Bitcoin Tests $73,000, Erasing All Gains Since Post-Election Rally Bitcoin's price has retraced to test the $73,000 level, effectively wiping out all gains achieved since Donald Trump's victory in the November 2024 US elections. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan described the current market environment as a "full-blown, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant-style crypto winter." Data indicates that 44% of the Bitcoin supply is currently "underwater." Analysts note that while ETF inflows and corporate treasury purchases (totaling approximately $75 billion) have prevented a deeper collapse, the market remains in a significant correction phase. The RSI momentum indicator hovering near the "oversold" territory (around 30) further highlights the extent of the current market weakness.

Vitalik Buterin Reevaluates Ethereum’s "Rollup-Centric" Roadmap Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has signaled a potential major pivot in the network's long-standing "rollup-centric" scaling strategy. Buterin argued that Layer 2 (L2) solutions are decentralizing "far slower" than anticipated, whereas the Ethereum base layer (L1) has advanced more rapidly with technologies like ZK-EVMs. This statement is interpreted as a sign that Ethereum may reduce its reliance on external layers and refocus on scaling the base chain itself, a critical development that could alter the technical trajectory of the entire Ethereum ecosystem.

Bitwise Acquires Staking Provider Chorus One Asset manager Bitwise has agreed to acquire staking provider Chorus One as part of its strategy to expand its institutional crypto services. This move demonstrates that ETF issuers are looking beyond offering passive investment products to take on infrastructural roles such as network security and staking. The acquisition comes at a time of increasing demand from institutional investors for yield generation on crypto assets, signaling accelerated institutional consolidation within the sector.

Galaxy Digital Posts $482 Million Loss Despite Increasing Cash Reserves Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital reported a net loss of $482 million for the fourth quarter, driven by declining crypto asset prices and reduced trading volumes. The company saw a 40% drop in trading volumes and incurred approximately $160 million in one-time costs. However, a notable detail is that the firm managed to grow its cash and stablecoin reserves by 36% through equity raises. This suggests the company has shifted into "defense mode," accumulating liquidity to weather the current market stagnation and capitalize on potential future opportunities.

Standard Chartered Cuts Solana 2026 Target to $250 Standard Chartered has revised its year-end 2026 price target for Solana (SOL) down to $250 from $310. The bank's analysts cite a structural shift in Solana network activity from a "memecoin" frenzy to stablecoin-based "micropayments." While this transition is viewed as healthy for the long term, the bank predicts that Solana will underperform Ethereum throughout 2026 and 2027, only catching up once payment use cases reach scale.

Legal and Regulatory Developments: Prison Sentences and New Custody Rules Three critical developments occurred on the legal front. First, Rui-Siang Lin, founder of the dark web marketplace "Incognito Market," was sentenced to 30 years in prison for facilitating over $100 million in narcotics sales. Second, a South Korean crypto CEO received a 3-year prison term for market manipulation, highlighting South Korea's increasingly strict stance on crypto crimes. Finally, Canada's investment regulator (CIRO) introduced new risk-based rules for crypto custody. These rules classify custodians based on capital and security levels, aiming to enhance investor protection.

Corporate Strategies: Moves by Crypto.com, Robinhood, and TeraWulf Corporate activity remains high. Crypto.com spun out its prediction market product into a standalone app called "OG," which has reached $17 billion in monthly volume, a move seen as an attempt to capture market share ahead of the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Bitcoin miner TeraWulf saw its shares surge 15% after announcing the acquisition of new infrastructure sites with 1.5 gigawatts of capacity. In a controversial development, Robinhood CEO's AI startup, Harmonic, sponsored former Eclipse founder Neel Somani, who had faced sexual misconduct allegations, sparking backlash on social media.

Bitcoin Tests $73,000, Erasing All Gains Since Post-Election Rally Bitcoin's price has retraced to test the $73,000 level, effectively wiping out all gains achieved since Donald Trump's victory in the November 2024 US elections. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan described the current market environment as a "full-blown, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant-style crypto winter." Data indicates that 44% of the Bitcoin supply is currently "underwater." Analysts note that while ETF inflows and corporate treasury purchases (totaling approximately $75 billion) have prevented a deeper collapse, the market remains in a significant correction phase. The RSI momentum indicator hovering near the "oversold" territory (around 30) further highlights the extent of the current market weakness.

Vitalik Buterin Reevaluates Ethereum’s "Rollup-Centric" Roadmap Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has signaled a potential major pivot in the network's long-standing "rollup-centric" scaling strategy. Buterin argued that Layer 2 (L2) solutions are decentralizing "far slower" than anticipated, whereas the Ethereum base layer (L1) has advanced more rapidly with technologies like ZK-EVMs. This statement is interpreted as a sign that Ethereum may reduce its reliance on external layers and refocus on scaling the base chain itself, a critical development that could alter the technical trajectory of the entire Ethereum ecosystem.

Bitwise Acquires Staking Provider Chorus One Asset manager Bitwise has agreed to acquire staking provider Chorus One as part of its strategy to expand its institutional crypto services. This move demonstrates that ETF issuers are looking beyond offering passive investment products to take on infrastructural roles such as network security and staking. The acquisition comes at a time of increasing demand from institutional investors for yield generation on crypto assets, signaling accelerated institutional consolidation within the sector.

Galaxy Digital Posts $482 Million Loss Despite Increasing Cash Reserves Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital reported a net loss of $482 million for the fourth quarter, driven by declining crypto asset prices and reduced trading volumes. The company saw a 40% drop in trading volumes and incurred approximately $160 million in one-time costs. However, a notable detail is that the firm managed to grow its cash and stablecoin reserves by 36% through equity raises. This suggests the company has shifted into "defense mode," accumulating liquidity to weather the current market stagnation and capitalize on potential future opportunities.

Standard Chartered Cuts Solana 2026 Target to $250 Standard Chartered has revised its year-end 2026 price target for Solana (SOL) down to $250 from $310. The bank's analysts cite a structural shift in Solana network activity from a "memecoin" frenzy to stablecoin-based "micropayments." While this transition is viewed as healthy for the long term, the bank predicts that Solana will underperform Ethereum throughout 2026 and 2027, only catching up once payment use cases reach scale.

Legal and Regulatory Developments: Prison Sentences and New Custody Rules Three critical developments occurred on the legal front. First, Rui-Siang Lin, founder of the dark web marketplace "Incognito Market," was sentenced to 30 years in prison for facilitating over $100 million in narcotics sales. Second, a South Korean crypto CEO received a 3-year prison term for market manipulation, highlighting South Korea's increasingly strict stance on crypto crimes. Finally, Canada's investment regulator (CIRO) introduced new risk-based rules for crypto custody. These rules classify custodians based on capital and security levels, aiming to enhance investor protection.

Corporate Strategies: Moves by Crypto.com, Robinhood, and TeraWulf Corporate activity remains high. Crypto.com spun out its prediction market product into a standalone app called "OG," which has reached $17 billion in monthly volume, a move seen as an attempt to capture market share ahead of the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Bitcoin miner TeraWulf saw its shares surge 15% after announcing the acquisition of new infrastructure sites with 1.5 gigawatts of capacity. In a controversial development, Robinhood CEO's AI startup, Harmonic, sponsored former Eclipse founder Neel Somani, who had faced sexual misconduct allegations, sparking backlash on social media.