Market Signal Briefing

People use DBS automated teller machines (ATMs) in Singapore March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Caroline Chia Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SummaryCompaniesQ4 net profit at S$2.26 bln vs S$2.55 bln estimateNet interest margin declined to 1.93% in Q4Wealth AUM hits new high of S$488 billion in Q4Announces higher 66 cent final ordinary dividendROE at 13.5% in Q4 vs 15.8% a year agoSINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's biggest bank DBS Group (DBSM.SI), opens new tab on Monday maintained expectation that net profit this year will dip slightly from 2025's, after posting a 10% drop in fourth-quarter earnings that was weighed down by a lower net interest margin.

DBS, which is also Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets, said October-December net profit dropped to S$2.26 billion ($1.78 billion) from S$2.52 billion a year earlier.

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That missed the mean estimate of nearly S$2.55 billion from two analysts, according to LSEG data.

For the period, overall group net interest margin, a key profitability gauge, stood at 1.93% as compared to 2.15% the previous year, with net interest income impacted by lower domestic rates. Return on equity declined to 13.5% from 15.8% a year ago.

The lender's wealth segment's assets under management meanwhile grew 19% in constant-currency terms to a new high of S$488 billion in the fourth quarter.

In slides accompanying the results, CEO Tan Su Shan said group net interest income in 2026 is expected to be "slightly below 2025 levels", assuming a Singapore overnight rate average (SORA) of around 1.25%, two Federal Reserve rate cuts and a stronger Singapore dollar.

Net profit for the year is similarly expected to come in lower than in 2025, Tan added.

According to the bank's financial statement, provisions for bad loans jumped 81% to S$415 million in the fourth quarter, mainly due to real-estate exposure, while DBS wrote back S$206 million in general allowances, including amounts previously set aside for that exposure.

The bank declared an ordinary dividend of S$0.66 per share and a capital return dividend of S$0.15 per share for the fourth quarter.

DBS is the first Singapore lender to start this earnings season. Smaller peers United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI), opens new tab and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC.SI), opens new tab are due to announce their results on February 24 and 25, respectively.

($1 = 1.2707 Singapore dollars)

Reporting by Rae Wee and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Mark Porter and Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Yantoultra Ngui is the Southeast Asia Deals Correspondent of Reuters in Singapore, covering M&A and capital market activities in a region that is fast emerging as one of the world’s biggest economies. He previously was a reporter at Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Notably, he was part of WSJ's team that covered the financial scandal at Malaysian state fund 1MDB, and that won SOPA Excellence in Breaking News award for the coverage of the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in Malaysia in 2018. Yantoultra graduated with an MBA in Finance from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in 2010.

The cloud computing colossus is spending like mad to win the artificial intelligence (AI) race.

Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN 5.49%) tumbled 12% this past week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the e-commerce titan forecast a staggering $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026.

Image source: Amazon.

Sales and profits are growing nicely Amazon's fourth-quarter results weren't the problem.

Revenue jumped 14% to $213 billion, while operating income leaped 18% to $25 billion. The gains were driven by broad-based growth across Amazon's retail, advertising, and cloud businesses.

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Yet capex is set to grow even faster Here's the statement from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy that spooked investors (emphasis added):

With such strong demand for our existing offerings and seminal opportunities like AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites, we expect to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures across Amazon in 2026.

The first part of what Jassy said is just fine. Amazon is enjoying booming demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) services, custom-designed semiconductor chips used by its cloud computing customers, warehouse automation tools, and its forthcoming space-based internet offerings.

However, Wall Street had expected Amazon to spend about $150 billion on its promising expansion initiatives. The extra $50 billion or so was a wee bit more than many investors were comfortable with, so they decided to sell their shares.

Joe Tenebruso has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

A drone view of a pump jack and drilling rig south of Midland, Texas, U.S. June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Eli Hartman Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped more than 1% at Monday's open as concerns about a possible conflict in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran eased after both countries finished a round of talks on Friday.

Brent crude futures fell 89 cents, or 1.31%, to $67.16 a barrel by 2309 GMT.

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U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.76 a barrel, down 79 cents, or 1.24%.

Iran's top diplomat said on Friday that nuclear talks with the U.S. mediated by Oman were off to a “good start” and set to continue, in remarks that could help allay concern that failure to reach a deal might nudge the Middle East closer to war.

Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Jamie Freed

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

IWO charges a higher expense ratio but offers a slightly greater dividend yield than MGK. MGK has delivered stronger five-year growth and shallower drawdowns, while IWO brings broader diversification across small-cap growth stocks.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 8, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) between July 25, 2024 and October 22, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important February 9, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Integer common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Integer class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=49170 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 9, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Integer materially overstated its competitive position within the growing electrophysiology ("EP") manufacturing market; (2) despite Integer's claims of strong visibility into customer demand, Integer was experiencing a sustained deterioration in sales relating to two of its EP devices; (3) in turn, Integer mischaracterized its EP devices as a long-term growth driver for its cardio and vascular ("C&V") segment; (4) as a result of the above, defendants' positive statements about Integer's business, and operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Integer class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=49170 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/283007

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

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SHANGHAI, Feb. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fangzhou Inc. (“Fangzhou” or the “Company”) (HKEX: 06086), a leader in AI-driven Internet healthcare solutions, has won the “AI-Powered Future Award” at a high-level industry forum hosted by Tencent Health, underscoring its pioneering efforts in the field of “AI + Chronic Disease Services” and its strong leadership in the digital transformation of the healthcare sector.

The award was presented at the “T-Inspire CIO Private Forum,” organized by Tencent Health to convene senior executives and technology leaders from across the life sciences, pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare technology sectors.

Fangzhou Wins Tencent Health “AI-Powered Future Award”

As one of China’s leading “AI-enabled chronic care” platforms, Fangzhou has positioned technology as a core growth driver. In 2025, the Company completed a strategic upgrade of its H2H (Hospital-to-Home) model into an “AI + H2H” smart healthcare ecosystem. The model is built on long-term, trust-based doctor–patient relationships, which the company views as a key differentiator in chronic disease management.

Alongside this upgrade, Fangzhou has expanded its MaaS (Medicine as a Service) framework, integrating its solid foundation of patient trust with robust service delivery capabilities, translating “patient-centric care” into actionable, closed-loop, and scalable chronic disease management solutions. By doing so, Fangzhou is spearheading the industry’s transition from traditional pharmaceutical distribution to an intelligent healthcare service system. This shift marks a qualitative leap for chronic disease care — evolving from a reactive, one-way response model into a proactive, interactive, and collaborative partnership between patients and healthcare providers.

The Company’s collaboration with Tencent Health has played a central role in this process. Fangzhou contributes deep domain knowledge and real-world insights from chronic care scenarios, while Tencent provides cloud computing, data and AI infrastructure. Together, the partners have established a closed loop from technology validation to large-scale deployment, offering a replicable blueprint for intelligent chronic care service.

Fangzhou said its AI-driven model has helped overcome traditional constraints of time and geography in healthcare delivery, expanding post-hospital care coverage while improving service efficiency through algorithm-driven workflows. These capabilities have supported sustained growth in user engagement and platform activity, reflecting strong user retention and long-term service value.

The award comes against the backdrop of the Company’s improved financial performance. The company recently issued a positive profit alert with forecasted 2025 revenue of RMB 3.5 billion to RMB 3.55 billion, representing ~30% year-on-year growth, highlighting the strong performance of its chronic care model.

Looking ahead, Fangzhou will continue to strengthen its MaaS system, deepen AI integration across chronic disease services, and broaden access to professional, technology-enabled care while reinforcing its position as a key player in the country’s healthcare digitization drive.

About Fangzhou Inc.
Fangzhou Inc. (HKEX: 06086) is China’s leading online chronic disease management platform, serving 52.8 million registered users and 229,000 physicians (as of June 30, 2025). The Company specializes in delivering tailored medical care and AI-enabled precision medicine solutions. For more information, visit https://investors.jianke.com.

Media Contact
For further inquiries or interviews, please reach out to:
Xingwei Zhao Associate Director of Public Relations Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated due to various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/87935ce9-eea5-456f-bb01-a06951749c93

Address poisoning attacks have become a persistent issue on Ethereum, and ironically, they have contributed to the recent record-breaking daily transaction counts. 

According to ScamSniffer, there has already been a victim of address poisoning this year, and that loss cost $12.25 million. It happened in January when the victim copied the wrong address from their transaction history, not noticing until it was too late. 

A similar story emerged in December when one user lost a whopping $50 million in the same way. That makes it two victims across two months with a total loss of $62 million. 

According to a ScamSniffer’s January report, signature phishing also went up, with a total of $6.27M stolen across 4,741 victims in January. The two cases involved a user losing $3.02M and another losing $1.08M and accounted for 65% of all phishing losses.

Why address poisoning attacks have become rampant in recent months Address poisoning is a kind of scam that depends heavily on social engineering, where attackers monitor the target’s transaction histories, create lookalike addresses, and then send tiny amounts of ETH, called dust transactions, effectively poisoning the target’s history. 

What follows is a waiting game until the victim makes a mistake. The most important part of the whole operation, the dust transactions, were too expensive on Ethereum, so those address poisoning attacks were never as common before now.

However, in late 2025, Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade came through, and it improved scalability while reducing the transaction fees, causing gas costs to drop sharply. The upgrade has done many great things for the ecosystem, but it also made these low-value dust transactions economically viable for bad actors at scale for the first time. 

Address poisoning contributes to daily transaction record on Ethereum  As earlier stated, address poisoning attacks depend heavily on dust transactions that the attackers send to poison the target’s history. 

