Cryptopolitan

Nasdaq, the US stock exchange best known for listing major tech companies, has proposed a new rule called “fast entry.” Its aim is to speed up the addition of newly listed large companies to its index.

In a statement, Nasdaq said, “As corporate structures evolve and index-linked assets under management continue to grow, it’s increasingly important that the methodology ensures timely inclusion of the largest Nasdaq-listed non-financial companies and maintains replicability for passive managers.”

The proposal comes as 2026 is shaping up to be one of the busiest years, with large-cap firms in the widely followed equity benchmark slated to go public. The planned revision would allow a new listing to join the Nasdaq 100 after the first 15 trading days. This is a significant break from the current waiting period of at least 3 months.

If Nasdaq’s index-management committee approves it after soliciting input, the change will take effect after the upcoming quarterly rebalance in March.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX to rank among the top 40 current index constituents

Among companies expected to make initial public offerings this year is SpaceX. Its potential $1.3 trillion valuation would make it rank among the top 40 current index constituents. The company would be exempt from standard seasoning and liquidity requirements. 

According to Nasdaq, it would not replace an existing index member and would temporarily increase the number of constituents until the next annual reconstitution, in line with the treatment of spin-offs.

Anthropic is also actively preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO) this year. The AI startup has already hired IPO lawyers and begun early planning. As reported by Cryptopolitan, the AI company is putting together a deal that will increase its valuation to at least $350 billion. 

Kaasha Saini, head of index strategy at Jefferies, stated, “There could be concern that passive funds will be missing out in a scenario where the new stock does rally even further and then requires higher turnover when adding it in, […] The proposed change would make the index more representative of the market in a timely way.”

The Nasdaq 100 is directly linked to more than $600 billion in exchange-traded funds worldwide. It has been a key indicator of the stock market, as the AI boom has driven huge profits for the biggest tech companies. 

When it comes to IPOs, Nasdaq faces competitors like the New York Stock Exchange. Market watchers say the size of index funds linked to the Nasdaq 100 is likely to help its case for new listings.

Free float requirement changes

Nasdaq also proposed calculating a market cap based on both listed and unlisted shares, rather than only listed shares currently. However, that won’t affect the companies’ weightings in the index, since that will continue to be determined by the value of the shares eligible for listing on the exchange.

Additionally, Nasdaq’s planned revision involves a stock’s free float, or the amount of shares available for trading. The minimum 10% float requirement for eligibility will be removed. However, a new approach is being designed to include companies whose shares are mostly owned by corporate insiders or are not tradable.

These stocks will have their market value multiplied by 5 times, with a cap of 100%, if their free float is less than 20%.That way, funds that use the Nasdaq 100 as a benchmark can still buy in stocks with low float.

Antti Petajisto, head of equities at Brooklyn Investment Group, stated, “Apparently, the idea is to keep low-float firms in the index if they are economically large enough.” 

The IPO market has regained momentum. Global IPO proceeds in 2025 rose to about $171.8 billion, up approximately 39 % from the prior year. The fourth quarter was the strongest in value terms since late 2021, with record fundraising and deal volume. 

Additionally, this week alone marks one of the highest concentrations of IPO activity since 2021 in the US. Several companies are preparing to raise at least $100 million each.

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

X owner Elon Musk will be jailed if he makes the mistake of coming to France, as he has been asked to do by the European nation’s law enforcement.

The warning has been issued by a French politician a day after the offices of the American billionaire’s social network were raided as part of a probe against it.

Musk urged to ignore French summons for his own safety

Elon Musk will be detained as soon as he sets foot on French soil, according to Florian Philippot, leader of the nationalist Les Patriotes party.

On Wednesday, he took to X to advise the entrepreneur to refrain from visiting his country, which had invited him to appear for a “voluntary interview” on April 20.

Authorities in France want to question Musk and the former CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino, within an investigation over a long list of alleged offenses.

The microblogging platform and its AI-powered chatbot Grok have been accused in France of spreading extremist far-right content and generating sexual abuse material using artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, the Paris headquarters of the social media platform were searched by prosecutors and police officers in an operation backed by Europol, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

In his tweet, Philippot advised Musk to throw the summons in the trash and strongly suggested the owner of X shouldn’t travel to the French Republic, which is “no longer a state of law,” in his view.

“He would immediately be thrown in jail and then sequestered on national territory, just as Pavel Durov was!” added the politician.

Elon Musk doit évidemment jeter à la poubelle la « convocation » de la justice française le 20 avril prochain. Ne surtout pas venir.

La France sous occupation euro-macroniste n’étant absolument plus un État de droit, il serait immédiatement jeté en taule puis séquestré sur le… pic.twitter.com/MYMUUHAZ5r

— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot) February 4, 2026

France is after both X’s Musk and Telegram’s Durov

Philippot was referring to the case of another tech entrepreneur who faced similar pressure from the French judiciary, the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov.

The dual French-Emirati citizen was arrested in France in August 2024 amid accusations of complicity in criminal activity.

Authorities in Paris claimed that the popular messenger, of which he is also the chief executive, was spreading illegal content and facilitating illicit transactions.

Durov, who has repeatedly rejected the allegations, was eventually released but then questioned again in the summer of 2025, as part of the launched investigation.

“France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom (Telegram, X, TikTok…). Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country,” he posted on X in reaction to the news of the raid on the X offices.

In a statement, the U.S. social media network denied any wrongdoing and accused the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office of endangering free speech. Musk himself described the action of the French law enforcement as a “political attack.”

Florian Philippot, who speaks of France as being “under euro-Macronist occupation,” is a former Vice President of the National Front. He founded The Patriots (LP) after quitting his post in 2017.

Front National changed its name to Rassemblement National (RN), or the National Rally, in 2028, as proposed by its leader, Marine Le Pen.

Unlike the RN, which abandoned its previously strong Euroscepticism, the LP remains a hardline Eurosceptic party and hasn’t seen the same electoral success.

Sharpen your strategy with mentorship + daily ideas - 30 days free access to our trading program

Ethereum’s L2s are not doing too well. Data from L2Beat shows that prominent L2s like Arbitrum and Base handle around 90% of the total Ethereum scaling traffic, while the smaller or newer ones struggle with low engagement. 

According to data from L2Beat, which tracks about 136 projects, only about 27 projects currently record a daily average of 1.00 UOPS (User Operations per Second) or higher. 

This means about 109 projects are currently recording less than 1 UOPS. So while the total scaling factor for the ecosystem is high at nearly 97x, the throughput can be attributed to a small group of highly active chains, while over 80% of the 135+ tracked projects endure negligible daily traffic (under 1 user operation per second).

Source: L2Beat

Ethereum L2s report underwhelming user activity 

The Ethereum ecosystem has split into two, with L1 serving as the global vault while L2s have become the retail floor. This has affected metrics like user activity and transaction volume. 

According to recent reports, L2s are lagging behind on total value locked and daily user activity. Ethereum currently has around $68 billion in TVL, while all its L2s combined have around 50 billion in TVL.  

The daily users are also split between the top L2s like Arbitrum and Base. So while the top L2s are attracting most of the liquidity and users, the newer or less popular ones keep facing low activity. 

Base, especially, has emerged as a consumer-friendly hub and often handles more daily users than the L1 itself. The biggest reason for this is that the mainnet is once again attracting users because the fee structure is now vastly different. 

That difference is thanks to the Dencun and subsequent Pectra/Fusaka upgrades, which fundamentally changed the fee relationship, making things far cheaper on the mainnet. 

