Crypto Morning Brief: Crypto Market Plunges Amid Strategy’s Q4 Earnings Release
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Crypto Morning Brief: Crypto Market Plunges Amid Strategy’s Q4 Earnings Release
According to market rumors, Blockratize, the parent company of prediction market platform Polymarket, has filed a trademark application for $POLY.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday’s Market Highlights
U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending January 31 stood at 231,000, versus an expectation of 212,000.
U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending January 31 totaled 231,000, compared to an expectation of 212,000 and a prior reading of 209,000.
CFTC withdraws Biden-era proposal to ban political prediction markets
According to The Block, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has formally withdrawn its 2024 “event contract” rule proposal—which would have prohibited political prediction market contracts. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig characterized the earlier proposal as “excessive policy intervention” and announced that the Commission will develop a new framework to support “legitimate innovation.”
Bessent: U.S. will not “bail out” Bitcoin; lacks authority to direct private banks to buy Bitcoin or TRUMP coin
According to Cointelegraph, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before Congress on Wednesday, stating that the U.S. government will retain Bitcoin seized through asset forfeiture—but will not instruct private banks to purchase additional Bitcoin during market downturns.
In a heated exchange with California Representative Brad Sherman, Bessent explicitly affirmed that, as Treasury Secretary and Chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), he holds no authority to direct private banks to acquire more Bitcoin—or “TRUMP coin”—by altering bank reserve requirements.
Bessent added that the value of Bitcoin held by the U.S. government via forfeiture has now exceeded $15 billion. Under President Trump’s March 2025 executive order, the U.S. government may only acquire additional Bitcoin through asset forfeiture cases or budget-neutral strategies—not via open-market operations.
Virginia introduces SB557 bill to establish state-level cryptocurrency reserve fund
According to Senate Bill No. 557—filed in Virginia on January 14, 2026—the Commonwealth plans to amend the Code of Virginia by adding Section 6 to Chapter 18 of Title 2.2, establishing the “Commonwealth Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Fund.”
The bill was introduced by Senator Reeves and has been referred to the Committee on General Laws and Technology for review.
U.S. House launches probe into Trump-linked crypto project’s $500M UAE deal
According to The Block, Ro Khanna—a senior Democratic member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party—has launched an investigation into World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a Trump-linked crypto project, following reports that it received a $500 million investment from Aryam Investment 1, an entity tied to the UAE royal family. The investigative letter notes the deal was signed four days before Trump’s inauguration, with an initial payment of $250 million—of which $187 million flowed to Trump-family entities.
Khanna questions whether this investment may have influenced U.S. export policy on advanced AI chips to the UAE—and whether its timing coincides with the presidential pardon granted to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. WLFI is required to respond to 16 specific questions and submit relevant documents by March 1, 2026.
Earlier market reports indicated that a UAE royal family member secretly acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million.
Espresso unveils ESP tokenomics: initial supply of 3.59 billion tokens, 10% allocated to airdrops
Blockchain infrastructure provider Espresso has unveiled the tokenomics model for its ESP token. As an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token, ESP has an initial total supply of 3.59 billion tokens, with no fixed maximum supply.
ESP token allocation breakdown:
Contributors: 27.36%;
Investors: 14.32%;
Airdrops: 10%;
Community Launchpad: 1%;
Staking rewards: 3.01%;
Future airdrops and incentives: 24.81%;
Foundation operations: 15%;
Liquidity provision: 4.5%.
ESP tokens will be used to support the network’s proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Holders can participate in network operations either by running validator nodes or delegating tokens. Espresso employs a staking reward formula similar to Ethereum’s—offering higher incentives when staking participation is low, then gradually reducing rewards as staking adoption increases—to ensure network security and stable operation.
Earlier, Espresso closed a $28 million Series B funding round in 2024, led by a16z.
Binance denies sending legal threat letters to users accusing it of insolvency
According to The Block, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has clarified that a cease-and-desist notice widely circulating online is fake. The notice allegedly targeted an individual who claimed the exchange was insolvent.
Social media user Lewsiphur claimed on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that Binance was insolvent and warned of “catastrophic” consequences for the market. He later stated he had received a cease-and-desist letter from Binance and posted an image of the document. Binance’s official customer support account responded: “This letter is not from Binance—it’s an imaginative forgery.”
Rumors about Binance’s insolvency have circulated persistently over recent weeks, often linked to the October 2025 cryptocurrency market crash. Binance co-founder He Yi stated that although some users initiated withdrawal campaigns, assets held at Binance addresses actually increased.
Trend Research transfers another 8,000 ETH to Binance, worth ~$14.8 million
According to on-chain analyst Embers (@EmberCN), Trend Research has transferred another 8,000 ETH to Binance, valued at approximately $14.8 million.
Strategy releases Q4 financial report: average BTC acquisition cost ~$76,052; net loss of $12.4 billion
Per its official announcement, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy Inc. released its Q4 2025 and full-year financial results. As of February 1, 2026, Strategy holds 713,502 BTC, with a total acquisition cost of $54.26 billion—averaging ~$76,052 per BTC. In fiscal year 2025, the company raised $25.3 billion in financing.
Q4 financial data shows a $17.4 billion loss and a net loss of $12.4 billion, primarily driven by declines in digital asset valuations. As of December 31, 2025, Strategy held $2.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The company has established a $2.25 billion USD reserve, sufficient to cover roughly 2.5 years of dividend and interest payments.
Market update: Polymarket’s parent company Blockratize files $POLY trademark application
According to market sources, Blockratize—the parent company of prediction market platform Polymarket—has filed a trademark application for $POLY.
Tether announces $100 million strategic investment in Anchorage Digital
Per Tether’s official announcement, Tether Investments declared on February 5, 2026, a $100 million strategic equity investment in Anchorage Digital—the first federally regulated digital asset bank in the U.S. Anchorage Digital provides institutional clients and innovators with staking, custody, governance, settlement, and stablecoin issuance services.
Market Data
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