Bitcoin slid to $73,000, its lowest level in 15 months, before rebounding to just above $76,000 and remaining about 3% lower on the day. Solana fell below $100 after a 7% daily drop, while HYPE, CC, and ZEC also posted notable losses as the total crypto market cap shrank to $2.65 trillion.

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.

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, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization released a Digital Asset Custody Framework that introduces a four-tier structure for crypto custodians. The rules cap internal custody at 20% of client crypto holdings and allow top-tier external custodians to hold up to 100% of client assets, aiming to address risks highlighted by past failures such as QuadrigaCX.

In a 2025 report, crypto exchange Kraken's parent company Payward disclosed that annual revenue climbed 33% to $2.2 billion from $1.6 billion in 2024, supported by higher transaction volumes and recent acquisitions. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said income was roughly evenly distributed between trading-based and asset-based streams, while assets on the platform rose 11% to $48.2 billion and funded accounts increased 50% to 5.7 million.

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.

On February 4, 2026, the Japanese yen approached 160 per dollar, a level not seen in decades, as risk appetite faded. Traders who once expected a rebound shifted to growing net short positions, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s spending plans and a snap election slated for February 8 kept market focus on possible intervention around the 160 mark.

On February 3, the crypto market saw a sharp sell-off as Bitcoin briefly fell to the $72,000 area before rebounding to around $77,000–$78,000. Over $2.5 billion in positions were liquidated within 48 hours, with more than $700 million wiped out in a single day and most losses hitting overleveraged longs. Ethereum dropped toward the $3,600–$3,800 range, while major altcoins like Solana and BNB recorded double-digit intraday declines amid heavy spot selling and extreme fear in sentiment indicators.