Finance Police

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its weekend recovery, rising nearly 4% to reclaim the $70,000 mark as price action stabilizes after a brutal sell-off that saw the flagship cryptocurrency plunge to a low of $59,000 before rebounding. 

BTC is down over 50% from its October all-time high of $126,200. Glassnode data has revealed that Bitcoin accumulation has picked up across cohorts for the first time since late November as investors see value in the asset again. 

Bitcoin (BTC) Mining Difficulty Drops 11% 

The Bitcoin network mining difficulty fell by over 11% in the past 24 hours. The decline is the steepest drop in a single adjustment period since China’s mining ban. According to CoinWarz data, the Bitcoin Network’s mining difficulty is around 125.86 T. The data also shows that the average block time has dropped from 11 minutes to 9.47 minutes. Projections suggest Bitcoin mining difficulty will rise again during the next adjustment to 132.9 T. The adjustment comes amid an ongoing market downturn that has crashed the price of the flagship currency nearly 50% from its all-time high of $126,000.

South Korean Exchange Accidentally Gives Customers $40B Worth Of Bitcoin 

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has accidentally given away over $40 billion worth of Bitcoin to customers in a major error. The exchange planned to give customers a small cash reward of 2,000 won on Friday, but ended up giving each customer 2,000 Bitcoin. The platform immediately apologised for the mistake, adding that it had recovered nearly all of the mistakenly sent tokens. Bithumb restricted trading and withdrawals for the affected customers within 35 minutes of the error, stating that 99.7% of the tokens had been recovered. 

We want to make it clear that this matter has nothing to do with external hacking or security breaches, and there is no problem with system security or customer asset management.

However, the exchange is not out of the woods yet. South Korea’s financial regulator held an emergency session on Saturday, adding that it will look into the incident. Bithumb plans to comply with the authorities, stating, 

We will take this accident as a lesson and prioritise ‘customer trust and peace of mind’ rather than external growth.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis 

Bitcoin (BTC) traded around the $80,000 mark at the beginning of February. However, the situation changed in a matter of days as the flagship cryptocurrency plunged to a low of $59,000 before reclaiming $70,000. 

Analysts have highlighted that the market is showing a broad shift towards accumulation across all cohorts as investors return. The accumulation comes after a bruising capitulation event that pushed prices down to multi-month and multi-year lows. The shift is visible in Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score. The metric measures the relative strength of accumulation across wallet sizes by factoring in the entity size and the amount of BTC accumulated over the past 15 days. 

The Accumulation Trend Score has increased to 0.68, surpassing the 0.5 threshold. This is the first time since late November that broad-based accumulation is clearly visible. Wallets holding between 10 and 100 BTC have seen the most aggressive dip buying.

Bitcoin ended the previous weekend in the red, dropping nearly 3% on Sunday to $86,561. The price recovered on Monday, rising almost 2% to cross $88,000 and settle at $88,250. Buyers retained control on Tuesday as the flagship cryptocurrency rose 0.98% to $89,116. BTC briefly crossed the $90,000 mark on Wednesday, reaching an intraday high of $90,476 before settling at $89,162. Selling pressure returned on Thursday as BTC plunged over 5% to $84,513. Buyers retained control on Friday as the price fell to $81,000 before settling at $84,110.

Source: TradingView

Selling pressure intensified on Saturday as BTC plunged below the key $80,000 mark, falling to a low of $75,644 before settling at $78,648. Price action remained bearish on Sunday as BTC fell 2.24% to $76,895. The current week started with BTC falling to $74,502, its lowest level since April 2025. The price recovered to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settled at $78,666. Selling pressure returned on Tuesday as BTC plunged to a low of $72,859 before settling at $75,661. Sellers retained control on Wednesday as the price fell 3.52% to $72,998. Selling pressure intensified on Thursday as BTC plunged nearly 14% to $62,791. The price dropped to a low of $60,000 on Friday as selling pressure peaked. However, it rebounded from this level, rising over 12% to reclaim $70,000. Volatility returned on Saturday as BTC fell nearly 2% to $69,244. The price is up over 2% during the ongoing session, trading around $70,910.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Ibiza, Spain, February 8th, 2026, Chainwire

Investing Yachts today introduced its real-world asset (RWA) yacht charter model, a blockchain-based approach designed to tokenize exposure to potential double-digit revenue generated by luxury yacht charter operations via their upcoming $YATE token. Being their ultimate goal to democratize access to all private equity sectors.

Positioning itself at the intersection of yachting and on-chain finance, Investing Yachts is built to remove traditional barriers associated with yacht investing—such as high minimum capital requirements, illiquidity, and operational complexity—by offering a token-based structure intended to be tradable on markets and supported by a managed charter fleet.

How the model is designed to work

At the core of the Investing Yachts model, the $YATE ecosystem connects charter activity to tokenholder incentives through a rules-based framework:

Charter profit distribution: Up to 65% of annual net charter profits is intended to be distributed to tokenholders who lock $YATE into protocol “vaults,” with different lock periods associated with different maximum shares of the profit pool.

Buyback & burn: A defined portion of net profits, 10%, is earmarked for buying back tokens and burning them, aiming to reduce circulating supply over time.

Asset-tied issuance: New tokens are being minted in connection with acquiring additional yachts or other real-world assets, using a NAV-based issuance framework designed to align token supply with the underlying asset base and charter activity.

$YATE Token Pre-Sale

Investing Yachts states that the $YATE pre-sale is scheduled to open on February 25, 2026, with the goal of expanding community participation ahead of broader exchange availability.

As described on the website and in the whitepaper documentation, the pre-sale pricing is structured as follows:

Initial price: 0.10 USDT per $YATE

Dynamic increase: +0.75% price increase every 24 hours

Duration: 9 months

Target post–pre-sale listing price: 1.00 USDT

The documentation also outlines vesting terms for pre-sale tokens, as well as other mechanisms aligned to provide sustainable growth stability for the project, rewarding long-term holders and early adopters.

Broker Network and Market Positioning

The global yacht charter and yachting services market represents a multi-billion-dollar industry, traditionally limited to a small group of high-capital participants. Investing Yachts aims to use its RWA structure to broaden access by enabling community participation through $YATE, bringing a token-based framework to a segment that has historically remained offline and illiquid.

Investing Yachts has established relationships with experienced yacht brokers and industry intermediaries to support fleet sourcing and charter deployment. These connections are intended to strengthen the project’s ability to identify acquisition opportunities, negotiate terms, and access vessels aligned with demand in key charter regions. 

Community and updates

Investing Yachts is publishing updates via social channels and encourages supporters to follow the project for pre-sale announcements, documentation updates, and roadmap progress:

X: https://x.com/Investingyachts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investing.yachts/

Telegram: https://t.me/+kLdobl6TM2kzYzJk

About Investing Yachts

Investing Yachts is a blockchain platform described as an RWA project focused on tokenizing exposure to luxury yacht charter economics through the $YATE token (Ethereum ERC-20). 

Investing Yachts lists a management team and advisory group spanning technology, yacht operations, finance, media, and international legal expertise. It counts on leadership with backgrounds in algorithmic trading, yacht charter operations, and institutional markets, including experience at major international banks.

Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Contact

Media Manager
Alvaro Reyes
Investing Yachts
info@investingyachts.com

Tether, the issuer of the world’s leading stablecoin USD₮ (USDT), has announced a strategic investment in t-0 network, an innovative institutional-grade settlement solution built to revolutionize international money movement.

This collaboration focuses on empowering regulated banks and fintech companies to handle seamless, near-real-time cross-border transactions. Participants send and receive funds in their preferred local currencies, while net balances settle via USDT on-chain in a non-custodial manner—minimizing foreign exchange risks, eliminating pre-funding requirements, and slashing costs compared to legacy correspondent banking networks.

t-0 network functions through a unified API that links participating entities worldwide. It maintains a global ledger to match opposing transfers before finalizing net positions, ensuring efficiency and compliance across jurisdictions. Currently, the platform supports over 1,200 cross-currency corridors with 30 licensed institutions already integrated, bridging developed and emerging markets effectively.

James Brownlee, CEO of t-0 network, highlighted the platform’s mission: to deliver truly borderless economic connectivity, making global transactions as straightforward and equitable as domestic ones, backed by USDT’s unmatched liquidity and availability.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, underscored the strategic fit: stablecoins excel in payment systems demanding speed, transparency, and reduced friction. He noted that t-0 directly tackles longstanding challenges in international remittances and trade finance by delivering real-time finality, predictable fees, clear FX handling, and broad accessibility.

