Cryptopolitan

Bitcoin is on an epic crash right now, having lost 40% of its value since October, and Michael Burry (the investor behind the famous housing market short in 2008) is no warning that this dip could turn into a full-blown collapse.

This guy is calling it a “death spiral.” Companies that loaded up on Bitcoin over the past year could be in serious trouble.

In a post on Monday, Burry said Bitcoin is a speculative bet, not a real hedge like gold or silver. He pointed out that while precious metals soared on fears about the dollar, Bitcoin did nothing. And now, if it falls another 10%, he says Strategy, the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin, would be deep in the red and could lose access to funding. He also said miners would be next to break.

Price drop threatens companies and miners

Bitcoin dropped under $73,000 on Tuesday, hitting its lowest level since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025. Some analysts blame the fall on weak flows, poor liquidity, and fading interest. Others say crypto traders are shifting toward betting markets instead of sticking with coins.

But Burry thinks this isn’t just a blip. He said Bitcoin has no reason to stop falling. Even with adoption from corporate treasuries and new exchange-traded funds, the price hasn’t found support.

He warned that nearly 200 public companies holding Bitcoin are now at risk. Once their accountants mark down those holdings, the pressure to sell will get worse.

“There is no organic use case reason for Bitcoin to slow or stop its descent,” Burry wrote. And when Bitcoin keeps dropping, he said CFOs will tell their teams to get out.

Treasuries aren’t long-term bets. They get marked to market. When Bitcoin tanks, it hits financial reports directly. Burry said risk managers won’t sit around and hope. They’ll cut.

He also pointed to the surge in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Instead of helping, he says they’ve made Bitcoin even more speculative.

He said the ETFs have raised Bitcoin’s ties to the stock market, and the coin’s correlation with the S&P 500 has now reached around 0.50. That means if stocks fall, Bitcoin could fall harder.

Outflows, tokenized metals and growing damage

Burry noted that ETFs have seen some of their worst daily outflows since November. Three big ones happened just in the last ten days of January. That’s not small money leaving. It’s investors giving up.

He also said crypto is leaking into other markets. Even though Bitcoin’s market cap is under $1.5 trillion, and household exposure is low, the impact is spreading. To cover losses, traders are dumping other assets, especially tokenized gold and silver futures.

Those contracts aren’t backed by real metal. When they get sold off in bulk, they pull down the real metals market too.

Burry said this creates what he called a “collateral death spiral.” At the end of last month, he estimated that up to $1 billion in precious metals was liquidated just because of falling crypto prices.

If Bitcoin falls to $50,000, Burry said miners would go broke and tokenized futures would crash with no one left to buy them. He blamed recent losses in gold and silver directly on crypto-linked selling. “Sickening scenarios have now come within reach,” he wrote.

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Nvidia still hasn’t shipped a single H200 AI chip to China, nearly two months after President Donald Trump gave the green light for exports. The issue? The US government is holding everything up with a national security review.

While Washington figures out what restrictions it wants to slap on, Chinese customers are sitting tight. No one’s placing orders until they know for sure what rules will come with the licences.

Back in December, Jensen Huang thought he’d cracked it. The Nvidia CEO struck a deal directly with Trump to allow H200 sales into China. That deal raised hopes that Nvidia could reenter a market Huang says could be worth $50 billion a year.

Following that, the company told suppliers to start pumping out H200s in large numbers. Demand was expected to be massive. Instead, that momentum is dead. Some suppliers have now paused production of H200 parts entirely.

Licence delay drags on as departments clash over restrictions

Trump’s approval wasn’t the final step. He told his administration to run a national security review before any real sales could start. In January, the commerce department did loosen some export rules. But those exports are still subject to licence approvals from State, Defense, and Energy. Commerce already finished its review, but the State Department is holding things up.

“State is making it very difficult,” said a person familiar with the situation. According to others in the loop, State wants stricter limits, worried the chips could be used by the Chinese military or intelligence agencies.

Chris McGuire, a former export controls official now with the Council on Foreign Relations, explained why. “The state department has deep expertise in whether and how Chinese companies could use these chips to support Chinese defence and intelligence services,” he said. “If state is raising concerns… there are real and significant risks.”

This licensing process is way more complicated than usual. One source said that’s because Trump’s method was backward; he agreed to sell first, then told his agencies to figure out the rules. Now everyone’s trying to play catch-up.

Chinese buyers wait while Nvidia loses momentum

The December deal doesn’t just affect Nvidia. Rival AMD is also caught in the mess. The agreement lets the US government take a 25% cut of the sales and enforces strict approval conditions. Those include:

Half of all shipments must stay in the US

Chips must be tested by third-party labs based in the US

Buyers must report how and where the chips will be used

That’s not all. Chinese companies also have to convince US regulators that H200 chips won’t help China’s military. And so far, that’s a big if.

On China’s side, Beijing is cautious. Regulators are considering giving limited access to companies like Alibaba and ByteDance, but they haven’t finalized anything. They’re waiting to see if the US will even issue licences. Even if they get some, they can’t ship H200 chips abroad, so they won’t be building global data centers with them.

Instead, these companies will likely keep renting servers outside China, or search for alternatives, since there’s no guarantee they’ll get the volume of H200s they need.

Meanwhile, AMD is also stuck. Speaking to analysts this week, CEO Lisa Su confirmed AMD still hasn’t received approval to ship its MI325X chip under the same deal.

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Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has officially resigned from his role as Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) to focus fully on his duties at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, underscoring a controversial chapter in U.S. central‑bank and executive‑branch relations.

In a resignation letter dated Tuesday, Miran said he was keeping a pledge he made to the U.S. Senate during his confirmation process, that he would leave his White House post if his service at the Fed extended beyond the temporary term originally assigned to him.

Miran had taken unpaid leave from his CEA role after being confirmed by the Senate last September to fill a short‑term vacancy on the Fed’s Board of Governors left by former governor Adriana Kugler. His term formally expired at the end of January, but under federal law, he may remain in the position until a Senate‑confirmed successor takes office.

In his resignation letter to Trump, Miran stated that, “In accordance with the Federal Reserve Act, members of the Board of Governors must be committed full-time to their roles. Although I took an unpaid leave from the Council to join the Federal Reserve, I assured the Senate that if I remained on the Board after January, I would officially resign from the Council.”

Miran plays a crucial role in Trump’s administration 

Concerning his decision to resign, Miran expressed his belief that it is important for him to fulfill his pledge while he focuses on executing his duties at the Federal Reserve. According to him, he submitted his resignation with a heavy yet proud heart. Meanwhile, sources revealed that the White House initially announced his departure.

This was after White House spokesman Kush Desai shared a statement to the public alleging that, “Following his commitment made to the Senate during his confirmation for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, Stephen Miran has resigned from the Council of Economic Advisers.”

