Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, reported 33% revenue growth for fiscal 2025, with adjusted revenue rising to $2.2 billion from $1.6 billion in 2024. Transaction volume increased roughly 34% to about $2.0 trillion and assets on the platform rose 11% to $48.2 billion; funded accounts grew 50% to 5.7 million. The company said its revenue mix is now approximately 47% trading-based and 53% asset-based (custody, yield, payments and financing), improving revenue stability versus pure trading exposure. Payward attributed growth to strategic acquisitions (including NinjaTrader, Breakout, Small Exchange, Capitalise.ai and Backed/xStocks) and product launches — NinjaTrader and Breakout integration and the launch of US-regulated crypto futures drove a 119% increase in daily average revenue trades and strong futures revenue. Adjusted EBITDA was $531 million (up 26%), and Q4 produced $625 million in adjusted revenue with $84 million in EBITDA despite softer industry conditions. The company said its infrastructure remained resilient during an October market drop and highlighted regulatory progress (EU MiCA and UK EMI licenses). Payward confidentially filed for an IPO in November and is planning a separate Nasdaq listing for another group company. Key takeaways for traders: diversified revenue mix should reduce platform exposure to spot volatility, increased derivatives and institutional activity may boost liquidity and intraday volatility in listed products, and regulatory approvals plus IPO plans raise institutional credibility but could shift focus toward compliance and traditional-asset product expansion.

Tether has released MiningOS (MOS), an Apache‑2.0 licensed, open‑source Bitcoin mining operating system designed to scale from single rigs to industrial mining farms. MOS bundles device management, miner telemetry, energy controls, pool management and developer hooks into a modular, self‑hosted stack. It uses Holepunch peer‑to‑peer networking to reduce reliance on centralized servers and avoid vendor lock‑in. Tether published documentation and a community contribution workflow on GitHub‑style channels; company leaders including Paolo Ardoino presented MOS at recent Bitcoin events. The project aims to lower integration costs and operational complexity for small operators, hobbyist miners and integrators, while providing a free, extendable base that larger operators can adapt. For traders: the release is an infrastructure play that highlights Tether’s expanding role beyond stablecoins and could incrementally improve miner efficiency and decentralization of Bitcoin mining — factors that matter for BTC supply dynamics over time.

xAI posted a remote role for a “Finance Expert – Crypto” to help train its next-generation trading-focused AI on blockchain markets and crypto trading. The contractor will prepare and label training data (text, audio, video), review model outputs, provide step-by-step reasoning traces and recorded explanations, and critique AI performance — not execute live trades. Required expertise includes on-chain analytics, DeFi protocols, perpetual futures and derivatives, cross-exchange arbitrage, market microstructure, MEV-aware execution, and 24/7 risk/portfolio management. The U.S. pay range is $45–$100 per hour, with separate international rates. CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta noted the hire highlights growing convergence between AI and crypto. The posting and related commentary also raised regulatory concerns, with a UK parliamentary committee warning that AI is propagating through finance faster than rules can keep up. For traders, the vacancy signals more institutional-grade AI development aimed at crypto market strategies and model-driven execution insights — a development that can increase professionalization of algorithmic trading and data-driven signals, though the role appears focused on data labeling and model evaluation rather than deploying live trading systems.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $144.9 million in net inflows on Feb. 9, marking a second consecutive day of positive capital flows and signalling renewed investor demand for regulated bitcoin exposure since the SEC approved spot ETFs in January 2024. Fund-level data from Farside Investors shows Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust led inflows with $130.5 million, while ARK/21Shares’ ARKB and VanEck’s HODL added $14.1 million and $12 million respectively. Smaller positive flows were recorded for Franklin’s EZBC and Fidelity’s FBTC; BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw a $20.9 million outflow. Earlier (Feb. 6) reports showed a separate intraday inflow of about $330 million led by BlackRock’s IBIT, tied to a brief rally in Bitcoin above $70,000 and a positive Coinbase premium, though weekly flows that week remained negative. Traders should watch ETF flows (particularly concentrated moves such as Grayscale’s Mini BTC), issuer-level differences, the Coinbase premium, and price reaction around key levels like $70k. Sustained ETF buying can tighten exchange BTC supply and add near-term buying pressure and intraday liquidity, but short streaks of inflows are not definitive trend reversals.

