Cryptopolitan

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has urged African anti-corruption and oversight institutions to strengthen the use of digital technologies, including AI, blockchain, and data mining tools, to fight corruption and financial crimes more effectively.

EACC Chief Executive Officer Abdi Mohamud stated that emerging technologies are important for detecting, investigating, and preventing corruption-related offenses. He noted that digital platforms can reduce human discretion and improve traceability, making it harder for corrupt practices to go unnoticed.

EACC moves toward full digitization to fight corruption

The EACC has already automated 58% of its processes and is working toward full digitization of its operations. It is supported by a robust ICT infrastructure and a technology-driven strategic plan.

The Commission also employs internally developed digital systems to enhance controls in resource management and uses digital forensic tools to extract, analyze, and manage evidence from electronic devices.

Mohamud said wider application of AI could further improve the analysis of large datasets. This would enable faster detection of suspicious transactions and patterns linked to corruption and fraud, while reducing investigation timelines.

He praised Kenya’s Digital Super Highway initiative. It has expanded internet connectivity and e-government services, thereby providing greater transparency in public service delivery.

In the conference that brought together heads of state, inspectorates, and anti-corruption agencies from 24 African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Muhamud stated that financial crimes are evolving rapidly, particularly with the rise of crypto and complex digital transactions.

He stressed that enforcement agencies need to keep pace. He urged that enforcement agencies need to keep pace.

So far, in eastern Africa, only Kenya has provided a legal framework for crypto. As reported by Cryptopolitan, the Kenyan parliament passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, establishing, for the first time, clear legislation for the crypto industry. It provided a legal framework for innovation while addressing risks such as money laundering and fraud. 

Rwanda’s National Bank of Rwanda and the Capital Markets Authority introduced a draft legal framework for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in March 2025. However, it has yet to officially establish the legal framework. 

Across the continent, data from the Africa Fintech Summit shows inefficiencies in cross-border payments and foreign exchange systems cost Africa nearly $5 billion annually. While the technology to enable instant payments already exists, the report underscores that fragmented foreign exchange markets, shallow local currency pools, and a lack of crypto knowledge continue to drive up costs. 

Meanwhile, Kenya, through the EACC, will host the Centre for Anti-Corruption Studies and Research in Africa (CEREAC). It is scheduled for launch in June 2026 during the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies of Africa (AAACA).

FRC targets cross-border money laundering networks

The Financial Reporting Centre has so far frozen the assets of 13 individuals linked to terrorism financing. This follows months of intelligence work conducted jointly by Interpol and US financial crime enforcement agencies revealed what investigators described as complex cross-border money laundering networks.

According to the updated domestic sanctions list published on the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) website, the 13 individuals include 10 Kenyan nationals, 2 Tanzanians, and 1 Ugandan. 

The report says that one of them is an IS facilitator who transfers funds through crypto from several crypto wallets, including those linked to associates of Bilal Al Sudani, aka Sudani, the Deputy Commander of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) Al-Karrar office linked to Islamic State (IS) of Somalia.

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In early Q1 2026, the top cryptocurrency market is moving through a clear period of change. While prices across the market have pulled back, the mood among experienced investors is less about fear and more about repositioning. Capital is no longer chasing the highs of past rallies. Instead, attention is shifting toward ecosystems that offer utility rather than pure speculation.

As the largest assets in the space face notable declines, activity is quietly increasing around a specific protocol that is moving against the broader trend. This shift suggests the next crypto stage of the market will look very different from the last, with greater focus on projects that address real liquidity needs and practical use cases.

Bitcoin (BTC) 

Bitcoin (BTC) remains the clear market leader, but its growth profile has changed in recent months. It is trading around $67,000, roughly 20% below its recent cycle highs. With a market capitalization near $1.34 trillion, Bitcoin now faces heavy institutional profit-taking and slower ETF-driven momentum. While it remains one of the most secure networks, its size limits the kind of high-percentage gains seen in earlier years.

Technically, BTC continues to struggle below key resistance between $70,000 and $75,000. Until these levels are reclaimed, upside remains capped. In 2026, Bitcoin’s main challenge is scale. Moving the price now requires massive new capital. As a result, many investors are turning to smaller, cheaper altcoins for growth, while viewing Bitcoin more as a store of value than a high-return opportunity.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

As capital moves away from saturated giants, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is emerging as a key option for investors looking for real utility. The project is being developed as a decentralized lending and borrowing hub that allows users to access liquidity while keeping ownership of their crypto.

The protocol is planned around a two-market structure to support different user needs. One model is a pooled system where users deposit assets into liquidity pools and earn APY based on demand. For example, depositing assets worth $1,500 at an 8% APY could generate passive income over time. These deposits are represented by mtTokens, which are designed to increase in value as interest is repaid.

Mutuum Finance is also developing a more flexible lending option intended for customized agreements between users. Across the system, risk is managed through Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits. With a 75% LTV, depositing $10,000 in collateral would allow access to up to $7,500 in liquidity. An automated liquidation mechanism is planned to monitor positions and help maintain platform stability if collateral values fall.

MUTM Presale Data

Mutuum Finance has been fuelled by an extremely successful and clear funding round. The project has already raised more than $20.4 million and now has over 19,000 individual holders in its community. The MUTM token is currently at Phase 7 of distribution and its price is at $0.04. 

This is a 300% increase compared to its first stage, Phase 1 price of $0.01, which is the 3x increase that early players already have achieved. Having a verified launch price of $0.06, the project is providing some kind of a clear run to value to the people joining the project before the actual listing.

The MUTM tokenomics are long-term sustainable. The overall amount of MUTM is 4 billion, and a precise amount of 45.5% is dedicated to the community presale. This is so that most of the project is owned by the people who support it in the initial stages. 

In order to make the community active, the project will include the 24-hour leaderboard which will reward the most active contributor of the day with a bonus of $500 in MUTM tokens. Joining is also extremely easy, since the site accepts direct credit cards, any person can join without the need to have a complicated exchange transfer.

Roadmap Milestones

Recent activation of the V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet is the most important milestone in the Mutuum Finance roadmap. This action is where the conceptual design can be translated into a working system which any individual can test. 

The core lending flows are now in use, the minting of the mtTokens is being tried, and the automatic liquidation logic is being tested in a non-risky environment. This technical preparedness is one of the main causes why the Phase 7 of the presale is sold out so fast because it proves that the team is capable of doing what they promise to do even before the mainnet launch.

In the future, Mutuum Finance plans to launch a native over-collateralized stablecoin, which users can use as a stable medium of exchange and which depends on the interest received in the protocol. 

Then plans are also on Layer-2 optimization in order to minimize transaction costs and increase settlement speeds. A complete security audit with Halborn and high 90/100 rating of CertiK will strengthen trust in the project. With the Bitcoin and other established markets grappling with market saturation, the emphasis on verified security and functional utility has made Mutuum Finance a major player in the 2026 top crypto cycle.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Ethereum is currently experiencing a strong sell-off, and its price is testing a support level around $2,100. The price of Ethereum is also experiencing a drop in its Ethereum Coinbase Premium, which is now at its most negative since July 2022. This indicates that institutional investors based in the US are currently selling more Ether (ETH) than they are buying. This situation indicates that big money is exiting the market, and this can cause a drop in price. During this period, smart investors are looking for new crypto projects that have a solid foundation and a plan for growth, rather than sticking with established coins that are trying to stay afloat.

