Crypto markets surged on February 13, 2026, following a US inflation report that came in below expectations. The total market capitalization rose nearly 5% to $2.44 trillion, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading gains. Despite the uptick, sentiment remains fragile amid ongoing concerns from recent market volatility.
On February 13, 2026, cryptocurrency markets experienced a notable rebound as investors reacted to the latest US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that prices rose 2.4% year-over-year in January, slightly below the 2.5% forecast from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, aligned with expectations at 2.5%.
The total crypto market capitalization increased almost 5% over the past 24 hours, reaching $2.44 trillion. Bitcoin climbed back above $69,000, marking a 4.5% daily gain and a 1.7% weekly increase. Ethereum rose more than 7.5% to trade above $2,000, with weekly gains of 4.4%. Among the top-10 assets by market cap, only Figure Heloc (FIGR_HELOC) declined, down less than 1%, while BNB gained 1.7%.
However, market sentiment stayed cautious. Analysts at Glassnode noted in an X post on February 12 that Bitcoin’s net unrealized profit/loss ratio had entered the hope/fear regime at around 0.18, signaling thin profit cushions. “This regime tends to be reactive,” Glassnode stated, explaining that rallies often face sell pressure and downside moves can extend as conviction wanes.
Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent, a high-frequency crypto market maker, described the markets as showing “a degree of fragility.” Traders remain concerned about aftershocks from the October 10 crash, which liquidated nearly $20 billion in positions. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index lingered in “extreme fear” territory, though it improved slightly from recent lows.
Among top-100 assets, Pi Network (PI) led gainers with a 10% rise, followed by Midnight (NIGHT) at 9%. World Liberty Financial (WLFI) was the largest loser among large-caps, down 2.3%. Liquidations totaled $260 million over 24 hours, affecting 90,640 traders, with Bitcoin accounting for $118.2 million and Ethereum $56 million.
The previous day, February 12, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded net outflows of $410.4 million, per SoSoValue data. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw outflows of $113.1 million.
