USDC Treasury Mints an Additional 85 Million USDC on the Solana blockchain

February 2 — Digital asset investment products posted a record $1.7 billion in outflows last week, pushing year-to-date net flows into negative territory at $1 billion, according to CoinShares’ latest weekly report. Total assets under management (AuM) have dropped by $73 billion since the October 2025 price peak. Outflows were heavily concentrated in the U.S. ($1.65 billion), with notable withdrawals also in Canada and Sweden. Bitcoin led the outflows at $1.32 billion, while mainstream tokens including Ethereum, XRP and Solana also saw investor exits. Analysts cite three key factors driving the shift in market sentiment: a more hawkish Federal Reserve chair appointment, four-year cycle “whale selling,” and escalating geopolitical turmoil. Notably, short Bitcoin products and Hype investment products bucked the trend, bringing in $14.5 million and $15.5 million in inflows respectively — the latter boosted by a frenzy of online sales for tokenized precious metals.

According to an official announcement on February 2, Binance will delist and cease trading for the following spot trading pairs on February 3 at 4:00 PM: ARKM/FDUSD, ASTR/BTC, AWE/BTC, BANANA/BNB, DYDX/BTC, EUL/FDUSD, IMX/BTC, JTO/FDUSD, KSM/BTC, LINEA/FDUSD, LINK/BNB, NEAR/ETH, NFP/BTC, PIVX/BTC, PNUT/EUR, QTUM/ETH, SCRT/BTC, SNX/BTC, STG/BTC, SYS/BTC, and UTK/USDC.

Feb. 2 — Per The Kobeissi Letter, Ethereum-focused treasury firm BitMine’s unrealized losses have hit $6.6 billion. If these paper losses materialize, they would rank as the fifth-largest proprietary trading loss in global financial market history. In 2021, Archegos Capital Management posted losses of roughly $10 billion — equal to about 66% of its total assets — making it the largest ever in the space.

**February 2nd Crypto Brief** Per Coinglass data, Bitcoin dropped below $75,000 at noon today—falling below the strategy’s cost basis—sparking widespread market panic. Current funding rates across major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges signal strong bearish sentiment: **none of BTC, ETH, or SOL funding rates are in positive territory**. Notably, bearishness toward altcoins lags that of mainstream coins; most major altcoins’ funding rates also remain non-positive. Specific rates are detailed in the attached chart. --- **BlockBeats Note** Funding rate is a perpetual contract mechanism designed to align contract prices with underlying asset values. It facilitates fund exchanges between long and short traders—exchanges do not collect this fee—adjusting traders’ holding costs/profits to keep contracts closely tied to underlying assets. **Rate Benchmarks**: - 0.01% = baseline - >0.01% = bullish trend - <0.005% = bearish trend

On February 2, QCP issued a brief noting that Bitcoin fell below the key $80,000 support level on Saturday, hitting a low of $74,500, while Ethereum also dropped below $2,170. This latest downturn came as Kevin Warsh was confirmed as the next Federal Reserve Chair, stoking market expectations of policy tightening. Reports indicate over $25 billion in leveraged long positions have been liquidated, amplifying downward price pressure. Bitcoin is currently stabilizing around $74,500—a level matching its 2025 cycle low. The options market remains cautious, though downside hedging intensity is lower than during the last period of market stress. Analysts note the near-term trend will hinge on three factors: whether institutional funds re-enter the market, geopolitical risks ease, and Warsh’s policy stance emerges clearly. Bitcoin has now posted four straight months of declines.

On Feb. 2, Caixin reported that earlier claims JD Coin Chain Technology (Hong Kong)—a JD subsidiary reportedly pulling out of Hong Kong’s first stablecoin license round—never actually withdrew its application. The firm is one of three key participants in the city’s stablecoin testing sandbox. Separately, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Chief Executive Eddie Yue told reporters after a Feb. 2, 2026 Financial Affairs Panel meeting that 36 institutions have submitted stablecoin license applications. These include banks, tech firms, brokerages, asset managers, investment companies, e-commerce players, payment providers, startups and Web3 firms, among others. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) stands out as one of Hong Kong’s three note-issuing banks.