Afterwards, he made remarks regarding  Miran’s time in office. Desai acknowledged that the Federal Reserve official’s insightful contributions and dedicated support for Trump made him an invaluable asset to the White House. Apart from this finding, the spokesperson also noted that Miran played a key role in the Trump administration’s economic team.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Miran’s resignation comes as the US president is actively reshaping the Federal Reserve. While this was taking place, reports dated Friday, January 30, stated that Trump appointed Kevin Warsh, a Financier and former Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors of the United States, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s successor during an ongoing criminal investigation. 

Thom Tillis calls on the Trump administration to resolve Powell’s criminal scrutiny

As of January 11 this year, Powell publicly stated that the Justice Department had initiated a criminal investigation into his testimony before Congress concerning the central bank’s two historic primary buildings renovations on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall. 

In the meantime, sources warned that Warsh’s appointment to chair the prominent monetary authority faces potential setbacks amid opposition from Republican members concerning Powell’s investigation.

On the other hand, Thom Tillis, the senior United States senator from North Carolina, claimed that he will hold up any Fed board nominations until the criminal investigation into Powell is resolved. Tillis’s position on the Senate Banking Committee makes his stance particularly significant.

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Nvidia is almost done finalizing a $20 billion deal to invest in OpenAI, making it the biggest single investment the chipmaker has ever made.

The money will be part of OpenAI’s ongoing funding round, which could pull in up to $100 billion. People close to the deal say it’s nearly done, but not signed yet. Terms might still change.

OpenAI’s target is huge, and they’ve been talking to several tech giants. According to Bloomberg, Amazon has discussed putting in as much as $50 billion, and SoftBank has talked about throwing in $30 billion.

Nvidia’s $20 billion is now back in the headlines after some drama over whether the relationship between the two companies was falling apart. It’s not.

Huang and Altman respond to $100B freeze story

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s original $100 billion plan, announced in September, had stalled. People inside Nvidia were said to be unsure about the size and strategy of that deal. That freeze led to speculation that Nvidia and OpenAI were no longer on the same page.

But both companies have now responded publicly. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, while speaking in Taipei on Saturday, said, “We will definitely participate in the next round of financing because it’s such a good investment.” He added that this could be “the largest investment we’ve ever made.”

Then on Tuesday, Huang told CNBC’s Jim Cramer, “There’s no drama involved,” and confirmed, “Everything’s on track.”

Despite those comments, Nvidia’s stock still dropped more than 3.4% on Tuesday. The WSJ article had said the $100 billion deal was “on ice,” but that hasn’t stopped this $20 billion round from moving forward.

Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman jumped in to shut down the rumors, too. He posted on X yesterday: “We love working with NVIDIA and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time. I don’t get where all this insanity is coming from.”

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The yen is falling again, fast. It’s now testing the 160-per-dollar level, and people in the market are on edge. No one’s really surprised, but the speed of the drop is turning heads.

What used to feel like a slow decline is now looking like a full-blown slide. The last time the yen was even close to this weak, most of today’s traders weren’t even in the game.

The trouble started last October when Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister. Takaichi is known for favoring big government spending. That scared off a lot of investors.

Then she called a snap election, hoping to grab more seats in parliament and lock in her policies. The vote is set for February 8. If she wins, she’s expected to spend even more to boost Japan’s economy.

Traders are pulling out as short positions increase

A lot of traders spent 2025 betting the yen would rebound. Now, most of them are done waiting. They’ve flipped their bets. Net shorts are growing, and fast. “Nobody wants to fight this anymore,” one Tokyo-based trader said.

The pressure isn’t just about politics. The yen had stayed in a range of 100 to 120 per dollar for most of the 2000s. But things changed when the Ukraine war began.

Japan had to pay more for energy imports, and the Bank of Japan kept interest rates near zero while the Federal Reserve raised theirs. That combo hammered the yen.

Right now, the 160 line is what everyone’s watching. That’s where many believe Japan’s government will feel forced to step in. But so far, they’ve stayed quiet.

There’s more going on than just dollar strength. Japan’s real effective exchange rate, which compares the yen to its major trading partners and adjusts for inflation, has dropped over 30% since 2020.

At the same time, Japan’s national debt is sitting above 200% of GDP. That’s the highest in the developed world. Takaichi says she can fix it by growing the economy, not by cutting spending. Investors aren’t sold on that.

Bond yields rise but yen keeps falling anyway

Usually, when bond yields go up, the currency gets a boost. But that old pattern just broke. Japanese government bond yields have been rising, but the yen is still falling. That disconnect has people spooked.

Stock markets across Asia are feeling the pressure too. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% on Wednesday. Lasertec dropped 7%, Konami was down 5.8%, and Tokyo Electron fell 3.2%. The Topix index slid 0.39%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.22%, pulled down by tech and education stocks. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.4%, and the Kosdaq gained 1.01%. Hang Seng Index futures in Hong Kong stood at 26,590, slightly below the last close of 26,834.77.

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Intel is officially stepping into the GPU war, and it’s not half-assing it. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Tuesday that the company has hired a new chief architect to start building graphics processing units.

He didn’t say the name, but admitted it took “some persuasion” to get the person to join. Nvidia and AMD already dominate the space, and their chips power everything from large language models to the biggest AI data centers out there.

The demand for GPUs has exploded as more companies rush to build AI infrastructure. Intel wants a piece of that money pile, and it’s finally doing something about it.

Intel’s foundry struggles, Wall Street targets, and memory chip deal

But the timing is rough. Intel has had a bumpy few years. The company fell behind in the AI chip race while others soared.

Even though its latest quarterly results beat expectations, investors were focused on other issues, like manufacturing delays and the lack of a key foundry customer.

Intel’s foundry division is supposed to make chips for outside clients, but right now it mostly makes its own. That’s not what Wall Street wanted to hear.

Last year, the U.S. government, SoftBank, and even Nvidia threw money at Intel, betting on its recovery. And there’s some progress. Daiwa Capital Markets just raised its price target from $41 to $50. MarketBeat says the average target sits at $45.76, though analysts overall still say “Reduce.”

Meanwhile, Nasdaq shared data from Fintel showing the average one-year target at $46.77, up 22.1% from the Jan. 11 estimate. But not everyone’s convinced. Stacy A. Rasgon at Bernstein kept his neutral rating and a lower $36 target.

Intel is also jumping into new memory tech. On Feb. 2, Tokyo-based SAIMEMORY, a SoftBank unit, said it signed a deal with Intel to develop “Z-Angle Memory.” It’s a new kind of chip that’s supposed to work better for AI inference, the part where models actually run in production.

These chips will need to move a huge amount of data quickly, use less power, and have higher capacity. The plan is to start prototyping by March 2028, and maybe sell them commercially by fiscal 2029.

Meanwhile, Lip-Bu didn’t ignore the bigger problem: memory chip shortages. He told the Cisco AI Summit the demand from AI data centers has made things worse.

There’s not enough supply to go around, and that’s let memory makers keep jacking up prices. Lip-Bu called AI the “biggest challenge” for memory and said he expects “no relief until 2028.”

Intel wants to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which already builds chips for most of the world’s biggest names. But right now, Nvidia’s GPUs are still the go-to choice for AI. AMD isn’t far behind. With this new hire and deals like SAIMEMORY, Intel is finally taking big swings. Now it has to prove they won’t miss.

