The Cryptonomist

France is entering a decisive phase for crypto regulation as firms face a hard deadline for Mica authorisation under the European Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

Transitional regime in France ends on 1 July 2026

The French regulator AMF has reminded all Digital Asset Service Providers (DASPs) that the transitional regime will expire on 1 July 2026. Under this regime, firms active before the entry into force of the European MiCA Regulation could continue offering crypto-asset services in France without a full licence.

However, these providers now have a strict timetable. DASPs that want to continue operating must obtain authorisation as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under MiCA. The AMF is urging any firm that has not yet filed an application to submit a complete authorisation file as soon as possible.

Moreover, the supervisor stresses that particular attention must be paid to the quality and completeness of each application. DASPs that do not plan to pursue their activities after the end of the transitional regime are invited to prepare an orderly cessation of business in advance, allowing enough time to protect clients.

Legal basis and scope of the transitional period

Pursuant to Article 143 of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and Article 8 III of the DDADUE Law of 9 March 2023, registered or licensed DASPs in France have benefited from a temporary framework. Those offering services listed in the 5° of article L. 54-10-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code before MiCA entered into force could keep serving clients until 1 July 2026.

That said, once the deadline passes, only CASPs authorised in accordance with MiCA will be allowed to provide crypto-asset services in France. This marks a clear regulatory shift from national registration to harmonised European licensing.

Conditions to operate as a CASP after the deadline

From 1 July 2026, providers may operate in France only if they are CASPs authorised under MiCA. They can do so either by securing a formal authorisation from their national competent authority, which is the AMF for candidates established in France, or through a notification procedure.

In particular, certain financial entities may rely on the notification mechanism laid down in Article 60 of MiCA. However, this is possible only if they are eligible for the procedure and if the notification submitted to the relevant national authority is deemed complete by that authority.

Moreover, CASPs are subject to a dual layer of obligations. There are general requirements that apply to all services and additional rules tailored to each specific type of crypto-asset service. These include organisational, conduct, and prudential standards designed to enhance investor protection.

European passport and whitelist of authorised providers

CASPs authorised under MiCA will be able to benefit from the European passport mechanism. This allows them to provide their services in other Member States of the European Union once they are duly licensed in a single jurisdiction, such as France.

Furthermore, the AMF maintains a public whitelist of authorised CASPs, giving users a way to verify which entities are permitted to operate. The list is available on the AMF website and is expected to become a key reference point for investors and counterparties across the region.

ESMA calls for early preparation

In a statement published in December 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invited all market participants to anticipate the end of the transitional period. The authority highlighted that review periods for CASP licences under MiCA can last up to four months once a complete file is submitted.

However, the AMF notes that initial files received from applicants are rarely complete at first submission. Clarifications or even substantial amendments are often requested before the dossier is considered complete and capable of leading to a favourable decision. This iterative process may cause additional delays for firms.

That said, the French regulator is urging DASPs that wish to continue their activities to file their MiCA applications without waiting for the last moment. It reiterates that the thoroughness and quality of the application file will be crucial for a smooth and timely review.

Implications for non-compliant providers

The AMF has underlined the legal consequences for providers that fail to comply by 1 July 2026. Any firm that continues to offer crypto-asset services in France without CASP authorisation after this date risks a two-year prison sentence and a fine of €30,000, under Articles L. 54-10-4 and L. 572-23 of the Monetary and Financial Code.

Moreover, authorities will monitor compliance and can take enforcement action in the event of infringements. The AMF may publish a blacklist of unregistered providers and issue public warnings. If necessary, it can also initiate legal proceedings to block access to the websites of unauthorised service providers.

Orderly cessation of activities and client protection

DASPs that expect not to be in a position to comply with MiCA on 1 July 2026 are strongly encouraged to plan an orderly cessation of activities. The AMF recommends that these providers limit themselves to strictly necessary operations for winding down their business as of 30 March 2026, at the latest.

This wind-down plan should prioritise the protection of crypto-asset holders. It must ensure that clients can recover their assets either by transferring them to a CASP authorised to operate in France or by selling them, with sufficient prior notice. Such measures aim to avoid market disruption and client losses during the transition.

In this context, firms preparing for mica authorisation or, alternatively, for an orderly exit will play a central role in shaping a safer and more transparent crypto ecosystem in France and across the European Union.

In summary, the end of the transitional regime on 1 July 2026 marks a turning point for crypto-asset service providers in France, compelling them either to secure MiCA-compliant licences or to exit the market in an orderly and client-focused manner.

In a fresh sign of aggressive AI data center investment, an Apollo Nvidia loan is reportedly nearing completion to support an ambitious chip-leasing strategy tied to Elon Musk.

Apollo lines up multibillion-dollar financing for Nvidia hardware

A roughly $3.4 billion loan from Apollo Global Management is close to being finalized for an investment vehicle that will buy Nvidia chips and lease them to xAI, according to The Information report published on Feb 9. The outlet cited a person familiar with the matter, suggesting terms are at an advanced stage.

Under the structure, the vehicle would own the high-end processors while Elon Musk‘s AI startup pays to use them over time. However, the report did not disclose the loan’s interest rate, exact tenor or collateral package, leaving key details of the financing still unclear.

The Information also noted that Valor Equity Partners, a longtime backer of several Musk ventures, is arranging the deal between Apollo and the buying entity. Moreover, the investment could be formally wrapped up as soon as this week if negotiations stay on track.

Musk consolidates AI ambitions through SpaceX and xAI

Less than a week before news of the financing emerged, Musk announced that SpaceX had acquired the artificial intelligence company he also leads, in a transaction that reshapes the ownership structure of his ventures. The deal values the rocket and satellite group at $1 trillion and the AI business at $250 billion, according to his remarks.

