Stefler

Blockchain transparency prevents companies from adopting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for salary payments, according to Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. The executive highlighted privacy concerns as a major barrier to institutional adoption.
CZ explained that public blockchain transactions expose sensitive corporate information. Companies paying employees on-chain would reveal exact salary figures to anyone checking wallet addresses, creating transparency issues that traditional payment systems avoid.
The privacy gap extends beyond payroll. CZ told “All-In” podcast host Chamath Palihapitiya that visible transaction histories create physical security risks for users. On-chain data can reveal wealth levels and spending patterns, making holders potential targets.

These concerns reflect a broader revival of cypherpunk principles in cryptocurrency development. The movement emphasizes encrypted communication and peer-to-peer transactions without centralized oversight, values that originally drove Bitcoin's creation.
Former Kaspa specialist Avidan Abitbol said that businesses will not embrace blockchain without transaction shielding. Corporate workflows, trade secrets, and business relationships remain exposed through public ledgers, giving competitors strategic advantages.

Transaction visibility can harm companies during negotiations and increase scam targeting risks. Abitbol said the information leak threatens corporate theft and damages competitive positioning in sensitive deals.

Former Shielded Technologies CEO Eran Barak warned that artificial intelligence will worsen these problems. AI-assisted hackers can assemble transaction patterns and statistical models to identify high-value targets, making on-chain privacy essential as systems grow more sophisticated.
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Animoca Brands has received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, marking a significant regulatory milestone as the company expands its crypto operations into the Middle East.

The license, formally issued on February 5, 2026, authorizes the Hong Kong-based firm to operate regulated digital asset services from Dubai’s mainland and free zones—excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre, which operates under a separate regulatory framework.

Under the approval, Animoca Brands can provide broker-dealer services and virtual asset investment management to institutional and qualified investors.

Strategic Expansion and Institutional Focus
Omar Elassar, Managing Director for the Middle East and Head of Global Strategic Partnerships at Animoca Brands, said:

“Receiving the VASP licence from VARA is an important milestone for Animoca Brands’ operations, particularly in Dubai and the Middle East. This licence enhances our ability to engage with Web3 foundations as well as global institutional and qualified investors within a well-regulated framework, and reflects our commitment to building and operating responsibly as digital asset markets continue to mature.”

Dubai established VARA in 2022 to oversee digital asset activity across the emirate, helping position the city as a global hub for virtual assets. Animoca’s approval adds to a growing list of crypto and blockchain firms setting up regulated operations in the region amid rising institutional demand.

Animoca Brands, known for its broad Web3 investment portfolio including The Sandbox, Moca Network, and Open Campus, manages investments across hundreds of digital asset companies and initiatives globally. The Dubai licence is expected to strengthen its regional footprint while supporting strategic focuses on stablecoins, real-world asset tokenization, and regulated crypto offerings.

The development also aligns with the company’s broader corporate plans, including a proposed public listing via a reverse merger on the Nasdaq, anticipated to conclude in 2026.

NFT Recovery and Bitcoin Yield Strategy
Beyond regulatory expansion, Animoca Brands has recently advanced its ecosystem strategy through acquisitions and partnerships.

The company acquired Web3 social gaming platform Somo, a move aimed at strengthening its digital collectibles and NFT infrastructure as parts of the NFT market show renewed activity. The acquisition aligns with Animoca’s broader push to deepen user engagement across its portfolio of blockchain-based gaming and digital asset projects.

In parallel, Animoca partnered with decentralized finance protocol Solv Protocol to enhance Bitcoin yield opportunities for institutional participants. The collaboration is designed to help corporate Bitcoin holders deploy BTC into structured yield strategies, reflecting rising institutional interest in making treasury-held digital assets more capital efficient.
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Highlights
• The London Stock Exchange Group announced plans for a blockchain-based Digital Securities Depository for tokenized securities.

• Developers are expanding Bitcoin’s role within decentralized financial applications through layered infrastructure initiatives.

• MegaETH launched its public testnet with high-throughput performance targets.

• Charles Hoskinson presented the roadmap for Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain built around selective disclosure mechanisms.

• Telegram’s TON wallet introduced cross-chain deposits from Ethereum and Solana.

• The Intercontinental Exchange introduced regulated futures contracts based on CoinDesk benchmark indices.

