Crypto Daily Roundup: Bitcoin Dips Under $73K Amid Volatility, Cathie Wood’s Crypto Buying Spree, UBS Pumps MSTR Stake to $800M
Crypto Daily Roundup: Bitcoin Dips Under $73K Amid Volatility, Cathie Wood’s Crypto Buying Spree, UBS Pumps MSTR Stake to $800M
The crypto market stays shaky.
Market Snapshot: BTC and ETH Slide
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 2.21% to $76,406. It even touched below $73K recently. Ethereum (ETH) fell 1.42% to $2,270. Volatility rules the day. Weekend liquidations hit $2.55 billion as BTC broke $80K support. Macro pressures like weak tech earnings and Fed talk fuel the fire.
But not all doom. On-chain buys show whales grabbing dips. Bitmine scooped 20,000 ETH worth $46 million via FalconX. They aim to average down costs.
Cathie Wood’s Aggressive Crypto Bets
ARK Invest under Cathie Wood bucks the trend. They bought big despite stock market dips:
- 145,500 shares of Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR).
- 135,100 shares of ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB).
- Boosts in Bullish (BLSH), Robinhood (HOOD), Block (SQ), Circle (CRCL), and Coinbase (COIN).
ARK sells gambling and ad stocks for profits. They eye AI infra and crypto hard. This shows faith in crypto’s rebound.
Institutional Power Moves
Banks and funds pile in:
. They added 3.23 million shares, now holding 5.76 million worth $805M. MSTR acts as a Bitcoin proxy. - Norway’s KLP pension fund upped MSTR to 95,160 shares ($13.5M).
- Kraken parent Payward hit $2.2B revenue in 2025, up 33%. Assets at $48.5B, users up 50%.
Safe wallet revenue jumped 5x to over $10M. Processed $600B volume. Aims for $100M ARR by 2030.
Stablecoins and New Launches
Stablecoin action heats up:
- David Marcus (ex-PayPal) calls PYUSD tech-solid but lacks strategy. No real demand for payments or settlements.
- AllUnity plans CHFAU, Swiss franc stablecoin under EU MiCA. Backed by DWS, Flow Traders, Galaxy.
- Ebury (Santander fintech) launches BTC/crypto services in Brazil by Jan 2026. Focus on stablecoin ramps for cross-border pays.
- Tether drops open-source MiningOS for BTC miners. Self-hosted, P2P, Apache licensed.
Tech and Dev Updates
Ethereum devs push forward:
- 68th ACDT meeting eyes Fusaka upgrades. Testing more blobs, EIP-7928 mandatory. Glamsterdam devnet-2 launches Feb 4.
- Vitalik says L2s must innovate beyond scaling. Need privacy VMs, low latency, oracles. Or stick to phase 1 standards.
Other tech:
- MetaMask integrates Ondo Finance. Trade tokenized US stocks (TSLA, NVDA), ETFs (QQQ), gold/silver via wallet. Non-US users only.
- Chiliz launches US fan tokens. 10% revenue buys back/burns CHZ. Joins DAT treasury.
- Crypto.com preps ‘OG’ prediction market for Super Bowl. Leveraged bets on sports, politics, stocks.
Company Spotlights and Responses
Bitmine fights back:
- Tom Lee: $66B unrealized ETH losses are a ‘feature, not flaw’. Like ETFs in downturns.
Aster CEO Leonard debunks FUD:
- No dumping, CZ just advisor. Bought back 254M tokens, burned 78M. Roadmap: Privacy L1 in March, staking next.
Standard Chartered cuts SOL 2026 target to $250 but sees $2K by 2030. SOL as stablecoin micropay backbone.
Market Views: Bear or Bottom?
Mixed signals:
- Michael Burry warns BTC crash could spark ‘death spiral’. Calls it speculative, not a hedge.
- Wintermute: Macro bear phase, but shorter than FTX/Luna crashes. Infra strong, inflows paused.
- Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan: Crypto winter near end. 39% BTC drop from ATH, like 2018/2022 bottoms. ETFs masked weakness.
- Yi Lihua (Liquid Capital): Buy spot now. ETH >$10K, BTC >$200K coming. Volatility shakes weak hands.
- WisdomTree CEO: Crypto core business. Tokenized assets hit $750M.
What’s Next for Crypto?
Volatility persists, but fundamentals shine. Institutions buy dips, wallets grow, regs advance (MiCA, Brazil). Macro clarity could spark Q2 2026 rally. Watch BTC support at $73K, ETH devnets, and ETF flows.
Long-term bulls like Yi see massive upside. Bears like Burry flag risks. Stay diversified, buy quality on weakness.
Track these for tomorrow’s edge.
