CHAIN news

Recently, the market conditions in the global capital markets have left many investors exclaiming 'I don't understand' and 'too anxious.'
On one side, the various economic data officially released by the United States all indicate 'strength'—employment, consumption, output, and other core indicators are performing well, making it seem like the U.S. economy is steadily moving in a positive direction; but on the other side, the global capital markets have experienced a ' indiscriminate crash,' with U.S. stocks, gold, the Nikkei index, commodities, and even cryptocurrencies, nearly all notable assets are plummeting simultaneously, and panic is spreading like a tide, momentarily making people feel as if they have returned to the dark times of the financial crisis.

Interactive Brokers partners with Coinbase to lower the threshold for cryptocurrency futures trading: Interactive Brokers and Coinbase's derivatives platform, Coinbase Derivative, have collaborated to expand cryptocurrency futures business. Micro Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts will soon be available on the IBKR platform, requiring a minimum of only 0.01 BTC or 0.10 ETH to trade, significantly lowering the trading barriers for everyone.
Goldman Sachs discloses cryptocurrency holdings valued at $2.36 billion: Goldman Sachs has announced its cryptocurrency holdings, which are valued at $2.36 billion. This includes $1.1 billion in Bitcoin, $1 billion in ETH, $153 million in XRP, and $108 million in SOL.

Federal Reserve Governor Waller: The crypto boom triggered by Trump may have faded - Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that the optimism that drove the cryptocurrency market up after Trump's election is gradually fading with the recent wave of sell-offs. He mentioned that fluctuations in the crypto market are common, and this volatility is mainly related to regulatory uncertainty and large financial companies adjusting their risk positions and selling assets.
MegaETH mainnet launched, simultaneously launching ecological front end The Rabbithole - MegaETH officially announced through social media that its mainnet has been officially launched, along with the ecological front end The Rabbithole. This front end helps users find currently running and upcoming applications, achieve asset bridging and swapping, and receive notifications about ecological events.

Trend Research has completely liquidated its ETH holdings, incurring a massive loss of $688 million.
According to Arkham data, Trend Research, under Yili Hua, transferred the last approximately 534 ETH to Binance yesterday, completing the total liquidation of ETH. Over the past 8 days, the institution has sold more than 658,000 ETH, with a total value of about $1.354 billion. Due to an average selling price lower than the cost price, this round directly incurred a loss of $688 million, not only reversing the previous profit of $315 million but also accumulating a loss of $373 million.
Jack Dorsey's Block company plans to lay off up to 10%.
The Bitcoin payment company Block (founded by Jack Dorsey) is advancing its restructuring, and has begun notifying hundreds of employees that their positions may be cut after the annual performance review, with the layoff ratio possibly reaching up to 10%. It is reported that Block started its restructuring plan in 2024, focusing on integrating Cash App and Square businesses to improve efficiency. The company will release its quarterly financial report on February 26, and analysts predict that its fourth-quarter profit will reach $403 million, with revenue of $6.25 billion.

BTC has fallen below $69,000, market volatility should be monitored
Market data shows that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen below $69,000, currently quoted at $68,983.9, with a decline of 3.72% in the last 24 hours. The market is currently quite volatile, reminding investors to manage risk effectively.
Ark Invest sold over $19 million in Coinbase shares
According to Bitcoin.com News, Ark Invest sold more than $19 million worth of Coinbase shares last Thursday. The reason was that Bitcoin had previously plummeted to nearly $60,000, prompting the company to reduce its holdings by 119236 shares of Coinbase ($COIN) in its ETF.

Yi Lihua is suspected of liquidating ETH, and the amount transferred to exchanges far exceeds the deleveraging demand
On-chain analyst Yu Jin posted on platform X that the operations of the address related to Yi Lihua are not just about deleveraging, but more like a complete liquidation. Currently, this address has transferred 630,400 ETH (approximately $1.294 billion) to Binance, with only 21,300 ETH (approximately $43.94 million) remaining on-chain, and 96% of the ETH has been transferred to exchanges, far exceeding the amount needed for deleveraging, making a complete liquidation highly probable.
21Shares applies to issue the Ondo ETF, analysts joke that the name sounds like a planet from (Star Wars)
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas revealed on platform X that 21Shares is applying to issue an ETF named Ondo. He stated that he had never heard of this ETF and joked that the name sounds like a planet from (Star Wars).

