Cryptopolitan

A senior Taiwanese official has rejected American demands to move a big chunk of the island’s semiconductor manufacturing to the United States, calling the plan unrealistic.

Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun made an appearance on the local television network CTS on Sunday night, February 8, 2026. She stated that she informed U.S. officials that their goal of shifting 40% of production was unrealistic. According to Cheng, Taiwan’s decades-old chip-making infrastructure cannot be easily relocated to another place.

Official calls relocation target unworkable

“I have made it very clear to the United States that this is impossible,” Cheng said when asked about the 40 percent figure. Taiwan can establish new factories in other countries, America included. But she made clear that domestic production will continue to keep expanding at the same time. “Our overall capacity in Taiwan will only continue to grow,” the vice premier said.

Her position conflicts sharply with what US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been saying. Lutnick’s pointed out that most advanced chip-making occurs less than 80 miles from China. He calls that “illogical.” The US government wants 40 percent of sophisticated semiconductor production on American soil by 2029.

There’s a conflict between industrial reality and political objectives. Cheng described the operation of the chip industry using a “iceberg” analogy. The factories that are visible to all are only the beginning. A vast local network of suppliers and employees lies beneath that. Relocating production entails moving hundreds of specialized businesses that are currently nonexistent in the United States.

Taiwan views its chip concentration as a “silicon shield.” It maintains the island is crucial to global security. Washington views it as a vulnerability. Cheng’s position is that Taiwan will support American development, but it will not sacrifice the home base that underpins its defense strategy.

Tariff threats and economic pressure mount

Lutnick’s warned of harsh financial consequences if things don’t change. On CNBC, he said Taiwan’s 15 percent import duty now could spike all the way to 100 percent. A January 15, 2026 deal had lowered those rates from 20 percent. But that relief is now tied to hitting production targets.

That January agreement had Taiwanese firms pledging $250 billion in US investments. There’s another $250 billion in government credit guarantees backing it up. Still, those numbers might not get to the 40 percent benchmark. The pressure did work to some extent, TSMC committed $165 billion to an Arizona project. But retaliatory tariffs would increase costs for US military hardware and AI systems.

Economic experts in Taiwan are skeptical about such a big transformation happening. Lien Hsien-ming, who runs the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said recently that the talk about bringing production back might be overblown. His analysis suggests less than 15 percent of TSMC’s advanced manufacturing will be in the United States by the end of this administration.

According to TSMC’s leadership, US activities are undoubtedly expanding. For logistical considerations, the most sophisticated manufacturing remains in Taiwan. By 2029, the Arizona “Megafab” plans to produce 2nm and 1.6nm (A16) chips. Only once those state-of-the-art procedures are stable domestically will they move abroad.

Taiwan is ready to help the US build similar industrial hubs while keeping its technology parks domestic. Cheng remains confident that Taiwan’s internal capacity, current facilities plus future ones, will consistently outpace international investments.

The recent trade agreement cut standard tariffs to 15 percent, providing relief. TSMC’s moving ahead with its $165 billion Arizona expansion and just added 900 acres in Phoenix. But Taipei’s position remains unchanged. US facilities supplement Taiwan’s central manufacturing role, they don’t replace it.

The 2029 deadline is getting closer. The standoff between Washington’s “onshoring” push and Taipei’s “rooted” strategy means the chip industry remains a critical flashpoint in trade.

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Dunamu, operator of the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has filed an objection to a 35.2 billion won ($25.1 million USD) penalty imposed by South Korea’s financial authorities. 

South Korea’s financial authorities revealed on Monday that Dunamu recently applied to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission to object to the penalty decision. As a result, the penalty’s enforcement has been temporarily put on hold pending a court review.

Dunamu receives record fine, faces business suspension

The FIU decided to impose a 35.2 billion won fine on Dunamu in November of last year. The agency claimed to have discovered that the company had breached the Act on Reporting and Use of Specified Financial Transaction Information (the “Specified Financial Information Act”). Separately from the fine, Dunamu has also received a business suspension order for violating the Specified Financial Information Act.

The 35.2 billion won fine marked the largest ever imposed by financial authorities for violating the Specific Financial Information Act. 

The agency accused Dunamu of violating customer verification obligations in 5.3 million cases, including accepting scanned or printed copies of identification documents instead of originals and rendering names or resident registration numbers unidentifiable. It also charged Dunamu with approving registrations even when customers uploaded identification documents online that were out of focus.

Financial authorities explained that approximately 3.3 million cases involved transactions for customers whose verification processes had not been completed. 

The authorities also found 15 cases where Dunamu failed to fulfill its obligation to report when there were reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering. This includes instances in which prosecutors sought search-and-seizure orders for the transaction records of Upbit users suspected of criminal activity. Dunamu did not submit the needed reports, despite being aware of this.

At a hearing held in December last year, Dunamu’s legal representative argued, “Even though other exchanges faced the same issues, only Dunamu was subjected to preemptive action,” pointing to a lack of fairness.

Dunamu also argued at the hearing that a violation of Article 8 of the Specified Financial Information Act may result in a fine regardless of deliberate or egregious negligence. The business also asserted that it is a major issue to issue a business suspension order based solely on a single Article 8 infraction.

FIU fines Bithumb, Korbit for AML violations

After FIU imposed a fine on Dunamu in November of last year, it also stated in a separate statement that it had inspected four additional cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX, to evaluate their AML and other regulatory compliance.

FIU inspected Bithumb in March 2025. Last month, CCN reported that FIU fined Bithumb for anti-money laundering (AML) violations. The report noted that the FIU examination found numerous compliance issues at Bithumb, including violations of AML procedures, insufficient know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, and failures to report suspicious transactions.

According to industry reports, widespread AML errors akin to those at Upbit have been identified, even if the precise fine amount has not yet been officially announced as of February 2026.

The report stated that Bithumb is expected to pay a large fine, which is predicted to equal or exceed Upbit’s $25 million fine.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)  issued an institutional warning and fined South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit 2.73 billion won ($1.9 million) on December 31, 2025, for numerous violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws.

The FIU imposed disciplinary measures against the exchange’s top compliance staff, in addition to the monetary fine, including issuing a warning to the CEO and reprimanding the AML officer.

The penalties followed regulators’ findings of serious flaws in Korbit’s AML compliance system, the result of a thorough on-site investigation conducted between October 16 and October 29, 2024. According to the FIU’s investigation, Korbit had violated almost 22,000 rules about transaction limitations and customer due diligence.

Cryptopolitan reported that regulators also identified 19 improperly reported virtual asset transactions involving three foreign virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The report noted that Korea’s regulations governing the management of unregistered foreign corporations were broken in this case.

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ClawHub may be hosting supply chain attacks through new AI agent skills. Some of the skills contain malware to steal credentials and potentially affect accounts and crypto wallets. 

ClawHub, the marketplace for OpenClaw AI agent skills, is hosting multiple malicious skills. The supply chain attack may be stealing credentials, potentially affecting crypto wallets. 

