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Bitcoin posted a modest rebound of nearly 2 percent during Asian trading hours on Monday after briefly slipping below 70,000 dollars over the weekend. However, several well known analysts believe the recent bounce does not mark the end of the downturn.

Market commentator Doctor Profit argues that Bitcoin has entered a prolonged sideways phase that should not be mistaken for healthy consolidation. Instead, he views it as a structural pause that often appears before a deeper decline in a broader bear market.

According to his analysis, Bitcoin is forming a wide trading range between roughly 57,000 and 87,000 dollars, a zone he expects to contain price action for weeks or even months. He emphasized that this range bound movement signals weakness rather than strength. Drawing comparisons to 2024, he noted that Bitcoin previously spent a year consolidating in a similar range before a major move, warning at the time that those levels would later act as reference points during a bear market.

Doctor Profit believes that once the current sideways phase ends, Bitcoin could break lower and eventually target the 44,000 to 50,000 dollar area. While he is buying spot Bitcoin between 57,000 and 60,000 dollars for short term range trades, he does not see this zone as the final market bottom. He added that any move toward the upper end of the range near 87,000 dollars would be viewed as an opportunity to add short positions, not confirmation of a bullish trend.

Other analysts share a similarly cautious outlook. Filbfilb compared the current setup to the 2022 bear market, pointing out that Bitcoin remains below its 50 week exponential moving average near 95,300 dollars. BitBull echoed the concern, saying that a true market bottom is unlikely until prices fall below 50,000 dollars, leaving many recent ETF buyers underwater.

A packed week on the United States economic calendar could inject fresh volatility into crypto markets, as investors await critical labor and inflation data while broader macro uncertainty remains high.

Crypto prices were largely flat over the weekend following last week’s sharp selloff that wiped roughly 700 billion dollars from the market. With additional economic data releases scheduled, traders are bracing for potential market swings.

US President Donald Trump renewed his call for the Dow Jones to reach 100,000 as stock futures moved higher on Monday. At the same time, precious metals rebounded, with gold climbing back above 5,000 dollars per ounce and silver rising to around 80 dollars.

Key US Economic Data to Watch

The ongoing partial US government shutdown has delayed several economic releases. December retail sales data is expected on Monday, offering insight into consumer spending. Labor market updates follow midweek, with the January jobs report due Wednesday and initial jobless claims on Thursday.

Friday brings the January Consumer Price Index report, a closely watched inflation gauge that tracks changes in the cost of goods and services. Together, these reports play a major role in shaping expectations around Federal Reserve policy and future interest rate decisions. Analysts note that any signs of labor market weakness or easing inflation could accelerate expectations for rate cuts.

Crypto Market Snapshot

The crypto market remained subdued, with total capitalization near 2.45 trillion dollars, its lowest level since November 2024. Bitcoin rebounded to around 71,000 dollars after briefly falling near 60,000, though it remains well below its all-time high. Ethereum recovered above 2,100 dollars but continues to trade deep in bear market territory, while most altcoins remain heavily depressed after last week’s selloff.

Bitcoin regained strength over the weekend, climbing above $70,000 after a brief rejection on Saturday morning. Most major altcoins are also in positive territory, with Ethereum trading above $2,100 and Solana near $90, while HYPE remains deep in the red.

BTC Price Action

Last weekend saw sharp swings in the crypto market, with Bitcoin dropping from $84,000 to below $76,000 on Saturday before bouncing toward $79,000 on Sunday. Bears regained control through the week, pushing BTC from $77,000 to $60,000 on Friday morning, its lowest level in over a year. The cryptocurrency later rebounded to $72,000 but fell back to $68,000 before climbing past $70,000 again, a 2.3 percent daily increase. Its market capitalization now sits around $1.4 trillion, with dominance just under 57 percent.

BNB Overtakes XRP

Ethereum has recovered nearly $400 since its crash from $2,400 to $1,730 and is now above $2,100. Binance Coin has overtaken XRP to claim the fourth-largest market cap. Solana is approaching $90, while Litecoin, Chainlink, Zcash, and Stellar have posted gains up to 4 percent. In contrast, HYPE has fallen almost 5 percent to below $32. Overall, the total crypto market capitalization has added roughly $80 billion since yesterday, nearing $2.5 trillion.