Ethereum Institutional Support Weakens

According to recent data, Ethereum is experiencing a worrying trend, and this does not look good for its price and its chances of recovering quickly. The drop in its Coinbase Premium to bear market levels indicates that big investors are now exiting, and this does not look good for its price.

With the rest of the crypto market also experiencing a drop, including a big drop in the price of Bitcoin, it is now very hard for the price of Ether (ETH) to rise. This is a situation where investors should look elsewhere for exciting and new investments, rather than sticking with established coins that are based on speculation and do not have new and exciting features. This is where Mutuum Finance emerges as the crypto to buy.

A New Approach with Mutuum Finance

With established coins experiencing a drop, investors now look elsewhere, and Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a new and exciting project that offers investors a new approach and a new way of making money. Mutuum Finance is not just another coin, and this is a big difference between it and others. Mutuum Finance is a full lending system, and its V1 protocol has already been successfully launched on Sepolia’s testnet.

This ensures that anyone can test and see the functionality of the core features in a safe environment before the actual launch. The testnet includes peer-to-contract (P2C) shared pools for assets such as ETH, WBTC, LINK and USDT. This ensures that the product works and instills confidence in this new crypto.

Gaining Early Access and Advantage

Another feature that is appealing to investors is the ongoing presale. Currently, Mutuum Finance is in Phase 7, where tokens are being sold at $0.04. The presale phases are designed in such a manner that the price of the tokens will keep going up as each phase progresses. For example, Phase 8 will have tokens being sold at $0.045. However, the price at which the tokens will be sold during the launch is $0.06.

Due to the high demand from the community of over 18,900 holders and the fundamental strength of the protocol via its lending and over-collateralized borrowing, it is likely that the price of the tokens will surge significantly even at the point of listing. A possible price that can be achieved in the near future is $0.40, which represents a 900% increase from the current price in the presale. This will be achieved because of the working product, tokenomics, and the fact that it will be listed on top-tier exchanges.

Earning Passive Income Through Lending

The main idea behind Mutuum Finance is its lending feature. The feature ensures that users can earn some income. For example, in the P2C model, users can deposit their assets in a pool and earn some interest. If you deposit, for example, $1,000 worth of USDT into a pool, which earns 12% in interest annually, you can earn approximately $120 in one year without selling your original USDT.

The P2P system offers the facility of custom loans for different tokens. This dual approach ensures that all assets can be utilized for the creation of passive income, which is a practical application that is not available in other crypto sectors, e.g., meme coins. 

A Secure and Community-Focused Project

Security and community are the top priorities, and the smart contracts have undergone a rigorous audit by Halborn Security, a major milestone to ensure costly failures are avoided, giving the community confidence to invest in the project. Additionally, Mutuum Finance rewards its supporters.

The community stands to gain from a $500 MUTM reward from the daily leaderboard, where the top contributor will receive the reward, and a massive $100,000 giveaway, where the prize money will be shared among ten winners. The fixed token supply ensures the community is strong, a factor that is crucial for success in the volatile crypto market.

Positioning for a Brighter Future

The current state of the crypto market shows the limitations of projects based on mere speculations, but Mutuum Finance is offering a more attractive option with its live-testing protocol, clear presale, and opportunities for community members to earn from the token. Investors looking for a token with clear utility and massive growth prospects will find MUTM a strategic investment choice, and the window to invest in the early stages is still available, but closing soon as the next phase is just around the corner.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://mutuum.com/ 
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Tirgus satricinājums nosūtīja digitālo valūtu, ko atbalsta anti-establishment investori, strauji uz leju līdz gandrīz $60,000 piektdienas rītā.

Tas ir 50% kritums no rekordlielā augstuma, ko tas sasniedza pagājušā gada oktobrī, un tas atspoguļo strauju 30% kritumu kopš janvāra.

Pēc tam, kad Donalds Tramps atgriezās Baltajā namā, kriptovalūtas atbalstītājiem bija lielas cerības, taču šīs cerības nav piepildījušās. Neskatoties uz agrīnu nozares sajūsmu, lielākā digitālā monēta pēc tirgus vērtības jau tiek tirgota tālu zem tās vērtības vēlēšanu naktī.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is raising the alarm over an emerging scam trend in which suspects pose as police officers to defraud victims of substantial amounts of cash and crypto. 

According to reports, fraudsters have contacted victims by phone, claiming to be OPP members. In each case, the suspect used fake names, titles, and badge information to gain credibility. 

Victims were instructed to withdraw large sums of money and either send the funds through crypto platforms or hand over cash directly. These tactics resulted in major financial losses, including incidents in which victims paid between $6,000 and $13,000 to individuals falsely claiming to be officers.

Canada crypto scams on the rise

The OPP also warned against crypto job fraud. According to the agency, the criminals are using the names of real companies in Canada. Fraudsters offer freelance job opportunities to “boost” products, apps, or videos using downloaded software.

The #LanarkOPP is seeing an increase in crypto job frauds. Using the names of real companies in Canada, fraudsters offer freelance job opportunities to "boost" products, apps or videos using downloaded software.

After the victim installs the software and creates an account,… pic.twitter.com/Reju5dY0h0

— OPP East Region (@OPP_ER) February 6, 2026

“After the victim installs the software and creates an account, they receive ‘orders’ or ‘tasks’ to complete. Victims might receive a small payment or commission in order to convince them that the job is legitimate,” OPP wrote.

This report follows an Estevan Police Service report on Bitcoin scams. They received a call from a victim who was contacted by someone who sounded like their employer. The scammer directed the victim to deposit funds into a Bitcoin machine.

Fraud in Canada has grown over the years. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, as of September 30, 2025, 33,854 fraud reports had been processed, involving 23,113 victims. Losses totalled $544 million. Most people paid with crypto, which cost $23,815 CAD per transaction.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)  issued a statement, publicly announcing the release of its Digital Asset Custody Framework. It outlines how dealer members operating crypto asset trading platforms (CTPs) should ensure robust protection of digital assets.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, additional requirements include firm governance policies that structure governance, ensuring compliance with key management operations, cybersecurity, incident response, and third-party risks. Also, mandatory insurance, independent audits, security compliance reports, and regular penetration testing are considered essential.

To underscore the importance of transparency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) imposed an approximately $12 million penalty on local crypto exchange Cryptomus last October for failing to report over 1,000 suspicious transactions linked to darknet markets and wallets. 

These transactions were reportedly linked to fraud, ransomware payments, and sanctions evasion. It also fined offshore exchanges KuCoin and Binance earlier in the year for similar reasons.

Old people lose $700 million to an impersonation scam

According to Chainalysis, at least $14 billion in crypto was winding its way to criminals last year, versus $13 billion in 2024. However, it expects the figure for 2025 to increase to $17 billion once it identifies more illicit wallets in the coming months. This is already a record high, with the value of individual scam payments also surging by 253% year-on-year in 2025.

A big driver of these figures is the use of impersonation tactics, which grew 1,400% in volume YoY while related payments increased over 600%. 

Americans aged 60 and older reported losing $700 million to impersonation fraud last year, up from $122 million in 2020. Most of the increase was driven by high-dollar theft. Reports of scams involving more than $100,000 increased eight times over the last four years, while losses of less than $10,000 merely doubled.

Although anyone can be a victim of an impersonation scam, the Federal Trade Commission says the elderly have been disproportionately harmed. Many scams rely on crypto transfers, which offer the advantage of being irreversible and decentralized. 

