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The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell to extreme fear levels of 5-9, the lowest since the June 2022 Terra and FTX crashes, as Bitcoin briefly dropped below $65,000 before recovering. The cryptocurrency saw a single-day decline of over $10,000, wiping out significant market value and triggering widespread liquidations. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $434.1 million in net outflows on February 5, led by BlackRock’s IBIT, reflecting growing caution among institutional investors.

Grant Cardone confirmed that his firm, Cardone Capital, has bought more Bitcoin at around $72,000 per coin, adding to its growing institutional crypto holdings as part of a hybrid strategy that blends real estate cash flow with long‑term BTC accumulation. He used recent announcements to challenge investors waiting for lower prices to buy, telling them to act now rather than time the market. Cardone also dismissed bearish predictions that Bitcoin could fall to zero, reinforcing his belief in Bitcoin’s future.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress the government has no power to bail out Bitcoin or force private banks to buy it. In response to questioning by crypto critic Rep. Brad Sherman, Bessent stressed that interventions in Bitcoin markets are not part of the Treasury’s authority. He also confirmed that the U.S. will retain its seized Bitcoin, which has grown from $500 million to over $15 billion, as part of a strategic reserve policy focused on holding rather than selling these assets.

Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG, which manages around $6.9 trillion in assets, is planning to offer cryptocurrency access to individual clients and tokenized deposit solutions for corporate customers as part of its digital asset strategy. CEO Sergio Ermotti described a cautious “fast follower” approach, focusing on building the right infrastructure and rolling out selective services while expanding pilot projects, highlighting the growing interest in blockchain among traditional banks amid evolving global demand and regulations.

Elon Musk has pulled far ahead as the world’s richest person after SpaceX acquired his AI startup xAI. Forbes’ real-time tracker now estimates Musk’s net worth at $852.5 billion. The deal merged SpaceX, xAI, and X, valuing the combined company at $1.25 trillion. Musk owns 42% of SpaceX, which now accounts for more than half of his total wealth. His fortune is now larger than the combined wealth of Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin. Tesla still makes up about 12% of his holdings, while SpaceX’s Starship and Starlink continue to drive growth.

Aster CEO Leonard has denied recent rumors that insiders engaged in token dumping or that Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” controls the project, calling such claims baseless. He emphasized that Aster operates independently with YZi Labs’ investment locked long-term and follows published tokenomics. The DeFi perpetual exchange has completed 254 million token buybacks and burned 78 million, with automated daily buybacks planned. Future plans include deeper liquidity, a privacy‑focused Layer 1 chain, staking, and slowing token emissions to support long‑term growth.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov has acquired a five-story Victorian mansion in London’s Notting Hill for £22 million (about $30 million), one of the few high-value property deals in the city’s luxury market over the past year. The purchase, completed in November, was roughly £2 million below earlier price guidance amid a slowdown in London’s high-end housing sector caused by higher taxes and reduced incentives for foreign buyers. The mansion offers extensive panoramic views and underscores continued global interest in prime real estate.

French authorities, including the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit, CyberGEND, and Europol, raided Elon Musk’s X offices in Paris over alleged cybercrimes. The probe targets offenses such as distributing child sexual abuse material, pedophilic deepfakes, grooming minors, and data mishandling. The raid follows a 2025 investigation into Grok-generated non-consensual content. Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned for questioning in April. The action underscores growing EU pressure on X regarding AI safeguards and content moderation.

HashKey Exchange, Hong Kong’s largest regulated crypto trading platform, will launch the SUI/USD spot trading pair and open over‑the‑counter trading at 16:00 HKT on February 4, 2026. Both the spot and OTC markets will be available only to professional investors, with the OTC marketplace offering real‑time quotes from top liquidity providers. SUI token deposits and withdrawals are already live, letting investors fund accounts ahead of launch. The move expands HashKey’s compliant trading options and supports growing institutional interest in SUI.

Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is hiring crypto specialists to train its AI on trading and digital asset strategies. The roles require expertise in on-chain analysis, DeFi, derivatives, arbitrage, MEV, quantitative methods, and risk management. These remote positions pay $45 to $100 per hour for US applicants outside Wyoming and Illinois and require a master’s, PhD, or equivalent experience. The move has been welcomed by crypto communities as a step toward mainstream adoption, with some joking that Bitcoin is now the currency of AI.

JasmyChain’s ecosystem grows with the launch of Jasmy Swap, a third-party decentralized exchange protocol. Built on JasmyChain, it uses smart contracts to automatically execute digital asset swaps, serving as a technical proof-of-concept for blockchain-based trading. The launch has sparked positive market response, with JasmyCoin rising 3.64%. Jasmy Swap highlights the ecosystem’s innovation and potential, showing how the chain can support new DeFi applications and increase activity within its blockchain network.

Russian Bitcoin mining giant BitRiver is on the brink of bankruptcy after a court launched insolvency proceedings over unpaid debts of more than 700 million rubles related to equipment and electricity costs. The company has shut down several facilities, faced management departures, and grappled with creditor lawsuits. Adding to its challenges, founder Igor Runets has been charged with tax evasion and placed under house arrest, intensifying the financial and legal pressures on the once‑leading mining firm.

A Nevada state court has issued a two-week temporary restraining order preventing Blockratize, the operator of the prediction market Polymarket, from offering sports and event contracts to residents, saying those activities likely violate Nevada’s gambling laws. The judge agreed with the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s civil complaint that Polymarket is operating without a state gaming license and that the federal Commodity Exchange Act does not give the CFTC exclusive authority over these contracts. If upheld, Polymarket and similar platforms may have to obtain state licenses or stop offering such markets.

Today, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin turns 32. Born on 31 January 1994 in Russia and raised in Canada, Buterin began coding at an early age and co-founded Bitcoin Magazine before publishing Ethereum’s whitepaper in 2013. He launched Ethereum in 2015, creating a platform that now powers decentralized finance, NFTs, smart contracts, and thousands of blockchain applications. Fans marked the occasion with artwork, memes, and tributes, while ETH traded near $2,700 as the community wishes him Happy Birthday, Vitalik, honoring his lasting influence on crypto.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has indicated that broad crypto innovation exemptions, covering areas like tokenized securities and DeFi, are unlikely to be finalized this month or next. Initially expected in January, the agency is taking a cautious approach and reviewing details carefully. Wall Street firms, including JPMorgan, Citadel, and SIFMA, recently met with the SEC to raise concerns about potential market impacts. Timing may also be influenced by pending crypto legislation in the Senate, though no release date is set.

The U.S. Department of Justice has seized over 400 million dollars in cryptocurrency, real estate, and other assets tied to the darknet mixing service Helix. The forfeiture was finalized on January 21, officially giving the government legal ownership. Helix, operated by Larry Dean Harmon from 2014 to 2017, handled around 354,468 Bitcoin, worth roughly 300 million dollars at the time, mainly for darknet drug markets. Harmon pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2021 and was sentenced in November 2024 to three years in prison, supervised release, and asset forfeiture. The case marks a major victory in combating crypto crime.