These dust transactions are a prerequisite to the attack itself and are often numerous, and they are set like traps. But not all of them catch prey. Nevertheless, these dust transfers count as real transactions on-chain, and they have been inflating Ethereum’s metrics. 

Ethereum daily transaction chart. Source: Etherscan After the Fusaka upgrade, the network saw massive surges in activity that lasted into 2026. Daily transactions hit all-time highs, and active/new addresses spiked dramatically. 

However, analysts and researchers have pointed out that a substantial portion of the surge is linked to mass address poisoning campaigns rather than organic adoption or usage.

The fact that the ETH price barely had a bullish reaction to all these new records further justifies talk of artificial inflation. However, the Ethereum maxis are not nitpicking over where the traffic is coming from. 

They have celebrated the new records, and the Fusaka upgrade has been widely hailed as a great implementation. Never mind that low-value spam transactions dominated the records or that many of the new active addresses received such qualification because they received tiny stablecoin transfers as their first activity.

contributor

Posted: February 9, 2026

Bitcoin’s price has been holding steady around $68k-$70k since dipping to $60k, following which it surged by 13%.

What’s even more bullish, however, according to liquidations heatmap data, is that a breakout above $80,500 could trigger $5.7 billion in short liquidations – Marking an important milestone in its price action.

Source: CoinGlass

While the cryptocurrency is still well away from its ATHs from 2025, this 13% bounceback can be seen as evidence of resilience. However, the market’s fragility does raise some questions too. 

Is something big building for Bitcoin?

Will Bitcoin miners re-enter the market if prices stabilize? Bitcoin’s mining difficulty adjustment on 08 February 2026, was the largest negative change since China’s 2021 mining ban. Historically, negative adjustments signal a retreat of miners, driven by plummeting profitability.

Source: X

And yet, a drop in difficulty also means that mining becomes easier and cheaper, inviting the possibility of miners returning if Bitcoin’s price stabilizes. Hence, the real question is – Can the price hold steady above the $60k-range, and what could support Bitcoin in maintaining this level?

Whale’s $106.7M BTC withdrawal signals bullish market sentiment A move tracked by on-chain analysts at Lookonchain caught attention on 08 February. A whale withdrew 1,546 BTC, valued at $106.7M, from Binance. This massive transaction wasn’t a quick sell-off either. Instead, it indicated long-term confidence.

Source: Lookonchain

Whales typically don’t move such huge sums to cold storage if they anticipate further declines. Instead, it pointed to the belief that Bitcoin’s bottom had been tested and that a bullish shift could be on the horizon. Was this the moment the market had been waiting for though?

Search interest hits 12-month high!

Source: Google Trends

After Bitcoin’s drop from $81,500 to $60,000, Google Trends saw a spike in searches, with the same hitting a 12-month high. This surge in interest raised questions about whether it marked a turning point or if it was an overreaction. It also implied that many traders are still on the fence about what to expect from the world’s largest cryptocurrency. 

Break $83k or drop to $49k? Bitcoin’s rally has recovered by over $10,000 since its low and now, it is at a critical crossroads. The $83k-level looms as the next major resistance level that Bitcoin must break.

Source: TradingView

A break above these $80k levels could trigger massive short liquidations, sparking a potential rally.

On the other hand, failure to break this level could push Bitcoin back to the $49k-$53k range. This range is where it found support in 2024. Whales may be betting on a breakout, but whether the market follows this momentum remains uncertain right now. 

Final Thoughts Bitcoin’s recovery above $60k demonstrates resilience, but its path forward hinges on breaking the critical resistance at $83k.
Both whale activity and market sentiment hinted at a potential bullish reversal.

22h05 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Luc Jose A.

Summarize this article with:

XRP surprised this weekend with a sudden surge of +2,860 % on its spot flows in barely eight hours. This historic peak, occurring in a quiet market, reignites speculation about a possible cycle change. While some see it as a simple technical rebound, others detect a precursor signal. In any case, this volatility spike breaks the stupor that had surrounded crypto for several weeks.

In brief XRP recorded a record increase of +2,860 % on its spot flows in only eight hours. This peak occurred in an overall subdued market, rekindling speculation about a possible cycle change. The volume explosion is linked to a technical rebound, with XRP exiting an extreme oversold zone. Despite this spectacular surge, fundamentals remain fragile with a continued volume decline on the XRP Ledger. A record inflow on XRP spot flows In the past hours, XRP recorded a spectacular surge in its spot flows, with a +2,860 % increase in just eight hours, an absolute record for this asset, while the crypto is still below $2.

This statistic is interpreted as a sign of a marked return of risk appetite in an still quiet market. Such a movement stands out by both its brutality and timing, occurring while the entire crypto market remained lethargic.

In this context, the observed surge in XRP resembles a volatility spike breaking with the slow erosion of recent weeks. However, despite its intensity, this signal remains too isolated to be considered the start of a true cycle reversal.

According to available data, this renewed activity appears mainly linked to a specific technical setup: XRP had just exited an extreme oversold zone, often seen as conducive to a rebound.

Several factors converge to explain this sudden reactivation of spot flows :

An extremely oversold technical level was reached, attracting traders looking for a quick rebound ; The sudden volume acceleration triggered a domino effect in spot markets ; The weekend’s low liquidity context amplified movements, allowing a moderate volume to have an outsized impact on price ; The absence of new fundamental data at the time of the peak supports the idea of a purely technical reaction rather than one motivated by project or network developments. These elements converge to the hypothesis of a mainly speculative impulse, supported by temporarily favorable market conditions.

Ambiguous technical signals While the spot flow peak indicates a short-term surge of interest, XRP network fundamentals do not seem to follow the same dynamic.

Indeed, the on-chain data remain mixed. The payment volume on the XRP Ledger continues to decline, suggesting that the current activity is more a result of speculative moves than increased adoption of the XRP infrastructure. This contrast between the surge in market flows and the drop in network usage is a signal to consider to avoid overly optimistic interpretations.

Another element to consider is the timing of this surge. The peak occurred over the weekend, a generally less liquid period and thus more vulnerable to sharp moves. This setup makes any premature projection risky, especially in the absence of confirmation at the open of weekday markets.

The sudden peak in spot flows alone is not enough to confirm a lasting reversal. Despite this surge in activity, the XRP price remains dependent on weak fundamentals and an uncertain market. Only a sustained recovery in volumes and usage can validate a real trend change.

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Luc Jose A.

Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019. Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

TL;DR

Market Outlook 2026–2032: Falcon Finance faces a volatile but promising trajectory, with forecasts ranging from near‑zero lows to multi‑dollar highs. Key Drivers: Adoption trends, liquidity growth, and investor sentiment remain the most influential factors. Analysts emphasize that FF’s ability to sustain momentum depends on broader DeFi utility. Investor Takeaway: The six‑year window is pivotal, offering both high‑risk volatility and opportunities for long‑term consolidation. For investors, FF represents a speculative yet potentially rewarding asset.
Falcon Finance has emerged as one of the more ambitious entrants in the decentralized finance landscape, positioning itself as a protocol designed to streamline lending, yield optimization, and cross‑chain liquidity flows. Built with a focus on automation and capital efficiency, the project aims to reduce the complexity typically associated with DeFi participation, offering users a simplified gateway into strategies that traditionally require advanced technical knowledge. Its architecture emphasizes modularity and interoperability, allowing the protocol to evolve alongside broader market trends and integrate new financial primitives as the ecosystem matures.

The Role of the Falcon Token At the center of this framework is the FF token, a utility asset that powers governance, incentivizes liquidity, and supports the protocol’s reward mechanisms. The token’s role extends beyond simple transactional use; it functions as a core component of the system’s economic alignment, ensuring that participants who contribute to network growth and stability are directly rewarded. As adoption increases and more value circulates through the protocol, the token’s relevance within the ecosystem becomes increasingly tied to real usage rather than speculative interest alone.

Positioning Falcon Finance Within the Next Market Cycle These fundamentals set the stage for a deeper examination of Falcon Finance’s long‑term valuation prospects. With the crypto market entering a new cycle defined by institutional participation, regulatory clarity, and expanding DeFi utility, the period from 2026 to 2032 represents a critical window for assessing the project’s potential trajectory. This price prediction analysis explores how technological development, market sentiment, token utility, and macroeconomic conditions could shape Falcon Finance’s performance over the next several years, offering a structured outlook for investors and analysts tracking its evolution.

2026: Early Cycle Signals and Market Setup The 2026 outlook for Falcon Finance presents a wide yet compelling trading range, with CoinCodex projecting that FF could fluctuate between $0.05344 and $0.2132 throughout the year. This channel supports an estimated average annual price of $0.08133, a level that implies a potential 178.40% return on investment if market conditions align with historical volatility patterns.

Additional forecasts introduce an even broader performance spectrum, suggesting that FF could climb as high as $0.5523 during a strong upward trend. However, analysts also caution that a loss of momentum could push the token toward $0.001189, underscoring the volatility that often accompanies developing ecosystems.

Youtubers Prediction for FF

Crypto With James, the popular YouTube Channel, shared a video reviewing Falcon Finance and discussing the token’s potential to reach $1 some time in 2026.

2027: Shifting Momentum and Utility Expansion

According to CoinDataFlow’s latest experimental simulation, their model suggests that Falcon Finance could decline by ‑27.66%, reaching approximately $0.055254 even under favorable conditions. Throughout the year, FF is expected to fluctuate within a range of $0.055254 to $0.018935, highlighting the token’s sensitivity to liquidity cycles and broader DeFi market dynamics.

