In January, a severe winter storm across the United States led many Bitcoin mining firms to scale back power consumption, sharply reducing output. CryptoQuant data indicates that publicly traded miners' daily production, usually around 70–90 BTC before the storm, fell to roughly 30–40 BTC at the height of the disruption. As conditions improved, production partially recovered, suggesting the curtailments were temporary and largely voluntary.

As global investors reassess US exposure amid a softer dollar and shifting real yields, this analysis argues Bitcoin can function as a macro alternative when conditions align. It outlines four channels—financial conditions, real yields, hedging costs, and crypto leverage—while warning that leverage-led moves are fragile and snapbacks can quickly unwind gains.

On February 1, 2026, the U.S. SEC signaled a policy shift during opening remarks at a joint SEC–CFTC harmonization event. Chairman Paul S. Atkins said Congress is nearer to bipartisan market-structure legislation, with regulators aiming for clearer, principle-based rules over enforcement-led actions. Cooperation with CFTC Chair Mike Selig was emphasized.

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 1 February 2026, Zero Knowledge Proof drew attention with a continuous presale model that issues 190 million ZKP tokens every 24 hours and runs a $5 million rewards program. At the same time, Cardano is engaged in governance and regulatory debates, while Uniswap trades around $3.90 after a sharp pullback despite solid on-chain activity. These contrasting approaches highlight how token distribution design, oversight discussions, and DeFi sentiment are shaping investor focus in the current market.

On 24 January, Nietzschean Penguin (PENGUIN) spiked from under $0.01 to a $0.167 all-time high before sliding about 75% to the $0.037–$0.042 area. A wallet "8cgRT" exited with a $92,700 loss after $305,300 in buys as momentum reversed. Fixed 1 billion supply and over 45,000 holders by late January 2026 did not halt the decline.

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.

On February 1, 2026, Bitcoin slid toward the 77,000 dollar area, testing a key support after several weeks of declines. The 24 hour snapshot showed BTC at 77,028 dollars, down 0.98 percent. Michael Saylor hinted at continued accumulation and said Strategy would not be liquidated even if prices fall further.