On 4 February 2026, Bitcoin fell to about $72,500, marking its lowest level since 2024 as the broader crypto market extended its decline. Major altcoins, led by sharply weaker Solana, also slid, while total crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours climbed to nearly $880 million and overall market capitalization retreated to $2.47 trillion. The drawdown has left large institutional holders facing sizable unrealized losses as volatility and risk-off sentiment persist.

After the U.S. trading session on Feb. 4, 2026, Bitcoin briefly dropped below $72,500 on Bitstamp, setting a fresh 15‑month low under $73,000. The move came as macro markets, including gold and silver, reversed recent gains and more than $800 million in crypto positions were liquidated, with traders eyeing downside targets around $50,000 and $59,000–$65,000.

Analyst Diana said in an X post that XRP could climb about 450% to $7, citing Elliott Wave and Fibonacci, if $1.50–$1.55 support holds. She outlined steps toward $1.88–$2 and then $2.20–$2.70. Analyst CasiTrades expects a Wave 4 relief toward $1.78–$2.03, while XRP traded near $1.58 at press time, per CoinMarketCap.

On 4 February 2026, Bitcoin was trading close to $73,700 under sustained bearish sentiment and elevated volatility. Analysts highlight that a sweep of the April lows with strong volume may signal local capitulation, while on-chain metrics still allow for further downside. Even so, many market observers see the current phase as late-stage weakness within a broader constructive outlook heading into 2026.

A dataset containing 149 million stolen credentials, including access details for about 420,000 Binance accounts, was reported circulating among cybercriminals this week. Security researchers say the information comes from infostealing malware that harvests passwords, private keys, API keys and session tokens from infected devices. Recent data also indicates multi‑billion‑dollar crypto losses and rising attacks on exchanges and large organizations.

Fireblocks said Wednesday it will integrate Stacks, a Bitcoin-aligned DeFi layer, to offer institutional lending and yield opportunities. Leveraging Stacks' roughly 29-second blocks helps bypass Bitcoin's ~10-minute interval while still settling to the BTC ledger for finality. Fireblocks expects the rollout in early 2026, without a specific launch date.

On February 4, 2026, Sam Altman said he would not block an AI model from eventually succeeding him at OpenAI. He joined Larry Ellison and Masayoshi Son on the first day of President Trump's second term to unveil Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure plan. Employees, according to Forbes, voiced concerns about the company's pace and missing Apple's Siri deal to Google.

Over the past week, crypto markets extended a sharp decline as analysts highlighted fragmented liquidity and widening dispersion rather than broad capitulation. Bitcoin fell more than 17% week over week, while selective rotation appeared in products and tokens, including a 44% jump in Hyperliquid's HYPE during the selloff.