One-third of older adults who reported losing $10,000 or more said they used crypto as a payment method. Most of those victims specifically mentioned Bitcoin ATMs—physical kiosks that allow customers to transfer money from credit or debit cards directly into crypto.

Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.

a16z’s general partner, Chris Dixon, explained on X that the cryptocurrency industry should not be criticized for focusing on the financial industry because money and capital are basic forms of coordination. 

Dixon shared his view that the industry’s current focus on financial products is necessary for the total adoption of digital assets. 

Why haven’t non-financial blockchain applications become mainstream yet?

In a recent detailed statement, Chris Dixon, a general partner at a16z crypto explained that we are currently in the “financial era” of blockchains to counter critiques that “non-financial use cases” for cryptocurrencies are “dead” and that the “read-write-own” vision of the internet has failed.

Dixon argued in his post on X that blockchains introduce a new way to coordinate people, capital, and even AI agents at a global scale. He explained that money and capital are the most basic forms of coordination, so finance is the most natural place for the technology to start. 

Dixon pointed out that technology usually follows a specific “order of operations.” For example, in the 1960s and 70s, the internet was focused on basic technical foundations like packet switching and TCP/IP. It took decades of building this “plumbing” before the world saw the rise of social media, video streaming, or global online communities. 

In the case of the blockchain industry, before we see massive adoption in categories like gaming, social media, or decentralized AI, we need a stable layer of “on-ramps.” This includes things like reliable digital wallets, identity systems, and high liquidity. 

Financial applications such as stablecoins, payments, and decentralized finance (DeFi) are the tools that bring people into the ecosystem. Once hundreds of millions of people are “on-chain” for financial reasons, getting users for other types of apps becomes easier.

Recent market data shows that stablecoins have become one of the most successful products in the industry. For example, PayPal’s stablecoin (PYUSD) and Circle’s USDC have seen significant growth in transaction volume. 

a16z has focused on the “long game,” due to years of “rug pulls,” extractive scams, and aggressive regulatory battles that have made many people cynical about tokens. Dixon believes it is very difficult to build a community of owners when the environment is filled with fear and uncertainty.

Positive government policy will impact the future of blockchain 

According to Dixon, the lack of clear government policy has been a massive development hurdle for the last five years, as legitimate builders were often afraid to innovate, and bad actors would take advantage of the confusion. 

However, the positive reaction to the GENIUS Act and the passing of the CLARITY Act have made stablecoins be viewed as a legitimate and important part of financial technology. 

Under Trump’s administration, there has been an increased focus on a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a move toward more crypto-friendly leadership at the SEC. This change in policy is expected to provide the “risk-based guardrails” that Dixon says are necessary to protect consumers and encourage institutional investment.

Dixon pointed out that the first paper on neural networks, the basis for today’s AI, was published in 1943. Similarly, the commercial internet only became possible because of policy actions in the 1990s. 

The blockchain industry is currently in its “messy years,” but difficult periods of groundwork and policy-making will eventually lead to its “obvious years” of mainstream success.

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The current volatility the crypto industry is witnessing has people talking about crashes and dips, which has led to a debate about which state the market is currently in. 

Some believe the market has crashed with BTC shocking analysts every day with its behavior, while others think this is just another dip and people are overreacting, as usual. 

How terms trending across social media affect crypto

According to Santiment Feed, a market intelligence platform, there is a marked difference between how traders perceive a crypto dip versus a crash. 

“In the former, it’s usually a simple observation that prices have gone down enough to be noticed. In the latter, a full-on crash is when things get interesting,” the platform’s post on X read. 

They went further by pointing out that there is no true rule-of-thumb for what should differentiate a dip vs. a crash. However, according to social data, “when traders have decided that a crash has occurred (as they did yesterday), it’s a very reliable bottom indicator.” 

According to a chart provided by the platform, prior to February 5, when Bitcoin dropped as low as $60k, there had only been talks of a dip across social media. When it dipped to that level, traders panicked and finally sold Thursday bags at a loss, but as soon as that happened, prices immediately rebounded. 

Coincidentally, or not, the term “crash” spiked across social media around the same time the rebound happened. 

The post from Santiment also claims that the mainstream media are often quite late to the party but never fail to call attention to the crypto “crash”, helping to get many more eyeballs on it, never mind that $BTC has already shown signs of recovery, up 13% from yesterday’s bottom. 

“This simply perpetuates more panic for the latecomers, and allows key stakeholders an easy path to buy from panicked retail,” the post concluded. 

What is a true crypto crash?

The recent BTC performance has people talking about crashes and dips, but Santiment Feed’s post implies that what the industry endured, especially on February 5 when BTC touched $60k briefly, was just a dip rather than a crash, as the mainstream media would have the public believe. 

It is true that BTC has so far dropped about 50% from its all-time high of $126,000. However, this has been due to a multi-month bearish grind that accelerated sharply on February 5 when it dipped by over 10% in a single day. 

Many have compared the price action to the one triggered by the November 2022 FTX crash, even calling it Bitcoin’s worst single-day performance since the event. 

However, while the recent dip shocked many traders, if Santiment Feed’s post is to be considered, it qualifies less as a “crash” and just another “dip,” albeit a serious one. 

What would fit the profile of a crash would be the price action triggered by the FTX crash. From its peak in 2021, which was around $69,000, BTC dropped by over 70% to lows of around $16,000. 

This was part of a prolonged crypto winter triggered by leverage blowup, Luna/3AC’s earlier failures, and then FTX’s explosion. On the worst day, BTC dropped by about 14%, which is around the same rate it dropped on February 5, hence the comparisons. 

The media back then also screamed doom and gloom, almost celebrating what looked like the demise of BTC. However, they were more justified back then as things did look dire for the sector. 

This time is clearly different. BTC may have touched $60k, but it has since rebounded and seems to be stabilizing once more, leaving behind those who panicked and sold their holdings at a loss.

Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.

China is building a humanoid robot industry from scratch at a speed that has Elon Musk worried and the United States scrambling to respond.

More than 140 Chinese companies now make humanoid robots, mostly in Shenzhen and Suzhou. Since late 2024, Beijing, Shenzhen, and other cities have put together investment funds worth over $26 billion, according to Morgan Stanley.

Local governments are giving out free land, slashing office rent, and paying about 10% of each robot’s price to get buyers to try them.

It’s the same playbook China used for electric vehicles. Government subsidies helped brands like BYD take market share from General Motors and Volkswagen in China, Europe, and beyond. Beijing has marked “embodied AI”, AI combined with physical robots, as tech it wants to own over the next five years.

“China is an ass-kicker, next level,” Musk said in January in Tesla’s Q4 earnings call. “To the best of our knowledge, we don’t see any significant [humanoid robot] competitors outside of China.”

$300 million in orders, 100,000 units expected

Chinese companies got orders worth more than $300 million for humanoid robots in the second half of 2025. Shenzhen-based UBTech is selling to Texas Instruments and Airbus. Morgan Stanley thinks up to 100,000 humanoids could ship in 2026, with China buying faster than the U.S.

Government agencies and state firms are early buyers. They’re putting robots in museums, at events, and on streets as robocops directing traffic. These deployments give companies data to make robots better while building a market.

UniX AI in Suzhou has about 100 employees and sells wheeled humanoids starting at $12,600. The company has hundreds deployed in Chinese hotels, doing tasks like adjusting bedsheets, picking up trash, and running laundry machines. Founder Fred Yang studied at University of Michigan and Yale. He said he can get 80% of parts from suppliers within an hour’s drive, which makes changes fast and cheap.

