Jim Paulsen argues that the current U.S. technology-led market cycle, which began in 2006 and is still running, is the longest such stretch in the past 100 years but also the weakest by several key measures. Looking back to 1926, he identifies six major periods when tech stocks led the broader market. The present run has reached 241 months, far longer than the previous average of 63.4 months and well ahead of the longest earlier cycle, which lasted 99 months and ended in 1960. Yet since 2006, the current cycle has produced only 6% in excess average annualized return versus the broader market, the lowest of any historical tech leadership phase in his dataset. Paulsen also rejects the idea that diversified tech investing is naturally a buy-and-hold winner. Across all months since 1926, U.S. tech stocks outperformed the broader market only 50.5% of the time. During long leadership periods, that figure rises to 58.1%, but outside them it drops to 44.5%. He says past leadership phases were typically followed by long and painful periods of underperformance. His broader warning is not a call for a full exit. Instead, he points to growing signs of excess tied to the AI boom, including more aggressive corporate spending, heavier debt use, stronger media fixation on innovation themes, and rising investor complacency. His recommendation is to cut exposure to tech and other “new era” sectors to an underweight position rather than sell everything.

Mojia Robot, a robotics company backed by Chinese automaker Chery, is preparing for an initial public offering less than two years after its founding, according to comments made by company general manager Zhang Guibing at the 2026 World Robot Conference. Zhang said the company is in talks over several potential listing venues and wants to raise global deliveries to 10,000 units by 2027, with the stated goal of joining the industry’s top tier. The company was established in January 2025 with registered capital of RMB 100 million. After an angel-round capital increase completed on Jan. 21, 2026, Mojia’s post-money valuation reached RMB 2.5 billion. Chery holds 76.80% directly, employee shareholding platforms control 19.2%, and outside shareholders hold about 4%. Its most visible commercial story so far is police robots. Chery chairman Yin Tongyue said the company’s "Smart Police" robots have secured 1,030 signed units and delivered 110 units in a concentrated batch. Zhang also said Mojia has delivered more than 3,000 robots globally, including 2,000 in overseas markets. The company’s overseas rollout has leaned on Chery’s dealer and service network, though analysts interviewed by Phoenix Weekly Finance said more financing, stronger business independence, and large-scale paid scenario validation will be needed before an IPO case becomes more mature.

HashKey Holdings Limited said its licensed trading platform, HashKey Exchange, has completed Hong Kong’s first live transaction involving the regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP together with YF Life Insurance International. The test used real funds and covered both subscription and redemption of HKDAP, setting up a foundation for potential insurance payment use cases. According to the announcement, HashKey Exchange is one of the main approved distributors for HKDAP, which is issued by RD InnoTech Limited, described as one of Hong Kong’s first licensed stablecoin issuers. Subject to relevant regulatory requirements, YF Life plans to support customers paying premiums with HKDAP in the future and said it aims to become one of the first insurers in Hong Kong to do so. The companies said the validation focused on two areas: settlement speed and payment flexibility. Traditional premium payments usually require two to three business days for settlement confirmation, while HKDAP on-chain transfers can arrive almost in real time. Customers may also subscribe to HKDAP with Hong Kong dollars through HashKey Exchange or use existing HKDAP balances and withdraw them to a wallet before paying premiums.

Binance added nine tokens including WIF, LRC and HOOK to its Watch Tag list, removed FLOW from the same category, and lifted the Seed Tag from ONDO and VIRTUAL.

Binance Word of the Day on Feb 22 reveals answers under the 'Account Defense' theme, covering 3-to-8-letter crypto terms. Players can earn BNB rewards by guessing correctly.

Binance's delisting of eight tokens triggered a sharp sell-off, with IDEX and LRC dropping over 25%. The exchange set a timeline: automatic liquidation on March 24, spot removal on April 1, and complete withdrawal cutoff on June 1. Users must act before deadlines.

Binance WOTD answers for Feb 21, 2026, are revealed under the 'Account Defense' theme, covering 3 to 8-letter words. Users can claim BNB rewards by guessing correctly before the event ends on Feb 22.

Binance’s WOTD for February 18, 2026 falls under the “Account Defense” theme for Feb. 16-22. The article lists the valid 3- to 8-letter answers, along with gameplay and reward details.