This move aligns with Tether’s ongoing push to integrate USD₮ deeper into regulated financial ecosystems, offering viable alternatives to slow, expensive traditional rails. By leveraging stablecoin infrastructure, institutions gain enhanced scalability and trust for high-volume, cross-jurisdictional flows.

Key Benefits of t-0 Network:

Near-instant settlement using USDT as the bridge asset

Reduced FX volatility and no need for locked pre-funds

Single API integration for multi-currency operations

Compliant, non-custodial design limited to licensed partners

Support for extensive global corridors

FAQ

What exactly is t-0 network?

It’s an advanced settlement layer connecting licensed financial entities for efficient cross-border fiat payments, powered by stablecoin technology for fast net settlements.

How does USDT function in this setup?

USDT acts as the core settlement medium, enabling on-chain transfer of net balances between institutions while transactions occur in local fiat on either end.

Which entities can participate?

Exclusively regulated banks, fintech providers, and similar licensed organizations in compliant markets.

Was the investment amount revealed?

No specific figures regarding size, terms, or valuation were shared in the official announcement.

This partnership signals growing mainstream adoption of stablecoins for institutional finance, potentially accelerating the shift toward faster, more inclusive global payment systems.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is aggressively advancing its role in next-generation artificial intelligence systems by prioritizing innovations in optical interconnects and flexible, large-scale computing frameworks. Under the guidance of Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster, the company focuses on overcoming traditional bottlenecks in bandwidth, power consumption, and thermal management that challenge massive AI deployments.

A core element of this strategy involves silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO), technologies that integrate light-based data transmission directly with processors. AMD has bolstered these efforts through key moves, including the 2025 acquisition of Enosemi—a specialist in photonic materials and integration—to speed up development of CPO solutions. This approach promises significantly higher data throughput, reduced energy use, and tighter coupling between compute and networking elements, essential for training and running trillion-parameter models.

Papermaster has emphasized that photonics will become economically practical in the coming years, with maturing supply chains enabling broader adoption. AMD pursues an open-ecosystem model, welcoming diverse innovations while building its own capabilities in optical I/O. Long-term R&D, ongoing since 2017, targets dramatic improvements in bandwidth density and efficiency compared to conventional copper-based links.

Complementing this optical focus, AMD champions modular, rack-level architectures to enable seamless scaling from individual nodes to entire data center clusters. The Helios platform—unveiled at CES 2026—serves as a blueprint for yotta-scale AI systems, delivering up to three exaflops per rack through optimized bandwidth and power usage. Built on open standards like those from the Open Compute Project (OCP), Helios supports both vertical (scale-up) and horizontal (scale-out) configurations, partnering with entities such as HPE for deployment.

These advancements align with industry-wide trends toward rack-scale designs amid surging AI workloads. By combining fifth-generation Infinity Fabric interconnects, advanced chiplet packaging, and emerging optical technologies, AMD aims to provide enterprises and cloud providers with versatile, high-performance alternatives that prioritize total cost of ownership and sustainability.

Papermaster highlights the excitement for 2026, including next-generation Instinct GPUs integrated into Helios racks for full-scale training and inference. This holistic strategy positions AMD to capture growing demand in AI acceleration, from cloud hyperscalers to on-premises enterprise setups, fostering an era of ubiquitous, efficient intelligent computing.

The InsureTech Connect (ITC) London 2026 event, held January 26-27 at The Brewery, brought together over 650 senior executives, innovators, investors, and technology providers from the global insurance ecosystem. Focused on the London Market and UK insurance landscape, the invite-only conference emphasized that artificial intelligence has shifted from an optional enhancement to a critical driver of survival and growth.

Industry leaders stressed that rapid AI adoption is widening the gap between agile players and traditional firms. Companies slow to industrialize testing and deployment risk permanent competitive setbacks, as AI matures faster than most internal structures can adapt. The core takeaway: success hinges on fostering a culture of ongoing experimentation integrated into daily operations, rather than isolating it in isolated proof-of-concepts.

Key discussions highlighted the urgent need to overhaul outdated intake processes — often still reliant on unstructured formats like PDFs, emails, and scanned documents — which burden teams with manual extraction and delay critical decisions. Forward-looking solutions prioritize intelligent data ingestion, automated structuring of unstructured inputs, and seamless integration into existing workflows. These tools boost straight-through processing rates, freeing underwriters to concentrate on complex risk assessment, portfolio optimization, and client relationships rather than administrative tasks.

Exhibitors showcased targeted technologies addressing persistent pain points:

Advanced document intelligence and upstream ingestion platforms for converting chaotic submissions into actionable, structured data.

Workflow automation systems embedding AI outputs directly into core underwriting and claims environments.

Digital placement and trading platforms speeding up capacity confirmation, negotiations, and risk binding.

Built-in governance frameworks ensuring model auditability, bias detection, risk management, and regulatory reporting.

Specialized analytics for high-growth areas like cyber threats, supply-chain vulnerabilities, and climate-related perils.

A recurring theme was the evolution toward “digital follow-underwriting,” enabling near-instant verification, compliance screening, and placement in specialty commercial, cyber, and supply-chain segments. This shift promises greater market liquidity and efficiency but demands robust audit trails, consistent data standards, and secure access protocols to maintain trust.

Panels reframed oversight challenges — including bias, explainability, and regulatory adherence — as integral to solution architecture rather than obstacles. Human-led processes already exhibit variability; well-designed AI, supported by disciplined data practices, continuous monitoring, diverse validation teams, and clear accountability for outputs, can reduce inconsistencies and elevate decision quality. In the U.S., the NAIC’s Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group continues advancing frameworks, including piloting an AI Systems Evaluation Tool in 2026 to guide state-level oversight.

Practical implementation dominated conversations, with many organizations pursuing hybrid models: combining in-house domain knowledge with external vendors for data engineering, integration, model tuning, validation, and organizational change support. Vendors demonstrated plug-and-play compatibility with legacy cores, prioritizing quick value delivery through enhanced data flows and decision intelligence.

Ultimately, ITC London 2026 underscored that thriving in the AI era requires more than adopting tools — it demands strategic alignment of technology, talent, partnerships, and governance. Insurers mastering this balance will unlock higher throughput, minimize leakage, improve profitability, and deliver superior experiences across the value chain. For those hesitant, the message was unambiguous: innovation through AI is no longer a choice; it’s a fundamental requirement for long-term relevance in a fast-evolving market.

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly reclaimed the $70,000 mark late on Friday, reaching an intraday high of $71,605. However, it failed to retain momentum and slipped to its current level of $67,915. Despite the decline, the flagship cryptocurrency remains up over 3% in the past 24 hours. 

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below the $60,000 mark on Friday as selling pressure reached unprecedented levels, with some analysts warning that the market bottom may not be in, even at these levels. However, oversold conditions indicate downside pressure may have peaked, as dip buyers enter the fray. 

Google Search Activity For “Bitcoin” Surges 

Google search activity for the term “Bitcoin” surged as the flagship cryptocurrency briefly fell below $60,000. According to Google Trends data, search activity for “Bitcoin” reached 100 over the past week, the highest reading in the past twelve months. Google search data is a commonly used indicator among cryptocurrency analysts to gauge retail interest in Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market. Search interest typically jumps during rallies or sudden sell-offs. Bitcoin fell from $81,500 to around $50,000 in roughly five days before rebounding and briefly reclaiming $70,000. 

Some analysts stated that BTC’s current price levels could attract attention from a broader retail audience, with Bitwise’s head of Europe, Andre Dragosch, stating, 

“Retail is coming back.”

Dip Buying Returns 

The cryptocurrency market made a strong rebound on Friday as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other tokens bounced to reclaim key levels. The flagship cryptocurrency briefly lost the $60,000 mark on Thursday, resulting in the liquidation of $1.1 billion in BTC longs. Investors began accumulating again at lower levels as Bitcoin finally saw a dip buying in force. Binance’s Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), an insurance fund established by Binance, bought 3,600 BTC worth $250 million for $65,000 per coin. The purchase comes after Binance’s recent announcement stating that it plans to convert $1 billion SAFU reserves into Bitcoin over the next 30 days. 

Several crypto hedge funds have also begun buying the dip. According to Bitwise Head of Research, Andre Dragosch, the aggregate market beta across all global crypto hedge funds hit its highest level in two years as BTC weakened. 

Looks like Crypto Hedge Funds are ‘buying the dip’. Aggregate market beta across all global crypto hedge funds has increased to the highest level in 2 years. Signals increasing BTC market exposure by crypto hedge funds.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis 

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly rallied past $70,000 on Friday as retail and dip buyers lifted the price from a multi-year low of $60,000. The flagship cryptocurrency plunged nearly 14% on Thursday before bouncing back 12.30% on Friday. However, volatility and selling pressure have returned during the ongoing session, with the price down almost 2%. 

