PA Daily News | Crypto Markets Plunge Overnight, Over $2 Billion in Liquidations Across the Network; Strategy's Unrealized Profits Mostly Eradicated, Bitmine Suffers Approximately $6 Billion in Unreal

Today's top news highlights:

1. Macroeconomic Outlook for Next Week: Gold and Silver Bulls Suffer a Crushing Strike, with CME and Non-Farm Payrolls Data Adding to the Loss?

2. Over $2 billion in contract liquidations occurred across the entire network in the past 12 hours, primarily affecting long positions.

3. A close aide to the Abu Dhabi royal family secretly spent $500 million to acquire a 49% stake in the Trump family's WLFI company.

4. The "1011 Insider Whale's" long ETH positions were liquidated, resulting in losses of up to $250 million.

5. Micro-strategy BTC unrealized profits have largely been wiped out, while Bitmine ETH unrealized losses have reached a new high of $5.92 billion.

6. Step Finance was hacked, and approximately $30 million in SQLs flowed to an unknown address.

Macro

Macro Outlook for Next Week: Gold and Silver Bulls Devastated, CME and Non-Farm Payrolls to Add to the Losses?

The precious metals market experienced extreme volatility in the final trading week of January, resembling a meme stock. Gold broke through several round-number $100 levels, approaching $5,600 per ounce, while silver briefly reached a record high above $121 per ounce, only to subsequently suffer a precipitous reversal. The trigger for this plunge was Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman, which eased market concerns about the Fed's independence. In the coming week, investors will continue to digest Friday's developments, including the impact of Warsh's nomination and the epic plunge in precious metals. Here are the key points the market will focus on in the coming week:

At 23:00 on Monday, the US January ISM Manufacturing PMI will be released.

At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, a 2027 FOMC voting member, will deliver a speech.

At 22:40 on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Governor Bowman will deliver a speech;

At 23:00 on Tuesday, the US December JOLTs job openings will be released.

Thursday at 8:30 PM, US Challenger job cuts for January;

At 21:30 on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending January 31 will be released.

At 23:50 on Thursday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, a 2027 FOMC voting member, will participate in a dialogue and Q&A session on monetary policy.

At 21:30 on Friday, the US January unemployment rate, the US January seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls, and the final reading of the US 2025 non-farm payrolls baseline change (unadjusted) will be released.

At 23:00 on Friday, the preliminary readings of the US February one-year inflation rate and the preliminary reading of the US February University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index will be released.

US SEC: Currently operating in accordance with the operational plan during the US government shutdown.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on its X platform that due to the lack of funding and the (partial) shutdown of the U.S. government, the SEC is currently operating according to its operational plan during the shutdown. From January 31, 2026, until further notice, only a very small number of staff will continue to work.

A close associate of the Abu Dhabi royal family secretly spent $500 million to acquire a 49% stake in the Trump family's WLFI company.

According to the WSJ, sources familiar with the matter revealed that days before Donald Trump's inauguration last year, a close associate of the Abu Dhabi royal family secretly signed an agreement with the Trump family to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, a new cryptocurrency company owned by the Trump family, for $500 million. The buyer will pay half upfront, with $187 million going to a Trump family entity.

Opinion

CZ responds to Dragonfly's opinion: Focus on our core business, the data will speak for itself.

Dragonfly partner Haseeb stated that OKX Star's comments regarding Binance's responsibility for the October 11th crash were unreasonable. Binance founder CZ retweeted the post and commented, "Dragonfly was once one of OKX's largest investors. The data speaks for itself, and timelines contradict the truth. I'm glad to see people starting to understand the facts. I'll try to stop commenting on this topic. Let others talk about us; we're focused on our work. There's still a lot of work to do."

In his analysis, Haseeb points out that Bitcoin's price bottomed out approximately 30 minutes before the USDe anomaly on Binance, clearly reversing the causal relationship. Furthermore, the USDe price deviation occurred only on Binance and did not spread to other trading platforms, failing to explain the large-scale liquidation across the entire market. This is fundamentally different from events like Terra that caused global balance sheet shocks. Haseeb emphasizes that the October 11th crash did not have a simple, conspiratorial "single culprit." While the market suffered a severe blow, it was not permanently damaged in the long run; it simply needs time to restore liquidity and confidence.

OKX Star: Dragonfly has never invested in OKX and will no longer waste time discussing the "1011 flash crash" topic.