Security researchers from SlowMist reviewed over 400 potential compromised skills, revealing organized attacks targeting specific domains. Skills like X Trends hide a backdoor download, which can then send credentials to the threat actor. 

The SlowMist research builds on a previous discovery by KOI Security, discovering 341 malicious skills among a total of 2,857 bot skills in the marketplace. Later analysis by SlowMist discovered up to 472 malicious skills, though the number can still vary.

ClawHub conceals stealers in hundreds of skills

Earlier, Koi Research conducted AI-assisted research using an OpenClaw bot named Alex. The bot found 335 skills that were used to push the Atomic Stealer on macOS. 

“You install what looks like a legitimate skill – maybe solana-wallet-tracker or youtube-summarize-pro,” Koi researcher Oren Yomtov said. 

“The skill’s documentation looks professional. But there’s a ‘Prerequisites’ section that says you need to install something first.”

A Windows exploit is also active, calling users to download additional files from a GitHub repository. The supply chain attack also includes a keylogger, which can steal multiple credentials, including potentially uncovering crypto wallets. 

As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, OpenClaw agents are still in their early stages and are displaying unexpected behavior. Adoption is growing daily, posing new risks in cybersecurity and agent behaviors.

SlowMist continues tracking ClawHub skills for new threats

The recent supply chain attack may not be a one-off event. ClawHub is a relatively new space, attracting a large number of developers. SlowMist will be tracking the space as a source of supply chain attacks. The platform still lacks formal review mechanisms, allowing widely used skills to be infiltrated. 

There are still no clear reports of crypto theft through ClawHub. Previously, the public skills repo has contained malicious prompts linked to attempted crypto stealing. In the future, SlowMist will issue real-time alerts via its MistEye service to detect new malicious skills on ClawHub.

SlowMist has also identified an IP address that is reused in the malicious attacks. According to theat records, the IP 91.92.242.30 is historically linked to the Poseidon hacker group, known for extortion and data theft.

For end users, researchers advise against trusting the installation steps in new skills and to audit any commands that require copying and pasting. A common-sense preview of prompts is also a good check, looking for prompts asking for system passwords or other secure access. Users may wait for official channels and avoid installations from unknown sources.

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Group 42 Holding Ltd, an Emirati artificial intelligence (AI) development holding company doing business as G42, is leading a $1 billion initiative to establish data centers and cloud computing services in Vietnam. This project is part of the United Arab Emirates’ broader plan to intensify its AI efforts amid stiffening competition in the AI ecosystem.

In a statement published on Monday, February 9, the firm pointed out that this initiative will take place under the partnership of G42, FPT Corp., a tech and telecom company, and the Viet Thai Group. This was after the team signed an agreement in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to construct three data centers in the country, committing to $1 billion in consumption.

Officials said this infrastructure will support Vietnam’s broader digital agenda, including government digital transformation projects, AI‑enabled industrial automation, local cloud adoption, and data sovereignty goals. Complementary efforts will also include national AI-skilling and workforce development programs designed to expand local talent in AI, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, and advanced computing.

Nonetheless, despite the collaboration being made public, sources noted that G42 failed to disclose specific information on the investment amounts, the project timeline for finalization, or the computing power to be made available.

Vietnam solidifies its position as a tech hub in the region 

G42’s recent announcement reflects a growing trend in which several investors are allocating a significant portion of their funds to enhance AI infrastructure across Southeast Asia amid substantial expansion potential. However, while the region drew the attention of several individuals, reports highlighted that some people raised concerns about challenges in Southeast Asia, such as power shortages and limited land.

These concerns were raised after protesters assembled at a Malaysian data center construction site to complain about dust pollution and its impacts on water resources.

Meanwhile, concerning the $1 billion data center project in Vietnam, Ali Al Amine, Chief Commercial Officer of G42 International noted that, “This Framework Agreement introduces a new approach for national AI transformation, focusing on sovereignty, collaboration, and purpose,” further stating that, “We appreciate the visionary leadership of the Government of Vietnam and thank our partners, FPT Corporation and Viet Thai Group, for their dedication to developing infrastructure that allows Vietnam to fully utilize AI while ensuring data sovereignty and digital independence.” 

At this particular moment, Dr. Truong Gia Binh, the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of the Vietnamese technology company FPT Group, decided to weigh in on the matter. He began by acknowledging that Vietnam cannot make significant progress on its own, especially in key sectors such as  AI, cloud computing, big data, and cybersecurity.

This, therefore, underscores the importance of strategic partnership. With the collaboration of G42, FPT Corp., a tech and telecom company, and the Viet Thai Group, industry executives have illustrated strong dedication and developed mutual trust, signaling the initiation of these commitments into action, the CEO asserted.

Notably, this project is anticipated to have significant economic effects in Vietnam by creating job opportunities, encouraging direct investment in infrastructure, and positioning the country as a leading tech hub in the region.

G42’s decision to sell off its Chinese assets

Earlier, G42 was subjected to a thorough investigation in the US regarding prior deals with startups based in China and Huawei Technologies Co., a Chinese multinational corporation and technology company.

Given these strict measures in place, G42 publicly stated that it has no involvement in Chinese assets, having sold them all and begun supporting US President Donald Trump’s efforts to export American AI chips, software, and models to diminish overall growth in China.

In the meantime, the company launched a framework for Digital Embassies during the World Economic Forum held earlier this year. The newly released framework permits other firms to establish and manage computing services in foreign territory. In addition, the system will ensure other nations have full legal authority over AI models and data evaluated in the United Arab Emirates.

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The crypto market is shifting toward projects that offer real, working utility. Many traders are moving away from assets with no clear use and are focusing instead on platforms that solve practical financial problems. This shift is being led by one fast-growing project that has stayed below the five-cent level while interest continues to build. Both smaller buyers and large holders are steadily increasing their positions, pushing accumulation to new crypto highs. As activity accelerates, the window to enter at these early price levels is starting to close quickly.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is developing a performance-based lending atmosphere. It applies Layer 2 technology in order to make decentralized loans cheap and quick. The project began its expedition at the beginning of 2025. Since that time, the growth has been impressive. 

MUTM started its initial stage with a low price of $0.01. It has now topped $0.04 in its seventh phase. It is 300% growth in a short period of less than a year. These numbers speak volumes with more than 19,000 holders and a raise of $20.4M.

Alongside this growth, the team has delivered tangible progress, including the activation of its V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet, where users can already test core lending features. This combination of rising adoption and visible development continues to strengthen confidence around the project’s direction.

The Security Standards and the V1 Protocol

The team has just achieved one of its biggest milestones in the form of the V1 protocol launch on the Sepolia testnet. This will enable users to fine-tune on the essential features of the platform under a secure environment. 

Participants can interact with lending pools, mint and track mtTokens, and observe how the automated risk systems respond to changing conditions. These tools give early users a clear view of how the protocol manages deposits, borrowing limits, and position safety in real time. 

