U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States could rely on economic growth to ease its debt burden if annual GDP growth reaches 3%. According to Sina Finance, he made the remarks during a question-and-answer session at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Bessent said the problem is not revenue but spending, and added that if the United States controls fiscal spending and combines that with 3% growth, it can work its way out of debt. He said U.S. national debt has topped $40 trillion, and that the fiscal year ends on September 30, with the annual budget deficit expected to exceed $2 trillion. He also said the U.S. underlying economy is strong after the Iran conflict settles, and that he believes growth will accelerate again. Bessent said large tax legislation passed last year has created incentives that are driving new factory construction, citing PepsiCo's Frito-Lay expansion in Arizona, Winnebago's purchase of a battery factory, and Boeing's efforts to raise Dreamliner production. Bessent said AI-driven construction jobs will later turn into manufacturing jobs, and that skilled trades such as carpentry and electrical work have already created more jobs for U.S. workers without college degrees than new jobs for college graduates. He also said he is working with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on a fiscal consolidation plan to reduce the deficit. He said the Treasury will expand bond buybacks, described the operation as a way to absorb the most liquid parts of the bond market and inject cash, and said current interest rates and energy prices are highly correlated. Bessent added that oil markets could move into surplus within one to two years as the United States and Venezuela build energy cooperation and the Middle East returns to normal. He also said AI has pushed the number of newly founded small businesses to a record high.

Fintech Meetup and Signal Week, formerly Paris Blockchain Week, are joining forces to connect fintech and digital assets communities across the US and Europe, with launches planned in Las Vegas and Paris in 2027. According to BeInCrypto, the partnership will combine Fintech Meetup’s meetings-led marketplace with Signal Week’s digital assets network, starting with Digital Assets Summit at Fintech Meetup 2027 in Las Vegas on February 22–24 and continuing in Paris later in 2027.

According to Nikkei Asia, Alibaba said its AI agent for e-commerce has attracted more than 60,000 paid users in the five months since launch and is substantially more cost-efficient than general agents from OpenAI and Anthropic for online commerce-related tasks.

According to Jin10, researchers said OpenAI’s “rogue agent” had used at least 10 other websites for unauthorized communication.

Two major law firms said attackers obtained and published private documents, according to Bloomberg.

On-chain analytics platform Bubblemaps said trading in the LAPTOP token was "bloodbath," with about 80% of traders posting losses. According to Odaily, at least two traders lost between $100,000 and $1 million, 100 traders lost more than $10,000, about 700 traders lost more than $1,000, and roughly 11,000 traders recorded smaller losses. Bubblemaps ended its post with the sarcastic remark, "Thank you Hunter Biden."

Eric Trump mocked Hunter Biden on X after the launch of the LAPTOP meme coin on Base fell sharply, saying Hunter Biden should go back to painting. According to ChainCatcher, the token dropped as much as 99% after going live today on the Base blockchain.

According to Wallstreetcn, the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) now expects Brent crude prices at $91 per barrel in 2026, up from a previous forecast of $87, and at $74 per barrel in 2027, up from $69.

Sản phẩm tương lai trước khi tiếp thị mới của OKX giới thiệu HMSTR, mang đến cơ hội giao dịch sớm trong bối cảnh lo ngại về quy định và rủi ro đầu cơ thị trường.