Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial has confirmed a $500M investment from UAE-connected backers, who acquired a 49% equity stake. The agreement was signed by Eric Trump shortly before Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration and has prompted renewed debate over potential conflicts of interest and national security risks. Both the company and the White House deny any link between the investment and US policy on advanced AI chips.

Despite a violent $7 trillion deleveraging event sparked by the "Warsh Shock," the 2026 gold and silver bull market remains fundamentally intact as a necessary technical reset. This correction offers a strategic buying opportunity as structural supply shortages and central bank demand continue to outweigh short-term volatility in the paper markets.

On February 2, 2026, the U.S. State Department authorised a potential $9 billion sale of Patriot missile systems to Saudi Arabia, following Defence Security Cooperation Agency approval on January 31. The package covers up to 300 Patriot MIM-104E GEM-T missiles plus associated equipment and training, with Raytheon as the main contractor, and still requires congressional review.

HYPE has surged over 40% to $32 as Hyperliquid defies the broader crypto sell-off, powered by record $1.3 billion daily on-chain gold and silver trading and a fee-driven buyback engine that channels up to 97% of revenue into HYPE demand. With HyperEVM now hosting 35+ protocols, $639 million in TVL at Kinetiq, and over 42% of supply staked, HYPE is increasingly viewed as a revenue-backed DeFi asset rather than a purely speculative altcoin.

Hong Kong plans to grant its initial batch of stablecoin licences by March 2026 after the Hong Kong Stablecoin Ordinance came into force on August 1, 2025. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is reviewing 36 applications, with officials stressing stringent standards on risk management, reserves and use cases under a "proactive yet prudent" regulatory stance.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has challenged Wall Street over the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Clarity Act, arguing that limits on stablecoin yields could alter competition and shift bank funding. He highlighted the risk around $6.6 trillion in deposits and received support from Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. The debate also draws on prior proposals that allowed stablecoin issuance while blocking direct interest to users.

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.