Crypto Weekly Wrap: Jane Street Targeted After Terra Suit, Vitalik’s ETH Selloffs, Regulatory Progress Feb 23-27

Jane Street becoming a scapegoat for Bitcoin and crypto market crash is the highlight in the crypto weekly wrap from February 23-27. BTC, ETH, and XRP prices remained range-bound this week ahead of the monthly crypto options expiry and macro headwinds.

Regulatory developments picked up pace this week, with traders becoming cautious amid headwinds such as ETH selling spree by Vitalik Buterin. Here’s a breakdown of the key developments this week.

Crypto Weekly Wrap: Jane Street Conspiracy Theory

As Bitcoin and major crypto assets failed to rebound despite institutional buying, the community targets Jane Street in the latest conspiracy theory. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said:

The conspiracy theories are wild. First it was Binance and then it was Wintermute and then it was an unknown offshore macro hedge fund and then it was paper bitcoin and. today it is Jane Street and next week it will be someone else.

It follows a lawsuit by Terraform Labs bankruptcy administrator against Jane Street, along with individuals, including co-founder Robert Granieri and employees Bryce Pratt and Michael Huang. The suit alleges insider trading and front-running that accelerated UST depeg and caused the Terra-LUNA crisis.

Vitalik Buterin Sold Massive ETH Holdings

Leading digital asset treasuries (DATs) Strategy and Bitmine continued to accumulate BTC and ETH, respectively. However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s ETH selloff spree and institutions have turned traders cautious.

According to Lookonchain data, Vitalik has likely completed his selling plan. He sold 19,318 ETH for $38.7 million at $2,004. Vitalik Buterin earlier announced to sell 16,384 ETH, but he’s sold more than planned.

ETH prices jumped above $2,000 after the Ethereum Foundation started its 70,000 ETH staking plan as part of its treasury policy. This sparked massive buying in the derivatives markets as open interest bounced.

Crypto Weekly Wrap: Deeper BTC Crash Risks amid Macro Jitters

Bitcoin climbed 5% above $68,000 after Nvidia earnings and the United States’ plan not to hike tariffs on China. Also, multiple positive developments, such as Citibank’s plans to offer Bitcoin services, fueled gains toward $70,000.

However, weekly initial job openings and hotter PPI inflation data spoiled the market’s mood as the week came to an end. US PPI rose 0.5% in January, its biggest monthly gain in four months, beating expectations of 0.3% after a 0.4% increase in December. This caused headline PPI inflation increase to 2.9% YoY.

Meanwhile, Core PPI jumped 0.8%, the most in six months and well above forecasts of 0.3%. Core Producer Prices YoY came in above expectations at 3.6% in January from 3.30% in December of 2025.

Popular analyst Willy Woo predicted Bitcoin price crash in the coming weeks. BTC may typically drop to $45K. He expects bearish pressure to start subsiding in Q4 2026 and the bear market bottom in Q1 2027.

Focus on Crypto Policies and Regulations

In this week’s crypto weekly wrap, the focus shifted to crypto policies and regulations. The global crypto market saw progress towards industry and regulators’ requirements for clear crypto rules and regulations. The discussions on the CLARITY Act continued as the White House’s March 1 deadline approached. JPMorgan anticipated a bullish second half for the crypto market following the approval of the CLARITY Act.

Also, the US Federal Reserve opened a 60-day public comment period on a proposal to end crypto debanking. Senator Cynthia Lummis praised the proposal, calling it a long-overdue correction to Fed policy.

The OCC issues proposed rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act for the issuance of stablecoins. However, the regulator proposes a rebuttable presumption to prohibit stablecoin yields.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin signed a new law granting courts the power to seize or confiscate crypto assets such as Bitcoin. It comes as Russia pushes for crypto regulations and crackdown foreign crypto exchanges.