[1/3] [Cryptocurrency & Traditional Finance Merger Update] 2026-02-12 16:00 (Beijing Time) Important News 1. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins: Will accelerate the rollout of a clear regulatory framework for digital assets and work with the CFTC to advance the "Project Crypto/Token Taxonomy". Atkins stated in congressional hearings and public statements that the SEC's three priorities for 2026 are: strengthening anti-fraud and investor protection, reforming and streamlining disclosure rules, and providing a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets; and indicated that it will collaborate with the CFTC to advance "Project Crypto," and will subsequently release guidance on Token Taxonomy. (PANews | PANews | Cointelegraph | TechFlow) 2. BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL has been integrated into UniswapX's on-chain trading platform. BlackRock announced it will purchase UNI tokens, causing UNI's price to surge before falling back. BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL can now be traded on-chain through UniswapX (requires whitelisting and an institutional investor threshold of at least $5 million in assets). Simultaneously, BlackRock stated it will purchase UNI tokens (the quantity was not disclosed), pushing UNI's price from approximately $3.3 to approximately $4.5 before it fell back. On-chain monitoring also showed that after the UNI surge, an address transferred 3.65 million UNI tokens (approximately $13.43 million) to Coinbase Prime. (BlockBeats | TechFlow | BlockBeats | PANews) 3. Tether: Plans to significantly increase its purchases of short-term US Treasury bonds in 2026, aiming to become one of the "top ten buyers". Tether management stated that, with the growth in demand for USDT and the new compliant stablecoin USAT, they plan to significantly increase their purchases of short-term US Treasury bonds (T-bills) in 2026; they said that approximately 83.11% of USDT reserves are US Treasury bonds, worth over $122 billion, and mentioned approximately $6.3 billion in excess reserves. (PANews | TechFlow | WuBlockchain (quoted by The Block)) 4. Binance SAFU Fund completes its plan to transfer $1 billion in stablecoin reserves to BTC, bringing its total holdings to 15,000 BTC. Binance's SAFU fund recently added/transferred 4,545 BTC (approximately $305 million) and announced that it has completed its plan to convert approximately $1 billion of stablecoin reserves into BTC; it currently holds a total of approximately 15,000 BTC (approximately $1.005 billion). (BlockBeats | Foresight News | TechFlow | Arkham) 5. The UK Treasury has selected HSBC's Orion platform to pilot the issuance of digital government bonds (digital gilt/DIGIT). Multiple reports indicate that the UK Treasury will use HSBC's blockchain platform Orion to pilot the issuance of digital government bonds, and plans to proceed in a regulated testing environment managed by the UK's FCA; HSBC stated that on-chain issuance is expected to accelerate settlement and optimize debt capital market infrastructure. (PANews | TechFlow | Foresight News | Cointelegraph) 6. US Banking Industry Lobbies OCC to Slow Down Approval of Crypto Company Banking Licenses/Franchises, Concerned About Bypassing Traditional Banks and Directly Connecting to the Federal Reserve's Payment System. The American Bankers Association (ABA) sent a letter to the OCC, stating that the approval of crypto company licenses/franchises should be slowed down until Congress completes the relevant regulatory framework. The letter specifically named Circle, Ripple, Coinbase, and others, and expressed concerns that crypto institutions might bypass traditional banking intermediaries and directly access the Federal Reserve's payment system. (Foresight News | Odaily | TechFlow | Decrypt) 7. Crypto lending/market maker BlockFills has suspended deposits and withdrawals, citing market volatility and stating that it is working on a liquidity recovery plan. BlockFills stated that it has suspended deposits and withdrawals (the suspension began last week) to protect the interests of its customers and the company. Users can still conduct some transactions such as opening and closing positions in spot/derivatives. Management is working with investors and customers to develop a plan to restore liquidity, but has not yet given a clear timetable for the resumption. (BlockBeats | Odaily | TechFlow | PANews) 8. WLFI will launch the cross-border transfer/foreign exchange platform "World Swap" to expand its product portfolio around the USD1 stablecoin. WLFI (World Liberty Financial) announced the launch of its foreign exchange/cross-border transfer platform, "World Swap," centered on the USD1 stablecoin backed by cash reserves, aiming to challenge the traditional remittance fees of 2%–10%. The company also announced that it will disclose RWA progress on February 18th, and plans to launch a consumer-grade application supporting debit card payments and subsequent foreign exchange settlement applications by the end of Q1 or early Q2 of 2026, emphasizing "instant, zero gas, and zero fees."