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An anonymous whale address starting with 3NVeXm deposited 2,500 BTC, worth $172.56 million, to Binance about an hour ago, Lookonchain reported. Deposits to exchanges are typically interpreted as an intention to sell.

Lee Chan-jin, Governor of South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), stated that he personally agrees that cryptocurrency exchanges should be regulated at the same level as financial companies. According to Money Today, he made the comments while attending an emergency hearing of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee regarding an erroneous payment incident at the Bithumb exchange. Lee noted that there are institutional limits to the operation of self-regulation. The committee has been holding a plenary session since 1:00 a.m. UTC today to address the matter.

Lee Chan-jin, Governor of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), has called for virtual asset exchanges to implement real-time systems for synchronizing their ledgers and account balances, Digital Asset reported. His comments follow a recent incident where South Korean exchange Bithumb incorrectly distributed BTC. Lee stressed that stability can only be ensured when an exchange's actual holdings and its ledger match in real-time. He noted that while Upbit synchronizes its data every five minutes, he questioned whether this interval is adequate, suggesting that policymakers and the National Assembly should discuss the necessity of a true real-time system. The FSS governor added that he hopes this issue will be addressed in the second phase of virtual asset legislation, attributing the current shortcomings to the institutional limitations of the existing self-regulatory framework.

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has announced the temporary suspension of deposits and withdrawals for Inicia (INIT) due to a network upgrade. The suspension will begin at 1:00 p.m. UTC on Feb. 16.

Citadel Securities, along with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), will support the development of LayerZero's new blockchain, "Zero," Decrypt reported. The project is designed to address structural constraints faced by institutional investors in trading, clearing, settlement, and tokenized assets. According to LayerZero, "Zero" offers high throughput and low costs because it does not require all participants to process the same transactions. The launch is scheduled for this fall. LayerZero previously announced that Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood had joined its advisory board.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) is set to discuss preliminary approval for over-the-counter security token offering (STO) exchanges during its regular meeting at 5:00 a.m. UTC today, Edaily reported. The decision is critical for Lucentblock, a startup that has operated a real estate fractional investment business for the past seven years under a regulatory sandbox and now faces elimination. The FSC did not table the agenda item in its meetings on Jan. 14 and Jan. 28, leading to expectations of a decision today, though a further delay remains possible. On Feb. 7, the FSC's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) selected two consortiums for the review: one led by the Korea Exchange and Koscom (KDX), and another by Nextrade and Musicow (NXT). If the FSC upholds the SFC's selections, Lucentblock will be excluded from the process.

Hong Kong authorities are moving forward with a stablecoin licensing system despite caution from the Chinese central government, CNBC reported. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is reportedly reviewing 36 applications for stablecoin issuance. In May of last year, Hong Kong passed a stablecoin ordinance requiring licenses for any entity issuing stablecoins within the city or handling stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar. The law took effect in August, after which the HKMA began accepting applications. Mainland China, however, remains cautious. Chinese regulators, including the People's Bank of China, expressed concerns about Hong Kong's stablecoin plans in October of last year, effectively halting discussions. China has cited volatility, illicit fund transfers, and risks to monetary sovereignty as key concerns since banning all cryptocurrency trading in 2021. At a Legislative Council meeting on Feb. 2, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said a decision on the first stablecoin license approval could be made as early as March.

U.S. stock and crypto trading app Robinhood has launched a public testnet for its proprietary blockchain, Robinhood Chain, The Block reported. The testnet is an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on Arbitrum. Robinhood explained that over the next few months, developers using the chain will be able to access testnet-only assets and conduct direct testing through the Robinhood Wallet.

Haseeb, a managing partner at Dragonfly, has pushed back against the perception within some industry circles that current crypto market sentiment is worse than it was during the collapse of FTX. Writing on X, Haseeb dismissed this view as "recency bias," stating that the comparison is inaccurate. He recalled that the FTX crisis was the first true systemic collapse since Mt. Gox, creating uncertainty about which companies would survive and whether cryptocurrencies might be effectively banned in various countries. In contrast, he assessed that while the current market is painful due to price declines since October, its fundamentals remain sound. As evidence, Haseeb pointed to the system's maintained stability, an improving global regulatory environment, continued institutional adoption, a booming prediction market, all-time high trading volumes on decentralized perpetual futures exchanges (perp DEXs), and the growth of stablecoins. He added that while it will take time, the market will be fine.

South Korean financial authorities will mandate external audits of virtual asset holdings following an erroneous 60 trillion won Bitcoin transfer incident at the Bithumb exchange, News1 reported. Authorities have launched an on-site inspection at Bithumb and expanded their checks to four other exchanges: Upbit, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax. Meanwhile, the National Assembly's National Policy Committee is scheduled to hold a plenary session at 1:00 a.m. UTC today to conduct an emergency inquiry into the Bithumb incident.

Bitmine staked an additional 140,400 ETH, worth $282 million, four hours ago, EmberCN reported. The company is now staking a total of 3,037,859 ETH, representing about 70% of its total holdings. This generates an estimated annual staking reward of 85,000 ETH ($172 million).