ARB (ARB/USDT) remains in a pronounced downtrend as of Feb 10, 2026, trading near $0.11 after a roughly 6% 24h decline. Momentum is decisively bearish: RSI in the mid-20s (oversold), MACD negative, and price below EMA20/50/200. Recent volume (~$96M 24h) confirms selling pressure. Key supports: $0.1088 (near-term swing low / 0.618 Fib) and $0.0944 (lower channel boundary / weekly support). Immediate resistance cluster sits at $0.1178 (EMA20 intersection) and $0.15 (Supertrend / higher resistance). Correlation with Bitcoin is high (≈0.8–0.85); further BTC weakness — watch $68.3k and $62.9k — raises downside risk for ARB. Probabilities estimated from technicals: ~60% continuation lower, ~25% short-term bounce to $0.1178, ~15% sustained reversal. Trade guidance for traders: maintain a short bias or stay sidelined; avoid fresh longs unless ARB breaks above $0.1178 with convincing volume and RSI divergence. Suggested risk controls: stop-loss considerations below $0.1088 and small position sizing (1–2%). This view synthesizes earlier analysis (lower highs/lows, EMA20 resistance) with updated volume and probability estimates; it is informational and not investment advice.

Forbes and Arkham Intelligence data show Binance holds roughly $4.7 billion — about 87% — of the USD1 stablecoin’s $5.4 billion circulating supply. USD1 is issued by World Liberty Financial, a venture linked to former U.S. President Donald Trump; affiliated entities hold large WLFI stakes and Trump reportedly earned $57.4 million from the project. Binance’s holdings span exchange-controlled wallets and user balances and increased since late 2025 through promotions, token airdrops (including a $40m WLFI distribution), a $2bn MGX investment that channelled USD1 into Binance custody, and conversion of former BUSD reserves into USD1. Analysts and security researchers warn that such heavy concentration on a single exchange creates custody, counterparty, governance and transparency risks — especially if wallets are frozen during legal action, technical outages, or platform stress. Regulatory context: Binance limited U.S. customer access after a 2023 settlement; the SEC withdrew a 2025 suit shortly after USD1 was listed. Binance and World Liberty deny improper ties; World Liberty says promotions were standard practice. Key trader takeaways: the USD1 concentration heightens counterparty and custody risk, could amplify liquidity shocks or sudden freezes, may raise volatility tied to political connections, and could attract greater regulatory scrutiny. Traders should reassess exposure to USD1, review counterparty risk controls, and monitor on-chain flows and exchange custody actions.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell into single digits — reaching 9 on March 21, 2025 — and remains in the “Extreme Fear” band. The index (0–100) is a weighted composite of six factors: volatility (25%), market volume (25%), social media sentiment (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin dominance (10%) and Google Trends (10%). Recent readings reflect heightened volatility, reduced trading volume, muted on-chain flows, cautious social narratives and limited institutional buying momentum. Analysts point to tighter macro linkages (inflation and hawkish central banks), regulatory uncertainty and sidelined stablecoin reserves as structural drivers. Historical single-digit episodes (Jan 2019, Mar 2020, Jun 2022) have often preceded multi-month to multi-year recoveries, but the index is a contrarian sentiment gauge — not a precise market-timing tool. Experts warn a one-day uptick does not indicate a trend reversal; a sustained move above ~25 is typically needed to exit “Extreme Fear.” For traders, recommended actions include strict risk management, monitoring liquidity and leverage, dollar-cost averaging (DCA), disciplined rebalancing and deeper fundamental research. The index is updated daily by Alternative and measures sentiment rather than forecasting prices.

Ripple has expanded its institutional custody platform by integrating Securosys hardware security modules (HSMs) for on‑premises or cloud key management and Figment’s staking services to enable custodians and banks to offer staking without running validators. The upgrades include embedded compliance checks—building on Ripple’s prior Palisade acquisition and Chainalysis tooling—and aim to accelerate deployment of custody, key‑management and staking services for regulated firms. Supported networks include Ethereum and Solana; services promise faster rollout, stronger compliance, and optional on‑premises key control. The move aligns with Ripple’s broader push into institutional infrastructure (custody, treasury and post‑trade) and follows its RLUSD stablecoin launch. For traders: the integrations may strengthen institutional adoption of Ripple’s services and related demand for XRP over the medium to long term, though near‑term XRP price action will still depend on broader market conditions and technical indicators.