That said, the combination ties Musk’s launch and satellite capabilities more closely to his AI initiatives, potentially giving xAI privileged access to data and infrastructure. It also places a substantial notional valuation on the emerging AI firm, signaling investor belief in its growth prospects despite intense competition from established players.

The reported apollo nvidia loan would align with Musk’s stated ambition to build large-scale AI infrastructure capable of training advanced models. However, stacking significant debt against specialized hardware could expose investors to swings in chip demand and future pricing for AI compute resources.

AI infrastructure boom drives record chip and data center spending

Big technology companies are expected to spend more than $600 billion in 2025 to acquire advanced chips and build massive data centers needed to train and deploy AI systems, the report said. Moreover, such outlays underline how critical access to high-performance processors has become in the current phase of the AI race.

In this environment, leasing structures for Nvidia chips allow new AI entrants and capital providers to share the burden of huge upfront hardware costs. However, they also introduce counterparty risk if startup clients fail to scale revenue fast enough to cover long-term lease obligations.

Deals like this echo older equipment-financing models used for aircraft or telecommunications infrastructure, but applied to cutting-edge AI accelerators. That said, the speed of technological change in chips may make recovery values less predictable than in traditional asset classes.

Key players stay silent as deal advances

The report said SpaceX, Apollo and xAI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the prospective financing. Moreover, neither party has publicly confirmed the final size, timing or precise structure of the loan.

Market watchers will be looking for further disclosures on covenants, hardware ownership and any guarantees tied to Musk or his other companies. However, with Valor Equity Partners reportedly orchestrating the arrangement, participants appear comfortable pushing ahead despite the capital intensity and evolving regulatory environment around AI compute.

Overall, the prospective financing underscores how rapidly AI infrastructure is being capitalized, as investors race to secure Nvidia chips and position for long-term demand in advanced computing capacity.

Investor interest in AI, crypto, and Web3 is accelerating as the AI.com domain purchase by a major exchange founder shines a spotlight on emerging creator platforms.

Crypto.com founder secures AI.com for $70 million

According to the Financial Times, Kris Marszalek, founder of Crypto.com, has bought the premium domain AI.com for about $70 million. The report notes that other bidders for the address reportedly included OpenAI and X.ai, underscoring how strategic AI-related web properties have become.

However, the acquisition is drawing attention not only because of its price tag, but also due to what it signals about the convergence of artificial intelligence and blockchain ecosystems. Major brands are increasingly positioning themselves at this crossroads.

AI and blockchain converge in the content-creation economy

The article places the move within the fast-growing content-creation economy, estimated at roughly $85 billion. In this market, legacy platforms still dominate distribution and take sizable fees while maintaining tight centralized control over creators’ audiences and revenues.

Moreover, a new wave of Web3 projects is targeting these frictions by combining smart contracts, tokenized incentives, and AI-driven automation. Backers argue that such designs could support lower fees, greater creator ownership, and programmable revenue sharing across communities.

SUBBD protocol: AI tools with on-chain creator controls

Within this context, the report highlights SUBBD, a protocol built on an Ethereum-based architecture that blends generative AI features with decentralized controls for creators. The project is positioned as an example of how AI and blockchain can be fused into a single product experience.

SUBBD’s platform reportedly includes an AI Personal Assistant designed to help automate repetitive engagement tasks, such as responding to fan queries or scheduling content. In addition, the protocol offers voice-cloning capabilities to help creators scale branded audio and video output while maintaining a consistent personal style.

That said, supporters argue that the full primary_keyword of ai domain purchase and similar moves are creating a halo effect around AI-powered creator tools that can be integrated directly with on-chain payment rails.

SUBBD token presale and economic design

Presale data cited in the article indicates that SUBBD had already raised more than $1.4 million, pointing to early investor interest. During this phase, the SUBBD token was listed at a price of $0.057495, setting the initial valuation parameters for the ecosystem.

Moreover, the protocol reportedly features a staking program that offers a fixed 20% APY for the first year to users who lock their tokens. This is framed as an incentive mechanism intended to reward long-term participation and stabilize token circulation during the platform’s growth phase.

HoneyHive governance and creator-focused features

Beyond staking, SUBBD is said to integrate an on-chain governance module called HoneyHive. Through this framework, token holders can vote on significant platform decisions, including which creators are onboarded, what platform themes are prioritized, and how new features are rolled out.

However, the emphasis on governance also reflects a broader trend in Web3, where projects attempt to align the interests of users, investors, and developers via tokenized voting systems. In theory, this can provide creators with a more direct say in the rules and economics that shape their work environment.

Investor sentiment around AI-blockchain utility protocols

The high-profile AI.com deal, combined with growing coverage of creator-focused protocols like SUBBD, is being interpreted as evidence of deepening ties between AI systems and blockchain infrastructure. Market participants see potential in products that merge automated content tools with transparent payment and governance rails.

Overall, the reported domain acquisition and subsequent attention suggest that investors are increasingly focused on utility-driven protocols, where AI capabilities, staking incentives, and token-holder governance converge to challenge incumbent platforms within the rapidly expanding digital creator economy.

Bringing institutional discipline to digital assets, DeFi Technologies has introduced the DVIO index to turn regulated capital flows into a forward-looking lens on crypto markets.

A new benchmark built on real investor flows

DeFi Technologies Inc., through its subsidiary Valour, has launched the DEFT Valour Investment Opportunity (DVIO) Index, an institutional-grade benchmark that tracks how regulated investor capital is allocated across digital assets using real flows through Valour’s ETP platform. The index is updated weekly and covers the top 50 assets in Valour’s ecosystem by assets under management (AUM) and flows.

According to the company, the index aims to deliver higher signal quality than typical crypto data sources by relying on a consistent, regulated product structure and execution framework. Moreover, it is designed to function not only as a benchmark but also as the core of a broader insights and commercial platform for recurring analytics, market barometers, and future index-linked products.

