📊 Crypto trading volumes are drying up

Trading activity across centralized exchanges has dropped sharply. In January, total CEX volume reached just $1.1T, putting the market on track for its lowest monthly turnover since July 2025. 📉

🔎 CryptoQuant data also confirms a clear decline in retail participation: small on-chain transactions have fallen significantly, signaling that retail investors are stepping back.

Despite deep pullbacks across many altcoins, buyers remain cautious and are not rushing to buy the dip. For now, the market looks stuck in wait-and-see mode, with liquidity and retail demand both fading. 👀

📉 Markets in Freefall

Global markets fell after a weak Microsoft earnings report shook investor confidence. MSFT shares dropped nearly 12%, the worst decline since March 2020, as heavy AI spending and slowing cloud growth raised concerns about returns on AI investments, dragging the entire tech sector lower. 🤷

And that wasn’t the end:

🇨🇦 Overnight, Donald Trump said the US is revoking certification for Bombardier Global Express jets and threatened 50% tariffs on aircraft made in Canada.
🇨🇺 Trump also declared a state of emergency and launched tariff procedures against countries supplying oil to Cuba.
🇮🇷 At the same time, he pinned a post on Truth Social threatening Iran, stating that “very powerful US ships are heading toward Iran.”

Against this backdrop, Bitcoin dropped to $81,000, triggering massive volatility. In just 24 hours, $1.7B in positions were liquidated, with nearly $1.6B coming from longs. 🔪

🤷 Bitcoin Underperformed Traditional Markets

Since July 2025, Bitcoin has lagged behind even major stock indices in percentage returns. While global equities continued to grind higher, BTC moved in the opposite direction. 📉

📊 Performance since July 2025:

▪️ EWC (Canada equity index): +35.8%
▪️EFA (Developed markets ex-US/Canada): +27.7%
▪️ NASDAQ-100: +21.6%
▪️S&P 500: +15.7%
❗️BTCUSD: -15.3%

The data highlights a rare period where Bitcoin significantly underperformed traditional financial markets, reinforcing the current risk-off mood and investors’ preference for equities over crypto.

📌 Chart by Head of Research at Delphi

🚀 Binance Steps In to Support the Crypto Market

Binance announced plans to convert $1 billion worth of stablecoin reserves from its SAFU fund into Bitcoin over the next 30 days to support the crypto industry amid market uncertainty.

To maintain stability, Binance said it will rebalance the fund if its value drops below $800 million due to BTC price fluctuations, restoring SAFU back to $1 billion. 💰

🤖 AI “Revives” Satoshi: What Would Bitcoin’s Creator Say in 2026?

The head of CryptoQuant fed an AI model all of Satoshi Nakamoto’s writings 📝— forum posts, emails, and the whitepaper — then updated it on today’s Bitcoin reality:

• ~1.3M BTC held by ETFs
• ~700k BTC controlled by Strategy
• ~2.7M BTC sitting on exchanges
👉 Over half of the supply is now in the hands of intermediaries.

The AI-generated “Satoshi” reaction was blunt: instead of disintermediation, Bitcoin has drifted into re-intermediation. Ownership has shifted from self-custody to institutional claims, with investors holding paper exposure rather than private keys.

The verdict: the network is alive, adoption has arrived — but the focus moved from sovereignty and technology to price and speculation. 🤷

Bitcoin survived… but part of its original soul may have been lost. 😔

⚠️ Bearish Signal for BTC: Below the 100 WMA 🧸

📉Bitcoin has dropped below the 100-week moving average — a level that historically signals serious trouble. Back in 2022, this breakdown marked the final confirmation of a full-blown bear market.

Bulls still have a chance to invalidate the scenario, but the task is tough: BTC needs a weekly close above $88,000. Until that happens, downside risks remain elevated and sentiment stays fragile.

Can buyers step in fast enough… or is this déjà vu? 👀

🇺🇸 Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair

Donald Trump has officially nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Warsh is known as a crypto-skeptic: he has repeatedly criticized Bitcoin and digital assets, warning about financial stability risks and the lack of clear regulation. He supports tighter monetary discipline and is not considered friendly to the crypto industry. 🤔

If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh is expected to officially take over as Fed Chair in 2026, marking a potentially tougher stance on both monetary policy and crypto markets.

💥 Historic Crash in Precious Metals

📉 Gold and silver saw a brutal sell-off after a sharp surge in the US dollar.

• Silver plunged ~30% intraday — the largest drop ever. 🙀
• Gold fell ~10% — the worst move since 1983.

Other metals (copper, platinum, palladium) followed. 🤷

Trigger: markets reacted to confirmation that Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair.

👤 Who is Kevin Warsh?

Warsh is a former Fed governor, known for a hawkish stance, strong-dollar policy views, and a skeptical attitude toward crypto. He has repeatedly criticized Bitcoin and digital assets, warning about speculation and financial risks.

📅 When does he take office?

If approved by the Senate, Warsh is expected to officially become Fed Chair in 2026.

📉 Markets read the nomination as:

• Lower odds of intentional dollar devaluation
• A signal to lock in profits after overheated rallies
• A reason to exit “safe-haven” assets

Despite the crash, gold is still up ~10% YTD, silver ~14%. 🧐

🌪 Crypto Market Turbulence

Another wave of volatility hit the crypto market.

📉BTC dropped below $77,000, marking its sharpest downside move since spring 2025.

In the past 24 hours, 411,000 traders were liquidated for $2.53B — a staggering $2.4B in longs (no surprise), while shorts somehow still managed to lose $112M.

ETH also took a hit, falling to $2,300, its lowest level since summer 2025. 🙀

High leverage, crowded long positions, and panic selling once again amplified the move.