OKX Star posted on the X platform that he doesn't like arguing because you can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, but clarifying the facts is crucial:

1. Bitcoin began to fall approximately 30 minutes before the dollar decoupled from Bitcoin. This confirms the earlier point that the initial move triggered a market shock. Without the leveraged cycle of the dollar index, the market would likely have stabilized by then. The chain reaction of sell-offs was not inevitable; as previously stated, they were amplified by structural leverage.

2. Dragonfly has never invested in OKX, whether in small or large amounts.

3. We will no longer spend time discussing topics related to the "1011 flash crash". The facts are clear, and we do not want to engage in lengthy debates.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: We will definitely participate in this round of investment in OpenAI and invest a significant amount of capital.

According to Jinshi News, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that Nvidia will definitely participate in this round of investment in OpenAI and will invest a large amount of money in OpenAI.

CryptoQuant CEO: The market bottom has not yet appeared; this bear market may form a wide range of sideways fluctuations.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju stated on the X platform that Bitcoin's price continues to fall due to persistent selling pressure and a lack of new capital inflows. Stagnant market capitalization indicates a lack of new funds entering the market. In this situation, a decline in market capitalization does not necessarily indicate a bull market.

Early holders hold a significant amount of unrealized gains due to purchases of ETFs and MSTR. They began taking profits early last year, but strong inflows kept Bitcoin's price around $100,000. These inflows have now dried up. MSTR was the primary driver of this rally. Unless Saylor significantly sells off his Bitcoin holdings, we won't see a 70% drop as seen in previous cycles. Selling pressure continues, so a bottom hasn't yet appeared, but this bear market is likely to result in a wide range of sideways consolidation.

Cathie Wood: Bitcoin has consistently had a low correlation with gold; she recommends investing in BTC, ETH, Solana, etc.

Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, stated on the X platform that, contrary to current mainstream opinion, BTC, ETH, Solana, and HyperLiquid may be good choices for diversification. Since the beginning of 2020, the correlation between Bitcoin and gold prices has been very low, at only 0.14. Gold has outperformed Bitcoin in the past two Bitcoin bull markets.

Analyst PlanC suggests that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 may be a cyclical low, but several other analysts remain bearish.

Analyst PlanC stated that Bitcoin's drop of approximately 7% to $77,000 may mark the low point of this cycle. "We are very likely experiencing another major sell-off low. The final low appears to be between $75,000 and $80,000," said Bitcoin advocate and financial accountant Rajat Soni. He noted that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 occurred during one of the most volatile periods in the crypto market this week and warned traders not to overreact. "Never believe the weekend rally; Bitcoin will bounce back when you least expect it."

Meanwhile, other crypto analysts continue to predict that Bitcoin will fall further in the coming months.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt recently predicted that Bitcoin's price could fall to $60,000 by the third quarter of 2026. Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen stated that the market cycle low for Bitcoin may occur in early October, but he "expects several rallies before that." Meanwhile, Jurrien Timmer, head of global macroeconomic research at Fidelity, said 2026 could be Bitcoin's "bottom year," with the price potentially falling to $65,000.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary: Safe-haven assets are experiencing severe volatility, marking the beginning of a high-volatility era.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan published a personal essay titled "Maintaining a Positive and Prudent Approach," in which he pointed out that global market volatility has triggered sharp shifts in international capital, and even assets considered safe-haven assets have experienced corrections after repeatedly hitting new highs. Taking gold prices as an example, after continuing its four-year upward trend, gold surged nearly 30% in January this year, challenging a record high of US$5,600, but has seen a significant pullback in the past few days, falling more than 12% from its peak. Hong Kong's financial system remains sound and operates smoothly, with total bank deposits exceeding HK$19 trillion. Given the rapidly changing global political and economic situation, the coming year will undoubtedly bring considerable risks and volatility.

Project Updates

Step Finance was compromised, and approximately $30 million in sales revenue was transferred to an unknown address.

Step Finance announced on its X platform that it has discovered multiple vaults and fee wallets have been compromised and is currently investigating the attack. According to on-chain data, approximately 261,854 SOL tokens, worth about $30 million, were unstaking and transferred during the attack.

Base: The network has been restored to stability; we are analyzing the root cause and releasing an incident report.

Base has stated that the remediation has been verified to restore overall network stability. A comprehensive root cause analysis (RCA) will be conducted, and a public incident analysis report will be released in the coming days. During periods of heightened network congestion, submitted transactions may still occasionally experience delays or loss. The team is working to find a long-term solution to correct this issue and will provide updates as progress is made.

