Curve's stablecoin crvUSD experiences slight depegging

**February 2nd** Per Coinglass data, the crypto market’s funding rates reflect **overwhelmingly bearish sentiment** after another intraday dip today—with bearishness toward BTC and ETH even stronger than that for altcoins. - BTC and ETH contract funding rates are **negative across nearly all platforms**; - Altcoin rates, while bearish overall, are mostly positive. Specific funding rates are detailed in the attached image. --- **BlockBeats Note**: Funding rate is a fee mechanism for crypto perpetual contracts (set by exchanges) to align contract prices with underlying asset values. It involves fund exchanges between long and short traders—**exchanges do not charge this fee**. Its purpose is to adjust the cost or profit of contract holders, keeping prices in line with the underlying asset. - 0.01% = baseline rate; - Above 0.01% = generally bullish; - Below 0.005% = generally bearish.

On February 2nd, analyst Axel Adler Jr. noted that the “Bitcoin Futures Funding Rate Index” combines price dynamics with derivative funding flows (maker/taker volume + open interest changes). Since last Friday, the funding rate index has plummeted from roughly 50 to a critical 7.1%—the lower bound of the index’s range and an extreme value over the past month. The sustained price trend since January 28 confirms the ongoing bear market. Critically, the index has fallen below the 45% threshold since January 30, signaling entry into bearish territory per the model’s definition. Historically, a 7.1% reading typically signals a market capitulation zone. For a state transition to occur, the index must rebound above 45% and prices stabilize. Until then, any rebound technically remains a bear market corrective structure. Separately, the “Bitcoin Localized Squeeze Index” (a metric integrating volatility, funding rates, and leverage levels) acts as a comprehensive pressure indicator. Dur

February 2, 2026 – Sharp swings in precious metal prices have wiped out 2026’s strongest rally, raising the risk of heavy selling pressure on global equities (Japanese and South Korean stocks already faced pressure in Asian trading). Gold plunged 10% at one point on Monday, while silver (SI=F) dropped more than 15%. As of press time, both metals have pared losses, but the broad market selloff has investors bracing for continued pressure on U.S. stocks when they open. ETF outflows are also dragging the crypto market lower. Malaya Bank Securities’ Tareck Horchani noted that former President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Wash as Federal Reserve Chair has sparked cross-asset volatility, as investors reassess positions in currencies, commodities, and stocks—especially after the U.S. dollar rebounded. Volatility has intensified further following the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME Group), a leading commodity exchange, announcing higher margin requirements for precious metal futures.

On February 2, Optimism Governance announced it will transfer 6,400 ETH between wallets later today to enable flow staking for assets from the Optimism Collective treasury. Per the previously released Liquid Staking Request for Proposals (RFP), the protocol plans to allocate 40% of its roughly 21,500 ETH treasury holdings (equivalent to ~6,400 ETH) to the OP Mainnet’s flow staking protocol. The remaining 60% of the assets will be directed to native staking on the Ethereum mainnet.

On-chain data as of February 2 shows Hyperliquid’s ecosystem Assistance Fund has accumulated 40,028,984 HYPE tokens via buybacks. The total buyback cost is ~$8.9 billion, accounting for roughly 4% of HYPE’s total supply. The fund’s current market value stands at ~$12.49 billion.

Feb 2 — Per DefiLlama data, while mainstream perpetual futures DEXs (Perp DEXs) still see solid trading activity, open interest and total value locked (TVL) have trended steadily downward, signaling a broad market shift toward deleveraging. Among these platforms, Hyperliquid maintains relatively high trading volume but has seen a sharp drop in open interest—down ~30% from its prior reading. Below is the 24-hour trading volume breakdown for major Perp DEXs: - Hyperliquid (https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/join/NTOD): 24h volume ~$83B, TVL ~$43.9B, open interest ~$59.1B - Aster (https://www.asterdex.com/en/referral/aboter): 24h volume ~$47.8B, TVL ~$11.4B, open interest ~$20.2B - EdgeX: 24h volume ~$46.1B, TVL ~$2.02B, open interest ~$8.53B - Lighter (https://app.lighter.xyz/?referral=70045843): 24h volume ~$40.5B, TVL ~$9.54B, open interest ~$11.3B - Extended: 24h volume ~$22B, TVL ~$2.15B, open interest ~$3.11B - Pacifica (https://app.pacifica.fi/?referral=pacbot): 24h volume