Other analyses widen the potential trading spectrum considerably, estimating that FF could fall to $0.0004448 in a bearish scenario or climb to $0.4563 if momentum strengthens. This broad range reflects the uncertainty surrounding emerging DeFi assets and the challenges of forecasting performance in rapidly evolving ecosystems.

2028: Adoption Trends and Network Strengthening By 2028, analysts from DigitalCoinPrice anticipate that Falcon Finance will begin the year at $0.0983 and trade near $0.18, a level considered significantly higher compared to the previous year’s performance. This projection represents a notable and acceptable jump for FF, signaling growing confidence in the token’s utility and market presence.

Further estimates expand the trading outlook, with FF expected to move within a wide range between $0.001212 and $0.7619 throughout 2028. Under a bullish scenario, the token could reach a closing price of $0.3664, which underscores the potential for significant upside if momentum holds.

2029: Liquidity Growth and Ecosystem Maturity

In 2029, Falcon Finance is projected to trade within a channel ranging from $0.07520 to $0.1304, resulting in an average annualized price of approximately $0.09930. This level suggests a potential return on investment of 68.95%, reflecting moderate growth compared to earlier cycles. The forecast highlights how FF could benefit from steady adoption and improved liquidity.

Other experts point to a much wider spectrum of possible outcomes, with FF potentially surging to $1.09 in a strong bullish trend or dropping to $0.0002367 if momentum fades. The expected closing price of $0.6829 for 2029 suggests that holding the asset during favorable conditions could prove rewarding. This dual outlook underscores both the upside potential and downside risk that define FF’s trajectory.

2030: Long‑Term Catalysts Begin to Converge By 2030, experimental simulations suggest that Falcon Finance could experience a substantial rise in value, with projections indicating a potential increase of 258.71%. Under the most favorable conditions, FF may reach $0.276077, while the broader forecast places its trading range between $0.276077 and $0.060339 throughout the year. This outlook highlights the possibility of strong upward momentum.

Crypto Analysts expand the potential trading spectrum considerably, estimating that FF could fall to $0.0006957 in a bearish environment or climb as high as $1.42 during a strong bullish trend. Market sentiment models project an average trading price of $1.09 for 2030, underscoring the potential for significant appreciation if adoption and liquidity continue to strengthen.

2031: Stabilization Phase and Value Consolidation

Analysts project that Falcon Finance could cross the $0.38 threshold, supported by technical analysis and broader market sentiment. Forecasts suggest that FF may trade within a minimum of $0.34 and a maximum of $0.43 during the year, reflecting a relatively narrow but stable band compared to prior cycles. This range indicates a potential consolidation phase.

Complementary simulations provide an alternative outlook, estimating that FF’s price could grow by 128.77% under ideal conditions, potentially reaching $0.176069. However, the token is also expected to fluctuate between $0.176069 and $0.073774 throughout 2031, underscoring the volatility that remains inherent in emerging digital assets.

2032: Strategic Outlook for the Next Market Era Based on the latest experimental simulations, Falcon Finance could experience a remarkable surge in 2032, with projections indicating a potential rise of 356.17%. Under the most optimistic scenario, FF may reach $0.351085, while the broader forecast places its trading range between $0.351085 and $0.108226 throughout the year. This outlook highlights the possibility of sustained growth.

Further technical analysis anticipates that by the beginning of 2032, the price of FF will reach $0.35, with expectations that it will maintain this level by year’s end. Additional forecasts suggest that FF could also trade up to $0.29, reinforcing the view that the period from 2026 to 2032 represents a critical window for the token’s expansion.

Conclusion Falcon Finance’s trajectory from 2026 to 2032 highlights both volatility and opportunity, with forecasts ranging from sharp declines to significant surges. Analysts emphasize adoption, liquidity, and sentiment as key drivers. This period represents a decisive window where FF could consolidate value, expand utility, and establish long‑term relevance in DeFi markets.

The Price Predictions published in this article are based on estimates made by industry professionals; they are not investment recommendations, and it should be understood that these predictions may not occur as described.

The content of this article should only be taken as a guide, and you should always carry out your own analysis before making any investment.

Bitcoin’s next big options gravity well sits on Mar. 27 (260327), and the reason is simple: this is where the market has parked a thick stack of conditional bets that will need to be unwound, rolled forward, or paid out as the clock runs down.

The Mar. 27 expiry carries about $8.65B in notional OI and flags $90,000 as max pain, a rough reference point for where, in aggregate, option holders would feel the most pain at settlement.

The broader options complex is enormous, with total BTC options open interest around $31.99B across exchanges, led by Deribit at roughly $25.56B, with the rest split across CME, OKX, Binance, and Bybit.

Chart showing Bitcoin options open interest from Feb.1 to Feb. 5, 2026 (Source: CoinGlass)That concentration can shape how price behaves on the way there, particularly when liquidity thins and hedging flows start to matter more than anyone wants to admit.

Options can often sound like some kind of private language of institutional traders, which is convenient right up until they start influencing spot price. Our goal here is to translate a crowded derivatives calendar into something legible: where the bets are concentrated, how that concentration can change behavior in spot markets, and why March 27 stands out.

March 27 and the shape of the betsOn Mar. 27 (260327), data shows more calls than puts, roughly 69.85K calls versus 53.25K puts, with puts carrying far more market value than calls in that moment.

Chart showing the open interest for Bitcoin options on Deribit by expiry on Feb. 6, 2026 (Source: CoinGlass)That combination might look strange and even contradictory, until you translate it into everyday incentives.

Calls can be plentiful because they offer defined-risk upside exposure that feels emotionally painless to hold, while puts can be more expensive because downside protection is often bought closer to where it actually hurts, and it tends to get repriced more aggressively when the market is nervous.

The volume data adds a second clue about what was happening at the margin. For the same Mar. 27 expiry, CoinGlass data shows puts around 17.98K versus calls around 10.46K in trading volume, again with puts carrying the heavier market value.

Chart showing the trading volume for Bitcoin options on Deribit by expiry on Feb. 6, 2026 (Source: CoinGlass)That tells us the flow that day leans more toward paying for protection than chasing upside, even while the outstanding inventory still looks call-heavy on count.

Now place that against spot and the broader pile.

March can feel far away in calendar terms, especially when the market is this volatile, but in options terms, it's close enough to exert gravity once nearer expiries finish shuffling positions forward.

When one date holds several billion in notional, it becomes a focal point for rolling, hedging, and all of the other quiet mechanical work market makers do to stay roughly neutral as customers buy and sell convexity. While this doesn't guarantee a particular price, it does increase the odds of price behaving as if there are invisible grooves in the road, because in a derivatives-heavy market, hedging flows can add friction in some ranges and remove it in others.

That brings us to max pain. It's a bookkeeping-style calculation across strikes, not a law of nature and not a trading signal with a motor attached.

It can be a useful reference in the way a median can be useful, as a single marker that tells you something about the distribution, but it's blunt, and blunt tools are almost never the ones moving price.

What tends to matter more is where positions are crowded by strike, because crowding changes how much hedging needs to happen when spot moves. CoinGlass data shows a put/call ratio around 0.44, one more hint that the distribution is lopsided rather than smooth, and lopsided is the whole point because it's how a date stops being a calendar fact and becomes a market event.

There's a simple, non-trader way to hold all of this without turning it into fortune-telling.

As March approaches, crowded strikes can behave like zones where price movement feels oddly damped, then oddly jumpy, because the hedging response is not steady.

If Bitcoin wanders into a heavily populated region, the market’s automatic risk management can reinforce a range, and if Bitcoin moves hard enough to escape it, those same mechanics can flip into something that amplifies momentum instead of resisting it.

What's gamma doing while everyone argues about max painIf options talk has a single word that scares off otherwise capable people, it's gamma, which is unfortunate because the idea is straightforward when you keep it tied to consequences rather than algebra.

Options have deltas, meaning their value changes with price, and gamma describes how quickly that sensitivity changes as price moves.

Dealers who sit on the other side of customer trades often hedge to reduce directional risk, and the practical version is that hedging can turn them into automatic buyers on dips and sellers on rallies near crowded strikes. This is one of the clearest explanations for why price can look magnetized to certain regions.

The reason this matters for a large expiry like Mar. 27 is that hedging intensity isn't constant through time.

As expiry approaches, near-the-money options tend to become more sensitive, and that can make hedging adjustments more frequent and more meaningful in size. That's where the idea of pinning comes from, the observation that price can spend suspiciously long periods hovering near certain strikes as hedgers lean against small moves.

It's often just a risk-control habit showing up in the tape, and it becomes easier to notice when open interest is large and concentrated.

CryptoSlate has covered similar episodes as the options market has matured, emphasizing that expiry effects are most visible when positioning is heavy and clustered, also noting that the calm can disappear after settlement as hedging pressure resets and new positions get rebuilt.

More traditional market reporting often treats max pain as a reference point while focusing attention on how expiry, positioning, and volatility interact.

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The key is that the mechanism itself isn't mystical. A large options stack creates a second layer of trading activity that reacts to spot moves, and sometimes that reactive layer is large enough to be felt by everyone, including people who never touch derivatives.

Options greeks charts, with their stepped shapes, are a visual reminder that sensitivity changes in regimes rather than smoothly. They suggest exposure is concentrated around specific strike regions, so the hedging response can change character as spot crosses those zones.

That's why a single headline number like max pain is usually less informative than a sense of where open interest is thickest, because the thick zones are where hedging flows are most likely to show up as real buying or selling, regardless of what the settlement meme says.