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) underwent a comprehensive security audit by Halborn. This audit works to the benefit of the investors. It is evidence that the code is concrete and prepared to the requirements of a financial market across the globe.

Economic Drivers

One of the factors supporting the project’s long-term design is its buy-and-distribute mechanism, which is outlined in the official roadmap. Under this model, a portion of lending fees is planned to be used to buy MUTM from the open market, with those tokens distributed to users who participate in the safety module. 

The idea is to align rewards with real platform usage rather than inflation. Alongside this, the roadmap also includes plans for a native, over-collateralized stablecoin, intended to add more predictable liquidity and borrowing options within the ecosystem. 

This is one of the gigantic value catalysts according to many investors. In an optimistic view, it is forecasted that MUTM may be launched to 750% growth, as it reaches the goal of $0.30.

Market Positioning

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is shaping itself into one of the leading competitors of the established networks such as Aave or Solana. It is a hybrid of audited code security and Layer 2 performance. The market sentiment of early investors shows that the present price of $0.04 is a rare entry point. 

The official opening price is fixed at $0.06, and that is, the stage where we are in offers a considerable discount. This will be the final window that will be able to offer tokens before the beta version is launched and the project has listings on big exchanges.

The high distribution of Phase 7 is a strong indication that the market is beginning to take the prospect of Mutuum Finance (MUTM) seriously. The supply is being consumed at a rapid rate with 845 million of the tokens being sold to date. Investors that appreciate the worth of a revenue-linked protocol are rushing in. The positioning at $0.04 will enable the participants to take advantage of the intended launch at a price of $0.06 and the anticipated price discovery. 

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

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

China offset its $456 billion liquidity pressure by having the PBoC inject nearly $87 billion to ward off the anticipated seasonal cash crunch during the Lunar New Year. The PBoC has also reduced its medium-term lending facility by 10 bps to 1.4%, down from January’s 1.5% to revive economic growth.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) responded to the anticipated seasonal cash crunch ahead of the Lunar New Year by boosting the supply of money, with China’s Industrial Securities noting that the surge in cash demand followed a predictable trend in household behavior. The Chinese central bank is hoping to keep the financial plumbing well-greased to maintain economic momentum against intensifying headwinds.

The PBoC is pulling out all the stops to revive China’s economy, charging some of its MLF lenders at a record-low 1.4%, down from 1.5% in January and 1.55% in December. However, it is not yet clear how many of the $165 billion MLF loans the central bank dished out in January were struck at the low rate. 

PBoC injection addresses estimated $461B liquidity gap

According to media reports, last week’s PBoC’s injection of roughly $86.5 billion, coupled with the Industrial Securities’ projected addition of ~$504+ billion before the Lunar New Year festivities kicked off on Sunday (February 8), will address a $461.16 billion liquidity gap. The Chinese central bank expects surging withdrawals linked to holiday spending and corporate demand for the Yuan to drain funds from the banking system. 

“The central bank has ample room to roll over liquidity … It is expected that the PBOC can offset the funding gap by combining injections through conventional liquidity tools with a steady scale of bond purchases.”

–Ming Ming, Chief Economist at Citic Securities

While analysts from Huaxi Securities project a liquidity drain of about $130 billion from the traditional red envelope cash gifting and travel during the Lunar New Year celebrations, Ming Ming believes liquidity conditions in the bond market will remain steady enough to offset these changes in household behavior. 

However, some of the PBoC’s ~$58.4 billion reverse repos are also expected to mature later this week, draining more Yuan from banks. China is front-loading government bond sales, which may intensify the cash crunch, according to Guolian Mingsheng Securities. An outright reverse repo maturity could take out another $72 billion from Chinese banks. 

Local authorities to offload $137B of bonds before mid-February

According to media reports, Chinese local authorities have revealed plans to sell roughly $136.9 billion (950B Yuan) of bonds in the first two weeks of February, representing nearly 18% more than January’s issuance. The PBoC is also expected to issue approximately $59.3 billion of bonds this month, reflecting its commitment to supporting the market during seasonal peaks.

Meanwhile, although Chinese economists expect the PBoC to slash banks’ reserve requirement ratio by at least 50 basis points (bps) and cut interest rates this year, Sinolink Securities still believes exporters converting earnings from the U.S. dollar to the Yuan will further tighten liquidity. However, this week’s inflation data will help guide expectations for how much the PBoC will contribute to policy support for the Chinese economy.

On the other hand, analysts from Huachuang Securities note that the Chinese central bank’s tendency to keep liquidity in check should be the last thing the markets need to worry about this year. They observe that the cash supply “still feels very loose” despite volatility in repo rates driven by seasonal factors. 

Zou Lan, the PBoC’s deputy governor, also said last month that interest margins have been showing signs of stabilizing in recent years. He further observed that cheaper loans from China’s central bank would not only benefit commercial lenders that have long suffered narrower margins, but they also favor an economy sunk in a prolonged property slump and deflationary pressure. 

Meanwhile, Cryptopolitan previously reported that China’s ability to navigate this economic transition effectively also hinges on maintaining a steady flow of funds from overseas investments. Chinese policymakers are also taking steps to steady the economy through strategies aimed at restoring investor confidence in the Yuan.

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Australia has signaled a bold AI ambition, with plans to roll out nearly 6 gigawatts of data-centre capacity worth about A$150 billion ($105 billion), indicating that this year’s installed capacity would be three times as much by 2030, according to a statement from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). 

The region is emerging as a major global hub for artificial intelligence infrastructure, driven by a massive expansion in data centres and record investment commitments that put it among the world’s top destinations for AI-related computing and digital infrastructure.

Following this announcement, recent reports highlighted that Australia has solidified its position as a key player in the AI ecosystem, securing the third-largest position after the United States and China in terms of AI investment. 

With this significant milestone in place, analysts projected that the country’s economic growth would rise substantially, offsetting the current weak growth rate and rising inflation.

Australia’s heightened interest in AI sparks hope for the country’s economic growth 

The Reserve Bank reported that, among developed nations, Australia has the weakest economic growth, expressing concerns about the risk of inflation if it surpasses the bank’s 2% target. In attempts to address this issue, the central bank increased interest rates this year.

Regarding this move, Luke Yeaman, the head of Commonwealth Bank’s economics and markets research team, stressed that, “If AI can consistently boost productivity and raise GDP growth by up to 1 percentage point each year, it would significantly enhance economic and market results.” 

To further emphasize his argument, Yeaman argued that if this were to succeed, AI could boost the country’s growth rate to around 3% in the years to come.

Meanwhile, sources noted that a surge in Australia’s AI investment comes just after Michele Bullock, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, highlighted the importance of boosting productivity growth to stabilize inflation and keep it at lower levels.

Considering its advantages, reports highlighted that the government intends to issue a budget by May this year. Consequently, officials noted the heightened pressure to reduce spending and to enact measures to improve productivity. 

