The SEC said it will operate with minimal staff beginning January 31, 2026 due to a U.S. government shutdown. Its contingency plan pauses tokenized securities registration and crypto product exemptions, slowing reviews across key divisions. Markets expect short-term disruption, while Ethereum trades at $2,439.50 after recent declines.

On February 1, 2026, Arkham Intelligence said the trader known as the Hyperunit whale emptied its ETH treasury into Hyperliquid, with estimated losses near $250 million. The account had earlier made roughly $200 million by shorting Bitcoin and Ether ahead of Donald Trump’s 100% tariff announcement in October. CoinMarketCap showed ETH at $2,418.31, down 10.31% over 24 hours.

On January 31, 2026, the U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after Senate funding votes failed amid DHS reform disputes. A Senate spending bill awaits House review until February 2. Bitcoin traded at $78,552.41, down 6.55% over 24 hours and 11.89% over the past week, with dominance at 58.96% and a market cap of 1.57 trillion.

According to Paolo Ardoino on X, USDT expanded by $50 billion in 2025, underscoring demand outside traditional banking. Tether.io's Q4 2025 report showed $192.8 billion in assets against $186.5 billion in liabilities, a $6.3 billion surplus, with reserves anchored by U.S. Treasuries and a network built for low-friction settlement.

Donald Trump formally chose Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve after a 14‑month selection battle that began in November 2024. On December 10, hours after the Fed lowered rates by 0.25%, Warsh told Trump he would support further cuts, while a January 11 DOJ probe disclosure by Jerome Powell reshaped the field.

CME Group increased initial margin requirements on Comex metals after a severe selloff, setting gold at 8% and silver at 15%, effective from Monday's close. Gold futures fell 11.4% and silver futures dropped 31.4% on Friday, while risk-tiered margin levels for both metals also moved higher alongside planned increases for platinum and palladium.

In 2025, TRM Labs reported that wallets it classifies as illicit received around $158 billion in crypto inflows, the highest level in five years, largely tied to Russia-linked sanctions designations and better attribution. The firm noted that the A7A5 token and the A7 wallet cluster together accounted for over $100 billion in incoming value connected to Russian actors, including Garantex and Grinex, while illicit activity still represented only 1.2% of total on-chain volume.

The trader known as the "Hyperunit whale" has closed their entire leveraged ether position on Hyperliquid, booking about $250 million in losses and leaving only $53 in the account. The reversal follows an October 2025 haul of roughly $200 million from shorting bitcoin and ether ahead of a tariff announcement, with identity links previously disputed.