Institutional custodian Hex Trust has deepened its collaboration with Flare to roll out secure institutional access to FXRP minting and native FLR staking. Under the arrangement, Hex Trust handles custody, governance and compliance while Flare provides the protocol layer, enabling clients to mint and redeem FXRP and stake FLR directly through Hex Trust's platform. Hex Trust previously launched Wrapped XRP across multiple chains with $100 million in initial liquidity, and the firm plans to keep supporting additional Flare-based assets for institutional DeFi participation.

On February 5, 2026, Vitalik Buterin used X to criticise the trend of launching copy-paste EVM chains and basic layer-2 bridges with long withdrawal delays, warning that this approach could stall Ethereum's progress. He argued that developers should instead pursue genuinely new architectures, tighter technical integration with Ethereum, and app chains that provide real transparency rather than cosmetic Ethereum alignment.

On February 4, 2026, CoolWallet announced support for TRON’s Energy rental, a move highlighted by TRON DAO to lower TRX network fees. The hardware wallet says users keep self-custody via its device and mobile app while paying for Energy in TRX or USDT on TRON, aiming to make transfers and DeFi activity more cost-efficient.

Bitcoin is showing signs of entering a renewed bear market phase, according to CryptoQuant's latest weekly report, with its Bull Score Index dropping from 80 to zero after an October 10 liquidation event while BTC trades near $75,000. The firm highlights net selling of around 10,600 BTC by U.S. spot ETFs, a 56,000 BTC demand gap versus 2025, USDT market cap contraction of $133 million, and a breakdown below the 365-day moving average as factors that increase downside risk toward the $70,000–$60,000 area.

TRM Labs, a San Francisco-based blockchain analytics provider, has closed a $70 million Series C round led by Blockchain Capital, bringing the company’s valuation to $1 billion. The funding, confirmed by TRM’s global head of policy Ari Redbord, will be used to expand its AI-driven compliance and investigative tools and to grow its global team.

The Moscow Exchange plans to broaden its crypto derivatives lineup in 2026 with cash‑settled index futures tied to Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP) and Tron (TRX). An executive said perpetual futures and options are being evaluated, while monthly expiries and qualified‑investor access will mirror the exchange's existing Bitcoin and Ethereum index futures.

Deutsche Börse Group's 360T said it has partnered with Bitpanda to link the MiCA-regulated 3DX venue with Bitpanda's infrastructure, enabling institutions to offer digital-asset services to end users without building systems in-house. The firms added that each will handle its own regulated activities, and Bitpanda is weighing a Frankfurt IPO in H1 2026.

On February 2, 2026, Strategy disclosed the purchase of 855 BTC for about $75.3 million at an average $87,974 per coin. As of February 1, 2026, the company reports holding 713,502 BTC, acquired for roughly $54.26 billion at an average $76,052 per bitcoin.

On January 30, 2026, BitGo said $BTGO went public, and CEO Mike Belshe framed the move as a maturity milestone. In an interview with CryptoNews, he argued that crypto must separate custody from trading and clearing to avoid single points of failure. BitGo reports assets under custody exceeding $100 billion and entered the listing profitable, focusing on institutional-grade infrastructure.