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Bitwise is acquiring institutional staking platform Chorus One, Bloomberg reported. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chorus One previously joined the Solana network as a validator.

Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, has abandoned its plan to raise up to $20 billion and is now targeting a significantly smaller amount, the Financial Times reported. The initial plan, which would have valued the company at $500 billion, reportedly collapsed after facing opposition from potential investors. According to the report, investors expressed concerns over the risks of such a large-scale fundraising, citing regulatory and trust uncertainties surrounding the stablecoin business model, as well as questions about Tether's capital structure and risk exposure. The company is now said to be in discussions with investors for a reduced funding round of around $5 billion. In response, Paolo Ardoino stated that the direction of the investment round is being adjusted to align with investors and market conditions, adding that Tether's financial position is strong enough to proceed without any investment. Tether previously announced in an earnings report that it had recorded a profit of over $10 billion last year.

According to an analysis by cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko, Binance dominated the centralized crypto exchange (CEX) market last year with a 39.2% share of trading volume. Bybit followed in second place with 8.1%, and MEXC was third with 7.8%. The rest of the top 10 included Gate (7.5%), Crypto.com (7.2%), Bitget (6.4%), OKX (6.3%), Coinbase (6.1%), HTX (6.0%), and Upbit (5.5%). In terms of year-over-year growth, MEXC saw the largest increase at 90.9%, followed by Bitget (45.5%) and Gate (39.7%), all of which expanded their market share. Upbit, the only South Korean exchange to make the top 10, achieved its ranking based on spot trading volume alone. However, its volume decreased by 18.9% compared to the previous year.

Dusting attacks using stablecoins have increased following Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade late last year, Cointelegraph reported. These attacks now account for 11% of all transactions and 26% of active addresses. Before the upgrade, the figures were approximately 3% to 5% of total transactions and 15% to 20% of active addresses. The increase is attributed to lower transaction fees resulting from the upgrade. Dusting is a type of attack in which hackers send small amounts of tokens to random addresses to track wallets or cause disruption.

Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator (YC) will begin offering investment funds to startups in the stablecoin USDC, The Block reported. This marks the first time YC has provided a stablecoin payment option to its founders. The choice will be available to all startups backed by YC, not just crypto-focused firms, starting this spring. Payments will be made in USDC on the Ethereum, Base, and Solana networks.

South Korean police have summoned the former CEO of Dunamu, the operator of crypto exchange Upbit, as part of an investigation into nepotism allegations against a lawmaker, Newsis reported. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Division questioned former Dunamu CEO Lee Sir-goo for about an hour as a witness. The investigation centers on suspicions that independent lawmaker Kim Byung-kee solicited a job for his second son during a dinner with the CEO of Bithumb and others in November 2024.

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net inflow of $15 million on Feb. 3, according to TraderT. This marks a return to net inflows after three consecutive trading days of outflows. - BlackRock (ETHA): +$43.82 million - Fidelity (FETH): -$54.84 million - Invesco (QETH): +$1.14 million - VanEck (ETHV): -$2.47 million - Grayscale (ETHE): +$8.25 million - Grayscale Mini Trust (ETH): +$19.12 million

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a total net outflow of $269.93 million on Feb. 3, according to data compiled by TraderT. The reversal comes just one day after the funds recorded a net inflow. The daily flows for each fund were as follows: - BlackRock (IBIT): +$62.12 million - Fidelity (FBTC): -$148.7 million - Bitwise (BITB): -$23.42 million - Ark Invest (ARKB): -$62.5 million - Franklin (EZBC): -$2.19 million - VanEck (HODL): -$4.81 million - Grayscale (GBTC): -$56.63 million - Grayscale (Mini BTC): -$33.8 million

An anonymous whale address starting with bc1pyd sold 5,076 BTC, worth $384 million, over the past eight hours, Lookonchain reported. The whale, who had previously been accumulating BTC, realized a loss of $118 million from the sale.

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Police Agency have begun developing an integrated system to track drug trafficking linked to virtual assets and the dark web, Yonhap News reported. The government plans to invest 13.2 billion won (about $9.6 million) over three years, starting this year, to advance the related research and development (R&D) project.

The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - ETH: $290 million liquidated (70.93% longs) - BTC: $260 million liquidated (81.17% longs) - SOL: $26.72 million liquidated (83.57% longs)

Whale Alert reported that 1,000,000,000 USDT has been transferred from Binance to an unknown wallet. The transaction is valued at about $999 million.

Executives from South Korea's leading exchanges offering KRW trading pairs have met with Lee Jeong-mun, head of the ruling Democratic Party's Digital Asset Task Force, to voice concerns over proposed limits on major shareholder stakes, Digital Asset reported. The meeting included Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok, Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won, Coinone Co-CEO Cha Myung-hoon, and Kim Jae-jin, executive vice chairman of the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA). The concerns stem from a plan previously drafted by South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) that would cap the ownership stake of any single major shareholder in a crypto exchange at 15-20%. The proposal was part of a document on the second phase of digital asset legislation shared with members of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee.

