Spring Festival Holiday Must Watch | PCE readings may disrupt the rate cut pace; the hearing for Qian Zhimin's case will be held on February 16

Next Week Highlights Preview

February 16 (Chinese New Year’s Eve)

Hearing scheduled for the case involving 60,000 Bitcoin money laundering, affecting nearly 130,000 Chinese victims, with over 30 billion yuan involved;

February 18 (Second Day of Lunar New Year)

Polymarket plans to expand fee coverage to sports markets, starting with NCAA and Serie A markets;

February 19 (Third Day of Lunar New Year)

Federal Reserve to release minutes of the monetary policy meeting;

February 20 (Fourth Day of Lunar New Year)

U.S. to release Q4 GDP preliminary figures and core PCE price index;

U.S. Supreme Court to issue opinion on Trump tariffs case on February 20;

Others (Specific times not yet determined)

Elon Musk: Grok 4.2 to be released next week;

From February 16 to February 22, more industry events worth noting are as follows.

February 16 (Chinese New Year’s Eve)

Hearing scheduled for the case involving 60,000 Bitcoin money laundering, affecting nearly 130,000 Chinese victims, with over 30 billion yuan involved.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that 8,300 Chinese victims have filed claims. The assets from the 60,000 Bitcoin money laundering case are at an impasse, with multiple law firms acting independently, leading to issues like duplicate submissions, repeated debates, and prolonged procedures, which have also driven up legal fees, ultimately to be paid by Chinese victims. It is reported that on Chinese lunar New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar year (February 16-17, 2026), the UK High Court will hold a hearing involving over 30 billion yuan RMB and nearly 130,000 Chinese victims, concerning the asset disposal process of the case involving 60,000 Bitcoin. Additionally, Bitcoin prices have been volatile; the market value of 60,000 Bitcoin has shrunk from a peak of about 54 billion RMB on October 6, 2025, to approximately 31 billion RMB in early February 2026. (Caixin)

February 17 (First Day of Lunar New Year)

21shares plans to distribute staking rewards to Solana ETF holders on February 17

Odaily Planet Daily reports that crypto exchange product provider 21shares announced it will distribute staking rewards to holders of its Solana ETF (TSOL). Each TSOL share will receive $0.316871, payable on February 17, 2026. (Globenewswire)

February 18 (Second Day of Lunar New Year)

Polymarket expands fee coverage to sports markets, starting February 18, charging for NCAA and Serie A events

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Polymarket official Rodrigo announced on Discord that fee mechanisms will be extended to college basketball (NCAA) and Serie A markets. The fee structure is the same as the “15-minute crypto price fluctuation markets,” where takers pay fees and makers receive rebates, but with some differences — the fee rate is 0.0175, with an index of 1, and makers get a 25% rebate, resulting in overall lower costs.

Starting from UTC time 2026-02-18 at midnight, all new NCAA and Serie A related events created after this time will follow the new fee mechanism. Existing events are unaffected. The first rebate distribution will occur at UTC midnight on February 19.

ETH Denver to be held from February 18-21

Odaily Planet Daily reports ETHDenver will take place from February 18 to February 21 in Denver, USA.

WLFI to hold the first World Liberty Forum at Lake Tahoe on February 18

Odaily Planet Daily reports WLFI will hold its first World Liberty Forum at Lake Tahoe on February 18. The forum will cover topics including financial market evolution, digital assets, artificial intelligence, geopolitical risks, and public-private cooperation.

February 19 (Third Day of Lunar New Year)

Federal Reserve to release minutes of the monetary policy meeting

Odaily Planet Daily reports that on February 19 at 3:00 AM, the Federal Reserve will publish the minutes of its monetary policy meeting.

February 20 (Fourth Day of Lunar New Year)

U.S. to release Q4 GDP preliminary figures and core PCE price index

Odaily Planet Daily reports that on February 20 at 21:30, the U.S. will release December’s core PCE price index annual rate, personal expenditure monthly rate, Q4 real GDP annualized quarterly rate, Q4 real personal consumption expenditure quarterly rate, Q4 core PCE price index annualized quarterly rate, and December’s core PCE price index monthly rate.

The preliminary Q4 GDP and core PCE price index have become market focal points. As the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, if the PCE readings exceed expectations, it could influence the pace of policy easing for the year.

U.S. Supreme Court to issue opinion on Trump tariffs case on February 20

Odaily Planet Daily reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has designated February 20 as the next opinion release date, with the world awaiting a ruling that could largely invalidate former President Trump’s signature tariff policies. It is also expected that justices will issue opinions on February 24 and 25. This tariff dispute is one of 12 cases debated in October or November, with no rulings yet. U.S. federal data shows that disputed tariffs cause over $16 billion in monthly losses for importers. Economist Chris Kennedy estimates that at this rate, the total tariffs collected under the core legal framework of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act could exceed $170 billion by February 20. (Jin10)

February 21

No events scheduled

February 22

No events scheduled

February 23 (Sixth Day of Lunar New Year)

NFT platform Nifty Gateway to close on February 23, 2026, now in withdrawal-only mode

Odaily Planet Daily reports that NFT platform Nifty Gateway Studio announced on X that it will shut down on February 23, 2026. Effective immediately, Nifty Gateway has entered withdrawal-only mode. Customers holding USD, ETH balances, or NFTs will receive email notifications with instructions on how to transfer their assets out of the platform.

Strategy World 2026 to be held from February 23-26 in Las Vegas, USA

Odaily Planet Daily reports that the Strategy-hosted summit Strategy World 2026 will take place from February 23 to 26 in Las Vegas, featuring over 80 sessions and practical workshops.

Others (Specific times not yet determined)

Elon Musk: Grok 4.2 to be released next week

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Elon Musk posted on X that Grok 4.2 will finally be released next week, with significant improvements over version 4.1.