HBAR (HBAR/USDT) is trading near $0.09 and sits at a critical daily/3-day support around $0.0914. Technical indicators show a short-term bearish bias: price is below the EMA20 (~$0.10), Supertrend remains bearish (~$0.12), and momentum oscillators are neutral-to-bearish (RSI ~42–45). Analysts identified 15 key support and resistance levels across 1D/3D/1W timeframes. Primary support: $0.0914 (an order block tested five times with high-volume buy footprints). Secondary supports: $0.0377 (1W swing low, Fib 0.618) and $0.0197 (final defense near $0.02). Near-term resistances: $0.0978 (EMA20) and $0.1036 (Supertrend/pivot); major resistance at $0.1504 (1W supply, Fib 0.382). Two scenario trading plan: if $0.0914 holds, short-term longs target $0.0978–$0.1036 with an extension to $0.1504 (example R/R 1:4); if $0.0914 breaks, downside toward $0.0377 is likely. Risk management guidance includes tight stops (~$0.089), small position sizes (around 1% risk), trailing stops, and waiting for multi-timeframe and volume confirmation on breakouts. Analysts also note liquidity-hunt risk and order-block positioning of large holders; Bitcoin direction may influence HBAR but is described as only weakly positively correlated in the newer analysis. This technical outlook is informational and not investment advice.

A Dogecoin (DOGE) whale transferred 203.56 million DOGE (≈$20.06M) to Robinhood, following a Feb 4 inflow of about 277.73 million DOGE (≈$29.5M). Together the transfers total roughly 481 million DOGE. The activity coincided with a price rebound: DOGE fell to $0.0799 on Feb 6 before recovering toward $0.10 and showing an approximate 6% bounce in the short term. Market depth for DOGE declined from about $12M in early January to roughly $10M in early February, increasing sensitivity to large exchange inflows. The transfers occurred amid broader crypto-market volatility after a sharp October sell-off and recent leveraged liquidations. For traders, repeated large deposits to Robinhood signal elevated selling or redistribution risk and may strain order-book liquidity on that venue. Key technical levels to watch: a break below $0.07 risks further downside toward $0.05, while sustained moves above $0.106–$0.110 would be needed to confirm a stronger recovery. Monitor exchange inflows, Robinhood order-book depth, and overall market volatility for near-term price impact.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has opened an emergency probe after Bithumb mistakenly credited hundreds of user accounts with roughly 2,000 BTC each in an internal ledger error. The misallocation — internal only, with no on‑chain transfers — produced a paper aggregate figure reported at about $43 billion and triggered a rapid paper sell-off on Bithumb that briefly pushed the platform’s BTC price sharply lower (around $55,000 on Bithumb). Bithumb said it recovered 99.7% of the overcredited BTC; the remaining shortfall (~0.3%) was covered by company funds. The exchange halted trading and withdrawals for affected accounts, reclaimed most sold coins, and announced a compensation package: small connectivity compensation (20,000 won), full reimbursement plus 10% extra for users who sold at erroneous low prices, and one week of zero trading fees. Regulators flagged structural weaknesses in exchange ledger systems — including the display or distribution of so‑called “ghost coins” not backed by on‑chain assets — and warned of stricter supervision: on‑site inspections, punitive fines for IT incidents, expanded security disclosures, and stronger executive responsibility. The incident has intensified calls for faster digital‑asset legislation and improved real‑time reconciliation between internal ledgers and on‑chain reserves. For traders: the event underlines counterparty and operational risk at centralized exchanges, the potential for abrupt, localized price dislocations, and possible regulatory changes that could affect liquidity and exchange operations.

