Big week ahead. Nvidia reports Wednesday and the entire AI trade is holding its breath — $65B in expected revenue, but the real question is whether the Blackwell ramp commentary gives the market enough confidence to keep the $650B+ hyperscaler capex cycle priced in. Meanwhile, OpenAI is closing a $100B+ round at an $850B valuation (yes, that's a private company), and hedge fund 13F filings just revealed the smart money was heavily long software names that are now getting destroyed — Salesforce, Oracle, ServiceNow all down 25-30% YTD. On the digital assets side, Bitcoin ETFs just posted their fifth straight week of outflows ($3.8B total), but the institutional plumbing keeps getting built regardless: the SEC cut stablecoin capital requirements to 2%, China is quietly opening a tokenization corridor through Hong Kong, and institutional staking just crossed $58B. The divergence between price action and infrastructure buildout is the story right now — and the clients who understand that distinction are the ones you want to be talking to.
Top 5 — Need to Know in AI
Feb 22: Nvidia is set to report Q4 FY2026 earnings on Feb 25 with consensus expecting ~$65B in revenue. The market is laser-focused on data center revenue trajectory, Blackwell GPU ramp commentary, and any signals on pricing power amid rising competition. Nvidia guided $65B for Q4 — the question is whether they beat and raise.
Why You Should Care: This is the single most important earnings print for the entire AI trade. If NVDA delivers, it validates the $700B capex cycle. If it wobbles, every AI-adjacent name gets repriced. Make sure your clients are positioned before Wednesday close.
Motley FoolFeb 19: OpenAI is finalizing a funding round expected to exceed $100 billion, potentially valuing the company at over $850 billion. Key investors include Amazon, SoftBank, Nvidia, and Microsoft. This comes as OpenAI explores advertising within ChatGPT as a new monetization vector.
Why You Should Care: An $850B valuation for a private company is unprecedented. For clients asking about AI exposure beyond public markets, this signals the private market premium is enormous — and the eventual IPO will be the most watched listing since Meta.
TechCrunchFeb 21: Recent 13F filings reveal hedge funds entered 2026 heavily exposed to software stocks now getting crushed by AI disruption fears. Fernbridge Capital held large positions in Salesforce and Workday (both down 25%+ YTD). Kirkoswald took bearish bets against Oracle. The software layer is being repriced as AI threatens the seat-license model.
Why You Should Care: If your clients hold legacy SaaS in their portfolios, this is the conversation to have now. The smart money is rotating out of application software and into infrastructure. Help them understand which names have an AI moat and which are facing margin compression.
Business InsiderFeb 19: Big Tech's four major hyperscalers — Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta — are on track to spend over $650 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, up from ~$400B in 2025. The spending is primarily allocated to AI-specific chips, servers, and data center expansion. BlackRock's AI-focused ETF increased its overweight on infrastructure stocks.
Why You Should Care: The $650B+ capex number is the single most important data point for the AI trade. For clients asking 'is AI overhyped?' — point them to the capital commitments. BlackRock is voting with their feet on infrastructure over software.
Yahoo FinanceFeb 18: Deloitte's latest enterprise AI report shows adoption is accelerating from experimentation to full-scale implementation. A growing number of Fortune 500 companies are integrating AI into core business processes. Separately, Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.6 with a million-token context window and partnered with Infosys to build AI agents for regulated industries.
Why You Should Care: Enterprise AI is crossing the chasm from pilot to production. For clients in financial services, healthcare, or legal — the competitive pressure to deploy AI agents is intensifying. The firms that move first will capture disproportionate efficiency gains.
DeloitteTop 5 — Need to Know in Digital Assets
Feb 20: The SEC reduced the capital requirement ('haircut') for broker-dealers holding certain stablecoins from 100% to just 2% — aligning stablecoin treatment with money market funds. This dramatically lowers the cost for financial institutions to hold and transact in stablecoins on their balance sheets.
Why You Should Care: This is arguably the most consequential crypto regulatory move this year. Every broker-dealer from Robinhood to Goldman runs on these capital calculations. Stablecoins just became working capital, not a compliance liability. Your financial services clients need to understand this shift.
ForbesFeb 23: U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a record fifth consecutive week of outflows, totaling nearly $3.8 billion. This marks the longest and largest drawdown since their inception, with BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC leading the selling. Bitcoin is trading around $65,400, down ~27% YTD.