While Bitcoin has rebounded strongly from Friday’s lows, derivatives metrics indicate substantial caution among investors as demand around the $70,000 mark remains constrained. BTC’s relief rally also lost steam around the $70,000 mark as prices crashed to $67,000 before recovering. Liquidations of around $1.8 billion worth of leveraged bullish futures contracts have got investors fearful that major hedge funds or market makers may have blown up. The latest downturn was preceded by three weeks of consistent downside pressure. 

The lack of conviction is also visible in the Bitcoin options markets. Excessive demand for put (sell) options has pushed the skew metric above 6%, indicating prevailing bearish sentiment. The options skew metric reached 20% on Friday, a level that indicates widespread market panic. BTC’s crash to $59,000 wiped out $1.1 billion in leveraged longs, with data from CoinGlass showing over $2.4 billion in crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours. 

Bitcoin ended the previous weekend in the red, dropping nearly 3% on Sunday to $86,561. The price recovered on Monday, rising almost 2% to cross $88,000 and settle at $88,250. Buyers retained control on Tuesday as the flagship cryptocurrency rose 0.98% to $89,116. BTC briefly crossed the $90,000 mark on Wednesday, reaching an intraday high of $90,476 before settling at $89,162. Selling pressure returned on Thursday as BTC plunged over 5% to $84,513. Buyers retained control on Friday as the price fell to $81,000 before settling at $84,110.

Source: TradingView

Selling pressure intensified on Saturday as BTC plunged below the key $80,000 mark, falling to a low of $75,644 before settling at $78,648. Price action remained bearish on Sunday as BTC fell 2.24% to $76,895. The current week started with BTC falling to $74,502, its lowest level since April 2025. The price recovered to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settled at $78,666. Selling pressure returned on Tuesday as BTC plunged to a low of $72,859 before settling at $75,661. Sellers retained control on Wednesday as the price fell 3.52% to $72,998. Selling pressure intensified on Thursday as BTC plunged nearly 14% to $62,791. The price dropped to a low of $60,000 on Friday as selling pressure peaked. However, it rebounded from this level, rising over 12% to reclaim $70,000. Volatility and selling pressure have returned during the ongoing session, with BTC down over 15 at $69,621.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Crypto venture capital faces mounting challenges, with fundraising commitments stuck at multi-year lows even as Bitcoin climbed substantially from post-2022 lows toward six-figure territory in recent cycles. Industry observer Miya, who oversees crypto hedge fund activities, recently connected with numerous venture investors from both traditional finance and specialized crypto backgrounds. Her conclusion: enthusiasm for launching new blockchain-focused funds has evaporated.

Despite Bitcoin’s impressive rally—peaking well above previous bears and trading around $68,000–$70,000 levels in early February 2026—capital inflows for crypto VC never materialized. This disconnect stands out sharply, as other high-growth sectors like artificial intelligence attracted massive risk-on allocations over the past few years while blockchain experienced net capital outflows.

Critics of the current model point to structural flaws. Attempts to revive interest through mechanisms such as governance tokens or ownership coins fall short, as promising founders hesitate to cede control to anonymous holders. Blockchain projects increasingly appear detached from practical demand, producing solutions few users adopt and often serving as vehicles for short-term liquidity events rather than sustainable value creation.

Recent developments underscore the severity. Prominent crypto VC firm Paradigm reportedly lost roughly half its team members over a short period, with departures spanning key roles. Other notable players, including Mechanism and Tangent, have quietly redirected resources entirely away from digital assets. This exodus during a supposed market upswing raises fundamental questions about the viability of the traditional crypto VC approach, heavily weighted toward altcoins and infrastructure layers.

Miya advocates for a fundamental rethink: abandon efforts to decentralize established industries unnecessarily. Instead, integrate token incentives—such as revenue-sharing or equity-like ownership—into proven web2 businesses that already demonstrate strong product-market fit and user adoption. For instance, rather than attempting to replace ride-sharing giants with fully on-chain alternatives, apply tokenized rewards or stakes to successful platforms like Uber, aligning incentives without rebuilding core operations from the ground up.

This perspective aligns with broader market trends. Technological momentum has clearly migrated toward AI, robotics, and related breakthroughs, drawing talent, capital, and attention away from pure blockchain plays. Investors seeking diversification increasingly explore real assets, institutional-grade opportunities, and emerging tech sectors less prone to speculative cycles.

Current market snapshots reflect volatility:

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovering near $68,500–$70,500 amid fluctuating sentiment.

Ethereum (ETH-USD) showing resilience with notable percentage gains in recent sessions.

XRP maintaining upward pressure despite sector headwinds.

While core cryptocurrencies retain speculative appeal, the venture side signals a maturing—or potentially contracting—phase. Long-term participants may need to adapt to hybrid models blending traditional success with targeted tokenomics, or pivot alongside capital flows into adjacent innovation frontiers.

For those building resilient portfolios beyond single-asset exposure, blending crypto holdings with diversified alternatives—ranging from real estate fractions to AI-driven ventures—offers a hedge against sector-specific downturns. Platforms enabling access to institutional real estate, art, or specialized ETFs continue gaining traction as investors prioritize stability and uncorrelated returns in uncertain times.

Global cryptocurrency markets endured severe turbulence on February 5, 2026, as Bitcoin experienced its most dramatic single-session decline in over a year, dragging the entire sector lower amid widespread risk aversion.

The leading digital asset tumbled as much as 12.6% intraday, reaching lows near $63,300—its weakest point since October 2024—before partial recovery attempts. This move erased substantial portions of the advances seen following Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory and pro-crypto rhetoric.

Total crypto capitalization has shed approximately $2 trillion from its early October 2025 high of around $4.38 trillion, with roughly $800 billion vanishing in the prior month alone. Bitcoin now sits down roughly 28% year-to-date, while Ethereum has shed nearly 38% in the same timeframe.

Cascading Liquidations Fuel Panic Selling

Forced position closures played a central role in amplifying the downturn. Data from tracking platforms showed nearly $1 billion in Bitcoin leveraged bets liquidated within 24 hours, as cascading price breaches triggered margin calls. This created a feedback loop of intensified selling, pushing values lower and ensnaring more traders.

The broader altcoin space followed suit, with many tokens posting double-digit losses and heightening overall market stress.

Broader Risk-Off Environment Hits Hard

The crypto rout unfolded against a backdrop of retreating appetite for high-volatility assets. Technology equities, particularly those tied to artificial intelligence narratives, faced sharp corrections, spilling over into digital tokens that have increasingly correlated with Nasdaq performance.

Precious metals exhibited unusual swings, with silver dropping significantly in leveraged unwinds, adding to the sense of market fragility.

Monetary Policy Uncertainty Looms Large

Investor nerves were further strained by President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh—a former Fed governor known for hawkish leanings—to lead the Federal Reserve. Markets interpreted this as a potential signal for balance sheet reduction and tighter conditions, reversing the liquidity abundance that historically buoyed crypto rallies.

Experts noted that diminished central bank support removes key tailwinds for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.

Institutional Flows Turn Negative

Sustained pressure has emerged from traditional finance channels. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US recorded massive redemptions—exceeding $3 billion in January 2026 alone, following billions in prior months. This trend reflects waning enthusiasm among professional allocators, who appear to be de-risking amid prolonged weakness.

Analysts from major banks attribute much of the ongoing slide to these ETF exits, signaling deeper pessimism in mainstream circles.

Tech Correlation and Miner Vulnerabilities

Bitcoin’s alignment with growth-oriented stocks has become pronounced, meaning AI and software sector pullbacks directly exacerbate crypto declines. Observers warn that persistent low prices could strain mining operations, potentially forcing asset sales or shutdowns that feed further downward pressure.

Retail-heavy ownership adds fragility, as everyday participants often react swiftly to volatility.

Expert Views: Capitulation or Prolonged Reset?

Nic Puckrin of Coin Bureau described the environment as “full capitulation mode,” suggesting this phase extends beyond brief corrections into multi-month resets based on historical patterns. He highlighted whale selling and institutional retreats as dominant forces.

Other voices caution that without renewed liquidity or positive catalysts, downside risks remain elevated, with some technical targets pointing toward $55,000–$60,000 zones if key supports fail.

Looking Ahead

With over half of Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak value erased and sentiment at multi-year lows, the sector faces questions about whether this marks a deeper bear phase or eventual base-building. Upcoming Fed developments, macroeconomic data, and potential policy shifts will likely dictate near-term direction.