The officials’ statement prompted the country’s Productivity Commission to forecast that labor productivity linked to AI would expand by 0.4 percentage points annually, placing Australia at the Bottom of growth predictions.

Firmus intends to initiate the next phase of its Project Southgate

While the government forecasts that labor productivity linked to AI would expand, recent reports highlighted that Firmus, the Australian artificial intelligence company, announced a $10 billion debt funding package from the global private equity firm Blackstone and Coatue Management, an American technology-focused investment management firm. 

With this funding, Firmus intends to initiate the next phase of its Project Southgate. The primary goal of this initiative is to establish AI training and inference infrastructure comprising data centers throughout Australia.

Moreover, the company made public its collaboration with CDC Data Centres and Nvidia, an American technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. This partnership aims to achieve a capacity of 1.6 gigawatts within three years.

John Watson, a senior managing director in Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group, stated, “The tools driving the AI revolution are one of our key investment focuses, and we are thrilled to support Firmus’ ongoing growth.” 

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China’s Montage Technology shares surged more than 50% in their Hong Kong trading debut on Monday after a highly oversubscribed share sale that raised HK$7.04 billion for Chinese memory interconnect chipmaker.

The shares opened trading at HK$168, rising to an intraday high of HK$171 before settling at about HK$160. Montage Technology reported a turnover of HK$2.32 billion on roughly 14.75 million shares, among the most actively traded stocks by Monday morning.

Montage Technology IPO boosts Hong Kong AI chip market

Montage Technology manufactures data center memory interface chips that facilitate faster data transfer between memory and processors in artificial intelligence computer networks.

The China-based company offered 65.9 million shares in Hong Kong at a maximum offer price of HK$106.89 per share.

According to its prospectus, the funds raised will be utilized for operating capital, strategic investments or acquisitions, and commercialization in addition to R&D. 

The company’s release of the allocation results on Friday revealed that the foreign tranche was more than 37 times oversubscribed, and the retail portion of the offering was more than 700 times oversubscribed.

The offering included 17 cornerstone investors, such as UBS Asset Management, Yunfeng Capital, and JPMorgan Asset Management. These investors contributed approximately $450 million to the offering.

Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU School of Law and former head of North America for CIC, China’s sovereign wealth fund, stated that the strong lineup of global cornerstone buyers suggests that Chinese AI-related IPOs are attracting institutional investors back to the HKEX market again. He also explained that the U.S sanctions that restricted China’s access to advanced chips like those made by Nvidia were speeding up regulatory and financial backing for China’s domestic semiconductor value chain, which included “middleware” chip designers like Montage.

Ma further stated that Montage’s Hong Kong debut highlighted how China’s AI chip ecosystem is progressing “up the stack” from basic components to specialized chips that link processors and memory in data centers.

Montage Technology’s listing also comes as Hong Kong recorded its strongest start to the year since 2021. IPOs and second listings raised roughly $5.5 billion in January, the biggest since 2021 when IPOs raised $7.6 billion.

Hong Kong reclaims top IPO spot as listings surge

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said in its annual report that Hong Kong was the world’s leading IPO (initial public offering) destination in 2025, with fundraising levels significantly higher than the previous year. HKEX announced that the number of new listings in 2025 reached over 100.

According to statistics, the number of new listings increased by 52 percent to 93 in the first 11 months of 2025 from 61 in the same time period the previous year. Initial public offerings raised HK$259.4 billion (about $33.33 billion), a 228 percent increase over the HK$79.1 billion raised the previous year.

The total fundraising amounted HK$575 billion, a 240 percent increase over the HK$169 billion raised during the same time last year.

China Daily Hong Kong reported that IPO issuers are also becoming more diverse as the bourse accepted listings from businesses based in Kazakhstan, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates last year.

The report said that since the HKEX established the Technology Enterprises Channel in collaboration with the Securities and Futures Commission, it has strengthened its support for innovative listings. The report cited that 88 biotech and specialist technology companies are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange following the implementation of Chapters 18A and 18C of the listing rules.

Against this backdrop of expanding issuer diversity and regulatory support, PwC said the region’s initial public offering (IPO) market is anticipated to continue growing in 2026, with funds predicted to reach $320 billion to $350 billion. The projection came after a strong 2025 performance of  $285.8 billion in funds raised across 119 IPOs.

PwC also noted that new-economy enterprises, retail, consumer goods, services, IT, and biotech were the main drivers of IPO growth in 2025, with 55 firms raising $1 billion or more.

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Samsung stock surged over 6% today after an article from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that that the cellphone giant is about to start mass production of next-generation HBM4 memory chips.

These chips are allegedly built specifically for AI data centers, and Samsung is preparing to ship them to Nvidia as soon as next week.

The HBM4 memory chips are headed into Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI accelerators, a new lineup of processors designed to power AI systems. Traders jumped in because this makes Samsung the first company on the planet to start producing sixth-gen high-bandwidth memory.

Samsung starts shipping HBM4 chips for Nvidia’s new AI processors

Yonhap also said Samsung has already passed Nvidia’s quality checks and locked in real purchase orders. The production timeline was set up to match Nvidia’s launch schedule, which makes this a live deal, not a future maybe.

On top of that, Samsung has been sending out larger volumes of test chips for integration into customer systems. That’s real demand.

A source allegedly told Yonhap that Samsung, with the biggest factory capacity and product variety, is now back on top after pulling ahead in this key tech race.

The HBM3E chips still dominate the market today, but that’s changing fast. HBM4 is expected to take over, and Samsung is already supplying the world’s biggest AI chip buyer.

Now here’s the bigger picture. Samsung shares were already up 30% this year before today’s rally. The reason? Memory chip prices are climbing because companies like Amazon and Alphabet are throwing billions at building AI supercomputers. Some memory prices have almost doubled since late 2025.

All of that spending is helping suppliers like Samsung. The four biggest hyperscalers plan to dump $650 billion into AI infrastructure this year.

That’s part of why Nvidia’s stock also jumped nearly 8% on Friday. When Nvidia rallies, people start looking at who’s supplying them. Today, that spotlight landed right on Samsung.

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The latest Epstein documents released by the U.S. Justice Department paints a messy, detailed map of his ties to powerful tech leaders even as the convicted pedophile was behind bars, where he died.

These files (which were extensively reviewed by Cryptopolitan) include names, emails, trips, gifts, meetings, dinners, and even discussions about private islands. The powerful nerds that created the internet were, at one point or another, orbiting a man already known for sex crimes.

Executives like Elon Musk and Bill Gates were already on the radar, but the new batch of files widens the net. Now we’ve got Google’s Sergey Brin, PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, ex-Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky, and LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman all popping up in connection with Epstein.

Some emailed him. Some visited his properties. Others just kept in touch over the years. Officials say being named doesn’t mean they broke the law, but the patterns are too disturbing to ignore.

Thiel emailed, dined, and discussed politics with Epstein for years

Peter Thiel’s name shows up again and again in these new records. Emails between Thiel and Epstein go back to 2014 and continue through early 2019, right up until Epstein was arrested.

