In a recent research note, JPMorgan said gold’s more than 60% surge through 2025 contrasted with Bitcoin’s weakness heading into 2026, reducing the crypto’s near-term hedge appeal. The bank’s volatility framework indicates Bitcoin would trade at roughly $266,000 if it matched gold’s risk profile, though it called that level unrealistic this year amid ETF outflows and shrinking stablecoin supply.

Strategy recorded a $12.4 billion net loss in the fourth quarter of 2025 after Bitcoin fell from about $120,000 in early October to roughly $89,000 by year-end, pushing its holdings below their average purchase price. The company now owns 713,502 BTC at an average cost of $76,052 per coin and ended the year with $2.25 billion in cash, while investors await guidance on how management will respond to the ongoing market downturn.

Tether said Thursday it committed $150 million for a 12% stake in Gold.com, with plans to integrate its gold-backed XAUT token into the platform. The companies will also explore enabling physical bullion purchases using USDT and the newly launched USAT, alongside Tether’s separate $100 million investment in Anchorage Digital announced on February 5, 2026.

On Thursday, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) registered about $10 billion in trading volume while its share price dropped 13% amid a sharp Bitcoin selloff. The ETF has faced mounting outflows, with $373.4 million redeemed on Wednesday and only ten net inflow days in 2026, as Bitcoin has fallen roughly 50% from its early October all-time high near $126,000 to around $64,000. Analysts warn that macroeconomic pressure, derivatives liquidations and possible large-scale "campaign selling" are weighing on sentiment, leaving many IBIT investors now under water.

Spain's BBVA, the country's second-largest bank by assets, has joined the Qivalis consortium of around a dozen EU lenders to develop a euro-denominated stablecoin under the MiCA framework. The project aims to offer a bank-backed digital euro alternative to dollar-pegged tokens such as USDT and USDC, with the group targeting a launch in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

CME Group’s CEO Terry Duffy stated during the latest earnings call that the derivatives exchange is examining the creation of its own cryptocurrency, potentially operating on a decentralized network. The initiative is being reviewed alongside digital margin and settlement projects, including a separate tokenized cash program developed with Google that is scheduled to go live later this year. While CME has not clarified whether the proposed asset would be a stablecoin or another token type, the plan would extend its crypto strategy beyond derivatives into direct digital asset issuance.

In an interview with Ecoinimist, Akash Network CEO Greg Osuri said decentralized AI's next step is widening access to compute rather than chasing new virtualization. He emphasized virtual machines to match how ML practitioners work and described blockchain as a coordination layer for identity, access, and payments. Akash has discussed retiring its Cosmos app chain and is evaluating Solana.

On Monday, Michael Burry published a Substack note warning that Bitcoin’s slide is spilling into gold and silver, estimating up to $1 billion in metals was sold at January’s end. He said there is "no organic use case reason" for a halt and cautioned a move toward $50,000. On Tuesday, BTC briefly traded below $73,000.

At the Ondo Summit in New York on Tuesday, WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg said the firm's crypto and tokenization initiatives have shifted from experimentation to a central business focus as the unit approaches profitability. He noted that tokenized assets under management have climbed from about $30 million to roughly $770 million over the past year, with expansion beyond Ethereum into networks such as Solana and wider distribution via the WisdomTree Connect platform.