For now, heightened caution prevails as participants navigate one of the most challenging periods since major 2022 disruptions.

A fresh examination by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), featured via Carbon Brief, reveals that renewables and associated technologies fueled the bulk of China’s economic momentum last year.

These industries—including solar panels, wind turbines, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs)—generated a historic 15.4 trillion yuan (around $2.1 trillion) in output during 2025. This represented 11.4% of the country’s overall GDP, a sharp rise from 7.3% in 2022, and placed the sector’s scale ahead of most national economies worldwide, ranking it as the eighth-largest if treated independently.

The value of these clean tech areas nearly doubled in real terms from 2022 to 2025, expanding at an accelerated 18% pace in the latest year—far exceeding the broader economy’s performance.

Critically, without this surge, China would have fallen well short of its official 5% annual growth goal. The sectors contributed more than one-third of total economic expansion, while capturing over 90% of net investment increases nationwide.

Domestic deployment remains the primary focus, with wind and solar additions in recent periods roughly matching the combined totals installed elsewhere on the planet. This massive rollout satisfies rising local electricity needs and supports upgrades to energy storage and grid infrastructure.

Battery advancements stood out as the fastest-growing segment, powering EV adoption and enhanced grid resilience through improved storage solutions.

On the global stage, China’s manufacturing dominance continues to transform energy access. Surging exports of affordable solar modules have driven record installations across developing regions, enabling many countries in Africa and beyond to leapfrog traditional infrastructure. The International Energy Agency has noted that Chinese-led production has delivered the lowest-cost electricity ever recorded, broadening renewable viability worldwide.

Lead analyst Lauri Myllyvirta emphasized the broader implications: accelerating adoption in diverse markets signals a worldwide momentum shift, with EVs gaining traction in unexpected locations and solar imports bolstering energy security in the Global South.

This trajectory raises hopes that China—the planet’s top greenhouse gas emitter—may have already achieved or is nearing peak carbon emissions, potentially marking a pivotal moment for international climate efforts if the pace holds.

Challenges persist, however. The coal sector retains significant influence, with developers proposing a record 161 GW of new coal-fired plants in 2025. While actual construction starts dipped compared to prior years and many facilities operate at reduced utilization due to renewables covering demand growth, a substantial pipeline (around 290 GW permitted or underway) risks creating stranded assets and inflating long-term system expenses.

Climate advocates argue this duality highlights an urgent crossroads. Solar is poised to surpass coal in electricity generation for the first time in 2026, underscoring renewables’ superiority in cost, deployment speed, and environmental benefits like improved air quality.

Yet simultaneous coal expansions appear aimed at safeguarding legacy interests amid inevitable decline. The upcoming five-year plan, expected soon, will clarify priorities and determine whether Beijing fully commits to accelerating the shift or hedges with continued fossil reliance.

Overall, the data underscores China’s central role in the global energy pivot: a manufacturing giant turning clean tech into economic strength while navigating internal tensions between innovation and tradition.

Bitcoin (BTC) slumped to its lowest level in over three and a half years, falling to $60,000 on Coinbase before rebounding to reclaim $70,000 and moving to its current level. The flagship cryptocurrency is down 5% during the ongoing session, trading around $66,192. 

The latest downtrend has seen Bitcoin lose 30% in a week as it plunged to $60,000. The magnitude of the downturn has sparked speculation that the sell-off is being driven by an entity facing forced liquidations rather than the usual market jitters. 

Strategy Reports $12.4 Billion Net Loss 

Michael Saylor’s Strategy has reported a $12.4 billion net loss for the fourth quarter. The loss was driven by mark-to-market declines in its Bitcoin holdings. The loss came at a time when the flagship cryptocurrency briefly slipped below the $60,000 mark, putting Strategy’s Bitcoin stash below its cumulative cost basis for the first time since 2023. The decline also wiped out all the gains made during the post-election rally. The company has also not announced new equity issuance or debt financing alongside its earnings, indicating lesser access to liquidity as investor appetite cools. 

Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor has insisted the company faces no margin calls and holds $2.25 billion in cash. Saylor has insisted the company’s cash-in-hand is enough to cover interest obligations for over two years. However, the company is under tremendous pressure as Bitcoin trades well below Strategy’s average acquisition price of $76,052. Strategy also revealed in its quarterly earnings that it does not expect to generate profits in the foreseeable future. 

Strategy’s Bitcoin Now Worth Less Than $50 Billion 

Strategy holds over 713,000 BTC, valued at around $46 billion, according to Bloomberg data. The Bitcoin treasury company added $75.3 million BTC in late January. However, its broader business model is under considerable strain. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer believes investors are focusing on whether Strategy can raise capital to fund further Bitcoin purchases under increasingly trying market conditions. 

Critics, including ace investor Michael Burry, have warned that if Bitcoin continues declining, it could trigger substantial losses for treasury companies like Strategy. The downturn has also revived short seller concerns about Strategy’s reliance on leverage and non-yielding assets. Strategy shares are currently down nearly 89% from the November 2024 peak. 

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis 

Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to $60,000 early on Friday, its lowest level since November 2024, as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 9, its lowest level since 2022. The sentiment index fell to a score of 9 out of 100 on Friday, putting it firmly in “extreme fear” territory. 

Analysts have pointed out that Bitcoin has fallen below its 200-week exponential moving average, a move previously seen during peak bear markets. The downturn means BTC is 50% down from its all-time high of $126,000. Over 588,000 traders have been liquidated for over $2.7 billion, with 85% of them leveraged longs in Bitcoin.  Bitcoin’s downturn comes amid an unprecedented selloff in tech stocks triggered by stretched valuations and concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble. 

Stretched valuations and lingering concerns around an artificial intelligence-driven bubble have long been highlighted by the market. Even Amazon suffered a double-digit decline overnight following a mixed earnings release. Investors are increasingly reassessing Bitcoin’s failure to function as a haven compared to gold.

A popular crypto trader called the sell-off the most vicious selling he had seen in years, adding that it felt “forced” and “indiscriminate.” The trader put forward several possibilities, including a sovereign dump to an exchange balance sheet blowup. 

Bitcoin ended the previous weekend in the red, dropping nearly 3% on Sunday to $86,561. The price recovered on Monday, rising almost 2% to cross $88,000 and settle at $88,250. Buyers retained control on Tuesday as the flagship cryptocurrency rose 0.98% to $89,116. BTC briefly crossed the $90,000 mark on Wednesday, reaching an intraday high of $90,476 before settling at $89,162. Selling pressure returned on Thursday as BTC plunged over 5% to $84,513. Buyers retained control on Friday as the price fell to $81,000 before settling at $84,110.

Source: TradingView

Selling pressure intensified on Saturday as BTC plunged below the key $80,000 mark, falling to a low of $75,644 before settling at $78,648. Price action remained bearish on Sunday as BTC fell 2.24% to $76,895. The current week started with BTC falling to $74,502, its lowest level since April 2025. The price recovered to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settle at $78,666. Selling pressure returned on Tuesday as BTC plunged to a low of $72,859 before settling at $75,661. Sellers retained control on Wednesday as the price fell 3.52% to $72,998. Selling pressure intensified on Thursday as BTC plunged nearly 14% to $62,791. The flagship cryptocurrency fell to a low of $60,001 on Friday. However, it rebounded from this level to reclaim $67,000 and move to its current level of $67,296.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Global marine insurers are confronting heightened financial strain from a dramatic upsurge in cargo theft and freight fraud, as criminal operations blend physical attacks with advanced online schemes. Industry leaders stress that these evolving threats are pushing loss ratios higher and demanding a fundamental overhaul of underwriting practices, counterparty evaluations, and preventive measures.

The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA have issued a joint alert detailing intensified cargo-related incidents spanning Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Regions like Latin America and select African countries face especially aggressive, organized violence, while digital tactics gain prominence worldwide.

TAPA’s intelligence database logged nearly 160,000 cargo crimes across 129 nations from 2022 to 2024, resulting in aggregate losses valued in the billions of euros. In North America, 2024 thefts alone tallied $455 million across more than 3,600 cases, averaging over $202,000 per event. For Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, TAPA documented over 108,000 supply-chain thefts in excess of 110 countries during the same timeframe. Among incidents reporting values (about 5%), combined damages surpassed €1 billion—translating to more than €1.3 million lost daily. High-value cases (exceeding €100,000) averaged €878,525.

Beyond conventional risks like vehicle hijackings, warehouse intrusions, and street-level pilferage, fraud now dominates as a primary loss source. Organized groups exploit weaknesses in digital logistics ecosystems, employing tactics such as shell entities, duplicated company identities, counterfeit insurance proofs, spoofed emails, and mimicry websites to intercept shipments.