Of course, Ethereum L2s are not completely beat, and the most dramatic divergence can be witnessed in transaction throughput, with L2s now processing millions more transactions per day than Ethereum.

According to L2Beat, the ecosystem scaling factor has also reached record highs with L2s handling over 20,000 TPS during bursts on some days while L1 remains steady at a structural limit. 

What Vitalik Buterin thinks of the recent split

The current performance of L2s on Ethereum has not gone unnoticed by its founder, Vitalik Buterin. 

As far as he is concerned, the “original vision of L2s and their role in Ethereum no longer makes sense, and we need a new path.” 

“L1 does not need L2s to be ‘branded shards’, because L1 is itself scaling” he wrote on X. “And L2s are not able or willing to satisfy the properties that a true ‘branded shard’ would require.”

Vitalik admits that Ethereum itself is now scaling directly on L1, with large planned increases to its gas limit this year and the years ahead. He believes the natural step is to stop treating L2s as “branded shards” of Ethereum,” but instead as a full spectrum. 

In his post, he also outlined what could come next for L2s that want to stand out or remain relevant, including refocusing on adding value and maintaining higher standards than L1s or supporting maximum interoperability with Ethereum.

“It’s each L2’s choice exactly what they want to build. Don’t just ‘extend L1’, figure out something new to add,” Vitalik wrote.

How major L2s responded to Vitalik’s rhetoric 

Vitalik’s talk about how the rollup-centric vision of L2s no longer fits has since gone viral among crypto circles, and leaders of major L2s have shared their own opinions in response. 

Steven Goldfeder, the cofounder of Offchain Labs, which is behind Arbitrum, responded with a lengthy thread where he agreed with parts of Buterin’s assessment while pushing back on downplaying scaling. 

According to him, even with higher gas limits, the Ethereum mainnet can not realistically handle thousands of TPS during peak times without compromising on decentralization or costs. 

Karl Floersch, Optimism’s cofounder, supports viewing L2s as a full spectrum but emphasized the need for modular designs. Floersch agreed that L2s need to go beyond being cheaper Ethereum clones and innovate to retain their place or become obscure. 

He also seems to be treating the discourse as a challenge for Optimism, one he claims the network is already closer to achieving in reality.

Base’s Jesse Pollak echoed the sentiment, admitting that L1 scaling is a positive for the whole ecosystem and that L2s need to show off more unique features that can help them stand out. He claims that Base is focusing on those differences to stay relevant, which aligns with Buterin’s suggestions.

Zksync’s Alex Glukhov agreed explicitly with Buterin, claiming that L2s that want to be valuable in the future must learn to “specialize.” Meanwhile, StarkWare’s Eli Ben-Sasson has hinted that ZK-native L2s like Starknet are already on that specialization path Buterin is describing.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.

Binance Coin (BNB) has exhibited some positive indicators for short-term growth as it tested the support level around $730. BNB has attracted the attention of analysts as it attempts to rise towards the level of $900. However, BNB growth is largely dependent on the general mood of the cryptocurrency exchange. New cryptocurrency projects represent an attractive investment option for those who wish to avoid risks associated with the growth of a particular exchange. Mutuum Finance (MUTM) has emerged as an attractive investment opportunity as it has entered Phase 7 of its presale, which has attracted thousands of holders.

BNB’s Recovery from Current Levels

BNB has demonstrated some positive growth from the recent test around the level of $730. The Binance exchange has attracted the attention of analysts as it attempts to rise towards the level of $880 or even $900. However, BNB’s next move will be determined by Bitcoin and the adoption of the Binance exchange. Binance needs to hold above the level of $730 on a daily basis; failure to do so may result in a swift decline towards the level of $650.

The BNB volatility demonstrates the risk involved with investing in prominent and established coins, as achieving substantial growth requires perfect timing. In contrast, early-phase coins offer attractive investment opportunities as they provide entry points for investors at lower prices.

MUTM’s Strong Presale Movement

The presale process is designed in such a way that early investors are rewarded the most. The current presale price is $0.04, which is selling out very quickly. The next phase will see the price go up nearly 20%, while the actual launch price is significantly higher. Analysts predict the upcoming listings and the ability to generate real yields as the major drivers for immediate demand upon its launch. 

This could see the price reach levels 7x the current presale price in the near future. This means that an early supporter could see their $1,000 investment turn into $7,000, which could be life-changing. It makes it a serious competitor for the best cryptocurrency to buy right now for aggressive portfolio growth.

Live Testnet Showcases Working Protocol 

The other major indicator that shows the potential for success for new cryptocurrencies is the ability to showcase a working product. The new cryptocurrency, Mutuum Finance, has already launched its V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet. This means that anyone can go ahead and test the platform.

The platform allows for the exploration of the actual lending and borrowing features without the use of real money. The testnet includes assets such as ETH and USDT, variable interest rates, as well as the automated liquidator. This shows that the product is already working, making it stand out as the best cryptocurrency to invest in right now. 

Tokenomics Designed for Long-Term Value 

The tokenomics of the new cryptocurrency are designed in such a way that it will be very beneficial to long-term investors. The new cryptocurrency, MUTM, has a fixed total supply of 4 billion MUTM, with nearly half going to the presale.

The new cryptocurrency also features a buy-and-distribute model. A share of all fees generated within the lending system is used to automatically purchase MUTM tokens from the market. These tokens will then be given out as rewards to loyal users who have staked their assets within the system. This allows token holders to receive a share of the real profits of the system, something that is rarely offered within new cryptocurrencies.

A Strategic Choice for Forward-Thinking Investors

While BNB is working to reclaim lost ground, Mutuum Finance provides investors with a clear and structured growth trajectory, starting from the ground up. For investors looking to research the best cryptocurrency to invest in now for significant returns, the new crypto sector provides the opportunity for investors to make a strategic choice with MUTM.

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

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

Fidelity Digital Assets announced the launch of its FIDD native stablecoin. The new token went live on Ethereum. 

Fidelity Digital Assets launched the new FIDD stablecoin, with an initial supply of over $59M. The token went live on Ethereum and is yet to spread to a wider circle of wallets. As Cryptopolitan reported, Fidelity announced its intentions to enter the stablecoin market in the past week. 

‘At Fidelity, we have a long-standing belief in the transformative power of the digital assets ecosystem and have spent years researching and advocating for the benefits of stablecoins,’ said Mike O’Reilly, President of Fidelity Digital Assets. 

‘As a leading asset manager and a digital assets pioneer, Fidelity is uniquely positioned to provide investors with on-chain utility via a digital dollar.’

In the past year, stablecoins proliferated, reaching a record supply. However, most of the growth came from additional USDT and USDC. The unrolling of the US GENIUS Act set expectations of multiple new stablecoins, often branded or related to fintech entities. 

The launch of a stablecoin does not guarantee immediate liquidity. Fidelity is yet to ensure the usage of its asset, as some of the newly created stablecoins stay idle or only have a minimal supply. Banks, fintech apps, crypto native firms, and wealth managers are competing for a share of the stablecoin market and the potential to deploy liquidity.

Fidelity’s stablecoin is compatible with the GENIUS Act, fully backed by US dollars in accredited banks. Fidelity will also offer custodian holding for USDD, as well as reserve management. Purchase and redemption will be available through Fidelity Digital Assets, Fidelity Crypto, and Fidelity Crypto for Wealth Managers. FIDD will also be available on major exchanges and fully transferable on Ethereum wallets.

