CoinPhoton

Former SafeMoon US CEO sentenced to over 8 years in prison
Braden John Karony, the former CEO of SafeMoon US LLC, has been sentenced to just over eight years in prison after prosecutors said he misled investors to fund a lavish lifestyle that included mansions, sports cars, and custom trucks.
Karony, 29, of Utah, was also ordered to forfeit about $7.5 million and two residential properties, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors and the FBI said Karony stole more than $9 million in digital assets from SafeMoon for personal use.
In May, a federal jury convicted Karony of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. SafeMoon, launched in 2021, once reached a market capitalization of more than $8 billion. Each SafeMoon transaction carried a 10% tax, which investors were told would partly go into locked liquidity pools.
U.S. prosecutors said Karony and his co-conspirators fraudulently diverted millions from those liquidity pools, using the funds to buy a $2.2 million home, an Audi R8, a Tesla, and a custom Ford F-550. One co-conspirator has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, while another remains at large.

Circle Ventures invests in edgeX ahead of token launch
Circle Ventures has made an undisclosed investment in decentralized trading platform edgeX ahead of its planned token launch. Circle also plans to integrate its USDC stablecoin and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on EDGE Chain, the blockchain that underpins edgeX.
According to edgeX, discussions with Circle began in late 2025, with the investment finalized last month. Circle Ventures was the sole investor in the round. The project is targeting a token launch before March 31.
Founded in 2024, edgeX operates a decentralized perpetual futures exchange serving more than 295,000 users, processing around $5 billion in daily trading volume, and supporting roughly $1 billion in open interest, with particularly strong adoption in Asia. The upcoming USDC and CCTP integration is expected to enable interoperable onchain settlements and expand use cases for traders and institutions within the edgeX ecosystem.

LayerZero unveils Zero blockchain aimed at Wall Street
As Wall Street increasingly explores blockchain, the crypto industry still faces two core challenges: scaling the technology to handle the massive volumes of traditional finance and ensuring sensitive client data does not end up on public ledgers. LayerZero, a startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia, says it has an answer with a new blockchain called Zero.
According to the company, Zero leverages zero-knowledge proofs to enable ultra-fast, privacy-preserving transaction verification. LayerZero claims the network can process up to 2 million transactions per second at a cost of just fractions of a cent, far exceeding previous benchmarks set by chains like Solana.
The project has drawn backing from major Wall Street players, including Citadel, ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, Intercontinental Exchange, and Tether, joining as investors, partners, or advisors. A public demonstration is planned this week, with a full launch targeted for September.
If successful, Zero could accelerate institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure, potentially enabling financial markets to operate on a truly global, 24/7 basis.

Hyperliquid’s permissionless perpetual markets under the HIP-3 framework hit a record $5.2 billion in daily trading volume on Feb. 5, driven largely by intense volatility in precious metals. TradeXYZ dominated activity, accounting for nearly 90% of total volume, with its silver perpetuals alone generating $4.09 billion as traders sought exposure beyond crypto.
The surge began in late January after gold broke above $5,000 per ounce and silver crossed $100, before both metals suffered sharp one-day corrections of around 20–30%. Open interest on HIP-3 peaked at $1.06 billion prior to the drop and remains elevated at about $665 million, up 88% month over month.
Despite the correction, the metals trading boom has reshaped Hyperliquid’s image from a crypto-native perps venue into a broader multi-asset trading layer, with gold and silver now ranking among its most actively traded instruments. Notably, trading volumes in HIP-3’s gold and silver markets have grown to roughly 1% of COMEX’s volume, highlighting the platform’s rising relevance beyond crypto markets.

Robinhood misses Q4 revenue expectations, shares slide
Robinhood reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.28 billion, up 27% year over year but below analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion, snapping its streak of earnings beats as crypto markets cooled.
Net income fell 33% from a year earlier to $605 million, or 66 cents per share, missing Wall Street estimates of 67 cents. Revenue from crypto transactions came in at $221 million, down from the previous quarter and 38% lower year over year.
In after-hours trading, Robinhood shares dropped 6.5% to $80. Despite the pullback, the stock is still up around 50% over the past year. The company said prediction markets remain its fastest-growing product line, while it continues to build its Ethereum layer-2 network, Robinhood Chain.

