VivoPower said in a Wednesday press statement it will transfer part of its Ripple Labs stake to South Korea's Kweather Co., taking a 20% position valued at $4.3 million. A spokesperson said the remaining Ripple shares are slated for Lean Ventures at prevailing market prices and subject to Ripple Labs' internal approvals.

On Wednesday, Rep. Ro Khanna opened a congressional inquiry into World Liberty Financial over a reported $500 million investment from an entity connected to the UAE royal family and its national security advisor. His letter raises concerns that these financial links, including a 49% stake purchase and related chip export and crypto transactions, could create national security and constitutional risks tied to China.

CME Group said on 5 February 2026 that it is developing a tokenized form of cash with Google Cloud for use in margin and settlement, targeting deployment around 2026 and not as a tradable coin. CEO Terrence Duffy added that acceptance will hinge on issuer quality and controls, and CME aims to shift crypto derivatives toward near 24/7 trading in early 2026.

According to CryptoQuant, the Coinbase Premium Gap for Bitcoin has fallen to -167.8, its lowest reading since December 2024, suggesting intensifying selling from institutional traders. The metric has been trending down since the mid-October market pullback, while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have turned net sellers in 2026, unloading 10,600 BTC and recording $1.2 billion in outflows over the past week.

Chinese trader Bian Ximing reportedly earned nearly $3 billion from long gold positions on the Shanghai Futures Exchange before turning bearish on silver. By January 30, his Zhongcai Futures unit had built a 30,000‑contract silver short, equivalent to about 450 tons, as prices peaked and later fell over 16%, generating substantial profits despite earlier losses.

Sony reported ¥515 billion in operating profit for the December quarter, topping analyst estimates of ¥468.9 billion and rising 22% from a year earlier. Revenue reached ¥3.71 trillion ($23.68 billion) versus a ¥3.69 trillion forecast, and the company lifted full-year guidance to ¥1.54 trillion in operating profit and ¥12.3 trillion in sales while keeping a ¥50 billion U.S. tariff loss estimate unchanged.

CME Group’s CEO Terry Duffy stated during the latest earnings call that the derivatives exchange is examining the creation of its own cryptocurrency, potentially operating on a decentralized network. The initiative is being reviewed alongside digital margin and settlement projects, including a separate tokenized cash program developed with Google that is scheduled to go live later this year. While CME has not clarified whether the proposed asset would be a stablecoin or another token type, the plan would extend its crypto strategy beyond derivatives into direct digital asset issuance.

On Thursday, Bitcoin fell 6% to around $72,000 while a global technology slump dragged Asian equity markets lower and kept risk sentiment fragile. Over the past 24 hours, crypto liquidations reached about $627.96M, mostly from long positions, as traders reacted to equity volatility and shifting expectations around AI-driven spending and corporate earnings.