Bernstein Research reiterated a $150,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price target for end-2026, describing the recent roughly 50% decline from the all-time high to the low-$60k/around $70k area as a confidence-driven, liquidity-sensitive correction rather than a structural failure. The firm noted no systemic triggers (hidden leverage or major insolvencies) and flagged only modest net outflows from spot-BTC ETFs (~7%). Bernstein warned miners could sell if price falls below production costs but said major corporate holders with long-dated preferred equity face manageable refinancing risk. The note dismissed narratives that AI or near-term quantum risks will make Bitcoin obsolete and argued institutional alignment — pro-Bitcoin U.S. policy, accelerating spot ETF adoption, growing corporate treasury exposure and asset-manager engagement — could resume upward momentum once liquidity improves. Market reactions varied: Bitwise’s CEO called sub-$70k levels a renewed institutional entry point, while some technical traders warn the “real bottom” may be under $50k. From current levels near $69k, Bernstein’s $150k target implies roughly +117% upside (about a $3 trillion market cap). Key SEO keywords: Bitcoin, BTC price, spot Bitcoin ETF, liquidity, institutional demand.

The Federal Reserve sought public comment on a proposal to offer limited-access “skinny master accounts” to certain fintech and crypto firms; the consultation closed with 44 responses. Most crypto firms and stablecoin issuers (notably Circle and Anchorage Digital Bank) generally supported the plan, arguing it would strengthen U.S. payment rails and align with Congress’ GENIUS Act goals. The Fed’s proposed guardrails include an overnight balance cap equal to the lower of $500 million or 10% of an account-holder’s assets, no interest paid on balances, and no direct access to the Fed’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) and some clearing services. Anchorage welcomed access but flagged practical concerns around the balance cap, lack of interest on reserves, and denied ACH/clearing access. Banking groups, including the American Bankers Association and state bankers associations, warned many eligible nonbank entities lack long-term regulatory records and consistent federal safety-and-soundness standards; they urged stronger governance, risk management and compliance conditions. Watchdog Better Markets opposed the move as an irresponsible concession to crypto. The Fed will review comments and may take months to issue final rules. Traders should monitor regulatory updates because limited central-bank access for crypto firms could affect liquidity, settlement speed and treasury operations in crypto-linked payment services. Primary keywords: Federal Reserve, skinny master accounts, crypto firms, Circle, Anchorage. Secondary keywords: payment infrastructure, ACH limits, overnight balance cap, regulatory standards.

Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin criticised DeFi markets’ heavy reliance on fiat‑backed stablecoins like USDC, saying they do not meaningfully decentralise issuer or counterparty risk. He proposed two alternatives aligned with DeFi’s original goals: (1) ETH‑collateralised algorithmic stablecoins that shift issuer risk to market dynamics, and (2) overcollateralised algorithmic stablecoins backed by diversified real‑world assets (RWAs) to preserve pegs if a single asset fails. The commentary comes as USDC concentration remains high across major lending markets: AAVE’s Ethereum pool reports roughly $4.1B USDC supplied and $2.77B borrowed within a ~$36.4B market; Morpho and Compound also list USDC among their largest markets and collateral. The later report adds trader‑focused context: AAVE’s price technicals show a recent downtrend, RSI near ~32, supports around $108–$92 and resistances $123–$148. Analysts warn that USDC concentration increases systemic counterparty risk for lending protocols and could amplify stress if USDC issuer or redemption mechanics are challenged. Traders should monitor USDC exposure on AAVE, Morpho, Compound and similar platforms, on‑chain reserve disclosures, RWA diversification metrics, and AAVE price action (watch resistance ~ $123 for recovery, support ~ $108 for downside confirmation). Primary keywords: USDC, AAVE, stablecoins, DeFi risk, RWA. Secondary keywords: algorithmic stablecoin, overcollateralisation, on‑chain reserves, lending markets.

ENS (Ethereum Name Service) has abandoned its planned ENSv2 Layer‑2 rollup, Namechain, and will deploy ENSv2 directly on Ethereum mainnet. ENS lead developer nick.eth cited a roughly 99% decline in registration gas costs over the past year and recent protocol upgrades — notably the Fusaka upgrade that raised the block gas limit to about 60 million — as key reasons to keep ENSv2 on L1. Ethereum core developers are targeting a 200 million gas limit by 2026 and expect further throughput gains from planned ZK upgrades. Namechain, proposed in November 2024 to move domain registrations onto rollups to cut costs and simplify UX, is no longer needed given lower L1 fees and greater base‑layer capacity. ENS will continue to ensure interoperability with Layer‑2s but will focus engineering on ENSv2 features on L1: a redesigned registration architecture, an improved ownership model, per‑name registries to ease cross‑chain operations, and better expiry handling. For traders, the pivot reduces short‑term development uncertainty and fragmentation risk for ENS domains, signals stronger on‑chain capacity on Ethereum L1, and may lower event‑driven volatility for ENS‑related tokens and services.