Venture capital investment in crypto and blockchain rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025, led primarily by large late-stage deals. According to a report by Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn, venture capitalists deployed $8.5 billion across 425 deals, representing an 84 percent increase in capital and a 2.6 percent rise in deal count compared with Q3 2025. This marked the strongest quarterly investment in the sector since Q2 2022, though deal volumes remain below 2021–2022 levels.

Late-Stage Deals Dominate

Later-stage startups captured 56 percent of total capital, while early-stage companies accounted for the remaining 44 percent. Eleven deals raised over $100 million each, collectively totaling $7.3 billion, or roughly 85 percent of the quarter’s funding. The largest raises included Revolut at $3 billion, Touareg Group at $1 billion, and Kraken at $800 million, followed by Ripple and Tempo at $500 million each.

Across 2025, crypto and blockchain startups received $20 billion in 1,660 deals, more than double 2023’s total and the highest annual investment since 2022. Trading, exchanges, investing, and lending remained the largest sector, drawing over $5 billion, while stablecoins, AI, and blockchain infrastructure also saw significant capital inflows.

Pre-seed deal activity remained strong at 23 percent of total deals, reflecting ongoing entrepreneurial activity, while later-stage investments continued to rise. Median pre-money valuations reached $70 million, with a median deal size of $4 million, though valuation data was available for only 10 percent of deals, skewed toward larger companies.

Global Distribution

US-headquartered companies captured 55 percent of capital, followed by the United Kingdom at 33 percent, Singapore at 2 percent, and Hong Kong at 1.7 percent. Deal counts followed a similar pattern, with 43 percent in the US, 6 percent in the UK, and 4 percent in Hong Kong.

Fundraising for crypto-focused venture funds reached $1.98 billion across 11 funds in Q4, contributing to a total of $8.75 billion raised for 2025, the largest annual total since 2022. Average fund size increased to $167 million, with a median of $46 million.

A South Korean court has handed Jong-hwan Lee, CEO of a local crypto asset management firm, a three-year prison sentence for manipulating cryptocurrency prices to gain illegal profits. The Seoul Southern District Court ruled that Lee violated the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, earning roughly 7.1 billion Korean won, equivalent to about 4.88 million dollars, through price manipulation.

Court Decision and Penalties

Along with the prison term, Lee was fined 500 million won, or around 344,000 dollars, and required to forfeit roughly 846 million won, about 581,900 dollars, in criminal gains. He was not taken into custody during the trial due to his good conduct.

The court found that between July 22 and October 25, 2024, Lee used an automated trading program to inflate volumes and carry out repeated wash trades in the ACE cryptocurrency. Daily trading volumes jumped from about 160,000 units to 2.45 million units, with Lee responsible for nearly 89 percent of the activity.

A former employee, Min-cheol Kang, received a two-year prison term with three years probation. While the court confirmed manipulation occurred, it partially acquitted them regarding the 7.1 billion won total due to insufficient evidence.

This case is the first enforcement of South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which took effect in July 2024. Authorities are also investigating other digital asset issues, including the disappearance of Bitcoin estimated at 70 billion won, or 47.7 million dollars, from government-seized holdings.

Stani Kulechov, the founder of decentralized finance platform Aave, has purchased a five story Victorian mansion in London for roughly 22 million pounds, or about 30 million dollars. The deal ranks among the most expensive residential transactions in the city over the past year, according to Bloomberg.

High End Purchase in a Cooling Market

The property sits in the prestigious Notting Hill neighborhood and was acquired in November at around 2 million pounds below its original asking price, shortly before the UK government’s autumn budget. The purchase stood out at a time when London’s luxury housing market has been losing momentum. Higher stamp duties and policy changes under the Labour government, including the removal of tax benefits for wealthy overseas residents, have weighed on demand.

Research from LonRes shows that sales of homes priced above 5 million pounds slowed notably toward the end of last year. It is not known whether any digital assets were used in Kulechov’s purchase.

