Market Overview (24h)

  • Spot: As of 00:00 UTC 6 Feb, BTC is about 62.9k, down 14.1% vs 24h prior; ETH is 1,820, down 15.4%. This extends a drawdown of roughly 35–45% from October’s highs across majors, with mainstream press framing it as a full-blown “free fall” phase for crypto. {High}1234
  • Alts / Total cap: The total crypto market cap fell about 6.4% over the last 24h to roughly 2.49T, with all top‑10 assets and 92 of the top‑100 in the red; XRP was among the worst, down about 10–11% on the day. {High}5
  • Derivatives: Over the last 24h, crypto liquidations exceeded 1.45B, the fourth‑largest wipeout in 90 days; longs accounted for about 1.24B, with BTC (~739M), ETH (~337M), and SOL (~77M) leading. BTC futures open interest is still elevated around 80B notional across major venues, led by CME and Binance. {High}678
  • Funding & vol: Analysis of the early‑February crash shows cumulative futures liquidations above 16B over ~10 days and BTC perpetual funding deeply negative (longs paying shorts around −0.03% to −0.08%), indicating crowded shorts after a long squeeze. BlockScholes’ Week‑6 derivatives report notes BTC and ETH implied vols have spiked to the highest levels since late 2025, with short‑dated BTC put skew around −13%, signaling heavy downside hedging. {High}9101112
  • ETF flows: US spot BTC ETFs saw strong net inflows of about 562M on 2 Feb, but flows have since flipped negative: Farside and Bitbo data show net BTC ETF outflows above 500M on 4 Feb and roughly 280–300M on 5 Feb, led by BlackRock’s IBIT. IBIT also hit a record 10B daily trading volume on 5 Feb as its price fell ~13% in a single day. {High}13141516171819
  • Stablecoins: Tether reports USDT supply and on‑chain activity still growing, with USDT market cap around 187.3B and quarterly transfer volume of 4.4T, even as broader crypto cap has dropped by more than a third since October. At the same time, CryptoQuant‑based analysis highlights that since November, stablecoin net inflows have reversed into multi‑billion‑dollar net outflows, especially from Binance, contributing to a structural liquidity squeeze. {Medium}2021

Top Headlines (What & Why it matters)

  • Violent deleveraging and macro shock in early February
    • Large, ETF‑linked BTC selloff plus macro risk‑off produced a roughly 40% drawdown from late‑January highs, with Fed policy uncertainty, Treasury commentary, and tariff fears all cited as catalysts. Deeply negative funding, multi‑billion futures liquidations and heavy ETF outflows point to a classic leverage flush rather than an idiosyncratic crypto event. {High}22410116
  • Step Finance (Solana) treasury hack (~30–40M)
    • On 1 Feb (APAC session), Step Finance reported that several treasury and fee wallets were compromised, with about 261,854 SOL (~30M) drained after unstaking; the team confirmed a “well‑known attack vector” was used and that user LP funds remain unaffected. Subsequent reporting indicates the root cause was compromised executive devices, with total losses estimated closer to 40M, severely damaging confidence in Solana DeFi operational security. {High}2324252627
  • Binance aggressive cleanup of small caps; new TRIA derivatives
    • Binance will delist spot trading in ACA, CHESS, DATA, DF, GHST, and NKN on 13 Feb at 03:00 UTC (original: 11:00 UTC+8), with withdrawals ending 13 Apr 03:00 UTC; associated futures contracts and Funding Rate Arbitrage strategies for these names will be auto‑settled and delisted on 6 Feb at 09:00 UTC (original: 17:00 UTC+8). In parallel, Binance Futures lists a new USDⓈ‑M TRIAUSDT perpetual on 6 Feb at 12:15 UTC (original: 12:15 UTC), offering up to 50x leverage, while OKX launched TRIA/USDT perps on 5 Feb at 07:30 UTC. {Medium}28293031
  • Tether doubles down on TradFi integrations and gold
    • Tether has announced strategic investments into Anchorage Digital and the t‑zero‑linked capital markets network to expand its role in tokenized securities and regulated custody infrastructure. Separately, Tether acquired a 12% stake in Gold.com and plans to integrate its XAUT gold‑backed token as a native payment asset on the platform, further entrenching USDT/XAUT in cross‑border and commodity‑linked use cases. {Medium}323334
  • Stablecoin structure under stress, but USDT dominance grows
    • Kaiko’s recent Data Debriefs show stablecoins now represent the only RWA tokenization segment at true scale, while tokenized securities and other RWAs remain small and illiquid; cross‑asset vol has jumped following Fed reforms and tariff jitters, with CME BTC basis briefly turning negative. In parallel, research and analytics pieces highlight how stablecoin liquidity has both propped up the trading system and, more recently, receded, increasing fragility during the latest crash. {Medium}35213620