Thorsten Neumann, TAPA EMEA’s president and CEO, emphasized the fusion of traditional and cyber methods: criminals leverage forged credentials to infiltrate legitimate transport flows. He cautioned that emerging AI technologies could amplify these operations, boosting both occurrence rates and claim magnitudes.

These developments extend challenges for underwriters beyond direct payouts. Bogus operators on online freight marketplaces erode verification protocols, elevate litigation probabilities, and hinder recovery pursuits—especially in multi-party, international claims.

IUMI and TAPA EMEA advocate proactive steps for all supply-chain actors, including insurers, brokers, and logistics providers. Their collaborative recommendations include:

Rigorous screening of carriers, drivers, and intermediaries

Thorough authentication of insurance paperwork and qualifications

Vigilant monitoring for irregular booking patterns or deviations

Prioritizing secure storage, optimized routing, and adherence to established security protocols

Lars Lange, IUMI secretary general, pinpointed digital freight platforms as a critical vulnerability. He urged platforms to implement robust safeguards like multi-factor authentication and enhanced fraud monitoring to curb unauthorized access and reduce preventable insurer exposures.

Amid persistent supply-chain vulnerabilities, cargo underwriters are already adjusting appetites in vulnerable routes, reassessing concentration risks at key nodes, and scrutinizing final-delivery segments. As cyber-enabled fraud merges with on-the-ground threats, policy language, site inspections, and premium structures may require updates to address identities and trustworthiness alongside physical safeguards like tracking devices and barriers.

Ultimately, effective cargo risk management now hinges not only on shipment pathways but critically on verifying the reliability of every party handling goods in an increasingly deceptive environment.

Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted to a multi-month low of $70,091 as selling pressure intensified across the cryptocurrency market, pulling almost all tokens deeper into the red. The crypto market cap fell to $2.41 trillion over the past 24 hours, while the Fear & Greed Index plunged to 11, signaling extreme fear. 

The steep decline was attributed to a renewed sell-off in tech stocks. The sell-off spilled over into the cryptocurrency market, dragging BTC and other major tokens down and casting doubt on hopes of a sustained recovery after its recent relief rally. 

Bhutan Moves Bitcoin (BTC) Stash, Sale Imminent?

Cryptocurrency wallets belonging to his week. The transfers included a $14 million transfer and an $8.3 million transaction linked to an institutional merchant deposit. While the transfers don’t confirm a sale, deposits to merchants or intermediary addresses are generally considered a precedent before an imminent sale. The transfers come amid high selling pressure, with Bitcoin tumbling to multi-month lows. Analysts at Arkham Intelligence stated that the movements were consistent with Bhutan’s pattern of selling BTC in tranches of around $50 million. 

From our observations, Bhutan periodically sells BTC in clips of around $50 million.

US Treasury Secretary Rules Out Bitcoin Bailout 

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated before Congress that the US will retain the Bitcoin it acquired through asset seizures. However, he added that the government will not direct private banks to purchase more of the asset in the event of a downturn. Bessent made the comments during a response to California Congressman Brad Sherman, a known critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. Sherman asked during the hearing, 

Does the Treasury Department or the various components of the Federal Open Market Committee have the authority to bail out Bitcoin.

In response, Bessent stated that, as Secretary of the Treasury, he does not have the authority to do so. 

I am the Secretary of the Treasury. I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), I do not have that authority.

Crypto Firms Offer Concessions To Break Market Structure Bill Gridlock 

Several crypto firms are reportedly offering floating concessions related to stablecoin yields in an attempt to break the impasse over the much-delayed crypto market structure bill. The bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate as negotiations over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield continue. Traditional banks argue that such a move poses a threat to the economy by removing money from traditional savings accounts. If anonymous sources are to be believed, cryptocurrency firms have made new proposals, including giving community banks a larger role in the stablecoin ecosystem, to break the current gridlock. Other proposals include requiring issuers to hold their reserves in community banks and help banks issue their own stablecoins. 

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis 

Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to a low of $70,091 on Thursday as the ongoing tech rout spilled over into crypto. The flagship cryptocurrency fell nearly 8% early on Thursday, following sharp losses in Asian and US tech shares, amid concerns over AI investments, overvalued valuations, and slow earnings. The concerns have prompted investors to cut exposure to risk assets like Bitcoin, leading to a sharp downturn. 

MSCI’s Asia Tech Index fell for a fifth time in six sessions, largely due to steep losses in South Korea’s Kospi, as AI-linked stocks came under pressure. NASDAQ also registered a steep decline after disappointing earnings from Alphabet, Qualcomm, and Arm reinforced fears that AI investment had peaked faster than market expectations. Bitcoin’s sharp decline comes after a brief relief rally earlier this week when it briefly reclaimed $76,000 before losing momentum again. Wenny Cai, COO at Synfutures, stated, 

Bitcoin’s move below the low-$70,000s has accelerated a broader deleveraging, flushing out crowded positioning built during the post-ETF rally. Liquidations have been heavy, sentiment has swung risk-off, and price action is now being driven more by balance-sheet mechanics than narrative flow.

However, analysts believe the downturn is a sign of fragile conviction rather than a complete trend reversal. 

This doesn’t signal the end of institutional participation, but it does mark the end of complacency.

Bitcoin ended the previous weekend in the red, dropping nearly 3% on Sunday to $86,561. The price recovered on Monday, rising almost 2% to cross $88,000 and settle at $88,250. Buyers retained control on Tuesday as the flagship cryptocurrency rose 0.98% to $89,116. BTC briefly crossed the $90,000 mark on Wednesday and reached an intraday high of $90,476 before settling at $89,162. Selling pressure returned on Thursday as BTC plunged over 5% to $84,513. Buyers retained control on Friday as the price fell to $81,000 before settling at $84,110.

Source: TradingView

Selling pressure intensified on Saturday as BTC plunged below the key $80,000 mark, falling to a low of $75,644 before settling at $78,648. Price action remained bearish on Sunday as BTC fell 2.24% to $76,895. The current week started with BTC falling to $74,502, its lowest level since April 2025. The price recovered to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settle at $78,666. Selling pressure returned on Tuesday as BTC plunged to a low of $72,859 before settling at $75,661. Sellers retained control on Wednesday as the price fell 3.52% to $72,998. BTC plunged to a low of $70,000 during the ongoing session before moving to its current level of $71,065, down nearly 3%.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped back into bearish territory after a brief relief rally as risk-off sentiment returned. Investor sentiment soured after a tech sell-off hit US markets, forcing investors to cut exposure to tech assets. 

Cryptocurrency markets mirrored the downtrend as BTC slipped below $75,000 for the second time this week, dropping to a low of $72,859 on Coinbase before settling at $75,661. 

However, some market experts, including Joe Burnett, Vice President of Bitcoin Strategy at Strive, believe BTC’s recent decline and price action are nothing out of the ordinary. 

Michael Burry Warns Of “Catastrophe” If Bitcoin Continues Dropping 

Legendary investor Michael Burry has warned that if Bitcoin continues its decline, it could trigger a catastrophic $1 billion sell-off in gold and silver. Burry argued that Bitcoin has been projected as a “purely speculative asset,” and has failed as a safe haven asset along the lines of gold. He added that crypto’s correlation with precious metals has created “sickening scenarios” that are now within reach. 

Michael Burry warned that Bitcoin’s ongoing decline could destroy significant value, especially for companies holding large BTC reserves. He said Bitcoin has failed as a safe haven like gold and could push aggressive corporate holders into bankruptcy, triggering broader market fallout. He also highlighted Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P 500 and its impact on recent drops in gold and silver.

Burry’s prediction comes at a time when the flagship cryptocurrency plunged to a low of $72,859, as selling pressure returned after a brief recovery. Burry also warned that Bitcoin treasury companies could face millions in losses. The ace investor highlighted Michael Saylor’s Strategy, stating that it could lose millions if Bitcoin drops another 10%. 

Strategy sees an existential crisis if BTC were to fall to $60,000. This would “find capital markets essentially closed.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis 

Bitcoin (BTC) plunged under the $75,000 mark the second time this week as selling pressure returned after a brief relief rally that saw the flagship cryptocurrency briefly cross $79,000. Bulls failed to defend the $73,000 mark on Tuesday, extending a broader risk-off sentiment. The flagship cryptocurrency is trading at a 15% year-to-date loss, and is down over 45% from its all-time high of $126,267. BTC’s recent price action has reinforced investor concerns that its bull cycle may have ended. 

