Daily Summary, February 23

News Recap for February 23

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📉 MARKET: FEAR DOMINATES, BITCOIN RETREATS

👻 The crypto market lost about 4% of its capitalization over the past day — the Fear & Greed Index has dropped again to 5 out of 100.

*Analysis: 5 out of 100 is no longer fear; it’s panic. The market has been in the red for the fourth straight day. The index is recording extreme pessimism. Historically, such values either precede a reversal or a deep correction. Psychologically, the market is broken — the only question is who will start scooping up liquidity at the bottom.*

🪙 On-chain activity on the Bitcoin blockchain has been falling for six consecutive months — the last time this happened was in 2024, just before a -30% correction.

*Analysis: On-chain metrics confirm it: people are leaving the network. Six months of declining activity is a systemic trend, not local fluctuations. If history repeats, a correction is coming. But 2024 showed that after a -30% drop, new growth begins. The question is who can endure this descent without losses.*

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🐳 WHALES AND KEY PLAYERS: BUTERIN SELLS, STRATEGY BUYS

💸 Vitalik Buterin sold 1,694 ETH over the past two days — this month alone, he has placed 8,651 ETH (worth $18,000,000) into the order book.

*Analysis: Buterin continues to monetize. $18 million in a month is a significant volume, even for Ethereum’s founder. Officially, it’s for charity and projects. But the market always reads such moves as a signal: if the founder is selling, it means either they need liquidity or they don’t expect a rally anytime soon.*

🪒 Last night, a trader’s position on the HTX exchange was liquidated by a single order for $61,520,000.

*Analysis: One order — one life. $61.5 million evaporated in seconds. This isn’t even a whale; it’s a leviathan that miscalculated its leverage. Liquidations of this size punch through order books and send prices soaring (or plummeting) in an instant. Someone lost a fortune, and the market got another red candle.*

🐋 Strategy bought another 592 BTC last week at an average price of $67,286 per 1 BTC — the company’s balance now holds 717,722 BTC.

*Analysis: Michael Saylor isn’t stopping. While the market panics, Strategy accumulates. 592 BTC at $67k is a vote of confidence. The company now holds nearly 718,000 BTC. That’s more than any country except the US and China. Saylor is playing the longest game in crypto history.*

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🤖 AI INCIDENTS: AGENTS MAKE BIG MISTAKES

💰 AI agent Lobstar transferred $250,000 to a Twitter beggar instead of $4 — the agent itself admitted the error and ironically noted that it became its best PR campaign in its three days of “life.”

*Analysis: AI isn’t ready to manage money yet. An error of 62,500 times is not a bug; it’s a condemnation. It’s good the agent had limited funds, but the precedent is frightening: if autonomous AIs start managing large funds, such “mistakes” will become systemic. Buterin warned about this recently — and here’s the confirmation.*

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⚠️ SECURITY: LEAKS, FAKES, AND ATTACKS

☠️ IoTeX network suffered a private key leak — damages estimated at approximately $4,300,000.

*Analysis: Classic story: keys compromised, funds gone. IoTeX is neither the first nor the last. $4.3 million is not a record, but it’s a reputational hit. Each such case feeds the narrative: “crypto is the Wild West where your money can vanish at any moment.”*

🚓 The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) dismantled a network of fake crypto exchanges through which scammers swindled at least $1,200,000 from EU citizens.

*Analysis: Europeans were scammed out of crypto by Ukrainian fraudsters. The sum is modest ($1.2 million), but the geography is wide. Fake exchanges are an old scheme, but still effective. The main takeaway here: the SBU diverted attention from the war to crypto fraudsters — meaning the problem is significant enough.*

🔫 Trump’s company, World Liberty Financial, reported a “coordinated attack” on their stablecoin, USD1.

*Analysis: Trump’s foray into crypto meets reality. A coordinated attack is either a real move by competitors or an attempt to explain technical problems as external sabotage. USD1 is a political project, so attacks on it will be political. Welcome to the crypto world, Mr. President.*

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🌍 GEOPOLITICS: RUSSIA CIRCUMVENTS SANCTIONS, GEMINI LOSES GROUND

🇷🇺 Five crypto exchanges are helping Russia bypass international sanctions, filling the vacuum created after the closure of the Garantex exchange last year — according to Elliptic.

