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From encrypted-messaging debate to exchange liquidity shifts and the latest “everything app” rumors, here are the crypto stories you may have missed this week.
CICC Floats Signal Block Amid Spoofing Complaints
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an agency attached to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), raised the possibility of restricting access to encrypted messaging app Signal as it looks into spoofing incidents involving fabricated conversations and impersonation.
ABS-CBN reported the proposal triggered pushback from digital rights and civil society groups, who warned that blocking an encrypted tool could harm legitimate users and set a precedent for broader access restrictions.
Polymarket “Jesus Returns” Contract Spikes After Incentives Mishap
A Polymarket event asking whether “Jesus Christ” will return before 2027 drew fresh attention this week after the platform’s incentive mechanics collided with a highly viral contract.
The Defiant reported that after Polymarket introduced “sponsored rewards,” a user mistakenly routed about $70,000 in incentives to the “Will Jesus Christ Return before 2027” market, helping drive activity and liquidity into the contract.
Polymarket’s market page showed roughly $29 million in cumulative volume as of Feb. 19, 2026, underscoring how prediction markets can concentrate attention around oddball listings when incentives and social amplification align.
Axie Infinity Co-Founder “Psycheout” Steps Back From Sky Mavis Operations
Aleksander Larsen, the Sky Mavis co-founder known as “Psycheout,” said he has stepped down from his operational role at Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity, and the Ronin Network, citing the strain of frequent long-haul travel with a young family.
In a post, Larsen said traveling 100–200 days a year to Vietnam was no longer sustainable with a three-month-old daughter at home and that he needs to spend more time in Europe, while describing the decision as closing a long chapter after nearly eight years building the company.
Larsen’s statement did not describe a replacement or management reshuffle in detail, but in a subsequent post, Co-founder Jeff Zirlin said he is taking over Larsen’s responsibilities in the company.
Binance Holds Most CEX Stablecoin Reserves as Outflows Cool: CryptoQuant
Binance holds about $47.5 billion in USDT and USDC, representing roughly 65% of stablecoin reserves sitting on centralized exchanges tracked by CryptoQuant, as overall exchange outflows slowed to around $2 billion over the past month.
CryptoQuant’s marketing head Nick Pitto told Cointelegraph that the pattern suggests capital is consolidating rather than exiting the sector, adding that it would look more bullish if reserves begin growing or are deployed into risk assets.
The report also said Binance’s stablecoin stash is heavily skewed to USDT, with USDC holdings far smaller by comparison.
Reports that X was weeks away from letting users trade stocks and crypto from inside the app gained traction after X head of product Nikita Bier discussed an upcoming feature called “Smart Cashtags,” which would enhance ticker symbols and surface market data in the timeline, CoinDesk reported.
The conversation shifted after Bier clarified that X is not handling trade execution or acting as a brokerage, and that the feature is intended to provide financial data tools and links that route users to external partners for execution.
For now, the update points to tighter integration of market data and asset discovery on X, while leaving open the question of how far the platform ultimately goes in building financial services.
Disclosure: AI is used to assist in developing this article
This article is published on BitPinas: CICC | Binance | Sky Mavis | Crypto News Catch Up | Feb. 15 – 21, 2026
