Weekly Preview | UK holds a hearing on asset disposal related to Qian Zhimin's money laundering case; WLFI hosts the first "World Liberty Forum" at Lake Tahoe Estate

Top News Preview:

• 60,000 Bitcoin linked to Qian Zhimin money laundering case assets face deadlock; hearing scheduled for February 16;
• Flying Tulip to launch public sale on February 16;
• 21shares to distribute staking rewards to Solana ETF holders on February 17;
• Trump family’s crypto project WLFI to hold the first “World Liberty Forum” at Mar-a-Lago on February 18;
• U.S. Supreme Court to issue tariff-related opinions on February 20;
• LayerZero (ZRO) to unlock approximately 25.71 million tokens on February 20, about 5.98% of circulating supply, worth approximately $49.1 million;

February 16

Policy & Regulation:

Caixin: Assets of 60,000 Bitcoin linked to Qian Zhimin money laundering case face deadlock; hearing scheduled for February 16

8300 Chinese victims have filed claims regarding the assets of the 60,000 Bitcoin money laundering case involving Qian Zhimin, which is at an impasse. Multiple law firms are acting independently, leading to issues such as duplicate submissions, repeated debates, and procedural delays, with legal fees rising accordingly, ultimately to be paid by Chinese victims.

According to reports, on Chinese lunar New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Year of the Horse (February 16-17, 2026), the UK High Court will hold a hearing involving over 30 billion RMB and nearly 130,000 Chinese victims. This is the asset disposal process for the highly publicized case involving 60,000 Bitcoin. Additionally, Bitcoin prices have been volatile; the market value of 60,000 BTC peaked at about 54 billion RMB on October 6, 2025, and has shrunk to about 31 billion RMB in early February 2026.

Project Updates:

Flying Tulip to launch public sale on February 16, TGE on February 23

Founded by Andre Cronje, the on-chain financial system Flying Tulip announced that its FT token will start public sale on February 16, with the Token Generation Event (TGE) scheduled for February 23. Previously, Flying Tulip completed a token sale on CoinList, raising nearly $10 million.

Eurozone Finance Ministers to discuss euro stablecoin issuance and joint debt on February 16

Eurozone finance ministers will discuss on February 16 how to enhance the euro’s global standing and strengthen Europe’s economic security by issuing euro-denominated digital assets (such as stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and CBDCs) and increasing EU joint debt. The European Commission’s document states that, facing increasing “weaponization” risks in the international monetary and financial system, the EU needs to take action to improve financial security. Currently, euro-denominated tools account for less than 1% of the rapidly growing stablecoin market, which is dominated by dollar assets, increasing the risk of European capital flowing to the U.S. Additionally, the proposal suggests deepening the euro debt market through increased issuance of EU joint debt and establishing an independent European payment system separate from Visa and Mastercard. The document also mentions that finance ministers will consider transforming the €500 billion European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into an EU official institution, similar to the EU Debt Management Office.

Belgian KBC Bank to launch cryptocurrency trading services in the week of February 16

Belgian KBC Bank announced that starting the week of February 16, it will offer cryptocurrency trading services to retail investors via its online investment platform Bolero. Initially, support will include Bitcoin and Ethereum trading. The service will operate under the EU’s MiCAR framework, with KBC having submitted a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) notification to regulators. Bolero will adopt a closed-loop model, allowing clients to trade only within the platform, without transferring funds to other platforms, with custody provided by KBC.

Token Unlocks:

Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock approximately 92.65 million tokens on February 16, about 1.82% of its released supply, worth approximately $11.2 million;

February 17

Project Updates:

Figure to launch blockchain-based stocks, pricing on February 17

Fintech company Figure Technology Solutions Inc. has begun promoting 4.23 million shares of blockchain-native stock to investors. According to sources, the company plans to set the price after market close on February 17 in New York. These shares are provided by a group of undisclosed shareholders and will be traded on Figure’s proprietary blockchain-based alternative trading system, not on traditional Nasdaq. The company also plans to buy back up to $30 million worth of shares after issuance.

Nomina (NOM) to migrate to Ethereum around February 17

On-chain trading platform Nomina (NOM) announced it will simplify infrastructure and fully integrate with Ethereum. As part of this migration, all NOM staked or held on Omni Core will automatically transfer as ERC-20 tokens to Ethereum. The migration is planned for around February 17, 2026 (final date TBD). Until then, Omni Core will remain fully operational, allowing users to manage positions, withdraw, or cross-chain assets normally.

21shares to distribute staking rewards to Solana ETF holders on February 17

Crypto ETF issuer 21shares announced it will distribute SOL staking rewards to holders of the 21shares Solana ETF (TSOL), with each share receiving $0.316871, payable on February 17, 2026.