High interest rates can boost Fidelity’s activities

Stablecoin issuers are achieving a double effect by launching new assets. For one, they can have a controllable source of liquidity to be used within the crypto ecosystem. 

Since the Genius Act allows for T-bill backing, issuers can also retain the earnings from holding highly predictable US treasuries. Most stablecoin issuers retain the interest for themselves, rarely sharing the funds with token holders. 

FIDD will be used for on-chain payments, as well as institutional settlement. The token will be redeemable for USD by its issuer, with the potential for being added to other on-chain products. 

Fidelity is already experienced with digital asset structure, and is the only ETF issuer that offers proprietary custodian services. 

Fidelity already tokenizes US treasuries

Fidelity already has experience with Ethereum as a tokenization platform. Even before the launch of its stablecoin, Fidelity created a product based on US treasuries. 

The Fidelity Digital Interest Token holds over $161M in assets under management. The token was launched in September 2025 and reached a peak value locked of over $264M. In the past month, the token lost around 32% of its value locked through redemptions.

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

Newly released documents have revealed Jeffrey Epstein’s investments that contributed to his net worth of nearly $600 million at the time of his death. In-house trader and former JPMorgan private banker Paul Barrett served as the manager of his assets from 2017 to 2019.

At the time of his death in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was worth approximately $600 million. The millionaire was a self-proclaimed financial advisor to billionaires, to whom he offered investment, estate, and tax planning services. 

The then-millionaire banked his wealth with JPMorgan. Paul Barrett, who was a long-serving private banker at JPMorgan, took on the role of Jeffrey Epstein’s main coverage banker for years, even after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex-offense charges in 2008. 

JPMorgan later dropped Epstein as a client in 2013 due to reputational risk. However, Barrett continued to engage with him privately and later left JPM to be Epstein’s manager. “I left a great career at JPM to work with you […] We made a lot of money working together over the years…” Barrett wrote to Epstein later on.

Jeffrey Epstein focused mostly on tech stocks

In 2017, Barrett proposed creating a New York-based family office to manage Epstein’s money directly. He founded Alpha Group Capital, a multi-family office that traded stocks, bonds, derivatives, foreign exchange, and IPOs on Epstein’s behalf. 

Under the advisory agreement, Barrett was granted trading authority across asset classes with defined position limits and was set to earn roughly $500,000 per year. He later claimed a two-year deal worth about $1.1 million.

In an email chain the following year, a senior banker noted that “Paul Barrett manages money for Jeffrey Epstein” and trades “across asset classes”. Epstein was focused on technology stocks and had owned a large stake in Apple for several years, the banker added. 

His portfolio also had shares in Apollo Global Management, a firm closely linked to Epstein through its co-founder Leon Black. In October 2017, Barrett told Epstein that Alpha Group held $8.4 million in stock, with gains of about $3.4 million.  

Barrett also traded currency options, credit derivatives, interest-rate swaps, and bonds, executing trades primarily through Deutsche Bank, where he had limited power of attorney over several Epstein-linked accounts. Barrett pitched trade ideas to Epstein, such as a 2018 proposal to buy $3mn of bonds in the heavily indebted French grocer Casino.

In some instances, Epstein suggested trades to Barrett that he then executed. For instance, in June 2018, he requested to buy 25,000 shares apiece of online car dealership Carvana and Canadian plane manufacturer Bombardier. 

Besides stock markets, Epstein invested in crypto. As reported by Cryptopolitan, Epstein put $3 million into Coinbase in December 2014. The deal came through connections with Brock Pierce, who helped create Tether, and his investment company, Blockchain Capital.

Barrett winds down Epstein-linked firm to join Citigroup

Paul Barrett later acknowledged that profits fell short of expectations. He reported gains of roughly $126,000 early on, about $150,000 in 2018, and around $315,000  between October 2017 and September 2018. “I walked away from all my JPM stock and now my annual compensation is reduced by 66% until I can sign more clients,” Barrett wrote.

These underwhelming results appeared to strain the relationship, with Epstein becoming increasingly unresponsive. Barrett continued to operate on Epstein’s behalf in early 2019. The trader sent a $29,000 invoice for a “monthly management fee” to the financier’s longtime accountant, Richard Kahn, in May 2019.

The partnership effectively unraveled by late 2018, though records suggest Barrett continued operating on Epstein’s behalf into early 2019. Shortly afterward, Barrett accepted a senior role at Citigroup. 

Barrett terminated the SEC registration for Alpha Group the following month, weeks after Epstein died in federal prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In its final statement to the SEC in January 2019, Alpha Group disclosed that it managed $252 million on behalf of 25 high-net-worth individuals. 

Citi later claimed it only became aware of Barrett’s deep involvement with Epstein shortly before terminating him in 2023 due to reputational risk.

Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.

While Shiba Inu (SHIB) serves as an example of how early positioning in a crypto can result in massive gains, analysts have noted that achieving such growth is now more difficult with the maturity of the crypto asset. As such, investors looking for the best crypto to invest in today are now looking towards newer tokens. Among the new crypto projects that are now gaining explosive traction and can serve as the next big thing is Mutuum Finance, priced at just $0.04 and gaining traction with investors.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) Trades Cautiously

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is currently in a bearish trend and is trading below major exponential moving averages, with the relative strength index also trending lower. The current trend suggests that the crypto is trading cautiously, with sellers dominating the market. The crypto’s long-term outlook remains dependent on the performance of the market and the further development of the ecosystem. This eliminates the potential of a quick rebound with Mutuum Finance taking over as the best crypto to buy instead. 

From the SHIB 2021 Run to the Next 100x Setup

Shiba Inu (SHIB) gave investors a taste of what it means to get in on a low-priced cryptocurrency that has 100x or more growth potential, but those days are now in the past. It is in this regard that Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is emerging as the next crypto to enter an aggressive growth phase like SHIB in 2021. 

Since its launch in early 2025, the Mutuum Finance presale has gained a lot of traction from investors. It has risen from $0.01 in Phase 1 to $0.04 in Phase 7, giving investors a 4x growth opportunity. In total, the presale has raised $20.25 million from more than 18,950 investors.

In addition, at the current price of $0.04, new investors are still in for a chance to make significant profits in the future. For example, an investment of $500 in the current market will be worth $750 when the token is made public, thus earning an investor a profit of $250. In the near future, when Mutuum Finance develops more lending products, the same investment of $500 may rise to $5,000 or more, making MUTM the best crypto to buy now in 2026.

Mutuum Finance V1 Protocol Now Live on Sepolia Testnet

Mutuum Finance V1 Protocol is now live on Sepolia testnet. This first version of the protocol allows DeFi users to interact with key features including lending, borrowing and staking. Being still in testnet, investors are not depositing real assets and only testnet tokens are supported. This allows investors to familiarize themselves with the protocol ahead of mainnet launch during the token’s exchange listing.  The testnet supports ETH, LINK, USDT and WBTC with more tokens to be integrated after mainnet debut.

Mutuum Finance Lending

The lending process offered by Mutuum Finance allows users to borrow against their holdings without having to sell. This way, users can stay fully invested in the cryptocurrency market and still have access to the money they need. The loans offered by Mutuum Finance have complete flexibility. There are no restrictions on repayment. Investors can choose to repay the loan at any time without incurring any penalty. They can simply repay the loan and the interest accrued on it and retrieve their original cryptocurrency. 

