Logan Paul sold a Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card graded PSA 10 for $16,492,000 at Goldin Auctions, setting an auction record for trading cards as of February 16, 2026. The card's scarcity, Gem Mint condition, and provenance fueled bidding, with the record verified by Guinness World Records and the grade provided by PSA. Observers cautioned the sale may represent a singular liquidity event rather than a broad market reset.

Binance said on January 29, 2026 it will transition its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users into Bitcoin over a 30‑day window. As the program began, the fund acquired 1,315 BTC priced at $100.7 million to anchor reserves against market swings. The move is framed as user protection and volatility management.

Hong Kong plans to grant its initial batch of stablecoin licences by March 2026 after the Hong Kong Stablecoin Ordinance came into force on August 1, 2025. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is reviewing 36 applications, with officials stressing stringent standards on risk management, reserves and use cases under a "proactive yet prudent" regulatory stance.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has challenged Wall Street over the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Clarity Act, arguing that limits on stablecoin yields could alter competition and shift bank funding. He highlighted the risk around $6.6 trillion in deposits and received support from Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. The debate also draws on prior proposals that allowed stablecoin issuance while blocking direct interest to users.

Step Finance has disclosed that its treasury and fee wallets were compromised, leading to the unstaking and transfer of 261,854 SOL tokens valued at about $30 million. The protocol says it has begun an investigation, alerted authorities, and engaged cybersecurity firms, while stressing that user funds were not impacted. Following the incident, the STEP token price plunged sharply and Solana’s market performance weakened over the past day and week.

On February 6, Hyperliquid will unlock about 9.92 million HYPE tokens, equal to 2.79% of its supply and valued near $305 million, while Berachain will release 41.7% of its circulating tokens. These large unlock events could influence market liquidity, price volatility, and investor sentiment around both projects.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund lifted its indirect exposure to Bitcoin by 149%, reaching 9,573 BTC by 2025 through positions in publicly traded companies. The fund does not hold Bitcoin directly, relying instead on stakes in firms such as MicroStrategy, Coinbase, MARA, and Block. A rise of this scale likely reflects portfolio construction choices rather than a direct bet on BTC.

Unverified rumors claim Binance will list an INXUSDT perpetual futures contract with up to 50x leverage on January 31, 2026, using Infinex (INX) as the underlying asset. INX is currently only listed for spot trading on KuCoin, with a fully diluted market cap of $172,005.84 and a 172.53% price rise over the last 60 days but zero daily trading volume. Market participants remain cautious and say they are waiting for formal confirmation before acting on the speculative futures claims.

On January 29, 2026, President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met in Washington to head off a U.S. government shutdown before the January 31 deadline. According to Polymarket, bettors now assign a 40% chance of a shutdown. Discussions reportedly center on separating Department of Homeland Security funding and considering short‑term appropriations to maintain operations.