Analysts believe the uncertainty in the US stock market is the primary driver of the sell-off across crypto. Investors have long questioned whether the costs tied to AI infrastructure, along with lofty valuations, are sustainable. Investors believe that demand and revenue could fall short of industry projections. Waning investor sentiment is clearly visible across the stock prices of the “Magnificent Seven,” S&P 500, Dow Jones, and NASDAQ. NVIDIA fell 3.4% while Microsoft and Amazon dropped 2.7%. 

Meanwhile, liquidations are adding more pressure on Bitcoin, accelerating the pace of selling. According to the available data, around $127.25 million in Bitcoin long positions have been liquidated. Some analysts have suggested that the decline means Bitcoin is available at a deep discount. However, dip buying by the likes of Strategy has done little to stem the decline. However, Joe Burnett, Strive’s vice president of Bitcoin strategy, says Bitcoin’s price action is “nothing out of the ordinary.”

Bitcoin is down ~40% from its October high while U.S. equities remain near all-time highs, with the S&P 500 down less than 10%. Under those conditions, a possible ~45% bitcoin drawdown aligns closely with historical volatility. Volatility of this magnitude remains a symptom of a rapidly monetizing asset. If equities weaken further, additional downside is certainly possible. Nasdaq is down ~2% today, and the S&P 500 is down ~1.3%. My key takeaway is simple: Bitcoin’s recent volatility reflects normal market behavior within an unstable fiat credit system.

Bitcoin ended the previous weekend in the red, dropping nearly 3% on Sunday to $86,561. The price recovered on Monday, rising almost 2% to cross $88,000 and settle at $88,250. Buyers retained control on Tuesday as the flagship cryptocurrency rose 0.98% to $89,116. BTC briefly crossed the $90,000 mark on Wednesday and reached an intraday high of $90,476 before settling at $89,162.

Source: TradingView

Selling pressure returned on Thursday as BTC plunged over 5% to $84,513. Buyers retained control on Friday as the price fell to $81,000 before settling at $84,110. Selling pressure intensified on Saturday as BTC plunged below the key $80,000 mark, falling to a low of $75,644 before settling at $78,648. Price action remained bearish on Sunday as BTC fell 2.24% to $76,895. The current week started with BTC falling to $74,502, its lowest level since April 2025. The price recovered to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settle at $78,666. Selling pressure returned on Tuesday as BTC plunged to a low of $72,859 before settling at $75,661. The price is marginally up during the ongoing session, trading around $75,697.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Ebene, Mauritius, February 4th, 2026, FinanceWire

Skyriss Securities (Mauritius) Ltd, a regulated multi-asset online trading broker, today announced the continued expansion of its global platform and client services, reinforcing its long-term strategy of building trader-focused infrastructure grounded in real market experience, operational transparency, and regulatory compliance.

As part of this expansion, Skyriss has strengthened its trading infrastructure, enhanced liquidity partnerships, and scaled its client support operations across key international markets. The company has also invested in platform optimization initiatives aimed at improving execution speed, system resilience, and service availability during periods of elevated market activity. These developments form part of Skyriss’s broader strategy to support sustainable growth while maintaining regulatory alignment and operational integrity.

The company operates under an Investment Dealer License (No. GB25204272) issued by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius and maintains its registered office at Office 133, Ebene Junction, Rue De La Democratie, Ebene, Mauritius.

Founded by market professionals who began their careers on the trading side of the industry, Skyriss was built in response to common challenges faced by active traders, including delayed execution, unclear pricing, inconsistent platform performance, and limited client support. These early experiences formed the foundation of the company’s guiding philosophy: “Built for Traders, By Traders.”

Rather than designing systems solely around commercial objectives, Skyriss developed its platform based on real trading behavior, emphasizing execution stability during volatile market conditions, pricing transparency during high-impact economic events, and reliability during critical decision-making periods.

Founded by seasoned market professionals, Skyriss was built in direct response to the real-world limitations active traders continue to face — from execution delays and opaque pricing to unstable platform performance. These early experiences remain central to the company’s mission of delivering a trading environment defined by consistency, transparency, and long-term client trust.

Today, Skyriss provides clients with access to foreign exchange, commodities, indices, and equities through a robust trading infrastructure that combines institutional-grade liquidity, advanced order routing systems, and automated risk management frameworks designed to support consistent execution and capital protection.

In the United Arab Emirates, Skyriss Financial Consultancy L.L.C operates under regulation by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) under license number 20200000268 for Introduction and Promotion activities. The entity serves as an affiliate partner of Skyriss Financial Ltd (Mauritius) and Skyriss Securities Ltd (St. Lucia), supporting regional client engagement, regulatory alignment, and market development.

The Skyriss leadership team notes that brokerages founded by former traders tend to demonstrate stronger alignment between platform architecture and client requirements, particularly in fast-moving and highly competitive global markets.

Skyriss’s continued investment in technology, compliance, and service infrastructure reflects its commitment to sustainable growth and long-term client relationships.

For more information about Skyriss’s platform, regulatory framework, and service offerings, users can visit www.skyriss.com

Additional resources and educational materials are available to support both new and experienced traders.

About Skyriss

Skyriss Securities (Mauritius) Ltd is a regulated multi-asset brokerage firm offering access to global financial markets, including foreign exchange, commodities, indices, and equities. Operating under the supervision of the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, the company provides trading services supported by institutional liquidity, advanced technology infrastructure, and comprehensive risk management systems.

Founded by experienced market participants, Skyriss is guided by its philosophy, “Built for Traders, By Traders,” and is committed to delivering transparent, reliable, and client-centric trading solutions. Through its international regulatory framework and regional partnerships, the company continues to expand its presence across key global markets.

https://youtu.be/DDIHm_A6qnI?si=MVtjmzRBfWqu-h-E

Contact

Skyriss Securities (Mauritius) LTD
Info@skyriss.com
+971 52 150 0873

Ebene, Mauritius, February 4th, 2026, FinanceWire

PU Prime launched The Grind, the second phase of its three-part global brand campaign, “Champion in You”, shifting the focus from the decision to begin trading. The Grind turns attention to what happens after that initial spark: the routines, setbacks, and emotional resilience required to stay committed over time.

Developed in alignment with its regional sponsorship of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), PU Prime, dedicated to empowering traders worldwide, created “Champion in You” around the belief that success in trading, much like a champion, is shaped not by moments of inspiration alone, but by consistency, preparation, and the ability to manage emotions under pressure.

Phase 2: The Grind

The Grind highlights the often-unseen realities of trading progress: slow learning curves, repeated effort, loneliness, and periods where effort does not immediately translate into results. Through the video, traders take time to sit down and share experiences of self-doubt and frustration. Rather than focusing on outcomes, The Grind emphasises the process of building routines, learning from losses, and developing emotional control over time.

As one of the interviewed traders, April reflected,

I should treat this as a degree.

For many participants, this phase marked the moment trading became less about ambition and more about commitment.

Discipline Over Motivation

What we want to highlight in this phase is the reality of sustained progress,

said Mr. Daniel Bruce, Managing Director at PU Prime. Trading success is shaped by discipline, routine, and emotional control developed over time, rather than short-term motivation or quick results.

Markets heading into late January 2026 reflect a balance between cautious optimism and elevated risk. In the absence of a clear outlook, resilience becomes increasingly important. The launch of The Grind marks the second chapter of “Champion in You”, reinforcing PU Prime’s belief that long-term progress in trading is shaped by discipline, consistency, and the ability to stay committed through uncertainty.

About PU Prime

Founded in 2015, PU Prime is a leading global fintech company and trusted CFD broker. Today, it offers regulated financial products across forex, commodities, indices, shares, and bonds. Operating in over 190 countries with more than 40 million app downloads, PU Prime provides innovative trading platforms and an integrated copy trading feature, empowering traders worldwide to achieve financial success with confidence.

For media enquiries, users can contact: media@puprime.com 

Contact

Sim
PU Prime
kahlock.sim@puprime.com

New York, New York, United States, February 3rd, 2026, Chainwire

Superform brings a familiar mobile experience to onchain finance, helping users grow their money while keeping full control of their assets.

Today, Superform, the first user-owned neobank, announced its mobile app launch,marking a key milestone in its efforts to build a user-owned neobank. The app extends the reach of Superform’s SuperVaults: non-custodial onchain vaults that automatically deploy user capital across high-performing DeFi strategies such as stablecoin lending and liquidity provisioning. The launch makes DeFi more accessible by delivering a user experience that feels like seamless internet banking while providing access to powerful DeFi returns. The app allows users to earn more yield on their USD, BTC, and ETH, marking the company’s official expansion into the U.S. market.

