CoinPhoton

A South Korean court has sentenced Jong-hwan Lee, CEO of a local crypto asset management firm, to three years in prison for manipulating cryptocurrency prices to secure illicit profits. The ruling, issued by the Seoul Southern District Court, marks the first enforcement case under South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which took effect in July 2024. Judges found that Lee used automated trading programs and repeated wash trades to artificially inflate the trading activity of the ACE token between July and October 2024, generating roughly 7.1 billion won (about $4.88 million) in unfair gains. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a 500 million won fine and ordered the forfeiture of hundreds of millions of won in criminal proceeds, though Lee was not detained in court due to his cooperative behavior during the trial.
A former employee involved in the scheme received a two-year prison sentence suspended for three years. While the court confirmed market manipulation, it partially dismissed claims regarding the exact profit amount due to insufficient evidence.
In a separate development, South Korean prosecutors are also investigating the disappearance of a significant amount of confiscated Bitcoin discovered during an internal audit at the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office. Local media estimate the missing assets could be worth around 70 billion won (approximately $47.7 million). Early findings suggest the loss may be linked to a phishing incident that exposed wallet credentials, underscoring operational and security risks authorities face when managing seized digital assets.

Crypto and blockchain venture capital saw a strong rebound in Q4 2025, largely driven by large late-stage funding rounds. Galaxy Digital reported that investors deployed about $8.5 billion across 425 deals during the quarter—an 84% increase in capital compared to Q3 and the strongest quarterly investment level since Q2 2022, although overall deal activity still remains below the peak years of 2021–2022.
Later-stage companies captured 56% of the total capital, while early-stage startups accounted for 44%. Notably, just 11 mega-deals above $100 million represented roughly $7.3 billion, or about 85% of the quarter’s total funding. The biggest raises included Revolut, Touareg Group, and Kraken, alongside other sizable rounds from firms such as Ripple, Tempo, and several infrastructure and fintech-focused projects.
Across the full year 2025, venture capitalists invested around $20 billion into crypto and blockchain startups through 1,660 deals, making it the largest annual total since 2022 and more than double 2023’s level. Trading, exchange, investing, and lending platforms remained the top funding destination, while sectors like stablecoins, AI, and blockchain infrastructure also attracted meaningful capital.
Geographically, US-based companies captured the majority of funding, followed by the United Kingdom, reinforcing their dominance in the global crypto startup ecosystem. Meanwhile, fundraising for crypto-focused venture funds also recovered, reaching the highest levels since 2022—an indication that institutional confidence in the sector is gradually returning as the industry matures.

Arthur Hayes, founder of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX and one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry, recently drew attention after publicly challenging Kyle Samani, co-founder of investment firm Multicoin Capital, to a wager worth up to $100,000 centered on the HYPE token from the Hyperliquid project. Under Hayes’ proposal, over a period of more than five and a half months, HYPE must outperform any other cryptocurrency with a market capitalization above $1 billion, based on CoinGecko data, in USD terms.
What makes the bet notable is not only the amount at stake, but also its structure. Hayes allows Samani to freely choose the benchmark token, as long as it meets the market-cap requirement. At the end of the comparison period, the loser will donate $100,000 to a charity chosen by the winner, rather than paying the opponent directly. This gives the wager a largely symbolic character, reflecting the strong conviction and sharply opposing investment views of two prominent figures in the crypto space.
The challenge stems from Samani’s earlier criticisms of Hyperliquid. He has openly questioned the project’s legal structure and the motivations of its founding team, particularly claims that the founder relocated to another country to build and operate the business. According to Samani, these factors raise serious concerns about legal risk and long-term sustainability, and he argues that Hyperliquid has fundamental issues across multiple areas, from governance to its operating model.
Arthur Hayes, however, sees Hyperliquid in a very different light. He views it as one of the few projects with the potential for a major breakout as competition intensifies in the decentralized derivatives market. Hayes argues that Hyperliquid is well positioned to benefit from the ongoing shift in liquidity from centralized exchanges to on-chain platforms, while also boasting an active user community and notable growth momentum.