Jupiter proposes to achieve “zero net issuance” by indefinite suspension of team token releases; voting begins February 17

Jupiter announced a major proposal aiming for zero future token net issuance. Final decision will be made via DAO voting, with community discussion on February 16 and voting starting February 17.

The proposal includes four measures: first, an indefinite delay of the Jupiter airdrop, returning all 700 million JUP tokens to a community multisig cold wallet for future use; current snapshot and usage will be preserved. When market conditions and token status are more favorable, the DAO will revisit this decision; second, an indefinite suspension of team token releases. Instead, team members will receive JUP as claims on Jupiter’s balance sheet, and if they wish to sell their allocated tokens, Jupiter’s balance sheet will buy them directly; third, fully hedge against sell pressure from Mercurial stakeholders by accelerating their unlocks and purchasing equivalent tokens with Jupiter’s assets to absorb potential sell-offs.

CoinShares submits revised F-4 registration statement to SEC; hearing scheduled for February 17

Digital asset manager CoinShares and special purpose acquisition company Vine Hill (VCIC) announced they filed a revised F-4 registration statement with the SEC on February 2, 2026. This follows the initial confidential filing on November 21, 2025. The process is ongoing, with the merger still on track but subject to customary closing conditions, including shareholder approvals, court approval in Jersey, F-4 effectiveness, and local regulatory approval. A hearing is scheduled for February 17, 2026.

Token Unlocks:

YZY (YZY) to unlock approximately 62.5 million tokens on February 17, about 17.24% of circulating supply, worth approximately $20.6 million;

February 18

Project Updates:

Trump family’s WLFI to hold the first “World Liberty Forum” at Mar-a-Lago on February 18

Trump family’s crypto project World Liberty Financial will hold its first “World Liberty Forum” at Mar-a-Lago on February 18, 2026, focusing on the future of finance, technology, and policy. Attendees include Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and WLFI co-founders Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Topics will cover financial markets evolution, digital assets, AI, geopolitical risks, and public-private partnerships, with about 300 participants from business, investment, and policy sectors.

DeFi derivatives protocol Polynomial to cease operations, with forced liquidation on February 18

DeFi derivatives protocol Polynomial announced via Twitter that it has ceased operations from February 14, 2026, and is wrapping up. Polynomial Chain and Polynomial Trade will shut down, with forced liquidation scheduled for February 18, liquidity layer closing on February 24, and chain shutdown on March 3. Polynomial stated that technology is not the moat of derivatives markets—liquidity is. However, Polynomial lacks liquidity, with TVL peaking at only $8 million. The team said the new company will still be related to derivatives.

Pump.fun establishes investment arm Pump Fund, application deadline February 18

Pump.fun announced the formation of its investment arm, Pump Fund. The fund aims to foster early-stage projects through long-term partnerships. It will launch a $3 million public hackathon, providing $250,000 each to 12 projects (valuation $10 million), along with guidance from Pump.fun founders. The application deadline is February 18, 2026.

February 19

Macro Economy:

Federal Reserve releases minutes of the latest FOMC meeting; U.S. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for February.

Exchanges:

Upbit to delist Groestlcoin (GRS), support for withdrawals ending February 19

Upbit announced that Groestlcoin (GRS) will be delisted from DAXA member exchanges. DAXA members may take measures such as issuing warnings, designating GRS as a trading alert asset, and halting trading. Upbit stated that withdrawals will still be supported until 34 days after trading support ends, until February 19, 2026.

February 20

Policy & Regulation:

U.S. Supreme Court to issue tariff-related opinions on February 20

The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will issue opinions on February 20 regarding the legality of tariffs implemented by former President Trump.

Token Unlocks:

LayerZero (ZRO) to unlock approximately 25.71 million tokens on February 20, about 5.98% of circulating supply, worth approximately $49.1 million;

KAITO (KAITO) to unlock approximately 32.60 million tokens on February 20, about 10.64% of its released supply, worth approximately $10.6 million;

February 21

No events scheduled.

February 22

Project Updates:

USD.AI to conduct token sale on CoinList starting February 22

CoinList announced that USD.AI will hold a token sale, exclusively open to users who participated in the USD.AI “Allo Game” points event. Eligible users can participate during the sale window from February 22 to 27 via CoinList. Participants will receive guaranteed allocations based on their points in Allo Game, with additional subscriptions possible beyond the guarantee. Unsold tokens will be proportionally allocated. USD.AI’s token is named CHIP, with a total supply of 10 billion. The sale will offer 700 million tokens at $0.03 each, with a fully diluted valuation of $300 million. All tokens are expected to unlock at TGE in March. Minimum purchase is $100.

Token Unlocks:

Multibank Group’s MBG to unlock approximately 27.15 million tokens on February 22, about 10.96% of its released supply, worth approximately $8.3 million;