On the first trading day of February, XRP's monthly close below its mid-Bollinger Band raises the risk of a drawdown toward $0.37, implying roughly 77% downside from the current level. At the same time, an early-Bitcoin-era wallet moved 99,999 ETH worth $242.7 million to Binance, coinciding with an 8.5% Ethereum price drop to around $2,411. Cardano heads into February with a historical average return of 24.4%, positioning ADA as a potential outperformer while broader crypto markets remain cautious.

On February 1, 2026, Michael Saylor said Strategy lifted the dividend on its Stretch (STRC) preferred stock by 25 bps to 11.25% for February. It is the sixth rise since the product launched in July 2025, and the rate resets monthly to help keep pricing near the $100 par. STRC last closed at $98.99, with $2.25 billion in reserves supporting payout obligations.

In early 2025, Aryam Investment 1, backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, acquired 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million, according to documents cited by The Wall Street Journal. Around $187 million went to Trump family-controlled entities, with additional payments to firms tied to co-founders. Aryam became the largest outside shareholder, and executives linked to G42 joined the board.

On February 1, 2026, India's Union Budget kept the existing crypto tax regime unchanged, including a 30% flat tax on virtual digital asset gains and 1% TDS on each transaction. The budget instead introduced new penalties for non-reporting and inaccurate reporting of crypto statements, set to take effect from April 1, 2026. Industry executives say the lack of broader reforms may continue to weigh on liquidity and participation, even as they welcome clearer compliance enforcement.

India's Union Budget 2026 introduced a penalty regime for crypto-asset transaction reporting under Section 509 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective from 1 April 2026. Reporting entities such as exchanges and intermediaries face Rs. 200 per day for delayed filings and a flat Rs. 50,000 for inaccurate or uncorrected data, while the existing 30% VDA tax and 1% TDS rules remain unchanged. The stricter framework comes amid a reported 72.7% shift of India's FY25 crypto trading volume to offshore platforms, alongside rising scrutiny of undisclosed VDA income.

Between January 26 and 30, BlackRock's spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw about $1.2 billion in combined net outflows, according to Coinglass. IBIT accounted for roughly $947 million, with $318 million on January 29 and $528 million on January 30, while ETHA shed around $264 million. At press time, Bitcoin was $78,461 and Ethereum $2,415.

On 1 February 2026, the White House said it will convene senior banking and crypto executives on Monday to discuss a stalled Senate crypto bill. According to sources familiar with the matter, the issue has been elevated to a top policy priority amid concerns over regulatory uncertainty. Direct engagement is seen as a shift toward decisions that could speed policy outcomes.

On Saturday, bitcoin’s price sank to just above $75,000, its lowest level since April of the previous year, erasing about $200 billion from the overall crypto market in a matter of hours. Major altcoins including ETH, XRP, and SOL suffered double-digit intraday losses, with Ethereum dropping from around $2,800 to $2,250 and XRP hitting a 14‑month low at $1.50. Although BTC later bounced to roughly $79,000, it remained down on the day, while many altcoins only managed modest recoveries.