Live Feed

Binance ranked first among major cryptocurrency exchanges in assets held as of last month with a total of $155.64 billion, Wu Blockchain reported, citing data from CoinMarketCap. Of this amount, $47.47 billion was in stablecoins and $49.84 billion was in BTC. The rankings for other major exchanges are as follows: - OKX: $31.29 billion - Bybit: $14.17 billion - Gate.io: $7.86 billion - HTX: $6.92 billion

Ethereum (ETH) could break below $2,000 this month, driven by a bearish technical setup and deteriorating on-chain metrics, Cointelegraph reports. According to the analysis, ETH has entered the breakdown phase of an inverse cup and handle pattern, a classic bearish signal, with its price having fallen approximately 60% from its high last August. The price has dropped below the pattern's neckline of $2,960, which is now acting as major resistance and contributing to the renewed downtrend. ETH also faces strong resistance as it trades below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages on the daily chart. This pattern suggests a potential further decline of about 25% to $1,665 by early next month. On-chain data supports this outlook, with the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) bands indicating a possible drop to $1,725 or lower. The report adds that investors are reducing their exposure, fearing a repeat of the crypto market's four-year cycle, while concerns over a potential AI bubble burst are amplifying risk-off sentiment for assets like crypto.

Enthusiasm for initial public offerings by cryptocurrency companies is cooling, according to an analysis by conference organizer CfC St. Moritz, as reported by CoinDesk. The report noted that while 11 crypto firms raised $14.6 billion through IPOs last year, the trend is expected to slow this year. The analysis cited the industry's relatively small market size and a lack of liquidity as the primary risks. Additionally, the growing dominance of traditional finance in the crypto sector was identified as another factor contributing to the slowdown.

Lawmakers from South Korea's opposition People Power Party are preparing to challenge a government proposal to limit ownership stakes in virtual asset exchanges during a National Policy Committee meeting on Feb. 5, Dailian reported. The government, led by the Financial Services Commission, is considering a plan to cap equity held by major shareholders and their related parties at 15% to 20%. The opposition lawmakers are expected to argue that the proposed restrictions are potentially unconstitutional.

Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs has raised $70 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the company at $1 billion, Fortune Crypto reported. The round was led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, and Citi Ventures. The funds will be used to expand partnerships in the government and private sectors.

More than 60% of projects utilizing cryptocurrency press release distribution services show signs of being fraudulent, a new study has found. According to CoinDesk, the analysis by Chainstory examined 2,893 crypto press releases distributed between June and November last year. The study determined that over 60% were for fraudulent projects, with only 2% containing meaningful news. Chainstory noted that specialized crypto press release firms often guarantee publication on dozens of websites with little oversight. This practice can mislead readers by giving problematic projects an appearance of legitimacy.

Binance's purchase of $200 million worth of Bitcoin through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) has had a minimal impact on the market price, according to an analysis by BeInCrypto. The outlet explained that the move is more of an asset reallocation within the crypto market rather than an influx of new capital. It also noted that the purchase amount is insignificant compared to the overall market size and that macroeconomic pressures are currently overwhelming any positive developments.

Between Feb. 2 and 3, Binance received its largest BTC inflow of the year, totaling approximately 56,000 to 59,000 BTC, crypto analyst Darkfost noted in a CryptoQuant contribution. The analyst suggested that fear appears to have spread among investors as BTC threatened the $74,000 level, a key long-term trend line. Short-term holders, who are sensitive to price fluctuations, drove the deposit activity, with 54,000 BTC being sent to exchanges at a loss on Feb. 2. Darkfost explained that while the record inflow to Binance is creating real selling pressure on the spot market, it paradoxically suggests that BTC has entered an oversold region. The analyst added that market bottoms have historically formed during such phases of investor capitulation and panic.

The total assets under management (AUM) for spot Bitcoin ETFs have dropped below $100 billion for the first time since April 2025, Cointelegraph reported, citing data from SoSoValue. The AUM for these funds, which peaked at $168 billion in October 2025, is now at a new low for the year. The outlet noted that the average entry price for spot BTC ETF holders is $84,000, a level above Bitcoin's current price that is putting pressure on fund flows. It also added that many experts predict institutional investors will evolve beyond ETFs to trade the underlying asset directly.

Rui-Siang Lin, founder of the darknet crypto-based drug marketplace Incognito Market, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a U.S. court, The Block reported. He was convicted on charges of brokering illegal drug sales totaling $105 million. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Incognito Market supported anonymous transactions through cryptocurrency payments and an internal system. The platform was found to have sold over one ton of illegal drugs between its launch in October 2020 and its closure in March 2024. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Lin to forfeit $105 million and serve five years of supervised release after his term.

The macroeconomic environment is beginning to shift in favor of Bitcoin, potentially leading to a final bull market within the next one to three years, according to cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe. He argued that the U.S. ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is poised to exceed 50 for the first time in three years. While the business cycle has been negative, van de Poppe noted that BTC has still risen, thanks to the launch of spot ETFs and available liquidity. He added that the Federal Reserve is preparing to end quantitative tightening (QT) and begin quantitative easing (QE) and interest rate cuts, and that new highs for gold and silver prices last week could also signal a cycle change. This could lead to a final bull market before the onset of a major economic depression, he explained. However, Benjamin Cowen, another cryptocurrency analyst and the founder of Into The Cryptoverse, countered this view, stating that the ISM index is not a reliable indicator for predicting BTC prices.

An analysis suggests that Bitcoin liquidity is decreasing while selling pressure is on the rise. According to Glassnode, the 90-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of the BTC Realized Profit to Loss Ratio is in a sustained decline and approaching the value of one. The analytics firm noted that historically, when this indicator remains below one for an extended period, realized losses outpace realized profits, often leading to market-wide capitulation.