Tron Inc., led by Justin Sun, continued a coordinated treasury buy program with a purchase of 179,408 TRX at an average price of $0.28, bringing total treasury holdings above 680.7 million TRX. This follows earlier daily accumulations in the month — 184,226 TRX at $0.27 on Feb 7 and 181,085 TRX at $0.28 on Feb 8 — and was publicly endorsed by Sun (“Keep Going”). After the disclosure TRX traded near $0.2785, up about 0.85% intraday. However, 24-hour trading volume fell roughly 25% to around $522 million, while TRX is down ~1.8% over the past week and ~6.2% month-to-date. For traders: the company’s steady treasury accumulation (purchase size: 179,408 TRX; avg price: $0.28; treasury: >680.7M TRX) signals deliberate supply reduction that can provide price support. Short-term upside is limited by weak volume and broader market weakness. Ongoing regulatory uncertainty around Justin Sun (an SEC case currently paused) adds a risk factor that may constrain investor confidence. Monitor buy cadence, on-chain treasury transfers, TRX volume, and price reaction for position sizing and risk management.

The FDIC agreed to pay $188,440 in legal fees and change its disclosure policies to settle a FOIA lawsuit filed in connection with Coinbase. A court found the FDIC improperly used blanket withholding when denying requests for supervisory correspondence; the ruling forced the release of dozens of “pause,” suspension or cease‑and‑desist‑style letters urging banks to limit or stop crypto services. Under the settlement the FDIC will revise its FOIA handling, train staff to assess requests individually, and commit not to apply blanket secrecy to bank regulatory records. Coinbase’s legal team, led publicly by CLO Paul Grewal, says the documents confirm regulators pressured banks to avoid crypto, feeding concerns about quiet debanking or a “choke point” strategy. The settlement ends a multi‑year dispute and may affect how banks and crypto firms assess regulatory risk when offering or supporting crypto services. Key points for traders: $188,440 fees paid; policy and training changes at the FDIC; release of multiple supervisory “pause” letters targeting crypto services; heightened regulatory transparency that could change market perceptions of regulatory risk for crypto firms and banking partners.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said Bitcoin’s fall below $70,000 represents a fresh institutional buying opportunity even as long-term holders face uncertainty. Horsley described the market as undergoing a bitcoin-led selloff alongside other liquid macro assets; BTC fell about 22.6% over 30 days to roughly $69.6k. Despite the weakness, institutional demand remained strong: Bitwise (managing >$15bn AUM) recorded more than $100m of inflows when BTC traded near $77k earlier in the week. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows continue to influence markets — BlackRock’s spot BTC ETF saw $231.6m of inflows on Friday after recent outflows. Other market signals noted include an RSI near oversold (~34.5), elevated whale activity (a reported 5,000 BTC deposit to Binance), and rising retail interest (Google Trends peak for “Bitcoin” in the week of Feb 1). Key technical levels mentioned: supports near $62,910 and $70,580; resistances near $72,115 and $75,469. Traders should view this as a liquidity-driven dip with institutional flows likely to persist amid improving regulatory clarity — a short-term volatile environment that may present tactical buy entries for institutions and traders but still carries downside risk for long-term holders.

BTC perpetual futures across Binance, OKX and Bybit show a modest bullish tilt, with an aggregated 24‑hour long/short split around 51.0% long vs 49.0% short. Exchange-level readings from the latest update: Bybit ~52.5% long, Binance ~52.2% long and OKX ~51.4% long. Funding rates remain near neutral and open interest is steady, indicating balanced positioning rather than crowded directional bets. Compared with historical extremes (longs >60–65% during 2021 and shorts ~55–60% in 2022), current ratios point toward consolidation and range-bound price action instead of an imminent breakout. Traders should use these long/short ratio signals alongside price action, volume, funding-rate trends and open interest: short-term strategies should watch for divergences (for example, price rising while long share declines), while a sustained move in long share coupled with rising open interest would better confirm a bullish trend. This sentiment snapshot is useful for timing entries, sizing positions and avoiding overcrowded trades but is not standalone trading advice.