February reshuffles, June anchors, March decidesMar. 27 is the main event in your snapshot, but the supporting beats matter because they help explain how the March setup can change before it arrives.

The same max pain view shows a meaningful late-February expiry, Feb. 27 (260227), at about $6.14B notional with max pain around $85,000.

It also shows notable size further out, including a high concentration at late June (Jun 26, 260626), which serves as a reminder that positioning is not only about the next few weeks, it is also about the market’s longer-dated posture.

February matters because it's close enough to force real decisions.

Traders who don't want positions to expire often roll them, and rolling isn't just a calendar action, it's a change in where exposure sits.

If February positions get rolled into March, the March pile grows heavier, and the gravity well can deepen. If February positions are closed or shifted to different strikes, March can look less crowded than it does today, and the options map will change in a way that has nothing to do with headlines and everything to do with inventory management.

Either way, February is a likely moment for hedges to be adjusted and for the strike distribution to be reshaped, which is why it deserves attention even in a March-focused story.

June matters for a different reason. Far-dated size tends to decay more slowly and can function like an anchor for risk limits, which can affect how aggressively desks manage near-dated risk in March.

The presence of meaningful longer-dated positioning suggests the market is warehousing views about where Bitcoin could be by early summer. That kind of positioning doesn't dictate day-to-day price, but it can influence the tone of the market around March, including how quickly hedges are rolled forward and how much risk dealers are willing to wear.

So the practical takeaway is that the headline numbers aren't the story on their own.

The $8.65B notional on Mar. 27 and the $90,000 max pain marker tell you there's a crowded event on the calendar, but the mechanism worth watching is where the crowd is standing by strike and how hedging pressure behaves as time shrinks.

The path to March runs through February, when positions can be reshuffled, and it stretches toward June, where longer-dated size can shape how the market carries risk.

None of this replaces macro, flows, or fundamentals, and it doesn't need to. It's a layer of explanation for why Bitcoin can look oddly well-behaved.

When the options stack is this large, you can often see the outlines of the next pressure point in advance, as long as you treat max pain as a rough signpost and focus instead on the crowding that can make price feel sticky in one moment and surprisingly slippery in the next.

Mentioned in this articlePosted in

W Token (Wormhole) Gains Momentum as Cross-Chain Infrastructure Becomes the Backbone of Web3As the digital asset market matures, investor attention is increasingly shifting away from short-lived hype cycles and toward foundational infrastructure projects. Among the standout names driving this transition is W Token — the native token of the Wormhole protocol, now available with a 20% bonus - one of the most prominent cross-chain interoperability networks in the blockchain ecosystem.

With multichain applications becoming the new standard, Wormhole is positioning itself at the center of Web3 connectivity.

Powering the Multichain FutureBlockchain ecosystems no longer operate in isolation. Today's decentralized applications are built across Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, and numerous emerging networks. The ability to move assets and data seamlessly between these chains is becoming essential — not optional.

Wormhole provides that critical infrastructure.

By enabling secure cross-chain messaging and asset transfers, Wormhole connects dozens of networks and supports a rapidly expanding ecosystem of DeFi platforms, NFT projects, gaming applications, and institutional blockchain initiatives.

As adoption grows, so does the strategic relevance of W Token within the ecosystem.

The Role of W TokenW Token is more than a tradable digital asset — it plays a functional role in the protocol:

• Governance participation in ecosystem decisions

• Staking mechanisms supporting network security

• Incentivization for ecosystem contributors

• Alignment between protocol growth and token holders

As cross-chain activity increases, demand for infrastructure solutions like Wormhole may expand — strengthening the long-term narrative around utility-driven tokens.

Infrastructure Is Where Long-Term Value Is BuiltHistorically, infrastructure layers tend to capture sustained value as markets scale. Just as cloud providers became foundational to Web2, interoperability protocols may serve as core pillars of Web3.

Wormhole has already established itself as a key interoperability provider, facilitating billions in cross-chain volume and forming partnerships across multiple blockchain ecosystems. As developers continue building multichain applications, demand for reliable interoperability could accelerate.

For investors seeking exposure to the structural growth of blockchain technology — rather than isolated applications — infrastructure tokens like W Token present a differentiated thesis.

Why Market Attention Is IncreasingSeveral factors are driving renewed interest in Wormhole and W Token:

1. Rapid expansion of multichain applications

2. Growing institutional focus on interoperability solutions

3. Increasing developer adoption

4. Strengthened ecosystem governance through token participation

As the broader crypto market regains momentum, infrastructure assets are increasingly viewed as foundational plays on long-term industry expansion.

A Strategic Consideration for Forward-Looking InvestorsW Token represents exposure to one of the most critical narratives in blockchain: interoperability. As capital flows back into digital assets, investors are reassessing projects with real utility, established integrations, and scalable technology.

For those evaluating opportunities in the evolving Web3 economy, W Token stands out as a protocol-level asset aligned with the multichain future.

Ready to invest? Purchase W tokens here and receive a 20% bonus from Coinpaper when paying with Solana.

Tether's new stablecoin aims to transform liquidity and bridge the gap between crypto and traditional finance.

Key Takeaways Stablecoins are transitioning from niche crypto experiments to core financial infrastructure. Tether is launching USAT, a new stablecoin aimed at enhancing liquidity for US users. The future of finance may see tokenized deposits and transactions moving through stablecoins. Tether is evolving into a technology company focused on societal empowerment. USDT is expected to gain reciprocity as legislation evolves. Tether is a pivotal player in the crypto ecosystem, bridging traditional finance and crypto. Interoperability between traditional finance and crypto is being enhanced through strategic partnerships. Financial institutions are beginning to recognize the necessity of stablecoin solutions. Tether’s user base of over 536 million highlights its impact on financial inclusion. Tether’s technology development reflects a long-term vision, with recognition coming after years of groundwork. Banks have opportunities to innovate by adopting advanced technologies like blockchain. The maturity of US Treasuries is vital for stablecoin stability. Institutions need experienced professionals to avoid past mistakes in stablecoin development. A knowledge gap about stablecoins exists between smaller banks and multinational institutions. Stablecoin adoption is inevitable as banks recognize consumer demand for faster, cheaper transactions. Guest intro Paolo Ardoino serves as Chief Executive Officer of Tether, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization with USDT in $187 billion circulation globally. He previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Tether starting in 2017, co-leading the strategy that grew its market cap to $83 billion and solidified its position as a global stablecoin leader. Ardoino also continues as Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex.

