The crypto market saw another red day on Feb 12. Total capitalization slipped to $2.38 trillion, down 1.6% in 24 hours, while trading volume rose to $130.4 billion, signaling panic-driven activity. Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $67,586.57, losing 2.09%; Ethereum (ETH) stood at $1,966.3, down 2.73%.
Gainers & Losers: PIPPIN Soars, MYX Sinks
PIPPIN led the gainers with a 32.43% surge to $0.517 on $67.53M volume. Aster (ASTER) gained 8.70%, MemeCore (M) climbed 5.90%. On the losing side, MYX Finance (MYX) crashed 46.43% to $2.96, Aptos (APT) fell 5.42%, and Decred (DCR) dropped 4.97%.
Fear Index Hits Extreme Fear at 5
Alternative.me reported the Fear & Greed Index collapsed from 11 yesterday to 5 today, far below last week's 12 and last month's 26 — an 80% month-over-month drop. The reading reflects panic selling, liquidity stress, and deep uncertainty.
Stablecoins & DeFi Weaken
Stablecoin market cap stayed at $309.8B with $103B volume, down 0.1%. DeFi segment fell 0.8% to $47.88B, comprising 2% of the global crypto market.
Regulatory & Institutional Moves
Nomura's Laser Digital plans to apply for a crypto exchange license in Japan in 2026, targeting institutions. Kyrgyzstan's 2025 crypto trading volume exceeded 20.5 billion som, generating 22.8 million som in tax revenue — surpassing its main bazaar income.
BlackRock estimates that 1% crypto allocation in Asia could bring $2 trillion inflows as regulators push ETFs. Tether intends to increase U.S. Treasury purchases in 2026, currently holding $122B in T-bills with 530M users. Strategy CEO announced a new perpetual preferred stock "Stretch" with an 11.25% dividend to reduce share volatility. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins told Congress he supports classified briefings and joint SEC-CFTC rulemaking under the Clarity Act.