Traders on the prediction platform Polymarket have pushed the implied odds of Jesus Christ returning before the end of 2026 to about 5%, more than doubling since early January.
This unusual contract has even outperformed Bitcoin this year, as the largest digital asset has fallen roughly 18% amid concerns ranging from potential quantum-computing risks to speculation about hedge-fund troubles and broader risk-off sentiment across global markets.
The market titled “Will Jesus return in 2026” is currently trading around 5 cents, implying roughly a 5% probability, up from a low of about 1.8% on Jan. 3—meaning the “Yes” side has gained more than 120% in just over a month.
The move highlights how thinly traded prediction markets can behave like microcap tokens, where relatively small buying pressure can push implied probabilities sharply higher and generate eye-catching percentage gains.
Polymarket functions similarly to binary options: each “Yes” share pays $1 if the event occurs and $0 if it does not. A trader buying “Yes” at 5 cents is paying a small premium for a chance at $1, while someone buying “No” at around 95 cents is betting the event will not happen.
The contract resolves to “Yes” if the Second Coming occurs before 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 31, 2026, and to “No” otherwise. The platform says resolution will be based on a consensus of credible sources, underscoring that the market is treated more as a novelty than a serious forecast.
The rally also reflects Polymarket’s growing role as a real-time barometer of online attention, where topics ranging from elections and pop culture to religion can all be traded within the same interface.
Even so, the “Second Coming” contract remains a tiny corner of the market. But in a year when Bitcoin has struggled to regain stable footing, the episode is a reminder that the strangest niches of the crypto ecosystem are sometimes the only ones still moving higher.

Bearish voices grow louder as crypto market slides
After a multi-month downturn accelerated into a sharp sell-off last week, bulls searched for technical signals or major blowups that might mark a final bottom for the current bear phase.
Ironically, one possible bottom signal is the renewed confidence of long-time Bitcoin skeptics—voices that have stayed bearish even as Bitcoin rose from near zero to above $100,000 over its 16-year history.
The Financial Times has long been among the most consistent critics of Bitcoin and crypto. This weekend, columnist Jemima Kelly argued that Bitcoin was still “about $69,000 too high,” later adjusted to $70,000, reiterating claims that the asset relies on a shrinking pool of “greater fools” and lacks a clear valuation floor.
Earlier, after Bitcoin fell below Strategy’s roughly $76,000 average cost basis, FT’s Craig Coben described the firm’s path as a “long road to nowhere,” noting the stock is down about 80% from its late-2024 peak and warning of continued pressure on shareholder value.
Gold advocate and longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff also weighed in, pointing out that Strategy’s more than $54 billion Bitcoin accumulation is currently near flat and that Bitcoin has dropped significantly when measured against gold, now worth about 15 ounces—well below its 2021 peak.
Some observers argue that this surge in pessimism itself may signal a late-stage bottoming process, though timing market lows based on headlines remains risky.
Meanwhile, investor enthusiasm around Tether appears to be cooling. Earlier reports of a $15–20 billion raise at a $500 billion valuation have faced pushback, with recent discussions suggesting fundraising closer to $5 billion, even as CEO Paolo Ardoino insists strong interest remains.

Japan election may speed up crypto reforms
Exit polls indicate the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could secure a majority in Japan’s lower house, a result that may accelerate the country’s crypto and digital asset agenda.
NHK estimates the LDP could win about 274–328 of 465 seats, well above the 233 needed to control the legislative agenda. A clear majority would give the government more room to pass key measures without heavy coalition bargaining.
Japan is pursuing major reforms, including cutting crypto taxes from rates as high as 55% to a flat 20%, reclassifying digital assets as financial products, and building clearer frameworks for stablecoins, tokenized securities, and potential crypto ETFs by 2028.
Industry leaders say a decisive win could speed up legislation and regulatory approvals, while a fragmented result would likely slow—but not stop—reforms, as pro-Web3 policy is already embedded within key institutions.