The evolution of stablecoins Stablecoins are becoming essential to the financial system, moving beyond niche status. “Stablecoins are no longer a niche crypto experiment they’re becoming core financial infrastructure today we have 536,000,000 users.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether is launching USAT to provide liquidity access for US users. “A lot of folks that have really wanted to enter the tether ecosystem from the US have been looking for a vehicle to do that and that’s what USAT provides.” – Paolo Ardoino The future of finance will likely involve tokenized deposits and stablecoin transactions. “Eventually you’re just gonna see basically stable coin sandwiches built deposits will be tokenized everything will be moving through stables.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether’s shift from a stablecoin provider to a technology company reflects its broader vision. “It’s not a stablecoin company tether it’s the stable company so a company that build technology to empower society to remain stable.” – Paolo Ardoino USDT is anticipated to receive reciprocity as legislation changes. “I’m very confident that usdt will receive reciprocity.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether’s role in the crypto ecosystem Tether is positioned as a key player in the crypto ecosystem, bridging traditional finance and crypto. “I mean you know tether is the most important player in the ecosystem and what we’re doing is building an on ramp to the us capital markets to that system.” – Paolo Ardoino Partnerships and interoperability are facilitating the merger of traditional finance and crypto. “We’re working to make usat interoperable with usdt via a variety of mechanisms whether that be through anchorage or issuer or through pools and exchanges.” – Paolo Ardoino Institutions are recognizing the need for stablecoin solutions as the financial landscape evolves. “As these institutions start to flesh out what this brave new world is gonna look like for them is help them to understand the technology and how it benefits their customers.” – Paolo Ardoino Financial inclusion and Tether’s impact Tether has achieved significant financial inclusion with over 536 million users globally. “Today we have 536,000,000 users across the world so that is the biggest financial inclusion success story in the history of humanity.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether’s technology was developed over eleven years before gaining widespread recognition. “We built the technology and we sit on it for eleven years before seeing the world recognizing it.” – Paolo Ardoino Banks have a unique opportunity to adopt advanced technology and innovate their products. “I think now the difference is that banks actually can adopt this technology and they can build new amazing products they can have twenty four seven trading they can have in instant settlements at the speed of light.” – Paolo Ardoino Stablecoin stability and banking opportunities The maturity of US Treasuries is crucial for the stability of stablecoins. “Having us treasuries is not necessarily the holy grail it’s also the maturity you need to have a short term maturity so that you want your treasury to be resilient to the changes also that could be from like interest rates environment.” – Paolo Ardoino New institutions must hire experienced professionals to avoid repeating past mistakes in stablecoin development. “I think it will be important for new institution… to hire people that have long term experience in stablecoins to make sure that they don’t redo the mistakes.” – Paolo Ardoino There is a significant knowledge gap about stablecoins among smaller banks compared to multinational institutions. “If you start going down the the totem pole in terms of just market scale and you’re talking to regionals or super regionals or even communities, I think the knowledge gap begins to widen.” – Paolo Ardoino The inevitability of stablecoin adoption Stablecoin adoption is inevitable as banks recognize consumer demand for faster and cheaper money movement. “I think they’ll slowly start to recognize their consumers are gonna have a demand for these products as well everyone wants to be able to move money at will whenever they want at a very cost effective manner and so you know it’s adoption is inevitable.” – Paolo Ardoino Stablecoins enable 24/7 trading and settlement, enhancing global trade and banking operations. “From an interbank settlement perspective… they can settle over the weekends… it unlocks a lot of wide variety of different manners in which they can engage with the US.” – Paolo Ardoino Technology and societal impact The same underserved populations that struggle with traditional banking also lack access to AI services. “The very same people that cannot afford to have a bank account because they cannot pay 150 per year to make keep a bank account open are the same ones as you said that will not have the ability to purchase a subscription for a prominent ai platform.” – Paolo Ardoino The disparity in access to AI services could lead to significant societal instability. “How society can remain stable if we have the other side of the world so half of the population population of the world they will not become as intelligent so that is a huge risk to the stability of the world and to stability of society.” – Paolo Ardoino Decentralized energy solutions in Africa Decentralized energy solutions are essential for remote villages in Africa due to the lack of centralized infrastructure. “We cannot have centralized energy in africa because you cannot in these these villages are very far apart one way the other you cannot have long distance lines and a nuclear plant.” – Paolo Ardoino Decentralized energy kiosks are providing essential services to over a million users in Africa. “We have 800 kiosks now and 1,000,000 users paying to get these batteries and for them it’s a lifeline.” – Paolo Ardoino Technology should be built to be resilient and distributed, focusing on positive societal impact rather than profit. “We are not actually optimizing for yet another buck we are optimizing for positive impact on society.” – Paolo Ardoino The future of stablecoin integration The integration of stablecoins into the US financial system will be a blend of retail and traditional finance. “I think that Americans will pick up on the idea and concept of stablecoin integration from a retail level… I envision a world in which you’re gonna have access to a stablecoin wallet through your banking UX.” – Paolo Ardoino Stablecoins can improve payroll efficiency and remittance processes for low-wage workers. “With stables… they can pay it almost on a daily basis and that’s a huge unlock for folks especially for folks that are engaged in remittances.” – Paolo Ardoino Predictions for stablecoin adoption and technology Stablecoin adoption will become extremely widespread in the US, blending crypto with traditional finance. “I strongly believe at the end of the day stablecoin adoption will be extremely widespread here domestically and I think that it’ll kind of blend this world of crypto into the traditional financial world in a way that’s you know really positive and leads to tremendous success for both retailers merchants banks and customers alike.” – Paolo Ardoino The user experience in crypto needs to improve for broader adoption, focusing on simplicity for consumers. “One of the main issues that I still see in the industry is user experience… most of the people in the world they don’t have time to understand crypto… they just want a dollar.” – Paolo Ardoino User experience and technology design User experience in technology should be designed to address real needs and problems of users. “The way we build technologies is it needs to be respectful of the actual needs and problems to the people that’s how that are always approached it and and be be helpful and and care about their their struggles and their frictions.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether Gold was created at the right moment, leading to its adoption despite initial skepticism. “USDT tether gold was born in thousand twenty for the first two three years it was like everyone was telling me oh why why you know we have much better products… so why people should care about gold the gold is not moving.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether’s strategic investments and market dynamics In the event of a black swan occurrence, society will revert to gold before adopting Bitcoin. “If a black black swan event happens in the next few years the world will go back to gold not yet to bitcoin.” – Paolo Ardoino Bitcoin is superior to gold, but we must acknowledge the current limitations of Bitcoin’s market cap. “I believe bitcoin is superior to gold by far but we cannot put our head under the sand we need to look at the type the moment in which we live.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether’s investment in gold serves as a hedge against economic instability rather than for speculative purposes. “We didn’t invest in gold to speculate on gold we invested in gold as a hedge against the craziness that was happening.” – Paolo Ardoino Tether’s gold position and compliance standards Tether’s gold position is significantly more profitable than many traditional trades. “The big short as a trade i think that you know made 1,000,000,000 in profits that short our gold position is probably 10 times that.” – Paolo Ardoino USAT is compliant because it is one-to-one backed and offers transparency, making it a trusted digital dollar. “The compliance standards are fairly simple right one to one back having the transparency… it’s the first unix compliant product out there it can be used as collateral in trading.” – Paolo Ardoino The future of product integration and compliance The long-term prospects for integration of these products in the marketplace are extremely positive. “I think that long term the prospects for just matriculation throughout the marketplace are are extremely positive and we’re gonna drive those things forward.” – Paolo Ardoino The writing will be on the wall that these products are here to stay, especially under the new compliance standard. “I think that the writing will be on the wall and it’ll be very clear that you know these products are here to stay especially under this new compliance standard.” – Paolo Ardoino Regulatory clarity and future technological coexistence Clear rules for the crypto ecosystem are essential for long-term adoption. “Clear rules of the road for the entire ecosystem is very healthy for long term adoption.” – Paolo Ardoino In ten years, we will see a coexistence of humans, robots, and AI agents, but stability in society is crucial for this to happen. “I think in ten years we are going to see a coexistence of humans robots and a trillion of ai agents… technology is the bond to keep society united stable.” – Paolo Ardoino Stablecoins as a connecting tissue in future technology In ten years, stablecoins will play a crucial role in connecting various technologies and devices. “I believe in ten years we’re going to see our products doing exactly that be supporting people in their day to day lives… we’re going to see stablecoins to connect to be the connecting tissue between a robot, a self driving car, a person, a smart fridge, an intelligent light bulb.” – Paolo Ardoino Stablecoins can transfer both value and information in a single transaction. “The beauty of stablecoins is that we just scratched the surface onto their potential… it can transfer everything; it can create incredible constructs that can be used not only by humans but also by the machines.” – Paolo Ardoino

Drake has never been shy about betting big, but on the eve of Super Bowl LX, the global music star took it up another notch by placing a $1 million wager on the New England Patriots—despite the majority of betting markets lining up against them.

Kyle Samani Slams Hyperliquid Days After Leaving MulticoinSamani steps back from Multicoin as wallets linked to the firm accumulate Hyperliquid’s HYPE.Public criticism of Hyperliquid fuels speculation over internal thesis disagreements.Debate highlights growing ideological split between decentralization and high-performance crypto infrastructure.Kyle Samani stepped down from Multicoin Capital on February 5, 2026, after nearly a decade as co-founder. Today, he is publicly criticizing Hyperliquid (HYPE) as on-chain data shows Multicoin purchased over $40 million in HYPE tokens.

The close timing has fueled speculation that internal conflicts over investment strategy prompted the departure of one of the most notable Solana advocates in the crypto industry.

Multicoin, Hyperliquid, and Kyle Samani: Coincidence or Clash?Samani’s departure announcement on February 5 marked a significant shift for Multicoin Capital, a leading force in institutional crypto investment.

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Despite his departure, Samani stated he would remain engaged in cryptocurrency, especially within the Solana ecosystem.

1/ I will remain in my role as Chairman of Forward Industries.

As part of the redemption request that I intend to submit to Multicoin’s Master Fund for March 31, 2026, I will request an in-kind redemption in FWDI shares and warrants rather than in USD, pending Multicoin’s…

— Kyle Samani (@KyleSamani) February 4, 2026 The announcement came only days after MLM analysts flagged wallets believed to be linked to Multicoin accumulating large amounts of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token in late January.

They highlighted purchases totalling tens of millions of dollars. Additional analysis suggests that substantial ETH flows were rotated into HYPE over several days via intermediary wallets.

Looks like wallets linked to Multicoin Capital are rotating a large amount of ETH into HYPE.

Since January 22, wallets sent 87.1K ETH ($220M) to a Multicoin-linked Galaxy Digital deposit address. On January 23, one day after the first deposit, a Multicoin-linked wallet started… https://t.co/LrJyoCTQ3m

— MLM (@mlmabc) February 4, 2026 Notably, no official confirmation has linked the trades directly to Multicoin’s internal strategy decisions.

Today, February 8, just three days after his formal exit, Samani is criticizing Hyperliquid on social media, making his position unmistakably clear.

“Hyperliquid is, in most respects, everything wrong with crypto. The founder literally fled his home country to build Openly, which facilitates crime and terror. Closed source Permissioned,” wrote Samani in a post.

This strong criticism stands in direct contrast to Multicoin’s high-profile investment in HYPE tokens. As a result, observers wondered if Samani’s views clashed with the firm’s recent decisions, helping drive his exit.

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Solana Investment Philosophy Versus HYPE StrategyMulticoin Capital earned its reputation as a vocal backer of Solana. In September 2025, the firm led a $1.65 billion private investment into Forward Industries, working with Jump Crypto and Galaxy Digital to create what they called “the world’s leading Solana treasury company.”

Samani was named Chairman of Forward Industries’ Board, underlining his importance to Multicoin’s Solana focus.

The Solana investment strategy centered on transparent yields through staking, DeFi protocols, and capital efficiency. Multicoin highlighted Solana’s infrastructure as offering better economics than Bitcoin treasury models, citing native yields of 8.05% as of September 2025.

The firm also released research on Solana projects like Jito, which by March 2025 powered over 94% of all Solana stake via custom block production technology.

Hyperliquid, meanwhile, represents a contrasting approach. The platform is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange with its own blockchain.

It is popular for high leverage and low fees, but faces criticism for its centralized validator system, closed-source code, and regulatory risks. These features appear to oppose the principles Samani promoted at Multicoin.

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Tensions between strategies became more evident as analysts speculated about internal dynamics.