Why You Should Care: The sustained outflows from what has been the key institutional on-ramp to crypto suggest near-term bearish sentiment. But European flows remain positive and Coinbase surged 21% on the week — the market is pricing in regulatory tailwinds even as price bleeds. Help clients distinguish between price action and structural adoption.
CoinDeskFeb 23: China is reportedly creating a regulatory path for tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) in offshore markets like Hong Kong, while maintaining its domestic ban. This aims to establish a controlled environment for Chinese institutions to participate in the growing $17B+ tokenized RWA market.
Why You Should Care: China's participation, even in a limited offshore capacity, could inject massive liquidity and a vast new range of assets into the tokenization market. For clients with APAC exposure, this is a significant development — the world's second-largest economy is building a bridge to tokenized finance.
Caixin GlobalFeb 17: Institutional capital in liquid staking protocols surpassed $58 billion in early 2026, according to Amina Group. This represents a significant increase in institutional participation in staking, which provides yield on proof-of-stake assets like Ethereum. Separately, Ripple's President projected 50% of Fortune 500 companies will engage with digital assets by year-end.
Why You Should Care: The surge in institutional staking offers a compelling, lower-risk yield-generating opportunity for clients' digital asset holdings — an alternative to volatile price speculation. If your clients hold ETH, they should be asking about staking yields.
Amina GroupFeb 18: Arizona's Senate Finance Committee passed SB 1649 (4-2 vote) to establish a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund managed by the State Treasurer. Missouri is advancing a similar Bitcoin strategic reserve bill. This follows the broader trend of US states exploring Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
Why You Should Care: State-level Bitcoin reserves are moving from theory to legislation. For public finance and municipal clients, this creates a new conversation about digital asset allocation in government treasuries — and the custody, compliance, and advisory services that come with it.
Yahoo FinanceTop 5 Catalysts to Watch This Week
NVIDIA Q4 FY2026 Earnings — Wednesday, Feb 25
Consensus expects ~$65B in revenue (up 65% YoY) with ~75% gross margins. The Blackwell/Rubin pipeline and expanded Meta partnership make this the most important earnings report for the AI trade. Desks are watching data center revenue trajectory, Blackwell ramp commentary, and FY2027 guidance. Any miss or soft guide could trigger a broader AI re-rating across the entire semiconductor complex.
Federal Reserve Commentary & PPI Data — Feb 24-28
A series of speeches from Fed officials including Chicago Fed President Goolsbee and Governor Waller will be scrutinized for rate cut signals. The Producer Price Index (PPI) drops Friday. Core inflation trajectory is critical for risk asset positioning — a hot print pressures both tech multiples and digital assets; a cool print could spark a relief rally across risk.
C3.ai (AI) Q3 Earnings — Tuesday, Feb 25
As a pure-play enterprise AI software provider, C3.ai's earnings offer a granular view into corporate AI adoption. Analysts are focused on customer growth, deal sizes, and outlook. The results will be a significant sentiment driver for the broader SaaS and AI software space — especially given the ongoing software sell-off narrative.
MicroStrategy World: Bitcoin for Corporations — Feb 24
This institutional-focused conference hosted by the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin could act as a major catalyst for digital assets. Presentations will focus on Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset and institutional adoption trends. Any announcements of new corporate entrants into crypto could provide a significant boost to BTC and the wider market.
Key Crypto Token Events: SENT AI Mainnet & JUP Unlock — Feb 25 & 28
Two significant token-specific events this week. The mainnet launch for SENT AI on Feb 25 could attract fresh interest and liquidity. Conversely, a large token unlock for Jupiter (JUP) on Feb 28 could introduce selling pressure. These events highlight the idiosyncratic risks and opportunities within digital assets that crypto-native desks are watching closely.
Most Viral AI Content of the Week
AI-Generated Tom Cruise vs Brad Pitt Fight Scene Goes Viral
Created by Ruairí Robinson using ByteDance's Seedance 2.0
A 15-second AI-generated video showing a hyper-realistic fight between Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt exploded on X with 1.8M+ views. Created from a two-line text prompt using ByteDance's new Seedance 2.0 model, the clip's quality sparked genuine panic among Hollywood professionals about AI replacing traditional production. The media and entertainment disruption conversation just got very real — and the IP/licensing implications are enormous.