Logan Paul’s “$1 million” Polymarket bet was just a stunt
Logan Paul’s apparent $1 million bet on Polymarket during the Super Bowl turned out to be a staged promo rather than a real wager. On-chain sleuths found that Paul’s account had no funds, making the bet impossible to execute.
Investigator ZachXBT said no large positions in the market matched the bet shown on video, calling it another misleading stunt and reviving criticism tied to Paul’s past CryptoZoo controversy.
The episode also raised questions about a potentially undisclosed promotional relationship between Paul and Polymarket. Ironically, even if the bet had been real, it would have lost, as Seattle won the game 29–13.
The incident comes as prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi face growing legal scrutiny and criticism over marketing that frames betting as an easy way to make money.

Beast Industries acquires Step, expanding into youth-focused digital banking
Beast Industries—the holding company behind YouTube star MrBeast—has agreed to acquire fintech startup Step, a mobile banking platform built for teenagers and young adults, for an undisclosed amount.
Step operates through its banking partner Evolve Bank & Trust, an FDIC member, with deposits insured up to $250,000 per account holder. The platform focuses on delivering mobile-first banking services tailored to younger users.
Beast Industries manages MrBeast’s consumer brands, including snack company Feastables, and oversees business ventures beyond James Stephen Donaldson’s YouTube channel, which has more than 466 million subscribers. The acquisition gives MrBeast control of a fintech firm that already has established banking infrastructure in place. A timeline for closing the deal has not been disclosed.
According to Crunchbase, Step has raised $491 million across six funding rounds, backed by high-profile investors such as Stephen Curry, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, and electronic duo The Chainsmokers.
The move follows 2025 trademark filings by entities linked to MrBeast referencing a potential crypto exchange and broader financial products. While no exchange has been officially announced, the filings pointed to ambitions spanning payments, digital assets, and financial education—areas that overlap with Step’s youth-focused banking model.
Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold said the acquisition aims to deliver practical, technology-driven financial tools that help young users build long-term financial security.
The development also drew support from Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, whose Ethereum treasury company recently invested $200 million in Donaldson’s business. Lee said expanding into financial services complements MrBeast’s existing ecosystem as Gen Z enters a critical phase for learning how to manage, save, and invest money.

Bitcoin’s recent price action is often explained almost entirely through ETF flows, but that narrative misses deeper structural signals visible on-chain. While ETF inflows and outflows clearly influence short-term price moves, Bitcoin’s internal dynamics—miners, long-term holders, and network-level metrics—provide crucial insight into where the market stands in the cycle.

On-chain data shows mounting pressure among miners, whose BTC reserves have fallen to multi-year lows. Over the past two months alone, miners have reduced holdings by roughly 6,300 BTC, reflecting sustained balance-sheet stress. In USD terms, miner reserves have dropped more than 20%, shrinking their margin of safety and increasing the risk of forced selling if prices continue to weaken. This stress coincides with large difficulty adjustments and hashrate declines, reinforcing signs of strain across the mining sector.

At the same time, broader cycle indicators present a mixed picture. Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) remains positive, suggesting the market has not yet entered full capitulation territory. However, NUPL has compressed sharply, indicating declining aggregate profitability and deteriorating sentiment. Historically, true bear-market bottoms tend to form when NUPL turns negative, particularly near -0.2—levels not yet reached.

In contrast, the percentage of Bitcoin UTXOs in profit has already fallen to levels comparable to prior cycle lows. This suggests much of the market pain may have been front-loaded, reflecting a more mature holder base with lower cost bases and stronger conviction. As a result, the market may require less additional downside to reach exhaustion.

The interaction between ETF flows and on-chain behavior is critical. Negative ETF flows can overwhelm marginal demand in the short term, while declining prices further squeeze miners, creating a feedback loop that increases supply pressure. However, ETF flows alone do not determine whether a selloff becomes a prolonged bear phase or stabilizes into a bottoming process.

China’s gradual pullback from US Treasuries is emerging as a meaningful macro risk for Bitcoin, not because China can destabilize the bond market alone, but because reduced foreign demand could push US yields higher and tighten global financial conditions.

Recent guidance from Chinese regulators urging banks to limit exposure to US Treasuries has revived concerns over how much of China’s roughly $298 billion in dollar-denominated bonds could eventually hit the market. This comes on top of a longer-term decline in China’s official Treasury holdings, which fell to a decade low of $682.6 billion in late 2025.

For Bitcoin, the key transmission channel is rising yields, especially real yields. Higher term premiums and weaker foreign demand could lift US rates without any crisis, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like BTC and pressuring crypto through tighter liquidity.

While current financial conditions remain relatively loose, even moderate tightening has historically been enough to drag Bitcoin lower. The main risk lies in how fast yields move: orderly repricing would be manageable, but a disorderly liquidity shock could trigger sharp sell-offs across bonds, equities, and crypto.

