Prediction markets set a new all-time high in January, reaching $12B in total volume and generating over $11 million in on-chain fees. Opinion contributed $6.14 million and Polymarket $2.62 million, while Coinbase launched a U.S. event-based trading platform in partnership with Kalshi.

As of Sunday, Truflation reported cooling price pressures, with its US CPI at 0.86% year over year and core PCE at 1.38%. Those readings contrast with government figures of 2.7% CPI in December and 2.8% core PCE in November, a backdrop that could affect expectations for Federal Reserve policy and risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

On January 31, 2026, crypto liquidations exceeded $2.5 billion over 24 hours, placing the sell-off among the top 10 events on record. Analysts attributed the weekend drop to shallow liquidity and high leverage rather than policy moves or tensions around Iran, noting three waves that wiped about $1.3 billion within 12 hours.

According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, Abu Dhabi vehicle Aryam Investment 1, backed by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, signed a $500 million deal to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial four days before Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration. Half the consideration was paid upfront, sending $187 million to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to entities linked to co-founder Steve Witkoff's family, while the arrangement later intersected with U.S. decisions on advanced AI chip sales to the UAE.

FTX plans a $1.7 billion cash distribution for creditors with claims above $50,000, scheduled to start on March 31, 2026. A creditor representative stated that the record date for this round is February 14, 2026, as the bankruptcy estate moves to settle roughly $9.6 billion in claims after cutting a disputed reserve by $2.2 billion. This reduction expands available funds and marks a notable step in the exchange's ongoing restructuring and recovery efforts.

On Sunday, Elon Musk said SpaceX has halted unauthorized Russian access to Starlink. He cited measures such as location restrictions and speed-based shutdowns (typically 75–90 km/h), while Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov noted initial results and continued coordination. SpaceX also revised its privacy policy in mid‑January 2026, and Starlink serves 155 countries as of February 2026.

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.