In the past few days, the entire cryptocurrency market feels like the 'sky has fallen,' with a severe drop that has left many new and old players stunned. Bitcoin led the plunge, and mainstream coins and altcoins have dropped to alarming levels. Let's break this down in simple terms to see what happened, why it fell so drastically, and what to expect next.
1. What has happened to Bitcoin?
Current price: has completely dropped below $70,000, with a minimum hitting just over $60,000, roughly in the range of $60,000~$61,000.
How severe was the drop? In the past 24 hours, it fell by 10%-15%, and at some points, it was even more exaggerated.

In the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has completely 'collapsed'—this is the most brutal wave of selling this year, with mainstream currencies collectively plummeting, all with a drop exceeding 12%. Panic emotions are spreading like a tide, and the entire market is in lament.
Open the market software to see that the once strong mainstream currencies are continuously breaking down and hitting new recent lows: Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen to a minimum of $60,000, with a maximum drop of 18% within 24 hours, and as of the time of writing, it has barely recovered to $63,150; Ethereum (ETH) is even worse, directly breaking the key $2,000 level, dropping to a low of $1,744 and currently reported at $1,860, with a 24-hour drop of 13.7%; Solana (SOL) has fallen below $70, with a minimum of $67, and the 24-hour drop is as high as 19%.

U.S. Treasury Secretary warns: If the Clarity Act does not pass, the crypto industry will struggle to develop in the U.S.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bence recently criticized crypto industry figures who are obstructing the legislation of the Clarity Act during a Senate hearing, calling some opponents 'nihilists' who would rather have no regulation than accept the current bill. He emphasized that the bill is crucial for the U.S. crypto industry and that participants who do not accept it 'can move to El Salvador,' while also stating that there is hope for bipartisan support to push the bill through this year. Democratic Senator Mark Warner also expressed frustration over the legislative deadlock, stating that he feels 'stuck in crypto hell,' with national security and DeFi-related vulnerabilities being the current focus of negotiations.

This week's cryptocurrency market is aptly described as 'fire and ice.' On one hand, there's the 'panic sell-off' across the network triggered by the Federal Reserve's leadership change, with Bitcoin leading the plunge; on the other hand, there are multiple positive developments like regulatory breakthroughs, institutional investments, and endorsements from industry leaders. The short-term price fluctuations can be unsettling, but the medium to long-term trend is actually quite clear—institutions are quietly positioning themselves, and the 'normalization' of the crypto market is happening faster than we imagined.
Core Shock Source: The Federal Reserve Changes Leadership, Kevin Walsh's Nomination Triggers 'Fed Panic'

CME Group is considering launching its own 'CME Coin'
CME Group CEO Terry Duffy stated that the group is considering launching a proprietary 'CME Coin'. During a recent earnings call, he confirmed in response to a question that the company is exploring the launch of its own token and does not rule out deploying it on a decentralized network. Duffy revealed that the group is rigorously reviewing various forms of collateral, preferring to accept tokens issued by systemically important financial institutions as collateral, while also researching tokenized cash and proprietary token-related projects.

Trump signs funding bill, ending the partial government shutdown in the U.S.
On February 3 local time, U.S. President Trump signed a government funding bill in the Oval Office, resolving the partial government shutdown that began on January 31. The bill provides funding for several federal departments until September 30, the end of the current fiscal year, while also providing two weeks of funding for the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate further negotiations to improve its operations. Previously, the U.S. House of Representatives had voted to pass the funding bill.
The Ethena Foundation launches a 6-month incentive program, rewarding users related to USDe transactions.

White House Cryptocurrency Roundtable: Disagreements on Stablecoin Yields Unresolved, Compromise Requested Within This Month
The White House convened a roundtable meeting with the cryptocurrency industry and Wall Street banks, focusing on whether stablecoins can provide yields or rewards, but both sides failed to reach an agreement. The Trump administration has requested that all parties put forward a compromise proposal on the legislative language regarding stablecoin yields by the end of this month to advance the Senate's cryptocurrency market structure bill. The meeting was led by Presidential Cryptocurrency Advisor Patrick Witt, and the White House hopes to submit the bill to the Senate Banking Committee as soon as possible while also seeking support from some Democrats. The cryptocurrency industry believes there has been progress in this meeting, but the banks have yet to propose specific concessions.

