Bullish CEO Tom Farley said in a CNBC interview that the crypto sector is set for large‑scale consolidation, with bigger players acquiring smaller projects. He argued the recent market slide has reset expectations, noting Bitcoin is nearly 45% below its October all‑time high and around $69,405 at publication. Farley added many firms will need to merge and scale.

President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair has lifted market-implied odds of a March interest rate cut to about 23%, up from roughly 18.4% just days earlier. Traders are largely pricing in a 25-basis-point cut, while Polymarket participants assign a 27% chance of two cuts in 2026 and crypto analysts say Bitcoin's next major rally could emerge even if the asset climbs under persistently high Fed rates.

Over the past year, the Trump administration has directed taxpayer money into equity and governance stakes across at least 10 companies in sectors such as minerals, semiconductors, energy, and defense. These deals include non‑voting shares in Intel, preferred stock and warrants in MP Materials, equity in Lithium Americas, Trilogy Metals and USA Rare Earth, and structured arrangements tied to L3Harris and Westinghouse. In several cases, government holdings come with veto or future ownership rights, positioning federal agencies as shareholders in businesses they also regulate.

Santiment said on Saturday that retail traders are scanning for signs of 'capitulation' to time entries, implying a bottom may already have formed. Google Trends shows 'crypto capitulation' searches rising from 11 in the week ending Feb. 1 to 58 in the week ending Feb. 8. Bitcoin fell 24.27% over 30 days and was $68,970 at publication.

On February 8, 2026, Elon Musk's net worth was reported at $845 billion, making him the first individual to exceed $800 billion. A $1.25 trillion SpaceX takeover of xAI left him with about 43% of the combined company, a stake valued at more than $530 billion. Tesla shareholders also approved a performance-based pay package that could reach $1 trillion.

Tokenized equities are approaching $1 billion in value, with three venues—Ondo, Backed/Kraken, and Securitize—holding over 93% of market share. In December 2025, the SEC advanced a DTCC tokenization pilot and clarified broker‑dealer custody, while monthly transfers reached $2.4 billion and Ethereum, Solana, and Algorand led chain distribution.

More than 23% of traders now expect the Federal Open Market Committee to cut rates at its March 2026 meeting, up from 18.4% on the previous Friday. Expectations center on a 25-basis-point reduction as markets react to Kevin Warsh's nomination as the next Federal Reserve chair and weigh its impact on liquidity and risk assets.

Form 13F reports for Q4 2025 are expected on February 14, with the SEC deadline rolling to February 17 due to the weekend and Presidents' Day. Crypto participants hope the disclosures might flag large ETF or equity position changes tied to the October 10 sell-off, when over $19 billion in leveraged bets were liquidated within roughly 24 hours.