Good Morning,

Here's a quick preview of today’s content: Dark web crypto drug market operator sentenced to 30 years, Bessent grilled over Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, Losses top $17B at crypto treasury companies, Wealthy investors see IPO hype waning in 2026, UBS details crypto plans following report of trading, and so much more

Happy Thursday - Let’s dive in.

Market Snapshot

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• Bitcoin-led crypto rout erases nearly $500B in market cap as BTC crashes -20% in a week to 15-month lows

  • BTC falls below $72,000, testing pre-election floor and triggering $800M in liquidations

  • ETH and XRP funds quietly attract inflows despite Bitcoin's crisis of faith

• Growing correlation with troubled software stocks amplifies downside as AI jitters shake tech sector

• Crypto steadies after brutal selloff, though analysts warn the bounce may not last

Prediction Markets

• Bettors on Polymarket are predicting what price will DOGE hit in February?

• Track and trade live odds on any event, only on Polymarket

Headline Roundup
^{_{The major headlines driving crypto markets}}

• CME Group explores launching its own coin (DC)

• Secretary Bessent says US won't 'bail out' Bitcoin (CT)

• Bitcoin dev calls Adam Back to resign after Epstein files revelations (DC)

• Crypto floats new compromises in bid to save contentious bill (BBG)

• UBS details crypto plans following report of trading (DC)

• Anthropic trolls ChatGPT in Super Bowl ad (DC)

• Tether scales back $20B funding push (DC)

• Binance reserves steady as ‘FTX 2.0’ claims spread online (CT)

• Losses top $17B at crypto treasury companies (TD)

• Ark Invest goes on $19M buying spree (CD)

• Multicoin founder Kyle Samani steps back from investment firm (TB)

• Cipher's AI subsidiary holds $2B junk bond sale (TB)

• Wealthy investors see IPO hype waning in 2026 (CD)

• Vitalik Buterin calls for inclusion of prediction markets (DC)

• Polymarket and Kalshi clash over groceries (CT)

• BBVA joins EU banks' stablecoin venture (CD)

• Hyperliquid treasury seeks revenue boost (TB)

• Survey finds crypto investors prioritize infrastructure over DeFi (CT)

• Ripple adds Hyperliquid to its brokerage platform (DC)

• Indian investors are buying the bitcoin price dip (CD)

• Fireblocks integrates Stacks for Bitcoin DeFi (CT)

• New Ethereum gaming token airdropped to stakers (DC)

Venture Capital

• Tianrui Xiang raises $1.5B strategic financing, featuring 15,000 BTC for equity, led by prominent crypto investor (PM)

• Blockchain firm TRM Labs raises $70M Series C round led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Goldman Sachs, Citi Ventures and more (CD)

• Blockchain prediction-market platform Opinion raises $20M pre-Series A funding backed by Hack VC and Jump Crypto (CD)

• Prediction market startup Kairos raises $2.5M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Geneva Trading, the University of Illinois, and several angel investors (EGW)

Access the complete VC deal flow on Fundable.

M&A Announcements

• Crypto asset manager Bitwise acquires institutional staking services provider Chorus One (TB)

Launches

• Fidelity's stablecoin FIDD goes live (TB)

• ProShares unveils ETF that lets you buy top 20 cryptos (CD)

• Bitnomial launches first US-regulated Tezos futures (CT)

• Cap airdrops $12M in stablecoins to early users (TD)

• Superform expands with mobile app launch (CD)

Regulation

• Bessent grilled over Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (TB)

• US regulator declares do-over on prediction markets (CD)

• Canada formalizes interim crypto custody framework (CT)

Cybersecurity

• Dark web crypto drug market operator sentenced to 30 years (DC)

• South Korean crypto CEO gets sentenced in market manipulation case (TB)

Extra Reads

• Dubai’s ban on privacy coins highlights how regulators are prioritizing transparency over anonymity in institutional crypto and regulated exchanges - Here’s what Dubai’s ban on Zcash signals for crypto

Chart of the Day

Crypto market cap erases nearly $500B in less than a week

Meme Dump

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot advisers LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks including the risk of the loss of principal. Performance doesn’t include fees. See more here.