pain

This Friday, the crypto options market will see quarterly settlements, marking the largest expiration date for current market positions. The value of BTC options is approximately $14.16 billion, with a maximum pain point of $75,000. The value of ETH options is approximately $2.2 billion, with a maximum pain point of $2,350.

According to Cripto Noticias, a kidnapping incident aimed at stealing BTC and cryptocurrency private keys occurred recently in Madrid, Spain. A 33-year-old Canadian cryptocurrency entrepreneur was forcibly pushed into a rented van with altered license plates by several men. Witnesses immediately called the police, and the Spanish National Police intercepted the vehicle near Atocha Station, successfully rescuing the victim. Two Serbian suspects, aged 32 and 45, were arrested on the spot, while another suspect remains at large.According to police investigations, this kidnapping was a premeditated act. The victim had previously traveled from Barcelona to Madrid for financial business discussions and was suspected to have been tracked by the suspects beforehand. The suspects intended to use personal coercion to force the victim to hand over the mnemonic phrase and private keys of the cryptocurrency wallet, a method known in the security field as a "wrench attack." Police seized plastic zip ties and pills as tools used in the crime from the vehicle. Additionally, the suspects attempted to steal a luxury watch worth 100,000 euros from the victim. The victim was not seriously injured, and the case is still under investigation.This case is one of a series of personal attacks against cryptocurrency holders in Europe in 2026, with France recording 11 related cases this year.

According to data released by Deribit officials, next Friday will see the expiration date of BTC quarterly options, while the largest options position in the current market will also expire. The maximum pain point for BTC is $75,000, with the current price at $75,000; the maximum pain point for ETH is $2,350, with the current price at $2,350.

According to DL News, the Ertzaintza police in Spain's Basque Country stated that cryptocurrency-related crimes in the region are on the rise, with a total of 541 related cases investigated in 2025, which are still under investigation.The police have been equipped with specialized tools to monitor cryptocurrency transactions across multiple blockchain networks and have formed a cybercrime department consisting of 26 detectives dedicated to combating crimes such as crypto fraud and hacking. The cases under investigation include 13 suspected cases of crypto fraud, 2 suspected cases of crypto money laundering, as well as tax evasion and illegal purchases of goods and services.The police warned that scammers impersonate friends and family on social media platforms like Instagram to provide investment advice, tricking victims into installing applications that allow remote control, thereby stealing cryptocurrency wallets and bank accounts.

According to market news, there will be $2.3 billion worth of Bitcoin options and $380 million worth of Ethereum options expiring tomorrow. The Bitcoin options Put Call Ratio is 1.69, with the maximum pain point at $69,000; the Ethereum options Put Call Ratio is 0.85, with the maximum pain point at $1,950.

At the recent "Build and Scale in 2026" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including Lulu, the APAC market head of Billions, Laughing, the APAC head of KiteAI, Carter Feldman, founder and CEO of Psy Protocol, and Bitcoinmaodu, CEO of Huazhi Education RWA, engaged in a roundtable discussion on the topic of "Web3 New Phase: From 'Technological Vision' to 'Mainstream Consumption'."Lulu, the APAC market head of Billions, pointed out that the fundamental challenge in the AI era is the issue of identity and trust. She emphasized that future infrastructure must strike a balance between privacy protection and regulatory auditing, and believes that by 2026, the market's core will shift from speculation to infrastructure, particularly in meeting the identity and accountability verification (KYA) required by AI agents.Laughing, the APAC head of KiteAI, focused on the payment security of AI agents. He stated that blockchain technology is needed for permission control and behavior auditing of AI agents, establishing a "responsibility attribution closed loop" to build a secure and trustworthy payment system.Carter Feldman, founder and CEO of Psy Protocol, believes that the current blockchain cannot support the billions of concurrent transactions brought by AI agents. They are building a high-performance blockchain that supports AI scale and protects privacy. He pointed out that AI agents will ultimately bring massive users and sustainable transaction fee revenue to blockchain, driving the industry into a profit-driven phase.Bitcoinmaodu, CEO of Huazhi Education RWA, shared the Web3 practical path of Huazhi Education in the private education sector. He stated that education is a long-underestimated real asset, and RWA provides a new organizational method for private education. By assetizing course content, faculty contributions, and learning outcomes, Huazhi Education is promoting the transformation of traditional private education from a "cost center" to a "sustainable value network," making education a truly accumulative and replicable asset system.The attending guests unanimously agreed that the current period is crucial for building infrastructure, as Web3 is moving from concept to addressing real pain points. Identity verification, agent payment security, and RWA compliance in the AI era will become the core driving forces for industry development in 2026.

According to market news, over 9.5 billion dollars in cryptocurrency options will expire at Beijing time. Among them, the notional value of Bitcoin options reaches 8.27 billion dollars, with a Put/Call ratio of 0.54 and a maximum pain price of 90,000 dollars; the notional value of Ethereum options is 1.27 billion dollars, with a Put/Call ratio of 0.74 and a maximum pain price of 3,100 dollars.Currently, the Bitcoin price is hovering around 90,000 dollars, with an increased demand for downside protection in the market, indicating a cautious attitude among traders, but overall positions still lean towards bullish. Previous reports suggested that cryptocurrency options trading activities have kept the Bitcoin price suppressed around 90,000 dollars.

According to Criptonoticias, the city government of Sanxenxo in the Galicia region of Spain suffered a ransomware attack, with hackers encrypting thousands of administrative documents and blocking system access, demanding a ransom of $5,000 in Bitcoin.The attack occurred on January 26, causing the municipal servers to completely crash, affecting the operation of essential services in the city, which has over 17,000 residents. The city government has reported the incident to the Spanish Civil Guard, refused to pay the ransom, and stated that it is enabling daily backups to restore the system.

