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.

Nasdaq has proposed a "fast entry" rule to admit newly listed large companies to the Nasdaq 100 after 15 trading days, replacing the current wait of at least 3 months, with implementation after the March quarterly rebalance if approved. According to Cryptopolitan, potential IPOs include SpaceX, at a possible $1.3 trillion valuation, and AI firm Anthropic.

Risk appetite is returning to crypto, with capital rotating toward meme coins and utility-focused Layer 2 protocols. Bitcoin Hyper, a Bitcoin L2 using SVM, reports a presale total of $31,228,293.92 and a current token price of $0.0136751, while on-chain records show whale buys totaling $116K, including a $63K transaction executed on Jan 15, 2026.

CME Group Chairman and CEO Terrence Duffy said on an earnings call that the exchange is building a tokenized cash coin, reportedly with Google Cloud, that could be used as collateral for derivatives trading and is slated to launch in 2026. The initiative follows a CFTC pilot that permits selected cryptocurrencies, including USDC, bitcoin, and ether, to be posted as collateral and may expand CME's use of onchain margin products.