Newly released files from the U.S. Department of Justice reveal that Jeffrey Epstein had notable awareness of and involvement in the early development of the crypto industry. The documents show he made a $3 million investment in Coinbase in 2014, when the exchange was still privately held and valued at around $400 million, and later sold part of that stake. Separate emails also confirm that Epstein was connected to an investment in Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream through a venture fund linked to MIT Media Lab’s Joi Ito.

The files indicate that Epstein was actively discussing Bitcoin’s regulatory treatment and taxation as early as 2018. In conversations with political and financial figures, he suggested the U.S. Treasury should create voluntary disclosure mechanisms for crypto gains and argued that digital assets should be approached similarly to the early internet through coordinated international frameworks.

Correspondence also shows repeated communication with Tether co-founder Brock Pierce after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, including discussions related to cryptocurrency and personal matters. Other references include a 2014 exchange with investor Peter Thiel questioning what Bitcoin fundamentally represents—whether a currency, store of value, property, or payment system.

The documents mention several prominent industry figures. Michael Saylor was criticized in a private email years before his company later became one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders. Vitalik Buterin’s name appears only indirectly, with no evidence of direct interaction with Epstein.

Overall, the files suggest Epstein closely monitored the emerging digital asset sector, explored investment opportunities, and recognized both the potential upside and the ethical and reputational risks associated with funding projects in the space.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said recent crypto market volatility is normal and not a sign of structural weakness. He remains strongly bullish on crypto’s long-term adoption, arguing that digital assets are rapidly reshaping financial services across payments, custody, and infrastructure.
Armstrong emphasized that Coinbase will continue building regardless of market conditions, with the broader goal of modernizing the global financial system. He also highlighted crypto’s future role in the AI era, where autonomous agents could use programmable money like stablecoins and smart contracts.
Supportive regulatory momentum in the U.S. and clearer rules between agencies could reduce uncertainty and unlock institutional capital, though he criticized parts of the current CLARITY Act proposal. Strategically, Coinbase is focusing on its Base Layer-2 network and a long-term vision of becoming an “everything exchange” that may include tokenized equities, prediction markets, and commodities alongside digital assets.

Pudgy Penguins hosts Valentine’s Day pop-up event in New York
Pudgy Penguins is bringing Valentine’s Day into the real world with Pudgy Petals, a three-day immersive pop-up event in New York City running from Feb. 12–14. The activation highlights gifting and emotional connection through the brand’s colorful characters as it continues to expand beyond its crypto-native roots.
The pop-up centers on the love story of Polly and Pengu (also known as Pax), two core characters in the Pudgy Penguins universe. The team is using Valentine’s Day as a cultural entry point to translate its internet-native IP into a broader consumer brand spanning games, physical toys, and real-world experiences.
At the heart of the event is the Pudgy Penguins Plush Bouquet, priced at $49.99. Designed as a long-lasting alternative to traditional flowers, the bouquet features plush characters meant to be kept well beyond the holiday. The online drop has already sold out, though the bouquet will also be available for purchase at the pop-up.
According to Steve Starobinsky, Pudgy Penguins’ director of business development, the plush bouquet represents the brand’s first Valentine’s Day product and is intended to create new rituals of affection rooted in longevity rather than tradition.
The event also includes on-site bouquet customization, flash tattoos, free aura readings, and couples’ photo booths, along with pink and blue matcha drinks and themed treats outside the venue.
Programming varies by day: Feb. 12 coincides with New York Fashion Week and the New York Toy Fair, attracting a creative crowd; Feb. 13 is branded as “Polly’s Galentine’s,” focusing on friendship; and Feb. 14 leans fully into classic Valentine’s Day moments for couples.
Beyond the holiday theme, Pudgy Petals reflects Pudgy Penguins’ broader evolution from an NFT project into a mainstream consumer brand. The pop-up emphasizes emotional storytelling and accessibility, requiring no familiarity with crypto.