The government of Bhutan transferred 184 BTC, worth $14.09 million, to a new address 13 minutes ago, Onchain Lens reported. The move is presumed to be a preliminary step for depositing the funds onto an exchange or an over-the-counter (OTC) market.

The following are the 24-hour long/short ratios for BTC perpetual futures on the world’s three largest crypto futures exchanges by open interest: Overall: 48.99% long, 51.01% short - Binance: 48.98% long, 51.02% short - OKX: 49.79% long, 50.21% short - Bybit: 49.18% long, 50.82% short

An address belonging to Binance's Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) withdrew 1,315 BTC, worth approximately $100.54 million, from the exchange a short time ago, Whale Alert reported. The move follows a previous announcement from Binance that it would gradually convert its $1 billion stablecoin holdings within the SAFU fund into Bitcoin.

An advisory committee for the Democratic Party's Digital Asset Task Force has expressed concern that a push by South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) to limit major shareholder stakes in crypto exchanges could hinder the market's development. According to Money Today, the committee argued that more in-depth discussion is needed to determine whether limiting ownership stakes is an appropriate and effective measure. The advisers suggested that risks of control by a few founders or shareholders and potential conflicts of interest should be addressed by establishing legal and institutional frameworks for monitoring, checks and balances, and post-facto accountability for illegal activities, rather than through direct ownership restrictions. The FSC had previously included a provision in a basic act on digital assets to cap major shareholder stakes in virtual asset exchanges at 15% to 20%.

The CEO of a cryptocurrency management firm has been sentenced to prison for manipulating market prices to secure over 7 billion won ($5.1 million) in illicit profits, Yonhap News reported. The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced the executive, identified only by his surname Lee, to three years in prison, a 500 million won ($362,000) fine, and the forfeiture of over 846 million won ($613,000). This case is the first conviction under South Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which took effect in July 2024. The matter was fast-tracked to prosecutors by the Financial Supervisory Service.

Bitwise is acquiring institutional staking platform Chorus One, Bloomberg reported. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chorus One previously joined the Solana network as a validator.

Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, has abandoned its plan to raise up to $20 billion and is now targeting a significantly smaller amount, the Financial Times reported. The initial plan, which would have valued the company at $500 billion, reportedly collapsed after facing opposition from potential investors. According to the report, investors expressed concerns over the risks of such a large-scale fundraising, citing regulatory and trust uncertainties surrounding the stablecoin business model, as well as questions about Tether's capital structure and risk exposure. The company is now said to be in discussions with investors for a reduced funding round of around $5 billion. In response, Paolo Ardoino stated that the direction of the investment round is being adjusted to align with investors and market conditions, adding that Tether's financial position is strong enough to proceed without any investment. Tether previously announced in an earnings report that it had recorded a profit of over $10 billion last year.

According to an analysis by cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko, Binance dominated the centralized crypto exchange (CEX) market last year with a 39.2% share of trading volume. Bybit followed in second place with 8.1%, and MEXC was third with 7.8%. The rest of the top 10 included Gate (7.5%), Crypto.com (7.2%), Bitget (6.4%), OKX (6.3%), Coinbase (6.1%), HTX (6.0%), and Upbit (5.5%). In terms of year-over-year growth, MEXC saw the largest increase at 90.9%, followed by Bitget (45.5%) and Gate (39.7%), all of which expanded their market share. Upbit, the only South Korean exchange to make the top 10, achieved its ranking based on spot trading volume alone. However, its volume decreased by 18.9% compared to the previous year.

Dusting attacks using stablecoins have increased following Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade late last year, Cointelegraph reported. These attacks now account for 11% of all transactions and 26% of active addresses. Before the upgrade, the figures were approximately 3% to 5% of total transactions and 15% to 20% of active addresses. The increase is attributed to lower transaction fees resulting from the upgrade. Dusting is a type of attack in which hackers send small amounts of tokens to random addresses to track wallets or cause disruption.

Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator (YC) will begin offering investment funds to startups in the stablecoin USDC, The Block reported. This marks the first time YC has provided a stablecoin payment option to its founders. The choice will be available to all startups backed by YC, not just crypto-focused firms, starting this spring. Payments will be made in USDC on the Ethereum, Base, and Solana networks.

South Korean police have summoned the former CEO of Dunamu, the operator of crypto exchange Upbit, as part of an investigation into nepotism allegations against a lawmaker, Newsis reported. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Division questioned former Dunamu CEO Lee Sir-goo for about an hour as a witness. The investigation centers on suspicions that independent lawmaker Kim Byung-kee solicited a job for his second son during a dinner with the CEO of Bithumb and others in November 2024.

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net inflow of $15 million on Feb. 3, according to TraderT. This marks a return to net inflows after three consecutive trading days of outflows. - BlackRock (ETHA): +$43.82 million - Fidelity (FETH): -$54.84 million - Invesco (QETH): +$1.14 million - VanEck (ETHV): -$2.47 million - Grayscale (ETHE): +$8.25 million - Grayscale Mini Trust (ETH): +$19.12 million

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a total net outflow of $269.93 million on Feb. 3, according to data compiled by TraderT. The reversal comes just one day after the funds recorded a net inflow. The daily flows for each fund were as follows: - BlackRock (IBIT): +$62.12 million - Fidelity (FBTC): -$148.7 million - Bitwise (BITB): -$23.42 million - Ark Invest (ARKB): -$62.5 million - Franklin (EZBC): -$2.19 million - VanEck (HODL): -$4.81 million - Grayscale (GBTC): -$56.63 million - Grayscale (Mini BTC): -$33.8 million