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According to market news, Mastercard is hiring a Director of Cryptocurrency Liquidity to further delve into the DeFi space.The role's positioning includes:Card-based cryptocurrency entry + issuance linked to stablecoinsScalable and stable digital currencies, tokenized assets, and DeFi payment processesUpgrading network rules and adding risk control measures for Web3 transactions

The cryptocurrency research institution 10x Research published an analysis on the X platform, pointing out that Ethereum is at a critical stage of dual testing in terms of valuation and fundamentals. The market needs to determine whether its current slump is a cyclical bottom or if it is facing deeper structural damage.The Ethereum treasury company Bitmine is currently bearing a paper loss of about $8.8 billion, exceeding the loss scale of approximately $8 billion experienced by clients at the initial stage of the FTX collapse. The company's significant accumulation of ETH amid weakening demand and ETH prices approaching April 2021 levels has further intensified market controversy. This comparison highlights the potential for significant divergence in capital allocation outcomes and how timing and governance decisions determine the ultimate attribution of long-term value creation.Ethereum's current trading price is nearing a critical valuation and cost range, and its core value proposition is facing structural scrutiny. Investors need to carefully assess whether Ethereum is indeed in a cyclical trough or is entering a deeper stage of structural damage.

According to CNBC, Wells Fargo stated that some taxpayers may receive larger refunds this year compared to previous years, which could drive funds into risk assets such as stocks and Bitcoin. This is due to provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer that are favorable to taxpayers in 2025.Additionally, the IRS did not update its withholding tax tables last year, so wage earners are less likely to face surprises from adjustments to taxes already withheld.Wells Fargo noted in its latest analyst report that these factors could lead to as much as $150 billion flowing into the market by the end of March, as over 60% of refunds are issued.The bank's analysts added that the expected liquidity injection could boost Bitcoin as well as stocks favored by retail investors, such as Boeing and Robinhood. Wells Fargo analyst Ohsung Kwon stated in a report on Sunday, "We believe the additional savings from tax refunds—especially for high-income consumers—will flow back into the stock market.""Increased savings will drive speculative sentiment... We expect the 'YOLO' mentality to return." The analysts pointed out that Bitcoin could serve as a proxy indicator for liquidity, signaling a shift in investment patterns. According to Wells Fargo data, domestic liquidity has decreased by $105 billion over the past four weeks, while Bitcoin has retraced about 29% in the past month.

Ethereum consensus layer core contributor Greg posted on the X platform revealing the insider details of the resignation of Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak. He expressed that he was not surprised by this event, as there has long been power struggles within the Ethereum Foundation. The organizational inertia of "this is how the Ethereum Foundation operates" makes reforms difficult to implement. Over the past year, core figure Vitalik Buterin has been mostly absent, leading to issues such as resource inefficiency and project stagnation within the foundation.The internal reforms initially promoted by Tomasz Stańczak were not widely accepted, which may have led to his departure. In fact, he has extensive industry experience, including backgrounds in Nethermind, Flashbots, and venture capital. Although potential conflicts of interest were disclosed in advance, some community members still have doubts about this.Additionally, Tomasz Stańczak sincerely hopes to return to technical development, but he is likely to encounter resistance in the reform process at the Ethereum Foundation, which may force him to leave. In the future, it will be necessary to introduce leaders with real business experience and decision-making power to drive the organization’s effective operation.

The Ethereum Foundation's Co-Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak will step down at the end of February 2026, to be succeeded by Bastian Aue, who will co-lead with the current Co-Executive Director Hsiao-Wei.Tomasz stated that over the past year, the Ethereum Foundation has achieved multiple goals, including accelerating decision-making, enhancing communication with the younger generation, bringing new energy to the builder community, improving open communication on social media and podcasts, being more open to institutional participation, supporting founders, and formulating treasury policies. After stepping down, Tomasz plans to continue participating in the Ethereum ecosystem as a core developer, focusing on proxy core development and governance work. He emphasized that Ethereum is becoming the underlying verification and transaction platform for financial infrastructure, with 2025 being a clear choice for institutions.

According to CoinDesk, Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), stated that cryptocurrencies and blockchain are not luxuries for Pakistan, but rather a ladder for the masses. Bin Saqib revealed at the Hong Kong Consensus Conference that Pakistan has the third-largest retail crypto market in the world, surpassing Germany and Japan. Approximately 40 million citizens in Pakistan have traded digital assets without regulation, and 70% of the country's 250 million population is under the age of 30, with over 100 million unbanked citizens lacking savings and investment tools.Regarding the Bitcoin strategic reserve plan announced last year, Bin Saqib mentioned that they are incorporating the digital assets held by the state into a formal national custodial framework, and have identified remaining power locations for mining. They are assessing the economic impact and engaging with global miners and AI computing operators, viewing Bitcoin mining and AI data centers as a mechanism to convert unused energy into national productivity.

The cryptocurrency market observation agency Santiment posted on X that Bitcoin has rebounded from last weekend's plunge to $60,000. According to social media data analysis, the proportion of bearish sentiment in the market remains high compared to bullish sentiment.Due to the generally pessimistic outlook among retail investors, data indicates that ordinary investors are still hesitant to buy at the current price levels, while key BTC large holders can accumulate positions with almost no resistance.Historically, when market panic is high, the probability of price rebounds tends to significantly increase.