What's Trending on X
Selection criteria: Topics ranked by engagement velocity — post impressions, quote-tweet volume, and cross-platform spillover (i.e., when the conversation jumps from X to Bloomberg, CNBC, or Reddit within 24 hours). We filter for institutional relevance over retail noise.
𝕏 Grok AI deepfake controversy triggers EU investigation — X's AI chatbot Grok has been generating nonconsensual deepfake images, prompting investigations by the EU and Ireland's data protection regulator. The UK is considering a crackdown on AI chatbots. Major thread wars between AI safety advocates and free speech absolutists. Institutional implication: significant legal and reputational risk for companies deploying generative AI without guardrails.
𝕏 "AI is ruining social media" goes mainstream — A growing sentiment across Reddit, Facebook, and X that AI-generated content is diminishing the quality of online interactions. Users are expressing fatigue distinguishing between human and AI content. The narrative has crossed over to mainstream media. For banks, this impacts the effectiveness of social media marketing and client communication strategies.
𝕏 US crypto regulation debate intensifies — The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is stalled in the Senate, sparking heated debate between banks and crypto firms over stablecoin yields. Goldman Sachs' CEO publicly called for a clear, rule-based system. The White House hosted its second crypto meeting. The regulatory outcome will reshape the competitive landscape for every financial institution.
𝕏 MicroStrategy buys more BTC as ETF outflows continue — Despite four consecutive weeks of digital asset fund outflows, MicroStrategy made another significant Bitcoin acquisition. Pro-crypto PACs are raising heavily for 2026 midterms with backing from Coinbase and Ripple. The divergence between institutional conviction and retail sentiment is the most debated topic in Crypto Twitter right now.
Market Snapshot: Stocks & Digital Assets
Prices as of market close, February 21, 2026. Crypto prices are 24h.
Mag 7 & Top Tech / Software
| Ticker | Price | Daily | Weekly | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NVDA Semiconductors/AI | $189.82 | +1.02% | +1.54% | +0.51% |
AAPL Consumer Electronics | $264.58 | +1.54% | +1.09% | -2.37% |
MSFT Software/Cloud | $397.23 | -0.31% | -1.15% | -16.01% |
GOOGL Internet/Advertising | $314.98 | +4.01% | +1.94% | -0.05% |
AMZN E-Commerce/Cloud | $210.11 | +2.56% | +5.27% | -7.24% |
META Social Media/AI | $655.66 | +1.69% | +0.90% | +0.81% |
TSLA EV/Energy/AI | $411.82 | +0.03% | -1.26% | -5.99% |
AVGO Semiconductors | $332.65 | -0.40% | +0.45% | -4.31% |
TSM Semiconductors | $370.54 | +2.82% | +0.66% | +15.94% |
AMD Semiconductors | $200.15 | -1.58% | -2.81% | -10.44% |
CRM Enterprise Software | $185.16 | -0.07% | -0.15% | -26.99% |
ORCL Enterprise Software | $148.08 | -5.40% | -5.37% | -24.34% |
ADBE Creative Software | $258.61 | -0.23% | -1.48% | -22.41% |
NOW Enterprise Software | $104.27 | -2.89% | +0.95% | -29.28% |
PLTR AI/Data Analytics | $135.24 | +0.26% | +4.73% | -19.43% |
SNOW Cloud Data | $172.50 | -3.74% | -0.24% | -20.40% |
COIN Crypto Exchange | $171.35 | +3.26% | +21.45% | -27.56% |
MSTR Bitcoin Treasury | $131.05 | +1.24% | +6.54% | -16.61% |
Digital Assets
| Asset | Price | Daily | Weekly | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BTC Bitcoin | $65,361.62 | -3.05% | -5.06% | -27.33% |
ETH Ethereum | $1,873.87 | -3.78% | -6.21% | -40.03% |
SOL Solana | $78.55 | -5.42% | -9.12% | -40.55% |
XRP XRP | $1.36 | -4.20% | -8.85% | -32.44% |
ADA Cardano | $0.27 | -4.68% | -7.14% | -32.67% |
This briefing is for internal use only. Sources are linked for verification. Views expressed are for informational purposes and do not constitute investment advice.