“Does this mean that they couldn’t buy HYPE as long as Kyle was running the fund, which is why his leaving coincides with Multicoin buying a lot of HYPE?” wrote one user.

Kyle Samani did not immediately respond to BeInCrypto’s request for comment.

Supporters Defend Hyperliquid as Samani’s Exit Sparks Ideological DebateSome investors and traders pushed back strongly against Samani’s criticism. They argue that Hyperliquid represents a return to crypto’s original principles rather than a departure from them.

Hyperliquid is in most respects everything wrong with crypto

> Rejected VC capital
> Democratized MMing via HLP
> Enriched community via largest token airdrop ever ($9B)
> Instead of pocketing some or all of the $960M revenue HL has made, put them all into buybacks of said token https://t.co/XVk2NEDeyG

— steven.hl (@stevenyuntcap) February 8, 2026 Hyperliquid’s decision to direct revenue toward token buybacks and community incentives reflects a model designed to more closely align users and infrastructure than many venture-backed projects.

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The divide highlights a deeper ideological split emerging within crypto markets. On one side are investors who prioritize transparency, decentralization, and community ownership as defining principles.

On the other hand, there are those who champion performance, liquidity depth, and institutional-grade infrastructure, even when those systems require trade-offs in governance or architecture.

If you're wondering who the marginal buyer will be at $20 billion, remember that

– HL is faster than Solana

– Has a better UX than Drift

– Its present value of future MEV is in the trillions

Hyperliquid is the culmination of all of Multicoin Capital's thought leadership. And…

— Kunal G (@kunalgoel) November 29, 2024 Samani’s departure itself has not been formally tied to any specific investment decision. Neither Multicoin nor Samani has publicly stated that Hyperliquid or portfolio positioning played any role in the transition.

Sometimes, leadership changes at venture firms often stem from long-term strategic shifts, personal decisions, or fund-structure considerations that may not be visible externally.

Still, the timing has proven difficult for markets to ignore. In crypto, an industry where narratives travel quickly, the combination of on-chain transparency and social media speculation often fills gaps left by limited official disclosures.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) Price Performance. Source: TradingView Meanwhile, the HYPE token is nurturing a recovery, with a higher low on the 4-hour timeframe, suggesting a trend reversal if buyer momentum sustains.

Disclaimer

In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.

Journalist

Posted: February 9, 2026

Cardano [ADA] was in the news recently when it was reported that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will support ADA Futures products starting Monday, 09 February.  Alongside Cardano, Chainlink [LINK], and Stellar [XLM] would also be part of the CME’s crypto products.

The news came at a time when the crypto market was in turmoil. In fact, Bitcoin [BTC] has shed nearly 30% since 15 January, while Cardano has posted losses of 34% since then.

The bulls managed to defend the major support level at $0.267, for now. Can the CME news sustain this bounce?

Long-term trend does not favor Cardano buyers

Source: ADA/USDT on TradingView

The weekly structure was firmly bearish, and has been since October. The loss of the $0.53 support zone, which had been important in the first half of 2025, was a huge blow. At the time of writing, another key support at $0.246 had been tested.

A recent AMBCrypto report had noted that the $0.22-$0.27 area has served as a long-term Cardano demand zone since late 2022. The weekly timeframe saw a wick to $0.22 in the first week of June 2023, marking the lows bulls do not want to see invalidated.

Forecasting the next play – Will the short-term bounce continue or fizzle out?

Source: ADA/USDT on TradingView

The bullish divergence between the RSI and the price has nearly finished playing out. The 78.6% retracement level at $0.287 is likely to be tested briefly before ADA resumes its longer-term downtrend.

Traders’ call to action – Sell? It is feasible to go short upon a retest of $0.287, targeting $0.22, with invalidation above the local high at $0.305. For long-term investors, there is no hurry to buy at the market bottom. Especially since it can take weeks and months to form.

Traders should be aware of the possibility of a liquidity hunt beyond $0.3, especially if Bitcoin climbs past $74k to push towards $80k. In this scenario, the $0.33-$0.35 supply zone should be the ceiling of the rally.

Final Thoughts Cardano has a long-term bearish bias, and the short-term bullish momentum divergence has nearly finished playing out. Fibonacci retracement levels presented a short trade setup targeting the $0.22 lows. Disclaimer: The information presented does not constitute financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice and is solely the writer’s opinion

Akashnath S is a Senior Journalist and Technical Analysis expert at AMBCrypto. He specializes in dissecting price action, identifying key market trends through advanced chart patterns, and forecasting both short-term and long-term asset trajectories. His distinct analytical method is grounded in his academic training as a Chemical Engineer. This background provides him with a systematic, process-oriented approach to market data, enabling him to analyze the complex dynamics of financial markets with precision and objectivity. Having actively covered the cryptocurrency space since the landmark 2017 market cycle, Akashnath possesses years of experience navigating both bull and bear markets. This seasoned perspective is critical to his insightful reporting on market volatility and evolution. As an active market participant, Akashnath enhances his analysis with crucial, hands-on experience. This practical application of his technical skills ensures his insights are not merely theoretical, but are also relevant and actionable for an audience looking to understand and navigate trading opportunities. He is dedicated to educating readers on the nuances of technical analysis, empowering them with the knowledge to make more informed financial decisions.

TLDR: Canton Network processes $350 billion in daily repo transactions across over 600 validator nodes globally  DTCC tokenizing U.S. Treasuries on Canton with SEC approval, targeting MVP launch in first half of 2026  JPMorgan’s Kinexys announced plans to issue JPM Coin deposit token natively on Canton Network in January  Platform carries over $6 trillion in tokenized real-world assets with privacy features for regulated firms
Canton Network has emerged as a major institutional blockchain infrastructure, processing $350 billion in daily repo transactions.

The Layer 1 blockchain carries over $6 trillion in tokenized real-world assets across more than 600 validator nodes.

Major financial institutions, including JPMorgan, DTCC, Goldman Sachs, and Franklin Templeton, have deployed production systems on the network.

The platform handles over 700,000 daily transactions while maintaining privacy requirements for regulated financial institutions.

Privacy-First Architecture for Regulated Finance Canton Network operates as a Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for financial institutions moving real-world assets on-chain.

Digital Asset built the platform around privacy between counterparties, rapid settlement, and native compliance features.

Traditional public blockchains display every transaction to all network participants, creating legal obstacles for banks required to maintain client confidentiality.

Delphi Digital noted that “$350 billion a day settles on a blockchain many people have never heard of.” The network solves privacy challenges through DAML smart contracts that embed access and authorization rules directly into assets and transactions.

Two firms can complete trades without exposing details to outside parties. Regulators maintain necessary access while other network participants cannot view unrelated activity.

Settlement happens atomically, eliminating the multi-day clearing processes common on traditional financial rails. Both sides of trades execute simultaneously, removing windows where one party has delivered while the other has not.

According to the analysis, “there is no window where one party has delivered, and the other hasn’t,” eliminating risk categories in repo markets where hundreds of billions move daily.

The platform enables different financial applications to interact natively across the network. A tokenized treasury on one platform can serve as collateral on another platform within a single transaction.

Cross-application settlement between regulated institutions occurs without central intermediaries, a capability not previously demonstrated at this scale.

Production Deployments from Major Institutions Daily repo volumes reached $350 billion in recent months, up from $280 billion in August 2025. Broadridge operates its entire Distributed Ledger Repo platform on the network as the first major live deployment. Banks and institutions use repo markets to borrow short-term against Treasury collateral.

DTCC is tokenizing U.S. Treasury securities on Canton Network, backed by SEC No-Action Letter approval. The project targets an MVP release in the first half of 2026 with broader rollout planned for later that year.

DTCC joined the Canton Foundation as co-chair alongside Euroclear. As observers emphasized, this is “not a test. Not a pilot.”

Franklin Templeton expanded its tokenized fund platform to the network, joining Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, and Deutsche Börse.

JPMorgan’s blockchain unit Kinexys announced plans to issue JPM Coin, its USD deposit token, natively on Canton Network in January.

Fireblocks subsequently integrated the platform and became a Super Validator, providing regulated custody for institutional clients.

The validator network includes HexTrust and Tharimmune, the first NASDAQ-listed company operating as a super validator. These regulated firms run production systems processing real transactions under regulatory oversight.

The network lacks public block explorers, reflecting its institutional focus. As noted, “Canton was not built for retail. It was built for the firms that move your money.”

Journalist

Posted: February 8, 2026

The last few weeks have seenn crypto markets fall across the board. This has left many analysts and market participants wondering what may be the cause. While the crash might just be the product of a normal bear market, speculations have continue to pile up.

Recent allegations by Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Squawk Box have triggered market attention too.

What did Jim Cramer say? After Bitcoin‘s price fell below the realized price of $79.1k, it was termed as a rare “Black Swan” event. However, Jim Cramer looked at the move to $60k with optimism. On an episode of CNBC Live’s Squawk Box, Jim Cramer said that the U.S government is now buying Bitcoin. According to the analyst,

“I heard at $60k he’s gonna fill the Bitcoin Reserve you better cover.”

For its part, the crypto community did not take the rumour mongering seriously, with some labeling Cramer as a joker.

Some even claimed that he might be confusing Strategic Reserve and Strategic Holdings. Given the absence of established rules for the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, the latter might just be more plausible.

Here, it’s worth pointing out that Cramer’s assertion also lacks on-chain backing. Needless to say though, the statement led to many looking at the market differently.

A hike in market confidence? For instance, the odds of a potential rate cut for the 18 March FOMC meeting rose by 5%. As per data from CME Group, the probability climbed from 18% to 23.2% during the weekend.