“Policy is one of the decisive reasons that embodied AI is doing so well in China,” Yang said in August, as quoted by WSJ. Some local governments give free land and office space for three years, then half price for three more.

Shenzhen has a “Robot Valley” with around 15 robotics firms. The city set up a $1.4 billion fund for AI and robotics and another $640 million fund for AI models. Beijing put together $14 billion in funds for the same thing.

EV bubble risk looms over robot boom

China’s approach worked for EVs, but it also created problems. Hundreds of brands fought for customers, prices crashed, and many companies lost money. The same could happen with robots. China’s government is writing technical standards to push out weak companies and speed up adoption. Financial regulators are watching robotics companies that want to go public to avoid a bubble.

The U.S. still leads in the AI models that run robot brains. Tesla, Boston Dynamics, and Agility Robotics use tech from Nvidia and Google. But American firms have a problem: they need China’s supply chain. Tesla’s Optimus robot will use Chinese suppliers for parts like roller screws for joints and motors for hands when it ramps up production, according to people familiar with the matter.

“Although we’ve heard of American robot companies, they’re not in the market,” said Jonathan Beh from an industrial park in Singapore, looking at humanoid robots. “Chinese companies have great products, and they’re the only available option.”

The White House is working on an executive order to help American robotics, people familiar with the matter said. But China’s head start in manufacturing, plus government money, gives it an advantage that won’t be easy to beat.

This fits China’s bigger plan to lead in new tech, like its push to control AI chip manufacturing despite U.S. export controls and its spending on quantum computing over the past two years.

Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.

Ethereum’s holder data shows OG whales are moving Ether to self-custody. Among the whales, two whale addresses have withdrawn a combined 29,079 ETH worth $60 million from OKX and Binance to accumulate today.

One of the whales withdrew a whopping 19,503 ETH, worth approximately $40 million, from OKX, while the other withdrew 9,576 ETH, worth approximately $19.78 million, from Binance.

Whales are accumulating $ETH.

0x46DB withdrew 19,503 $ETH($40M) from #OKX over the past 13 hours.

0x28eF withdrew 9,576 $ETH($19.78M) from #Binance over the past 8 hours.https://t.co/FQe95DLQZphttps://t.co/yVi2hnhq9l pic.twitter.com/u0cq8RHqTv

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 7, 2026

On Friday, another whale resumed operations after a full two-year hiatus. This new entity withdrew a staggering 10,000 ETH worth approximately $19.24 million from Binance. At the same time, another whale sprang back to life following one year of dormancy. This particular trader secured 1,892 ETH from Binance, worth around $3.75 million. 

Ether supply becomes more concentrated among whales 

According to on-chain data, the second-largest coin has shown signs of recovery from under the $2K level. Also, according to analysts, ETH’s MVRV ratio sits near 0.96, staying above the 0.80 level.

According to Glassnode data shared by Ali Charts, periods where the MVRV ratio dipped under 0.80 during deep drawdowns, followed by later price recoveries. Those were the times when the market value was lower than the actual value recorded on the blockchain.

Current data, on the other hand, show that the ratio is hovering near the neutral band, not in the very low area seen at previous cycle lows.

As a result, on-chain positioning indicates that the market has not reached the same level of valuation stress as during previous bottoming phases. Even though the price has dropped from its previous highs, the MVRV ratio is still higher than it was at earlier troughs on the chart. This means the measure has not yet entered the area previously associated with widespread selling.

Another analyst also hinted at a shift where the whales added, yet balances with the two mid-tier groups decreased.

In August 2025, wallets with balances between 100 to 1,000 ETH had 9.79 million ETH. Those with balances between 1,000 to 10,000 ETH had 14.51 million ETH.

At the same time, the 10,000-100,000 ETH group owned 17.18 million ETH, and those with 100,000+ owned 2.75 million ETH. By Wednesday, the 100-1,000 ETH group reduced its total amount owned to 8.32 million ETH. On the other hand, the 1,000-10,000 ETH group reduced its total amount owned to 12.26 million ETH. This drop implies the two groups have reduced their ETH balance by 3.72 million since August 18.

On the other hand, those holding wallets with between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH recorded an increase in the balances to 19.77 million ETH. In addition, the number of those with balances of 100,000+ ETH rose to 3.68 million ETH. This top group added 3.52 million ETH.

In the past, the level of OG crypto whales’ holding has been higher at times of low price action, with valuation metrics leveling off above capitulation levels.

Ethereum up 6% but volatility remains high

Ethereum has been one of the worst-performing assets in the present market crash. The coin has recovered now, changing hands for over $2K at press time. Ethereum may consolidate in a range between $1,900 and $2,200 as the market stabilizes. Analysts set a $2,300-$2,400 as a new price target.

Still, resistance levels are high above $2,200, and ETH will need to show increasing volumes into any trend that attempts to rise. Of course, should selling pressure resume, ETH may fall to $1,800 or $1,750, which is now established as a key support level.

A breakdown below $1,750 would likely encourage further panic selling and open up doors to potentially larger declines. Meanwhile, the coin is up 6% in the last 24 hours, now trading at $2,037.

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Apple’s latest iPhone lineup, which features a brightly orange colored premium model, has taken the Chinese market by storm and helped reverse the tech company’s prolonged sales downturn.

China is bulk-buying the iPhone 17 vivid orange variant, a design overhaul said to have made the devices more visually distinctive compared to the launch version released last autumn. Consumers have nicknamed the handset “Hermès orange,” a reference to the signature tone of Hermès handbags. 

“It’s eye-catching,” said David Qiu, who replaced an older iPhone with the new orange version. “It’s the newest colour.”

Even though Apple markets the shade internally as “cosmic orange,” the luxury bag color comparison has stuck with buyers and influencers. The model is being flashed around Chinese social media platforms through unboxing videos and lifestyle clips. Thousands of users have shared posts featuring the device since its release.

“It sounds simple, but it’s the external obvious changes to design, which include the introduction of a shout-out orange colour, that pulled out early upgraders,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC.

A model using the stage name Xiao Mei posted a video featuring the device as a fashion accessory. “I was instantly drawn to the colour because it felt very special. Who doesn’t like Hermès orange? The more I look at it, the more I love it,” she said.

Chinese iPhone sales reverse a multi-year Asian market slump

Between 2024 and early 2025, Apple’s China revenue fell for 18 consecutive months. The contraction came as home-based brands such as Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi pulled ahead in the competition with feature-rich flagship devices.

Moreover, Apple has been in the middle of the strained relations between Beijing and Washington. Some public-sector workers in China were actually directed to phase out iPhones. A year later, Chief Executive Tim Cook boasted of a turnaround during a recent earnings call, citing record iPhone sales in China in the fourth quarter. 

According to Cook, sales revenue from the country rose 38% year on year to $26 billion, accounting for nearly one-fifth of Apple’s total sales.

Apple has the standard iPhone 17 to thank for its impressive performance during the quarter. In previous editions, Chinese buyers upgrading immediately after launch chose the Pro and Pro Max versions. But in this cycle, the base iPhone 17 had a more noticeable leap over the iPhone 16 than in previous generations.

The handset was positioned just below the ceiling for a nationwide consumer subsidy scheme introduced by Beijing last year to boost spending. The government had allocated about $43 billion in 2025 to support purchases of electronics, home appliances, and vehicles. 

