Headline
▌White House Crypto Roundtable Fails to Reach Agreement on Stablecoin Yields, Demands Compromise by Month
The White House-convened meeting between the crypto industry and Wall Street banks failed to reach an agreement on whether stablecoins should offer yields or rewards. Sources say the Trump administration has asked all parties to reach a substantial compromise on the wording of legislation related to stablecoin yields by the end of this month in order to advance the Senate Crypto Market Structure Bill. The meeting, led by Presidential Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt, focused on the core point of contention regarding stablecoin yields. The White House hopes the bill will quickly move to the Senate Banking Committee and garner support from some Democrats. Crypto industry representatives consider the meeting a necessary step forward, but banks have not yet offered concrete concessions.
▌SpaceX Memo Confirms Merger with xAI, Valuation Reaches $1.25 Trillion
According to sources familiar with the matter, Elon Musk plans to merge SpaceX with xAI, a move aimed at consolidating his increasingly large strategic footprint in artificial intelligence and space exploration. The sources indicated that the merger plan was announced via an internal memo on Monday. The merged company is expected to be priced at approximately $527 per share, valuing the company at $1.25 trillion. Neither SpaceX nor xAI has yet responded. This move further intertwines Musk's various businesses. He acquired the social media platform Twitter (later renamed X) in late 2022, subsequently merging it with xAI for $33 billion. xAI also operates the chatbot Grok, spending approximately $1 billion per month on its goal of achieving a deep understanding of the universe. The merger with SpaceX will consolidate funding, talent, and computing resources, while blurring the lines between the two companies. This merger may realize Musk's vision of deploying data centers in space to support complex computations in artificial intelligence.
▌Trump: Trade Deal Reached with India, Tariffs on India to be Reduced to 18%
US President Trump stated on social media that he had the privilege of speaking with Indian Prime Minister Modi this morning. He is one of my closest friends and a highly influential and respected leader in his country. We discussed many things, including trade and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian oil and increase imports from the United States and possibly even Venezuela.
Blockchain Applications
▌Chicago Options Exchange Plans to Relaunch Binary Options to Enter Prediction Markets
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) is in early discussions with retail brokers and market makers to relaunch binary options contracts, aiming to compete in the rapidly growing prediction market. Kalshi and Polymarket saw trading volumes reach a record $17 billion in January. Cboe previously launched the product in 2008 but subsequently delisted it. It is now seeking to reposition the product through a compliant design as a starting point for retail investors entering the options market. The plan will be subject to regulation by the SEC or CFTC.
**Prometheum, a digital asset securities platform, has raised an additional $23 million in funding.** Prometheum, a provider of digital asset market infrastructure, has announced the completion of a $23 million funding round. Investors include a group of high-net-worth individuals and institutions, whose names have not yet been disclosed. The new funds will be used to introduce digital asset products, including cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, and on-chain securities, into the mainstream financial market. **Cryptocurrency** **CoinShares: Digital Asset Investment Products See Outflows of $1.7 Billion Last Week** According to CoinShares monitoring, digital asset investment products experienced outflows for the second consecutive week last week, totaling $1.7 billion. This reverses the year-to-date inflow trend, resulting in a net outflow of $1 billion globally year-to-date, indicating a significant deterioration in investor confidence in this asset class. Overall asset market sentiment was generally weak, with Bitcoin experiencing a $1.32 billion outflow and Ethereum a $308 million outflow. Recently popular coins like Ripple (XRP) and Solana also saw outflows of $43.7 million and $31.7 million respectively. Meanwhile, $14.5 million flowed into shorting Bitcoin, resulting in an 8.1% year-to-date increase in assets under management (AuM). Coinbase announced the upcoming launch of its COIN50 perpetual contract in the US, allowing investors to gain exposure to the top 50 most liquid digital assets by market capitalization through a single contract, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and emerging tokens. The COIN50 index is rebalanced quarterly, with each component having a maximum weight of 50%. This contract allows investors to diversify their investments without trading 50 individual tokens, while maintaining alignment with overall market trends. The contract is offered by Coinbase Derivatives and can be traded by retail and institutional investors through approved FCM partners. BlackRock deposits 6,918 BTC and 58,327 ETH into Coinbase Prime. According to Lookonchain, BlackRock deposited 6,918 BTC (worth $538.6 million) and 58,327 ETH (worth $133.6 million) into Coinbase Prime. Strategy purchased 855 Bitcoins last week for $75.3 million, at a price of approximately $87,974 per Bitcoin. As of February 1, 2026, Strategy held 713,502 Bitcoins, with a total value of approximately $54.26 billion and an average price of approximately $76,052 per Bitcoin. BitMine increased its holdings by approximately 41,700 ETH last week, bringing its total holdings to over 4.28 million ETH. As of February 1, Eastern Time, BitMine's total cryptocurrency, cash, and "Moonshot" holdings totaled $10.7 billion. BitMine held 4,285,125 ETH (an increase of 41,787 ETH from the previous week), representing 3.55% of the total Ethereum supply (120.7 million ETH). It also held 193 BTC, $200 million worth of shares in Beast Industries, $20 million worth of shares in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS), and $586 million in uncollateralized cash.
