Ethereum

On February 1, 2026 Vitalik Buterin argued that creator coins falter because they chase incentives instead of solving discovery, noting that token rewards inflate noise rather than surface talent. He praised curation-led models such as Substack and advocated for small DAOs that prioritize deliberate selection over speculation.

According to commentary on X, gold's market capitalization jumped by about $2.2 trillion in a single trading session, briefly lifting its valuation far above major crypto assets. That one-day gain was nearly 20 times XRP's roughly $103 billion market cap and even exceeded Bitcoin's value near $1.77 trillion, underscoring how small percentage moves in huge markets translate into outsized dollar changes. Traders argued the headline figures can be misleading, while scenario analysis showed how dramatically XRP and Bitcoin prices would differ if they matched recent percentage moves in gold and silver.

According to Alphractal, total crypto liquidations hit $2.59 billion in the latest sell-off, with Ethereum accounting for $1.16 billion as ETH slid near $2,300. On-chain data showed whales "7 Siblings" and "0xB7" bought a combined $57.44 million in ETH, while MFI hovered around 41 and CMF stayed negative, signaling lingering downside risk.

On 1 February 2026, Lighter announced Lighter EVM, an EVM‑equivalent rollup that links general‑purpose smart contracts to its low‑latency trading and liquidity. The design settles on Ethereum mainnet and enables near‑instant asset and position moves without waiting for full L1 finality, with a public release expected soon.

Ethereum slid beneath $2,500 on Thursday, January 29, after losing nearly 20% in one week. The token hovers near the $2,475 cushion, and on-chain data highlights $2,623, $2,475, and $1,881 as key supports while ETH trades around $2,410.

The crypto market has fallen to about $2.6 trillion in value after a sharp weekend sell-off, with Bitcoin losing support above $78,000 and traders eyeing $75,000 as the next key level. More than $2.58 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours, deepening losses across major altcoins including Ethereum, Solana, and BNB. Market sentiment has turned extremely fearful as indicators show many coins in oversold territory, while weak demand from large investors is failing to offset the forced selling.

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 January 31, 2026, Arkham said the "Hyperunit whale" had exited his entire Ethereum long, locking an estimated $250 million loss. On February 1, 2026, ETH hovered near $2,400 during a market sell-off, and Arkham noted only $53 remained in the trader's Hyperliquid account.

According to U.Today, the whale cohort known as '7 Siblings' accumulated 12,771 ETH for roughly $31 million at an average near $2,427 over the past 10 hours as Ethereum slid toward $2,400. ETH has broken below key moving averages and a January range; if $2,400 gives way, price could approach $2,200, while continued accumulation may aid stabilization.

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.