiming to overcome blockchain scalability bottlenecks and enable scalable AI-driven agent commerce.(13)

Venture Capital Market Data

Last week, 7 deals closed, with 4 in infrastructure (57%), 2 in social (29%), and 1 in DeFi (14%).

Weekly VC deal summary, source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, data as of February 23, 2026

Total disclosed funding was $104.5 million, with 2 deals undisclosed. Social sector received the most funding at $77.5 million. The largest single deal was Novig’s $75 million round.

Weekly VC deal summary, source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, data as of February 23, 2026

Total funding in the last week of February 2026 dropped to $104.5 million, down 65% from the previous week.

About Gate Ventures

Gate Ventures is the venture capital arm of Gate.com, focusing on investments in decentralized infrastructure, middleware, and applications, committed to advancing Web 3.0 social and financial transformation worldwide. In partnership with industry leaders globally, Gate Ventures supports innovative teams and startups redefining social and financial relationships.

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References:

1. Week Ahead — February 23, TradingEconomics, []

2. DXY Index, TradingView, []

3. US 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields, TradingView, []

4. Gold prices, TradingView, []

5. BTC and ETH ETF capital flows, []

6. BTC Fear & Greed Index, []

7. WLFI latest updates, []

8. CME plans to launch 24/7 crypto derivatives trading in May, []

9. Bitcoin MARA acquires majority stake in AI data center firm Exaion, []

10. Voltage launches USD-settled Lightning Network corporate credit line, []

11. Novig completes $75 million Series B, valuation $500 million, []

12. PRED launches on-chain sports prediction exchange, raises $2.5 million seed, []

13. Unicity Labs raises $3 million seed for autonomous agent marketplace infrastructure, []