Is anyone checking on Tom Lee? 😳

📊 Bitcoin Closes January in the Red

Bitcoin finished January negative, marking four consecutive red months — a pattern seen only twice in BTC history (2014 and 2018). 👀

Historically, a red January was always followed by a green February. However, hopes are fading this time: BTC is already down over 4% in February, briefly dropping below $75,000 overnight before rebounding to around $76.5K. 📉

Despite the bounce, the bearish trend remains clear, and market sentiment stays fragile. 😟

Strategy Adds Another $75M in Bitcoin

💵 Strategy has purchased 855 BTC for $75.3M between Jan 26 and Feb 1, at an average price of $87,974 per coin.

As of Feb 1, the company holds 713,502 BTC — over 3% of Bitcoin’s total supply. Since 2020, Strategy has spent roughly $54.26B accumulating its position. 🙀

The firm’s average purchase price is ~$76,052 per BTC. Notably, since the evening of Jan 31, Bitcoin has briefly dipped below this level several times, putting Strategy’s conviction to the test — once again. 🤔

🔍 Did Epstein Have a Hand in Bitcoin’s Early Days?

Newly declassified documents have reignited speculation around Jeffrey Epstein’s possible links to Bitcoin’s early development.

Key revelations:

▪️ In 2011, Epstein sought contact with Gavin Andresen (lead BTC developer) and Amir Taaki (early Bitcoin contributor).
▪️ He invested in Bitcoin and crypto startups.
▪️ In 2016, Epstein confirmed meetings with some Bitcoin founders.
▪️ Previously released documents show Epstein funded MIT, and part of that money was used to pay core Bitcoin developers’ salaries.

There’s no proof he influenced Bitcoin’s design — but the connections suggest Epstein may have known far more about BTC’s early ecosystem than previously assumed 👀

👌 Barry Silbert: This Correction Is a Gift

Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group and Grayscale, says the current market correction is a “gift from the crypto gods.” 🎁

According to him, the sell-off is doing what every healthy cycle needs — flushing out excessive leverage and low-quality tokens, leaving the market stronger and cleaner.

Silbert believes a major capital rotation into crypto is approaching and that now is the time to choose high-conviction assets rather than chase noise.

🎯 His picks:

• BTC
• ETH
• SOL
• ZEC
• TAO
• Bittensor subnet tokens

Message is clear: volatility hurts, but opportunities are born during cleanups, not at euphoric highs. 🚀

😳 Bloomberg: Bitcoin Is Now Less Volatile Than Gold

According to Bloomberg, Bitcoin has officially become less volatile than gold.
Over the past 30 days, gold’s volatility surged above 44%, the highest level since the 2008 crisis, while BTC sits at ~39%. 📉

So much for the “safe haven.”
Gold plunged 10% in a single day (from ~$5,600 to ~$4,400), marking its sharpest drop in more than a decade. 🙀

Yes, Bitcoin is still down about 40% from its peak, but right now gold looks even more unpredictable than crypto.

Funny times: the traditional defensive asset is swinging harder than Bitcoin. 🥴

😬 Bitcoin Drops Out of the Global Top-10 Assets

Bitcoin has slipped out of the top-10 world assets by market capitalization, losing ground to traditional giants amid the recent market downturn. 📉

Price weakness and falling risk appetite pushed BTC below several legacy assets, reminding the market that crypto still competes head-to-head with stocks, metals, and commodities for capital. 🤷

Bernstein: “BTC is likely to find a bottom around $60,000” 🤔

Bernstein believes the crypto market is still in a short-term bear phase, but expects a turnaround in 2026, likely in H1. 📈

🔎 Analysts see Bitcoin bottoming around the $60K area — near previous cycle highs — before building a higher base. The pullback is framed as a late-stage correction, not a new crypto winter.

Despite BTC underperforming gold and trading ~40% below ATH, institutional support remains strong: spot BTC ETFs hold ~$165B AUM, corporate treasuries keep buying, and there’s no miner capitulation like in past cycles. 💪

U.S. policy alignment, potential Fed leadership changes, and sovereign-level interest could fuel what Bernstein calls the “most consequential” next Bitcoin cycle. 🚀

🗽 Coinbase CEO labeled “Enemy No.1 on Wall Street”

According to the WSJ, Coinbase’s push to let exchanges offer 3.5%+ yield on stablecoins has triggered serious concerns across Wall Street. 🏦

Traditional banks still offer below 0.1% on deposits, and higher-yielding crypto alternatives could drive a massive outflow of capital from the banking system. 💰➡️

For banks, this isn’t just competition — it’s an existential threat. Stablecoins with yield blur the line between crypto platforms and savings accounts, challenging the core business model of traditional finance.

Crypto vs banks is no longer theoretical — it’s happening in real time. 👊

⛏️ Tether enters mining infrastructure

Tether has unveiled its own open-source Mining OS, designed for real-world Bitcoin mining operations.

The system aims to help miners manage hardware, optimize performance, and scale infrastructure more efficiently — without relying on proprietary software.💻

By open-sourcing Mining OS, Tether positions itself not just as a stablecoin issuer, but as a deeper player in Bitcoin’s physical layer, supporting decentralization and transparency in mining. 🛠

🐻 Twitter bears predict $25K BTC in 2026… but the thesis is weak

Some crypto Twitter bears are pushing a scenario where Bitcoin dumps to $25,000 in 2026, arguing that BTC has “matured” and will no longer trend up — only range between $20K and $120K indefinitely. 🥴

The problem? This narrative ignores Bitcoin’s core dynamics: fixed supply, expanding institutional adoption, sovereign-level interest, and long-term liquidity cycles. A market that never trends but only oscillates at massive ranges sounds more like theory than reality. 🤔

We’re not buying it. Are you?