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Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, a professor at the City University of New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the cryptocurrency industry is facing its 'Fimbulwinter,' a term from Norse mythology for the harsh winter that precedes the end of the world. According to Wu Blockchain, he stated that Bitcoin is primarily supported by sentiment and lacks fundamentals, with its practical applications confined to sanctions evasion and illicit activities. Krugman emphasized that Bitcoin is not a technology of the future, noting it is only slightly younger than the first iPhone, and described it as a failure for not having established itself as a legitimate means of payment after 17 years.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the possibility of sending a second aircraft carrier to Iran if negotiations with the country fail, Axios reported.

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said further interest rate cuts may not be necessary if inflation continues to fall and the labor market remains stable. According to Walter Bloomberg, she noted that while rate cuts could be warranted if the labor market weakens, economic activity is showing signs of a rebound and downside risks to the labor market have decreased. She added that while inflation remains high, she is somewhat optimistic it will fall toward the 2% target this year.

Braden John Karony, former CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon (SFM), has been sentenced to 100 months in prison, Solid Intel reported. He faced charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with misappropriating millions of dollars worth of SFM tokens between 2021 and 2022.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is currently serving a prison sentence for fraud, has filed for a retrial in his crypto-related criminal case with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to Solid Intel.

S&P Global has assigned a preliminary BBB- rating to a product from Bitcoin lending firm Ledn, the Issuer Trust 2026-1. The rating is one notch above junk bond status, which is considered non-investment grade, but it is the highest ever assigned to a cryptocurrency company. Last year, DeFi lending firm Sky and Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy received B- ratings, five notches lower than BBB-. A BBB- rating is on par with the sovereign debt ratings of Kazakhstan, Hungary, and Morocco.

The White House is set to hold its next meeting with banking and crypto industry representatives to discuss stablecoin yields at 7:30 p.m. UTC today, Feb. 10. According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, citing two sources familiar with the matter, attendees received an email from the White House the previous day. The email reportedly urged participants to come prepared with serious proposals and a willingness to compromise. Major banks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citi are expected to attend. Crypto industry participants reportedly include Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and the Blockchain Association.

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced it will list Superform (UP) on its dollar market on Feb. 10. Trading for the UP/USD pair will begin on Feb. 11, provided liquidity conditions are met.

Following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) landslide victory in Japan's House of Representatives election on Feb. 8, where it secured a two-thirds majority, the government's cryptocurrency tax reform is expected to proceed without delay. DL News reported, citing local industry experts, that the election result will likely give momentum to the reforms. While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is seen as having a neutral stance on crypto, the LDP's Web3 policy task force is anticipated to lead the push for tax changes and the deregulation of exchanges. Under the proposed changes, the Tokyo government plans to introduce a flat 20% capital gains tax on crypto trading profits starting in 2028. Currently, such profits are taxed at a maximum rate of 55% in Japan.

MoonPay has announced a partnership with global hiring and payroll management firm Deel to enable companies to pay their employees in stablecoins. According to The Block, the service is set to launch in the UK and the European Union, with future plans to expand to the U.S.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., announced that it plans to list RaveDAO (RAVE), DeepBook (DEEP), and Walrus (WAL) for trading against the U.S. dollar on Feb. 11. Trading for these assets will begin at 5:00 p.m. UTC on Feb. 11, provided liquidity conditions are met.

Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy (MSTR), said in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box that he expects Bitcoin to outperform the S&P index by two or three times over the next four to eight years. As CoinNess previously reported, Saylor stated during the interview that the company will not sell its holdings amid the recent downturn but will instead continue to buy Bitcoin every quarter. He added that volatility is ultimately part of Bitcoin's appeal, noting that investors with a long-term perspective focus on long-term performance over short-term fluctuations. MicroStrategy recently purchased an additional 1,142 BTC for $90 million at an average price of $78,815.