Launch details and strategic positioning

On February 9, 2026, in Toronto, DeFi Technologies announced that Valour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited had jointly launched the DVIO Index, positioning it as a regulated, capital-based reference for the digital asset market. The index is intended to show how regulated capital is allocated across crypto assets, using observable flows through Valour’s listed products.

The index provides a forward-looking view of investor positioning, sentiment, and capital rotation by tracking real flows on Valour’s regulated ETP infrastructure. That said, DeFi Technologies argues that this approach delivers a level of signal quality and market efficiency not available from traditional price, on-chain, or exchange volume data sets.

From fragmented data to capital-flow intelligence

Crypto markets generate large volumes of information, yet much of it remains fragmented, noisy, and backward-looking. Prices, on-chain metrics, and exchange volumes often explain market moves after they occur, rather than indicating how institutional capital is positioned in real time.

In traditional finance, capital flows are widely regarded as among the most reliable leading indicators of market behavior. The dvio index applies this discipline to digital assets, grounding its insights in observable, regulated investment decisions rather than speculative wallets or unregulated trading venues. As a result, the index seeks to transform capital allocation data into genuine market intelligence.

Why Valour flows offer differentiated signals

Access to crypto assets is usually fragmented across multiple exchanges, each with different fees, spreads, liquidity conditions, and execution quality. Consequently, observed flows can be skewed by platform mechanics rather than reflecting true investor conviction in a particular asset.

Valour’s ETP platform is designed to remove much of this distortion. Uniform pricing and internal market making aim to minimize slippage across products, while fees are transparent, regulated, and fully disclosed in prospectuses and final terms. Moreover, risk profiles, liquidity models, and pricing frameworks are aligned across the platform, and terms and flows of cross-listed products remain tightly coordinated regardless of trading venue.

This structure creates an environment in which capital allocation decisions are driven primarily by asset fundamentals and investor conviction. Therefore, Valour’s flows can serve as a distinctive and cleaner indicator of market behavior.

A diversified, rational investor base

With 102 ETPs spanning 74 unique digital assets, Valour operates one of the most extensive regulated digital asset ETP platforms worldwide. Investors can allocate across majors, Layer 1s, DeFi projects, and emerging themes, all within a consistent execution and risk framework.

As a result, capital flows on Valour’s platform reflect the actions of investors operating under rational, institutionally aligned constraints in an efficient market structure. That said, this makes those flows a uniquely powerful source of intelligence on crypto allocation trends and gives Valour a broad view of how institutional exposure to digital assets is evolving.

Index design and methodology

The DEFT Valour Investment Opportunity Index tracks the top 50 individual crypto assets by AUM and flows within Valour’s ETP ecosystem. Constituents and weights are updated weekly to capture both current capital allocation and the way that allocation is changing over time.

Anchored in regulated infrastructure and real investor capital, the index seeks to provide a credible reference point for institutions seeking transparency in an otherwise opaque market. Moreover, its systematic construction is focused on maximizing signal quality for professional users.

The methodology is rules-based and designed to capture meaningful shifts in investor behavior while filtering out short-term market noise. It is anchored in AUM but dynamically responsive to changes in flows, balancing stability with adaptability through a weekly rebalancing schedule.

This methodology provides a foundation for investors, asset managers, and product issuers to develop index-linked products, structured strategies, research frameworks, and risk models built on capital-flow signals. In doing so, it positions the index as both a benchmark and a practical tool for strategy design.

Insights framework and barometers

Beyond its role as a benchmark, the DVIO Index underpins an insights framework that converts flow data into actionable intelligence. Outputs include weekly analyses of flow and weight changes, as well as indicators designed to highlight divergences between price action and capital allocation patterns.

Among these tools are market-level measures such as the DVIO Index Flow Sentiment Barometer and the DVIO Index Altcoin Barometer, which seek to quantify shifts in market risk appetite and sector rotation. Additionally, the index maintains a Watchlist of assets outside the top 50 by AUM to surface early-stage flow momentum before those assets become index-eligible.

This Watchlist is intended to enable more predictive, rather than purely reactive, analysis of emerging opportunities. Moreover, it supports the development of digital asset sentiment indicators that move beyond simple price-based metrics.

Business model and commercial roadmap

The DEFT Valour Investment Opportunity Index is also a strategic platform for advancing Valour’s broader commercial objectives. It provides a unified narrative for engaging investors worldwide across the full range of Valour ETPs, anchored in the strength and consistency of the signals the index generates.

In parallel, DeFi Technologies will offer subscription-based access to weekly insights and monthly analytical reports derived from DVIO data. However, the company also sees a longer-term opportunity in building out an analytics ecosystem around the benchmark.

Looking ahead, DeFi Technologies plans to develop a DVIO-derived analytics terminal offering more granular, data-driven insights. The index is being engineered to support licensing by third-party asset managers and financial institutions, enabling the creation of index-linked products under licence.

Over time, this ecosystem is expected to reinforce the DVIO Index’s role as a market reference while helping funnel additional capital into Valour’s underlying ETPs. This aligns the benchmark with Valour’s growth strategy and expands the potential for etp platform insights across the digital asset space.

Data, AI, and analytical infrastructure

The DVIO initiative marks a significant enhancement and scaling of DeFi Technologies’ and Valour’s data operations. It is built on an integrated data architecture optimized to leverage trading, flow, and pricing information across Valour and its wholly owned subsidiary Stillman Digital.

This infrastructure is designed to support the development of innovative structured instruments and to apply advanced analytics and AI techniques. Moreover, it aims to deepen understanding of how investment behavior interacts across decentralized finance (DeFi), traditional finance (TradFi), broader technology trends, and macroeconomic indicators.