In one undated tape, Epstein told former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak that he was trying to meet Thiel and floated Palantir as a job lead. Later emails show they eventually met and stayed in touch.

The conversations weren’t just small talk. There were meeting plans, dietary needs sent ahead of time, and talks about the Trump campaign. In November 2025, House Oversight Committee files revealed Epstein invited Thiel to visit him in “the Caribbean.” Thiel’s team denied he ever visited the island.

There’s more. According to The New York Times, Epstein invested $40 million in 2015 and 2016 into two venture funds tied to Thiel’s firm. Thiel explained his connection during an August 2024 podcast, saying Reid Hoffman introduced him to Epstein.

Thiel said they talked about taxes and financial advice and admitted he didn’t take Epstein’s past crimes seriously at the time, calling the 2008 plea deal misleading.

Hoffman sent gifts, visited the island, and brought others to dinner

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman also features heavily in the latest files. Emails show several interactions, including fundraising efforts for MIT’s Media Lab and more personal contact. He even sent Epstein gifts.

And yes, he visited the island in 2014. Hoffman later admitted the trip, saying it was for philanthropy, but said he regretted not vetting Epstein more.

That wasn’t the only trip. Emails show mentions of Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico and his Manhattan home. In 2016, Hoffman met Epstein again in both Palo Alto and Cambridge. Epstein called Hoffman a “very close friend” in one email and said he missed him.

A 2015 dinner in Palo Alto hosted by Hoffman included Zuckerberg, Musk, Thiel, and MIT scientist Ed Boyden. After the event, Hoffman connected Zuckerberg and Epstein by email. Meta later said Zuckerberg never spoke to Epstein again.

Hoffman has pushed for a full public release of all Epstein files. But that hasn’t stopped the heat. In November 2025, President Donald Trump ordered a DOJ probe into Hoffman, Bill Clinton, and Larry Summers. Trump said it was about exposing Democratic ties to Epstein, even though he himself was mentioned in the files. Trump said he cut ties with Epstein years ago.

Brin and Sinofsky show up in old emails and court documents

Google co-founder Sergey Brin appears in emails with Ghislaine Maxwell, planning a 2003 dinner at Epstein’s New York mansion. Maxwell told Brin, “Dinners at Jeffrey’s are always happily casual.” Their connection didn’t stop there.

In 2004, Epstein allegedly referred Brin to JPMorgan Chase as a client and set him up with bank execs for tax advice. The U.S. Virgin Islands subpoenaed Brin in 2023 for documents related to those dealings.

Court records from a 2024 case involving Maxwell included statements from Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome, who said she met Brin and his then-fiancée Anne Wojcicki on Epstein’s island. Brin left his role as Alphabet president in 2019 but stayed on the board. He returned in 2023 to focus on AI projects like Gemini.

Former Microsoft exec Steven Sinofsky also had a steady email chain with Epstein, including messages about his $14 million retirement package from Microsoft. In 2013, Sinofsky told Epstein, “Got paid. You will be too :)” He kept emailing him through 2018, asking for career and money advice and discussing meetups in tech hubs like SF, NYC, and Seattle.

One 2012 email shows Epstein talking about a possible meeting between Sinofsky and Apple CEO Tim Cook. He wrote that Cook was “excited to meet” Sinofsky. A few months later, Sinofsky emailed Epstein about meeting Cook.

Finally, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was back in the spotlight again, thanks to draft emails found in the new release. In them, Epstein claimed he arranged extramarital affairs and sexual encounters for Gates. Gates denied everything, calling the claims “absolutely absurd and completely false.”

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A wallet long associated with Bitcoin’s elusive founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, just received 2.565 BTC, worth over $150,000. Several analysts and DeFi researchers on X, among them 0xNobler, flagged the unusual transfer.

That speculation ranged from theories that Satoshi may still be alive to suggestions that the transaction was merely a symbolic tip sent to the creator’s untouched BTC stash.

While optimists have been reading deeply into the transfer, their excitement has been tempered by warnings that the transaction doesn’t prove Satoshi Nakamoto is active, only that his address received funds.

X users say the BTC transaction was a digital offering or a tribute

The BTC funds were sent to 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa, the address that still holds Bitcoin’s original 50 BTC genesis block reward from January 3, 2009. The wallet now contains around 57 BTC, worth roughly $4 million at current prices near $71,000.

Some X users have taken the transaction as a sign that Satoshi is still active. Discussing the transaction on X, DeFi researcher 0xNobler also asked whether it could mean that Satoshi is still alive and actively buying Bitcoin. Nonetheless, sending BTC does not require the recipient’s involvement, meaning the deposit could happen without Satoshi having to act.

While deposits to wallets associated with Satoshi are rare, they are not unheard of. Crypto enthusiasts sometimes sent small amounts of BTC to addresses associated with Satoshi as symbolic gestures honoring the anonymous inventor. In most cases, the value of these contributions is negligible—just a few satoshis or a few dollars worth. However, sending a six-figure sum like $150,000 in BTC is far from subtle, leaving open the question of who sent the amount and why.

Crypto analyst StarPlatinum shared that he believes the transaction was either a tribute or a burn. A theory many users supported, describing it as “throwing Bitcoin into the void,” “a digital offering,” or “respect paid to the origin of the network.”

Some commentators on X also offered more cynical, often humorous interpretations, arguing that the transfer was a deliberate act of destruction. X user CaffeSatoshi remarked, “For every Bitcoin destroyed, the rest become more valuable.” 

There have been similar BTC transactions in the past few years

This is not the first time a cryptic Bitcoin transaction has been linked — whether or not definitively — to Satoshi Nakamoto. Earlier, Bitcoiners were startled when 50 BTC mined in February 2009 were moved after 11 years of inactivity in May 2020, sparking rumors on the internet that Satoshi was back. But blockchain experts found that the coins did not fit the “Patoshi pattern”, ruling out Satoshi and suggesting another early miner. Put simply, someone other than Satoshi from Bitcoin’s early days spent their long-held BTC.

Furthermore, just 2 days after Bitcoin’s 15th birthday in January 2024, an unknown sender sent 26.92 BTC to a Genesis address. From a dormant Binance-linked wallet, the move erased about $1 million from circulation. Back then, some believed the sender transferred the assets, intending to flush Satoshi out.

Moreover, in June 2025, Arkham Intelligence spotted a small transfer of 0.185 BTC – around $20,000 – into Satoshi’s wallet. Some $200,000 in BTC had also been sent to the same address a few months earlier.

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Elon Musk just made it clear that the Moon comes first now. In a post on X, he said SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon. The reason? It’s faster.

“We can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years,” Elon wrote, adding that Mars would take over 20. That’s a long time, and Elon says the goal of SpaceX is still to spread life beyond Earth, but doing it through the Moon is just more realistic right now.

Trips to Mars are rare. You can only launch to it when Earth and Mars are lined up, and that happens once every 26 months. Then the trip itself takes six months. The Moon, on the other hand, is right there.

