From 14:30 to 14:45 on February 17, 2026 (UTC), the spot price of BTC experienced a slight decline, with the candlestick closing down 0.24%. During this short period, price volatility increased significantly, market attention rose month-on-month, indicating that some investors' sentiment is becoming more cautious. The main driving force behind this fluctuation was short-term capital outflows, influenced by some contract leverage positions actively reducing their holdings. During this time window, BTC prices faced pressure and retraced. Additionally, mainstream derivatives holdings decreased slightly in tandem, and leverage trading activity declined, further impacting the spot market.

Gate News bot message, Gate Market Display, BTC drops below 67,000 USDT, current price 66,978 USDT.

As spot trading volume decreases, leverage has become the main driver of market volatility. BTC is supported near the 200-week moving average. If macro signals remain unclear, the rebound will be seen as an opportunity to reduce risk. Recovery is expected to require patience, and the market is still biased downward in the short term. $70,000 is a key resistance level.

Bitcoin treasury company Nakamoto announced it will acquire Bitcoin media organization BTC Inc and asset management firm UTXO Management. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, involving 364 million common shares, with a total consideration of approximately $107 million.

Hyperscale Data announces its Bitcoin holdings have increased to 600.5299 BTC, with a total market value of approximately $41.3 million. Its subsidiary Sentinum owns 554.4002 BTC, with the goal of increasing the Bitcoin value on its balance sheet to $100 million.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Cointelegraph stated on the X platform that El Salvador continues to increase its Bitcoin holdings, with BTC holdings rising to 7,565.37 coins.

ChainCatcher Message, crypto analyst Maartunn posted on X stating that BTC futures open interest has decreased by 55% from its all-time high, the largest drop since April 2023.

ChainCatcher reports that, according to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks through $71,225, the total liquidation strength of short positions on major CEXs will reach $1.015 billion. Conversely, if BTC drops below $64,673, the total liquidation strength of long positions on major CEXs will reach $970 million.

ChainCatcher reports that, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, a whale has spent another 43 BTC (approximately $2.91 million) to buy 1,468 ETH. So far, this address has spent a total of 129 BTC (about $8.72 million) to purchase 4,412 ETH at an average price of $1,976, and has transferred these ETH to a new wallet.

PANews February 17 News, according to Onchain Lens detection, the "0x15a4" whale has closed ETH and BTC short positions, earning $1,575,000 in profit. However, due to previous trading losses, the net profit is approximately only $85,000.