Under the program, smartphones priced under 6,000 yuan qualified for discounts of up to 15%, while Apple set the iPhone 17 price in China at 5,999 yuan. 

China has also introduced consumer subsidies for lower-priced smartphones to spur domestic spending. Buyers can receive subsidies of up to RMB500, or about $72, on devices priced below RMB6,000. Since Apple’s base iPhone 17 model falls within that range, it appeals to Chinese consumers who can’t afford the premium versions.

While advanced software features like AI are under regulatory review, hardware aesthetics seem enough to get the market looking Apple’s way.

“I’m not too sure how somebody like Oppo or Vivo or Xiaomi can break that kind of stranglehold,” said global tech firm Counterpoint researcher Gerrit Schneemann.

Apple’s record quarter results in China surprise analysts

Cook told analysts that Apple set a record for iPhone upgrades among Chinese customers. The company also recorded double-digit growth in users switching from rival operating systems to iOS. “Overall, a great quarter in China. We could not be happier with it,” Cook said on the earnings call.

Apple had ceded share in recent years as domestic brands offered competitive cameras, foldable screens, and locally tailored features. The rebound has provided relief for investors after a year of tariff uncertainty and setbacks in AI.

A strong global iPhone demand has lifted Apple’s shares about 7% over the past week, according to Google Finance data.

Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan said Apple’s China revenue had contracted in eight of the previous nine quarters and had not delivered consistent growth since 2022.

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The crypto market received a major shock as the price of Bitcoin dropped by almost 15%. The price is now trading around the $60,000 mark. The major cause of the decline is the increased selling from Bitcoin miners, huge outflows from exchange-traded funds, and the huge liquidations that took place. While Bitcoin is still struggling to find its ground, many experts are now turning their focus to new and fundamentally strong projects that provide investors with more than just price speculation. In such a period, it is always better to invest in a cheap cryptocurrency that provides investors with the highest growth potential and a clear use case. 

Bitcoin’s Path to Recovery Faces Major Hurdles

The recent fall of the price of Bitcoin to the $60,000 level indicates that the cryptocurrency is facing major issues. The main cause of the decline is the selling of Bitcoin by miners, as it is now costing miners more to mine the cryptocurrency than the prevailing price in the market. The selling is increasing the supply of the cryptocurrency in the market. The second cause is the huge outflow from investment funds, which is reducing the demand for the cryptocurrency. 

This is the reason investors should look to invest in other projects that provide investors with the highest growth potential and a clear use case, rather than just investing in the highest-priced cryptocurrency. 

Introducing the Mutuum Finance Ecosystem

Mutuum Finance is a decentralized lending platform that is based on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform provides investors with the opportunity to earn interest by providing loans to other users or to borrow funds by providing cryptocurrency as collateral. The platform recently achieved an important milestone as it launched its V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet.

This testnet version allows the public to test all the main features, such as deposits, loans, and liquidation, before the mainnet version is launched. This ensures that the technology is working and ready, which instills trust among users before the mainnet version is launched.

The Presale Phase and Projected Value Leap

One of the main reasons that experts are keeping an eye on this top crypto to buy is that it is in the presale phase, which has been successful so far. It is currently in Phase 7, and the token is priced at $0.04. It has been structured in such a way that it increases in value after every phase. Once it is launched, it will be priced at $0.06. 

However, it is anticipated that after it is listed on an exchange, it will jump to $0.32. This is expected due to the upcoming potential tier 1 exchange listings, the current presale holders being over 18,900, and the fact that the protocol is already live and working. Therefore, an investment of $1,000 will increase to $8,000 shortly after it is made tradable to the public.

Fixed Supply and Community Incentives

Unlike most cryptocurrencies, which have an unlimited token supply, Mutuum Finance has a fixed token supply of 4 billion. Almost half of this is being used for the presale, which will be purchased by investors. Additionally, it has been fueling the demand for the token through direct community rewards. This includes giving away $100,000 to ten winners in the presale. There is also a daily leaderboard that rewards the top contributor with $500. This ensures that people will be actively participating, which will fuel the demand for the cryptocurrency, making it the top crypto to buy.

A Strategic Choice for Market Uncertainty

Whereas the future of Bitcoin is still tied to the actions of the miners as well as the institutions, the future of Mutuum Finance is quite clear as far as growth is concerned. The success of the testnet launch is a clear indicator of the technical prowess of the project, while the presale is a final opportunity to get involved before the trading commences.

For the investor looking to get involved in a project that has immense short-term upside as well as fundamental strength for the long term, MUTM is a cheap crypto play in a volatile market.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://mutuum.com/ 
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

The debate about the eligibility of cryptocurrencies for the American retirement system has once again been reignited after Bitcoin suffered a massive collapse in its price. The digital asset witnessed a 50% drop from its October peak, erasing about $2 trillion in market value.

That single act has once again reignited the debate over the fiduciary math of the American retirement system. As investors struggle to ascertain the drivers of the latest market crash, market participants and observers are asking if volatile assets have any business being in a $12.5 trillion 401(k) market designed for stability. This comes amid a previous Cryptopolitan report where United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow crypto, private equity, and real estate investments in 401(k) plans.

Crypto eligibility for 401(k) questioned after market rout

The move was also defended by Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, who claimed that Bitcoin is just another digital asset. He claimed that despite the asset being risky, it is less volatile than some stocks. However, some market participants do not agree. Lee Reiners, a lecturing fellow at the Duke Financial Economics Center and co-host of the Coffee & Crypto podcast, said that investors are free to speculate on crypto on their own.

He added that 401(k)s exist to help people save to secure retirement, not to gamble on speculative assets with no intrinsic value. Riding on the executive order signed by Trump in August 2025, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Paul Atkins mentioned last week, before the latest brutal crypto selloff, that the time was right to open up the retirement market to crypto. However, it is expected that the recent market rout might just discourage fund managers from doing so.

Reiners mentioned that several large crypto firms, such as Coinbase, are already included in major indices, which means many 401(k) plans already have indirect exposure to crypto, which is enough. “Unless Congress changes the law, plan sponsors are unlikely to include crypto or ETFs as plan options because they don’t want to be sued by their employees. For any employers that were considering it, I’m sure recent events have them reconsidering,” Reiners said.

Analysts debate the future of pensions

One problem in putting people’s life savings into crypto is the fact that the industry is still relatively young and extremely volatile, and pension funds are for stable growth. Buying and holding can work for assets like the S&P 500, which sees huge volatility swings during Black Swan events such as the 2008 financial crisis or COVID-19 uncertainties. However, due to the size of the traditional markets, governments often step in to stop the bleeding, and regulations exist to protect people’s investments.

For digital assets, much of their activity is based on speculation, which means prices can see extreme swings over a weekend or a week. This leads to loss of billions with no regulatory oversight over the market moves. It makes it riskier for investors to put their life savings in it. In context, many firms were blindsided by the sudden crash in Bitcoin and crypto prices in the past few days. Block Trust IRA, an AI-powered retirement fund that added $70 million in IRA funds in the past year, was caught in the bloodbath.

According to analysts, there is a need to look into actual blockchain technology for retirement savings, instead of putting money into different tokens. Robert Crossley, the global head of industry and digital advisory at Franklin Templeton, believes that the retirement industry, which is moving slowly, would be revolutionized by on-chain wallets holding tokenized assets. “And by doing so, an individual’s digital wealth will be much more aligned with the rest of their lives,” Crossley said.