Usually, such growth is illustrative of confidence among traders and investors. This is because they can borrow more to pour into risk-on assets for lower interest pay. The result is bullish for Bitcoin and the rest of crypto.

Source: CME Group

However, the figures were still very low, suggesting that a rate cut decision remains difficult. In the past, when they went through, the probability was in the 80th percentile or more.

That brings us to the big question – Do these allegations lend more weight to the significance of BTC’s $60K-level?

Any key levels to watch? Bitcoin’s price charts revealed an aggressive bounce after hitting $60,000. The importance of the zone was proven by the association with the U.S government buying price at a psychological level.

Moreover, this order-block zone initiated the rally that saw BTC hit a high of $126k in 2025. Also, it was the nearest bullish liquidity swing.

Source: BTC/USD on TradingView

However, the RSI divergence indicator indicated that bear pressure was still present. This increased the likelihood of breaking below this zone.

On the contrary, the Bitcoin Mayer Multiple hit a value of 0.6. This implied that BTC was undervalued, and a bounce could be on the cards. This finding seemed to be perfectly aligned with expectations of upside from the world’s largest crypto.

Source: CryptoQuant

While it did not affirm a price bottom, it hinted that the risk approach might be changing as the markets absorbs fear.

Such episodes happened during bear markets’ bottoms in December 2018, March 2020, and November 2022. Each time, a strong rebound followed suit.

Final Thoughts Jim Cramer believes that the U.S government bought Bitcoin at $60,000. Bitcoin seems to be trading above a reversal point as the crypto market absorbed panic over the last few weeks. 

18h05 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Fenelon L.

Summarize this article with:

Bitcoin tries to catch its breath after a spectacular plunge. Fallen to 59,930 dollars, the king of cryptos is trying today a difficult return around 70,000 $. However, is this recovery sustainable or is it just a respite before the next shock?

In brief Bitcoin trades at $70,854 on February 8, 2026, after a dizzying 37% drop from its highs. Moving averages and MACD show decidedly bearish signals across all time frames. US Bitcoin ETFs show signs of stabilization with $330.7M inflows on Friday, led by BlackRock. Bitcoin tries to restart after a major correction The bitcoin price is currently oscillating within a narrow range between $68,443 and $70,976. This volatility hides a harsh reality: the asset has just suffered a 37% collapse at the beginning of the year. Liquidations exceeding one billion dollars fueled this bearish spiral. Institutional investors massively reduced their positions, creating a gaping void in demand.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Bitstamp The technical analysis leaves little room for optimism. All moving averages, whether simple or exponential, point downwards. The daily chart draws a succession of lower highs and lows. The MACD remains firmly anchored in the red.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: Bitstamp The only positive point: the hourly chart shows ascending lows between $67,313 and $71,673, suggesting that some opportunistic buyers are returning.

The key resistance is at $71,673. A clear break above this level could open the way to $74,000, or even $79,000. However, the opposite is just as likely. Failure to stay above $68,000 would bring the price back towards the $60,000 support. Traders watch every move with the nervousness of those who have already burned their fingers.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs offer a valuable indicator of institutional sentiment. Last Friday, they recorded $330.7 million inflows after three days of net outflows totaling $1.25 billion. 

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led the way with $231.6 million. However, this lull does not dispel the worries. On Thursday, the same ETF had set a record with $10 billion in trading volume, accompanied by a 13% drop.

The market shifts into a structural bearish phase CryptoQuant sounded the alarm in early February. The break of the 365-day moving average, observed recently for the first time since March 2022, officially marks the entry into a prolonged bear market. 

Since this break about 83 days ago, Bitcoin has fallen 23%. This drop is faster and more violent than the one observed during the 2022 bear phase.

On-chain indicators confirm this gloomy diagnosis. CryptoQuant’s “Bull Market” index shows zero. The growth of stablecoin supply is negative, revealing a contraction in available liquidity. 

Coinbase premium remains in the red, a sign that American investors no longer actively support prices. Trading volumes collapse. No inverse capitulation signal appears on the horizon.

The macroeconomic context doesn’t help. High interest rates maintained by the Federal Reserve weigh on all risky assets. Bitcoin no longer enjoys its status as a decoupled asset from traditional markets. Institutions that had massively accumulated in 2025 have stopped buying. Some are even selling. This institutional disaffection amplifies the bearish pressure.

Bitcoin is at a critical turning point. Bulls bet on a decisive break of $75,000 to reverse the trend. Bears consider this rebound just a flash before a return to $60,000. Are we witnessing the beginnings of a prolonged bear market?

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Fenelon L.

Passionné par le Bitcoin, j'aime explorer les méandres de la blockchain et des cryptos et je partage mes découvertes avec la communauté. Mon rêve est de vivre dans un monde où la vie privée et la liberté financière sont garanties pour tous, et je crois fermement que Bitcoin est l'outil qui peut rendre cela possible.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Despite London's cooling luxury market, crypto leader Stani Kulechov snaps up a £22 million mansion.

Stani Kulechov, founder of decentralized finance protocol Aave, has purchased a five-story Victorian mansion in London for around £22 million (worth approximately $30 million).

This is one of the city’s priciest residential deals over the past year, according to Bloomberg.

Kulechov’s London Buy The property is located in the upscale Notting Hill area, which was acquired in November at roughly £2 million below its initial asking price, shortly before the UK’s autumn budget. The transaction stood out against a cooling luxury housing market, which has been weighed down by higher stamp duties and policy changes introduced under the Labour government, including the rollback of tax advantages for wealthy foreign residents.

Data from property research firm LonRes revealed that sales of homes priced above £5 million slowed significantly toward the end of last year. It remains unclear whether any digital assets were used in the purchase.

Kulechov founded Aave in 2017 under its original name, ETHLend, which was later rebranded as Aave. In 2023, the company behind Aave briefly adopted the Avara umbrella brand to manage multiple Web3 initiatives. Aave has grown into one of the largest DeFi lending platforms. Beyond lending, Kulechov has been involved in several crypto initiatives, including the GHO stablecoin and consumer-facing blockchain products. He had also publicly expressed support for the UK as a potential hub for crypto innovation.

Brand Overhaul The purchase comes as Aave Labs is narrowing its focus to its core lending business. Earlier this month, the company said it would shut down the Avara umbrella brand, which previously grouped several Web3 projects, including the Family crypto wallet and the Lens decentralized social platform.

Under the change, all products will operate solely under the Aave Labs name, including the Aave mobile app, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit. The company said that the main objective behind the move is to simplify its brand and concentrate resources on growing the Aave protocol and expanding its user base.

You may also like: These Popular Altcoins Lost the Most in the Last 24 Hours: What You Need to Know Report: Aave Power Struggle Triggers $500M Market Cap Slide Ripple Notches Major Regulatory Victory From the UK’s FCA: Details The decision also follows ongoing questions around control within the DeFi ecosystem. The Aave DAO, governed by AAVE token holders, manages the protocol’s smart contracts and on-chain revenue, while Aave Labs controls the official website, branding, and other off-chain assets.

Tensions emerged last year after the company made changes to the official interface that redirected certain fees away from the DAO treasury. A community proposal to take control of Aave Labs’ intellectual property later failed, though discussions around revenue sharing and branding continue.

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It was a rough week for crypto.

Crowd favorites Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] both slipped, posting weekly losses of around 10% and 13%. However, while the majors struggled, not every coin moved in the same direction.

Grab your coffee, and here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers in crypto this week.

A volatile week for Memecore [M] Memecore [M] had a choppy week, with wide price swings rather than a clean trend. After slipping to a weekly low near $1.28, the token made its way back up, going up about 23% to around $1.58. That bounce pushed prices close to the $1.9 zone before sellers stepped back in.

Source: TradingView

At the time of writing, M was trading near $1.57, giving up part of those gains and closing the latest session down roughly 15% on the day. Despite the pullback, the recovery from the lows showed buyers were active at cheaper levels.

With pace looking slow for now (with price settling around the middle of its recent range and indicators like RSI close to 50), neither side is fully in control yet.

MYX Finance [MYX] holds while the market finds its feet MYX Finance [MYX] had a steadier week compared to its peers, managing to stay on the front foot while markets bounced back. The token climbed from around $5.40 earlier in the week to about $6.44 at press time – A gain of roughly 18% from the local lows. Prices briefly tested the $6.8-$7.0 zone before cooling off.

But importantly, MYX managed to hold above the $6.5 area for most of the week.

Daily performance was modest, with the latest session closing up about 1.4%. Strength indicators remained healthy, so all’s stable on the MYX front… for now.

Midnight [NIGHT] fights back after a rough slide Midnight [NIGHT] had a mixed week, with a short-lived recovery after a steady drop. The token fell to a weekly low near $0.046 before buyers stepped in, pushing prices up to around $0.054-$0.055. That move caused a rebound of roughly 17% from the lows.

However, the momentum didn’t fully stick.

At press time, NIGHT was trading near $0.0537, with the latest session closing down about 2.2% on the day. The price spent much of the week moving sideways after the bounce. Strength remained fairly balanced, with RSI at around 47. While NIGHT appears to be stabilizing, there seems to be a lack of confident direction.

Weekly losers Binance [BNB] takes a big fall Binance [BNB] had a rough week, with sellers firmly in control for most of the move. The token dropped from the $760-$770 region to a weekly low near $600; a decline of roughly 15% at its worst.

The fall happened during a clear rise in trading volume during the decline.

Source: TradingView

At press time, BNB was trading around $643, well below last week’s levels. The price spent the latter part of the week moving sideways, so sell pressure has calmed but the belief hasn’t returned.