Kulechov launched Aave in 2017 under its original name ETHLend, later rebranding the protocol as Aave. The platform has since become one of the largest DeFi lending networks. He has also been involved in other crypto initiatives, including the GHO stablecoin and consumer focused blockchain products, and has publicly supported the UK as a potential center for crypto innovation.

Brand Simplification Underway

The property purchase comes as Aave Labs refocuses on its core lending business. Earlier this month, the company announced it would retire the Avara umbrella brand, which previously grouped several Web3 projects. Going forward, all products will operate under the Aave Labs name as the firm aims to streamline branding and concentrate on expanding the Aave protocol and its user base.

The move follows ongoing debates around governance and control. While the Aave DAO oversees smart contracts and on chain revenue, Aave Labs retains control over branding and other off chain assets. Discussions around revenue sharing and intellectual property continue within the community.

Even as the broader crypto market suffered a sharp downturn, Tether continued to expand its user base at a rapid pace. USDT added an estimated 35.2 million users in the fourth quarter of 2025, lifting total adoption to roughly 534.5 million users across on chain wallets and centralized platforms.

USDT’s market capitalization climbed to 187.3 billion dollars during the quarter, marking the eighth straight quarter in which the stablecoin attracted more than 30 million new users. Growth remained steady despite heavy losses across the wider digital asset market.

USDT Sets New Milestones

On chain USDT holders increased by 14.7 million in the quarter, reaching a record 139.1 million wallets. Nearly one third of these holders were classified as full savers, retaining all USDT received, while smaller portions held most or some of their balances. Monthly active on chain users averaged 24.8 million, accounting for more than two thirds of all stablecoin activity, the highest level ever recorded.

Tether’s reserves rose to 192.9 billion dollars in Q4, supported by larger Bitcoin, gold, and US Treasury holdings. In 2025 alone, Tether added 28.2 billion dollars in Treasuries, making it one of the largest global buyers.

Following the October 2025 liquidation wave, total crypto market value fell by over one third. In contrast, USDT supply grew by 3.5 percent, outperforming rival stablecoins that saw notable declines.

Fundraising Plans Scaled Back

Recent reports suggest Tether reduced its fundraising ambitions after investor concerns over valuation. Discussions now center on a smaller raise, with leadership emphasizing that external capital is not urgently needed.

Bitcoin has slipped toward the 60,000 dollar level, pushing Strategy’s massive Bitcoin position below its purchase price.

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally, reported holdings of 713,502 BTC valued at roughly 59.75 billion dollars as of February 1. The firm’s total acquisition cost stands at 54.26 billion dollars, putting its average purchase price at 76,052 dollars per Bitcoin.

With Bitcoin trading well under that level, Strategy’s extensive crypto treasury is currently operating at an unrealized loss.

Pressure on the Treasury

Despite the price decline, Strategy delivered solid performance in 2025. The company posted a full year Bitcoin yield of 22.8 percent and added 101,873 BTC through gains. Treasury expansion continued into January 2026, when the firm purchased an additional 41,002 BTC.

Founded in 1989 as a data analytics software company, Strategy underwent a major transformation in 2020 when co founder Michael Saylor redirected its capital strategy toward Bitcoin. He viewed the asset as a more reliable store of value than cash during a period marked by aggressive stimulus and near zero interest rates. Bitcoin was soon adopted as the company’s primary long term treasury asset.

By 2025, the company rebranded as Strategy and fully committed to a Bitcoin first identity. This shift attracted scrutiny from regulators and index providers, who questioned whether a company with assets dominated by crypto should remain part of major equity indices. MSCI indicated that firms holding more than half of their assets in Bitcoin could be classified as non operating. Strategy countered that it actively deploys Bitcoin to raise capital and enhance shareholder value. Efforts to gain inclusion in the S&P 500 in September and December of 2025 were unsuccessful.

Even so, Bitcoin remains central to Strategy’s financial framework and is closely integrated with its digital credit products, particularly STRC. This instrument plays a key role in managing risk and amplifying capital. STRC has grown to 3.4 billion dollars, aided by improved liquidity and reduced volatility across crypto markets.