For example, an investor who has $20,000 in ETH at $2,900 can put up the full amount as collateral. This allows him or her to borrow $13,333 in USDT at a 150% collateralization ratio. The investor can choose to borrow $10,000 for personal expenses. If the cryptocurrency increases in value to $6,000 within a year, the investor can sell his or her cryptocurrency for $41,379. The investor can then repay the loan of $10,000 plus the interest accrued on it. This will be about $600 at a 5% APY over a period of one year. This leaves him with more than $30,000 in profit. 

Users can also borrow liquidity from the protocol efficiently. For example, if a user wants to borrow 2,000 USDT, they can do so by collateralizing $3,000 worth of ETH tokens. The borrowed interest could be between 3-5%. Best part, the ETH used as collateral is still active in the open market and any gains in the price of Ethereum will benefit them. 

Investors who are looking for the next Shiba Inu can look for Mutuum Finance (MUTM). The $0.04 crypto exhibits strong growth signals despite still being in presale. Join the presale now while the token is still at a discount.

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

Website: https://mutuum.com/ 

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance 

On February 4, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) launched an on-site probe into Bithumb over claims that it offers the highest liquidity among domestic crypto exchanges. The KFTC will assess whether Bithumb’s advertising was misleading, given that Upbit had the largest market share. 

The Chosun Daily reported that last year, Bithumb used press releases to advertise that it had “the highest liquidity among domestic virtual asset exchanges.” Following these claims, the news outlet noted that the KFTC is reportedly investigating the objectivity of these claims. It sent investigators to Bithumb’s headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to obtain pertinent documents, such as the exchange’s ads and promotional materials.

KFTC investigates Bithumb over misleading liquidity claims

Given the current market conditions, Upbit has the largest market share. Following this perspective, KFTC believes Bithumb’s advertisement was overstated and deceptive. 

In support of KFTC’s argument, Upbit handled over $180.7 billion in trades in the fourth quarter of 2025, accounting for 65% of the market. On the other hand, Bithumb handled about $86.5 billion, or 31.1%.  

Together, Upbit and Bithumb accounted for over 96% of domestic trading activity in Korea’s extremely concentrated cryptocurrency exchange market in 2025. Smaller competitors such as Coinane, Korbit, and Gopax accounted for less than 4% of the market.

This overwhelming market concentration fueled pricing distortions in the SK crypto market, most notably the so-called “Kimchi Premium,” the price gap between cryptocurrencies traded on Korean exchanges and those on global markets.

The “Kimchi Premium” rose to almost 12% in early 2025 amid market turbulence and increased retail speculation, according to Ju.com. It had all but vanished by the end of the year. as a result of tighter government regulation and declining Bitcoin prices that discouraged speculative trading, 

Regulatory deadlock over stablecoin raises market uncertainty in SK

The scrutiny of Bithumb’s marketing practices comes at a time when South Korea’s broader crypto market is under mounting regulatory pressure, reshaping trading behavior and capital flows. According to the Ju.com platform, disagreements among legislators have created uncertainty that is increasingly affecting where Korean investors choose to trade, even if local markets are still strictly regulated.

Ju.com reported that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Bank of Korea  (BOK) are at odds about who should supervise stablecoins. These disagreements began last year, leading to the postponement of Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act until 2026. 

According to a Cryptopolitan report dated January 30, these disagreements between FSC and BOK are now spilling into the legislative arena, adding another layer of uncertainty to South Korea’s digital asset framework. The report noted that lawmakers are increasingly divided over the extent of regulation of stablecoins, particularly as the nation approaches a second phase of virtual asset legislation.

The Democratic Party of South Korea proposed to table the Virtual Asset Phase 2 Act ahead of the Lunar New Year. According to the report, the law would regulate stablecoins and impose restrictions on large shareholders of digital asset exchanges. 

Against this backdrop, The Chosun Daily revealed that the Democratic Party has proposed mandating that stablecoin issuers maintain a minimum capital of roughly 5 billion won ($3.46 million) and capping the shareholdings of significant shareholders in cryptocurrency exchanges at 15% to 20%. 

Industry players have been concerned with the suggested ownership and capital regulations. Experts argue that strict ownership and capital regulations may deter investment and innovation at a time when international rivals are advancing more quickly. Industry insiders have also warned that prolonged disagreements could further delay the legislation, potentially leaving South Korea’s financial markets behind global trends. 

Talks over the structure of a won-pegged stablecoin have already stalled, with Representative Ahn Do-geol of the Digital Assets Task Force noting sharp divisions over whether banks should control 50% plus one share of stablecoin issuers.

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

Anthropic said Wednesday that its chatbot Claude will not run ads; no banners, no sponsored replies, nothing. This came right after OpenAI announced it would begin showing ads in ChatGPT, starting with free and Go users in the U.S.

In a blog post, Anthropic said users won’t see sponsored links or any kind of product promotion near their conversations. They also said answers from Claude will not be influenced by outside companies.

According to them, ads would feel “incongruous” and “in many cases, inappropriate” because of how personal these chats can get.

Anthropic defends its choice while launching ad-free campaign

The company was started in 2021 by ex-OpenAI staff, including CEO Dario Amodei. Their main product, Claude, has grown fast, and their AI coding tool, Claude Code, is also gaining serious traction.

Instead of making money from ads, Anthropic said they run on enterprise contracts and subscriptions, then reinvest that money into making Claude better.

“Our business model is straightforward: we generate revenue through enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, and we reinvest that revenue into improving Claude for our users,” the company said. “This is a choice with tradeoffs, and we respect that other AI companies might reasonably reach different conclusions.”

OpenAI, on the other hand, is now experimenting with ads in ChatGPT. The company said the ads will appear at the bottom of responses, clearly marked, and won’t affect the chatbot’s answers.

This comes after OpenAI locked in over $1.4 trillion in infrastructure deals in 2025. So ad revenue could help cover those massive bills. It also puts them in line with big tech ad machines like Google and Meta.

Still, Anthropic isn’t backing down. They’re going loud with their stance. On the same day as the blog post, they launched a Super Bowl campaign focused on this exact decision. One ad will run pregame for 60 seconds, and another will air during the game for 30 seconds. Both will include the same message: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

Skipping ads could cost Anthropic a lot of money in the long run, but it seems that’s not stopping them.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.

Peter Schiff argues that Bitcoin is in a long-term bear market when priced in gold. This statement from Schiff comes after gold has rebounded back to over $5,000 and BTC has fallen under $74,000 for the first time since late 2024.

Bitcoin collapsed to a new low of under $73,000 this Wednesday as the larger cryptocurrency market continues to experience a downward spiral. Veteran investor Peter Schiff took to X shortly after the news broke to share his opinion on the matter, stating that BTC is in a long-term bear market if priced in gold. He went on to say that it is now worth only 15 ounces of the precious metal after falling below $76,000.

Schiff has been a long-term critic of Bitcoin, rejecting comparisons between it and gold as he believes cryptocurrency does not hold intrinsic value. He has remained very adamant in his opposition to BTC despite the surge in institutional adoption that has been seen in the past year.

Regardless, his stance does hold a new weight, as Bitcoin continues to plunge in value while gold has rebounded above $5,000 after falling to around $4,650 yesterday. The asset is up over 15% since the beginning of the new year, while Bitcoin, on the other hand, is down by over 20% and is showing no sign of recovery in the near term.

Digital gold vs physical gold

The debate of Bitcoin versus gold has emerged as a topic of hot debate once again as crypto prices are in freefall while gold surges in value. The gap in performance between gold and BTC was very pronounced in 2025, with gold prices appreciating by 65% while BTC price lost 6% of its value. This scenario has given quite a bit of ammunition to someone like Peter Schiff, who has long criticized cryptocurrencies while being a strong advocate of gold.

