On February 2, the European Commission opened infringement procedures against 12 EU member states for not transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2226 on crypto asset tax transparency into national law. The directive, which must be applied by 2026, imposes new reporting duties on crypto-asset service providers and is expected to raise compliance costs ahead of full implementation.

On 2 February 2026 at 01:41, bitcoin slipped below $76,000 before stabilizing near $76,800 as risk appetite faded. Major altcoins fell and the total crypto market cap was around $2.58 trillion, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index printed 18 and Coinglass tallied about $460 million in 24‑hour liquidations.

In January 2026, BYD's vehicle sales fell to 210,051 units, a drop of about 30% from 300,538 a year earlier, as domestic demand weakened after China's EV subsidy cuts and holiday effects. The company offset part of the decline by exporting 100,482 vehicles, nearly half of its monthly total, and plans to increase overseas shipments by roughly 25% this year. Chinese brands, including BYD, expanded their presence in Europe's EV and hybrid market in 2025, while high US tariffs kept them out of American showrooms.

On Friday, the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC blacklisted UK-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion for facilitating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps transactions. The move also put Iranian financier Babak Morteza Zanjani back under sanctions after his 2024 death sentence commutation. Treasury said Americans are prohibited from dealing with the newly sanctioned entities.

On Friday, silver sank 26% and gold slid 9% in one of the sharpest single-day metal selloffs after weeks of speculative buying from China had driven prices to record highs. The move accelerated when reports surfaced that Donald Trump planned to nominate Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, lifting the dollar and ending the momentum trade. Trading volumes in silver products surged, with the iShares Silver Trust alone recording more than $40 billion in turnover as options activity and algorithmic strategies amplified the reversal.

Over the past week, Bitcoin moved toward $78K while Ethereum weakened, according to AMBCrypto. Select altcoins diverged: Hyperliquid rallied from the low $20s to test $32-$34, Canton advanced about 29%, and Stable spiked to $0.026 before easing to $0.023. Meanwhile, Solana fell ~15% and WLFI dropped ~26%.

FTX plans to carry out its next creditor distribution on March 31, following an announcement by creditor representative Sunil. The round is based on $9.6 billion in reconciled claims and could add a further $2 billion to creditor recoveries if the proposal is approved. A prior distribution in September 2025 totaled $1.6 billion, shaping expectations for how remaining disputed reserves may be resolved.

Prediction markets set a new all-time high in January, reaching $12B in total volume and generating over $11 million in on-chain fees. Opinion contributed $6.14 million and Polymarket $2.62 million, while Coinbase launched a U.S. event-based trading platform in partnership with Kalshi.