Mandiant, a Google-owned cybersecurity firm, has warned that North Korean hackers are using AI deepfakes and fake Zoom meetings in phishing attacks against cryptocurrency companies, Decrypt reported. A report from the firm, which highlighted recent attacks on fintech firms, stated that North Korean hackers are targeting the entire crypto industry. This includes software companies, developers, venture capital firms, and their employees and executives.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Chicago office has been effectively dismantled following the resignation of its last remaining lawyer, Decrypt reported. The outlet noted that while the CFTC is known as a top enforcement body among regulators, its presence has virtually disappeared. The Chicago office, once dubbed the "top enforcement team" with 20 lawyers, handled the agency's most critical and complex cases but is now being disbanded after large-scale staff reductions. Despite this, the Trump administration is seeking to task the CFTC with regulatory oversight of cryptocurrencies and prediction markets. A former CFTC lawyer laid off during the cuts pointed out that the situation creates an opening for fraud, as the agency currently lacks the staff to enforce regulations.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a recent appearance on Fox News that the cryptocurrency market structure bill (CLARITY) should be passed before the end of spring. He added that he is personally optimistic the bill will be approved, stressing its passage is a necessity.

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has fired Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Stephanie Lemmerman ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO), CoinDesk reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Lemmerman joined Kraken from Dapper Labs in November 2024 and served as the company's CFO for about one year and four months. She will be succeeded by Robert Moore, who was previously the VP of business expansion. CoinDesk noted the move is significant, as it follows Kraken's confidential filing of IPO-related documents with U.S. regulators last November.

Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer Canaan announced revenue of $196 million for the fourth quarter of last year. According to The Block, this represents a 121% increase year-over-year and is the company's largest quarterly revenue in three years. The company's mining operations produced 300 BTC in the fourth quarter, generating $30.4 million in revenue. As of the end of December, Canaan held 1,750 BTC and 3,951 ETH. Canaan stated that it plans to focus more on computing and energy infrastructure, expanding beyond its core mining hardware business.

Tensions appear to be escalating between crypto exchanges OKX and Binance. OKX CEO Star Xu stated on X that his company has long held fundamentally different values from Binance. He argued that centralized exchanges (CEXs) play a different role than decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and that listing decisions on CEXs must come with responsibility, continuing his criticism of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). Earlier today, CZ had pushed back against crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen, who had criticized indiscriminate memecoin listings. CZ questioned whether DEX listings are good while CEX listings are bad, adding that all exchanges have their own listing systems and that Cowen should consider why his preferred tokens are not listed. Binance has recently been embroiled in public criticism over its memecoin listing policies and its perceived responsibility for a sharp market drop on Oct. 10. Meanwhile, OKX was also at the center of a controversy last year regarding its listing of Pi Network (PI).

U.S. stock brokerage platform Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR) has expanded its crypto futures product lineup by adding derivatives from Coinbase, Unfolded reported.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $69,000. BTC is trading at $69,154.87 on the Binance USDT market.

As Bitcoin trades below $70,000, a whale that had been dormant for seven years has moved 2,043 BTC. According to data from CryptoQuant, the whale acquired the Bitcoin on Feb. 19, 2019.

The European Commission is reviewing a complete ban on cryptocurrency transactions with Russia, the Financial Times reported. The move is based on concerns that the Russian government is using crypto to evade economic sanctions. The commission is pushing to prohibit transactions with Russia-based crypto service providers and platforms. The proposed measure would also cover Russian-linked crypto institutions spun off from local platforms and would ban digital ruble transactions. The proposal is part of a broader EU sanctions package against Russia and requires unanimous approval from member states to be enacted.

The U.S. dollar could fall 10% this year if the Federal Reserve pursues more aggressive interest rate cuts than the market anticipates following a change in leadership, according to an analysis. Walter Bloomberg reported that Lee Ferridge, an analyst at U.S. bank and asset manager State Street, noted that while traders expect two rate cuts by the end of the year, a third is possible amid pressure from the Trump administration on the Fed. Ferridge suggested that additional rate cuts could weaken the dollar by increasing hedging demand from foreign investors.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $68,000. BTC is trading at $67,946.79 on the Binance USDT market.