It’s Sunday, Feb. 15, and the crypto market will be characterised with the next three tales: Ripple CEO Garlinghouse getting in an surprising brawl with Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes on X; the largest meme coin on Ethereum, Shiba Inu, sees a 71% surge in quantity as SHIB group lead Shythoshi Kusama leaves an intriguing clue in his social media feed; and, lastly, to conclude at this time’s Morning Crypto Report, Tom Lee, Bitmine chairman, reveals his opinion on when to count on “crypto winter” to finish. Spoiler: it’s April 2026.
TL;DR
- Brad Garlinghouse responds “Not true” to Elizabeth Holmes, and Theranos’s founder replies with a Ripple case reference.
- SHIB quantity rises 71.6% to $235.8 million, the worth at $0.000006822 after Shytoshi Kusama teases “1326.”
- Tom Lee says crypto winter could already be over or finish earlier than April.
Elizabeth Holmes spars with Ripple CEO from jail over authorized “sport”
Probably the most attention-grabbing and, on the identical time, surprising, occasions this Sunday was not about cryptocurrency instantly, however a determine strongly tied to it — Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. All the sudden, Garlinghouse determined to have interaction in a social media debate with Elizabeth Holmes, founding father of Theranos and convicted fraudster.
Morning Crypto Report: Ripple CEO Says ‘Not True’ to Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes, Shiba Inu (SHIB) Sees 71% Enhance in Buying and selling Exercise After New ‘Easter Egg’ Seems, Tom Lee Reveals ‘Crypto Winter’ Prediction for 2026
Crypto Market Evaluation: XRP Consolidates Amid Low Volatility, DOGE Struggles at $0.10, Is Shiba Inu (SHIB) Testing Key Help?
For these not acquainted, Holmes based Theranos in 2003 as a well being know-how startup that claimed to revolutionize blood testing with a tool able to working a whole bunch of assessments on a number of drops of blood. Lengthy story quick, at its peak, the corporate was valued at $9 billion, however investigative reviews in 2015 revealed that the know-how was ineffective, inflicting the corporate to break down, and Holmes was convicted of fraud in 2022, receiving an 11-year jail sentence.
Right now, Holmes, or whoever runs her X account, posted a touch upon the U.S. federal conviction price, stating that the federal government wins the overwhelming majority of circumstances it brings and describing structural disadvantages confronted by defendants.
This was the perspective that made Garlinghouse reply by saying that that is “not true.” Then the entire social media alternate changed into a debate, as Holmes’s account replied with an specific reference to the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit.
Holmes fired again by highlighting the distinction between her felony conviction and Ripple’s civil settlement. She famous that whereas Garlinghouse paid a $125 million penalty to settle SEC prices, she confronted a $500,000 SEC positive along with her felony prices introduced by the Division of Justice.
The Theranos founder argued that Garlinghouse’s case was a “sport” of civil prices with out the specter of a grand jury or indictment, concluding that “felony prices are completely different.”
This public spat doesn’t have any affect on an already-concluded Ripple case, nevertheless it does supply an attention-grabbing angle on it from somebody you wouldn’t count on, Elizabeth Holmes. As for Theranos and its founder, although, the brawl simply underscores Holmes’s continued efforts to stay related by way of social media whereas incarcerated, at the same time as she campaigns for her early launch.
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Shiba Inu (SHIB) sees 71% spike in quantity, whereas Shytoshi Kusama teases UX/UI overhaul forward of “Eclipse”
In keeping with CoinMarketCap, Shiba Inu (SHIB) buying and selling quantity has surged 71.6% to $235.8 million. The spike in buying and selling exercise coincided with lead developer Shytoshi Kusama transferring his new mission into “alpha testing” for a big Person Expertise (UX) and Person Interface (UI) redesign.
Whereas being an entire secret, one could attempt to guess what Kusama is cooking up behind the scenes. One of many theories is that this overhaul probably addresses vital boundaries to entry, comparable to complicated pockets integrations and fragmented dApp navigation. A streamlined UI may cut back “bounce charges” from new retail traders, a key metric for long-term mission viability in 2026.
One other of Kusama’s cryptic messages was in a bio of his X account, price a million followers, and in addition got here yesterday, Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day.
What it might be about:
- The “1326” Principle: Some SHIB fans recommend “1326” could seek advice from a particular technical milestone or a scheduled launch time.
- The Eclipse Discuss: Scheduled for Feb. 17, this briefing is predicted to disclose the primary take a look at the “Alpha” interface.
Regardless of the 71% quantity spike, SHIB’s worth stays consolidated at $0.000006822, with a complete market capitalization of $4.02 billion. The present lack of panic-driven worth motion suggests this quantity represents the return of volatility moderately than a speculative pump.
If SHIB sustains a transfer above the $0.000007 resistance degree through the Feb. 17 briefing, it could affirm a shift in short-term momentum, pushed by an remoted narrative, not broader crypto market motion.
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee predicts finish of crypto winter by Q2, 2026
One other attention-grabbing improvement for the crypto market this Sunday got here from Tom Lee’s facet, because the Fundstrat cofounder and Bitmine chairman — Bitmine being an organization with nearly $8 billion in unrealized loss in its Ethereum place — supplied a perspective on the top of the present crypto winter. Throughout a current look, Lee claimed that the market has both reached its lowest level or will attain it earlier than April 2026.
Lee characterizes the current downturn, which additionally triggered a multibillion-dollar gap in Bitmine’s Ethereum steadiness, as an ordinary cyclical correction moderately than the failure of the digital belongings business.
In keeping with Fundstrat’s evaluation, if the market sees a closing leg down in late February, it would probably signify the last word low earlier than a restoration section. The April deadline coincides with historic Q2 liquidity quakes and anticipated macro-policy readability.
It’s not comprehensible how Lee, a market veteran with a monitor report in Bitcoin investments, got here right into a place the place the corporate he chairs carries as much as $8 billion in ETH loss — one of many worst funding offers within the historical past of markets, by the best way. This reality additionally considerably makes all of the current statements by Lee much less reliable too, let’s be trustworthy, and could also be seen as “hopium” by market individuals.
Nonetheless, if Lee’s evaluation is appropriate, the transition to a bullish pattern will happen inside weeks, not quarters.
Crypto market outlook for Feb. 16-22: What to anticipate?
For the week of Feb. 16-22, 2026, the cryptocurrency market is navigating a vital macro-pivot because it assessments long-term help ranges following final week’s CPI optimism.
- ETHDenver 2026 (Feb. 17-21): The biggest Ethereum builder pageant kicks off in Denver, USA. Count on excessive volatility in Ethereum (ETH) and layer-2 ecosystems as new technical upgrades and “BUIDLathon” outcomes are introduced.
- FOMC Minutes Publication (Feb. 18): The Federal Reserve will launch minutes from its newest assembly. Merchants are scanning for hawkish indicators from Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh, whose current choice has pressured Bitcoin costs.
- U.S. GDP Information Launch (Feb. 20): Contemporary financial development information will probably be launched, instantly impacting danger urge for food for digital belongings.