🚀Topic: Physical AI + RWA On-chain, supported by CZ for investment in a new ecosystem📉
⏰Time: 2026.2.2 20:00 (UTC+8)
🎙️Organizer: CHAIN・news, FemtoAI (@Femto_AI)
🗣️Host: Ale
Special guest: Crypto Circle Peter (@zheyiguanjsn), Grace (@0xXiaoXiong, overseas KOL)
🔥Core highlights:
How can physical AI solve the challenges of standardization, risk control, and compliance in traditional RWA on-chain?

In 2026, physical AI + RWA will become a trend; what are the three major supports: policy, technology, and capital?Will CZ's investments lean towards national asset tokenization, green finance, and other scenarios?

2026 RWA Value Realization Summit: Breaking the Deadlock with “Slow Finance”, Connecting Digital and Real Economy
⏰ Time: February 2, 2026, 21:00 (UTC+8)
🎙️ Organizer: CHAINnews🗣️ Host: Ale
In 2026, Web3 is shifting from speculative narratives to value-driven practicality, with RWA (Real World Assets on the Blockchain) becoming the core bridge connecting the digital economy and the real economy. This summit focuses on the core concepts of “Technology Implementation”, “Asset Transformation”, and “Financial Inclusion”, inviting three industry leaders to deeply analyze the practical logic of RWA from the perspectives of technology, scenarios, and future dimensions — RWA is not here to make quick money, but to engage in ten years of asset management.

In the cryptocurrency circle, the '1011 insider giant whale' is definitely a well-known name, and some also call him the 'BTC OG insider giant whale'. The reason he is dubbed 'insider' is not because he has any inside information, but because his past operations were too precise—such as the market trend around October 11, 2025, where he accurately hit the rhythm, making a fortune, and the community jokingly referred to him as having 'insider knowledge'. Essentially, he is a top player who makes a living through on-chain data analysis with a very high success rate.
But no matter how powerful the giant whale is, it can't escape the 'harvest' of high leverage. On the early morning of February 1, 2026, the crypto market experienced a sharp decline, with the price of ETH directly falling to around $2400 from its high, along with a large number of leveraged long positions being 'liquidated'. In this wave of market activity, the worst off was this '1011 insider giant whale'.

Vitalik discusses the design of creator tokens and proposes the establishment of a non-tokenized DAO
Vitalik Buterin published on the X platform, exploring the design ideas of creator tokens. He stated that over the past decade, the cryptocurrency industry has been ineffective in content incentives, with the core issue being the imperfect mechanism for selecting high-quality content. Especially now that AI can generate a large amount of content at a low cost, the industry's focus should shift to 'identifying and amplifying high-quality content.' He believes that the key to Substack's success is the proactive selection of quality creators rather than relying solely on mechanism design. In response to the existing problem of 'high-impact users dominating the rankings' for creator tokens, Vitalik proposed establishing a non-tokenized creator DAO, where members vote to select creators, while also allowing creators to issue personal tokens. If they enter the DAO, they can use DAO profits to buy back and destroy tokens, reducing pure speculation and improving screening efficiency.

The whale "0xFB7" increases its holdings by 10,000 ETH, surpassing a total of 120,000 ETH.
According to OnchainLens monitoring, the whale address "0xFB7" purchased 10,000 ETH from WinterMute, valued at approximately 26.36 million USD. After this increase, the total holdings of this whale reached 120,169 ETH, with a staking value of up to 294.79 million USD.
The return rates of Bitcoin and Ethereum in January 2026 have significantly declined, reaching a new low in several years.
Coinglass latest data shows that the return rate of Bitcoin in January 2026 is -10.17%, setting a record for the fifth lowest since 2013, significantly lower than the average return rate of 2.81% and the median of 0.29% for January; the return rate of Ethereum during the same period is -17.52%, the third lowest since 2017, far below the average return rate of 16.81% and the median of 15.90% for January.