Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (February 4) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Bitcoin and Ether price update
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$73,420.53, down by 3.9 percent over 24 hours.
Bitcoin price performance, February 4, 2026.
Chart via TradingView.
Expectations of tighter monetary policy and unresolved regulatory tensions are also weighing on investors.
Meanwhile, XS.com’s Samer Hasn is observing positive sentiment marked by long-term investors and new Bitcoin addresses accumulating at current low prices, despite speculative money leaving. He views the downtrend as a buying opportunity while the broader market anticipates crucial economic data and earnings from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,164.80, down by 5.7 percent over the last 24 hours.
Altcoin price update
- XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.54, down by 4.7 over 24 hours.
- Solana (SOL) was trading at US$93.04, down by 7.7 percent over 24 hours.
Today’s crypto news to know
Bitcoin-led selloff wipes nearly US$500 billion from crypto market
A sharp crypto selloff has erased nearly half a trillion dollars in market value in less than a week, with Bitcoin leading the decline, according to a Bloomberg report.
The total market cap for crypto has fallen by about US$467.6 billion since January 29.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin slid to its lowest level since US President Donald Trump’s re-election in early November 2024, briefly touching US$72,877 in US trading before clawing back to around US$75,900.
The pullback comes despite a more crypto-friendly White House and growing institutional adoption, reflecting how fragile sentiment remains after months of heavy leverage.
More than US$700 million in bullish and bearish bets were liquidated in the past 24 hours alone, taking total liquidations since January 29 to over US$6.6 billion, according to CoinGlass data.
Burry warns Bitcoin slide could trigger cascading financial stress
In a Substack post published on Monday (February 2), Michael Burry speculated that Bitcoin’s recent sharp decline could be something beyond a normal bear market, framing it as a uniquely dangerous setup that could trigger cascading financial turmoil across leveraged portfolios, as well as the entire crypto market and metals.
As Bitcoin is deeply embedded into leveraged structures, further price drops could force more selling. He outlined several ‘sickening scenarios,’ including 15 to 20 percent hits for large institutional holders like Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), a company he predicts could see major losses if Bitcoin were to fall to US$60,000.
If the cryptocurrency were to dip toward US$50,000, Burry said miners could dump reserves to avoid bankruptcy, dragging minerals and tokenized metal futures into a collapse. Burry sees Bitcoin as a purely speculative asset that has failed to act as a reliable debasement hedge like gold, so its drawdown exposes broader balance sheet fragility driven not just by price moves, but also by over‑levered positions, aggressive artificial intelligence and cloud CAPEX accounting and weak capital discipline that will only become apparent when liquidity tightens.
Strategy’s Bitcoin bet goes underwater
Michael Saylor doubled down on his Bitcoin conviction this week even as Strategy’s vast holdings slipped below their average purchase price. Bitcoin’s drop under roughly US$76,000 has pushed the firm’s estimated cost basis into negative territory, leaving it about US$630 million underwater on paper, according to market estimates cited by critics.
The company has accumulated more than 712,000 BTC since 2020 using a mix of share issuance and convertible debt, a strategy that paid off during the bull market, but now faces renewed scrutiny.
Bitcoin critics, including Peter Schiff, argue that Strategy’s aggressive buying helped fuel the earlier rally and that slowing purchases are now exacerbating the decline. Saylor has rejected that view, posting on X that volatility is “Satoshi’s gift to the faithful” and reiterating his rule to “Buy Bitcoin.”
TRM Labs hits US$1 billion valuation
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has reached a US$1 billion valuation after closing a US$70 million Series C funding round that was led by Blockchain Capital and included backing from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bessemer Venture Partners, Brevan Howard, Thoma Bravo and Citi Ventures.
Co-founder Esteban Castaño said the company was built around the belief that widespread crypto adoption would inevitably require sophisticated risk and compliance tools.
TRM gained traction with law enforcement agencies and financial institutions by tracking activity across multiple blockchains, an early strategic choice that helped it compete with more established rivals.
Bessent reasserts government Bitcoin stance
During testimony before the House Financial Services Committee during a mandatory oversight hearing on the annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent reasserted his stance that Bitcoin is an asset of the US government, not a liability, and that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve built from forfeited coins is a legitimate balance sheet asset that the treasury is treating as part of the nation’s financial toolkit.
Bessent noted that roughly US$500 million in seized Bitcoin retained by the government has appreciated to over US$15 billion while in custody, underscoring Bitcoin’s role as a high‑growth strategic asset on the federal balance sheet.
He reiterated that the US is not planning to buy more Bitcoin on the open market, but will continue to accumulate it in budget‑neutral ways to build the reserve, such as through forfeitures and seizures.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.