Market Performance
| Asset / Index | Value ($) | Daily Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | 66,246.0 | -0.18% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | 1,933.59 | -0.64% |
| Bitcoin Spot ETF | +5.91M | Net Inflow |
| Ethereum Spot ETF | -129.10M | Net Outflow |
| Nasdaq (NAS100) | 24,656.7 | -0.36% |
| S&P 500 (SPX) | 6,832.77 | -1.57% |
| Russell 2000 (RUT) | 2,606.3 | -0.35% |
| U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) | 96.783 | +0.17% |
| VIX Volatility Index | 20.82 | +17.96% |
| U.S. 10-Year Yield | 4.10250 | -1.71% |
| Brent Crude Oil (BRENT) | 67.846 | -0.12% |
| LBMA Gold (XAU) | 4,970.73 | +1.01% |
| LBMA Silver (XAG) | 77.759 | +3.41% |
‘Prepared at UTC 07.46 am ‘
Today’s Key Events
- President Trump to Receive Customs Briefing
- US Inflation Data to Be Released
- Fed Members Logan and Miran to Speak
- Arbitrium Token Unlock
US unemployment and housing data fell short of expectations
Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 7 in the US were announced at 227,000, exceeding expectations of 224,000. While the previous week’s figure was revised upward from 231,000 to 232,000, limited signs of weakness were observed in the labor market. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending January 31 came in at 1.862 million, exceeding forecasts. Meanwhile, existing home sales in January fell 8.4% month-on-month, well below expectations, signaling a sharp slowdown in the housing market.
AI panic shook the markets
In an interview published in the Financial Times, Microsoft’s AI CEO Mustafa Süleyman said that in the next 12-18 months, artificial intelligence could reach or exceed human levels in many white-collar professions. Software engineering was cited as the clearest example of this transformation.
An artificial intelligence platform operating in the logistics sector announced that it could reduce empty truck mileage by more than 70% and increase operational capacity by up to 400%. Following these announcements, selling pressure was seen particularly in transportation and traditional sector stocks, while the perception that “artificial intelligence is transforming everything” is considered to have increased volatility in the markets.
Bessent and Powell tension
Treasury Secretary Bessent is said to be in favor of transferring the authority to investigate Fed Chairman Powell to the Senate Banking Committee. This step is said to be aimed at gaining the support of Republican senators and overcoming potential obstacles in the Fed chairmanship nomination process. However, some senators have stated that they will not support any candidacy until the Justice Department investigation is complete. These developments have reignited discussions about the Fed’s independence and political pressure.
Trump’s visit to China on the agenda
US President Trump is expected to visit China in early April to meet with President Xi. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Trump had reiterated his desire to visit and that Xi had repeated his invitation. It was also reported that a US delegation had held preliminary talks with Chinese officials in Beijing. Trade, tariffs, and technology are expected to be on the agenda at the potential summit.
Economic offer from Russia to the US
Russian internal correspondence suggests that a comprehensive economic partnership with the US has been proposed. The documents reportedly include topics such as a return to a dollar-based payment system, joint ventures in the energy and mining sectors, and compensation payments to US companies. It also called for a more distant approach to low-carbon technologies and increased cooperation on fossil fuels. These proposals are seen as a search for a new dialogue on economic grounds, despite the sanctions process.
CFTC innovation committee announced
Mike Selig, Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, shared the full list of members of the Innovation Advisory Committee with the public. The list included senior executives from leading companies in the crypto and traditional finance worlds, such as Uniswap, Coinbase, CME Group, Nasdaq, Ripple, Robinhood, Kraken, Gemini, and Solana Labs. Representatives from institutions playing a critical role in market infrastructure, such as Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, Intercontinental Exchange, LSEG, and DTCC, are also on the committee. The committee is expected to contribute to shaping the regulatory framework in the field of digital assets and financial innovation.
Chances of government shutdown increase
According to Polymarket data, the probability of “the US government shutting down again before February 14” has risen to 97%. Trading volume in the market for this prediction has reached approximately $3 million. It has been reported that the White House has made last-minute efforts to prevent the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and has presented Democrats with a new bill.
However, it is stated that Democrats found the previous proposals insufficient and that the negotiations remain uncertain.
Call for crypto legislation
Work continues in the US Senate on a bill aimed at regulating the crypto asset market structure. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said that the agency has regulatory authority but needs robust legislation from Congress for a permanent framework. Emphasizing that the lack of legislation could lead to policy reversals in the future, Atkins noted that comprehensive regulatory preparations are underway under the “Project Crypto” agenda. Democratic Senator Mark Warner called for the bill to move forward.
Fed report margin proposal
A working paper published by the Federal Reserve proposed that crypto assets be treated as an independent asset class in derivatives markets. The study stated that traditional risk weights are not aligned with the high volatility of crypto markets. It noted that separate initial margin weights should be set for volatile assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and for stablecoins. It emphasized that increasing initial margin requirements could reduce default risk against high volatility.
Authority debate in prediction markets
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said prediction markets are becoming an increasingly important issue for regulatory agencies. Noting that this area may have a structure where the SEC and CFTC’s jurisdictions overlap, Atkins stated that the two agencies are working in coordination. It was noted that prediction markets are currently primarily under CFTC oversight. The regulatory path, however, has not yet been clarified.
Hyperliquid test network update
Hyperliquid announced that cross-margin functionality has been activated on the testnet for the HIP-3 permissionless perpetual contract market. Although not yet available on the main network, it was stated that security criteria have largely been completed. With the new system, multiple perpetual contract positions under the same collateral can share margin across different DEXs. It was stated that the “protective cross-margin” mechanism aims to reduce the risk of automatic liquidation during periods of extreme volatility.
Ondo Finance announced a tokenized US stock DeFi application powered by Chainlink. It was revealed that assets such as QQQon and TSLAon can be used as collateral on-chain. Thanks to TradFi liquidity and oracle data, these assets will be evaluated in on-chain credit and structured products. This development is seen as an important step in the use of tokenized stocks as collateral in the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem.