Drake places $1 million bitcoin bet on Patriots ahead of Super Bowl LX
Drake made headlines ahead of Super Bowl LX after placing a $1 million wager in bitcoin on the New England Patriots, despite most betting markets positioning the team as clear underdogs.
The bet, revealed in an Instagram post on Feb. 7, was placed through Stake—a crypto-based betting platform where Drake serves as a high-profile brand ambassador. The betting slip shows him backing the Patriots on the moneyline at roughly +195 odds, setting up a potential payout of about $2.95 million if New England pulls off the upset.
His move runs counter to the broader market consensus. Across major sportsbooks and prediction markets, Seattle has been favored, with spreads of around 4.5 points and implied odds suggesting close to a two-to-one advantage over the Patriots. Drake, however, publicly dared followers to fade his pick, instantly adding celebrity drama to an already high-stakes Super Bowl weekend.
Super Bowl LX also marks a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, when the Patriots defeated the Seahawks. This time, New England enters the championship game as a clear underdog, making Drake’s confidence even more notable.
Analysts estimate total betting volume for Super Bowl LX could reach about $1.76 billion. High-profile wagers from celebrities have become more common as legalized betting expands across the U.S., but Drake’s bets tend to attract outsized attention due to the long-running “Drake Curse”—the popular belief that teams or athletes he publicly supports often fall short.
Online reactions were immediate, with social media flooded by jokes, warnings, and rival fan celebrations. Patriots supporters worried about the perceived jinx, while Seahawks fans treated the bet as a positive omen.
Drake’s betting record remains mixed. He previously scored a reported $1.15 million win backing the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, but has also posted notable losses across other major sporting events.

Saylor hints Strategy may keep buying bitcoin despite $3.4B unrealized loss
Strategy founder Michael Saylor signaled in a Sunday post on X that the company may have added to its bitcoin holdings. “Orange Dots Matter,” he wrote—his usual phrase used to hint at new BTC purchases—even as the firm’s current position remains below its cost basis.
Saylor has a familiar pattern of sharing an image of Strategy’s bitcoin acquisition tracker on Sundays and revealing the latest purchase on Monday mornings around 8 a.m. ET, prompting expectations that another buy could soon be disclosed.
Strategy currently holds 713,502 BTC, accumulated at a total cost of about $54.26 billion. As of Feb. 8, the holdings were valued at roughly $50.83 billion, implying an unrealized loss of approximately $3.43 billion.
Market data suggests Strategy is not alone. Several digital asset treasury (DAT) firms are also holding crypto positions below their acquisition prices. In total, 22 such companies are sitting on about $21.65 billion in unrealized losses. Bitmine and Strategy account for the largest deficits, with Bitmine down roughly $7.8 billion and Strategy about $3.43 billion. The top ten DAT firms represent around $19.72 billion of the losses, while the remaining 12 account for about $1.93 billion.
If Strategy executed another purchase below its current cost basis, the firm’s average entry price could decline under its dollar-cost averaging (DCA) approach. Such a move would be consistent with Saylor’s long-standing strategy of continuing to accumulate bitcoin through market cycles rather than stepping back during downturns. Another set of “orange dots,” if confirmed, would signal continuity in Strategy’s accumulation thesis despite short-term volatility.