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The first half of February 2026 is proving to be a wake-up call for the meme coin sector. Major internet-driven tokens are seeing capital flow out as the broader market shifts toward assets with higher long-term value.

This reflects a larger rotation, where smart money is moving away from hype and toward utility. Investors who follow the charts can already see the signals. Reliance on viral posts alone is no longer enough to support price action. A new crypto phase of decentralized finance is taking shape. It is led by protocols that prioritize working code over social media trends. 

Dogecoin (DOGE)

The price of Dogecoin (DOGE) is at about $0.10; this is after experiencing a significant fall that has erased billions of dollars in value. The original meme coin is not doing well in trying to establish itself with a market capitalization of about $15.2 billion currently. The asset has experienced a great rejection in the recent past at the resistance zone of $0.125 which has become a key obstacle to bulls.

A bigger obstacle is at the level of $0.15. The analysts observe that DOGE has not been given that big fundamental impetus to make it through such higher ceilings. The hype ceiling is becoming more difficult to breach because its supply is unlimited, and it is, at least, basic payments. The fact that selling pressure has reached these levels is an indication that most long-term holders are finally seeking new cheap cryptos that have greater technical space to expand.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

The same is happening to Shiba Inu (SHIB) which is at the current price of about $0.0000070. Its market capitalization has reduced to approximately $4.1 billion, which added to the huge aggregate loss in the industry. SHIB has had significant difficulty regaining the price ceiling at $0.0000085 that has served as a solid price floor into the beginning of 2026.

When the selling will be continued, the next crypto significant resistance of SHIB will be in the sky at $0.0000115. The present technical configuration is however bearish since the token is moving below the crucial moving averages. 

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

With the outflow of capital out of the meme industry, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is becoming one of the most popular destinations to whale accumulation. This developing decentralized protocol has already collected more than $20.25 million and has brought in excess of 19,000 individual holders. 

The project is in phase 7 of presale where MUTM sells at $0.04. This is an increment of 300% of its initial price of $0.01. According to the project’s roadmap, MUTM will be officially launched at $0.06 which means that the existing players are assured of a 50% token discount. The allocation is very decentralized, only 45.5% (1.82 billion) of the total 4 billion units of tokens are given to the community in the presale. To date, over 840M are already sold out.

The Reason Analysts Prefer MUTM for Q1 2026

The leading weakness of DOGE and SHIB is their huge market caps. To have a 10x return Dogecoin would have to have a valuation greater than most world banks. The footprint of MUTM, in turn, is much smaller. Since it is in a nascent growth stage, it requires much less capital to shift the price considerably.

In order to visualize the difference, an investment of $900 in DOGE today would only realize a substantial profit in case the coin surpassed all time highs. But the same amount of MUTM at the present rate of $0.04, $900, would buy 22,500 tokens. 

In the case of the launch at $0.06, the value of that investment is $1,350. In case protocol hits the analyst expectation at $0.50 post-launch, such tokens would have a value of $11,250. This analogy is a reason why whales are not focusing on the customary memes, instead focusing on high-utility protocols.

V1 Launch and Proven Security

The hype of Mutuum Finance is supported by actual technical advancement. However, most recently, the team introduced the V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet where users can test liquidity pools and mtTokens. The software rollout confirms the fact that technology is ready and operational.

With V1, users can interact with live liquidity pools for assets such as ETH, USDT, WBTC, and LINK. Lenders receive mtTokens when they supply assets, which automatically increase in value as interest from borrowers flows back into the system. This confirms that the passive yield mechanism is already functioning.

The V1 protocol release also includes debt tokens and clear health and stability factors. These tools help borrowers track risk levels and understand how close a position is to liquidation. Automated liquidation logic is in place to protect the protocol and ensure lenders are repaid if collateral values drop.

One area that has been of principal concern is security. The protocol was able to pass a full audit by Halborn Security that checked the safety of its smart contracts. This institutional-level validation, together with the 24-hour leaderboard payout, makes MUTM a less unpredictable and high-upside version of the erratic meme market.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Polymarket is opening a free grocery store in New York next week, just as Kalshi gave out $50 worth of groceries to people at a WestSide Market on Tuesday.

Both companies run prediction platforms that let people bet on real-world events, and now they’re trying to win over regular folks with food. Timing isn’t random. The Super Bowl is coming this Sunday, and both are trying to get more users while everyone’s attention is locked on bets.

Kalshi’s giveaway brought a crowd. A line started forming 30 minutes before it began and stretched past a city block in lower Manhattan. Staff let 50 people in every 15 minutes. Most people waiting didn’t even know what Kalshi was.

But they knew groceries were expensive and this was free. One of them, Henry, a 19-year-old bartender, said, “Fifty bucks is like three hours of work. It’s a big deal.”

Kalshi hands out grocery money while city grapples with food prices

Grocery prices have gone up around 30% since 2020, based on numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In a survey from March 2025, almost 90% of New Yorkers said groceries were going up faster than their income.

That issue helped Zohran, New York’s new mayor, win his election. He had promised city-run grocery stores to fix the problem. He called the current price hikes “out of control.”

Kalshi is betting on this crisis. Its co-founder Tarek pitched the grocery event while chatting with WestSide Market’s CEO George during halftime at a Knicks game.

George said, “I liked his thought process on giving back to the community.” The event launched days later. It wasn’t subtle either. They wanted attention. And they got it.

But right as that was happening, Polymarket threw down the gauntlet. It announced on social media that it signed a lease for an actual physical store that’ll open on February 12.

They called it “The Polymarket.” It won’t just be a pop-up. It’ll be a real store, stocked with staple goods and fully run by the company. It’s free. No signup. No strings.

Polymarket returns to US with a store, a new app, and $2 billion

This move comes right after Polymarket got regulatory approval to operate in the U.S. again. They were banned in 2022 and forced to go offshore. But late last month, they got cleared by the CFTC, and their app launched in the U.S. on Wednesday.

The grocery store is part of a bigger comeback. Polymarket also gave $1 million to a local food bank and said the store is “open to all New Yorkers.” A company rep said everything will be paid for by them, including the staff.

Even though both companies are using groceries to draw people in, they’re still getting slammed by critics. This week, Letitia, the state’s attorney general, warned people.

“It’s crystal clear: so-called prediction markets do not have the same consumer protections as regulated platforms,” she said. “I urge all New Yorkers to be cautious of these platforms to protect their money.”

The risk hasn’t slowed their growth. Kalshi and Polymarket now dominate the market. At least a dozen other startups have jumped into the space, but they don’t come close in size.

Back in October, Polymarket locked in a $2 billion investment from the Intercontinental Exchange, the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange. That deal made Shayne, the company’s founder, the youngest self-made billionaire on Bloomberg’s list at age 27. ICE will now distribute Polymarket’s data globally. It’s a massive partnership, especially for a company that just got back into the country.

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Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig noted that the United States could soon become the world’s leading model for regulating cryptocurrencies if Congress passes a new market structure bill. 