Tomorrow at 16:00 (UTC+8), the Deribit platform will have over 2.1 billion USD in cryptocurrency options expiring, including: BTC options with a notional value of 1.81 billion USD, a Put Call Ratio of 0.74, and a maximum pain point of 92,000 USD; ETH options with a notional value of 337 million USD, a Put Call Ratio of 0.88, and a maximum pain point of 3,250 USD.

Greeks.live macro researcher Adam released options data. Today, 20,000 BTC options are expiring, with a Put Call Ratio of 1.39, a max pain point of $92,000, and a notional value of $2.3 billion. 120,000 ETH options are expiring, with a Put Call Ratio of 1.04, a max pain point of $3,200, and a notional value of $430 million.

According to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency payment infrastructure provider Crossmint has obtained a license for the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) issued by the Spanish Securities Market Commission (CNMV), becoming a compliant Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP). This license allows Crossmint to provide stablecoin infrastructure services across all 27 EU member states.This license covers three core CASP activities: fiat and cryptocurrency two-way exchanges, custodial services for crypto assets, and cross-wallet and cross-blockchain transfer services. Crossmint co-founder Rodri Fernández Touza stated that as the MiCA transition period will end in July, many remittance companies, payment platforms, and emerging banks are now requiring partnerships with licensed MiCA holders, and non-compliant providers may face the risk of being forced out of the market.

According to CriptoNoticias, Spain will fully implement two key cryptocurrency regulatory frameworks in 2026: the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the Administrative Cooperation Directive (DAC8).MiCA will come into full effect on July 1, 2026, requiring all crypto service providers to obtain full authorization to continue operating. DAC8 will take effect on January 1, 2026, mandating exchanges to report users' transaction, balance, and fund flow information to EU tax authorities. Tax experts warn that the Spanish tax agency will have the authority to directly freeze or liquidate users' assets on exchanges to settle tax debts, advising users to consider self-custody solutions, as self-custody wallets are not subject to these reporting requirements.

Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital) founder Yi Lihua stated that Wall Street has a continuous and strong capital advantage, with "an endless supply of bullets" giving it a very high win rate in the future, and believes it will ultimately achieve a "big win." He compared the current stage of BMNR to the painful transformation process that MicroStrategy once experienced, considering it part of the growth cycle.Yi Lihua pointed out that based on the belief of "seeing is believing," a new model distinct from traditional treasury management will emerge in the future capital markets, allowing crypto assets to achieve broader success through the capital markets.

The cryptocurrency market is迎来 an important options expiration day. Data shows that 143,000 BTC options are expiring, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.51, a maximum pain point of $98,000, and a nominal value of $13 billion; 572,000 ETH options are expiring, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.48, a maximum pain point of $3,400, and a nominal value of $1.71 billion.After a significant drop in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices this month, they have stabilized and rebounded towards the end of the month. Currently, BTC has firmly held the $90,000 mark, while ETH has experienced three consecutive monthly declines, fluctuating around $3,000. Market sentiment has improved significantly compared to last week. Options data shows that implied volatility has rebounded across the board compared to last month, with BTC's main term IV averaging around 45%, and ETH's main term IV below 70%, both at relatively high levels for this year. Analysts point out that due to factors such as macroeconomic uncertainty, the market performance in the fourth quarter of this year is expected to be poor, with significant market divergence, and they do not recommend investors engage in leveraged operations.

Renta 4 Banco in Spain has obtained the MiCA license issued by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), becoming the fourth bank in the country to legally buy, sell, custody, and transfer crypto assets.This authorization allows Renta 4 to provide institutional custody, order reception, and transmission services, and to offer transfer services for digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to all clients. Previously, BBVA was the first to obtain the license in March 2025 and launched Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services; Cecabank and Santander's digital bank Openbank received authorization in July. In addition, Spain has also authorized EU banks such as Deutsche Bank, CACEIS from France, and Société Générale from France to operate cryptocurrency services locally through the MiCA European passport.

According to Jin Ten, Federal Reserve's Goolsbee stated that if the government can tell the central bank how to handle interest rate issues, inflation will rise and economic growth will slow down. He emphasized that the loss of independence for the Federal Reserve would be painful for him and the markets.

Ethereum's first holding institution Bitmine's board chairman Tom Lee posted on social media: "Recently, one (or two) market makers with significant balance sheet vulnerabilities have exposed weaknesses in the crypto market, and sharks are hunting, intending to trigger liquidations and crash BTC.Is this pain short-term? Yes. Will it change ETH's super cycle (i.e., Wall Street building an ecosystem on the blockchain)? No. But now is not the time to use leverage; don't get liquidated."

Greeks.live macro analyst Adam posted on social media, "41,000 BTC options are expiring, the Put Call Ratio is 0.61, the maximum pain point is $105,000, with a nominal value of $3.95 billion. 228,000 ETH options are expiring, the Put Call Ratio is 0.59, the maximum pain point is $3,475, with a nominal value of $730 million. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum prices continue to decline, with BTC having fallen below the $100,000 mark and showing no significant signs of rebound. ETH has recorded three consecutive monthly declines, and market sentiment is shifting from neutral to negative.From the main options data, implied volatility has fully rebounded, with BTC's medium to short-term IV close to 50%, averaging around 45%. ETH's main term IV is also well above 70%, with medium to short-term IV approaching 100%, indicating a continued increase in volatility expectations. The trading volume and proportion of Bitcoin put options are continuously rising, with the current trading proportion at 30% being the norm; hedging is now the primary goal. The fourth quarter market this year can be said to be the worst in history, with significant market divergence due to macro uncertainties and other factors, making leveraged operations inadvisable."