Previously, Base reported that the mainnet experienced intermittent transaction packaging delays, with user transaction confirmation times significantly exceeding normal levels. The official statement indicated that blocks were still being produced and transaction processing continued, but during network congestion, some transactions might be delayed or even discarded.

Binance: ZAMA tokens will be available for trading on February 2nd at 20:00.

According to Binance's official announcement, Zama (ZAMA) tokens will begin circulating on February 2nd at 20:00 (UTC+8). Users who have already claimed their Prime Sale Keys can then view their balance and trade ZAMA tokens in their Binance Alpha accounts.

Important data

The long positions in ETH and XRP held by the whale, CZ's counterparty, were completely liquidated, resulting in a loss of $61.38 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, the ETH and XRP long positions of "0x9ee", the counterparty of "CZ", were completely liquidated, resulting in a loss of $61.38 million. This whale had once lost as much as $61 million in profits.

The market rebounded after a sharp drop in the early hours of the morning, with BTC and ETH currently showing slight gains for the day.

According to OKX market data, prices experienced a sharp drop in the early hours of today before rebounding. BTC fell to a low of $75,678 and is currently trading at $78,847 per coin, up 0.17% on the day. ETH fell to a low of $2,240.2 and is currently trading at $2,454.31 per coin, down 0.07% on the day. SOL fell to a low of $96.42 per coin, up 0.2% on the day.

The whale "7 Siblings" bought 12,806 ETH during a market downturn.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, during the overnight price drop, the mysterious entity "7 Siblings" borrowed and spent $31.08 million worth of USDT/USDC to buy 12,806 ETH at a price of $2,427. This address currently holds open orders on CoW DAO and is preparing to purchase more ETH.

The "1011 insider whale's" long ETH positions were liquidated, resulting in losses of up to $250 million.

According to Arkham data, even after Garrett Jin, an agent of the "1011 insider whale," urgently closed out his ETH long positions early this morning, it was still revealed that he still held ETH long positions, suffering losses of up to $250 million. His Hyperliquid account still has $53 remaining.

According to on-chain data, HLP profited approximately $15 million from the liquidation of Garret Bullish.

Over $2 billion in contract liquidations across the entire network in the past 12 hours, primarily affecting long positions.

According to CoinAnk data, in the past 12 hours, the total liquidation amount for cryptocurrency futures contracts across the entire network reached $2.061 billion, including $1.958 billion in long positions and $103 million in short positions. The total liquidation amount for BTC was $671 million, and for ETH it was $884 million.

Equation News founder Vida bought $2 million worth of ETH at $2,281.

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi, Vida, founder of Equation News, publicly bought $2 million worth of ETH in the early hours of the morning. The purchase price of 1983.57 ETH was $2281, almost a short-term bottom, and he has already realized a profit. He has also prepared $20 million to buy on the dip during a "larger crash." Because the "1011 insider whale" has been liquidated, Vida believes there will be no major crash this weekend and will hold his ETH position until Monday, waiting for the precious metals market to stabilize and for crypto to rebound.

Micro-strategy BTC unrealized profits have largely been wiped out, while Bitmine ETH unrealized losses have reached a new high of $5.92 billion.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin's monitoring, the current costs and profit/loss status of several institutions are as follows:

MicroStrategy: The price of BTC has now fallen to near MicroStrategy's cost line: it holds 712,600 BTC with an average cost of $76,037. Its unrealized profits have been largely wiped out, and another $3,000 drop would put it in a "trapped" position.

Tom Lee's Bitmine: Holding 4.243 million ETH at an average cost of $3,849. Bitmine has been "trapped," but with ETH now at $2.4K, its unrealized losses have reached a new high of $5.92 billion. Losses have exceeded one-third (-36%).

Yi Lihua's Trend Research: Holds 651,500 ETH at an average cost of approximately $3,180, currently showing a paper loss of $475 million. Due to leveraged lending, these ETH positions have a liquidation price around $1,880, approximately $570 away from the current price.

Bitcoin's AHR999 indicator fell below 0.45 for the first time in 839 days, indicating a potential bottom.

KOL SΞA tweeted that for the first time in 839 days since October 16, 2023, the Bitcoin ahr999 indicator has fallen below 0.45 (the bottom line).

Trend Research deposited 10,000 ETH into Binance, possibly to repay a loan.

According to Onchain Lens, Trend Research deposited 10,000 ETH (worth $24.35 million) into Binance, most likely to be sold to repay a loan.

Bitcoin has been overtaken by Tesla and has fallen to 14th place in the global asset market capitalization rankings.