According to The Block, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that the central bank plans to introduce a "streamlined master account" proposal by the end of 2026, which will provide limited access to the U.S. payment system for non-traditional financial institutions, but will not include features such as interest payments and discount window borrowing.Meanwhile, the legislative process for Congress's cryptocurrency market structure bill "Clarity" has stalled due to political divisions. Waller noted that as Bitcoin has fallen from its historical high of $126,000 to around $70,000, the "frenzy" in the cryptocurrency market triggered by the Trump administration is fading.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, well-known ETH holder and staker, P2P.org and Cyber.Fund co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk (@Lomashuk) seems to be selling ETH.Two wallet addresses possibly related to him transferred 12,458 stETH (approximately $23.76 million) and 2,566 ETH (approximately $5.38 million) to Wintermute.

According to MLM monitoring, wallets associated with Multicoin Capital are converting a large amount of ETH into HYPE:Since January 22, the related wallets have transferred 87,100 ETH, worth approximately $220 million, to a deposit address associated with Galaxy Digital linked to Multicoin. On January 23, the day after the first transfer, a wallet associated with Multicoin began receiving HYPE from Galaxy.Related addresses:ETH Address: 0xfe188cA6FAf02b1Aa88d4AEF21f7de5D4ba64A70HYPE Address: 0xd4d56a30a4a745f8ba732e8b453b7066260fbc10The first large transfer occurred on January 26, when Multicoin received 465,000 HYPE (approximately $16 million). In the following 5 days, they received about 990,000 HYPE (approximately $30.6 million) from Galaxy. No other on-chain transfers of similar scale have been found so far, but it cannot be ruled out that more will appear in the coming days.Of course, it is not 100% certain, but based on the timing and on-chain associations, there is already sufficient basis to share this judgment. MLM stated, "Previously, we were not aware that they held such a large amount of ETH. If the judgment is incorrect, I am willing to delete this content."

According to Cointelegraph, starting Tuesday, eligible MetaMask users from non-U.S. countries will be able to access 200 tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs, and commodities, such as gold and silver, through the Ethereum network.The service allows users to obtain tokenized assets by swapping with Circle's USDC via MetaMask Swaps, converting the stablecoin into Ondo Global Markets (GM) tokens, which are designed to track the value of their underlying assets on a 1:1 basis.

According to The Block, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan stated in the latest client memo that the crypto market has been in a "full-blown crypto winter" since January 2025, with Bitcoin down about 39% and Ethereum down about 53%. He noted that ETFs and digital asset trusts have purchased over 744,000 Bitcoins (approximately $7.5 billion), which has masked the true weakness of the market. Nevertheless, Hougan believes that the market is currently closer to recovery rather than further decline, and pointed out that structural progress in areas such as regulatory advancements, institutional adoption, and tokenization is still ongoing. He stated that crypto winters typically end with market exhaustion rather than excitement, and the current sense of despair and fatigue is similar to conditions seen at previous market bottoms.

According to Jinshi, U.S. President Trump earlier signaled a depreciation of the dollar, leading to a massive stop-loss in the euro against the dollar (EUR/USD), which briefly broke the 1.2 level and rose to 1.2068. This is the first time since June 2021. Trump has long hinted at supporting a weaker dollar to enhance export competitiveness.

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee stated, "The parabolic and sustained rise of gold and silver is overshadowing the ongoing strengthening of the intrinsic fundamentals of crypto assets, especially Ethereum and Bitcoin.At the 2026 Davos Forum, financial institutions are preparing to build products on Ethereum and other smart blockchains. When the fundamentals continue to trend upwards, it is only a matter of time before prices rise."

According to Jinshi, U.S. President Trump stated that if Europe sells off U.S. bonds and other assets, it will face massive retaliation.

Mask Network founder Suji Yan commented on Neynar's acquisition of Farcaster in a post on X, stating: "More competition is beneficial. I did hear some rumors earlier, but I never verified them with the Neynar team. We should strengthen our cooperation and sincerely congratulate the Neynar team. To disclose, I am a minor shareholder of Neynar, and we are using Neynar's software and technology. They are a very outstanding group of people."According to previous news from ChainCatcher, Aave founder Stani stated that the governance rights of the social protocol Lens will be transferred to the Mask team, while the original team will serve as technical advisors.

Massachusetts Judge Christopher Barry-Smith ruled on Tuesday that the state has the authority to prohibit the prediction market Kalshi from offering sports betting services within its borders. The ban could take effect as early as this Friday, and if implemented smoothly, it would become the first of its kind in the nation.In his ruling, the judge stated that any company wishing to operate sports betting in Massachusetts must comply with state laws, including obtaining the necessary licenses from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC). Previously, Kalshi argued that it was regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and thus the state government had no authority to intervene, but the judge dismissed this argument. Kalshi began offering sports betting services in January 2025, and by May of the same year, sports betting accounted for 70% of its total revenue.