*Analysis: Elliptic is sounding the alarm: the vacuum is filled. After Garantex’s departure, five new players emerged, taking on the role of conduits for Russian crypto capital. Sanctions work only as long as there is demand. Demand in Russia is huge — so supply will follow.*

🍿 Rumors are circulating in the market about the difficult position of the Gemini crypto exchange — social media and specialized chats are actively discussing possible financial troubles and internal company problems.

*Analysis: Rumors are information too. Gemini, the exchange of the Winklevoss twins, was always considered “white and fluffy.” If talks of problems have started, it means either competitors are leaking compromising information, or there are real difficulties. In a bearish trend, such rumors act as a catalyst for panic.*

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⛓️ TECHNOLOGY: BUTERIN WANTS SIMULATIONS

🪙 Vitalik Buterin proposed implementing “transaction simulation” in Ethereum so users can see the result of an operation before sending it to the network.

*Analysis: Buterin is thinking about the users. Transaction simulation is protection against both user error and scammers. If you can see where the money is going before confirming, you won’t send it to a phishing address. In networks like Ethereum, this could save millions. Vitalik’s proposal is a step towards mass adoption, where security needs to be baked into the protocol.*

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🔍 SYSTEMIC TRENDS OF THE DAY

– 📉 Trend of Panic Sentiment: The Fear Index dropped to 5. The market is terrified. This is usually the entry point for smart money.
– 🐳 Trend of Whale Movements: Buterin sells, Strategy buys. Major players are diverging in their forecasts.
– 🤖 Trend of AI Risks: The Lobstar agent transferred $250k instead of $4. Artificial intelligence is still more dangerous than human stupidity.
– ☠️ Trend of Infrastructure Vulnerability: IoTeX lost $4.3 million due to a key leak. Security remains the industry’s biggest headache.
– 🇷🇺 Trend of Sanctions Evasion: Five exchanges replaced Garantex. Russia adapts faster than sanctions lists are written.
– 🏛 Trend of Political Crypto: Trump’s USD1 was attacked. Crypto is becoming a battlefield not just for money, but for power.

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🏛 ARCHITECTURAL CONCLUSION

February 23 — a day of contrasts and extremes.

The Fear Index fell to 5, while a liquidation on HTX consumed $61 million in a single order. Buterin sells ETH for $18 million a month, while Strategy buys BTC at $67k. AI agents make 62,000-fold errors, while the Bitcoin network shows a six-month decline in activity.

The market is torn between retail panic and the composure of whales. Rumors of Gemini’s problems coexist with news of five exchanges already replacing Garantex in Russia. Trump reports an attack on his stablecoin, while the SBU catches scammers defrauding Europeans on fake exchanges.

In this chaos, two trends stand out:

First. Major players (like Strategy) continue to accumulate despite the panic. They are playing a game with a horizon of years, not days.

Second. Technology fails where least expected. AI sends money to the wrong place, keys leak, activity drops. The industry is maturing through its mistakes.

Buterin’s proposal for transaction simulation is an attempt to make Ethereum safe for everyone, even grandmothers. And the rumors about Gemini are a reminder: even “white” exchanges can wobble when the wind blows the wrong way.

The main point: the market is alive as long as it contains such contrasts. Fear at 5 out of 100 is not an end, but the beginning of a repositioning. The only question is who will manage to reposition themselves before the reversal begins.

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📌 ON THE TOPIC: “Golden Calf” and the Nature of Real Value

While the market is plagued by liquidations, panic, and rumors, the “Golden Calf” reminds us: value can be created not only by speculation, but also by cooperation.

The SFOR technology records the contribution of participants to the real programs of a consumer cooperative. This is not a zero-sum game where one’s gain equals another’s loss. It is a model where each person’s benefit strengthens the collective result.

In a world where AI can make a $250,000 mistake and exchanges can lose their footing, cooperative stability becomes a valuable asset.

👉 Learn more about the people’s economy: [gcalf.com](https://gcalf.com/)

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