Speaking this week, Selig said the proposed legislation would finally bring long-awaited clarity to digital asset markets that have operated for years without clear rules, pushing innovation and investment overseas.

Selig argued that the absence of a clear regulatory framework has hurt both consumers and businesses. He said the bill would give regulators, companies, and investors a shared understanding of how digital assets are classified and who oversees them, creating a more stable environment for growth.

The bill, he said, would provide regulators, companies, and potential investors with a shared understanding of where assets fall and who will now oversee them, and create a more stable environment for the growth of this industry. 

New bill aims to clarify crypto rules

The U.S. crypto industry has operated in a gray area for years, as regulators have sought to apply existing laws that were not yet formulated for digital asset technology. Such uncertainty has caused markets to “languish,” Selig said, prompting many crypto companies to move abroad in search of clearer rules. 

Speaking on Mornings with Maria on Wednesday, Selig said the legislation is primarily aimed at providing clarity. Because the rules applied to the U.S. were not specified, innovators and entrepreneurs have found it difficult to cultivate, since they don’t know which rules apply to the products they make or who the regulator is, he said. 

Selig said the bill would establish a straightforward “token taxonomy” to help determine which digital assets are securities and which are not. This distinction is essential because securities fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction, while the CFTC regulates commodities. 

Many of these digital assets have been treated as securities by default under the current system, Selig said. He said the model is outdated and doesn’t really reflect how crypto markets are functioning now. 

Most tokens are commodities and should be regulated accordingly. He added that expanding the CFTC’s authority over non-security digital assets would establish some structure, promote responsible innovation, and safeguard players from fraud and abuse. 

Bill sets clear boundaries between the SEC and the CFTC

At the heart of the proposed bill is a clearer division of responsibilities between the CFTC and the SEC. Under law, Selig said, it would also help resolve long-running jurisdictional debates that have created confusion for both regulators and the industry. 

Under these new circumstances, the SEC would still oversee digital assets that meet the definition of securities. However, assets used predominantly to trade a digital asset, or those used largely as part of the network and for other financial services under current exchange conditions, would fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.

Selig noted that this is the real world of digital markets and will better align U.S. regulation with how crypto assets are used in practice. CFTC is also capable of regulating complex and quickly emerging markets like futures and derivatives for decades, and that is what he did,” said. 

The legislation would also target prediction markets, including Polymarket and Kalshi. They provide online platforms for trade contracts based on predictions of real-world event outcomes, such as economic indicators and polls. Selig said that the CFTC has monitored prediction markets for over 20 years. 

He said the new legislation would clarify rules for these platforms and support innovation, rather than preemptively blocking new products before they reach the market. 

He criticized past attempts to prohibit certain contracts, particularly around political events, and said the agency should not be a “merit regulator” that decides in advance which products are allowable, such as whether they would be allowed into a market. 

Instead, he said, the CFTC would establish rules, enforce them consistently, and defend its authority in court when needed.

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A US-based federal judge has denied billionaire Elon Musk’s motion to dismiss a complaint from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging he exceeded the time allowed to report his accumulating Twitter shares.

In an attempt to defend himself, Musk said the federal agency unfairly targeted him and that the case violated his free speech rights, among other claims. 

After carefully assessing these claims, US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan just recently issued a ruling in Washington. The ruling stated that a straightforward application of the law indicated that none of these arguments provided a sufficient legal basis for dismissing the lawsuit.

Tech billionaire Musk faces legal battle with the SEC

In January 2025, the SEC filed its complaint against Tesla and SpaceX CEO, just days before Donald Trump assumed the presidency. Regarding this lawsuit, sources with knowledge of the situation disclosed that the federal agency claimed Musk purchased Twitter shares in 2022 but delayed reporting his holdings until it was too late. Afterwards, reports pointed out that the influential tech figure secretly acquired the social media platform for $44 billion and changed its name from Twitter to X.

Following this claim, the SEC pointed to the possibility of Musk purchasing stakes at a reduced price as the main reason for his decision to delay his announcement of an increased stake. At this point, sources confirmed Twitter shareholders spent over $150 million to buy Twitter’s shares.

Even so, the industry executive’s lawyers filed a motion to terminate the proceedings, calling the case a waste of the court’s time and a misuse of public resources. Responding to this statement, the SEC requested that Judge Sooknanan find Musk guilty without a trial, arguing that the failure to meet the disclosure deadline is incontrovertible.

In a statement, Sooknanan mentioned that, “The court understands that Mr. Musk would prefer not to disclose information that could affect stock prices as he seeks control of the company. However, what Congress established in Section 13(d) does not violate the First Amendment.” 

This case is referred to as Securities and Exchange Commission v. Musk, 25-cv-00105. It took place in the US District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington). 

 xAI seeks to solidify its position as a leader in the tech industry 

Reports mentioned that Elon Musk’s company, xAI, has been actively challenging leading AI labs such as OpenAI, the firm he founded and later clashed with, over the past three years.

Nonetheless, the outcome received mixed reactions from individuals since the chatbot Grok, xAI’s key product, drew people’s attention for submitting antisemitic replies and a sexualized image scandal, diminishing its technical achievements.

To offset this impact, reports from reliable sources disclosed that Musk is partnering with one of his most successful ventures to accelerate his efforts to develop advanced AI systems.

Regarding this collaboration, the billionaire shared an X post dated Monday, February 2, noting that he decided to merge xAI with SpaceX to establish a combined firm with $1.25 trillion in valuation. According to Musk, the aim of this collaboration is to help xAI acquire the three major elements required for AI development. Notably,  these elements include more computing power, talent, and data.

Meanwhile, like other AI startups, xAI has allocated significant amounts of funds, which total around  $1 billion monthly, on data centers, chips, and other investments to create artificial intelligence models. 

Consequently, financial reports declared that xAI has incurred $5 billion in corporate debt, a substantial liability for a young startup. However, the company’s AI infrastructure development remains modest compared to OpenAI’s massive $1.4 trillion commitment to data centers and chips.

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The US-based crypto exchange Coinbase is facing new legal scrutiny from Nevada regulators, who argue it is providing illegal sports betting services.

The case is adding to the pressure from state authorities, which say that crypto prediction markets resemble gambling, even though they are allowed at the federal level. Regulators say the company offered contracts linked to sports events that amount to illegal betting under Nevada law.

The Gaming Control Board is requesting that a court grant both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the business. If successful, the orders would prevent Coinbase from operating any derivatives exchange or prediction market connected to sports betting in Nevada immediately.

Mike Dreitzer, the chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said the regulator has a duty to protect the state’s gaming industry and its residents. He said the lawsuit shows the board’s responsibility to ensure that gambling complies with state law and is properly regulated.

Coinbase’s prediction market rollout faces scrutiny at a critical moment

The lawsuit was filed less than a week after Coinbase announced it would launch national prediction market services. The services were provided in all 50 US states, the company said, in connection with a partnership with Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market platform. 

Coinbase itself cites this federal oversight as evidence that its prediction market complies with US law. However, Nevada’s move also shows that state regulators don’t always see eye to eye. 