Traders are watching four paths forward, ranging from controlled de-risking to a tail-risk liquidity shock. An underappreciated offset is the growing role of stablecoins, particularly Tether, which has become a major buyer of US Treasuries and could partially replace declining Chinese demand.

Ultimately, China’s Treasury position is less a sell signal and more a stress gauge. Bitcoin remains a high-beta indicator of whether higher yields represent a healthy repricing—or the start of a more dangerous tightening regime.

Ripple is positioning XRP at the center of a new phase of institutional-focused DeFi, shifting the narrative from open, retail-driven liquidity toward controlled access, compliant settlement, and tokenized cash and collateral that regulated institutions can treat as market infrastructure.
Its blueprint for an institutional DeFi stack on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) includes stablecoin settlement, tokenized collateral, identity and compliance layers, and a planned on-ledger credit system. Rather than competing with major DeFi platforms on total value locked, Ripple is emphasizing market primitives that mirror how traditional finance operates, such as access control, cash flow management, and collateral settlement.
XRPL already processes meaningful transaction volume and has native exchange functionality, while newer components like Multi-Purpose Tokens, identity credentials, permissioned domains, and an EVM sidechain aim to support regulated participation. Upcoming features include a permissioned DEX, lending protocols, smart escrows, and privacy-preserving transfers.
Ripple’s thesis is that XRP’s long-term relevance comes less from fee burning and more from its role in routing liquidity. The XRPL DEX can use XRP as an intermediary asset through auto-bridging, meaning market makers could hold XRP as inventory if it consistently improves execution between stablecoins, FX pairs, and tokenized assets.
Stablecoins—especially RLUSD—are positioned as the institutional entry point, while a future credit layer could turn XRP into a balance-sheet utility through lending and collateral use. The success of this strategy will be measured by whether permissioned markets on XRPL gain deeper liquidity, whether XRP captures meaningful routed volume share, and whether tokenized collateral and lending create a sustainable institutional settlement ecosystem.

Vitalik Buterin outlines an updated vision for how Ethereum and AI should converge, arguing against undifferentiated “accelerationist AGI” and instead promoting a path that prioritizes human freedom, safety, and decentralized control. He stresses that AI development should not simply be a race for speed or dominance, but a deliberate choice of direction aligned with cypherpunk values.
In the near term, Buterin sees key opportunities in building trust-minimized and privacy-preserving AI tools, such as local LLMs, zero-knowledge payments for API calls, cryptographic privacy techniques, and client-side verification of proofs and attestations. He also positions Ethereum as a potential economic layer for AI interactions, enabling AI-to-AI coordination through payments, collateral, dispute resolution, and reputation systems, supporting more decentralized AI architectures.
Beyond infrastructure, he argues that LLMs can finally make the cypherpunk ideal of “don’t trust, verify” practical by helping users independently verify transactions, smart contracts, and application trust models. Finally, he highlights AI’s potential to dramatically scale human judgment, unlocking more effective prediction markets, decentralized governance, and complex market mechanisms previously limited by human attention. Overall, Buterin frames Ethereum as one piece of a broader effort to steer AI toward decentralized, defensive, and human-empowering outcomes.

MegaETH has launched its mainnet with more than 50 live applications, positioning itself as a “real-time” blockchain targeting 50,000 transactions per second and 10-millisecond block times. The project focuses on reducing latency, which it sees as the main barrier to better user experience, using a new in-memory data system called SALT while relying on Ethereum for settlement and security and separating execution to improve performance.
Founded in 2022, MegaETH previously raised $20 million in a seed round led by Dragonfly Capital with participation from Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin. The launch follows earlier testnet phases, a global stress test designed to process 11 billion transactions in seven days, and an oversubscribed public token sale in October 2025 that drew $1.39 billion in commitments.
The network says its low-latency architecture enables new on-chain asset types and user experiences such as gamified and walletless interactions. Its native MEGA token will not launch immediately but only after one of several performance KPIs is met, including USDM stablecoin circulation, active applications on mainnet, or sustained fee generation. Tokenomics include “Proximity Markets,” where users lock MEGA to reduce latency via sequencer access, and a buyback model that uses USDM yield to purchase and remove MEGA from circulation.

