Morning Crypto Report: XRP on the Edge vs Bitcoin as February Ends, Vitalik Buterin Donates More ETH for Charity, Shiba Inu (SHIB) May Challenge PayPal USD in March

TL;DR

• XRP/BTC rebound: After a nerve-wracking dip toward 0.000018, XRP reclaimed the 0.00002088 level versus Bitcoin, effectively dodging a catastrophic breakdown as the month of February expires.
• Buterin’s philanthropy: Ethereum’s founder follows his plan to donate 7,386 ETH ($15.51M) to open-source and biotech projects with new selling on-chain.
• SHIB versus PYUSD: A $400 million valuation gap is all that stands between Shiba Inu and PayPal USD, and historical March volatility suggests a ranking reshuffle is back on the menu.

XRP news: XRP escapes breakdown versus Bitcoin in February

As the final full week of February 2026 begins, the digital asset market is revealing that the XRP/BTC pair displayed by TradingView is providing a masterclass in “clinging to the edge.” For much of the month, the chart resembled a slow-motion crash, with XRP teetering on the brink of a new multi-year low against the largest cryptocurrency.

However, the monthly close tells a different story, one of stubborn resilience. Closing near 0.00002088 on Binance, XRP managed to avoid a definitive settlement below 0.00002 BTC — a price point where the foundational middle Bollinger Band is stretched on the monthly XRP/BTC chart by TradingView — which would have signaled a “lights out” scenario for bulls.

Examining the chart reveals a substantial upper wick from earlier in the year near 0.000030 — a faint memory of a rally that failed to endure — yet the underlying structure remains curiously unbroken. While the lower Bollinger Band is creeping up toward 0.00000813, suggesting that the long-term floor is rising, the immediate concern is the mid-band rejection. However, the higher-low sequence established in late 2024 remains the dominant narrative.

As long as the 0.000018 panic wick from earlier this month is not breached on a closing basis, the “breakdown” will remain a “shakeout.”

On the daily chart, the technical tug-of-war is even tighter. XRP is currently sandwiched between its short-term moving averages at 0.00002083 and 0.00001969 per BTC. With Bitcoin maintaining a dominant posture in Q1, XRP is not looking to lead the market.

However, its refusal to collapse suggests that liquidity is rotating back into the “old guard” just as the bears were getting comfortable. If XRP can punch through 0.0000219 next week, the conversation will shift from survival to a potential recovery to 0.000024 per BTC.

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Ethereum news: Vitalik Buterin keeps selling ETH for charity

While technical traders scrutinize XRP’s candles, Vitalik Buterin reminds the market that Ethereum is, at its core, a social utility tool. The Ethereum co-founder has been systematically selling portions of his holdings, but the on-chain data offers a much more sophisticated picture than the “dump” narrative suggests.

Since Feb. 2, Buterin has moved 7,386 ETH, netting approximately $15.51 million at an average realized price of $2,100. The donations continued this weekend.

The latest move, originating from the now-famous “0xfEB0…03B2” address, saw 428.57 ETH converted into about $850,178 worth of GHO. These funds are earmarked for high-impact sectors, such as biomedical research (like the Kanro Foundation) and open-source software development.

What’s interesting here is the “how.” Buterin is not selling on the market on Coinbase and driving down the price for everyone else. Instead, he is using CoW Swap and Aave, leveraging batch auctions and decentralized liquidity protocols to ensure his transactions have the least possible impact on the order books.

Even after these million-dollar distributions, Buterin remains the heavyweight champion among individual ETH holders, with over 240,000 ETH (equal to around $467 million).

SHIB news: Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) path to dethroning PayPal USD

Finally, in this morning’s crypto update, the market is witnessing a showdown between the largest meme coin on Ethereum and a stablecoin backed by a global payments giant as Shiba Inu (SHIB) inches closer to overtaking PayPal USD (PYUSD) in the CoinMarketCap ranking. With SHIB’s market cap at around $3.67 billion and PYUSD at $4.07 billion, the difference is only $400 million. In a market as volatile as we have seen this February, that is essentially a rounding error.

SHIB is currently trading at $0.000006239, and while its monthly performance has been lackluster — down about 8.31% in February — history suggests that “SHIB Season” is approaching. Looking back at February 2024, it was a modest precursor to a massive 145% explosion in March. If history repeats itself, the current 24-hour trading volume of $96 million could be the calm before the storm.

The “dethroning” of PayPal USD would be a substantial symbolic victory. PYUSD is designed to stay pinned to $1.00, and its market cap only grows when new institutional money enters the PayPal ecosystem. SHIB, on the other hand, grows through retail enthusiasm and ecosystem expansion. If SHIB can reclaim the $4 billion valuation threshold, it will not just surpass a stablecoin but also signal a shift in market psychology from “defensive stability” to “speculative appetite.”

To achieve this in March, SHIB must clear the $0.0000069 resistance level. If it fails, the likely path is a slide back to $3.3 billion, but with the “March effect” looming, the big players are probably keeping a close eye on that $400 million gap.

XRP, ETH, SHIB: Key levels to watch last week of February

As we transition into the final days of February and look toward a fresh March monthly open, the road map for these three assets is clearly defined by structural floors rather than speculative ceilings.

• XRP and Bitcoin (BTC): The line in the sand is 0.0000205. If we close a daily candle below this, the “escape” was a fake-out, and we go back to testing the 0.000018 abyss. On the flip side, a move above 0.0000219 validates the monthly recovery.
• Ethereum (ETH): The $1,900-$2,100 pocket is the battlefield. We need to see ETH hold this level despite the ongoing $15M+ distribution from Buterin. If it holds, the next stop is to reclaim $2,250.
• Shiba Inu (SHIB): Forget the price for a second and watch the $4.0 billion market cap. This is the psychological trigger point. If SHIB’s valuation crosses this line, expect a surge in “flippening” narratives that could carry it toward the $0.0000075 price target.

The market is not screaming for a moonshot yet, but it looks like it is done falling. We are in the “digestion phase,” where smart distributions and defenses set the stage for the next major leg.

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