• Bitcoin mining company IREN announced expansion into AI and high-performance computing data centers.
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The past week included multiple infrastructure-related developments across the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, institutional financial markets, privacy-focused blockchain projects, derivatives exchanges, and digital infrastructure operators. The announcements span settlement systems, execution environments, wallet functionality, benchmark products, and compute allocation strategies.
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Rather than focusing on market movement, these updates relate to system-level development. They involve backend integration, performance testing, protocol expansion, and operational adjustments by both crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions.
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The following sections summarize the most relevant announcements across these areas.
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London Stock Exchange Group Digital Securities Depository
On February 12, the London Stock Exchange Group disclosed plans to develop a Digital Securities Depository supported by blockchain-compatible infrastructure. The system is intended to facilitate issuance, custody, and settlement of tokenized financial instruments within regulated market environments.
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The initiative focuses on post-trade processes, including asset servicing and settlement coordination. These processes determine how ownership records are updated and how counterparties reconcile transactions. According to public disclosures, the project is designed to enable interaction between traditional securities and digital representations of those assets.
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LSEG described the initiative as part of its broader digital asset strategy. The announcement emphasized infrastructure development within existing regulatory frameworks rather than the launch of new retail-facing products. Distributed ledger systems are being evaluated for operational use within capital market backends.
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Bitcoin Infrastructure and BTCFi
Activity within the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to expand through layered infrastructure initiatives commonly described as BTCFi. These frameworks aim to allow Bitcoin-backed liquidity to participate in decentralized financial systems without altering Bitcoin’s consensus layer.
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Most BTCFi models rely on sidechains, wrapped Bitcoin representations, or cross-chain bridges. These mechanisms enable Bitcoin liquidity to interact with smart contract platforms while preserving the original protocol’s structure. The Bitcoin base layer itself remains unchanged.
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Recent updates have included integration announcements, development milestones, and testing phases for new frameworks. The goal of these systems is to support financial use cases such as collateralization and liquidity provisioning. Development remains ongoing across multiple independent projects.

MegaETH Public Testnet
On February 9, MegaETH launched its public testnet. The project positions itself as a high-performance execution environment compatible with Ethereum-based development standards.
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The public testnet allows developers to evaluate throughput, transaction processing stability, and latency metrics under real conditions. The development team has stated that the system is designed to support large-scale decentralized applications and sustained transaction loads.
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MegaETH enters a competitive environment that includes existing Layer 2 scaling solutions and alternative execution-focused platforms. Testnet deployment represents an early evaluation stage before any potential mainnet release.
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The launch occurs within the broader environment of scalability development across the Ethereum ecosystem. Ethereum continues to rely on rollups and related scaling mechanisms to increase transaction capacity while maintaining compatibility with its base network.

Midnight and Selective Disclosure
At Consensus Hong Kong on February 11, Charles Hoskinson presented the development roadmap for Midnight. The project focuses on privacy infrastructure built around selective disclosure mechanisms.
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Selective disclosure allows users to verify specific attributes without exposing full identity details. The architecture incorporates cryptographic proof systems designed to validate information in a controlled manner. The stated goal is to balance verification requirements with limited data exposure.
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Midnight is associated with the Cardano ecosystem and is currently progressing through development phases. Privacy-oriented blockchain infrastructure continues to evolve across multiple networks, with selective disclosure representing one approach among several.

Telegram TON Wallet Cross-Chain Integration
Telegram’s self-custodial TON wallet introduced cross-chain deposit functionality this week. Users can fund TON wallets using supported assets from Ethereum and Solana networks through integrated services.
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The update reduces the need for users to interact directly with external bridging interfaces. Cross-chain capability is becoming increasingly common as decentralized ecosystems expand across multiple networks.
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The TON wallet operates within Telegram’s broader ecosystem and continues to add features aimed at improving accessibility to decentralized applications. Cross-chain deposit functionality represents an expansion of wallet-level infrastructure.

ICE CoinDesk Index Futures
The Intercontinental Exchange announced the launch of regulated futures contracts referencing CoinDesk benchmark indices. The contracts include diversified digital asset exposure based on index methodologies.
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These futures are cash-settled and traded on ICE’s regulated derivatives platform. Index-based contracts allow participants to gain exposure without directly holding the underlying digital assets.
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Benchmark indices serve as standardized references within capital markets. The introduction of these futures expands the range of regulated digital asset derivatives available through established exchange infrastructure.

IREN and AI Infrastructure Expansion
Bitcoin mining company IREN announced expansion into AI and high-performance computing data center operations. The company currently operates large-scale energy and cooling infrastructure developed for Bitcoin mining.
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According to company statements, portions of this infrastructure will support AI-related workloads in addition to mining activity. Data centers used for mining can be adapted to accommodate other compute-intensive operations depending on hardware configuration.
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Several mining operators have recently discussed diversification strategies involving AI infrastructure. IREN indicated that expansion into AI hosting will occur alongside continued mining operations.

Ongoing System-Level Development
Beyond the specific announcements outlined above, technical development activity continues across multiple blockchain ecosystems. These include protocol testing, performance optimization, infrastructure integration, wallet functionality expansion, and derivatives product development.
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The updates span both crypto-native companies and established financial institutions. Most involve backend infrastructure adjustments rather than consumer-facing product releases.
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System-level buildout across these areas remains ongoing as digital asset infrastructure continues to develop within regulated and decentralized environments.
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$IN

Strongest PMI Since 2022 Meets Crypto’s Sharpest Spot Volume Drop – Analysts Eye Bitcoin Upside
Feb 3, 2026, 13:29 GMT+33 min read

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U.S. manufacturing for the first time in over two years as the ISM Manufacturing PMI hit 52.6 in January (the strongest reading since 2022), while Bitcoin, trading near $78,000, entered its fifth consecutive month of correction amid collapsing spot demand.

