Day: February 4, 2026

US Treasury Has No Authority To ‘Bail Out’ Bitcoin

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The comments came during Bessent’s Congressional testimony on Wednesday in a tense exchange with California Representative Brad Sherman. United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before Congress on Wednesday and reiterated that the US will retain Bitcoin (BTC) acquired through asset seizures but will not direct private banks to purchase more BTC in the event of a market downturn. California Congressman Brad Sherman, a major critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, asked Bessent: “Does the Treasury Department or the various components of the Federal Open Market Committee have the authority to…

Bitcoin Falls To New 2026 Low, Altcoins Crumble: Is $56K BTC Next?

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Key points: Bitcoin remains under pressure as the bears attempt to hold the price below the crucial $74,508 level. Several major altcoins are struggling to bounce off their support levels, increasing the likelihood of the resumption of the downtrend. Bitcoin (BTC) bulls attempted to start a recovery, but the bears sold at higher levels and pulled the price below $72,169. Galaxy Digital research lead Alex Thorn said in a note on Monday that BTC could plunge to its realized price of $56,000 over the coming weeks due to the lack…

Bitnomial Lists First US-regulated Tezos Futures

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The Chicago-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitnomial has launched futures tied to Tezos’s XTZ token, marking the first time the asset has a futures market on a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated exchange. According to Wednesday’s announcement, the futures contracts are live and allow institutional and retail traders to gain exposure to XTZ (XTZ) price movements using either cryptocurrency or US dollars as margin. Futures contracts let traders hedge risk or gain price exposure by agreeing to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date, without holding…

Bitcoin slides to $72K, extending selloff and dragging crypto stocks lower

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Bitcoin fell to around $72,000 on Wednesday, marking its lowest level of the year as selling pressure across digital assets intensified. The move deepens a downtrend that has been in place since mid-January, when Bitcoin peaked near $96,000. The selloff weighed broadly on crypto-linked equities, though the steep drop in Strategy shares stood out given the company’s position as the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. With roughly 713,000 bitcoin acquired at an average price near $76,000, the slide to $72,000 leaves the company facing sizable unrealized losses on its treasury.…

Spanish banking giant BBVA joins Qivalis consortium to issue European stablecoin

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Spain’s second-largest lender, BBVA, announced Wednesday that it has become part of Qivalis, a bank-led consortium aiming to build a shared euro-pegged stablecoin for institutional and crypto use. Qivalis, originally formed by nine major lenders, is targeting a late-2026 launch for its MiCAR-compliant stablecoin to reinforce Europe’s financial autonomy, counter US dollar dominance in stablecoins, and offer a faster, lower-cost payment and settlement infrastructure. “Collaboration between banks is key to creating common standards that support the evolution of the future banking model and deliver financial innovation to our clients in…

Bitcoin Price Action Makes Lower Lows After Failed $76,000 Relief Bounce

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Bitcoin fell to its lowest levels since November 2024 after beating its previous bottom, with $70,000 BTC price support and under coming into focus. Bitcoin (BTC) saw a second dip below $73,000 after Wednesday’s Wall Street open as US sellers returned. Key points: Bitcoin falls further into territory not seen since late 2024, dropping under Tuesday’s prior low. Macro assets lose steam as precious metals give back recent gains. Traders lie in wait for deeper long-term lows on Bitcoin to come next. Bitcoin joins precious metals in failed relief bounce…

Analyst Predicts XRP Price Wil Target 450% Rally To $7

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Crypto analyst Diana has predicted that the XRP price could rally to $7, representing a 450% gain for the altcoin. She alluded to technical setups that prove that the token could reach this price target this year, which would mark a new all-time high (ATH). XRP Price Eyes 450% Rally To $7 In an X post, Diana stated that the XRP price technical setup targets $7 next based on the Elliot Wave and Fibonacci levels. She noted that right now, the altcoin is sitting at a critical support zone between…

Stacks and Fireblocks Partner To Bring Bitcoin-Based DeFi to Institutions

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Fireblocks, an institutional-grade crypto infrastructure company, announced on Wednesday that it will integrate Stacks, a decentralized finance (DeFi) layer for the Bitcoin protocol, to give institutional clients access to lending and yield-bearing opportunities. The integration bypasses the 10-minute Bitcoin block time by leveraging the Stacks blockchain, which has an average block time of about 29 seconds, a Stacks spokesperson told Cointelegraph. All Stacks transactions settle to the Bitcoin ledger for finality. Removing the 10-minute BTC block time barrier resolves one of the most common objections for financial institutions looking to…

Amazon in talks with OpenAI to develop custom AI models for Alexa and broader product suite

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Amazon has entered discussions with OpenAI on developing customized artificial intelligence models that could be used across Amazon’s AI products, according to a report from The Information. The talks come shortly after reports that Amazon may invest as much as $50 billion in OpenAI as part of a new fundraising round. Other participants in the round are said to include Nvidia, Microsoft, and SoftBank. Customized OpenAI models could be used to enhance Amazon products such as Alexa, potentially improving performance by tailoring responses and behavior to Amazon’s ecosystem and customer…

What Dubai’s Ban on Monero and Zcash Signals for Regulated Crypto

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Key takeaways Dubai does not criminalize privacy coins yet has ordered them to be removed from regulated financial channels. This means licensed firms in the DIFC can no longer trade, promote or package them into investment products. From a compliance perspective, privacy-by-default features conflict with AML and sanctions frameworks that require transaction visibility, making certain tokens structurally incompatible with regulated intermediaries. The policy reflects a broader global trend, as regulators in Europe, the US and parts of Asia are also restricting privacy-focused assets on licensed crypto platforms and within financial…