Two addresses belonging to an anonymous whale, dormant for two years, purchased a total of 4,020 ETH ($8.74 million) seven hours ago, on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa reported. This whale notably held its position without selling during the previous bear market, when ETH was at $1,522, or the subsequent bull market peak of $4,461. The whale now holds 5,122 ETH at an average purchase price of $2,269.

Binance has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Zilliqa (ZIL) starting from 9:00 a.m. UTC on Feb. 5. The suspension is to support the upcoming Zilliqa network upgrade and hard fork.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has filed a civil lawsuit against Coinbase for offering bets on sports event contracts without a license, Cointelegraph reported. The board has asked the court to issue temporary and preliminary injunctions to immediately halt Coinbase's sports-related derivatives and prediction market operations.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is set to launch a prediction market platform called 'OG', The Block reported. The move comes amid growing demand for event-based trading ahead of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the U.S. National Football League (NFL). The platform will initially be available in the United States, allowing users to trade contracts related to events in economics, politics, culture, and entertainment. OG will be operated by a Crypto.com subsidiary dedicated to derivatives, which is registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The crypto industry has not collapsed, and the current downturn was triggered by external factors, making it difficult to call this a true "crypto winter," according to a report from Asian Web3 research and consulting firm Tiger Research. In its report, titled "2026 Is It Crypto Winter Now? Market Changes After Regulation," the firm explained that the past three crypto winters all followed a pattern of a major incident leading to a collapse in trust and a subsequent talent exodus. While similar patterns like the Oct. 10 liquidation event are being observed, the key difference is that the trigger was not internal to the industry. The report added that as regulatory clarity improves, the conditions for the next bull run are becoming clear. These include the emergence of a new killer use case from unregulated sectors and a shift in the macroeconomic environment to favor risk assets. Tiger Research concluded that while a "crypto season" where all assets rise is unlikely to return, the next bull run will come, though it will not benefit everyone.

Cryptocurrency lending protocol Aave (AAVE) is officially shutting down Avara, its integrated brand for Web3 projects, according to The Block. The move is part of a plan to divest intellectual property (IP) unrelated to lending and refocus its core efforts on its lending protocol.

South Korea is expected to release guidelines for corporate investment in virtual assets as early as next month, Chosun Biz reported. Financial authorities are concerned that large-scale corporate crypto investments could threaten financial soundness and are considering a plan to limit such investments to between 5% and 10% of a company's own capital. The guidelines are set to include rules on the types of virtual assets corporations can invest in, requirements for using custody services to store assets before and after trading, and measures to prevent corporate money laundering. However, trading is expected to be difficult for listed companies in which the government holds a stake, as well as for financial firms such as banks and insurance companies. The final investment cap for corporations is still under discussion.

An address believed to belong to Singapore's DBS Bank deposited 3 million USDC to Galaxy Digital about an hour ago, The Data Nerd reported. The move is thought to be for the purpose of purchasing ETH.

The Democratic Party of Korea's Digital Asset Task Force (TF) is in the final stages of drafting its second-phase legislation, a basic act on digital assets, Digital Asset reported exclusively. The TF reportedly plans to consolidate five related bills from its member lawmakers and submit the unified proposal to the party's policy committee this week. Following coordination with the government, Policy Committee Chairwoman Han Jeong-ae is expected to sponsor the bill. However, the legislative process may face hurdles. South Korea's Financial Services Commission is pushing to limit the stake of major shareholders in digital asset exchanges to between 15% and 20%, a level similar to that for Alternative Trading Systems (ATS). In contrast, TF members and industry representatives are reportedly hesitant or opposed to this measure.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index is currently at 29, down one point from yesterday. The index is calculated by comparing the price performance of the top 100 coins by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, against Bitcoin. An 'altcoin season' is declared when 75% of these coins outperform Bitcoin over the preceding 90 days, while the opposite is considered a 'Bitcoin season.' A reading closer to 100 suggests conditions are favorable for an altcoin season.

Onchain Lens reported that Trend Research deposited an additional 15,000 ETH, worth $33.08 million, to Binance approximately six hours ago. To date, the firm has sold a total of 153,588 ETH ($350 million) and subsequently repaid its loans.

The Fear & Greed Index from crypto data provider Alternative fell three points from yesterday to 14, remaining in the extreme fear category. The index indicates extreme market fear as it approaches zero and extreme optimism as it approaches 100. It is calculated based on volatility (25%), market volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin dominance (10%), and Google search trends (10%).