▌Strategy's BTC holdings have a floating profit of $1.332 billion, while BitMine's ETH holdings have a floating loss of $6.5 billion
According to on-chain analyst Ember's monitoring, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR) purchased 855 BTC last week at a price of $87,974 ($75.22 million). They now hold a total of 713,502 BTC ($5.4263 billion), with an average cost of $76,052, resulting in a floating profit of $1.332 billion. Ethereum treasury company BitMine purchased 41,787 ETH last week at a price of approximately $2,601 ($108 million).
They currently hold a total of 4,285,125 ETH ($9.941 billion), with an average cost of $3,837, resulting in a paper loss of $6.5 billion. According to Jinse Finance, based on statistics from on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, Trend Research's total losses on Ethereum have reached $554 million. Starting yesterday, Trend Research deposited 73,589 ETH into Binance and appears to have sold them, with an average deposit price of $2,299.96, resulting in an estimated loss of $59.19 million. In addition to this substantial loss, its on-chain holdings of 598,342.35 ETH also show a paper loss of $495 million. According to on-chain analyst Ember, Trend Research has stopped out 53,589 ETH, worth $123 million, and subsequently withdrew 121 million USDT from Binance for repayment. The liquidation price of its ETH lending positions has now fallen to around $1810. Trend Research currently holds 598,000 ETH, worth $1.33 billion, with an average cost of $3180. The institution currently has a total loss of $613 million, including realized losses of $47.42 million and unrealized losses of $565 million. **Binance SAFU Fund Address Has Purchased 1315 BTC** According to Arkham monitoring, the Binance SAFU fund address 1BAuq has purchased 1315 BTC. This receiving address is not the address holding the 1 billion USDC stablecoin reserve. **Coinbase Will Launch ZAMA Spot Trading** Coinbase will launch spot trading for Zama (ZAMA). If liquidity conditions are met, the ZAMA-USD trading pair will open later today in supported regions. **Circle Issues 750 Million USDC on the Solana Network** According to on-chain data, Circle has just issued 750 million USDC on the Solana network. **Important Economic Developments** **US Bureau of Labor Statistics: January Employment Report Delayed Due to Government Shutdown** Due to the partial government shutdown, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its January employment report on Friday as originally planned. Emily Liddel, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, stated in a statement, "The release schedule will be rescheduled once government funding resumes. Due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will suspend data collection, processing, and release." Furthermore, the "December Job Openings and Labor Mobility Survey," originally scheduled for release on Tuesday, will also be rescheduled.
▌Trump Raises $483 Million to Enhance Midterm Election Chances
President Trump has stated that his only concern is losing Republican control of Congress in the November election. Newly filed campaign finance documents show that he has raised an unprecedented amount of money to prevent this. According to documents submitted to the Federal Election Commission, as of the end of December, Trump's political committees and the Republican National Committee had raised a total of $483 million. This amount is almost three times the total amount raised by the Democrats ($167 million).
▌Federal Reserve's Bostic: Inflation Remains High, No Rate Cuts Expected in 2026Federal Reserve's Bostic stated in his latest speech that inflation has not yet eased due to the impact of tariffs. His outlook for the first half of 2026 is that the economy will maintain strong growth, but the inflation rate will remain high, which is worrying. He stated that even without considering the effects of tax cuts and deregulation, the US economy still shows strong resilience. Currently, no one predicts that the labor market will deteriorate. Bostic also expects no rate cuts in 2026, and one or two more rate cuts would be enough to return to a neutral level.
(Note: Bostic's term as president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve is coming to an end; he will retire on February 28.) Trump, speaking about the Justice Department's investigation into the Federal Reserve, said he will persist and see how it goes. According to CME's "FedWatch": The probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in March is 8.9%, and the probability of keeping rates unchanged is 91.1%. The probability of the Federal Reserve cumulatively cutting interest rates by 25 basis points by April is 22.5%, the probability of keeping rates unchanged is 76.0%, and the probability of cumulatively cutting interest rates by 50 basis points is 1.5%. The probability of a cumulative 25 basis point interest rate cut by June is 45.9%. Throughout human history, gold has always been a core commodity in commercial activities. The core reason gold is the ultimate store of value is that it is free from counterparty risk. It is the only asset that is not a liability of others. Its high stock-to-flow ratio ensures scarcity, protecting it from arbitrary devaluation of fiat currencies. However, recently, a new currency competitor has emerged. Despite its differences from traditional metals, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, due to their volatility and cryptographic properties, are touted as gold killers. Bitcoin is often called digital gold. Can it replace gold in the future? If so, is abandoning this ancient asset advisable? 2025 has put an end to this debate: gold remains the true currency, while Bitcoin remains a risk asset. Despite historically high volatility, Bitcoin's decline hasn't reached levels worthy of caution, yet the entire ecosystem has suffered significant losses. Gold has reaffirmed its millennia-old status as the "king of currencies." It is a national asset, the ultimate guarantee without electricity, internet, or permission. In contrast, Bitcoin has matured into a high-beta asset with a degree of institutional authority. It is primarily an asset for traders, profiting from its dramatic two-way volatility. If gold is the traditional safeguard for building family and empire wealth, Bitcoin is a maverick hot asset: elusive, sometimes out of control, yet mysteriously alluring. Whether it can transform into the reserve asset we desire will only be revealed through further stress testing and years of trial and error.
Anais
Weatherly