Survey: Over 60% of Economists Disagree with Woosh's "AI Rate Cut Theory"
February 9 (Financial Times) — This week, the University of Chicago’s Clark Center for Global Markets surveyed 45 economists, with nearly 60% rejecting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s “AI Rate Cut Theory.” They contend AI’s impact on prices and borrowing costs over the next two years will likely be minimal, forecasting declines in PCE inflation and the neutral interest rate to fall by less than 0.2 percentage points in that period.
Roughly a third of respondents noted the AI boom could even push the Fed to slightly lift the so-called neutral rate — the level where borrowing costs neither stimulate nor restrain economic demand.
The survey suggests Powell’s push to win support from other Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members for his view that AI will drive rapid productivity growth faces hurdles. This could make it hard for him to deliver the size of rate cuts former President Donald Trump is seeking ahead of November’s midterm elections.
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Musk Praises Grok for Dominating AI Crypto Trading Competition: We Will Do Better
February 9th: Musk retweeted a post celebrating Grok’s landslide win in the AI Coin-Trade Competition’s Alpha Arena, adding, “We need to do better, and we will.”
As of now, Grok 4.20 is dominating Alpha Arena—its ROI has surged from roughly 12% to nearly 35% in 10 days, holding the top spot on the leaderboard. Its return outpaces every other model on the list, and all Grok variants are profitable. Currently, Grok occupies 4 of the top 6 positions, with GPT-5.1-4 MAX in third and DEEPSEEK-CHAT-V3.1 in fourth among the top six.
BlockBeats Note: Alpha Arena is a competition where AI models execute real-time cryptocurrency trades, using real capital to trade perpetual contracts on platforms like Hyperliquid.
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Binance SAFU Fund Successfully Buys the Dip, Holding 10,455 BTC with Approximately 1% Unrealized Gain
On Feb 9, Binance’s SAFU Fund address successfully “bought the dip,” turning a loss into a profit. Across its four recent Bitcoin (BTC) purchases, the fund spent a total of $734.09 million (calculated based on the price at which BTC was transferred into the SAFU Fund). Its current holdings of 10,455 BTC are worth $741.39 million, with a paper profit of roughly 1%—equivalent to about $7.3 million.
On Jan 30, Binance announced it would gradually convert its original $1 billion stablecoin reserves into Bitcoin, with plans to complete the process within 30 days. If the market value of these holdings drops below $800 million due to price fluctuations, the exchange will add more BTC to restore the value to $1 billion.
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Binance SAFU Fund Address Buys Another 4225 BTC, Worth $299.6 Million
According to Arkham Monitor data, Binance’s SAFU Fund address has once again acquired 4,225 BTC—valued at $299.6 million at current rates. The fund now holds a total of 10,455 BTC, worth approximately $741.39 million.
This follows Binance’s January 30 announcement that it would gradually convert its original $1 billion stablecoin reserve into Bitcoin, with the conversion set to wrap up within 30 days. If market fluctuations push the fund’s value below $800 million, additional BTC will be added to restore it to the $1 billion target.
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FDIC Agrees to Pay Coinbase Around $188,000 in Legal Fees to Settle FOIA Lawsuit
February 9
A U.S. court previously ruled the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) violated the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Now, the FDIC has agreed to pay Coinbase $188,440 in legal fees, fully reform its FOIA policies, and reverse its prior position denying public release of a crypto-related "hold letter"—settling the FOIA lawsuit.
Additionally, the FDIC committed to policy reforms, including adding provisions to training materials requiring staff to "broadly interpret" FOIA requests. It also stated it will not adopt a blanket secrecy policy for all bank supervision documents based on FOIA’s Section 8 exemption.
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Data: Arthur Hayes On-Chain Trading Cumulative Loss Exceeds $10.37 Million
**Arthur Hayes’ On-Chain Trading Losses Top $10.37M (As of Feb 2026) – @0XTiger666**
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has racked up over $10.37 million in on-chain trading losses as of February 2026 (excluding undisclosed positions), per stats from @0XTiger666 (dated February 9).
Key transaction breakdown:
- Feb 2026: Liquidated LDO, ENA, and 4 other tokens; invested $9.35M, lost $3.48M.
- Jan 2026: Entered a BIO position; invested $1.1M, lost $0.64M (58% drawdown).
- Dec 2023: Traded LOOKS, ENS, FXS; invested over $10.29M, lost over $6.25M (individual token losses exceeded 50%).
This version uses concise, news-friendly language (e.g., "racked up" for accumulated losses, "drawdown" for price drops, abbreviations like "$M" for clarity) and structured bullet points to align with U.S. English news habits—prioritizing readability and quick information scanning.
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