The app is designed for users who want a simpler way to grow their money without the stress of managing wallets, understanding protocols or navigating multiple chains. Users can create an account, onramp with fiat, and start earning in minutes. Beyond earning, users can swap, send, and manage their money across chains, all while maintaining full custody and control of their assets. 

Deposits are routed through SuperVaults, Superform’s automated savings products that deploys capital across high-performing DeFi strategies such as stablecoin lending and liquidity provisioning. The experience is built to feel familiar to anyone who has used a fintech app while delivering yields that consistently outperform traditional benchmarks. SuperVaults have generated average returns of 8.4% APY, compared to just 4.3% for T-Bills.

You should not need to be technical to earn more onchain,

said Vikram Arun, Co-Founder and CEO of Superform. The mobile app is the next step in our mission to make crypto-native strategies feel like standard financial products. It offers a true set and forget experience where users can deposit once and earn automatically without needing to manage or monitor anything.

While DeFi has matured significantly, consumers still lack a complete financial alternative to traditional banks. Traditional savings options provide near-zero returns after inflation, while crypto-native yield remains fragmented across multiple tools and protocols. Users are forced to choose between the simplicity of custodial platforms that control their assets, or the complexity of self-custody solutions that require technical expertise.

Superform addresses this by building infrastructure that consolidates and simplifies. SuperVaults offer users exposure to curated opportunities through a single, scalable product, eliminating the need to stitch together tools or analyze protocols. With features like boosted APYs, Superform Points, and tiered rewards, the platform combines the performance of DeFi with the usability of traditional financial apps. The mobile app builds on traction from Superform’s desktop platform, which currently manages over $180 million in user deposits across 1000+ vaults, with strategies spanning more than 70 protocols. 

This launch marks the first in a series of major product rollouts and upgrades coming to the Superform ecosystem through the end of the year. For updates, users can visit superform.xyz or follow @superformxyz on X.

About Superform

Superform is the first user owned neo-bank to effortlessly grow your crypto portfolio. Superform helps users maximize returns on their crypto by providing access to over 800 earning opportunities with $10B in TVL across 50 protocols. Superform’s SuperVaults product offers single-transaction deposits into multi-protocol, yield bearing vaults. These “set and forget” opportunities are focused on earning users stablecoin yields. SuperVaults have been audited by yAudit and multiple independent security researchers from Spearbit.

Since launching in Q2 2024, Superform has delivered secure and optimized yield to over 180,000 depositors. Currently, users are earning an average APY of over 8.4%. Backed by $11M in funding from leading investors including VanEck Ventures, Polychain Capital, Circle Ventures, BlockTower Capital, Maven11 Capital, CMT Digital, and Arthur Hayes, Superform Labs is simplifying the path to onchain wealth.

Contact

PR Manager
Aarya Shah
aarya@serotonin.co

Vaduz, Liechtenstein, February 3rd, 2026, Chainwire

A globally respected investor and founder of Real Vision brings decades of financial market insight to xMoney’s leadership team

xMoney, a leading provider of compliant payment infrastructure bridging traditional finance and digital assets, today announced that Raoul Pal has joined the company as a Strategic Advisor.

Raoul Pal is one of the most widely respected macro thinkers of his generation. An investor, entrepreneur, and financial commentator, he has spent decades analyzing how money moves, how markets evolve, and how technological shifts reshape global financial systems. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment, as global payments transition toward regulated digital rails, stablecoins, and on-chain settlement.

With Raoul’s strategic guidance, xMoney aims to further strengthen its position at the intersection of payments, regulation, and digital assets – building infrastructure that enables seamless value transfer across traditional currencies, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins.

A Career Spanning Global Finance and Digital Assets

Raoul began his career in traditional finance, holding senior roles at Goldman Sachs, where he led hedge fund sales for equities and derivatives in Europe, and later at GLG Partners, where he co-managed a global macro fund alongside some of the world’s most respected hedge fund managers.

In 2005, he founded Global Macro Investor (GMI), which has since become a trusted research platform for hedge funds, family offices, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, registered investment advisors, and high-net-worth investors worldwide. GMI is widely recognized for its independent macro research and strong long-term performance track record.

Raoul co-founded Real Vision in 2014, transforming financial media by making institutional-grade market intelligence accessible to a global audience. What began as a video-first platform evolved into a global financial knowledge network with millions of users across nearly every country.

The new xMoney advisor is also the co-founder of Exponential Age Asset Management (EXPAAM), an investment firm built specifically for the digital asset economy. Its flagship fund, the Exponential Age Digital Asset Fund, provides curated exposure to top crypto hedge funds by combining macroeconomic frameworks with deep digital asset research.

Supporting the Future of Payments

Raoul’s long-standing belief is that the world is experiencing a structural shift in money, technology, and market infrastructure – not a temporary trend. Payments, in particular, are undergoing one of the most significant transformations in decades.

​​Unlike many payment platforms that expand globally first and retrofit compliance later, xMoney has taken a regional-first approach, building its infrastructure within Europe, one of the most highly regulated financial environments in the world. This strategy enables xMoney to meet stringent regulatory standards from day one, while creating a scalable foundation for global expansion aligned with frameworks such as MiCA.

Crypto only fulfills its promise when it disappears into the background,

said Raoul Pal. The real winners will be the platforms that make global payments simple, compliant, and invisible. That’s what excites me the most about xMoney.

As Strategic Advisor, Raoul will work closely with xMoney’s leadership team, focusing on long-term strategy, market structure, and anticipating how global money movement will evolve as regulated stablecoins, compliant on-chain settlement, and hybrid payment models become foundational financial infrastructure.

We’re building payment rails for the future, starting in the most regulated markets first,

said Gregorious Siourounis, Co-Founder & CEO of xMoney. That discipline gives us a structural advantage as digital assets move into mainstream finance. Raoul’s depth of experience, macro insight, and clarity of thought reinforce our belief that long-term winners in payments will be compliant, scalable, and globally interoperable.

The appointment underscores xMoney’s commitment to building a compliant, scalable payment infrastructure that bridges traditional finance and Web3, enabling businesses and consumers to transact seamlessly across borders, currencies, and technologies.

About xMoney

xMoney is a pioneering payments company with strategic European licenses, focused on building a seamless, secure, and future-ready payments ecosystem. By combining cutting-edge technology, strong regulatory compliance, and a broad product suite spanning traditional and digital assets, xMoney bridges traditional finance and next-generation payment rails.

Website: www.xmoney.com 

Contact

Marketing Lead
Rus Alex
xMoney
alex.rus@xmoney.com

Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market staged a strong relief rally after the weekend bloodbath, which saw prices across the board drop to multi-month lows, triggering billions in liquidations. BTC plunged to a low of $74,502 on Monday before rebounding to reclaim the $78,000 mark and move to its $78,666. 

The latest downtrend has been attributed to regulatory uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic headwinds, and a hawkish outlook for Federal Reserve policy. 

Binance Restores Withdrawals After Disruption 

Binance has restored withdrawals after a brief outage due to technical difficulties. The exchange alerted users about the issue in a post on X, stating, 

We are aware of some technical difficulties affecting withdrawals on the platform. Our team is already working on a fix, and services will resume as soon as possible.

According to reports, the disruption lasted around 20 minutes, with Binance fixing the issue and bringing withdrawals back online. The disruption occurred at a challenging time for the crypto industry, as Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens plummeted to multi-month lows. According to CoinGlass, around 2.56 billion were liquidated, as digital assets, equities, and metals plunged as part of a broader market pullback.

Strategy Announces Bitcoin Buy Despite BTC Falling Below Average Cost 

Latest SEC filings have revealed that Strategy has bought 855 BTC at around $88,000 per coin. The purchase comes despite the asset falling below its average cost for the first time since 2023. The flagship cryptocurrency started the week above $87,000 before briefly tapping $90,000. However, it lost momentum over the weekend and plunged to a low of $75,000 on Sunday, before dropping even further on Monday. Strategy currently holds 713,502 BTC, purchased for around $54.2 billion. 

Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor hinted at the buy in a cryptic post on X, stating, 

“More orange.”

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis 

Bitcoin (BTC) made a recovery of sorts after the weekend’s dramatic selloff, which saw billions liquidated as prices fell to multi-month lows. The flagship cryptocurrency slipped below $75,000 on Monday, dropping to a low of $74,502 before recovering to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settling at $78,666. The price is marginally down during the ongoing session, trading around $78,318. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs also rebounded after a week of heavy outflows, pulling in around $562 million in inflows and breaking a four-day outflow streak that saw around $1.5 billion in outflows. However, analysts have cautioned that ETFs and the broader cryptocurrency market will continue to face pressure due to institutional selling and macro uncertainty. ETFs rebounded late on Monday as Bitcoin recovered from a low of $75,000 to briefly reclaim the $79,000 mark before moving to its current level of $78,316. 

