French authorities arrested six suspects over the February 4–5 kidnapping and extortion of a magistrate and his mother in the Drome region, an event that has raised fresh concerns about institutional security. Against this backdrop, LiquidChain is positioning its Layer 3 protocol as a unified liquidity layer for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, with its presale already collecting $532,000 at a token price of $0.0135. The project promotes a "deploy-once" execution model via a cross-chain virtual machine aimed at reducing bridge-related risks and improving capital efficiency.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has dropped its planned Namechain layer-2 and will launch the ENSv2 upgrade directly on Ethereum L1, according to a Friday blog post by lead developer nick.eth. The shift follows a reported 99% fall in ENS registration gas costs over the past year and the Fusaka upgrade lifting the gas limit to 60 million, with core developers targeting 200 million in 2026.

Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek acquired the AI.com domain for about $70 million, paid fully in cryptocurrency, after it had been listed for $100 million in March 2025. He said on Feb. 6 that he closed the purchase in April 2025 and will introduce a consumer AI agent platform under the AI.com brand with a Super Bowl LX commercial, while continuing to run both Crypto.com and AI.com.

On Friday, a16z crypto managing partner Chris Dixon argued that non-financial crypto applications have lagged due to scams, extractive behavior, and regulatory pressure, and he emphasized a 10-year build horizon. On Sunday, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi countered that these products failed because demand was absent, while Castle Island’s Nic Carter said venture theses must prove out within a 2–3 year deployment window.

On 8 February 2026, Vietnam's Ministry of Finance opened consultations on a draft circular proposing a 0.1% tax on each cryptocurrency transfer executed via licensed platforms. The plan would tax transaction value rather than profit, introduce a 20% corporate income tax on net crypto trading gains for domestic firms, and operate within a broader push to formally regulate and recognize digital assets as property.

On 8 February 2026, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the planned digital euro is a cash-like public money for everyday use, including offline. He noted it will not launch before legislation is in place, with a pilot slated for 2027 and a possible rollout around 2029. Safeguards include holding caps, no interest and privacy protections.

On February 5, 2026, the Ethereum Foundation launched the Trillion Dollar Security Dashboard, a public tool tracking risks across six areas including smart contracts, infrastructure, and the consensus protocol. The dashboard reports active mitigations and progress metrics for an ecosystem securing more than $600 billion in on-chain capital.

Two California teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were charged after a Jan. 31 home invasion in Scottsdale allegedly aimed at seizing $66 million in cryptocurrency. Police intervened during the attack, recovered restraints and a 3D‑printed gun, and later released both on $50,000 bail with electronic monitoring as prosecutors seek to try them as adults.