Elon pointed out SpaceX can launch to the Moon every 10 days. It takes just two days to get there. That means they can keep testing, launching, and building a lot quicker. “We can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city,” he said.

Elon links Moon plan to bigger AI and internet strategy

This announcement didn’t come out of nowhere. Just last week, Elon confirmed that SpaceX is acquiring xAI, the company he started to develop the chatbot Grok. That chatbot is already plugged into the X platform, which xAI bought back in March 2025. Now, he’s combining all of it

(AI, rockets, internet satellites, mobile tech, and social media) under one roof.

According to Elon, the xAI acquisition is meant to build “the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth.” That includes AI, space-based internet, and what he called “the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform.”

He wants all the tech to work together. He sees this as part of the plan to build working systems on the Moon (bases, factories, and communications) that don’t rely on Earth to survive.

Elon has also said SpaceX still plans to start working on a Mars city in five to seven years, but the Moon now takes top priority. The reason is simple: “The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” he said.

Elon even talked about self-growing bases and automated factories that could build more bases without human help.

Meanwhile, NASA is still doing its own thing. The agency will stream the SpaceX Crew-12 launch to the International Space Station live. That’s planned for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 11. Docking is expected the next morning at 10:30 a.m. The launch will happen from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The Crew-12 mission will carry four astronauts: Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway from NASA, Sophie Adenot from ESA, and Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos. This will be the 12th crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and the 13th human flight on SpaceX’s Dragon since 2020.

Back in 2020, Elon said he believed humans would reach Mars by 2026. That clearly didn’t happen. Now, he’s aiming closer. Same goal, different path. Moon first. Mars can wait.

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The beginning of 2026 has triggered a new era in the digital asset market. The new technical challenges that the old guard of the crypto world is about to face are making a tangible change in momentum. The average returns of the known giants are no longer good enough to satisfy many investors. 

Rather, in the quest to maximize their portfolio, the quest of the next crypto generation of utility has taken the centre stage among the portfolio optimization seekers. A certain story is beginning to emerge on a project that is out of the idea phase and towards a working reality. 

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is a persistent suggestion in the majority of long-term stocks and it is presently trading at approximately $0.30. It still is among the most important proof-of-stake networks in terms of its market capitalization of approximately $10 billion. 

Nevertheless, ADA entered a rough situation at the beginning of 2026. The token is also encountering good resistance levels between the $0.34 to 0.36 areas that the past rallies have worn out.

As the community sticks to its sluggish and gradual process, some retail traders have been frustrated with the absence of an explosion in price. The existing market structure implies that ADA can remain at the stage of consolidation in the near future. 

Dogecoin (DOGE)

The current price of Dogecoin is at $0.09, and the market cap is maintained at $16 billion. The great initial rise that transformed DOGE into a worldwide phenomenon is a legend every one remembers. 

Social media and celebrity advertising contributed to that huge increase, which is a roadmap to wealth being created by communities. Nevertheless, with the maturity of the market in 2026, the hype premium begins to subside.

Some of the early DOGE investors who previously made money out of pure sentiment are seeking ventures that can provide actual financial instruments. This is the reason why many are considering Mutuum Finance (MUTM).

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Mutuum Finance is a startup decentralized lending and borrowing hub designed to let users keep their crypto while still accessing liquidity. Instead of selling assets, users can use them as collateral or supply them to earn yield in a non-custodial setup. The project has already gained strong traction, raising over $20.4 million and attracting more than 19,000 holders worldwide.

Mutuum Finance is currently in Phase 7 of its presale, with the MUTM token priced at $0.04, up roughly 300% from the initial $0.01 level. The stated launch price is $0.06, which is narrowing the early entry window. 

The protocol is being built around two models, Peer-to-Contract (P2C) liquidity pools and a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) option for custom terms, both aimed at giving users flexible and practical ways to use their assets as the platform continues to develop.

The Reason Why ADA and DOGE Investors are Rotating

The rationale of the switch to MUTM is straightforward. It is common belief that Mutuum Finance is taking the initial strides undertaken by successful giants but with the new-age DeFi flavor. ADA and DOGE are constrained by the fact that they have big market caps whereas MUTM is only beginning to venture upwards. As a recent official statement on X says, the project has already deployed its V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet.

By using this launch, the users would have the opportunity to test the core lending and borrowing flows in a live environment. The early investors have been given the confidence they require after seeing a working product prior to the launch of the mainnet. 

To understand the scale of this opportunity, one can look at a price prediction contrast. For an asset like ADA or DOGE to see a 6x return from current levels, their market caps would need to expand by tens of billions of dollars, which is a massive hurdle for mature coins. 

In contrast, even though MUTM’s official launch price is set at $0.06, many investors expect the token to jump to $0.25 as the ecosystem matures. This move would represent a potential 6x appreciation from the current Phase 7 price of $0.04. 

Security and Final Stages

The Mutuum ecosystem is based on trust. The protocol has passed a deep security audit conducted by Halbon and has a high score provided by CertiK. In order to keep the code safe, it has a bug bounty that is $50,000 and offers a way that encourages developers to identify and correct any vulnerabilities. This is a significant factor driving the holder base to increase so rapidly since this is a professional approach to security.

The community is also kept involved with a 24 hours leaderboard provided in the project. The highest daily contributor in MUTM tokens is also offered a bonus of $500 in tokens at the end of every night. 

With Phase 7 already sold out, it cannot be denied that momentum is present. Having a known security, a running testnet, and a clear roadmap to the launch at $0.06, the position of Mutuum Finance at the top of the 2026 cheap crypto watchlist has been solidified.

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

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

Global searches for “crypto” on Google are at their lowest level in nearly a year, a sign of diminished investor interest amid market problems worldwide. 

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has plummeted by 43% from a record $4.2 trillion at its peak to around $2.4 trillion today. The decline in searches and market value is a signal of investor anxiety amid ongoing uncertainty.

The global search volume for “crypto” is 30 out of 100 on Google Trends, with 100 being the highest level of interest. The last peak came at the market cap peak in August 2023 – the 12-month trough of 24 – showing that global interest is falling and that attention will further shrink worldwide for cryptocurrencies as well.

The retreat in online interest parallels sharp price declines across major assets. Bitcoin recently fell below $64,000. Other leading tokens have also seen steep drawdowns, further eroding market confidence.

US crypto searches bounce after January slump

Search trends in the United States paint a slightly different picture. US search interest was set at 100 in July 2025 but fell below 37 by January 2026. However, interest returned to 56 in early February, indicating that certain American investors are re-evaluating their positions. 

The US had the lowest search volume around 32 during the April 2025 market crash, which was influenced by President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. 

Market analysts say that, though US interest is showing some renewed enthusiasm, global searches indicate that excitement around crypto is much lower than during previous peaks. Market action, in turn, follows suit. 