RSI was near 26, showing BNB remains deeply oversold, while DMI indicated that the downside control remains firmly intact.

Monero [XMR] slipped lower with persistent sell pressure Monero [XMR] took a tough beating in the last few days, staying under pressure with little room for a rebound. The token slid 20% from the $400 region to a weekly low near $290. A small bounce followed, but it lacked strength.

At press time, XMR was trading around $325.7, down about 1.1% on the day. There was weak pace, with RSI near 33. While XMR looked to be stabilizing, the fall appeared to have dashed traders’ faith in the privacy coin.

The ZCash [ZEC] downtrend continues Zcash [ZEC] had another weak week! The token fell from the $290-$300 range to a weekly low close to $200, a drop of just over 30% at its worst. Buyers did step in near those lows, helping ZEC recover slightly.

At press time, ZEC was trading around $234, down about 2.7% on the day. Still, the rebound lacked follow-through, and prices struggled to move meaningfully higher. RSI was near 32, and money flow also stayed negative.

Wrapping up… Some tokens tried their best, some face-planted, and others just stood there pretending nothing happened. If there’s one takeaway, it’s that the market is still moody, selective, and absolutely not taking instructions from anyone.

As always, this isn’t a shopping list. DYOR, double-check the numbers, and don’t let one green candle persuade you as quickly as it can fall.

Same time next week. Bring snacks.

Final Thoughts Bitcoin and Ethereum’s double-digit weekly losses set the tone, but selective buying kept some of the market alive. Confidence and belief is driving crypto right now.

In brief Pudgy Penguins is hosting a pop-up Valentine's Day event in New York City this week. The crypto-native brand is selling a plush bouquet at the event, with an online offering already sold out. The Pudgy Penguins team plans to expand the V-Day event internationally next year. The Pudgy Penguins team is helping fans celebrate Valentine’s Day in the real world with Pudgy Petals, a three-day immersive pop-up event in New York City that highlights gifting and connection via its colorful characters.

Running February 12-14, the activation invites guests into the love story of Polly and Pengu (aka Pax), core characters in the Pudgy Penguins universe. The team told Decrypt that the brand—which has expanded from NFTs to games, real-world toys, and beyond—is using Valentine’s Day as a cultural entry point to continue to translate its internet-native IP into a broader brand.

At the center of the pop-up is the Pudgy Penguins Plush Bouquet ($49.99), an alternative to traditional flowers. The bouquet features plush characters and soft textures designed to last well beyond the holiday. An online drop of the bouquet has already sold out, but it will also be available at the pop-up.

Pengu and Polly are taking over NYC this Valentine's Day!

Join us at our Pudgy Petals pop-up store from February 12-14 for a celebration of our Valentine's Day collection, love, and all things Pudgy. pic.twitter.com/EJUszK6jwb

— Pudgy Penguins (@pudgypenguins) February 6, 2026

“The Plushie Bouquet marks our first Valentine’s Day expression,” Pudgy Penguins Director of Business Development Steve Starobinsky told Decrypt. “The item is intentionally positioned as a long-lasting symbol of companionship designed to be kept and revisited rather than discarded after a few days like traditional flowers or candy. This item embodies our aim of creating new rituals of affection rooted in meaning rather than tradition.”

The event includes on-site bouquet customization with flash tattoos, free aura readings, and couples photo booths. There will also be pink and blue matcha drinks and treats outside the space.

The Pudgy Penguins Valentine's Plush Bouquet. Image: Pudgy PenguinsThe programming will shift slightly each day. Thursday, February 12, aligns with both New York Fashion Week and the New York Toy Fair, tapping into a creative crowd already circulating downtown Manhattan. Friday, February 13, is branded as Polly’s Galentine’s, with a focus on friendship and groups. And Saturday, February 14, centers on couples and classic Valentine’s moments, leaning fully into the holiday vibe.

“Every detail of the pop-up is intentionally designed to encourage guests to linger, participate, document the experience, and share it socially,” Starobinsky said. “The space will be inviting and joyful, for all those who join the fun.”

Beyond the Valentine’s theme, Pudgy Petals represents a broader brand evolution. Pudgy Penguins, which began as an internet-native phenomenon and NFT project, is continuing its shift into physical retail and experiential spaces that require no familiarity with crypto. The pop-up prioritizes emotional storytelling and accessibility, rather than technology.

“We are a four-quadrant brand appealing to adults and kids, women and men, with categories such as toys, gifting, lifestyle, and experiential retail drawing people in,” Starobinsky added.

The timing of the activation is equally strategic, with Starobinsky noting that the overlap with those other NYC events puts “Pudgy Penguins at the intersection of fashion, toys, pop culture, and retail innovation.” And it won’t be the last V-Day event, he said.

“Pudgy Petals is not a one-time activation,” Starobinsky added. “We are going to expand this pop-up globally in 2027, leveraging it to launch more product capsules for this holiday.”

Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

The cryptocurrency community has unleashed a torrent of mockery and defiance against the Financial Times following the publication of a scathing opinion piece declaring that Bitcoin is effectively worthless.

The article, penned by FT columnist Jemima Kelly and titled "Bitcoin is still about $70,000 too high," argues that the leading cryptocurrency is destined to hit zero. 

Kelly compares Bitcoin holders to the protagonist of the French film La Haine, a man falling from a skyscraper who comforts himself on the way down by repeating "so far, so good," before inevitably splattering on the ground.

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The 'bottom signal'For veteran market participants, mainstream media declaring Bitcoin "dead" is often interpreted as a contrarian indicator that the bottom is in.

"NOW we can confidently say Bitcoin's bottom has been reached. When outdated, incompetent, arrogant media start posting...is when Bitcoin starts flying," a user wrote on X. 

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The sentiment was echoed by other industry commentators. "The FT calling Bitcoin dead? Very bullish," he stated. 

Other reactions were more visceral, targeting the Financial Times' declining influence and relevance in the digital age.

User Bram Kanstein mocked the publication's inability to grasp the asset class, sarcastically cheering them on: "Fading the most profound technological discovery of your industry, well done!!"

Others expressed disbelief that such hardline skepticism still exists in 2026, writing, "I can't believe people still write things like this."

Both IEI and MUB are top ETFs for bond market exposure. But MUB's tax exemptions may be of strong interest for investors.

Offering exposure to the fixed-income market, the iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEMKT:MUB) and iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:IEI) both have a strong portfolio of government bonds. This comparison highlights how each fund stacks up on cost, yield, performance, and risk.

Snapshot (cost & size)MetricMUBIEIIssueriSharesISharesExpense ratio0.05%0.15%1-yr return (as of Feb. 7, 2026)0.59%2.61%Dividend yield3.13%3.51%Beta0.250.15AUM$42.61 billion$17.89 billionBeta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months.

IEI has a higher annual fee but delivers a modestly higher yield and one-year return than MUB. But because MUB holds over 70 times more assets in its portfolio, it’s a broader investment with a higher AUM.

Performance & risk comparisonMetricMUBIEIMax drawdown (5 y)-11.88%-13.89%Growth of $1,000 over 5 years$916$898What's insideIEI holds 87 positions focused exclusively on U.S. Treasury bonds that mature in three to seven years, providing pure government exposure with minimal credit risk. The fund is nearly two decades old and holds AA-rated bonds, the second-best rating.

MUB spreads its assets across more than 6,000 investment-grade municipal bonds, with most of its holdings in bonds issued by state and local governments, unlike IEI, which focuses more on federally issued bonds. Interest earned from this ETF is exempt from U.S. income tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).

For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.

What this means for investorsOver the last 12 months and throughout its existence, IEI’s price has performed better and with lower risk, with 100% of its holdings being federally-backed bonds. However, one can’t ignore MUB’s tax exemptions.

While AMT taxes generally apply to high-income investors, not having to pay income tax on interest means investors do not have to pay the IRS on the interest they earn. However, the ETF is not exempt from state taxes, so investors should check with their local state to see how taxes apply.

Another potential advantage for MUB is that, by design, it should be more volatile because it holds no federal bonds and consists of lower-rated assets than IEI.

This comes with risk, as lower ratings increase the likelihood of default by bond issuers. But if investors are willing to take on the risk, the increased volatility and tax exemptions may make MUB an option to consider.

NEW YORK, Feb. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized investor-rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE: BRBR) and certain of its officers.

This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired BellRing securities between November 19, 2024 and August 4, 2025, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm’s site: bgandg.com/BRBR.

BellRing Case Details

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose materially adverse facts. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that:
      (1)   the Defendants failed to disclose to investors that its strong sales results did not reflect increased end-consumer demands or brand momentum;
      (2)   rather, customers accumulated excess inventory as a safeguard against product shortages that had previously constrained BellRing’s supply;
      (3)   once customers gained confidence that product shortages were a thing of the past, they promptly reduced their inventory by selling through existing products and cutting back on new orders; and
      (4)   following the destocking, the Company admitted that competitive pressures were materially weakening demand.

What's Next for BellRing Investors?

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm’s site: bgandg.com/BRBR. or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 917-590-0911. If you suffered a loss in BellRing you have until March 23, 2026, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.

No Cost to BellRing Investors

We, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys’ fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.

Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC for BellRing Securities Class Action?

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. More at www.bgandg.com

"Our practice centers on restoring investor capital and ensuring corporate accountability, which serves to uphold the essential integrity of the marketplace," said Peretz Bronstein, Founding Partner of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Contact Info

Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or Nathan Miller
Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
917-590-0911 | [email protected]

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