Markets plunged over the weekend, with selling pressure intensified by prolonged liquidations and thin liquidity. Gabe Selby, Head of Research at CF Benchmarks, stated, 

Bitcoin has completed the bearish sequence that began with the October 10 deleveraging event, with the recent washout retesting—and briefly undercutting—the April 2025 ‘Liberation Day’ lows around $74,000.

Bitcoin ended the previous weekend in the red, dropping nearly 3% on Sunday to $86,561. The price recovered on Monday, rising almost 2% to cross $88,000 and settle at $88,250. Buyers retained control on Tuesday as the flagship cryptocurrency rose 0.98% to $89,116. BTC briefly crossed the $90,000 mark on Wednesday and reached an intraday high of $90,476 before settling at 89,162.

Source: TradingView

Selling pressure returned on Thursday as BTC plunged over 5% to $84,513. Buyers retained control on Friday as the price fell to $81,000 before settling at $84,110. Selling pressure intensified on Saturday as BTC plunged below the key $80,000 mark, falling to a low of $75,644 before settling at $78,648. Price action remained bearish on Sunday as BTC fell 2.24% to $76,895. The current week started with BTC falling to $74,502, its lowest level since April 2025. The price recovered to reclaim the $78,000 mark and settle at $78,666. BTC is marginally down during the ongoing session, trading around $78,324.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Road Town, British Virgin Islands, February 3rd, 2026, FinanceWire

1inch today released the results of a global survey examining DeFi user sentiment heading into 2026, revealing that 72% of respondents worldwide express optimism about the sector’s future. U.S.-based users reported one of the highest confidence levels at 83%, while sentiment across Asian markets was comparatively lower, with respondents in Singapore (64%), Taiwan (63%), and Hong Kong (56%). The survey gathered responses from 8,199 individuals and was conducted by 1inch in collaboration with Bitget Wallet, Ondo, BOB, DaGama, and SafePal.

According to 1inch, growing regulatory clarity and increased institutional participation appear to be contributing to improved user sentiment. While respondents continue to identify structural and operational challenges within DeFi, the survey data indicates that concerns about external factors that could significantly disrupt the sector have moderated.

Analysis by user experience level shows that optimism increases after the first year of participation in crypto. Respondents with more than one year of DeFi experience reported consistently higher positive sentiment of approximately 73%, compared to just over 60% among newer users. Overall, the findings suggest that users with prior exposure to crypto market cycles tend to express greater confidence in DeFi’s longer-term outlook.

Key user priorities and barriers to adoption

The survey also looked into the biggest frustrations of DeFi users, finding that paying gas is the number one annoyance, mentioned by 27% of respondents. Second is security risks with 22%, followed by Failed or slow transactions at 18%, and bridges at 14%. 

When analyzing regulatory concern on its own, U.S. users were found to be more at ease, instead focusing more on practical issues such as security, fees, and gas costs. In contrast, non-U.S. respondents placed a greater emphasis on regulation and market structure, often identifying uncertainty around these factors as a key constraint identified by the respondents. However, it is important to note that perceptions of regulation are subjective and sentiment-driven, rather than an assessment of actual regulatory risk.

Finally, when looking at the factors that influence users to try new projects or assets, liquidity was found to be the dominant factor, cited by 56% of respondents. Trust-related fundamentals then followed, with clear backing and custody (39%), legal and regulatory clarity (37%), and transparency and attestations (35%) all playing a major role in user analysis of projects, according to respondents. This was then followed by on-chain functionality, with 31% valuing the ability to trade on-chain. Unsurprisingly, factors such as brand recognition (10%) and “vibes” (4%) had minimal influence over users actual decision, underscoring that while hype plays a part in attracting attention, its impact on conversion is limited. Thus substance over style remains true in DeFi. 

Confidence in DeFi comes with experience, and experience takes time,

said Sergej Kunz, Co-founder of 1inch. As the industry looks to grow and onboard new users, we must make the process as seamless as possible—reducing friction around gas fees and bridges, while meeting users’ priorities around liquidity, security and trust.

Methodology

The data referenced in this report is drawn from a global user survey conducted by 1inch in collaboration with select DeFi ecosystem projects, including Bitget Wallet, Ondo, BOB, DaGama and SafePal. The survey was distributed across partner social channels, collecting a total of 8,199 responses from DeFi users worldwide. Responses were aggregated and analyzed to assess user sentiment, experience levels, and outlook on the future of decentralized finance.

About 1inch

1inch accelerates decentralized finance with a seamless crypto trading experience for 26M users. Beyond being the top platform for low-cost, efficient token swaps with $600M+ in daily trades, 1inch offers a range of innovative tools, including a secure self-custodial wallet, a portfolio tracker for managing digital assets, a dedicated business portal giving access to its cutting-edge technology, and even a debit card for easy crypto spending. By continuously innovating, 1inch is simplifying DeFi for everyone. 

Website | 1inch Business | 1inch Network | Follow on X | Explore Blog

Contact

PR lead
Pavel Kruglov
1inch
p.kruglov@1inch.io

In the rapidly evolving Canadian fintech landscape, AI continues to drive advancements in cryptocurrency analysis, financial advisory services, and insurance operations. Recent developments highlight how local and global technologies are converging to deliver more accurate, efficient, and accessible financial tools.

Guavy Unveils iOS App for AI-Driven Crypto Market Sentiment Tracking

Calgary-headquartered Guavy, a cryptocurrency intelligence platform established in 2016, has rolled out its dedicated iOS mobile application, making sophisticated AI-based market insights accessible to everyday investors. An Android edition is slated for release in early 2026.

The app leverages a powerful large language model to process and evaluate vast datasets—hundreds of millions of points drawn from roughly 350 diverse channels, including news outlets, blogs, social media, and professional feeds. This multi-source approach assigns weighted importance to inputs, generating clear bullish, bearish, or neutral signals while mitigating individual source biases, as emphasized by founder and CEO Donna Tilden.

Guavy’s institutional API has already attracted UK-based hedge funds and growing interest from family offices, serving as a supplementary data layer rather than a standalone trading trigger. The new consumer-facing app targets retail participants, offering features like risk-profile matching, entry/exit timing guidance, a real-time fear and greed index, customizable watchlists, alerts, and tiered subscriptions (free basic access alongside a premium Plus plan at $59.99 annually for enhanced capabilities).

Looking ahead, Tilden aims to secure additional funding to broaden coverage to tokenized real-world assets and securities. This aligns with industry momentum, such as the New York Stock Exchange’s initiatives for 24/7 tokenized trading of equities and ETFs. Guavy prioritizes seamless integration, positioning it as an attractive option for wealth managers seeking to incorporate advanced sentiment data into client portfolios with minimal implementation hurdles.

VibePlan Secures Key Enterprise Adoption in Financial Planning Sector

Vancouver’s Customplan Financial Advisors Inc. has become the inaugural major client for VibePlan, adopting its specialized Canadian-focused financial planning and analytics solution.

Originally introduced as Evad AI in 2024, VibePlan delivers an intelligent system equipped with behavioral analytics, structured advisory pathways, and client engagement features to strengthen advisor-client connections. Led by president and CEO Dave Faulkner—a veteran entrepreneur behind earlier ventures like FP Solutions and RazorPlan—the platform emphasizes practical, relationship-oriented planning tools tailored to the Canadian market.

This partnership marks a significant milestone, validating VibePlan’s value proposition for scaling advisory practices through AI-enhanced workflows and insights.

Manulife Integrates Adaptive ML for Optimized Small Language Models

Leading Canadian insurer Manulife has partnered with New York-based Adaptive ML to incorporate reinforcement learning-based fine-tuning capabilities into its company-wide AI infrastructure.

Adaptive ML’s platform specializes in refining compact, specialized language models (SLMs) via reinforcement learning techniques. This method enables models to iteratively improve through simulated decision-making, balancing rewards and penalties to achieve superior performance in targeted domains.

Manulife plans to apply these tuned models to streamline operations, including automated underwriting assessments and sales support guidance. According to Global Chief AI Officer Jodie Wallis, combining broad large language models with precisely calibrated specialist models promises enhanced precision alongside substantial cost savings.

These updates underscore Canada’s growing role in AI-infused fintech, from democratizing crypto intelligence to empowering advisors and optimizing enterprise processes.