Dragonfly Raises $650M for Fund IV

CFTC Asserts Federal Control Over Prediction Markets | Bridge Gets OCC Bank Approval

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
February 18, 2026

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Good Morning.

The CFTC’s move to claim exclusive authority over prediction markets could reshape the sector. If upheld, platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket would fall under federal derivatives law instead of state gambling rules. This case will decide whether prediction markets are financial infrastructure or simply sportsbooks.

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In Today's Email:

What Matters: Dragonfly Raises $650M for Fund IV 💰️
Case Study: CFTC Asserts Federal Control Over Prediction Markets 🔎
Governance & Features: Bridge Gets Conditional OCC Bank Approval 👌

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Narratives: Bear Market Conviction

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WHAT MATTERS

Dragonfly Raises $650M for Fund IV

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State of play: Dragonfly Capital has closed its fourth crypto venture fund at $650M, exceeding its original $500M target by 30%. It matches its 2022 fund and was raised amid peak bear market fear.

Dragonfly’s Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi said funds raised in past downturns, like 2018 and 2022, became their best performers.
Fund IV represents Dragonfly’s largest conviction bet that crypto remains in its early stages.
Recent investments reflect a focus on institutional payment infrastructure and stablecoins.

Dragonfly led a $75M Series C for Mesh at a $1B valuation in January, and co-led a $36M Series A for cross-border payments startup Conduit in May 2025.

The firm has also backed projects such as MyShell and Fantasy.top.
The fund close follows regulatory uncertainty tied to Dragonfly’s 2020 investment in PepperSec, the developers of Tornado Cash.
The US DoJ initially suggested potential charges but later clarified that neither Dragonfly nor its principals were targets in the investigation.

Why it matters: Raising $650M above target in a risk off environment signals that LP appetite for crypto venture is still intact. It also reinforces the classic VC playbook of deploying aggressively when sentiment is depressed and valuations are compressed.

Our take: If history rhymes, capital deployed in 2026 could capture the next cycle’s core infrastructure layer, especially in payments, stablecoins, and tokenization rails.

For builders and investors: Focus on sectors attracting consistent capital even in downturns.

CASE STUDY

CFTC Asserts Federal Control Over Prediction Markets

CFTC Chair Michael Selig

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed an amicus brief claiming exclusive federal jurisdiction over prediction markets, escalating a legal clash with state regulators.

The filing argues that event contracts are commodity derivatives and fall under the CFTC’s authority.
The dispute centers on whether sports related event contracts are federally regulated derivatives or state regulated gambling products.
A lower court ruled that the CFTC lacked jurisdiction over sports event contracts, allowing Nevada to apply its gaming laws. Crypto.com has appealed.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has framed state enforcement actions as a “power grab,” insisting that event contracts function like swaps, clear through regulated systems, and include investor protections distinct from casino betting.

The agency also recently scrapped a prior rulemaking effort that would have restricted certain political and gaming related contracts.
Some Democrats say prediction markets look like sportsbooks and bypass state rules and revenue.
Republicans, meanwhile, argue that clear federal oversight is necessary to foster innovation and regulatory certainty.

The outcome could determine whether platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket operate primarily under federal derivatives law or face fragmented state level gambling enforcement.

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INSIGHTS

Stani: Aave Can Finance the Abundance Era

State of play: Stani Kulechov argues that finance has always powered major societal shifts and that the next one will be driven by abundance technologies like solar and batteries. Scaling this transition could require $15 to $50T in investment through 2050.

He believes traditional finance is still focused on scarcity based assets, while abundance assets such as solar become more valuable as they scale.
By tokenizing solar infrastructure and using it as collateral, Aave could channel onchain capital into real world energy projects.
In his view, this would expand DeFi beyond crypto native assets, create stablecoin yield backed by productive infrastructure, and position Aave at the center of a multitrillion dollar energy transition.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Stripe’s Bridge Gets Conditional OCC Bank Approval

Stablecoin platform Bridge, acquired by Stripe, has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a federally chartered national bank.

If finalized, the charter would allow Bridge to custody crypto, issue stablecoins, and manage stablecoin reserves under a federal framework.
The move aligns Bridge with the GENIUS law rollout and strengthens its position serving fintechs and institutions.
Bridge joins other crypto firms that have received conditional OCC approval, including Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos.
To date, Anchorage Digital remains the only crypto firm with a fully granted national trust charter.

Other notable feature updates:

Lighter unveiled Lighter EVM.
Lido Finance launched Lido V3.
Superform launched its mobile app.
Jupiter launches Airdrop Season Rewards.
Pendle Finance is launching sPENDLE buybacks.
MegaETH announces the deployment of Bungee Exchange.
Aave DAO votes to shut down three L2 deployments (zkSync, Metis, Soneium).

QUICK BITES

eToro shares surge amid Q4 profit increase.
Dragonfly closes $650M for fourth crypto venture fund.
Bridge wins conditional OCC approval for national bank charter.
Ethereum's tokenized RWA market jumps more than 300% YoY.
BlackRock begins acquiring ETH for upcoming Ethereum staking ETF.
Gemini exchange parts ways with CFO, COO and CLO in ‘big shakeup.’
Strategy buys 2,486 BTC for $168M as total holdings reach 717,131 BTC.
Stablecoin is increasingly used as 'everyday money,' global study finds.
CFTC claims exclusive federal authority over prediction markets in new brief.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

Reya’s read on Ethereum won settlement.
DeFi Dojo’s read on DeFi is Dead. Long Live DeFi.
Letsgetonchain’s read on AMM LP Profitability: LVR Is Not the Whole Story.

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