Total daily crypto trading volume has plummeted from more than $153 billion on Jan. 14 to around $87.5 billion this past Sunday, according to CoinMarketCap. Reduced trading activity, along with waning search interest, underlines the overall market slowdown.

Fear grips the crypto market as sentiment mirrors the Terra collapse

Investor sentiment is extremely cautious. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which gauges market mood, bottomed out at 5 on Thursday and edged up to 8 by Sunday. 

Both readings are signs of “extreme fear,” at levels consistent with those seen after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the dollar-pegged stablecoin that it created in 2022. Investors are increasingly tracking social signals and online chatter to determine when to buy, analysts say. 

Market sentiment platform Santiment says, “crowd sentiment is fiercely bearish. The ratio of positive to negative commentary has collapsed; negative comments have reached their highest level since December 1.”

Many traders are sitting around waiting for signs that the market has hit bottom before making any new moves. The low trading volume, fear, and falling search interest suggest that the market is still in a weak phase. In the past, Google searches have generally mirrored market highs and lows. 

For instance, a lot of searches usually mean it’s rallying, and little interest usually goes when there’s a downturn. Now, crypto is about to cool down, and the optimism wave is yet to return. Long-term investors still see the market as a buying opportunity at lower prices, but they should remain on guard. 

Experts suggest monitoring both sentiment indexes and search trends to pinpoint where recovery could occur, and an increase in search interest or a deluge of social commentary might signal the time to rebound. Now, volatility is expected to hang around for the long haul, while many investors remain on the sidelines.

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Crypto venture capitalists openly disagree about whether nonfinancial Web3 applications have a genuine future. The debate revolves around whether digital identity platforms, blockchain gaming, and decentralized social media failed because people didn’t want them, or whether they are still early-stage ideas that need more time to grow. 

The conversation reflects deeper divisions among investors over where crypto innovation should head next. Public disagreement arose when Chris Dixon, managing partner at venture capital firm a16z crypto, wrote an article arguing that external factors had slowed the growth of nonfinancial crypto applications. For Dixon, years of scams, exploitative behavior, and severe regulatory pressures discouraged developers and users from fully adopting Web3 projects outside of finance. 

Those nonfinancial applications comprise decentralized social networks, digital identity frameworks, blockchain-centric media platforms, digital ownership mechanics, and Web3 video games. Advocates of the concepts argue that blockchain could empower users to have more control over their data, online experiences, and connections than centralized companies. But Dixon’s explanation doesn’t resonate with everyone. Haseeb Qureshi, a managing partner at crypto venture firm Dragonfly, vehemently disagreed. 

These products, he argued, had failed primarily because users found them neither useful nor attractive. And in his reply, Qureshi explained that it wasn’t regulators or major crypto scandals that were the issue of concern, but poor product design and the absence of real demand. Many of those projects, in his view, “failed the market test,” so they didn’t address problems that interested people. That disagreement plays into the broader divide in the crypto investment world. 

Several investors think tech is a very young venture that will take more time to mature, while others believe the market has already proven what works and doesn’t.

Different investment timelines drive opposing views

The disagreement is in part due to how venture capital firms manage investment timelines. A16z crypto, Dixon added, invests over the long term, with a typical expectation of delivering projects lasting 10 years or more before they succeed. 

One also needs the patience to establish entirely new kinds of online platforms and industries. But, as Nic Carter, a founding partner at Castle Island Ventures, pointed out, venture capital firms generally don’t have unlimited time. Investors, too, generally needed to find promising markets more quickly than before—often within 2 to 3 years—to invest in them, he said. This puts pressure to support ideas that can scale quickly and generate early returns. 

The time horizon gap also affects investors’ evaluations of Web3 projects differently. Longer-term investors are likely to be promoters of experimental ideas, such as decentralized social networks or identity systems, even if the initial momentum is lukewarm. 

Other investors prefer sectors with strong existing demand and defined revenue prospects. This has been a more prominent issue as crypto’s venture capital funding ballooned in 2022. 

It’s mostly invested in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), which consist of physical or traditional financial assets (such as real estate and bonds) sold as digital tokens on the blockchain. Such initiatives are seen as most realistic and comparable to existing financial markets.

Venture firms support different sectors based on their outlook

This disagreement is also mirrored in the types of projects different companies take up to support. The core of Dragonfly has been in financial use cases and technical design work to support blockchain-based financial systems. 

Some of the investments include the Agora stablecoin and payments platform, the payments infrastructure company Rain, the synthetic dollar project Ethena, and the Monad blockchain network.

They resonate with Dragonfly’s view that financial applications are now the most realistic and valuable use of blockchain technology.

It has supported financial platforms such as Coinbase and the decentralized exchange Uniswap, and has also invested in nonfinancial projects. Friends With Benefits, a blockchain-based online community, World, a digital identity platform, and Yield Guild Games, a Web3 gaming network, are among them. 

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CoinShares, the leading European investment company specializing in digital assets, published a statement on Friday, February 6, alleging that earlier concerns about the threats posed by quantum computing to Bitcoin are overstated.

According to the company’s findings, this issue can be addressed through engineering solutions, as it is not considered an immediate crisis.

Individuals in the crypto ecosystem raise concerns about quantum risks to BTC 

Earlier, Chaincode Labs researchers Anthony Milton and Clara Shikhelman shared a study released in May last year proposing that 20% to 50% of the total Bitcoin available in the crypto market could be at risk amid the emergence of quantum technology. 

Nonetheless, in response to this study, CoinShares argued that the suggested numbers incorporate different types of risk with distinct real-world impacts. While pointing out this argument, the leading European investment company focused particularly on legacy Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) addresses, a type of ScriptPubKey that locks Bitcoin to a public key. 

Afterwards, the firm anticipated that around 1.6 million BTC, or 8% of the total cryptocurrency available in the market, is held in these addresses. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that only about 10,200 BTC of this estimated amount is kept in sufficiently large accounts that a breach could substantially interrupt the market.

The remaining amount of coins is later widely dispersed across over 32,000 individual UTXOs. On average, this is around 50 BTC per UTXO. Following this discovery, sources argued that it would take almost a lifetime to crack them, even under optimistic quantum conditions.

Apart from these claims, CoinShares also stressed that allegations of a 25% vulnerability frequently involve temporary threats, such as the recycling of exchange addresses, which, according to its Bitcoin Research Lead Christopher Bendiksen, can be resolved with ease.

At this moment, Christopher Wood, the Global Head of Equity Strategy at Jefferies, comments on the topic. He pointed out that he had decided earlier this year to eliminate the entire 10% Bitcoin allocation from his model portfolio due to Chaincode Labs’s significant estimates. Moreover, Wood cited quantum risk as a severe threat to BTC’s value stability, according to a report from a reliable source. 

The report mentioned that, “Wood stated that while GREED & Fear doesn’t think the quantum issue will significantly impact bitcoin prices soon, the idea of bitcoin as a store of value is not as strong for long-term pension portfolios.” 

CoinShares expresses disapproval that threats related to quantum computing are close 

Even after several individuals pointed out that quantum computing threats are approaching, CoinShares still expressed disapproval of the argument. 