While the CFTC oversees some event-based contracts, gambling laws are still controlled by states, depending on the jurisdiction. In Nevada, federal approval does not overrule state gambling regulations when the product closely resembles sports betting, officials say.

There are many cases in which crypto companies must rely on federal approvals, but states can exercise quite sweeping law-enforcement powers. When these two systems clash, companies can be put in an awkward position. T

he aftermath of the Nevada case could affect how prediction markets operate nationwide, according to some experts. Courts ruling in favor of state regulators might prompt crypto firms to limit the size of their product line or redesign their offerings to avoid being categorized as gambling.

States tighten scrutiny as prediction markets expand

Nevada has previously taken action against other prediction market platforms, including Polymarket. Just last week, a Nevada court approved a temporary restraining order that required Polymarket’s operator to stop offering event-based betting to residents of the state. 

In that instance, the court sided with regulators when it held that unlicensed betting had created “immediate and irreparable harm” to the state’s ability to supervise and control gambling activity. The finding reinforced Nevada’s case that prediction markets based on real-world events can fall under gambling laws. The increase in state-by-state lawsuits is prompting alarm across the crypto industry. 

Prediction markets operating primarily under CFTC scrutiny are likely to face greater legal scrutiny unless lawmakers create clearer regulations, investors fear. Some analysts say the crisis could spark a broader federal-state dispute over who holds decision-making authority over prediction markets. If more states follow Nevada, Coinbase and Polymarket could potentially find themselves embroiled in legal fights in several jurisdictions at once. 

Others say the disputes highlight gaps in the current regulatory system. Prediction markets are a crossroads of finance, technology, and gambling that cannot be easily accommodated in current laws; they are at the fringes of a few domains.

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Vitalik Buterin recently took to X to restart a somewhat polarising conversation in the Ethereum space, regarding the complicated relationship between Ethereum mainnet and its L2s. 

According to the Ethereum cofounder, this current conversation about L2 relevance is happening in the face of two facts. One is that “L2s progress to stage 2 (and, secondarily, on interop) has been far slower and more difficult than originally expected.”

The other is that “L1 itself is scaling, fees are very low, and gas limits are projected to increase greatly in 2026.” 

Why Vitalik believes Ethereum L2s need to play a different role 

Vitalik claims both these facts mean that the “original vision of L2s and their role in Ethereum no longer makes sense, and we need a new path.” He believes a path is needed now more than ever because the current vision no longer makes sense. 

“L1 does not need L2s to be ‘branded shards’, because L1 is itself scaling” he wrote. “And L2s are not able or willing to satisfy the properties that a true “branded shard” would require.”

Vitalik says Ethereum itself is now scaling directly on L1, with large planned increases to its gas limit this year and the years ahead.

“We should stop thinking about L2s as literally being “branded shards” of Ethereum, with the social status and responsibilities that this entails. Instead, we can think of L2s as being a full spectrum,” he wrote. 

Vitalik’s advice for L2s today

Vitalik, in his post, outlined several paths for L2s in his post. He suggested reframing L2s as a broad spectrum rather than simply tagging them as official Ethereum extensions. 

He argues that some can still be strongly secured by Ethereum but that others have looser ties to the network with users often choosing based on their needs. Vitalik suggests that L2s need to focus on adding value beyond mere scaling. 

He claims that those that want to remain focused on scaling will have to take it to the extreme, beyond what even an expanded L1 would want to do. 

Another option is to be stage 1 at the minimum, especially if the L2 is doing things with ETH or other Ethereum-issued assets. The last thing he mentioned was supporting maximum interoperability with Ethereum, though he acknowledged this will differ for each one. 

“It’s each L2’s choice exactly what they want to build. Don’t just “extend L1”, figure out something new to add,” Vitalik wrote.

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Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) crushed expectations for the second quarter by reporting $12.68 billion in revenue, way above the $10.42 billion Wall Street had in mind.

That’s not some small beat. Last quarter, they brought in $5.0 billion. A year ago, it was $5.7 billion. This time, they more than doubled both. It was their highest quarterly revenue to date.

Net income came in at $401 million, which was up from $168 million last quarter and $321 million in the same quarter a year ago. The company’s diluted earnings per share hit $0.60, up from $0.26 in Q1 and $0.51 in Q2 last year. On a non-GAAP basis, SMCI reported $0.69 per share, compared to $0.59 the same time last year.

SMCI’s gross margin falls even as revenue beats all estimates

Despite all that revenue, SMCI’s gross margin for the quarter was 6.3%, a big drop from 9.3% in Q1 and 11.8% in Q2 2025. The non-GAAP gross margin was 6.4%, compared to 11.9% a year ago. Total cost of sales hit $11.88 billion, while gross profit was $798.6 million.

Expenses also climbed. Research and development cost $180.8 million, sales and marketing came in at $73.1 million, and general and administrative expenses were $70.4 million. That brought total operating expenses to $324.3 million. From that, operating income was $474.3 million.

Interest income landed at $51 million, while interest expense was $25.4 million. After taxes of $99.2 million and a small loss of $492, SMCI ended with net income of $400.6 million. That’s their final number on a GAAP basis.

Stock-based compensation was no small line item. It added up to $90.5 million total, including $6.8 million under cost of sales, $59.5 million under R&D, $10.3 million under sales and marketing, and $13.8 million under general and admin.

Balance sheet nearly doubles in six months

By December 31, 2025, SMCI had $4.1 billion in cash and $4.9 billion in bank debt and convertible notes. The company’s total assets reached $28.0 billion, up from $14.0 billion just six months earlier. That jump was driven by a huge rise in accounts receivable to $11.0 billion and inventories up to $10.6 billion.

They also recorded $538.6 million in property and equipment, $655.4 million in deferred taxes, and $683.1 million in other assets. Total current assets hit $26.1 billion.

On the liabilities side, accounts payable spiked to $13.75 billion, and total current liabilities were $15.4 billion. Deferred revenue came in at $774.8 million short-term and $527.9 million long-term. Convertible notes stood at $4.65 billion, and other long-term liabilities were $408.8 million. Total liabilities reached $21.0 billion.

Stockholders’ equity closed at $6.99 billion, which includes $4.0 billion in retained earnings and $2.99 billion in paid-in capital. There was also $162,000 in non-controlling interest.

Cash flow went negative while investments continued

Cash flow didn’t look pretty. For the quarter, SMCI burned through $24 million in operations and spent $46 million on capital investments. For the full six-month stretch, the company reported net cash used in operations of $941.4 million. This came from large cash outflows tied to accounts receivable and inventory growth.

During the same six-month period, $53.5 million went to buying equipment, and $25 million was used to buy equity securities. That pushed net investing cash flow to negative $78.5 million.

On the financing side, they raised $238.8 million from credit lines and loans, but paid back $123.4 million. They also spent $71.1 million on equity settlement taxes, and received $12.9 million from option exercises. That left net financing cash flow at $47.5 million.

At the end of the period, cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash dropped by $978.6 million, leaving them with $4.19 billion on hand. Foreign exchange trimmed off $6.2 million.

