Russia Offers To Remove All Enriched Uranium From Iran
While uncertainty persists regarding possible talks between the US and Iran, the parties’ failure to agree on the scope of negotiations appears to have stalled the process. Washington wants to go beyond the nuclear issue and impose restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, while Tehran is firmly opposed to this demand. This situation makes the outcome of the talks uncertain, while Russia has made a noteworthy proposal. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that Moscow is prepared to take over the enriched uranium remaining in Iran.
Vitalik Supports App Chains and Institutional L2s Over New L1s
Vitalik Buterin posted that there is no need for more copy-paste EVM chains or L1s, as Ethereum L1 is scaling and will provide a large amount of blockspace. He called for building truly innovative solutions, such as privacy, app-specific efficiency, or ultra-low latency. Vitalik expressed support for app chains deeply connected to L1 or “institutional L2s” that can bring algorithmic transparency.
Bitcoin Falls Below $70,000 For The First Time Since Nov. 6 2024
According to market data, BTC briefly fell below $70,000 and is currently trading at $70,131, down 5.34% in 24 hours. This marks the first time Bitcoin has dropped below $70,000 since November 2024, a span of approximately 15 months. Additionally, ETH fell to $2,095, a 24-hour decline of 6.96%. According to CoinGlass, total liquidations over the past 24 hours reached $951 million, with long positions accounting for $790 million.
Bhutan moves $22M in Bitcoin
Bhutan-linked wallets controlled by Druk Holding & Investments (DHI) moved more than 284 bitcoin worth roughly $22 million over the past week, according to on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence. The most significant transaction occurred earlier today during the morning hours, when a wallet linked to Bhutan moved 184.028 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at about $14.09 million.
ECB Expected to Keep Interest Rates Unchanged as Markets Look to Lagarde for Signals
The European Central Bank (ECB) is holding its two-day meeting and will announce its monetary policy decision on Thursday. The ECB is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold for the fifth consecutive meeting, leaving the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility, and the deposit facility at 2.15%, 2.4%, and 2%, respectively. Additionally, ECB President Christine Lagarde will hold a press conference afterward to explain policymakers’ reasoning behind the decision.
ETHZilla Enters Real Estate Tokenization With $4.7M Housing Loan
ETHZilla (ETHZ), an Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury firm, is pushing deeper into tokenization, acquiring a $4.7 million portfolio of manufactured and modular home loans. The company plans to tokenize the 95-loan portfolio on an Ethereum layer-2 network, aiming to turn the loans into cash-flow-generating digital tokens available via Liquidity.io, a regulated broker-dealer and trading system.
ECB Interest Rate Holds Steady At 2.15%
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to leave key interest rates unchanged at its first monetary policy meeting of 2026, marking the fifth consecutive hold since July 2025.
Brazil moves to ban algorithmic stablecoins like Ethena’s USDe
Brazil moves closer to banning algorithmic stablecoins as a congressional committee approved Bill 4,308/2024, requiring all stablecoins to be fully backed by segregated reserves and prohibiting unbacked models such as Ethena’s USDe and Frax. The bill introduces criminal penalties of up to eight years in prison for issuing unbacked stablecoins and places compliance and risk-management obligations on exchanges offering foreign stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
US Initial Jobless Claims Exceed Expectations
US Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending Jan 31 hit 231k (exp. 212k, prev. 209k).