According to the latest data from 8MarketCap, Bitcoin's global asset market capitalization ranking has fallen again, surpassed by Tesla, Saudi Aramco, and Broadcom, dropping to 14th place in global asset market capitalization ranking. Currently, Bitcoin's market capitalization is approximately $1.564 trillion, a 24-hour drop of 6.62% and a 7-day drop of 12.08%.

The precious metals market experienced extreme volatility in the final trading week of January, resembling a meme stock. Gold broke through several round-number $100 levels, approaching $5,600 per ounce, while silver briefly reached a record high above $121 per ounce, only to subsequently suffer a precipitous reversal. The trigger for this plunge was Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman, which eased market concerns about the Fed's independence. In the coming week, investors will continue to digest Friday's developments, including the impact of Warsh's nomination and the epic plunge in precious metals. Here are the key points the market will focus on in the coming week:

At 23:00 on Monday, the US January ISM Manufacturing PMI will be released.

At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, a 2027 FOMC voting member, will deliver a speech.

At 22:40 on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Governor Bowman will deliver a speech;

At 23:00 on Tuesday, the US December JOLTs job openings will be released.

Thursday at 8:30 PM, US Challenger job cuts for January;

At 21:30 on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending January 31 will be released.

At 23:50 on Thursday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, a 2027 FOMC voting member, will participate in a dialogue and Q&A session on monetary policy.

At 21:30 on Friday, the US January unemployment rate, the US January seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls, and the final reading of the US 2025 non-farm payrolls baseline change (unadjusted) will be released.

At 23:00 on Friday, the preliminary readings of the US February one-year inflation rate and the preliminary reading of the US February University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index will be released.

US SEC: Currently operating in accordance with the operational plan during the US government shutdown.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on its X platform that due to the lack of funding and the (partial) shutdown of the U.S. government, the SEC is currently operating according to its operational plan during the shutdown. From January 31, 2026, until further notice, only a very small number of staff will continue to work.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju stated on the X platform that Bitcoin's price continues to fall due to persistent selling pressure and a lack of new capital inflows. Stagnant market capitalization indicates a lack of new funds entering the market. In this situation, a decline in market capitalization does not necessarily indicate a bull market.

Early holders hold a significant amount of unrealized gains due to purchases of ETFs and MSTR. They began taking profits early last year, but strong inflows kept Bitcoin's price around $100,000. These inflows have now dried up. MSTR was the primary driver of this rally. Unless Saylor significantly sells off his Bitcoin holdings, we won't see a 70% drop as seen in previous cycles. Selling pressure continues, so a bottom hasn't yet appeared, but this bear market is likely to result in a wide range of sideways consolidation.

Cathie Wood: Bitcoin has consistently had a low correlation with gold; she recommends investing in BTC, ETH, Solana, etc.

Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, stated on the X platform that, contrary to current mainstream opinion, BTC, ETH, Solana, and HyperLiquid may be good choices for diversification. Since the beginning of 2020, the correlation between Bitcoin and gold prices has been very low, at only 0.14. Gold has outperformed Bitcoin in the past two Bitcoin bull markets.

Analyst PlanC suggests that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 may be a cyclical low, but several other analysts remain bearish.

Analyst PlanC stated that Bitcoin's drop of approximately 7% to $77,000 may mark the low point of this cycle. "We are very likely experiencing another major sell-off low. The final low appears to be between $75,000 and $80,000," said Bitcoin advocate and financial accountant Rajat Soni. He noted that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 occurred during one of the most volatile periods in the crypto market this week and warned traders not to overreact. "Never believe the weekend rally; Bitcoin will bounce back when you least expect it."

Meanwhile, other crypto analysts continue to predict that Bitcoin will fall further in the coming months.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt recently predicted that Bitcoin's price could fall to $60,000 by the third quarter of 2026. Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen stated that the market cycle low for Bitcoin may occur in early October, but he "expects several rallies before that." Meanwhile, Jurrien Timmer, head of global macroeconomic research at Fidelity, said 2026 could be Bitcoin's "bottom year," with the price potentially falling to $65,000.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary: Safe-haven assets are experiencing severe volatility, marking the beginning of a high-volatility era.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan published a personal essay titled "Maintaining a Positive and Prudent Approach," in which he pointed out that global market volatility has triggered sharp shifts in international capital, and even assets considered safe-haven assets have experienced corrections after repeatedly hitting new highs. Taking gold prices as an example, after continuing its four-year upward trend, gold surged nearly 30% in January this year, challenging a record high of US$5,600, but has seen a significant pullback in the past few days, falling more than 12% from its peak. Hong Kong's financial system remains sound and operates smoothly, with total bank deposits exceeding HK$19 trillion. Given the rapidly changing global political and economic situation, the coming year will undoubtedly bring considerable risks and volatility.

Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, stated on the X platform that, contrary to current mainstream opinion, BTC, ETH, Solana, and HyperLiquid may be good choices for diversification. Since the beginning of 2020, the correlation between Bitcoin and gold prices has been very low, at only 0.14. Gold has outperformed Bitcoin in the past two Bitcoin bull markets.

Analyst PlanC suggests that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 may be a cyclical low, but several other analysts remain bearish.

Analyst PlanC stated that Bitcoin's drop of approximately 7% to $77,000 may mark the low point of this cycle. "We are very likely experiencing another major sell-off low. The final low appears to be between $75,000 and $80,000," said Bitcoin advocate and financial accountant Rajat Soni. He noted that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 occurred during one of the most volatile periods in the crypto market this week and warned traders not to overreact. "Never believe the weekend rally; Bitcoin will bounce back when you least expect it."

Meanwhile, other crypto analysts continue to predict that Bitcoin will fall further in the coming months.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt recently predicted that Bitcoin's price could fall to $60,000 by the third quarter of 2026. Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen stated that the market cycle low for Bitcoin may occur in early October, but he "expects several rallies before that." Meanwhile, Jurrien Timmer, head of global macroeconomic research at Fidelity, said 2026 could be Bitcoin's "bottom year," with the price potentially falling to $65,000.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary: Safe-haven assets are experiencing severe volatility, marking the beginning of a high-volatility era.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan published a personal essay titled "Maintaining a Positive and Prudent Approach," in which he pointed out that global market volatility has triggered sharp shifts in international capital, and even assets considered safe-haven assets have experienced corrections after repeatedly hitting new highs. Taking gold prices as an example, after continuing its four-year upward trend, gold surged nearly 30% in January this year, challenging a record high of US$5,600, but has seen a significant pullback in the past few days, falling more than 12% from its peak. Hong Kong's financial system remains sound and operates smoothly, with total bank deposits exceeding HK$19 trillion. Given the rapidly changing global political and economic situation, the coming year will undoubtedly bring considerable risks and volatility.

Analyst PlanC stated that Bitcoin's drop of approximately 7% to $77,000 may mark the low point of this cycle. "We are very likely experiencing another major sell-off low. The final low appears to be between $75,000 and $80,000," said Bitcoin advocate and financial accountant Rajat Soni. He noted that Bitcoin's drop to $77,000 occurred during one of the most volatile periods in the crypto market this week and warned traders not to overreact. "Never believe the weekend rally; Bitcoin will bounce back when you least expect it."

Meanwhile, other crypto analysts continue to predict that Bitcoin will fall further in the coming months.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt recently predicted that Bitcoin's price could fall to $60,000 by the third quarter of 2026. Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen stated that the market cycle low for Bitcoin may occur in early October, but he "expects several rallies before that." Meanwhile, Jurrien Timmer, head of global macroeconomic research at Fidelity, said 2026 could be Bitcoin's "bottom year," with the price potentially falling to $65,000.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary: Safe-haven assets are experiencing severe volatility, marking the beginning of a high-volatility era.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan published a personal essay titled "Maintaining a Positive and Prudent Approach," in which he pointed out that global market volatility has triggered sharp shifts in international capital, and even assets considered safe-haven assets have experienced corrections after repeatedly hitting new highs. Taking gold prices as an example, after continuing its four-year upward trend, gold surged nearly 30% in January this year, challenging a record high of US$5,600, but has seen a significant pullback in the past few days, falling more than 12% from its peak. Hong Kong's financial system remains sound and operates smoothly, with total bank deposits exceeding HK$19 trillion. Given the rapidly changing global political and economic situation, the coming year will undoubtedly bring considerable risks and volatility.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan published a personal essay titled "Maintaining a Positive and Prudent Approach," in which he pointed out that global market volatility has triggered sharp shifts in international capital, and even assets considered safe-haven assets have experienced corrections after repeatedly hitting new highs. Taking gold prices as an example, after continuing its four-year upward trend, gold surged nearly 30% in January this year, challenging a record high of US$5,600, but has seen a significant pullback in the past few days, falling more than 12% from its peak. Hong Kong's financial system remains sound and operates smoothly, with total bank deposits exceeding HK$19 trillion. Given the rapidly changing global political and economic situation, the coming year will undoubtedly bring considerable risks and volatility.