Top crypto venture capitalists are publicly divided on whether non‑financial Web3 applications (decentralized social, identity, media, digital copyright and Web3 gaming) failed because of poor product‑market fit or because of external pressures such as scams, exploitative tokenomics and regulatory scrutiny. The debate intensified after a16z crypto partner Chris Dixon argued that years of fraud and regulatory uncertainty prevented non‑financial projects from scaling, while Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi countered these projects simply lacked user demand. Nic Carter and others highlighted differing VC fund horizons — many funds expect 2–3 year outcomes while Dixon urges decade‑long bets. Current on‑chain fee data (DeFiLlama) and market activity show top revenue‑generating apps remain financial (DEXs, exchanges), and institutional capital is increasingly directed toward financial infrastructure and tokenized real‑world assets (RWA). This divergence is visible in portfolios: Dragonfly tilts toward financial use cases and infrastructure (Agora, Rain, Ethena, Monad), while a16z still backs a mix including community, gaming and media projects. For traders, the debate signals capital rotation: greater VC focus on DeFi, exchanges and tokenized RWA may concentrate liquidity and growth in financial native tokens, while non‑financial Web3 tokens could face reduced funding, slower liquidity, and longer timelines to meaningful adoption. Monitor funding flows, on‑chain fees, TVL and venture announcements for sector shifts; expect higher short‑term volatility for non‑financial Web3 tokens and relatively stronger institutional bid for finance‑aligned assets.

A Seoul court sentenced Jong-hwan Lee, CEO of a South Korean crypto asset manager, to three years in prison after finding he manipulated the price and volume of the ACE token using automated trading and wash trades. The court ruled Lee violated the Virtual Asset User Protection Act (effective July 2024), fined him 500 million KRW and ordered forfeiture of about 846 million KRW. Prosecutors estimated illicit gains of roughly 7.1 billion KRW, though the court partially acquitted on that exact figure citing insufficient evidence. The court attributed 89% of a sudden ACE daily volume surge (from ~160,000 to 2.45 million units between July 22 and Oct 25, 2024) to Lee’s activity. A former employee, Min-cheol Kang, received a two-year prison term suspended with three years of probation. This is the first enforcement action under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, signifying stepped-up regulatory enforcement against market abuse. The report also flags broader custody risks after prosecutors found a large loss of seized Bitcoin—estimated around 70 billion KRW—possibly due to phishing and operational failures. Traders should note heightened scrutiny on on-chain and off-exchange wash trades, increased legal and reputational risk for small-cap tokens like ACE, and elevated custody and liquidity risk for seized or institutional holdings.

Husky Inu AI (HINU) executed a small scheduled pre‑launch price increase from $0.00026331 to $0.00026431 while continuing to raise funds ahead of a planned mainnet launch. The project has raised roughly $934.6k to date and is aiming to exceed $1M before a flexible launch window targeted around late Q1 2026; the team has held periodic review meetings and will adjust timing to market conditions. In broader markets, risk appetite improved: Bitcoin (BTC) recovered and briefly exceeded $70k (intraday highs ~ $70.6k–71.6k across reports) with 24‑hour gains in the mid‑single digits, while Ethereum (ETH) traded above $2k. Several altcoins (XRP, SOL, DOGE, ADA, LINK and others) posted gains and total crypto market cap rose modestly. Notable on‑chain and institutional moves: Binance’s SAFU reportedly purchased 3,600 BTC (~$250M) and announced plans to convert $1B of SAFU reserves into BTC over 30 days; hedge funds raised aggregate crypto beta to a two‑year high. Separately, Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped sharply (~11%) to ~125.8T, shortening average block times and potentially increasing short‑term BTC issuance and miner selling pressure before difficulty is expected to rebound. Key takeaways for traders: HINU’s bump is marginal but relevant to pre‑launch holders and fundraising momentum; BTC’s rebound and institutional buys support short‑term risk‑on flows; the mining difficulty plunge may create temporary sell pressure from miners and slightly higher issuance, followed by restored miner economics when difficulty rises again. Primary keywords: HINU, Husky Inu AI, Bitcoin, BTC, crypto rebound, pre‑launch token sale, mining difficulty.