However, the question of whether BTC or gold is a better investment is not an easy question to answer and comes with a lot of nuances. One must consider various factors like personal risk preference, historical returns, and price volatility to get a better picture of the issue.

Between 2011 and 2025, Bitcoin had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 90% compared to roughly 6% for gold, with an individual standard deviation of around 150%, roughly ten times higher than gold. This shows that while Bitcoin has been a much better-performing asset since 2011, it has also shown a great deal more price volatility.

While this has decreased over the years as Bitcoin matures, gold still proves to be a more stable asset that provides relatively predictable and consistent returns. Gold is also tangible, while Bitcoin is not, although this does not seem to be as much of a decisive issue anymore for potential investors of BTC as it once was due to the growing legitimization of the asset.

Why Gold is currently outperforming BTC

Ark Investment Management published a report in January 2026 examining why gold has been outperforming Bitcoin recently. They stated that the long-term ascent of gold prices is largely due to its supply being outpaced by global wealth creation. This is contrary to the idea that gold’s strong performance in 2025 is due to fears of inflation. Gold supply has also been increasing at a modest pace, which creates a supply-demand imbalance, ushering in higher prices.

Conversely, Bitcoin has a fixed supply schedule that does not respond to price increases. While Ark’s Cathie Wood claims that this makes the asset more structurally scarce, it also means that its price performance is much more reliant on investor demand rather than supply-side constraints.

Additionally, current global economic uncertainty has created a risk-off environment, which historically drives investors away from risk assets like cryptocurrency and into historically safe assets like gold. The macro environment right now is simply more favorable to precious metals like gold, and until risk appetite shifts, this means it will continue to outperform BTC.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.

Taipei, Taiwan, February 4, 2026 — CoolWallet, a leading self-custody hardware wallet provider, today announced the integration of energy rental services in the TRON blockchain ecosystem into its platform. This integration allows CoolWallet users to reduce transaction costs while securely managing TRX, the native utility token of the TRON network, and other TRC-20 assets through the CoolWallet hardware wallet paired with its user-friendly mobile application, all while maintaining full self-custody and control over their private keys and funds.

TRON is one of the most actively used blockchains among CoolWallet users. By combining TRON’s high-performance infrastructure with CoolWallet’s card-like hardware wallet, users can access TRON’s low-cost, high-speed transaction capabilities without compromising the self-custody principles that define the CoolWallet experience. The integration further expands TRON’s accessibility to retail users and self-custody-first wallets globally.

“TRON plays a critical role in the global stablecoin ecosystem, particularly for users who prioritize cost efficiency and transaction speed,” said Michael Ou, CEO of CoolBitX. “This integration reflects our commitment to supporting the blockchain networks our users depend on most, while ensuring they retain full security and control over their assets.”

“CoolWallet’s integration represents an important step in making TRON’s infrastructure more accessible to users who prioritize security and self-custody,” said Sam Elfarra, Community Spokesperson for the TRON DAO. “By bringing TRON support to one of the most portable and user-friendly hardware wallets available, we are expanding access to TRON’s blockchain infrastructure and DeFi applications.”

Key features of CoolWallet and TRON’s integration:

The integration significantly reduces TRX burned during token transfers, allowing users to retain more of their TRX while maintaining full transaction functionality on the TRON network.

Users can benefit from lower transaction costs compared to directly paying fees in TRX, making frequent transfers and DeFi activities more economical.

Users can choose to pay for Energy with either USDT on TRON or TRX, offering greater flexibility and cost control.

This collaboration reflects a shared commitment between CoolWallet and TRON to reduce barriers to blockchain adoption while maintaining the highest standards of security and user sovereignty. By combining TRON’s scalable infrastructure with CoolWallet’s hardware wallet security, the integration delivers secure, cost-efficient, self-custodial access to blockchain services, further strengthening TRON’s position among retail users and self-custody-first wallet solutions.

About CoolWallet

CoolWallet  is a secure hardware wallet designed for self custody and everyday crypto use. With a focus on security, portability, and ease of use, CoolWallet supports a wide range of blockchains and on-chain applications, enabling users to manage, stake, and Web3 services while maintaining full ownership and control of their funds.

Media Contact

Yahan Zhuang

marketing@coolbitx.com

About TRON DAO

TRON DAO is a community-governed DAO dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and dApps.

Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON blockchain has experienced significant growth since its MainNet launch in May 2018. Until recently, TRON hosted the largest circulating supply of USD Tether (USDT) stablecoin, which currently exceeds $83 billion. As of January 2026, the TRON blockchain has recorded over 362 million in total user accounts, more than 12 billion in total transactions, and over $25 billion in total value locked (TVL), based on TRONSCAN. Recognized as the global settlement layer for stablecoin transactions and everyday purchases with proven success, TRON is “Moving Trillions, Empowering Billions.”

TRONNetwork | TRONDAO | X | YouTube | Telegram | Discord | Reddit | GitHub | Medium | Forum

Media Contact
Yeweon Park
press@tron.network

The biggest names in tech just got slammed. At least $62 billion has been wiped from the fortunes of American software billionaires since the start of the year. It got worse on Tuesday when the market nosedived again, continuing a months-long slide that’s already drained billions from the industry.

Adam Foroughi, the 47-year-old CEO of AppLovin, lost $7.8 billion this year alone. His current net worth is $17.3 billion, down from $27.3 billion in December. He now holds the title for the biggest percentage loss of any billionaire in the United States in 2026.

His two co-founders at AppLovin also saw their fortunes drop around 30% each since January 1. That puts all three at the top of this year’s losers list.

Anthropic’s new tool triggered a brutal selloff in legal tech

The Tuesday crash wasn’t random. It started after Anthropic, an AI company, rolled out a tool made for in-house lawyers. That single launch wiped 20% off companies like LegalZoom in one trading day.

The fallout hit the software sector hard. The S&P North American Software Index fell 15% in January, the worst monthly drop since 2008. Things didn’t calm down Wednesday either. The market kept slipping.

Dave Duffield, 85, who co-founded Workday, is another one taking a hit. Workday’s stock dropped 25% this year and hit its lowest level in three years.

Dave’s net worth dropped 19%, landing him at $11.3 billion. His wealth mostly comes from the shares he holds in the company.

Over at Oracle, 81-year-old Larry Ellison lost nearly $40 billion so far in 2026. His wealth has dropped 16% since January, pulling him down to the number six spot on the global rich list. He now sits at $207.5 billion, which sounds like a lot until you realize how fast it dropped.

Armstrong leads crypto losses as private equity steps back

It wasn’t just software getting crushed. The crypto world took a beating too. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, saw his wealth drop 18% this year.

But since October 31, he’s actually down 44%, which makes his loss the steepest of any billionaire in the country over the last three months. The price of Bitcoin also dropped about 40% since October. It hit its lowest level since Donald Trump won the 2024 election.

Private equity isn’t doing much better. Orlando Bravo, 56, from Thoma Bravo, lost 12% of his wealth this year. He’s now sitting on $13.1 billion. Investors are pulling back from software bets and it’s showing.

Some billionaires had just hit new highs. Scott Cook, founder of Intuit, was worth $4.4 billion in late 2022. By July 2025, he reached $8.5 billion and made it into the list of the 500 richest people. But that didn’t last.

On Tuesday, Intuit shares dropped 11%, the company’s worst day since March 2020. Scott is now worth $6.5 billion, down 17% for the year, and he’s no longer on that global rich list.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.