Exchanges

  • Binance
    • Spot: Delisting of ACA, CHESS, DATA, DF, GHST, NKN on 13 Feb 03:00 UTC (original: 11:00 UTC+8); withdrawals disabled from 13 Apr 03:00 UTC, with possible (not guaranteed) later conversion to stablecoins for residual balances. {Medium}3728
    • Derivatives:
      • USDⓈ‑M futures and Funding Rate Arbitrage strategies for the above tokens will be closed and auto‑settled on 6 Feb 09:00 UTC (original: 17:00 UTC+8); no new positions allowed from 08:30 UTC (original: 16:30 UTC+8). {Medium}28
      • New USDⓈ‑M TRIAUSDT perps launch 6 Feb 12:15 UTC (original: UTC), up to 50x leverage, multi‑asset margin supported. {Medium}293830
      • USDⓈ‑M RVVUSDT and YALAUSDT perps will be auto‑settled and delisted on 10 Feb 09:00 UTC. {Low}29
  • OKX
    • Perpetuals: TRIA/USDT perps listed on 5 Feb 07:30 UTC (original: 07:30 UTC), expanding leverage access for the same name concurrently listed on Binance. {Low}31
    • Other: Recent notices include new XAUUSD perpetuals and pending fee adjustments on selected pairs, but no major outages or regional access changes in the last 72h. {Low}3940
  • Bybit
    • Derivatives: 10000ELONUSDT perpetual contracts will be delisted on 6 Feb 09:00 UTC, with all positions auto‑settled at that time. {Low}41
  • Deribit
    • Options: Over 2.5B of options notional is set to expire on 6 Feb at 08:00 UTC, including BTC options (~2.15B notional, put/call 1.42, max pain around 82k) and ETH (~408M notional, put/call 1.13, max pain ~2,550), potentially resetting hedging flows after the crash. {High}4243

Regulation / Law

  • SEC Crypto Task Force – CFTC input on “Project Crypto”
    • On 2 Feb, the CFTC submitted written input to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force supporting “Project Crypto,” urging the SEC to use exemptive authority and pilot programs to enable tokenized securities trading under principles‑based conditions while fuller rulemaking is developed. This indicates U.S. market‑structure work is moving from pure enforcement toward formal frameworks. {Medium}44
  • SEC & CFTC joint crypto event rescheduled
    • A Jan 26 SEC press release announced that the joint “Harmonization, U.S. Financial Leadership in the Crypto Era” event has been rescheduled (date TBD), after an earlier 22 Jan notice; the agenda focuses on jurisdiction, market structure and ETF oversight. While outside the 7‑day window, it remains a key short‑term policy catalyst. {Medium}45
  • MAS and regional supervisory tightening (indirect but relevant)
    • A recent Asia financial regulatory update (3 Feb) highlights that MAS has updated incident‑reporting toolkits for financial institutions, expanding obligations for IT and security incidents, which can affect how Singapore‑licensed exchanges must respond to outages or hacks. {Low}46

Research / White Papers

  • Kaiko – “Fed Reforms Spark Cross‑Asset Volatility Spike” (2 Feb 2026)
    • Finds that Fed rate‑path uncertainty and reforms around the discount window have driven a cross‑asset vol spike, with BTC increasingly behaving like a high‑beta macro asset: CME BTC basis turned negative and order‑book depth remained relatively stable even as prices slid, suggesting institutions de‑risked via futures rather than disappearing entirely. {Medium}36
  • Kaiko – Stablecoins and tokenization (Data Debrief series, Jan–Feb 2026)
    • Concludes that stablecoins are the only RWA segment currently at true scale, whereas tokenized bonds, commodities and infra tokens remain fragmented and illiquid; this underlines why stablecoin flows have outsized impact on crypto liquidity. {Medium}4735
  • Deribit x BlockScholes – Crypto Derivatives Analytics (Week 6, 2026)
    • Notes BTC ATM implied volatility at highs not seen since Nov 2025 and sharply negative 25‑delta risk reversals, reflecting strong demand for downside protection after the crash; term structures show elevated short‑tenor vol relative to longer maturities. {Medium}9

Security Incidents

  • Step Finance (Solana) – Treasury compromise (~30–40M)
    • On 1 Feb (APAC trading hours), attackers compromised multiple Step Finance treasury and fee‑collection wallets, unstaking and draining about 261,854 SOL (~30M). Step’s disclosures and subsequent forensics indicate the vector was compromised executive devices/machines rather than smart‑contract bugs; later estimates put total losses closer to 40M. STEP token fell over 90% in 24h, and the incident adds to a string of Solana DeFi treasury‑wallet failures, raising questions about key‑management standards. {High}24262723
  • Broader DeFi exploit backdrop
    • January 2026 alone saw DeFi hacks and phishing losses on Solana surpass 370M, and other cross‑chain protocol exploits (e.g., CrossCurve) in late January–early February added to a perception of growing systemic risk in complex multi‑chain architectures. {Medium}484950

What to Watch (next 24–72h)

  • Deribit options expiry – 6 Feb 08:00 UTC (original: UTC)
    • Over 2.5B in BTC/ETH options rolling off could release pinned gamma around 82k BTC and 2,550 ETH strikes, potentially changing spot vol dynamics into the weekend. {High}4342
  • Binance and Bybit derivatives changes – 6–10 Feb
    • Auto‑settlement/delisting of ACA/CHESS/DATA/DF/GHST/NKN perps on Binance at 6 Feb 09:00 UTC and 10000ELONUSDT perps on Bybit at 6 Feb 09:00 UTC could cause local volatility in those names. TRIAUSDT perps go live on Binance at 6 Feb 12:15 UTC, with additional liquidity also on OKX. {Medium}31412829
  • Spot BTC ETF flows for 5–7 Feb
    • After large net outflows (~545M on 4 Feb and ~280M+ on 5 Feb, led by IBIT) and record 10B daily IBIT volume, flows in the next two sessions will show whether the deleveraging phase is stabilizing or if institutions continue to exit. {High}14151322
  • Step Finance post‑mortem and any recovery plans
    • Further technical disclosures, law‑enforcement engagement, and any compensation or restructuring proposals from Step could influence Solana DeFi sentiment and governance norms. {Medium}
  • Macro and Fed communication
    • Kaiko’s work emphasizes that Fed messaging is now a primary driver of crypto vol and ETF flows; upcoming Fed speeches or data surprises can materially affect BTC/ETH pricing in this risk‑off regime. {Medium}5136

High confidence; all items are sourced from primary or well‑established secondary sources, with minor discrepancies across price/flow providers noted explicitly. 525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129

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