On Tuesday, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) released an interim Digital Asset Custody Framework setting tiered limits on how dealer members and custodians hold client crypto. The rules introduce four risk-based tiers with caps from 40% to 100%, restrict internal custody to 20% of client assets, and add stricter governance, insurance, and audit requirements as Canada tightens oversight of hacks and compliance failures.

Michael Burry, known for his "Big Short" bet, has argued that Bitcoin has failed as a safe-haven asset and outlined three price thresholds that could intensify stress across the crypto sector. He warns that drops below $70,000, $60,000 and $50,000 would respectively inflict heavy losses, trigger an existential crisis for Michael Saylor's firm Strategy, and potentially fracture the wider digital asset ecosystem. Bitcoin briefly fell to an intraday low of $73,111 on Tuesday before rebounding.

On February 4, 2026, Waymo and Tesla executives prepared to testify before a U.S. Senate committee, using crash and mileage data to argue that their autonomous systems are safer than human drivers. At the same time, Uber's shares have fallen about 22% since October 2025 as investors weigh the long-term risk from robotaxis backed by heavy funding and expanding fleets. The companies are also pressing for a single federal framework for self-driving vehicles, saying current state-by-state rules slow deployment and innovation.

Crypto.com has launched OG as an independent prediction markets platform for US users, leveraging its CFTC-registered Crypto.com Derivatives North America infrastructure. The spinout follows a reported 40x surge in weekly prediction market activity over the past six months and places OG in direct competition with platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi.

In January 2026 the market weakened, but Avalanche advanced in real‑world asset tokenization. By 3 February, AVAX ranked third in development activity, and in Q4 2025 tokenized assets on AVAX rose 68.6% with $1.3 billion TVL. VanEck's AVAX ETF launched on 27 January and recorded $1.24 million net inflows by 31 January.

On February 4, 2026, Tether scaled back plans for a $15–$20 billion equity raise after investors balked at a $500 billion valuation. Talks that began last year now focus on about $5 billion, with terms unresolved. CEO Paolo Ardoino said the figure was never a target and noted insiders are reluctant to sell.

On Tuesday, Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said the Avara umbrella brand will be phased out and all present and future products, including the Aave App, Aave Pro and Aave Kit, will be consolidated under Aave Labs. The Apple iOS-based Family wallet will stop onboarding new users from April 1, with existing users supported until April 1, 2027 and their accounts maintained as core infrastructure within Aave Labs offerings.

Bitcoin has fallen from a peak of $126,000 to $78,000, while spot trading volume has dropped from about $200 billion in October to roughly $104 billion after the October 2025 crash. Despite five straight months of negative spot netflows and shrinking stablecoin and derivatives capital, spot buyers accumulated around $2.1 billion in BTC between 19 and 26 January, offering a fragile signal of a possible short‑term rebound.