The macro rebound has ignited a fierce debate among crypto analysts over whether this shift will reignite a bull run or arrive too late to halt the market’s structural weakening.

New Orders surged to 57.1, and Production climbed to 55.9, snapping 26 consecutive months of manufacturing contraction and landing the PMI at its highest in 40 months.Source: ISMWorld

Meanwhile, $2.56 billion in crypto liquidations and spot volumes at their lowest since 2024 is hinting at a possible drained out liquidity, as the total crypto market cap sank to $2.58 trillion.Manufacturing Rebound Ends a Historic Drought

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick the expansion directly to trade policy, framing it as validation of the administration’s tariff strategy.

“For the first time in over two years the United States has delivered manufacturing expansion, all thanks to President Trump’s trade policies,” he stated, adding that “tariffs are working as we said.“

For the first time in over two years the United States has delivered manufacturing expansion, all thanks to President Trumps trade policies. Tariffs are working as we said strengthening American manufacturing while reducing imports. Once again, the so-called experts were… — Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick)

The sub-indices reinforced the optimism. Production reached its highest since February 2022, Backlogs of Orders expanded to 51.6, and nine of eighteen manufacturing industries reported growth, with the Prices Index holding at 59%.

New Export Orders crossed into expansion at 50.2 for the first time since December, deepening the recovery signal across the sector.

Economist James E. Thorne firmly inflation fears surrounding the data. “Expanding the Supply Side of the economy is NOT inflationary,” he wrote, a stance by Truflation’s real-time U.S. CPI reading of 0.95%, well below the 2% target.

US inflation today, in our independent real-time price data:Truflation US CPI: 0.95%Truflation US PCE: 1.25%Truflation US Core PCE (excl food and energy): 1:46%Truflation US BLS Comparison (using the BLS weights): 0.46%Truflation Aggregated CPI: 27.68%We calculate… — Truflation (@truflation) Spot Demand Collapse Raises Alarm Bells

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost a dramatic retreat in spot activity since October, with Binance volumes tumbling from nearly $200 billion to $104 billion.

“The current environment remains uncertain and does not encourage risk-taking,” he wrote, warning that a durable recovery requires spot volumes to return.

🗞️ Spot demand Is drying up : Bitcoin enters its 5th month of correctionWe are now entering the 5th consecutive month of correction for Bitcoin.This correction has been largely driven by the October 10th event, which led to a massive destruction of liquidity, particularly in… — Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc)

Speaking with Cryptonews, SwapSpace CBDO Vasily Shilov sharpened the picture with exchange flow data, noting that “the volume of Bitcoin transferred to exchanges has fallen to around $10 billion per month” against “$50–80 billion” at past price peaks.

SwapSpace data also showed weekend exchange volumes surging 43% above typical benchmarks amid thin liquidity

He attributed the weakness to a demand vacuum compounded by geopolitical pressure around Iran.

On-chain metrics deepened the concern. CryptoQuant’s rose sharply to 44%, a pattern historically associated with early bear-market phases rather than healthy pullbacks.Source: CryptoQuant

The Puell Multiple also remained in its discount zone for the third consecutive month, with miner reserves at roughly 1.8 million BTC under mounting revenue pressure as smaller operators begin to capitulate.Source: CryptoQuantBulls and Bears Clash Over the ISM Signal

Joe Burnett, VP of Bitcoin Strategy at Strive, the PMI breakout as a historic catalyst.

“Past breakouts in 2013, 2016, and 2020 served as key catalysts for Bitcoin’s major bull runs,” he wrote.

One of the longest ISM Manufacturing PMI contraction periods in U.S. history ended this morning with a breakout to 52.6, up 4.7 points from December.Past breakouts in 2013, 2016, and 2020 served as key catalysts for Bitcoin's major bull runs.This ends 26 consecutive months of…— Joe Burnett, MSBA (@IIICapital)

Analyst Benjamin Cowen back sharply, citing 2014 ( when the ISM climbed from 52.5 to 55.7 while Bitcoin dropped from $737 to $302), and cautioned that “Bitcoin is not the economy.“

Leo Lanza Cowen directly, arguing the real trigger is not ISM hovering above 50, but specifically crossing back above 50 after prolonged contraction, which is the exact pattern now in play.

Analyst Jesse Eckel on that thesis, declaring that “every single crypto bull run ever — 2013, 2017 and 2021 — happened when the ISM moved up above 50,” and adding that “our dot com moment is still firmly ahead of us.“

Shilov, however, closed with a measured warning, projecting a near-term dip below $70,000 before any sustained recovery materializes.

The worst case, he cautioned, could drag total crypto market cap toward $1.8–2.0 trillion, making ETF flows, corporate holder decisions, and the evolving geopolitical landscape the defining forces shaping Bitcoin’s path forward.

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