On 1 February 2026, Bitcoin Everlight was outlined as a lightweight transaction layer intended to improve Bitcoin-based payments while preserving Bitcoin's role as a settlement chain. The project introduces BTCL-powered node routing, external audits, and a multi-stage presale with a fixed 21,000,000,000 token supply. Ethereum, by contrast, relies on rollups and Layer 2 networks that already handle high-volume, low-fee activity and support lower average transaction values than Bitcoin.

On Saturday, Bitcoin plunged to a seven-month low just above $75,000, extending a nearly $20,000 loss over less than two weeks and closing January with a 10% decline. Analyst Merlijn The Trader argues this sharp sell-off and the extreme fear now reflected in sentiment could precede a major rally, highlighting quiet whale accumulation. He points to $78,000 as a key level that may decide whether BTC sees only a healthy pullback or a deeper move toward around $76,000.

Over the last 24 hours, the digital asset market’s total value fell to $2.65 trillion, a $200 billion decline from $2.85 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin slid more than 6% toward the mid-$78,000s, while Ethereum and Solana lost over 10% and 11%, amid macro jitters and a liquidity-driven unwind flagged by The Kobeissi Letter on January 31.

On February 1, 2026, Base said its Ethereum Layer‑2 saw intermittent slowdowns in transaction processing, while block production continued. Base engineers linked the behavior to traffic spikes and internal bottlenecks rather than a full outage. A 19‑minute interruption late last year and a separate January 14 incident on Sui have heightened reliability concerns.

On January 31, 2026, Step Finance said several treasury and fee wallets were compromised during APAC hours, with about 261,854 SOL valued near $30 million stolen. CertiK noted the stake authorization had been transferred before withdrawal, and the STEP token fell over 90% within 24 hours as the team stated user funds were not impacted.

Bitcoin slid about 7% on Saturday to around $77,000, with more than $2 billion wiped from the crypto market. It later hovered near $78,690 at publication, according to CoinMarketCap. Analysts are split: some see a bottom between $75,000 and $80,000, while others caution potential declines toward $60,000–$65,000 in 2026.

Zcash (ZEC) extended a four-day slide to a 13% weekly drop, trading at $322 with a 24-hour decline of 3.25% as volume fell 12% to $450 million. Price action around $310 and derivatives positioning skewed to shorts highlight risk of a move toward $200 if that support gives way.

In the final stretch of January, Bitcoin briefly fell under $80,000 as analysts highlighted roughly $1.3 billion in liquidations within 12 hours. Market expert Burak Kesmeci views $80,000 as both a key technical support and the approximate cost basis for spot Bitcoin ETFs, with January 2026 net outflows already at $1.61 billion. He cautions that a confirmed weekly close below this level could extend downside toward $72,000, $68,000 and $62,000, while a rebound above $90,000 and $95,000, and eventually $100,000, would improve the bullish outlook.