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Trading volumes of Russian crypto futures have reached record high levels amid the major correction on global markets for digital assets.

Some derivatives on Moscow Exchange, the country’s largest stock market, have seen growth exceeding 700% while Bitcoin lost 30% of its value in about a week.

Moscow Exchange registers record volumes of Bitcoin futures traded

Spot crypto markets experienced a significant correction in the past week or so, with major coins hitting lows unseen for well over a year, since October 2024.

The price of the cryptocurrency with the biggest market capitalization dropped by nearly a third between the last days of January and the first week of February 2026.

At its lowest point so far this year, Bitcoin (BTC) approached the $60,000 mark before bouncing back to around $68,000 at the time of writing, still a staggering contrast with the latest all-time high of over $125,000 from October 2025. The price of Ethereum, the second-largest coin, tumbled more than 40%.

Against this backdrop, Russia’s nascent market for crypto-based derivative products saw a major spike in activity, the business news outlet RBC noted in a report, drawing attention to the latest figures registered on the country’s leading platform for such instruments.

Trading volume for the Moscow Exchange Bitcoin Index futures, set to expire this month, jumped by 434%, from a little over 380.3 million rubles (over $4.9 million) on January 28 to 2.03 billion rubles (almost $30 million) on February 5.

Trades surged, too, from 8,400 to 42,800 (more than 400%). Both indicators are at record highs since the launch of this contract, the Russian portal’s Investments page emphasized.

Meanwhile, trading of the futures on the shares of BlackRock’s IBIT Trust ETF, which will expire in March, went up by 246%, from 590 million to 2.05 billion rubles, its highest volume to date.

The MOEX Ethereum Index futures, expiring this month, saw their trading volume reach 467.5 million rubles (over $6 million), an almost 730% increase from last Wednesday’s 56.4 million, with the number of trades growing from 3,000 to 22,300, the article detailed.

And the trading volume for the futures contract on the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), with March expiry, increased by 178%, from 105 million rubles on January 28 to 291.5 million in Russian fiat, or close to $3.8 million, this past Thursday. Trades shot up by 400% plus, from 2,000 to 10,600.

Commenting on these figures, the Managing Director of Derivatives Markets at Moscow Exchange, Maria Patrikeeva, highlighted:

“The average daily trading volume of cryptocurrency futures in the first week of February increased to ₽4 billion, double the volume in January of this year, due to the high volatility of prices on the spot market.”

She further pointed out that the total volume of open positions in BTC and ETH derivatives reached 9.3 billion Russian rubles, with the exchange registering a movement towards new index contracts whose quotes correspond to the prices of the two leading cryptocurrencies.

Russia’s crypto derivatives market expands ahead of full regulation

The MOEX executive emphasized that the crypto-based instruments not only allow investors to participate in the price movement of the digital assets, but also give them a chance to hedge their positions.

Russian derivatives based on cryptocurrencies have traded since last spring, when the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) authorized financial firms to launch such products on the domestic market in late May 2025.

They have been exclusively offered to “highly qualified” investors, but this is likely to change this year. The latest regulatory concept released by the monetary authority in December aims to expand investor access, as part of comprehensive regulations to be adopted by July 1, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

The new for Russia category of instruments, including securities and other digital financial assets (DFAs) linked to the value of cryptocurrencies, are usually denominated in U.S. dollars, settled in Russian rubles, and must not involve the actual delivery of the underlying cryptocurrency.

MOEX was among the first traditional players to enter the promising market, followed by Russia’s second-largest stock exchange, the St. Petersburg Exchange (SPB). The CBR already indicated it will rely on such pillars of Russia’s existing financial infrastructure to facilitate crypto trading in the future.

Russian analysts approached by RBC gave their two cents on the latest market developments. According to Dmitry Vishnevsky from Cifra Broker, the increased activity on MOEX results mainly from BTC volatility on global markets.

Andrey Varnavsky, director of digital assets at Ingosstrakh Investments, believes, however, that the Russian futures volumes are largely driven by domestic demand. He is also convinced that turnover would be much higher if actual crypto assets were traded.

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China’s top market regulator has fined several firms for impersonating ChatGPT and DeepSeek services, as Beijing tightens oversight in the country’s artificial intelligence sector.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said Friday it punished several companies for unfair competition, falsely imitating and advertising AI services from other brands. 

According to the South China Morning Post, one of the fined companies is Shanghai Shangyun Internet Technology, which was found running a sham ChatGPT service through Tencent’s WeChat platform. The regulator fined the company 62,692.70 yuan, equivalent to about $9,034.

The agency claimed the service had been advertising itself as the “official Chinese version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT,” and charged users for AI conversations, a conduct that breached the country’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law.

“The company was fully aware of the industry status and influence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. They deliberately created a false impression that they are providing the official service to mislead users into making purchases,” it said during a press briefing on Friday.

AI companies fined for imitating ChatGPT and DeepSeek

According to the AI Market Regulation government arm, a wave of DeepSeek mini-programmes and websites imitating the original platform appeared in early 2025. The watchdog penalized the services for trademark violations and for trying to deceive the public through falsified promotional language.

“This investigation served as a deterrent to illegal operators … and guided the AI market towards a standardised and orderly path of development,” the agency said.

Another firm, Hangzhou Boheng Culture Media, was fined 30,000 yuan for running an unauthorized website that allegedly offered “DeepSeek local deployment.” The regulator said the site copied fonts, icons, and layout from DeepSeek’s official platform and tricked users into paying for the service.

In the regulator’s campaign roundup, an engineer was slapped with a 360,000 yuan penalty for illegally accessing company servers that held confidential code and algorithm data. 

Furthermore, a Shanghai firm received a 200,000 yuan penalty for building AI phone-call software used by loan agencies to carry out scams. A Beijing-based company was also fined 5,000 yuan for “freeriding” on DeepSeek’s name to promote its own local deployment software.

Chinese race for top AI model heats up

China’s innovation regulators have been trying to balance out the growth of AI companies and fair competition in a market where developers are aggressively competing to topple American entities. 

Just over a year ago, DeepSeek became the talk of the globe after it launched a chatbot with lower user fees and development costs compared to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The launch took DeepSeek to the top of Apple Store downloads for almost a week.

Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI introduced an update, Kimi K2.5, at the end of last month. The company said the model features video generation and agent-style capabilities that outperform three leading US systems. 

In the same week, Alibaba debuted a new generative model capable of producing text, images, and video from user prompts. The company said its Qwen3-Max-Thinking system was ahead of US competitors ChatGPT and Grok in a benchmark known as “Humanity’s Last Exam.”

On January 19, Z.ai rolled out a free version of its GLM 4.7 model, but had to restrict new sign-ups for the coding tool after demand strained its computing capacity. Many Chinese-developed models are open-sourced, allowing users to modify code and build customized applications.

“The hope is countries apart from China will use these models to ensure large amounts of applications are built on these Chinese models,” said Alex Lu, founder of LSY Consulting. “That’s one way for Chinese companies to penetrate the market.”

Alibaba updated its Qwen app in early January so users can shop, order food, and pay within the chatbot interface through connections to platforms such as Taobao. On Friday, the online marketplace added bubble tea to its beverage list, which lifted the app from 10th place to the top spot in China’s Apple App Store, overtaking Tencent’s Yuanbao within hours.

The Qwen team said more than 10 million free orders worth 250 million yuan, or about $36 million, were placed within nine hours using vouchers capped at 25 yuan. The rush briefly overwhelmed shops, according to posts from store owners on WeChat.

