MARKETS week ahead: February 23 – 28Crypto Total Market Cap, $CRYPTOCAP:TOTALXBTFXLast week in the news A hotter than expected PCE data and disappointing US Q4 GDP growth rate shaped investors sentiment, in addition to news regarding ruled out imposed trade tariffs by the US Supreme Court. The US equity markets gained on Friday, with S&P 500 surging around 1%, closing the week at 6.909. At the same time, US 10Y yields are digesting recent inflation and GDP data, with modest move of yields around 4,08%. The demand for gold continues to be strong, with gold testing once again the $5,1K level, amid general macro and geopolitical uncertainty. At the same time the crypto market remains silent, with BTC trying to regain the $70K level for one more time. Last week the focus of investors was shifted to inflation and GDP figures, which surprised markets on the downside. The December PCE Price Index rose 0.4% m/m and 2.9% y/y, slightly above expectations by 0.1 percentage points. Core PCE also came in higher than anticipated at 0.4% m/m and 3% y/y. Meanwhile, the Q4 GDP growth was a major disappointment, posting 1.4% q/q, well below the projected 3%. Additionally, the release of FOMC meeting minutes showed some members discussing the possibility of raising interest rates if inflation picks up, a signal that weighed on investor sentiment. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the U.S. President exceeded his legal authority by imposing broad global tariffs under a 1977 emergency powers law, declaring those tariffs invalid because only Congress has the constitutional power to levy such trade taxes. Trump sharply criticized the justices who sided against him, calling some of them unpatriotic, and responded by signing an executive order to impose a new 10% global tariff under a different statute. The decision is seen as a major setback to his signature trade policy and raises questions about potential refunds for over $130 billion in tariff revenue already collected. While the ruling limits his ability to use emergency powers for tariffs, economists note it doesn’t completely end his trade agenda, since other legal avenues remain available. The outcome also underscores constitutional limits on executive power over economic policy. On Wednesday, Nvidia’s shares climbed about 1.6% after the company and Meta announced a long-term, multiyear partnership in which Nvidia will supply millions of advanced AI chips, including its Blackwell and upcoming Rubin GPUs, plus other data-center processors and networking gear, reinforcing expectations of strong ongoing demand for Nvidia’s infrastructure chips. That stock gain was significant enough to act as a catalyst for the broader market, with the S&P 500 rising roughly 0.6% on Wednesday, as investors viewed the expanded Nvidia-Meta AI infrastructure agreement as a positive signal for future growth in the artificial intelligence sector. Major U.S. technology firms and Indian conglomerates made multibillion dollar AI and data infrastructure commitments at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, highlighting growing global cooperation in artificial intelligence. Key deals included Reliance Industries’ $110 billion investment in AI and data centers and Adani Group’s $100 billion pledge, while Microsoft announced plans to invest $50 billion in AI expansion across the “Global South.” Indian IT firm Tata Consultancy Services also signed OpenAI as a customer for its AI data centre initiative, and Nvidia partnered with Larsen & Toubro to build large scale AI infrastructure. The summit culminated in a broad declaration for responsible and inclusive AI development endorsed by dozens of nations and international organizations, underscoring India’s role as a global AI hub and a strategic partner to U.S. tech. CRYPTO MARKET Another relatively calm week on the crypto market is behind us. Investors are still weighing current fundamental and macro data in order to decide on the right moment to start the risk-on mode. Until that moment, the crypto will most probably continue to hold current grounds, before the final lift to the upside. Total crypto market capitalization decreased by 2,3% on a weekly basis, losing another $55B in the market cap. Daily trading volumes were just modestly decreased, to the level of $166B, from previous weeks $173B. Total market capitalization since the beginning of this year currently stands in a negative territory of -21%, with a total outflow of -$616B. Despite the modest increase in value of coins as of the end of the week, still negative performance could be marked for the majority of altcoins. BTC was down by 1,8% on a weekly basis, with an outflow of $25B in value. ETH had a bit higher drop of 4,6% w/w, while XRP was holding with a 3,6% decrease in value. Both DASH and ZCash marked significant weekly losses of 16,2% and 21% respectively. Only several altcoins managed to finish the week in green. Tron was traded higher by 2,2%, while POL closed the week by 3,3% higher. Some not so frequently discussed names had a significant weekly gain, like Morpho with a surge of 17% w/w or Stable, with 23% gain. It was a relatively calmer period also for coins in circulation. This week IOTA had a surge of coins in circulation by 0,5% w/w. DASH increased the number of coins by 0,2%, same as XRP, while the majority of other altcoins had an increase of 0,1% w/w or less. CRYPTO FUTURES MARKET Bitcoin futures continued to move lower this week, although the pace of the decline moderated compared with the previous period. The February 2026 maturity declined by 1.47% w/w, settling at $67,825. Along the rest of the curve, weekly losses ranged between 1.25% and 1.61%. The December 2027 maturity closed at $75,875, down 1.58% on the week. Overall, the relatively uniform declines across maturities indicate another broadly parallel downward shift in the Bitcoin futures curve, reflecting continued but somewhat less intense bearish positioning across the term structure. Ether futures also recorded further declines, with losses more pronounced than in Bitcoin futures. The February 2026 contract settled at $1,971, decreasing by 3.76% w/w. Across the curve, weekly declines ranged from 3.64% to 3.84%, with the December 2027 maturity closing at $2,207, down 3.79%. The consistency of these declines suggests sustained selling pressure across both near- and longer-dated Ether futures. Despite the additional correction, both Bitcoin and Ether futures curves remained in contango, as longer-dated maturities continued to trade at progressively higher price levels relative to the front of the curve. This structure indicates that, while near-term sentiment remained weak, market participants continue to price in higher valuations further along the forward curve.