Regarding their disapproval, Bendiksen attempted to explain that research demonstrates that, for a successful reversal of a public key to occur in just 24 hours, it would require a cutting-edge quantum computer with 13 million physical qubits.

Its ability is said to be 100,000 times more powerful than the largest machine available today. Notably, one would require a system whose capability is 3 million times greater than the available ones to successfully break a key in just one hour.

“To crack current asymmetric cryptography, you’d need millions of qubits,” said Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet to CoinShares. “Willow, Google’s latest computer, has only 105 qubits. Adding just one more qubit makes it exponentially harder to keep the system stable.” 

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Economist and Bitcoin supporter Lyn Alden says the US Federal Reserve may be moving into a gradual phase of money printing, increasing liquidity steadily rather than all at once. She expects that process to drive up asset prices, albeit not as much as some Bitcoin fans had anticipated. 

Alden’s view is that the Fed will not accelerate it on a massive scale, expanding its balance sheet progressively during a period of overall economic expansion and banking activity. 

In her investment strategy newsletter for February 8, Alden said her most important expectation for the Fed is to increase its balance sheet at a rate similar to the growth of total bank assets or national nominal GDP. This suggests the central bank would still add liquidity to the financial system. 

Such an expansion of the money supply is often called “money printing,” although it is primarily achieved through digital financial operations, not physical cash. When the Fed expands its balance sheet, it typically buys government bonds or other financial assets. 

This injects money into the banking system, making credit more available and encouraging investment. Alden noted that this environment helps hold “high-quality scarce assets.” That covers investments with a limited supply and strong store-of-value qualities. 

Commodities such as gold, certain stocks, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are common examples. But she also cautioned investors to be wary of parts of the market that have gotten too hot and to pay attention to assets that remain undervalued or overlooked. 

Her comments were made soon after US President Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. The implication injected considerable uncertainty into financial markets because some investors believe Warsh aligns more closely with tighter monetary policy than other candidates. 

Markets remain unsure about interest rates before the Fed meeting

Interest rate policy is a major factor in financial markets (cryptocurrencies included). When interest rates are low and the money supply is high, many investors turn to riskier assets in search of higher returns. That can drive up prices of stocks, crypto, and other investments. 

Then, when interest rates are higher, and it’s more difficult to borrow money, asset prices can slow or fall. Recent market research indicates mixed hopes regarding the Fed’s next move. Roughly 19.9% of traders say the Fed will cut rates next month at its next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, according to CME FedWatch. 

That’s lower than 23% who had anticipated a rate cut only days previously, indicating waning confidence in the prospect of near-term easing. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has shown caution and at times sent mixed signals about future policy. The Fed cut interest rates several times in 2023, but Powell has cautioned that inflation risks persist. 

At the same time, he expressed concerns about employment. This illustrates very clearly how delicate a balance the Fed must maintain. Powell said he believes that after the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting, inflation risks remain tilted upward, and employment risks are tilted downward.

Fed leadership transition increases market uncertainty

The change in governance at the Federal Reserve is another factor shaping market expectations. Powell’s term as Fed chairman is set to expire in May 2025, and Kevin Warsh has been nominated as a possible successor. 

But Warsh has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, leaving uncertainty over the future direction of monetary policy. Different Fed leaders can have different priorities. Some advocate a tighter policy to tame inflation, while others advocate a looser policy to boost growth and employment. 

Investors pay close attention to leadership changes because they could impact interest rates, liquidity, and broader market conditions. But even as uncertainty continues to loom, Alden’s outlook suggests the Fed won’t increase the money supply by much in the foreseeable future. 

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Futures are slightly green heading into Monday, with S&P 500 up 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 up 0.3%, and Dow futures up 87 points, after a wild week of tech-led selling and a Friday bounce.

Bitcoin reclaimed $70,000 after diving below $61,000 on Thursday night. Gold is holding above $5,000 and silver’s still near $77, all steady going into the next macro print.

The dollar had its worst year in nearly a decade, and traders aren’t falling for the tough talk anymore. While officials inside Donald Trump’s White House keep insisting they’re backing a “strong dollar,” the currency is still slumping. The dollar index is down another 1% since the start of 2026. That’s on top of the 9% plunge it saw in 2025, its biggest annual loss in eight years.

Goldman Sachs foreign exchange strategists said in a note to clients that:- Fundamentally, we think the recent injection of policy uncertainty will be sufficiently durable to keep the dollar from making up lost ground.”

They said investors had been expecting more support for the economy in 2026. What they got instead was a series of new tariff threats, which shook those expectations.

Traders respond to tariffs and political shifts

The real damage started last April, when Trump rolled out his “Liberation Day” tariffs. Within days, the dollar sank more than 5%. Almost a year later, it still hasn’t bounced back. Traders haven’t forgotten. And the rally some people hoped for never came.

The dollar used to be the place everyone ran to in a crisis. It was seen as a safe haven. For decades, it held the unofficial title of the world’s reserve currency, which gave the US huge advantages. That status is now being questioned.

Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie Bank, said, “If the reserve status of the USD does depend on the US role in the world — as guarantor of security and a rules-based order — then the events of the past year carry the seeds of a reallocation away from the USD, and the search for alternatives.”

This isn’t just about tariffs. It’s also about the future of US monetary policy. President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, to take over from Jerome Powell as the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh is known as a hawk from his days during the 2008 crisis. But the market didn’t take the bait this time.

The dollar only jumped briefly when his name came up. That bounce faded fast. Traders quickly realized that Trump doesn’t want someone who’ll hike rates. In an interview with NBC News on February 4, Trump said clearly, “If he came in and said, ‘I want to raise them’ … he would not have gotten the job, no.” He added, “We’re way high in interest,” and said there’s “not much” doubt the Fed will lower rates under Warsh.

Investors search for hedges as confidence slips

As the political noise builds, the dollar is still technically the backbone of global finance. But a growing number of traders are looking for safer bets. They’re moving to the euro, the Swiss franc, and especially to gold. And it’s not just gold. Other metals like silver, platinum, copper, and steel are all spiking too.

Gold alone surged more than 60% through 2025. It’s still up over 70% across the past year, despite some recent cooling. The broader metals rally that started last year is still rolling into early 2026.

Macquarie’s Wizman doesn’t think this trend is short-term. “We do not think that over the medium- and long term the USD ‘diversification trade’ is over,” he said. According to him, weak dollar phases triggered by geopolitical shifts and policy chaos in Washington can drag on for ten years or more.

He added, “Under the direction in which the US administration seems to want to take the US vis-a-vis the rest of the world, the USD cannot maintain its reserve currency status indefinitely.”

So even though the White House keeps repeating that it backs a “strong dollar,” no one’s buying it. Not in the charts. Not in the trades. Not in the metals rally. And definitely not on the trading floors. Traders want less talk and more stability. Until they see that, the dollar isn’t getting their vote.

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