Chris Boyd was trapped in his house in North Carolina after a snowstorm when he decided to try out an AI tool called OpenClaw.He thought it could help organize his mornings. He set it up to send a news summary to his inbox at 5:30 a.m. every day. That part worked. Then he let it into iMessage.

Right after that, everything fell apart. OpenClaw started firing off messages like a maniac. It sent over 500 messages to him, his wife, and even random people on their contact list. Boyd didn’t laugh.

He shut it down, changed the code, and said, “It wasn’t buggy. It was dangerous.”

Software engineer says OpenClaw spammed hundreds of messages

Boyd called the software “half-baked” and said it looked like something slapped together without much thought. He patched the code himself to stop it from doing more damage. He wasn’t the only one raising flags about this tool.

The AI agent, which used to be called Clawdbot and later Moltbot, started gaining fans back in November. It could do simple tasks like clearing inboxes, booking dinner reservations, and checking in for flights. It didn’t need much human input. It just ran. That’s what made it interesting. That’s also what made it dangerous.

Kasimir Schulz works at a company called HiddenLayer that focuses on AI security. Kasimir said OpenClaw is a perfect example of what he calls the “lethal trifecta.”

It has access to private data, it can talk to the outside world, and it can read unknown content. That’s the full recipe for a disaster, and OpenClaw has all of it.

Yue Xiao, a computer science professor at William & Mary, said you can steal someone’s data through OpenClaw by tricking it with what’s called prompt injection. That’s when a hacker hides commands inside what looks like a normal message. Yue said this kind of tech opens the door to new types of attacks that most people aren’t ready for.

Creator admits OpenClaw is not ready for mainstream use

Peter Steinberger, who created OpenClaw, said the project isn’t finished. He told Bloomberg in an email, “It’s simply not done yet, but we’re getting there.”

Peter said that because it’s open source, anyone can see the code and work on it. He said progress is being made, but it’s not ready for everyday users yet.

Peter didn’t think the release came too early. He said he builds everything out in the open and doesn’t believe in holding back until it’s perfect. He also said that a lot of the problems come from users not reading the setup instructions.

Peter made it clear that there’s no such thing as 100 percent security when using large language models. He said OpenClaw is meant for people who know what they’re doing and understand the risks.

He also said prompt injection isn’t just a problem with his tool. He called it a problem that exists everywhere in the AI world. Peter said he brought in a security expert to help fix things and make OpenClaw safer.

Experts say AI agents are growing faster than security can catch up

While Peter defends the way he built OpenClaw, other experts say the whole AI agent trend is getting out of hand. Justin Cappos, a cybersecurity expert and professor at NYU, said it’s hard to control these tools once they’re running.

Justin said, “We don’t understand why they do what they do.” He compared giving an AI agent access to your system to handing a toddler a butcher knife.

The tech world is rushing to launch new tools. Anthropic’s Claude Code reached a $1 billion revenue pace in just six months.

Meanwhile, the people trying to keep these tools secure are still figuring out the basics. Justin said companies are dropping updates nonstop, and security teams can’t keep up.

Michael Freeman at Armis, a cybersecurity firm, said OpenClaw was thrown together without any real security plan. He said some of Armis’ clients have already been hit by OpenClaw breaches, but didn’t share the details. Michael said companies are going to have to give up some control if they want to keep using AI tools like OpenClaw.

For now, the question is whether people will still use OpenClaw after this disaster. The tool has fans, but even those people are realizing that freedom without safety is a problem. And unless changes are made fast, OpenClaw might become the latest example of tech that got too far ahead of itself.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.

Sam Altman is planning to hand over OpenAI not to a person, but to an AI model. He’s not joking. “I would never stand in the way of that,” he said. If artificial intelligence is supposed to run the world, he thinks it should start by running the very company building it.

He’s not looking for a new job either.“The things I really wanted to accomplish, I’ve mostly accomplished,” Sam said.“I feel like I’m playing for bonus points at this point.”

Unless AGI creates an entirely new kind of work, he’s staying right where he is. And from the look of things, he’s not slowing down.

Sam is betting billions on making AI smarter, faster, and stronger, and he wants to prove that no human, not even him, is necessary for the future OpenAI is building.

Altman pushes massive AI plan alongside Trump, Son, and Ellison

On the first full day of President Trump’s second term, Sam showed up at the White House with Larry Ellison and Masayoshi Son. Together, they announced Project Stargate, a $500 billion push to supercharge America’s AI infrastructure. Sam didn’t think half a trillion dollars was enough. Son said, “We discussed, and he said ‘More is better.’ More is better.” That’s how Sam thinks — always bigger.

Sam said working with Trump has been “easy,” even if their goals aren’t the same. Trump is focused on winning for America. Sam says OpenAI’s mission is about “all of humanity.” That tension doesn’t bother him. He sees OpenAI expanding fast and far.

Besides ChatGPT and Sora, they’re building their own AI chips, designing a new social media app to compete with X, and thinking about humanoid robots for factories. They’re also building tools for health care and testing a freemium business model for ChatGPT.

That’s not all. Mark Chen, OpenAI’s chief research officer, said they’re training a kind of “AI researcher intern” to help real scientists move faster.

“We are heading toward a system that will be capable of doing innovation on its own,” Sam said. “I don’t think most of the world has internalized what that’s going to mean.”

Employees raise concerns over speed and missed deals

Not everyone inside OpenAI is cheering. Some employees told Forbes they’re worried the company is growing too fast. GPT-5 didn’t impress them. Then Apple chose Google to power the next Siri, a deal OpenAI thought was already locked. “Yeah, that was not great,” one engineer admitted.

Sam holds stakes in over 400 companies. Some think that shows he’s distracted. Others, like his mentor Graham, just say that’s how Sam operates; he jumps on anything he sees as undervalued. “I bet he finds it hard to resist buying commercial real estate in San Francisco,” Graham said.

At one point, Sam told Forbes, “We basically have built AGI, or very close to it.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella didn’t agree. “I don’t think we are anywhere close,” he said, laughing. “It’s not about Sam or me declaring it.” Even as partners, Nadella admitted their companies have “friction.” He called them “frenemies.”

A few days later, Sam walked that statement back. “I meant that as a spiritual statement, not a literal one,” he said. He believes reaching true AGI won’t take one big leap – just lots of medium breakthroughs. “I don’t think we need a big one.”

There’s also a stick of uranium-238 on Sam’s desk. Seriously. He calls it harmless. “That’s depleted,” he said. He even waved a Geiger counter to prove it. He says it reminds him of the kind of physics discovery that led to nuclear energy – or nuclear weapons. “Just a crazy, fast thing.”

Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.

Recent on-chain transactions for Cardano (ADA) suggest that some whale investors are starting to rotate their funds. This comes as ADA continues to trade within a range. With the overall price structure for ADA remaining steady, the focus is turning towards the decentralized finance sector. One such viral DeFi crypto, which is gaining traction, is Mutuum Finance (MUTM), priced at $0.04. This decentralized lending and borrowing, revenue-backed token is being touted as the best crypto for investors.

Cardano (ADA) Consolidates Amid Key Levels

Cardano (ADA) is trading in a cautious phase, with the price action below the level of $0.27. A breakdown of the trend line will result in the price moving towards the level of $0.20. The price needs to break the downtrend for the bulls to take charge, moving the price towards the level of $0.50. However, this remains a long shot as selling pressure remains strong. This is in stark contrast with Mutuum Finance (MUTM), which continues to see strong buying interest in presale.