Block plans to cut up to 10% of workforce
Block Inc., the Jack Dorsey–led fintech company behind Cash App, Square, and Afterpay, is notifying hundreds of employees that their roles may be eliminated during annual performance reviews, with as much as 10% of its workforce at risk.
This marks the third major round of layoffs in roughly two years, following the elimination of 931 jobs in March 2025 and about 1,000 positions in January 2024. The current cuts are occurring across multiple teams as managers conduct year-end evaluations expected to run through late February.
Since 2024, Block has been in near-continuous restructuring, focusing on integrating Cash App with Square while investing in newer business lines. In November 2024, the company said it would prioritize bitcoin mining, wind down its decentralized tech unit TBD, and scale back investment in music streaming platform Tidal, alongside staff reductions in those divisions. Block has also been developing Goose, an in-house AI productivity tool.
At its November 2025 investor day, Block outlined a three-year financial framework targeting mid-teens annual gross profit growth through 2028 and guiding for $11.98 billion in gross profit in 2026. The company also announced a $5 billion increase to its share repurchase program, which pushed the stock up about 8% following the announcement.
Recent earnings have been mixed. In Q2, Block beat expectations with 14% year-over-year gross profit growth and raised its full-year outlook. However, in Q3 the company missed analyst estimates on both revenue and adjusted EPS, reporting $6.11 billion and $0.54 per share versus consensus forecasts of $6.34 billion and $0.63, sending shares down nearly 10% in after-hours trading. The stock is down roughly 37% over the past year and about 13% year to date, though it closed Friday at $55.97, up 4.85% on the session.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump notably shifted to a pro-crypto position, promising that the United States would become the global hub for crypto and that his administration would support Bitcoin and other digital assets. Among the most attention-grabbing statements were his suggestions that the remaining Bitcoin supply should be mined within the U.S. and that the country could establish a dedicated national Bitcoin reserve. These pledges helped fuel strong market optimism, contributing to Bitcoin’s sharp rally and a series of new all-time highs throughout 2025 following his election victory.
Despite those expectations, a year after his inauguration there is still no confirmed evidence that a U.S. Bitcoin reserve has been created, even though earlier rumors suggested the possibility of a broader digital asset stockpile that might include major altcoins. The lack of concrete policy movement has contrasted with the market’s earlier enthusiasm.
The topic resurfaced recently when Jim Cramer said in a CNBC appearance that he had “heard” the president intended to accumulate Bitcoin around the $60,000 level to help fill such a reserve. This speculation gained attention after Bitcoin briefly dropped to that price range for the first time since before the late-2024 election period. However, there is currently no verified proof supporting Cramer’s claim.
At present, the only clearly documented accumulation of Bitcoin mentioned in this context is Binance’s SAFU fund, which has been gradually converting part of its reserves from stablecoins into a Bitcoin-dominant allocation through several recent purchases.

Robert Kiyosaki has come under heavy criticism after making seemingly contradictory claims about his Bitcoin buying activity. Over the past few years, he has consistently positioned himself as a strong Bitcoin supporter, frequently encouraging investors to accumulate BTC alongside gold, silver, and more recently ETH. He also posted multiple times that he was actively buying more Bitcoin, including statements in 2025 when the asset was trading above $100,000, and later remarks that he ignores short-term price movements and simply keeps accumulating.
However, in a recent post that sparked widespread backlash, Kiyosaki claimed that he stopped buying Bitcoin when it was around $6,000 — a price level not seen since shortly after the COVID-era market crash in 2020. The apparent inconsistency between his earlier claims of continued purchases at much higher prices and his latest statement was quickly pointed out by the crypto community.
As a result, many critics questioned whether his current comment is inaccurate or whether some of his previous statements about buying Bitcoin were misleading. The controversy also revived scrutiny of several of his past market predictions and warnings about major crashes that never materialized, further fueling debate about the reliability of his public investment commentary.

Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have faced a severe sell-off in recent weeks, with BTC dropping about $30,000 in under ten days and briefly falling to around $60,000. The sharp decline pushed investor sentiment to multi-year lows, with the Fear and Greed Index plunging to 6 — its lowest level since 2019 — even as price later rebounded near $69,000.
Extreme fear has historically been associated with potential trend reversals, echoing the idea of being greedy when others are fearful. However, past cycles show that recoveries are not always immediate. Similar conditions in 2019 were followed by months of sideways movement and another major drop during the 2020 COVID-19 crash before a sustained bull run began.
While current sentiment suggests a possible rebound, the market remains highly uncertain due to geopolitical tensions, internal market pressures, financial instability, and volatility across multiple asset classes.

