India's Union Budget 2026 introduced a penalty regime for crypto-asset transaction reporting under Section 509 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective from 1 April 2026. Reporting entities such as exchanges and intermediaries face Rs. 200 per day for delayed filings and a flat Rs. 50,000 for inaccurate or uncorrected data, while the existing 30% VDA tax and 1% TDS rules remain unchanged. The stricter framework comes amid a reported 72.7% shift of India's FY25 crypto trading volume to offshore platforms, alongside rising scrutiny of undisclosed VDA income.

XRP’s 24-hour trading volume climbed 74% to $6.49 billion as the broader crypto market saw $2.58 billion in liquidations in the same period. Long positions made up $2.27 billion versus $171 million for shorts, with 414,491 traders affected. XRP’s price dropped across four sessions from Jan. 28, reaching a $1.5 low on Jan. 31, while its realized price stands at $1.48.

Between January 26 and 30, BlackRock's spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw about $1.2 billion in combined net outflows, according to Coinglass. IBIT accounted for roughly $947 million, with $318 million on January 29 and $528 million on January 30, while ETHA shed around $264 million. At press time, Bitcoin was $78,461 and Ethereum $2,415.

Bitcoin fell below the $76,000 long-term realized cost basis over the weekend, a level built over roughly 27 months of accumulation and seen as structurally important. The move, driven by ETF outflows, tighter liquidity and defensive derivatives positioning, pushed price to stabilize near $78,000 while traders now watch $80,000 as the first upside reclaim target.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has outlined a medium-term downside objective for Bitcoin near $58,000 after the sharp rejection below $100,000 in January 2026. Using a long-term power law chart with a logarithmic growth channel, he argues that a return toward the channel's midline around $58,000–$60,000 would represent a reversion to fair value. Brandt's view comes after Bitcoin dropped from a high of $97,939 to a low of $75,555 in January, signaling strong selling pressure around the six-figure threshold.

On 1 February 2026, the White House said it will convene senior banking and crypto executives on Monday to discuss a stalled Senate crypto bill. According to sources familiar with the matter, the issue has been elevated to a top policy priority amid concerns over regulatory uncertainty. Direct engagement is seen as a shift toward decisions that could speed policy outcomes.

On Saturday, bitcoin’s price sank to just above $75,000, its lowest level since April of the previous year, erasing about $200 billion from the overall crypto market in a matter of hours. Major altcoins including ETH, XRP, and SOL suffered double-digit intraday losses, with Ethereum dropping from around $2,800 to $2,250 and XRP hitting a 14‑month low at $1.50. Although BTC later bounced to roughly $79,000, it remained down on the day, while many altcoins only managed modest recoveries.

Since November 11, severe winter storms in the United States have driven a roughly 12% drop in Bitcoin's network hashrate, pushing it down to around 970 exahashes per second. Mining revenue fell from about $45 million per day on January 22 to a low near $28 million two days later, as large operators curtailed output and profitability sank to levels last seen in November 2024.