By combining regulated market data with advanced analytical capabilities, DeFi Technologies is positioning the DVIO Index as both a benchmark and a research engine for next-generation digital asset investment strategies. This framework also opens the door for future index derived analytics products targeted at institutional users.

A differentiated vantage point on crypto markets

As one of the issuers with the largest and most diverse digital asset ETP offerings globally, Valour claims a distinctive vantage point for launching this benchmark. The DEFT Valour Investment Opportunity Index is based on the actual collective decisions of rational investors allocating real capital through regulated instruments, rather than on theoretical models or indirect proxies.

In doing so, it sets out to establish a new regulated crypto benchmark grounded in efficiency, transparency, and observable capital behavior. Moreover, it highlights how regulated infrastructure and disciplined data architecture can turn flows into a strategic resource for the digital asset industry.

About the companies behind the index

DeFi Technologies Inc. is a financial technology company focused on bridging traditional capital markets and decentralized finance. As the first Nasdaq-listed digital asset manager of its kind, the company offers equity investors diversified exposure to the decentralized economy through an integrated business model.

Its operations include Valour, which provides access to more than one hundred of the world’s most innovative digital assets via regulated ETPs; Stillman Digital, a digital asset prime brokerage and liquidity provider focused on institutional-grade execution and custody; and Reflexivity Research, which produces in-depth research on the bitcoin and digital asset industry. The group also includes Neuronomics, focused on quantitative trading strategies and infrastructure, and DeFi Alpha, the internal arbitrage and trading business line.

Valour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited issue ETPs that allow retail and institutional investors to access digital assets in a simple and secure way via traditional bank accounts. Valour forms part of DeFi Technologies’ asset management business line and is central to the flow data underpinning the DVIO benchmark.

Reflexivity Research LLC is a research firm dedicated to producing high-quality, long-form reports on bitcoin and digital assets, aimed at equipping investors with detailed insights. Meanwhile, Stillman Digital offers liquidity solutions for businesses, with a focus on trade execution, settlement, and technology.

By integrating regulated capital flows, robust data infrastructure, and institutional-grade analytics, DeFi Technologies and Valour are positioning the DEFT Valour Investment Opportunity Index as a forward-looking reference point for understanding how real money navigates the crypto market.

Ethereum und Bitcoin handeln weiterhin in definierten Bandbreiten, während die Krypto-Märkte gemischte Dynamik zeigen, Bewegungen eingeschränkt sind und On-Chain-Daten die Aufmerksamkeit von Händlern und Analysten gewinnen. Diskussionen über aktuelle Ethereum-Preisprognosen konzentrieren sich darauf, ob der Markt möglicherweise auf eine längere Konsolidierung oder erneute Volatilität vorbereitet ist.

Coin Bureau-Einblicke aus der Analyse von IntoTheCryptoVerse deuten auf ein Szenario hin, in dem Ethereum niedrigere Niveaus erneut aufsuchen müsste, bevor es zu einer nachhaltigen Expansion kommt. In der Zwischenzeit wird festgestellt, dass die aktuellen Bedingungen eher Übergangs- als Richtungstendenzen sind.

After a brutal sell-off and weather-related outages, the bitcoin mining ecosystem is undergoing a sharp reset that puts Bitcoin mining economics back in the spotlight.

Largest difficulty drop since China’s 2021 crackdown

Bitcoin‘s BTC $70,411.45 network just saw an 11% decline in mining difficulty, the steepest fall since China‘s industry crackdown in 2021. The adjustment followed a rapid hashrate drop triggered by plunging prices and widespread winter storm-related outages across the U.S.

Mining difficulty determines how hard it is to discover new blocks, and it automatically adjusts roughly every two weeks. This mechanism keeps the average block time close to 10 minutes, regardless of how many machines are online.

According to Blockchain.com data, the latest change pushed the difficulty metric down from over 141.6 trillion to about 125.86 trillion. That said, such a move signals a meaningful reduction in active hardware securing the network.

Price slump and miner shutdowns pressure the network

The drop in difficulty comes after a series of blows to miners. Bitcoin fell from an all-time high of $126,000 in October to around $69,500, eroding margins across the sector. Moreover, the declining revenue environment hit operators with older machines and expensive power contracts hardest.

Many miners running outdated rigs or exposed to high energy prices were forced to shut down operations. Some operators instead redirected infrastructure toward artificial intelligence workloads, reflecting an emerging ai migration of miners as megacap firms offer longer-term, often more predictable, contracts.

One notable example is Bitfarms (BITF), whose share price jumped after it said it is no longer a pure bitcoin company. The firm is repositioning itself as a data center developer focused on high-performance computing and AI, signaling how quickly strategies can shift when mining margins compress.

Hashprice collapse and revenue squeeze

On a revenue basis, the stress is clear. Bitcoin mining income per unit of computing power, tracked through hashprice, has plunged. It fell from nearly $70 per petahash when the crypto traded near its record high, to just over $35 per petahash today.

This means bitcoin revenue per petahash has effectively been cut in half, from a peak of $70 to $35. However, with fewer competitors online after the recent shakeout, the latest difficulty reset could gradually improve earnings for miners that remain operational.

Industry analysts note that bitcoin mining participants often expand or contract capacity rapidly in response to such revenue swings. As a result, the current phase may accelerate consolidation toward better-capitalized firms and lower-cost power regions.

Impact of winter storms and grid curtailments

Severe winter storms, particularly in Texas, further strained the network. Grid operators issued curtailment requests to conserve electricity for households as temperatures dropped, pushing miners to power down during peak demand.

Public mining firms responded by sharply reducing output. Some companies reported daily bitcoin production falling by more than 60% during the harshest days of the storms. Moreover, these interruptions amplified the hashrate decline that fed into the latest difficulty adjustment on Feb 9, 2026.

Despite the disruptions, energy experts argue that flexible mining loads can still support grid stability over time. That said, the episode highlighted the operational risks miners face when tethered to weather-sensitive power markets.

Difficulty as a self-correcting mechanism and market signal

Although a double-digit difficulty drop may look alarming at first glance, it reflects the protocol’s built-in resilience. The network automatically lowers difficulty when hashrate falls, helping restore block times and supporting transaction processing capacity.

For miners that stay online, reduced competition can translate into higher profitability per unit of hashrate. Moreover, the adjustment helps some operators stabilize their business model, even after a sharp revenue decline and storm-driven shutdowns.

Historically, major difficulty declines have sometimes marked miners capitulation market signals. During these phases, stressed operators sell more BTC to cover operating expenses, which can weigh on prices in the short term but often precedes periods of stabilization or even recovery.

What the latest reset means for miners and investors

The current 11% difficulty cut, the biggest since 2021, suggests a capitulation-style shakeout is underway among higher-cost miners. It also underscores how quickly conditions can change when prices slide from $126,000 to roughly $69,500 in just a few months.

Investors watching the sector will now focus on whether the hashrate stabilizes around the new difficulty level of 125.86 trillion. However, they will also track how much additional capacity shifts toward AI and high-performance computing as firms like Bitfarms pivot business models.

In summary, the latest difficulty adjustment highlights bitcoin’s self-correcting design while exposing the fragility of overleveraged or high-cost operators. For the miners that endure, leaner competition and a healthier difficulty level could lay the groundwork for a more sustainable next phase of network growth.

In a year defined by macro volatility and rapid automation, BingX AI is emerging as the centerpiece of the exchange’s strategy to reinvent how traders operate.

BingX commits $300 million to an AI-first trading stack

BingX has allocated $300 million to artificial intelligence over the long term, positioning itself as an “all-in AI” venue where automation is treated as core market infrastructure. Rather than adding isolated bots, the exchange is rebuilding its stack so that machine learning informs every major stage of the trading workflow.

The internal architecture spans multiple models coordinated by specialized agents mapped to distinct points in the process, from idea generation to risk review. Moreover, these systems are being calibrated for both crypto and traditional markets, so signals can move across asset classes in real time.

Two flagship products, BingX AI Bingo and BingX AI Master, sit on top of this stack as decision-support layers rather than execution engines. However, their role is central: they translate dense market data into structured scenarios that retail and professional traders can use without writing code or building models from scratch.

How BingX AI Bingo and AI Master guide trading decisions

AI Bingo acts as a conversational trading idea generator, scanning more than 1,000 market pairs across crypto, commodities and other instruments. It surfaces potential scenarios, highlights support and resistance levels, and offers probability-style assessments to help users frame entries and exits.

AI Master is built as a personalized layer on top of those insights, adapting to a user’s risk tolerance and trading style. That said, the tool stops short of fully automated execution, instead adjusting recommendations in real time as conditions shift and as it learns from user behavior.

BingX product leadership has described the outcome as an experience that feels “less like software and more like a companion who understands you.” In practice, this design aims to create an AI trading companion that can make complex, cross-market information more intuitive without removing human oversight.

AI meets tokenized metals and traditional markets

This AI push is unfolding as exchanges increasingly combine digital assets with traditional instruments such as gold, oil and tokenized equity exposure. From a single AI powered interface, BingX users can track gold, oil and Bitcoin (BTC) around major macro releases, rather than toggling between platforms.

Macro demand for safe-haven assets is also accelerating. UBS has raised its gold price target to $6,200 per ounce for March, June and September 2026, while expecting prices to ease slightly to $5,900 by year-end. Moreover, those upgraded forecasts reinforce interest in tokenized precious metals and other real-world assets onboarded to crypto exchanges.

BingX argues that routing these instruments through blockchain settlement improves traceability and auditability. At the same time, AI tools can help traders interpret macro-driven moves across asset classes in a unified view, instead of reacting to isolated order books or single-asset dashboards.

Volumes, users and the shift in competitive dynamics

The scale of BingX’s traditional products is already meaningful. The exchange reports more than $2 billion in 24-hour trading volume in its TradFi lineup alone and says its AI tools have attracted millions of users. Overall, the broader ecosystem now claims more than 40 million accounts globally.

As analysts frame AI-supported, multi asset trading environments as a baseline expectation by 2026, the competitive focus is drifting away from raw execution speed. Instead, interpretation, risk assessment and personalization are becoming the key battlegrounds for exchanges looking to differentiate in both crypto and traditional markets.

In that context, the bingx ai stack is intended to convert correlated, cross-asset noise into usable decisions. However, the long-term test will be whether traders actually trust AI-guided workflows when volatility spikes and liquidity fragments across venues.

Broader crypto market backdrop

The AI investment comes against a backdrop of strong digital-asset liquidity and intense macro sensitivity. Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering around $70,961, with 24-hour turnover near $42.3B, making it a focal point for global risk appetite.

Ethereum (ETH) is changing hands close to $2,095, on roughly $20.9B in 24-hour volume. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) trades around $87.6, with about $3.6B in day-long activity. For BingX and its rivals, these flows form the proving ground for whether AI-native exchanges can genuinely help traders keep pace.

Related themes include the rollout of AI Master as a crypto trading “strategist,” deeper dives into the AI Bingo and AI Master stack, and the latest UBS upgrade to its 2026 gold forecasts. Altogether, they point to a market where AI, tokenization and cross-asset risk analysis are converging into a single, always-on trading environment.

Outlook for AI-native, multi-asset venues

Looking ahead, exchanges that integrate multi-model AI systems with both digital and traditional products may define the next stage of market structure. Moreover, as regulatory clarity evolves and institutional adoption grows, traders are likely to expect cross-asset risk tools and personalized analytics as standard features.

For now, BingX’s $300 million bet signals that the arms race is shifting from latency to intelligence. Whether the platform can convert that investment into durable user loyalty will depend on how effectively its tools turn complexity into clear, actionable insight.

Authorities in South Korea have launched a formal review after a high-profile Bithumb bitcoin glitch exposed serious weaknesses in a major crypto promotion.

The $40 billion promotion error at Bithumb

South Korean regulators are examining how Bithumb, one of the country’s leading exchanges, initiated an exchange of $40 billion in Bitcoin that it apparently did not hold on its books. The anomaly has raised concerns over internal controls at large trading platforms.

The issue surfaced when the Seoul-based exchange, during a promotional campaign, began crediting accounts with vast sums instead of the modest reward that had been announced. However, no actual transfer of on-chain coins matching that scale has been reported so far, intensifying questions about the internal accounting.

How the crypto exchange promotion mistake unfolded

According to the Financial Services Commission, the incident occurred on Feb. 6 when Bithumb started crediting user balances with a “small fortune” of Bitcoin. Each participant should have received only 2,000 won, equivalent to $1.37, under the terms of the campaign.

In its financial services commission statement on Sunday, the regulator said the problem stemmed from a single employee inputting the payout field as Bitcoin rather than Korean won. Moreover, this internal error cascaded through the exchange’s systems and led to what officials have described as a ghost bitcoin incident in user interfaces.

Regulatory response and industrywide scrutiny

In response, South Korean authorities have formed a dedicated task force to conduct a regulatory task force investigation into industry practices. The team is examining whether other domestic trading platforms could be vulnerable to similar lapses in configuration or oversight.

The new group will look closely at how exchanges manage promotional campaigns, verify reward limits, and reconcile internal ledgers. That said, the episode has already become a central focus of the ongoing south korea crypto probe, which aims to tighten risk controls in the retail trading environment.

Focus on Bithumb bitcoin systems and controls

Regulators are now assessing whether the bithumb bitcoin accounting architecture provided adequate safeguards against manual input errors of this scale. However, the authorities have not yet indicated whether formal sanctions will follow once the fact-finding process concludes.

Investigators are also gathering information on how quickly Bithumb identified the problem, whether user access to the inflated balances was restricted in time, and how the platform communicated the issue. Moreover, findings from this case could inform new guidance for all major crypto venues in Seoul.

Implications for South Korea’s crypto sector

The Bithumb case has renewed debate over how tightly exchanges should be supervised in one of Asia’s most active digital asset markets. While some industry participants warn against overregulation, officials argue that errors involving tens of billions of dollars, even if only virtual entries, can undermine public confidence.

For now, South Korean regulators are signaling that they will treat this as a structural warning rather than an isolated mishap. The outcome of the investigation is expected to shape the next phase of policy toward large trading platforms and their promotional activity.

In summary, the Bithumb promotion error has become a catalyst for wider oversight of crypto exchanges in South Korea, with the $40 billion accounting glitch prompting authorities to scrutinize internal controls, user protection, and future risk management standards across the sector.

In a move closely watched by crypto markets, the binance safu mechanism is again in focus as the exchange boosts its dedicated protection reserves.

New Bitcoin purchase for the SAFU protection pool

On February 9, Binance disclosed that its SAFU fund address acquired an additional 4,225 BTC, reinforcing the exchange‘s emergency insurance pool for users. Moreover, the company revealed on X that this latest allocation corresponds to approximately 300M USD in stablecoins, underlining the scale of the operation.

The official Binance SAFU BTC address now holds a total of 10,455 BTC, marking a significant expansion of its on-chain reserves. However, the move is not only about numbers; it also signals a deliberate effort to anchor the fund in a highly liquid and widely recognized crypto asset.

Strategic focus on Bitcoin and investor confidence

This renewed focus on Bitcoin accumulation within the Safety Asset Fund for Users is viewed as a strategic step to enhance asset resilience. In particular, the latest safu fund bitcoin accumulation underscores Binance’s intention to keep its emergency backing aligned with leading market assets.

Market observers note that the growing BTC balance could serve as a stabilizing factor for user sentiment. That said, the impact on broader market dynamics will depend on how transparently the binance safu reserves continue to be reported and adjusted over time.

Overall, the increase to 10,455 BTC in the protection wallet highlights Binance’s ongoing effort to strengthen user safeguards while signaling long-term confidence in Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

Earlier this month, a sharp cryptocurrency sell-off exposed how bitcoin market makers can unintentionally magnify price swings during periods of stress.

From $77,000 to $60,000: why the slide was so violent

Bitcoin plunged from about $77,000 to nearly $60,000 between Feb. 4 and Feb. 7, erasing billions in value across the broader crypto market and wiping out some trading funds. Most commentators blamed macro pressures, spot ETF outflows and rumors of forced liquidations. However, a key structural factor in the derivatives market also appears to have accelerated the move.

That factor was the behavior of options market makers, according to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research. These professional liquidity providers usually help stabilize trading by continuously posting buy and sell quotes. Yet their hedging activity can sometimes amplify volatility, especially when positioning is skewed in one direction.

How dealers normally operate in crypto markets

In day-to-day trading, dealers stand on the opposite side of investor orders, quoting both a bid and an ask to keep markets liquid. They earn money from the bid-ask spread, the small difference between the buying and selling price of an asset, rather than by speculating on whether prices will rise or fall. Moreover, this model is designed to keep them as close to market-neutral as possible.

To manage risk, dealers hedge their exposure to price moves by trading the underlying asset, such as Bitcoin, or related derivatives. When investors buy call or put options, the dealers who sell those contracts typically adjust their positions in the spot and futures markets. That said, the speed and direction of this hedging can become destabilizing when large option positions cluster around key price levels.

The short-gamma trap between $60,000 and $75,000

Thielen explains that, during the sell-off, options market makers were heavily short gamma in the $60,000–$75,000 range. In practice, this meant they had sold substantial amounts of options at those strikes without holding enough offsetting hedges. As a result, they were highly sensitive to sharp price moves around those levels.

Being short gamma forces dealers to hedge in the same direction as the market move. As Bitcoin dipped below $75,000, these firms sold BTC in spot and futures to keep their positions near neutral. However, this extra selling added to existing pressure from macro drivers and ETF outflows, helping to deepen the decline.

Thielen estimated there was about $1.5 billion in negative options gamma concentrated between $75,000 and $60,000. He noted this cluster “played a critical role in accelerating Bitcoin’s decline and helps explain why the market rebounded sharply once the final large gamma cluster near $60,000 was triggered and absorbed.” This description highlights how dealer hedging can both intensify a drop and set the stage for a sharp bounce once positioning clears.

Negative gamma and the self-feeding selling cycle

Negative gamma describes a setup where dealers must trade in the direction of the underlying price move to stay hedged. As Thielen put it, “options dealers, who are typically the counterparties to investors buying options, are forced to hedge in the same direction as the underlying price move.” In the $60,000–$75,000 window, that dynamic turned them into incremental sellers as prices slid.

In effect, the negative gamma effect created a self-reinforcing loop. As Bitcoin fell, dealers sold more to maintain neutrality, which pushed prices even lower and required further selling. Moreover, this feedback mechanism made the drop feel disorderly, even though it largely stemmed from rule-based risk management rather than discretionary panic.

This pattern is familiar in traditional equity options market makers, where large dealer positions can exacerbate swings once key strikes are breached. The recent episode shows that the same mechanics are increasingly relevant in digital assets. The growing size of the options market means dealer positioning can now influence bitcoin spot behavior in ways that were far less visible a few years ago.

When hedging turns supportive for price

Importantly, dealer hedging does not always push prices lower. In late 2023, market participants saw the opposite effect when similar positioning existed above $36,000. At that time, dealers had sold significant amounts of options at higher strikes and again found themselves short gamma as the market moved.

As Bitcoin’s spot price broke through $36,000, dealers were forced to buy BTC to rebalance their risk. That demand helped fuel a rapid rally toward and above $40,000. However, this shows that the same structural forces that accelerated the February plunge can also power strong upside moves when the direction of travel reverses.

In both episodes, the interplay between investor flows and dealer hedging turned routine market moves into more dramatic swings. The growing influence of options market makers suggests traders and risk managers need to watch positioning data and gamma exposure more closely, particularly around crowded strike levels.

A maturing market with hidden feedback loops

The February breakdown underscores how the bitcoin market makers ecosystem now resembles that of established financial markets, where dealer balance sheets and option structures quietly shape price action. Moreover, the presence of concentrated negative gamma can turn what starts as a macro-driven pullback into a sharp, mechanically amplified move.

For investors, the lesson is that not every violent sell-off or sudden rebound is purely about sentiment or news. Internal market plumbing, especially dealer hedging tied to large option positions, can be just as important in explaining why prices overshoot on the way down and on the way up.

As the crypto derivatives market continues to grow, understanding these dynamics will likely become essential for professional participants. The latest crash toward $60,000 showed how invisible hands in the options arena can transform normal volatility into outsized moves, even when they are simply following risk-management rules.

In einem Schritt zur Vertiefung seiner Forschungsinfrastruktur markiert die Akquisition von Neptune durch OpenAI einen strategischen Schritt zur Verbesserung der Überwachung und des Verständnisses von Frontier-AI-Modellen.

OpenAI bewegt sich, um Neptune zu übernehmen

OpenAI hat eine endgültige Vereinbarung zur Übernahme von neptune.ai, einer Plattform, die sich auf Experimentverfolgung und Trainingsanalytik für fortgeschrittene Modelle konzentriert, getroffen. Dieses Geschäft soll die Werkzeuge und Infrastrukturen stärken, die den Fortschritt in der Grenzforschung unterstützen. Obwohl finanzielle Bedingungen, wie zum Beispiel der Übernahmepreis von Neptune AI, nicht offengelegt wurden, ist die strategische Absicht klar.

Neue Woche, neues Krypto-Horoskop, das der bevorstehenden Woche vom 9. bis 15. Februar 2026 gewidmet ist.

Diese Woche wird von zwei Transiten geprägt sein

Venus betritt Fische ab Dienstag 10/2;

Saturn betritt Widder ab Samstag 14/2.

Seit mehreren Monaten widmen wir dem von Stefania Stimolo, einer Expertin für Astrologie und Blockchain, verfassten Krypto-Horoskop Raum. Dies ist eine wöchentliche Kolumne mit dem Horoskop für jedes Sternzeichen, die jeden Sonntag exklusiv auf The Cryptonomist verfügbar ist.

In unserem Slogan „Wir erzählen die Zukunft“ wollten wir tiefer in das Thema eintauchen und spielerisch mit dieser Unterhaltungs-Kolumne sprechen.

Der RW-Rahmen ist in den letzten Jahren eines der am meisten diskutierten Instrumente im Steuermanagement von Kryptowährungen in Italien geworden. Ursprünglich zur Überwachung von im Ausland gehaltenen Finanzanlagen konzipiert, wird er jetzt auch für Krypto-Assets verwendet, jedoch oft mit umstrittenen Ergebnissen.

Laut Stefano Capaccioli ist das Problem nicht nur anwendungsbezogen, sondern strukturell: Der RW-Rahmen wurde nicht für ein dezentrales Ökosystem wie das der Kryptowährungen entworfen.

