On February 3, 2026, Bitmine chairman Tom Lee defended the firm's Ethereum treasury after a social media post alleged a -$6.6 billion unrealized loss and future selling pressure. He said Bitmine is structured to track and potentially outperform ETH over full market cycles, meaning paper losses are expected during downturns as the company's 4.24M ETH position, reported as of January 25, magnifies market swings.

On Wednesday, Bitcoin fell about 3% to $76,000 as a tech-driven selloff on Wall Street spilled into Asia, weighing on risk appetite. Early trading saw weaker openings in Japan and Australia, with Hong Kong futures pointing to declines, while traders rotated toward more cyclical exposures.

Binance temporarily halted withdrawals on Tuesday due to what it described as technical difficulties, before bringing the service back online after roughly 20 minutes. The pause came during a volatile period for crypto markets, as Bitcoin fell below $76,000 and more than $2.56B in leveraged positions were liquidated across digital assets.

On February 2, 2026, Hyperliquid introduced HIP-4, outlining outcome trading on HyperCore with fully collateralized, fixed-range contracts designed for prediction markets without leverage or liquidations. The feature is live on testnet, with initial USDH-denominated markets using objective settlement sources and potential permissionless expansion after technical work and user feedback.

On Tuesday in Asia, Bitcoin hovered around $78,000 while regional equities bounced, with Japan’s Nikkei up 2.5%, South Korea’s KOSPI up 4%, and S&P 500 futures up 0.3%. CoinGlass reported about $2.56B in Bitcoin liquidations in recent days as leverage unwound, even as metals rebounded with gold at $4,800 and silver at $83.34.

A Nevada state judge issued a 14‑day temporary restraining order against Polymarket and related entities, halting the offering of event and sports contracts to residents. A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Feb. 11, and the court signaled it is not convinced that federal commodities law bars Nevada's oversight.

Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial has confirmed a $500M investment from UAE-connected backers, who acquired a 49% equity stake. The agreement was signed by Eric Trump shortly before Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration and has prompted renewed debate over potential conflicts of interest and national security risks. Both the company and the White House deny any link between the investment and US policy on advanced AI chips.

On January 29, 2026, in his first public remarks as CFTC chairman, Michael Selig said the agency will create clearer standards for event contracts used by prediction venues such as Polymarket and Kalshi. He directed staff to withdraw a 2024 proposal and a 2025 advisory on political and sports markets, and to begin drafting a formal rulemaking in coordination with the SEC.

As Asian markets opened on Friday, Bitcoin fell 7% to roughly $82,000 amid choppy trading and a wave of forced liquidations. Over the past 24 hours, derivatives data showed $1.75B in positions wiped out, with long traders bearing most of the losses as broader risk sentiment weakened across global stocks and futures.