Bitcoin holds near $68,000 as volatility cools, WLFI jumps ahead of Mar-a-Lago forum

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin holds near $68,000 as volatility cools, WLFI jumps ahead of Mar-a-Lago forum Bitcoin trades in a tight range as derivatives stabilize and altcoins show pockets of strength ahead of key macro cues and a high-profile crypto event. By Oliver Knight , Saksham Diwan | Edited by Sheldon Reback Feb 18, 2026, 11:30 a.m. Make us preferred on Google Bitcoin rangebound as WLFI jumps (Asa E K/Unsplash modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Bitcoin is up 0.9% on Wednesday to around $68,000, holding between $65,100 and $72,000 since Feb. 6 as volatility and funding rates cool. Open interest sits at $15.5 billion, funding rates are flat to slightly negative, and options skew has eased, signaling a more balanced market. The Trump-backed WLFI token has surged nearly 19% in 24 hours ahead of a Mar-a-Lago crypto forum, while MORPHO extends its weekly rally. The crypto market continues to trade within a tight range on Wednesday, with bitcoin BTC $ 68,168.18 rising by 0.9% to around $68,000 since midnight UTC. The largest cryptocurrency has held between $65,100 and $72,000 since Feb. 6 as market volatility has reduced following a Feb. 5 selloff that took BTC to its lowest point since October 2024. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . The altcoin market is running its own race. Monero (XMR) and ADA $ 0.2821 are posting gains of 3% and 1.7%, respectively, since midnight, while zcash (ZEC) and hyperliquid (HYPE) lost 3.5% and 1.1% over the same period. The muted performance across the crypto market comes as U.S. equities begin to claw their way out of trouble — S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 0.57% and 0.66% since midnight UTC as investors await hints on monetary policy when the Fed releases its meeting minutes later on Wednesday. Derivatives Market dynamics have shifted toward stabilization as open interest holds firm at $15.5 billion, marking a transition from leverage cleanup to a steady floor. While retail sentiment has cooled with funding rates turning flat to slightly negative (Binance at -0.11%), institutional conviction remains anchored, the three-month annualized basis persists at 3%. The BTC options market has reached a state of relative equilibrium, with 24-hour volume split 49/51 between calls and puts. While the one-week 25-delta skew has eased further to 11%, the implied volatility (IV) term structure remains in short-term backwardation, as evidenced by the sharp front-end spike in the IV curve before leveling off near 49% for longer dated tenors. Coinglass data shows $193 million in 24-hour liquidations, with a 62-38 split between longs and shorts. BTC ($72 million), ETH ($52 million) and others ($12 million) were the leaders in terms of notional liquidations. The Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $68,800 as a core liquidation level to monitor in case of a price rise. Token talk The "altcoin season" indicator has risen to 34/100, up from lows of 22/100 on Feb. 8, indicating relative strength across the altcoin market despite relatively low levels of volatility. The top performing asset on Wednesday has been WLFI $ 0.1179 , the Trump family-backed DeFi token, which is up 8.8% since midnight and 18.52% over the past 24 hours. Investors are betting on WLFI ahead of the projects's crypto forum at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday, which will be attended by executives from Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq and Franklin Templeton, among others. It should be noted that rallies leading up to real-world events or announcements often result in a "sell the news" scenario as those "buying the rumor" race to secure profits. Lending platform Morpho's native MORPHO token has also been on a bullish run of late, rising by 36% in the past week and 7% in the past 24 hours as traders attempt to capitalize on an otherwise unmoving market. 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Here's what it means for bitcoin Feb 17, 2026 In this article BTC BTC $ 68,168.18 ◢ 0.05 % ADA ADA $ 0.2821 ◢ 0.51 % WLFI WLFI $ 0.1179 ◢ 17.93 %