Mutuum Finance Presale: A Strategic Investment Opportunity

For investors who are considering the best crypto opportunity for investment, the Mutuum Finance presale offers an attractive option. With the Phase 7 tokens priced at $0.04, the price has appreciated by 300% since the start of the presale, priced at $0.01 during Phase 1. This is the final opportunity for investors to participate at $0.04, as the price will increase to $0.045 during Phase 8.

The Mutuum Finance presale has gained nearly 19,000 investors and raised over $20.5 million faster than expected. This speaks to a strong demand, which analysts project will carry the token higher after its launch. In addition, Mutuum Finance has gone beyond just an idea with a testnet launch and a fully audited platform. These factors, in addition to growing adoption, have market strategists predicting a swift post-launch climb to $0.28. An investment of $350 today at $0.04 buys 8,750 MUTM tokens. This investment will grow 7x to $2,450 when MUTM touches $0.28.

mtTokens: Your Share in the Liquidity Pool 

The value of the tokens that a depositor in the Mutuum Finance protocol owns is represented by mtTokens. For example, a deposit of $20,000 ETH mints $20,000 mtUSDT. Earning an annual yield of 10%, this translates into $2,000 in passive income by the end of the first year. 

mtTokens also earn staking dividends via the Mutuum Finance buy-and-redistribute program. The project buys off MUTM tokens from the open market using a fraction of its earned fees. These MUTM tokens are then distributed among stakers of mtTokens. If the project, for instance, earns $1 million in fees and sets aside $500,000 for staking dividends, an investor holding 0.20% of all staked mtTokens would receive $1,000 MUTM rewards. 

Mutuum Finance Protocol Now Live on Sepolia Testnet 

The Mutuum Finance V1 Protocol has been made live on the Sepolia testnet, and users can now stand a chance to test the protocol’s key features, including lending and borrowing. The testnet sets MUTM apart from other new cryptos as it showcases the token’s real use cases. It currently supports ETH, USDT, LINK, and WBTC during testnet, but more tokens will be integrated upon mainnet debut.

Whale investors are shifting their investments from Cardano to a high-momentum crypto in the decentralized finance sector: Mutuum Finance (MUTM). Currently at $0.04, MUTM has a live lending platform available via testnet, mtTokens that allow users to earn potential yields, and a presale that has delivered 300% returns to investors. MUTM has quickly become the best crypto investment option for investors seeking explosive growth rather than steady growth through established layer-1 cryptocurrencies.

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

Website: https://mutuum.com/ 

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance 

The Financial Services Regulation Committee (FSRC) on Wednesday held a public session and questioned witnesses about stablecoins being the future of money. The witnesses claimed that the digital assets are mainly on- and off-ramps into crypto, rather than the future of money.

The House of Lords’ initiative is part of its new inquiry into how the tokens should be regulated in the United Kingdom. The Lords also sought to gather evidence on the role of stablecoins in payments, banking, and financial stability.

UK Lords question witnesses about stablecoins’ competition with banks

Critics didn't mince words today in the House of Lords.

Financial Times commentator Chris Giles testified that stablecoins are "not massively interesting" as a domestic currency, arguing they primarily serve as a bridge to volatile crypto markets rather than a "future of money"… pic.twitter.com/Kcs7f6XZVY

— Conor Kenny (@conorfkenny) February 4, 2026

The FSRC questioned Financial Times Economics Commentator Chris Giles and U.S. law professor Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr. on cross-border use of fiat-backed tokens and their competition with banks. The committee questioned the illegal financial risks posed by stablecoins and their treatment under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation of U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS). Giles argued that Britain has not yet widely adopted stablecoins because the country lacks a clear legal regulation for the assets. 

He believes that the lack of clear regulation makes it risky for households to hold stablecoins as money. The economics commentator added that a robust regime in the UK would ensure that the main opportunities for stablecoins would be for making transactions and payments more efficiently and cheaply. He believes the initiative would mainly work in cross-border and large corporate transfers.

Giles also told the FSRC that the instant, low-cost, and sterling-linked digital assets could disintermediate banks. He argued that sterling-backed digital assets’ current use was mostly on- and off-ramps to crypto for an intrinsically worthless asset. He stated that sterling-backed tokens are not massively interesting and will not take over the world financial system.

Giles revealed that he supports the Bank of England’s shift toward adding regulations on stablecoins. He noted that the UK’s central bank had set up strict banking rules, resolution plans, and a final liquidity backstop in the case of a rapid run on the bank.

Giles warned that the tokens are prone to illegal use, arguing that the assets had been labelled as people’s new suitcases of cash. He also stated that international oversight of exchanges and stronger Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) checks are necessary if such tokens move beyond their current niche.

UK’s central bank shifts towards regulating stablecoins

Law professor Arthur E. Wilmarth told the FSRC that he did not view stablecoins as natural components of the financial system. He argued that tokenized deposits could do a better job than fiat-backed virtual assets.

Wilmarth also called the GENIUS Act a terrible and disastrous mistake for the financial industry. He pointed to the legislation’s rules that allow non-banks to issue dollar-denominated tokens.

The law professor referred to stablecoins as a form of regulatory arbitrage that enables lightly regulated firms to enter the money business. He believes the system undermines a century-old prudential framework within the banking system. 

Wilmarth also revealed that he has had a hard time agreeing with anything in the GENIUS Act. He believes the U.S. made many unfortunate choices, but stated that the UK’s central bank was proposing a more robust regime.

The FSRC’s probe into sterling-denominated tokens comes as lawmakers seek to understand how the market has changed since the first stablecoins were introduced over a decade ago. The lawmakers were also interested in knowing how the UK would compare to the U.S. and the European Union.

The Bank of England’s Executive Director for Financial Market Infrastructure, Sasha Mills, revealed that the bank partnered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to establish a framework for systemic stablecoins by the end of 2026. The Bank Policy Institute also stated in November that integrating fiat-backed tokens into the traditional financial system without regulations could lead to crypto shocks that would infect the broader economy.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.

Ripple Prime is the newest prime brokerage platform, which enables support for Hyperliquid. The integration allows institutional clients to access on-chain liquidity. 

Ripple’s institutional clients will gain access to Hyperliquid, one of the most active perpetual futures exchanges. The decentralized protocol has so far been the venue for crypto-native traders. Ripple may expand the influence of Hyperliquid to institutional clients. 

Institutional clients will be able to access Hyperliquid while cross-margining their exposure to all of Ripple’s products. Clients’ portfolios will allow margin trading on DeFi, as well as forex, fixed income, OTC swaps, and derivatives. 

The addition of Hyperliquid is another step in bridging traditional and decentralized markets. Ripple Prime will offer institutions seamless access to on-chain venues while using a familiar prime brokerage framework. 

The partnership arrived after Ripple lagged behind other networks in building its own liquidity. XRPL carries several apps, but the network has a little under $55M in total value locked, with minimal activity on XRPL DEX. Hyperliquid will open a much larger market and deep liquidity for BTC, as well as highly active altcoin and even commodity markets.

Ripple offers single counterparty risk

Accessing Hyperliquid through Ripple Prime will ensure lower risk from a single counterparty, as well as curated risk management and margin consolidation. The entire portfolios of institutional clients will be used as margin for their DeFi positions on Hyperliquid.

‘At Ripple Prime, we are excited to continue leading the way in merging decentralized finance with traditional prime brokerage services, offering direct support to trading, yield generation, and a wider range of digital assets,’ said Michael Higgins, International CEO, Ripple Prime.