Whale Alert detected a 300,000,000 USDT transfer from a verified HTX (formerly Huobi) exchange wallet to the Aave protocol on Ethereum on March 15, 2025 at 08:42 UTC. The transaction paid roughly $1,200 in gas for priority processing and immediately interacted with Aave smart contracts, indicating planned deployment into lending markets rather than simple custody. Analysts interpret the move as institutional or whale positioning — likely yield optimization, collateral for borrowing (typical LTVs could support ~ $210M in loans), or treasury diversification away from centralized-exchange custody. A $300M USDT inflow materially increases Aave’s USDT liquidity on Ethereum, which can depress USDT deposit APYs under Aave’s algorithmic rate model and deepen liquidity for large borrowers. Short-term effects for traders to monitor include falling USDT deposit yields on Aave, improved borrowing capacity, and potential changes to funding rates for derivatives. The transfer also raises AML/KYC and regulatory considerations due to differing compliance models between HTX and Aave, while reinforcing the narrative of institutional-scale capital moving from centralized exchanges into DeFi. Traders should watch subsequent on-chain activity from the receiving address — deposits, borrows or transfers — plus Aave pool rates and TVL for actionable signals. This summary emphasizes market-relevant outcomes and is informational only, not trading advice.

Forward Industries (FWDI), the largest publicly traded Solana (SOL) treasury, holds nearly 7 million SOL acquired at an average cost of about $232 per token. With SOL trading near $85, FWDI’s SOL position is now worth roughly $600 million — creating an unrealized loss approaching $1 billion. The company’s Nasdaq-listed shares have slid from near $40 last year to just above $5, raising market concern over concentrated crypto treasuries. FWDI remains debt-free after raising $1.65 billion in a 2025 PIPE backed by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital. Management (CIO Ryan Navi) stresses a long-term strategy: continue accumulating and staking SOL (earning ~6–7% yield), use a liquid staking token fwdSOL (partnered with Sanctum) for capital efficiency and collateral, and redeploy capital into tokenized royalties, real-world assets and other cash-generating ventures. The firm positions itself as a “permanent-capital” vehicle able to selectively use leverage later and to acquire distressed, crypto-heavy peers during the downturn. For traders, key takeaways are FWDI’s concentrated SOL exposure, the large unrealized loss that could exert selling pressure or reputational contagion, the potential for strategic asset sales or acquisitions, and how these actions might influence both FWDI equity and SOL market sentiment.

Google search interest for “Bitcoin” surged to a roughly one-year high in the week beginning Feb. 1, 2026 as BTC price swung from about $81,500 to near $64,000 before recovering into the low $70,000s. The spike in Google Trends coincided with short-lived price weakness that tested the $60,000 area for the first time since October 2024. Analysts say rising search volume signals renewed retail attention and can bring fresh capital into markets, amplifying short-term price pressure. Traders warn that search activity is an imperfect signal: historically, search peaks have accompanied both rapid rallies and steep drops and do not reliably indicate sustained direction. In the coming sessions, market participants will watch whether higher public interest converts into durable demand or remains a transient news-driven boost that increases near-term volatility. Key SEO keywords: Bitcoin, Google Trends, BTC price volatility, retail interest, market sentiment.

Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped 11.6% to about 125.86T after the adjustment activated at block 935,429, the largest single-period decline since China’s 2021 mining crackdown and the tenth-largest negative adjustment on record. The fall coincides with an 11% aggregate BTC price decline over the past week and a deeper intraweek sell-off that pushed prices down as much as 28% earlier in February before a partial rebound to roughly $69,000. Network-wide average block times exceeded the 10‑minute target (over 11 minutes) before the adjustment. Analysts and company disclosures (including MARA’s Q3 2025 report) indicate average miner breakevens near $67,704, implying many miners are operating at a loss and may increase selling or curtail operations. Operational disruptions — notably a major US winter storm that temporarily forced Foundry USA to curtail capacity and briefly lose about 60% of its hashing power — and miners reallocating capacity to AI and HPC workloads contributed to a multi-month low in total hashrate. CoinWarz projects the next difficulty adjustment (around Feb 23) could lower difficulty by another ~10.4% toward ~112.7T if current conditions persist. Market implications for traders: near-term downside pressure is likely from miner capitulation and forced selling, raising volatility; lower difficulty will ease mining costs and can attract hashpower back, which may stabilise block production and miner margins over time. Key metrics to monitor: difficulty (125.86T), projected next difficulty (~112.7T), average block time (>11 minutes pre-adjustment), network hashrate and major pools’ shares (e.g., Foundry USA ~354 EH/s ~29–30% at recovery), and miner breakeven levels (~$67.7k).

Bitcoin (BTC) surged past the $70,000 mark in March–May 2025, ending weeks of consolidation and breaching a major technical and psychological resistance. Prices reached highs above $71,000 on some venues and traded around $70,000–$71,000 during the latest moves, with trading volume rising roughly 30–35% during the climb. Key short-term technical levels to watch are $73,800 (prior all‑time high), $70,000 (breakout), $65,200 (recent support) and $60,000 (institutional buy zone). Drivers cited across reports include renewed and sustained institutional inflows—especially via newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs (weekly inflows reported >$1.5B)—declining exchange reserves indicating accumulation, post‑halving supply effects, record network hash rate, and growing Lightning Network adoption. Regulatory progress (for example, MiCA in the EU) plus TradFi custody/settlement integration has reduced investor uncertainty and encouraged corporate allocations. Early rotation into major altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH) has been observed, though BTC remains the market leader. Risks include regulatory crackdowns, macroeconomic shocks, miner selling and energy debates, profit‑taking by long‑term holders, and high short‑term volatility. For traders: the move signals stronger institutional demand and deeper liquidity but also implies heightened volatility around macro or regulatory headlines. Recommended on‑chain and market data sources: CoinMarketCap/CoinGecko for prices and Glassnode/CryptoQuant for on‑chain metrics. (Main keyword: Bitcoin)

Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin has donated to Shielded Labs to support Crosslink, a protocol upgrade for privacy-focused Zcash (ZEC). Crosslink adds a parallel finality layer to Zcash’s proof‑of‑work chain to anchor blocks with a finality gadget, reducing chain reorganizations, rollback attacks and double-spend risk while making large transactions and platform integrations safer. Shielded Labs will use the funds to move Crosslink from prototype to production: launching an incentivized persistent testnet (participants earn ZEC), producing design specifications, conducting extensive security audits, and coordinating with wallets and infrastructure providers. Mainnet activation will require technical readiness, successful security reviews and broad community support. Buterin praised Zcash’s privacy focus and said Crosslink improves security and sustainability without replacing PoW. For traders: the donation highlights renewed developer and community attention on Zcash privacy and protocol robustness, which could influence adoption narratives and on-chain use. Note: this is not investment advice.

Trend Research sharply reduced its Ether (ETH) holdings this week, moving over 400,000 ETH off Aave and toward exchanges after ETH fell roughly 30% within seven days. The firm’s balance on Aave fell from about 651,000 ETH to roughly 247,000 ETH as leveraged positions—built by posting ETH as collateral, borrowing stablecoins and buying more ETH—faced liquidation bands between $1,562 and $1,698. Arkham on-chain tracking showed ~411,000 ETH routed to Binance during the month. Founder-linked Liquid Capital’s Jack Yi acknowledged the firm called a market bottom prematurely but said Trend Research will manage risk while awaiting recovery. Separately, BitMine Immersion Technologies (managed by Tom Lee) has an Ethereum-focused treasury of roughly 4.28M ETH and reported more than $7 billion in unrealized losses after buying ETH near $3,800–$3,900. BitMine has shifted from BTC mining to expanding ETH staking and plans a validator network by 2026, targeting up to 5% of ETH supply. Key takeaways for traders: increased on-chain selling pressure and exchange inflows may add short-term downward pressure and volatility to ETH; leveraged institutional treasuries present heightened liquidation risk around the noted price bands; monitor large wallet flows and Aave positions for further sell signals or stabilization.