Block Inc., led by Jack Dorsey, is preparing to eliminate roles during annual performance reviews, with as much as 10% of staff at risk, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. Earlier cuts removed 931 positions in March 2025 and about 1,000 in January 2024. The company plans to release fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26.

During a week of sharp cryptocurrency market losses, on-chain data shows newly created whale wallets withdrawing roughly 3,500 BTC and 30,000 ETH from Binance. These large outflows, recorded on February 8, 2026, coincide with Bitcoin recovering toward $71,000 and Ethereum trading above $2,000, hinting at renewed accumulation by large holders. The concentration of assets in self-custody wallets is reducing exchange reserves and may be contributing to stabilizing prices after the recent capitulation.

Global Google search interest for the term "crypto" is hovering near its 12‑month low while the digital asset market cap has dropped from over $4.2 trillion to about $2.4 trillion. At the same time, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index recently hit an all‑time low of 5, indicating extreme fear comparable to the sentiment seen after the 2022 Terra ecosystem collapse.

Over six trading days, retail investors committed $430 million to SLV, the largest silver ETF, while silver prices plunged from a January high of $121 per ounce to $64 before recovering to $78. On January 30, silver dropped 27% in its biggest-ever one-day loss, yet data showed small investors continued buying aggressively as institutional players pulled back.

In early 2026, US technology shares fell on weak earnings and concern over massive AI capital expenditure, while Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech slid largely on sentiment spillover. Mainland Chinese investors used the downturn to increase positions in names like Tencent and Alibaba, attracted by lower valuations such as a 16x P/E for the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF. At the same time, Chinese AI firms including MiniMax and Zhipu AI completed major IPOs in Hong Kong, drawing strong demand and underscoring the city’s push to become a leading AI listing venue.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya on Sunday to advance cooperation on semiconductors, trade and security following the upgrade of bilateral ties last August. The talks, held less than two weeks after India's January 27 trade deal with the European Union, linked India's chip design and new Gujarat fabs with Malaysia's Penang facilities, and aimed to increase the $18.6 billion in trade by encouraging settlement in rupees and ringgit instead of US dollars.

On February 6, 2026, South Korean exchange Bithumb mistakenly credited around 620,000 BTC to users during a promotional event before recovering 99.7% of the excess. The platform used its own funds to cover roughly 1,788 BTC that had already been sold, and introduced compensation including cash payouts, trade refunds with a 10% bonus, and a seven‑day fee waiver. The firm attributed the incident to a technical malfunction rather than hacking and said its total crypto holdings still match or exceed user deposits.

On February 8, 2026, Kevin Warsh was nominated as the next Fed chair, a move that, according to Catenaa, revived debate over shrinking and potentially "privatising" portions of the central bank's about $6.6 trillion Treasury and MBS holdings. Supporters see scope to let bonds roll off and tweak rules so banks hold more government debt, while critics warn of duration risk and fiscal-driven balance-sheet growth.