Outlook sets $12.3 billion minimum for Q3

According to the earnings report, SMCI expects Q3 revenue to reach at least $12.3 billion. That’s slightly below Q2 but still strong. GAAP earnings per share are projected at $0.52, and non-GAAP EPS at $0.60. These estimates assume a tax rate of 19.6% for GAAP and 20.2% for non-GAAP, with share counts of 684 million and 699 million, respectively.

The forecast includes $62 million in stock-based comp, with a $19 million tax impact excluded from non-GAAP results. For the full fiscal year 2026, SMCI expects at least $40.0 billion in sales.

CEO Charles Liang said the company is growing fast to meet demand. He credited SMCI’s AI server and storage systems, saying they help customers scale quickly and save costs. Liang also pointed to their Data Center Building Block Solutions, which he claims make AI deployments faster and cheaper.

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In the cryptocurrency market that once rewarded speed above all else, investors are now placing more value on stability, security, and untapped growth potential. While headlines focus on big top cryptocurrencies posting double-digit declines, a quieter change is taking place in decentralized finance. Capital is slowly moving away from stagnant altcoins and toward newer protocols.

One emerging protocol is moving beyond a conceptual roadmap and into practical execution. This transition is attracting investor interest at an early stage. For many, this shift represents a tipping point, where technical delivery and early positioning are becoming the main drivers of long-term portfolio success.

Solana (SOL)

Solana (SOL) is a popular high-frequency trading and retail ecosystem player. At this moment, SOL is traded at around $100 and the market capitalization has receded to about $58 billion. Over the past one week alone, Solana has been down by more than 20%, as it finds it difficult to maintain its levels of psychological support.

The levels of resistance were identified in the range of $125 and $150 which have turned out to be a wall of bricks to the asset. The price is subjected to heavy selling pressure each time a rally sets in. 

Other analysts have made a less-than-appealing price projection in 2026, indicating that SOL can remain within the large band of between $80 to $115 in the near future. Due to the already large market cap, the days of the early surge are behind us. It now needs billions of new capital to flex the price a bit, and many are looking elsewhere to have higher upside.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Whereas Solana is having problems with its valuation, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is gaining traction with the creation of a next crypto generation protocol. Mutuum Finance is building a non-custodial, decentralized lending system which integrates Peer-to-Contract (P2C) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) markets. This would enable the user to generate interest on their deposits or borrow off their assets without an intermediary.

Recently the project achieved a colossal milestone by introducing its V1 protocol in the Sepolia testnet. This implies that the code is operational and dynamic with liquidity pools and computerized risk handling mechanisms. 

The V1 launch specifically allows users to test core functions such as asset supply and borrowing along with the minting of yield-bearing mtTokens. It also features a functional dashboard for real-time monitoring of loan health and automated liquidation tools to maintain protocol stability.

Mutuum Finance has also been able to undergo a full security audit by Halborn Security to be assured of the highest standard of safety. This institutional-level review attests to the fact that the lending and borrowing of smart contracts are strong and ready to the real world.

Presale Dynamics and Ease of Entry

The membership in the Mutuum Finance ecosystem is presently handled in an organized dispensation. The project raised funds amounting to over $20.2 million and it has already achieved a milestone of more than 18,900 holders. 

The popularity of this broad community is indicative of confidence. The project has a 24-hour leaderboard to ensure the community is kept active and that the best contributor in terms of daily contribution is given a token bonus of $500.

Everyone has been made simple to join the ecosystem. Users have an option of onboarding via the direct card payment and different cryptocurrencies. This takes away the complicated obstacles that tend to prevent individuals from joining in the initial projects. MUTM is distributed widely and equally since a total of 4 billion tokens are in total and 45.5% (1.82 billion) is redistributed through the presale with over 840M already sold out.

MUTM vs. SOL: The 2026 Outlook

According to the top crypto investors, MUTM stands to beat SOL in the value of crypto appreciation during 2026 and 2027. The argument is straightforward: market cap gravity. Solana is an established giant and MUTM is at a very young stage of growth. The token is already at Phase 7, and it is priced at $0.04 with the confirmed price of launch at $0.06. This implies that first movers are already considering making a massive jump even before the actual trading by the public.

The demand is growing as Phase 7 is selling fast. The investor excitement was so high that a whale of single allocation of $115k was registered soon after the V1 launch news. This mover and shaker of whales is paramount since it is an indicator that the major players are investing their capital in MUTM as a long-term asset. 

The 50% discount will fade away once the next crypto phase comes in. To the newcomers that have not bought Solana during its initial stages, this could be the last opportunity to buy a spot in one of the most promising high-utility protocols at its lowest entry point.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the viral AI social network Moltbook a probable fad. He thinks that the technology enabling bots to act independently showed a vision of the future.

On Tuesday, at the Cisco AI Summit in San Francisco, Altman along with other tech leaders discussed a site similar to Reddit where AI bots share code and talk about their human users.

Altman thinks Moltbook is temporary

Moltbook launched in late January as an experimental social network for AI agents. 

The Reddit-style platform allows bots to post, comment, and upvote via API access. However, humans are limited to browsing only. 

Moltbook quickly drew attention from AI researchers and developers. And now it’s stirring debates about computers reaching human-like intelligence.

An open-source bot known as OpenClaw, previously called Clawdbot or Moltbot, now populates the platform. 

Supporters say the bot can manage emails, interact with insurance providers, check in for flights, and handle other routine tasks. 

The bot is an intelligent assistant that works around the clock for its users.

​​Altman said Moltbook might be temporary, but OpenClaw is permanent. He stated that code alone is powerful. Code combined with general computer use is far more powerful. This combination will endure.

“Moltbook maybe (is a passing fad) but OpenClaw is not. This idea that code is really powerful, but code plus generalized computer use is even much more powerful, is here to stay,” said Altman.

He added that Codex, OpenAI’s AI coding assistant, has similar capabilities to OpenClaw. 

Musk, Suleyman and others are split over Moltbook

Several key figures in the tech community expressed doubt about the rise of Moltbolt.

Elon Musk described Moltbook as signaling the “very early stages of the singularity.” He believes the platform represents a meaningful change in how AI systems interact. He has also reacted with humor to some of its posts. 

Former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy initially called the platform “one of the most incredible sci-fi takeoff-adjacent things” he’d seen. But later he warned it was a “dumpster fire” and not something he recommended people run on their own computers due to security issues.

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman said Moltbook’s behavior can seem human-like. However, he called it a “mirage.” He added that fluent language generation should not be mistaken for consciousness.

Moltbook expanded fast after launch. Forbes reported that more than 1.4 million AI agents were active on the platform within days, generating tens of thousands of posts across hundreds of communities. The content includes code sharing, experimentation, and human behavior discussion.

However the platform isn’t secure. Moltbook revealed private information of thousands of individuals including API tokens, email addresses, and confidential information. The breach may enable fake identities, changes, or harmful code in agent posts. 

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Galaxy Digital shares dropped about 17% on Tuesday after the company reported a massive $482 million net loss for the last quarter of 2025.

