Buterin Offloads ETH, Bitcoin Unable to Push Past $70K, XRP Spot Buying Increases: This Week’s Crypto Recap

Bitcoin played a trick on us this week, making us believe that a recovery is inbound but the positivity was for not.

It’s been a relatively dynamic week within the cryptocurrency industry. The total market capitalization currently stands at around $2.36 trillion, which is more or less where it was last Friday when we did the previous weekly recap, but this doesn’t paint the whole picture.

You see, BTC started the week as anyone would expect – chopping to the downside, which inevitably led to an abrupt crash on Monday, when it dropped from above $67K to around $64K. This was followed by an intraday dead cat bounce and an immediate continuation to below $63,000. Sentiment was down bad, as was most of Crypto Twitter, but what followed raised a few eyebrows.

Bitcoin actually started recovering… notably. It soared from $63K to $70K in less than two days. And then came yet another sign that we are amidst the depths of crypto winter – the recovery was put to a halt, and the bears once again took control, pushing the price down to where we currently sit at slightly above $66K. In case you are wondering, we are still in a state of “extreme fear,” according to the popular Crypto Fear and Greed index, meaning that the masses are definitely not convinced that the worst is behind us. In fact, the most recent bounce did very little to improve the overall sentiment.

Meanwhile, the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, continues selling ETH. So far, his total disposals reached around 18,700 ETH, even though he previously stated that he plans to sell 16,384 ETH to fund open-source software and hardware development, privacy tools, and security-critical infrastructure projects.

Elsewhere, we have some light at the end of the tunnel for XRP holders, with spot buying seemingly on the rise. While it has done little for the price so far, this could be a sign of a structural shift in XRP’s market dynamics. Bitrue reported a 212% surge in spot buying on February 26th, most of which was linked to ETF inflows, suggesting steady demand from funds.

All in all, the week started off as depressing, turned bullish, and then went back exactly to where it was in the beginning. Strength is being dissolved quickly as negative sentiment prevails, which is incredibly indicative of bear markets. That also makes it quite exciting to see what the next seven days have in store for us.

Market Data

Market Cap: $2.35T | 24H Vol: $113B | BTC Dominance: 56.1%

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BTC: $66,097 (-1.5%) | ETH: $1,947 (+0.2%) | XRP: $1.35 (-3.2%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan Rejects Jane Street Blame for Bitcoin Dip. Matt Hougan, the chief investment officer at Bitwise, has dismissed claims that Jane Street is orchestrating Bitcoin’s ongoing downturn. Instead, he said that the current price action is typical of a “classic crypto winter.” Read more.

BSC Fees Hit Multi-Month Lows as History Signals Bitcoin Rebound Ahead. The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) saw its total fees paid drop to $593,000, which pretty much marks the network’s lowest usage cost since at least August 2025. Read more. 

2026 US Midterms Emerge as Potential Turning Point for Crypto Markets. The 2026 US midterm elections are closing in. Many view them as a potential catalyst that’s tied to liquidity cycles in traditional financial markets, as well as a recovery in the broader cryptocurrency market. Read more.

Bitcoin’s Recovery Isn’t Here Yet – Here’s What Still Needs to Flip. Data shows that BTC remains trapped in a structurally defensive consolidation. This happens as the price oscillates between $60K and $90K. Therefore, for a recovery to start shaping, the price needs to push above the upper boundary. Read more. 

Vitalik Buterin Exceeds 16,384 ETH Selling Target with $38M in Total Disposals. The co-founder of Ethereum (and likely the most prominent person behind it), Vitalik Buterin, is dumping ETH. In fact, he has exceeded his previously stated plan to sell 16,384 ETH by almost 20%. Read more.

Wall Street Is Going On-Chain, And Investors Still Don’t Get It, Says Bitwise CIO. According to the CIO of Bitwise, investors often misinterpret what is truly happening in the market due to behavioural biases and think that Wall Street is already going on-chain. Read more.

Charts

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid – click here for the complete price analysis.