MegaETH is set to launch its mainnet on Feb. 9, but the MEGA token will only proceed to its TGE once the ecosystem meets predefined real-world performance KPIs.
The project says its native stablecoin, USDM — developed with Ethena and indirectly backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund via USDtb — will generate yield from its collateral. That revenue will be used for periodic buybacks of the MEGA token, creating a loop where ecosystem growth expands USDM supply and increases token buyback pressure.
Unlike many projects, more than 50% of MEGA’s total supply will only unlock if at least one of three conditions is met: a 30-day average USDM supply of $500 million or more; at least 10 applications processing over 100,000 transactions and 25,000 unique wallets; or three applications generating at least $50,000 in daily fees for 30 consecutive days. Once any KPI is achieved, the token’s TGE will follow after seven days.
Following the mainnet launch, MegaETH also plans to test Proximity Markets — a mechanism allowing market makers and applications to bid for positions closer to the sequencer to reduce latency, improve execution, and create additional real demand for the MEGA token.

Trend Research is reported to have nearly completed the liquidation of its Ethereum positions on Feb. 7, recording an estimated net loss of about $734 million on ETH after a period of sharp market volatility.
Earlier, the fund had posted roughly $315 million in profit by going long around 231,000 ETH at an average price of $2,667 and exiting near $4,027. However, a larger subsequent long position — about 651,500 ETH with an average entry of $3,180 — was forced to close around $2,053 as the market dropped, wiping out most of the earlier gains.
Despite the heavy losses on ETH, some industry sources say Trend Research is not net negative across its overall portfolio, as it still recorded significant profits from other digital assets, notably WLFI and FORM.

Tether freezes over $500M tied to illegal betting probe
Tether has frozen more than half a billion dollars in digital assets at the request of Turkish authorities as part of an investigation into illegal online betting and money laundering. Prosecutors in Istanbul previously seized about €460 million ($544 million) in assets linked to Veysel Sahin, later confirming the crypto firm involved was Tether, the issuer of the USDt stablecoin.
Tether said it acted on information provided by law enforcement and complies with local regulations, similar to its cooperation with agencies such as the DOJ and FBI. Turkey has already seized over $1 billion in assets through related investigations.
By late 2025, stablecoin issuers—mainly Tether and Circle—had blacklisted roughly 5,700 wallets holding about $2.5 billion, most of them containing USDT. Tether says it has supported more than 1,800 investigations across 62 countries, leading to $3.4 billion in frozen USDT. Despite this cooperation, USDt remains under scrutiny due to past links to money laundering and sanctions-evasion cases.
In Q4 2025, USDt’s market cap reached a record about $187.3 billion, with 24.8 million monthly active wallets and quarterly transfer volume hitting $4.4 trillion, setting new onchain highs.

Giannis becomes shareholder in Kalshi Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo announced he holds a stake in prediction market Kalshi Sports following the NBA trade deadline. Although Kalshi is regulated as a financial exchange rather than a gambling platform, and the NBA allows players to own passive stakes of under 1% in betting-related firms, the possibility that Giannis could profit from speculation tied to his own career—such as trade rumors—creates potential regulatory concerns for the league.
A Kalshi spokesperson said Giannis’s ownership is below 1%. Based on Kalshi’s recent $11 billion valuation, a 1% stake would be worth about $110 million.

Bitcoin started February trading around $80,000, with large holders cautiously adding positions while retail investors were exiting the market. Just days later, the price plunged to about $60,000 on Feb. 5, triggering one of the most significant capitulation events in Bitcoin’s history.
Following that sell-off, on-chain data now indicates a broad shift toward accumulation across nearly all investor cohorts as participants begin to see value at lower price levels. Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score—which measures buying strength across wallet sizes based on both entity size and BTC added over the past 15 days—has climbed to 0.68, moving above the neutral 0.5 threshold and signaling renewed market-wide accumulation for the first time since late November, a period that previously aligned with a local bottom near $80,000.
The most aggressive dip buying has come from wallets holding between 10 and 100 BTC, especially as prices approached $60,000. While it remains uncertain whether the ultimate market bottom has been established, the data suggests investors are once again viewing Bitcoin as attractively priced after a drawdown of more than 50% from its October all-time high.