That hit came after a steep 22% fall in the value of its crypto investments, pulling down earnings to ‑$1.08 per share, both reported and adjusted. It wiped out a strong third quarter and shocked a lot of traders who were hoping Galaxy would ride out the market downturn better.

The total value of Galaxy’s assets dropped to $11.3 billion, while total equity slipped to $3.0 billion. Cash and stablecoins rose to $2.6 billion, which helped a little, but not enough to cover the losses.

Their net digital assets dropped to $1.68 billion, down from $2.14 billion just three months earlier. On top of that, the overall crypto market lost around 24% of its value in the same period.

Trading collapsed after big Q3, earnings swing deep into the red

Galaxy went from reporting a $505 million profit in Q3 to a $482 million loss in Q4. Revenue for the quarter dropped to $10.2 billion, down from $29.2 billion. Transaction expenses followed the same pattern, falling to $10.3 billion from $28.3 billion.

The Digital Assets unit brought in just $51 million in gross profit last quarter. That’s down from $318 million in Q3. The adjusted EBITDA for that segment dropped to ‑$29 million.

Galaxy’s Treasury and Corporate came in even worse, reporting ‑$454 million in gross profit and ‑$488 million in EBITDA. For the year, Galaxy booked a $241 million loss, or ‑$0.61 per share, after racking up $160 million in one-time costs tied to bitcoin mining infrastructure and restructuring moves.

Despite the big loss, the loan book grew slightly to $1.8 billion on average. Galaxy’s number of trading counterparties rose to 1,620, up from 1,532.

But volumes dropped sharply, around 40%, after a record Q3 where the company pulled off a $9 billion notional bitcoin transaction.

Galaxy’s investment banking arm closed two deals in Q4, helping Aplo get acquired by Coincheck and working on a DeFi merger.

Staking and asset management slide as prices fall

Galaxy’s Asset Management and Infrastructure Solutions division posted $21 million in gross profit, slightly down from Q3. Assets under management ended the year at $6.4 billion, and $5.0 billion were under stake.

Both numbers dropped as crypto prices dipped. ETF assets fell to $2.84 billion, while alternative investments landed at $3.58 billion.

To expand staking, Galaxy acquired Alluvial Finance, making it the developer behind Liquid Collective, a staking protocol aimed at big institutions. This deal was part of Galaxy’s push to stay relevant as staking grows.

For the full year, the asset division generated $505 million in gross profit and $247 million in adjusted EBITDA. These numbers came from across the board; trading, lending, investment banking, asset management, and blockchain infrastructure.

The data center unit reported $4.6 million in gross profit and $0.3 million in EBITDA. For the year, it pulled in $7.2 million and $2.7 million in EBITDA. Not huge numbers, but consistent.

Galaxy adds more power and raises fresh capital for 2026

Galaxy is building out its infrastructure fast. In Q4, the company signed 800 megawatts of long-term agreements with CoreWeave. They expect to deliver 133 megawatts of IT load in the first half of 2026, with the first data hall ready in the first quarter.

On January 15, 2026, Galaxy received ERCOT approval for 830 more megawatts at its Helios site. That brings the total approved power capacity to over 1.6 gigawatts, enough for future expansion in 2026 and beyond. Phase II and III will add another 393 megawatts, with all three phases expected to generate $1 billion+ per year once fully online.

To fund this growth, Galaxy raised $325 million in equity capital and completed a $1.3 billion exchangeable senior notes offering. The cash is going to general corporate use and growth projects.

As of the end of 2025, Galaxy’s equity capital stood at $3.0 billion, split between Digital Assets (36%), Data Centers (25%), and Treasury and Corporate (39%). Year over year, total equity rose 38%, and total assets jumped 59%. The $2.6 billion in cash and stablecoins also marked a 168% increase from a year earlier.

Galaxy says it’s still planning to keep up the pace in 2026, especially with its Helios data campus and new infrastructure deals on deck. Whether the crypto market gives it enough support to pull that off is still an open question.

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AMD shares fell more than 6% in extended trading on Tuesday. The drop came even after the company posted stronger fourth-quarter results than analysts expected. Traders focused on the outlook instead of the past quarter. The guidance did not match the mood of an AI-driven market.

The chipmaker reported $10.27 billion in revenue for the quarter ended in December. Analysts had expected $9.67 billion.

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.53 per share, well above the $1.32 estimate. Even with those numbers, the stock sold off fast once the forecast for the next quarter hit the tape.

AMD posts strong quarterly numbers across earnings and revenue

For the fourth quarter, AMD’s net income rose to $1.51 billion, or 92 cents per share. A year earlier, that figure was $482 million, or 29 cents per share. Total revenue increased 34% year over year, driven by higher sales in data center, client, and gaming products.

On a GAAP basis, revenue jumped from $7.66 billion to $10.27 billion. Gross profit climbed to $5.58 billion, up 44% from the prior year. Gross margin improved to 54%, compared with 51% a year earlier. Operating income reached $1.75 billion, more than double last year’s figure. Operating margin expanded to 17%.

Non GAAP results showed even stronger performance. Gross profit rose to $5.86 billion, and gross margin reached 57%. Operating income increased to $2.85 billion, while non GAAP net income totaled $2.52 billion. Non GAAP earnings per share came in at $1.53, up 40% from last year.

AMD’s Q1 2026 outlook disappoints thanks to AI spending surge

For the first quarter, AMD said it expects revenue of $9.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million. Analysts were looking for $9.38 billion, but some expected a stronger forecast given continued spending on AI hardware. That gap triggered the selloff.

The company operates in a market dominated by Nvidia. AMD remains one of only two major suppliers of large AI-focused graphics processors. Its share of the market is smaller, which keeps pressure on expectations each quarter.

Recent customer wins include OpenAI and Oracle. The company plans to ship its integrated server-scale AI system called Helios later this year. Over the past year, the stock price has more than doubled before this earnings release.

Data center and client segments drive yearly growth for AMD

Data center revenue reached a record $5.4 billion in the quarter. That figure was up 39% from the prior year. Growth came from EPYC server processors and Instinct AI GPUs. For the full year 2025, data center revenue totaled $16.6 billion, an increase of 32%.

Client and gaming revenue rose 37% year over year to $3.9 billion. Client revenue alone reached $3.1 billion, driven by demand for Ryzen processors in laptops and PCs. Gaming revenue climbed to $843 million, up 50%, supported by semi-custom chips and Radeon GPU sales. Full-year client and gaming revenue reached $14.6 billion, up 51%.

Embedded revenue grew 3% in the quarter to $950 million. For the full year, embedded sales declined 3% to $3.5 billion due to earlier customer inventory adjustments.

China remained a factor. AMD recorded about $390 million in fourth-quarter sales from Instinct MI308 chips shipped to China. The company also benefited from a $360 million release of previously reserved inventory related to those products. Full-year results included roughly $440 million in charges tied to US export controls.