During 2025, Strategy raised 25.3 billion dollars to fund its Bitcoin treasury and preferred stock programs, making it the largest equity issuer in the United States for the second year in a row. The company also holds a 2.25 billion dollar USD Reserve, sufficient to cover more than two and a half years of preferred dividends and interest payments, adding a buffer against market volatility.

The recent downturn in Bitcoin prices has reignited debate around corporate exposure to the asset. Investor Michael Burry recently warned that Bitcoin often behaves more like a speculative investment than a hedge, which could create serious risks for companies with large holdings. He noted that further declines could push major holders, including Strategy, deeper into unrealized losses and potentially restrict access to capital markets, intensifying financial pressure.

Fourth Quarter Losses Widen

Strategy reported operating losses of 17.4 billion dollars for the quarter, entirely driven by unrealized digital asset losses. This compares with a 1.0 billion dollar operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2024 under the previous accounting approach.

Net loss for the quarter reached 12.4 billion dollars, a sharp increase from 670.8 million dollars a year earlier. Meanwhile, cash and cash equivalents rose significantly to 2.3 billion dollars from 38.1 million dollars, largely due to the creation of the USD Reserve.

High risk and scam related ventures account for the bulk of press releases circulating across crypto news platforms, according to new research from crypto communications firm Chainstory.

The report analyzed 2,893 crypto press releases published between June 16 and November 1, 2025. It found that about 62% originated from projects classified as either high risk or outright scams. These classifications were based on factors such as anonymous or unverifiable teams, exaggerated profit promises, and matches against legal records and consumer scam databases.

Pay to Play Visibility

Chainstory highlights that many crypto-focused press release “wires” operate on a pay to publish model. Rather than distributing releases for journalists to review and vet, these services sell guaranteed placement across partner news sites with limited editorial oversight. As a result, visibility is effectively determined by budget, not credibility.

According to the report, any crypto project with sufficient funds can appear on well known news domains, regardless of its underlying legitimacy.

Routine Announcements Flood the Wires

Most of the content distributed through these wires consists of low impact updates that would typically fail to meet newsroom standards. Nearly half of all releases (49%) focused on routine product or feature updates. Another 24% promoted exchange listings or trading incentives, while 14% covered token launches or changes to tokenomics.

Truly newsworthy developments were rare. Only 58 releases roughly 2% of the total addressed major events such as venture capital funding, mergers and acquisitions, or significant corporate finance activity.

Marketing Language Overwhelms Reporting

Chainstory also assessed tone and language, finding that promotional hype dominates crypto press releases. Just 10% were written in a neutral, fact based style. More than half (54%) used overstated language, while an additional 19% were explicitly promotional. The report notes that marketing heavy claims, often packed with superlatives, go largely unchallenged in paid releases claims that would typically be scrutinized or edited out in traditional journalism.

Risk analysis further underscored the imbalance. High-risk projects were responsible for 35.6% of all releases, while confirmed scams accounted for 26.9%. In contrast, low risk and established projects produced only about 27% of the total, suggesting that more credible companies rely less on paid distribution and instead attract organic media coverage. In certain sectors, such as cloud mining, nearly 90% of press releases came from projects flagged as high risk or fraudulent.

Jim Cramer has reignited speculation around a U.S. Bitcoin reserve after claiming he “heard” that President Donald Trump is buying BTC at the $60,000 level.

Trump shifted from a crypto skeptic to a vocal supporter during the 2024 election campaign, pledging to make the United States the global hub for digital assets. Among his most ambitious promises was the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve and an effort to keep future BTC mining within the country. Those expectations helped fuel Bitcoin’s rally to new all time highs in 2025.

Despite the hype, no official Bitcoin reserve has materialized more than a year into Trump’s presidency, even as rumors circulated about a broader crypto stockpile that could include major altcoins.

The topic resurfaced after Cramer made the claim during a recent CNBC appearance, noting that the supposed buying would align with Bitcoin’s sharp drop to $60,000 on Friday, its lowest level since before the 2024 election.

So far, there is no evidence to support the claim. At present, the only confirmed large scale BTC accumulation comes from Binance, which has been converting its SAFU fund from stablecoins into Bitcoin.