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In a recent RWA.XYZ analysis, a leading data platform for tokenized RWAs, has published its recent tokenization data analysis, where it has added a new asset class, real estate. The UAE is leading in the number of tokenized real estate, while the USA leads in terms of the value of tokenized real estate assets.

In its analysis, the platform showcases that tokenized real estate, including direct ownership interests, funds, REITs, and real estate-backed debt, is now worth $356.2 million (past 30 days), where more than 10,000 holders own 57 assets tokenized across 10 countries.

In terms of countries that have tokenized real estate projects, they are Canada, Mexico, the USA, Romania, Italy, Spain, Greece, and the UAE.

However, it is the UAE and the USA that stand out. The UAE has tokenized 23 assets valued at $129 million, while the USA has tokenized 10 assets valued at $145 million, showcasing the UAE’s lead in terms of the number of tokenized real estate assets.

UAE-regulated Mantra Chain has tokenized the most real estate assets

In terms of blockchain networks, Mantra Chain, the regulated tokenization network out of the UAE, has the lion’s share in terms of networks. Mantra Chain tokenized $117.7 million of real estate assets, followed by Base at $81.5 million worth, and Stellar at $71.7 million.

Meanwhile, the Ctrl Alt tokenization platform led in terms of the most real estate tokenized assets, with $124 million in total value.

Source: RWA.XYZ

In terms of tokenized properties, World Islands in the UAE tokenized the most properties, with the DAMAC City tower being tokenized as well as the Dubai Marina Hotel, which was tokenized on XRP Ledger by Ctrl Alt. Other UAE properties included Kensington Waters and Sobha Creeks.

Real estate tokenization market size is still small

While the real estate tokenization market size is still small compared to other tokenized assets such as stablecoins, which are at $293 billion, or U.S. Treasuries, which are at $10 billion, it is catching up to stocks, which are currently $942 million in terms of total market value.

In terms of future outlook, industry analyses, including forecasts from Deloitte, suggest the market for tokenized real estate could grow from less than $300 billion in 2024 to over $4 trillion by 2035, driven by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 27%.

Tokenized real estate debt securities are projected to represent the highest share of the market, potentially hitting $2.39 trillion by 2035, followed by private real estate funds at $1 trillion.

In MENA, the UAE is currently leading on this front, but with Saudi Arabia’s recent foray into real estate tokenization, it soon might also become a leading player in the sector. The Real Estate Registry Authority, part of REGA in KSA, has developed a tokenized registry for Saudi properties, built by SettleMint, with nine Proptechs currently building applications in its sandbox.

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Two California high school students have been arrested in a plot to steal a cryptocurrency stash. According to reports, the California high schoolers were arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, after they allegedly posed as deliverymen to get into an apartment where they had been told $66 million in digital assets was stashed.

According to court documents, the California duo claimed they had never seen each other before, and that unknown people on the Signal app extorted them into participating in the burglary plot.

The police claimed that they were able to foil the home invasion after they received emergency reports around 10:45 AM Saturday, January 31. The responding officers claimed they heard a woman screaming and claimed they saw a man struggling with a youth when they got on site.

The officers claimed the duo left the house when they realized the police had come in from the front door.

California high schoolers arrested in home invasion plot

The police said they were able to chase the suspects, who drove off in a blue Subaru after fleeing through the back door of the house. The pursuit ended when the boys were boxed in at a dead-end, the police statement said.

The police were able to identify the first culprit as a 17-year-old from San Luis Obispo, who attended the San Luis Obispo High School, while the second was a 16-year-old from Morro Bay, who attended Pacific Beach High School in the same area.

The California high schoolers claimed they were sent $1,000 to buy disguises and restraining devices. They were also given the address of the home in Scottsdale’s Sweetwater Ranch neighborhood, 600 miles from where they live.

The California students claimed that their contact on the Signal encrypted messaging app, whom they only identified as 8 and Red, instructed them to get into the house and force the residents to hand over their digital assets to them, the duo said.

The police said they found UPS-style clothing, zip ties, duct tape, and a 3D-printed gun left behind at the scene after the attackers fled.

The mother of one of the teens also reportedly contacted police in California after accessing phone messages concerning the plot, but the Scottsdale police said they didn’t receive the information until after the break-in was carried out. The boys were booked into a Maricopa County juvenile detention facility on several charges.

Police confirm charges as search continues for Nancy Guthrie

According to the police, the duo will be charged with crimes including aggravated assault, kidnapping, and second-degree burglary. They have since been released on $50,000 bail with ankle monitors fitted to monitor their movements.

The police didn’t report whether the homeowners suffered any injuries during the invasion. They claimed that their adult son had been in the home with them when the invasion occurred and was able to call 911 while hiding from the intruders.

The home invasion took place in Scottsdale, about two hours north of Tucson, where investigators are still trying to piece together what happened to Nancy Guthrie, the mother of host Savannah Guthrie.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at home around 9:30 PM on January 31, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators believe Nancy was abducted. Her blood was found on her porch during the investigation, authorities said on Thursday.

In addition to her disappearance, TMZ reported receiving a possible ransom note that millions of dollars in digital assets be sent to a specific Bitcoin address. The wallet address was confirmed to be functional.

According to authorities, the note also contained a deadline, with TMZ also reportedly receiving an element of or else. The note lists two deadlines, with TMZ noting that the latter is more serious. The FBI confirmed that the first deadline was 5 PM on Thursday, while the second deadline is on Monday.

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21Shares has revised details of its US exchange-traded fund filing tracking ONDO, the native token of the real-world asset tokenization platform. The crypto ETP company filed the amended S-1 document with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

In a reaction post on social platform X, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas mentioned the development late Friday, joking that the product’s name sounded “like a planet in Star Wars.”

21Shares filing for an Ondo ETF. Never heard of this one, sounds like the name of a planet in Star Wars. pic.twitter.com/qtXql94nfO

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 6, 2026

The S-1/A submission is a follow-up on 21Shares’ first filing for a “21Shares Ondo Trust,” which the SEC posted on its website on July 22, 2025. The issuer has now rebranded the so-called trust as the “21Shares Ondo ETF” and specified Nasdaq as the intended listing destination, pending regulatory approval.

21Shares is the first asset management firm to seek to wrap ONDO exposure into a traditional brokerage product.

21Shares revises ONDO ETF proposal

According to the original S-1 document, 21Shares had indicated in their note that the trust would be a passive fund. It would hold ONDO and use a third-party benchmark to track the dollar price of ONDO.

The first submission outlined shares would be created and redeemed through large blocks called “Baskets,” handled by broker-dealers. But the revised proposal designates basket size to blocks of 10,000 shares per basket. The basket size affects how market makers arbitrage premiums and discounts in the secondary market.

The amendment also says brokers can create shares by depositing cash with the fund’s cash custodian. The sponsor then automatically instructs a third party to buy the ONDO needed for that order and deliver the tokens into the fund’s custody accounts.

When an authorized participant redeems for cash, the sponsor directs a custodian to transfer ONDO to a designated counterparty, which sells the tokens and deposits cash proceeds back into the fund’s cash account for settlement. The prospectus states that any slippage or trading costs associated with cash creations or redemptions are borne by the Authorized Participant, not the trust or the sponsor.

While last July’s filing said the trust would custody ONDO at a single regulated third-party custodian, Coinbase, the amendment changes that to a dual-custodian model by adding BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A.