Across the full year, AMD reported $34.64 billion in revenue. GAAP net income reached $4.34 billion. Non GAAP net income totaled $6.83 billion. The numbers were strong. The forecast was not. That is why the stock dropped.

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PayPal’s stock collapsed 20% on Tuesday after it delivered weak Q4 earnings, missed revenue expectations, and warned about a sluggish year ahead.

The company pulled in $8.68 billion in revenue for the quarter, missing Wall Street’s forecast of $8.80 billion. That wasn’t all. Adjusted profit came in at $1.23 per share, shy of the $1.28 analysts had penciled in.

On the same day, the company kicked out its CEO Alex Chriss, who had only been in the seat since 2023. He was hired to fix slowing growth and hold off brutal competition from tech giants and newer fintechs. Apparently, he didn’t deliver.

The board said his “pace of change and execution” wasn’t fast enough. HP’s Enrique Lores will now take over as CEO starting March 1. Until then, CFO Jamie Miller is holding the reins.

PayPal Q4 performance shows weak margins and missed targets

Net revenue for Q4 2025 rose 4% to $8.68 billion, but that still didn’t hit the target. On a currency-neutral basis, growth was just 3%.

PayPal’s GAAP operating income climbed to $1.5 billion, up 5%, while non-GAAP operating income rose 3% to $1.6 billion. Margins were mixed, as GAAP margin improved slightly to 17.4%, but non-GAAP margin dropped 9 basis points to 17.9%.

GAAP earnings per share jumped 38% year-over-year to $1.53, while non-GAAP EPS only grew 3% to $1.23. This was one of the key reasons for the market’s brutal reaction. Transaction margin dollars also edged up 3% to $4.03 billion, but when you take out interest from customer balances, that only went up 4%, hitting $3.74 billion.

PayPal’s total payment volume (TPV) hit $475.1 billion, up 9% from the same quarter a year ago. However, payment transactions only rose 2%, totaling 6.8 billion. If you exclude payment service provider (PSP) volumes, transactions were up 6%, reaching 4.3 billion.

Trailing 12-month payment transactions per active account dropped 5% to 57.7, but excluding PSPs, that stat actually rose 5%. The number of active accounts increased by 1.1% to 439 million, adding 1.2 million sequentially.

Full-year numbers show slow revenue, weak cash, and soft guidance

For the entire fiscal year 2025, PayPal reported $33.2 billion in revenue, up 4% from 2024. Total payment volume hit $1.79 trillion, up 7%, and full-year GAAP EPS was $5.41, a 35% increase. Non-GAAP EPS was $5.31, up 14%. But despite these increases, net cash from operations fell by 14%, from $7.45 billion to $6.42 billion.

Free cash flow took a beating too. It fell 18% to $5.56 billion. Adjusted free cash flow came in at $6.41 billion, down 3%. The company blamed this partly on the timing impact of its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) operations, specifically the way receivables were held and sold.

PayPal ended the year with $14.8 billion in cash, equivalents, and investments. Debt stood at $11.6 billion. The company bought back 23 million shares in Q4, returning $1.5 billion to investors. Over 12 months, it returned $6.0 billion via 86 million shares repurchased.

The board also declared a cash dividend of $0.14 per share, payable on March 25, 2026, to those holding stock as of March 4. The plan is to keep issuing quarterly dividends, but the board made clear that it depends on market conditions and its own discretion.

2026 forecast disappoints with lower earnings projections

Looking ahead, PayPal’s 2026 guidance gave investors no reason to stay bullish. For Q1 2026, GAAP earnings per share are expected to fall by mid-single digits from $1.29 last year. Non-GAAP EPS is also projected to decline from $1.33.

For the full year, GAAP EPS is expected to come in lower than $5.41, with a mid-single digit drop. Non-GAAP EPS is projected to be flat or slightly positive compared to the $5.31 posted in 2025. That’s basically a stall in earnings growth.

“Our execution has not been where it needs to be, particularly in branded checkout,” Jamie said. She tried to add that the company has been growing across several areas but admitted that wasn’t enough. “We are fully aligned on the path forward as PayPal enters its next chapter of growth,” she said.

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Don’t make the mistake of taking France as a free country, Telegram founder Pavel Durov advised followers on X after police raided the offices of the social media platform in Paris.

Durov’s reaction to the assault of French authorities, who also want to question X owner Elon Musk, comes as no surprise, as the Russian himself faces pressure over content published through his privacy-oriented messenger.

Durov accuses France of suppressing free social media

Telegram’s owner and chief executive, Pavel Durov, has spoken in defense of social media platforms that provide users with a level of free expression.

Durov’s comments on X were prompted by a French law enforcement raid on the local office of the social networking service X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Russian-born tech entrepreneur lashed out at France for going after the microblogging platform, his popular messenger, and the short-form video app TikTok, which “give people some degree of freedom,” as he put it.

“Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country,” Durov insisted in a tweet reprehending the European nation, which has targeted him and his company, too.

French police is currently raiding X’s office in Paris. France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom (Telegram, X, TikTok…). Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country.

— Pavel Durov (@durov) February 3, 2026

Durov was reacting to the news that the French headquarters of X have been searched by prosecutors and police officers, aided by representatives of Europol.

The operation, announced by the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, is part of a probe over a number of alleged offenses, including the spreading of far-right content and sexual abuse material.

French authorities blame some of the crimes on the AI-powered chatbot Grok, developed by another of Musk’s companies, xAI, which functions on the X platform.

Investigators say a “spicy mode” of the assistant is responsible for producing tens of thousands of sexualized deepfake images of women and children.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors summoned the American billionaire and the former CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino, for what they described as “voluntary interviews” on April 20.

Other suspected crimes include “fraudulent extraction of data,” falsification” and “operating of an illegal online platform,” all committed by an “organized group,” as well as “denial of crimes against humanity.”

In a comment to his original post, Pavel Durov added:

“Weaponising child protection to legitimise censorship and mass surveillance is disgusting. These people will stop at nothing.”

Durov and Musk find themselves in the same French boat

Pavel Durov has faced his own set of similar accusations in France, including complicity in criminal activity by managing a messaging app that allowed the sharing of illegal content, such as child pornography, and facilitated illicit transactions.

The 41-year-old Russian, who also holds a French passport, was arrested in August 2024 and spent time in detention. While he was eventually released, Durov was questioned again last summer as part of the ongoing investigation.

He has repeatedly rejected the allegations, maintaining Telegram was never intended for illicit use, while at the same time acknowledging growing criminal activity on the platform and agreeing to strengthen moderation.

In an interview for Lex Fridman’s podcast last fall, Durov revealed that Paris pushed him to shut down or censor Telegram channels during the presidential elections in Romania and Moldova, in exchange for favorable treatment in his legal case in France.

Besides their defense of online freedom, for which both may have found themselves pressed by the French state, Pavel Durov and Elon Musk seem to be on the same page on other issues as well.

Privacy is one such example. Durov’s comments on the Paris raids against X come just days after Elon Musk backed his assessment that WhatsApp is not a secure messenger. The owner of the latter, Meta Platforms, was sued by users challenging the claim that its chats are private.

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