During a second White House meeting convened with banking and crypto industry representatives on stablecoin yields, the banking sector has reportedly proposed a hardline principle that amounts to a total ban on interest payments. According to a White House document shared on X by Decrypt senior reporter Sander Lutz, banking representatives argued for prohibiting any monetary or non-monetary compensation for holding, using, or owning payment stablecoins. They also insisted that any exceptions must be "extremely limited" so as not to undermine the principle of the ban. This stance is even stricter than the latest draft of a market structure bill, which permitted yield payments for certain stablecoin activities. A person familiar with the meeting described the discussion as productive but noted that "nothing was resolved." Future talks are expected to move to the Senate Banking Committee and industry self-regulatory bodies. While some crypto firms are reportedly showing a willingness to accept the banks' demands, Coinbase is said to be maintaining its opposition.

Ripple Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Stuart Alderoty described recent discussions at the White House on stablecoin revenue as productive. In a post on X, Alderoty stated that a consensus is forming and that bipartisan support for a crypto market structure bill remains intact. He emphasized the need to act while the opportunity is open to achieve tangible results for consumers and the U.S. The comments follow reports of a second meeting at the White House between representatives from the banking and crypto industries to discuss revenue generated from stablecoins, such as interest payments.

Coinbase announced the addition of GWEI to its listing roadmap.

The Altcoin Season Index from comprehensive crypto data platform CoinMarketCap has risen three points from yesterday to 27. The index is calculated by comparing the price performance of the top 100 coins by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, against Bitcoin. If 75% of these top coins outperform Bitcoin over the past 90 days, it is considered an altcoin season. Otherwise, it is deemed a Bitcoin season. A reading closer to 100 indicates an altcoin season.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has risen two points from yesterday to 11, though it remains in the "extreme fear" category, according to data from crypto analytics firm Alternative. The index measures market sentiment on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 signifies extreme fear and 100 represents extreme optimism. It is calculated based on volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market cap dominance (10%), and Google search volume (10%).

Crypto industry Super PAC Fairshake plans to commit a total of $5 million to the Senate campaign of pro-crypto U.S. Representative Barry Moore of Alabama, CoinDesk reported. Fairshake stated its support for Moore as a leader who will promote economic growth and establish the U.S. as a crypto hub. The Super PAC also recently supported U.S. Representative French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Hill has spearheaded a bill on crypto market structure, which passed the House last year and is now awaiting consideration in the Senate.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has joined the advisory board of cross-chain protocol LayerZero (ZRO). LayerZero previously secured a strategic investment from Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, USDT.

Speaking at the CNBC Digital Finance Forum in New York, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz stated that the recent cryptocurrency market correction reflects a structural shift across the industry rather than a collapse caused by a single negative event. He noted that while the 2022 FTX collapse had a clear cause—a loss of trust—the current downturn lacks a distinct trigger. Novogratz pointed to an event last October when more than 1.6 million traders had leveraged positions worth $19.37 billion liquidated in a single day, sending shockwaves through the market. In the aftermath, he explained, many retail investors and some liquidity providers exited, making it difficult for previous narratives to regain traction quickly. The "age of speculation" is gradually coming to an end, he added, highlighting a growing bipartisan consensus to pass the CLARITY Act. He described the crypto market structure bill as essential for restoring market trust and momentum.

Coinbase has announced the addition of OPN to its listing roadmap.

South Korean financial authorities are considering sanctions against the Bithumb exchange following a recent large-scale erroneous payment incident, Newsis reported. Although a comprehensive digital asset law addressing internal control responsibilities is not yet in place, regulators plan to utilize the existing Virtual Asset User Protection Act to the fullest extent possible. According to financial industry sources, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin stated at a recent meeting that authorities are assessing whether any aspects of the incident violate the current user protection law. He explained that individuals who knowingly sold the mistakenly distributed Bitcoin for profit could be subject to unfair trading charges under the act. This is because the intentional mass-selling of the erroneously sent Bitcoin is seen as an act that caused a price decline and harmed other investors, which can be defined as unfair trading.

Mario Nawfal, founder of the Web3 investment firm IBC Group, highlighted on X key arguments from Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) request for a retrial. According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, SBF's legal team claims an affidavit arguing that FTX was not insolvent during its November 2022 crisis and that customer assets were always fully repayable was withheld from the jury. The team also alleges that multiple witnesses abandoned their testimony due to pressure and threats from prosecutors. Nawfal added that SBF's side argues prosecutors relied on statements from cooperating witnesses facing long sentences while excluding data that showed FTX's actual financial state. They contend the government and the bankruptcy estate presented a distorted narrative of missing customer funds by omitting billions of dollars in assets, and that the subsequent full repayment to customers at 119-143% was not adequately considered. The retrial application, which was made public for the first time, also includes a Brady disclosure motion and a request for the judge's recusal.

U.S. stock and crypto trading app Robinhood recorded $1.28 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025, a 27% increase year-over-year, Wu Blockchain reported. During the same period, the company's crypto-related revenue fell 38% to $221 million. Robinhood's cash and cash equivalents totaled $4.3 billion.

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs holds $2.36 billion in cryptocurrency assets as of the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a 13F securities filing, Unfolded reported. The bank's holdings include $1.1 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), $1 billion in Ethereum (ETH), $153 million in XRP, and $108 million in SOL. This represents approximately 0.33% of Goldman Sachs' total assets under management.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed today. - S&P 500: -0.33% - Nasdaq: -0.59% - Dow Jones: +0.10%