BitGo is a federally chartered national trust bank and received a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in December last year.

The S-1/A prospectus also introduces “Vault Balance” and distinguishes “Cold Vault Balance” from “Hot Vault Balance.” It says the sponsor expects assets and keys to be held in cold storage on an ongoing basis, with hot wallets used at times for settlement.

There are three review paths after the amendment, owing to the SEC’s new formal process for approving exchange-traded funds. The best-case scenario will see ONDO ETF’s registration go live 20 to 75 days after the amendment, putting the earliest window between late February and mid-April 2026.

Ondo Finance RWA footprint and WLF ties

ONDO has appeared in political headlines through World Liberty Financial, the DeFi project affiliated with President Donald Trump’s family. Last year, WLF bought $500,000 worth of the token for a multi-asset treasury.

In other related news, Consensys’ MetaMask has tapped Ondo Finance to offer tokenized securities. Per a press statement released by the wallet service provider on Tuesday, eligible MetaMask users in non-US countries now have access to 200 tokenized US stocks, ETFs, and commodities, including gold and silver, on Ethereum.

Users acquire the tokenized exposure through MetaMask Swaps by swapping Circle’s USDC stablecoin into Ondo Global Markets tokens. However, the product is not available for users in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several jurisdictions in the European Economic Area.

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The government of President Donald Trump has officially authorized a technology company that supports the crypto industry to operate as a national bank.

Even while there is still discussion in Washington about integrating digital assets into the federal system, the decision comes as the OCC suggests a move towards more “innovation-friendly” banking laws. Erebor Bank was authorized by federal banking officials on Friday to start operations nationwide.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the application less than eight months after it was first filed, demonstrating a relatively quick reaction by federal regulators, according to analysts.

Some senators, notably Senator Elizabeth Warren, have expressed concerns about the risks of expediting charters for corporations with a cryptocurrency concentration. The OCC has refrained from commenting on the situation immediately.

Venture capital backing

Palmer Luckey, who helped create the Oculus virtual reality headset and also started the defense technology company Anduril, launched the banking venture. He borrowed the institution’s name from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels, where Erebor refers to the “Lonely Mountain.”

The naming approach mirrors Luckey’s other business ventures, Anduril and Palantir, which also draw from themes of protection and complex technology.

The project is receiving funding from a number of well-known technology investment firms. Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, 8VC, and Elad Gil are all backing the bank. Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir, has confirmed his investment.

Peter Thiel is reportedly behind the initiative as well. With an initial financing of about $635 million, the bank will have a lot of resources to work with right now. Last year, the company was worth about $2 billion during one funding round. That figure jumped to $4 billion after the bank secured another $350 million, with Lux Capital leading that round late last year.

The new bank aims to fill a gap in the market that emerged after Silicon Valley Bank failed in 2023. That institution had been crucial for young technology companies and venture capital firms that traditional banks often viewed as too high-risk to work with. When Silicon Valley Bank went under, technology startups across the industry found themselves scrambling to access money and handle basic needs such as paying employees.

“You can think of us like a farmers’ bank for tech,” Luckey explained. He noted that regular banks frequently lack the specialized knowledge to properly evaluate startups that own unusual types of assets. Erebor plans to concentrate on new industries involving complex hardware and advanced technical research.

Palmer Luckey touts Erebor Bank’s “cutting-edge” approach
Source: @PalmerLuckey.

The bank wants to work with businesses building factories run by artificial intelligence, companies making robots, and firms focused on cutting-edge manufacturing. Organizations engaged in space exploration and businesses producing medications in gravity-free environments are other possible clients.

Digital asset integration

The bank plans to use blockchain systems for payments that settle transactions around the clock. This differs significantly from how American banks typically function, where money transfers follow regular business hours and stop on weekends and holidays.

According to Luckey, Erebor plans to provide loans that use cryptocurrency or privately held securities as collateral. They will finance purchases of expensive artificial intelligence computer chips that modern technology companies need. According to its application documents, the bank will serve both technology businesses and the people who work at or invest money in those companies.

In October, the OCC gave Erebor preliminary conditional permission to move forward. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved the bank’s deposit insurance application in November. The bank cleared several regulatory checkpoints before receiving final approval.

Now that both authorities are involved, the organization may start functioning as a full-fledged national bank, bridging the gap between traditional financial services and the rapidly expanding technology industry.

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Cryptocurrency investors are looking for the top crypto to invest in now. As the market continues to grow and change, it’s becoming clear that the top crypto of 2026 will offer something innovative and useful. While Cardano (ADA) has long been praised for its smart contract capabilities and its community, it’s now becoming clear that other cryptos are going to outperform it. For those looking for the top crypto to invest in now, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) takes the spotlight.

Cardano: A Steady Pause 

Cardano (ADA) is moving in a sideways trend and is currently trading at $0.2977, slightly above the main support level of $0.2686. The MACD for ADA is below the signal line. The moving averages for ADA, which are 14, 21, and 35, are acting as resistance for the cryptocurrency. For those who are looking for the best cryptocurrency to invest in right now, Cardano might not be it. However, one new crypto at $0.04 is rapidly gaining attention.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM): Opportunities for Early DeFi Investors

For those looking for high growth potential in the DeFi sector, investing in Mutuum Finance (MUTM) would be a good option. Currently, the price for the tokens is set at $0.04 for each MUTM token in the ongoing presale phase, which is Phase 7. The price for the tokens in the next phase, which is Phase 8, is set at $0.045. Investing in MUTM today means locking in presale-phase gains since the crypto will launch at $0.06. What’s more, this is as low as MUTM will ever go. This has created urgency in more than 18,950 investors who have bought the token so far, raising over $20.43 million.

Benefits of Investing in Mutuum Finance

There are many benefits to investing in Mutuum Finance. For instance, the platform allows investors to borrow money without having to sell their holdings. For example, if an investor wants to borrow $12,000 worth of USDT, they can borrow the money from the platform using another asset, e.g., ETH, as collateral. Best part, the investor will still have their Ethereum growing while they borrow money from the platform. For example, if the price of Ethereum increases from $2,000 to $3,000, the value of the Ethereum held as collateral increases by 50%. This way, they get to enjoy price growth in the market and gain quick access to liquidity.

Benefits of Staking 

Investors can also earn from the platform through the staking of mtTokens. mtTokens are a claim to a liquidity pool position. For example, a lender with $1,000 LINK in a Mutuum Finance lending pool gets $1,000 mtLINK. When staked, this mtLINK is eligible for a staking dividend. The mtTokens allow users to benefit from compounding as borrowers pay interest. A fraction of fees is converted to MUTM and distributed to stakers. 

A Strong Ecosystem

The fact that the MUTM contract has a 90/100 token scan score from a CertiK audit is a major strength for its investors. Additionally, a $50,000 bug bounty program involves blockchain security experts and other users in securing the token through rewards if they identify potential risks. 

The 2026 MUTM roadmap includes:

A native over-collateralized, USD-pegged stablecoin

Layer 2 deployment to reduce fees and increase transaction speed

With these factors, MUTM continues to stand out as a top crypto to invest in now and the next big crypto poised for significant adoption.

Why Now Is the Time to Participate

With Phase 7 underway and Phase 8 approaching, early investment in MUTM offers multiple advantages. Beyond potential price increases, investors benefit from ecosystem functionality, liquidity flexibility, and robust security features. This positions Mutuum Finance as a promising contender for the next big crypto.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://mutuum.com/ 

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance