Entropy, a decentralized custody startup led by a16z, has announced its closure and will return remaining funds to investors. Entropy founder and CEO Tux Pacific stated on the X platform that the decision was made after four years of product development, multiple business adjustments, and two rounds of layoffs. Entropy positioned itself as an alternative to centralized crypto custody institutions, utilizing technologies such as multi-party computation, threshold cryptography, and trusted execution environments to provide users with cross-chain asset management and automated signature services. The company completed a $25 million seed round in 2022 led by a16z, with participation from investors including Dragonfly, Variant, and Coinbase Ventures, bringing its total funding to approximately $27 million. Pacific stated that recent research revealed the business model was unsustainable for venture capital-level growth, leading to the decision to cease operations and return capital. This event also reflects the increasingly challenging environment for crypto startups since 2025. (TheBlock)

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) convened its 2026 Macroprudential Work Conference. The conference emphasized that macroprudential work in 2026 should continue to follow the deployment of building a comprehensive macroprudential management system, strengthening the central bank's macroprudential management functions, continuously improving the working mechanism of the Macroprudential and Financial Stability Committee, gradually expanding the coverage of macroprudential policies, proactively assessing potential systemic financial risks, innovating and enriching the policy toolbox, and maintaining the sound operation of the financial market and the overall stability of the financial system. Guided by serving the construction of a new development pattern, the conference called for further improving policies on the cross-border use of RMB, promoting trade facilitation, optimizing the layout of RMB clearing banks, better leveraging the role of currency swaps, developing the offshore RMB market, supporting the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, and better meeting the needs of various entities for RMB transaction settlement, investment and financing, and risk management. (Jinshi)

Liquid Capital founder Yi Lihua posted on the X platform: "Everyone is puzzled. We are buying heavily, BMNR and MicroStrategy are buying, and CZ is calling for a super bull market cycle, but the price of cryptocurrencies remains weak and volatile. What is the reason? After all, the stock market and gold/silver have gone crazy. In our view, there are several main reasons: one is the impact of the four-year cycle and the October 11 crash; another is the impact of the yen interest rate hike; another is the lack of new purchases by the US BTC strategic reserve; another is the short sellers taking advantage of this opportunity to dump the market; and another is the safe-haven funds in gold, silver, and the stock market. However, analyzing from the opposite perspective, even with so many negative factors, ETH is still stable around $3,000, fluctuating and consolidating. This is why we decided to build a position after clearing our position at $4,500. Many people suggested that we wait and buy, as there will be a better entry point. However, there is no God's-eye view in investment trading. It is difficult to know what the lowest point is. The difference between investment and speculation is that it is difficult to do short-term trading. Even if there are considerable floating profits, we do not move. We determine our buying and selling strategies based on medium- to long-term timeframes."

eToro analyst Lale Akoner points out that as investors seek new ways to hedge equity risk, gold is increasingly replacing traditional stable, low-risk assets—long-term government bonds—as a portfolio allocation choice. "Historically, duration exposure has helped buffer against declines in risky assets. However, the recent simultaneous sell-off in both stocks and long-term bonds has eroded investor confidence in bonds as a reliable hedging tool in critical moments," she says. She suggests that investors are therefore replacing bond exposure with gold in their portfolios, indicating a broader rethinking of portfolio risk management. (Jinshi)

A smart money address has recently acquired 20,000 ETH through Wintermute, according to Foresight News. This transaction, valued at approximately $56.13 million, was executed at a cost of around $2,806.58 per ETH. Following the purchase, the price of ETH rebounded, resulting in an unrealized profit of $2.101 million for the address. Since January 21, the address has accumulated a total of 70,013 ETH, with an average cost of about $2,907.69 per ETH.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, the "1011 Insider Whale" bought another 22,000 ETH, worth approximately $63.56 million.

Bitcoin is poised to encounter a rare four-month losing streak, a situation not observed since 2018. According to NS3.AI, this downward trend aligns with the January options expiry, which could influence short-term price fluctuations. Investors are advised to exercise caution, as this combination may heighten market volatility in the coming period.

Crypto pundit Kyle Chassé has pointed to the rising global liquidity to prove that Bitcoin is currently undervalued. His comments come as fiat currencies like the Dollar and Yen continue to weaken amid concerns about governments’ fiscal policies. Global Liquidity Points To A Bitcoin Target Of $270,000 In an X post, Kyle Chassé shared an accompanying chart highlighting a Bitcoin target of $270,000 based on rising global liquidity. The pundit stated that the herd says that $90,000 BTC is expensive, but that the fiat ledger has reminded everyone why the digital ledger exists source: https://www.newsbtc.com/bitcoin-news/bitcoin-is-extremely-undervalued/

This article will provide a comprehensive analysis of all the cost structures within the industry, revealing the hidden costs that erode your profits, and showing how to maximize your returns by choosing the right platform.

Cryptocurrencies experienced significant pressure during the early Asian trading session on January 26, leading to the liquidation of over $550 million in leveraged long positions, with Bitcoin briefly dipping to $86,000. According to PANews, safe-haven assets like gold and silver continued their upward trend. The heightened risk aversion is attributed to several macroeconomic concerns, including U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion of imposing a 100% tariff on Canadian imports, the rising risk of a partial U.S. government shutdown as current funding expires on January 30, and uncertainties surrounding potential U.S.-Japan currency market interventions to stabilize the yen. The New York Federal Reserve's "rate check" on the dollar/yen on Friday further heightened market caution regarding yen depreciation. In response to these macroeconomic uncertainties, the crypto derivatives market has adopted a defensive stance, with an increase in put skew and implied volatility, alongside significant capital flows shifting long-term put positions to lower strike prices. Looking ahead, with a dense macroeconomic event calendar, including tech stock earnings and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, implied volatility is expected to remain elevated. Although the Federal Reserve is anticipated to keep rates unchanged, the market will closely watch Chairman Powell's guidance on future policy directions. Until multiple risks, particularly the government shutdown risk, are clarified, cryptocurrency prices may exhibit volatility in the near term.

Dogecoin underperforming the broader crypto market, but the massive volume rally signals a potential rebound. source: https://u.today/dogecoin-volume-rockets-197-as-bear-momentum-grows

Last year, people were often shouting online: Will there be another knock-off season? Now, such voices are almost never heard online.

Matcha Meta suffered a hack through its SwapNet integration, with attackers stealing around $16.8 million by swapping USDC for Ether and bridging it to Ethereum. Users who disabled One-Time Approvals and set direct allowances were affected, while those using the One-Time Approval feature were safe.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has ruled out any return to the crypto exchange he helped build, despite receiving a presidential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump

Coinone, South Korea’s third-largest crypto exchange, is exploring the sale of shares held by its chairman Cha Myung-hoon, who controls 53% of the company. Coinbase and local financial institutions are reported to be interested, while the exchange faces losses and a book value of around $52 million.

Japan’s financial regulators are laying the groundwork for a major shift in crypto market access, with discussions underway that could allow spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to launch as early as 2028, according to multiple reports citing people familiar with the matter.

The creator of Clawdbot, which has gone viral online, is actually a billionaire?!

Nifty Gateway will close permanently on 23 February 2026 and has moved to withdrawal-only mode, giving users about 30 days to move their NFTs and funds. Owner Gemini is shutting the platform to focus on its main customer app, while NFT services will continue through Gemini Wallet.

Gold, BTC, Crypto Market: Why are gold and silver hitting new highs while cryptocurrencies continue to fall? Jinse Finance reports that while precious metal prices are soaring, the cryptocurrency market is not optimistic.

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