Warum es den RW-Rahmen gibt

Um die aktuellen Probleme zu verstehen, ist es notwendig, von seinem Ursprung auszugehen. Der RW-Rahmen wurde in den Jahren etabliert, als Italien strenge Währungsbeschränkungen hatte. Mit der Liberalisierung der Kapitalbewegungen und dem Beitritt zur Europäischen Union gab der Staat die vorherige Kontrolle über ausländische Konten auf und ersetzte sie durch eine Mitteilungspflicht.

Dubai, VAE – Februar 2026 – PlanX 2026 findet am 27.–28. April 2026 im Grand Hyatt Dubai Conference & Exhibition Centre statt und bringt mehr als 3.000 Gründer, Investoren und Berater zusammen, die mehr wollen, als eine einzige Jurisdiktion bieten kann. Während sich die globale Landschaft entwickelt, mit steigenden Vermögenssteuern, strengeren Finanzkontrollen und geopolitischen Unruhen, die Volatilität und Komplexität schaffen, suchen Einzelpersonen und Unternehmen nach neuen Wegen, um Freiheit, Flexibilität und resilientes Wachstum zu sichern.

30. Januar 2026

Kunde: Algorand Foundation

Sprecher/Antworten, die zugeordnet sind: Marc Vanlerberghe, CMO, Algorand

Reporter-Kontakt: Amelia Tomasicchio, Chefredakteurin und Mitgründerin, The Cryptonomist

Was hat die Algorand Foundation motiviert, ihren Hauptsitz in den USA wiederherzustellen, und warum insbesondere Delaware?

Es ist tatsächlich genauso wichtig zu erklären, warum wir überhaupt gegangen sind.
Für eine gewisse Zeit machte das regulatorische Umfeld in den USA es schwierig, mit dem Maß an Klarheit und Vorhersehbarkeit zu operieren, das ernsthafte Finanzinfrastrukturen erfordern. Diese Unsicherheit zwang viele Organisationen, einschließlich der unseren, anderswo zu operieren. Was sich geändert hat, ist, dass wir nun einen Weg zu klareren Regeln und konstruktiverem Engagement sehen, was langfristige Planung wieder möglich macht.

In den letzten Monaten ist das Thema Stablecoins zentral für die Debatte über die Besteuerung von Kryptowährungen in Italien geworden. Nicht so sehr wegen ihrer Nutzung als Zahlungsmittel oder zur Stabilisierung der Volatilität, sondern vielmehr wegen der fiskalischen Verzerrungen, die einige kürzliche regulatorische Entscheidungen verursachen.

Während einer Instagram-Live-Sitzung analysierte der Steuerspezialist Stefano Capaccioli einen der umstrittensten Aspekte der aktuellen Regulierung: die steuerliche Behandlung von E-Geld-Token, insbesondere von solchen, die in Euro denominiert sind, wie EURC, im Vergleich zu an den Dollar gebundenen Stablecoins wie USDC.

Russland verschärft die Zugangsvoraussetzungen für den digitalen Rubel und fügt zusätzliche Identifikationshürden hinzu, während die Behörden sich auf die landesweite Einführung der Währung der Zentralbank vorbereiten.

Die Bank von Russland aktualisiert die Anforderungen für die Eröffnung von Konten

Die Bank von Russland hat neue Regeln für die Eröffnung von digitalen Rubel-Konten genehmigt, die die Informationen, die Antragsteller bereitstellen müssen, erheblich erweitern. Die Änderungen betreffen sowohl gewöhnliche Bürger als auch kleine Unternehmen und sollen den anfänglichen Zugang zur Plattform komplizieren.

Jüngste Upgrades und neue Funktionen treiben das XRP-Ledger in Richtung eines institutionellen DeFi-Modells, wobei XRP und Compliance-Tools im Mittelpunkt seiner Roadmap stehen.

Ripple’s institutionelle DeFi-Strategie auf XRPL

Ripple und zentrale XRPL-Beitragsleister haben einen wachsenden Stapel sogenannter institutioneller DeFi-Komponenten im Netzwerk detailliert beschrieben, laut einem Blogbeitrag vom Donnerstag. Der Plan ist, das XRP-Ledger für regulierte Finanzen geeignet zu machen, indem compliance-orientierte Infrastruktur mit XRP als Abrechnungs- und Brückenasset für grenzüberschreitende Flüsse und On-Chain-Kredite kombiniert wird.

Kleine Unternehmen erhalten neue Werkzeuge, um wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben, während Loyyal Perxi AI einführt, das verspricht, die Art und Weise, wie Treueprogramme erstellt und verwaltet werden, zu verändern.

Loyyal führt einen KI-Treueagenten für Messaging-Apps ein

Am 6. Februar 2026 in Dubai kündigte der Unternehmens-SaaS-Anbieter Loyyal die Einführung von Perxi AI an, das als der weltweit erste KI-Agent für Treue beschrieben wird. Die Plattform ist so konzipiert, dass kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU) sofort markenbezogene Treueprogramme direkt in Messaging-Kanälen, beginnend mit WhatsApp, erstellen und betreiben können.

Analysten von Citigroup haben die Erwartungen an die Coinbase-Aktie nach einem starken Rückgang auf den Kryptomärkten und der anhaltenden Unsicherheit bezüglich der Regulierung in den USA gesenkt.

Citi senkt das Kursziel für Coinbase nach dem Verkauf von Kryptowährungen

Die Wall Street-Bank Citigroup hat ihre bullish Einstellung zu Coinbase (COIN) zurückgefahren und das Kursziel von $505 auf $400 gesenkt, während sich eine breite Risikoaversion über digitale Vermögenswerte ausbreitet. Die Bank sieht jedoch weiterhin langfristiges Potenzial, trotz des Rückgangs der Aktie um 65% von ihrem Rekordhoch von etwa $450.