White House stablecoin meeting may unlock CLARITY Act
A White House meeting on stablecoin policy scheduled for Feb. 10 is seen as a potential step toward breaking the deadlock around the CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633), which has stalled in the Senate after a planned Jan. 15 markup was postponed.
The core dispute centers on whether stablecoin holders should receive interest-like rewards. Coinbase currently advertises around 3.50% rewards on USDC, far above typical U.S. bank deposit rates near 0.1%, fueling concerns that stablecoins could compete directly with bank deposits. The Treasury has previously outlined scenarios involving large-scale deposit outflows if such rewards expand.
The House-passed CLARITY Act includes protections for self-custody and carve-outs for certain DeFi activities. The next phase hinges on how lawmakers classify stablecoin rewards: usage-based “rewards” may survive, while passive balance-based payouts could face restrictions.
Key signals to watch are whether the Feb. 10 meeting produces compromise language and whether the Senate Banking Committee schedules a new markup for H.R. 3633.

Farcaster co-founders join stablecoin startup Tempo
Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan, co-founders of Farcaster, said they are joining stablecoin startup Tempo after stepping back from day-to-day leadership of the decentralized social protocol earlier this year.
Romero wrote on X that stablecoins represent a “generational opportunity” and that he will work with Tempo co-founder Matt Huang and the broader team to help drive mainstream adoption. Srinivasan said his focus at Tempo will be building a global payments network that is fast, low-cost, and transparent.
The move comes weeks after Farcaster’s protocol and related products were acquired by decentralized social infrastructure firm Neynar. Merkle Manufactory, the company behind Farcaster, also plans to return about $180 million raised from venture investors while the protocol continues operating under new leadership. The remaining Merkle team is expected to join Tempo as well.
Tempo, incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, is positioning itself as a payments-focused blockchain optimized for stablecoin settlement and global transfers. The company raised $500 million last year at a reported $5 billion valuation, launched a public Layer 1 testnet in December, and said organizations including Mastercard, UBS, and Kalshi are design partners, while Klarna plans to issue stablecoins on the network.

Coinbase’s Super Bowl ad sparks split reactions
Coinbase’s latest Super Bowl commercial quickly became one of the most talked-about spots of the game, drawing sharply divided reactions from viewers.
The ad featured a 60-second karaoke-style sing-along to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” by the Backstreet Boys. Lyrics from the 1997 hit appeared on a bright blue background before the final frames revealed the words “Coinbase” and the slogan “Crypto. For Everybody.” The exchange said the campaign aimed to pull viewers into a shared moment, echoing the buzz created by its QR-code Super Bowl ad in 2022.
Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi described the spot as bold and engaging, saying the goal was to raise broader awareness of crypto among mainstream audiences. CEO Brian Armstrong also defended the concept, arguing that turning more than 100 million screens into a synchronized karaoke moment was a rare way to stand out in the noisy Super Bowl environment.
Reactions, however, were mixed. Some crypto marketing voices praised the ad as “genius,” saying it was memorable, fun, and controversial enough to spark widespread conversation across social media. Others responded negatively, with critics arguing the campaign simply attached crypto branding to a universally loved song in an attempt to trigger an emotional response.
The Super Bowl remains the most-watched annual TV broadcast in the United States, with audiences exceeding 100 million and 30-second ad slots priced at roughly $8 million. Coinbase was the only crypto-focused advertiser during this year’s game, and the commercial also ran live in Times Square in New York and on the Sphere’s Exosphere in Las Vegas—ensuring the campaign drew attention, whether positive or critical.

Fed eyes “skinny master account” rollout as crypto euphoria fades
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank aims to introduce a slimmed-down version of its “master account” by the end of the year, as crypto market volatility persists and broader legislation in Washington stalls.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Global Interdependence Center, Waller explained that the proposed “skinny master account” would allow certain institutions to access the Fed’s payment systems but with tighter restrictions. Unlike a traditional master account, the limited version would not pay interest on balances and would not provide access to the discount window for borrowing, reducing direct exposure to the U.S. money supply.
The public comment period recently closed, highlighting divisions between digital asset firms and community banks over whether nontraditional financial companies should be permitted to connect to parts of the U.S. payment infrastructure. Waller said the Fed will continue working through those differences and, if progress is sufficient, hopes to have the framework in place before year-end.
Meanwhile, efforts on Capitol Hill to pass comprehensive crypto market structure legislation—often referred to as “Clarity”—have lost momentum. The proposed bill would set standards for crypto exchanges and decentralized finance while defining oversight responsibilities between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Senate progress has stalled amid political disagreements, including disputes over stablecoin rewards and ethics concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto connections.
Waller noted that the lack of regulatory clarity is contributing to uncertainty across the digital asset sector, as many participants had expected legislation to provide a clearer path forward.

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.