While Ripple’s XRPL carries some native trading apps, the addition of Hyperliquid shows the platform’s best-in-class status. Hyperliquid’s trading volumes are already catching up with spot markets on major exchanges. The platform is also scalable and offers fast access to new asset classes. 

Hyperliquid is fully decentralized and permissionless, with no KYC requirements. Ripple Prime will be the first verified brokerage to onboard clients, as Hyperliquid has not yet partnered with other verified services. 

XRP among the most bearish assets on Hyperliquid

Even after the partnership announcement, XRP remained bearish. XRP slid to $1.55, extending its slide from the past few weeks. 

XRP crashed below $2 and continued its slide in the past month. | Source: Coingecko

On Hyperliquid, over 65% of whale traders are going short on XRP, putting it among the most bearish assets. XRP is in the top 5 most actively traded tokens on Hyperliquid, as whales make use of its directional trading. 

Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token took a step back, erasing 5.75% in the past day, down to $33. Briefly, HYPE traded at $37.84, after Hyperliquid announced the addition of prediction and options markets through HIP-4.

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

The current market swings are forcing investors to look for assets that can help balance their risks. While some may consider looking at established projects, hedging actually requires projects that have real utility and growth. This analysis will cover three projects: Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and Mutuum Finance (MUTM). While the former two projects are currently struggling with risks and external factors, the latter provides a strong platform that is designed for both stability and gains, making it one of the best cryptos to buy that investors should consider buying.

Dogecoin (DOGE): Riding the Meme Wave

Dogecoin has seen a decline of 16% in the last four days. While some investors may consider this a good time to buy, the fact is that the price of DOGE is still largely dependent on the overall sentiment of the market and the current trend. This is why the price of DOGE is highly unpredictable. The price of DOGE will not go up based on the activities of the platform. Instead, it will go up based on the current mood of the overall market. For someone looking for a platform that can serve as a hedge against the current risks, the price of DOGE may not be the safest option among the top cryptos. 

Cardano (ADA): Facing Strong Headwinds

The price of Cardano is highly correlated with the price of Bitcoin. The correlation is at 87%, and the price of ADA is highly dependent on the price of Bitcoin. While the price of ADA is currently looking good, the fact is that the price of ADA has seen significant outflows of capital and has seen lower futures contract volumes. The current support for the price of ADA is at $0.28. If the price of ADA falls below that, the price may fall further. 

While the platform has good plans for the future, the current price is largely dependent on the overall factors of the market. For investors looking for a platform that can serve as a hedge against the current risks, the price of ADA may not be the safest option among the top cryptos.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM): A Presale for Calculated Growth

On the other hand, Mutuum Finance is offering a clear and stable growth prospect. The project is in phase 7 of its presale, with the current token price at $0.04. This is the final phase for investors to buy the tokens at this price before the price goes up in phase 8 to $0.045. The project has a strong foundation since it has raised over $20 million.

The price of the token as the project goes live will be $0.06. Experts analyzing the project’s strategy have seen clear prospects for significant growth beyond this point. For example, an investment of $200 today could translate to $1,200 in a short period after going live. This makes Mutuum Finance one of the best crypto coins to buy.

Mutuum Finance has launched its V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet. This shows that the project has moved from its conceptual stage into a functional phase. This test environment allows users to preview how the platform’s dual lending systems are designed to operate

Liquidity Mining 

Once fully launched, Mutuum Finance’s Peer-to-Contract mechanism will enable participants to deposit assets like USDT into shared liquidity pools and earn yield. For instance, depositing $5,000 into such a pool could generate an estimated annual return of 15%, equating to around $750 in passive earnings. This yield mechanism is independent of token price speculation, establishing a utility-based foundation for the ecosystem’s long-term value.

Built-In Demand via Token Buybacks

The project has been designed in such a manner that a portion of all fees paid in the system goes into buying MUTM tokens from the market. These tokens are then rewarded to users who stake their assets in the system. This implies that the success of the platform usage will directly translate into rewards for its supporters. This is an innovative idea and ensures that it can sustain itself in the market, unlike meme coins that only count on new investors. This makes it an excellent choice as one of the best cryptos to buy now.

The Strategic Hedge Choice

While DOGE and ADA follow market trends, Mutuum Finance makes its own way. The presale of MUTM is a cheap entry point into the market, and it is expected to be followed by price increases. The operational protocol is geared towards providing returns. The tokenomics are geared towards rewarding participants in their success. For an investor looking for an authentic hedge against market turbulence, MUTM is an attractive option. It is the most strategic of the best cryptos to buy now.

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

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

The eurozone’s annual inflation decreased in January, according to interim data compiled and released by the Eurostat agency.

The slower price increases are expected to influence interest rate decisions in the region and ultimately benefit declining crypto markets, an analysis suggests.

Euro inflation falls in the first month of the year

Annual inflation in the area of the common European currency stood at 1.7% in January 2026, Eurostat announced in an early estimate.

The indicator is down 0.3 percentage points, from 2.0% in December, the European Statistical Office noted in a press release published Wednesday.

Inflation in the services sector is had the highest rate last month, at 3.2% compared to 3.4% in the previous, followed by the food, alcohol and tobacco category (2.7% vs. 2.5%).

Next are non-energy industrial goods, with 0.4%, compared with 0.3% in December, while energy inflation is -4.1%, after last month’s -1.9%.

At 1.7%, inflation of all tracked items, in terms of harmonized indices of consumer prices (HICP), is down from 2.5% in January last year, the announcement detailed.

Measured by the HICP, Slovakia (4.2%) and Croatia (3.6) had the highest inflation, while France had the lowest by far, at 0.4%, followed by Italy and Finland, each with 1.0%.

According to Eurostat’s HICP estimate, the eurozone’s newest member, Bulgaria, had a 2.3% annual inflation in January.

The country’s statistical bureau said this week that prices continued to rise in January, although at a slower pace. They grew by 0.7% over December, the month before the nation joined the area.

The complete HICP set will be out around mid-February, Eurostat remarked, and the full data for January should be published on the 25th.

Inflation rates (%) in eurozone countries measured by the harmonized indices of consumer prices (HICP) | Source: Eurostat

Declining inflation expected to affect rates, stocks and crypto markets

The preliminary release of inflation data comes amid an appreciating euro against other major currencies, most notably the U.S. dollar.

At the end of January, a top official at the European Central Bank (ECB) admitted that European officials are worried that the current strength of the euro could push prices down even further.

Francois Villeroy de Galhau, member of the bank’s Governing Council, stated that the regulator is closely monitoring the situation, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

He emphasized that the gains of the common European currency will be factored into the ECB’s future interest rate decisions.

According to an analysis published by BTC Echo, if Eurostat’s preliminary estimate is confirmed by the final numbers, or if inflation turns out to be even lower than expected, this would support the central bank’s expectations for a longer interest rate break.

The leading German-language crypto information source anticipates a “moderately positive” effect for both European stock markets and those of riskier assets such as cryptocurrencies.

At the same time, the authors acknowledge that the monetary policy across the Atlantic will have a more pronounced impact, citing the stronger influence of the U.S. dollar on capital flows, liquidity, and pricing in the space occupied by Bitcoin and the like.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency with the largest market cap fell to its lowest level since President Donald Trump’s election win last year, briefly dropping below $73,000.

BTC has gone down more than 40% from its peak last fall. At the time of writing, it’s hovering around the $75,000 per coin mark.

Join a premium crypto trading community free for 30 days - normally $100/mo.