BTC and ETH experienced short-term fluctuations exceeding 3%... possibly due to a market maker strategy malfunction.
According to Odaily, from 00:05 to 00:17 UTC on the 7th, the spot prices of BTC and ETH experienced abnormal fluctuations, with price swings exceeding 3% within a one-minute timeframe. In particular, several sharp fluctuations exceeding 1% were observed in a short period of time.
Market analysts believe that this high-frequency volatility may be due to a malfunction in the market maker's algorithm-based "grid trading strategy." They explain that the price fluctuations are amplified during periods of high liquidity.
Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped by 11.16%... marking the largest drop since 2021.
PANews reported on February 7th, citing data from mining pool CloverPool, that the Bitcoin mining difficulty was adjusted to 125.86 T at block height 935,424 at 9:56 PM Eastern Time. This represents an 11.16% decrease, the largest drop since May 2021. The current Bitcoin network hashrate is 948.13 EH/s, and experts predict that the next difficulty adjustment may result in a further decrease.
Wintermute's CEO stated that "rumors of institutional bankruptcy are unfounded...and have no real ripple effect."
Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy expressed strong skepticism via Twitter regarding recent market rumors of institutional bankruptcies. He analyzed that even if some institutions were indeed likely to go bankrupt, there had been no significant market spillover effect.
Gaevoy stated that when 3AC went bankrupt after the Terra incident, inside information was quickly leaked to the market, and in the FTX case, the market reacted immediately after the negotiations with Binance were publicly reported. However, in this case, the information originated from anonymous accounts and lacks reliable sources.
He commented that the leverage in this cycle mainly stemmed from perpetual contracts, a more orderly structure compared to the opaque unsecured loan structures of the past such as Genesis and Celsius. Analysts believe that exchanges also minimized losses through mechanisms like ADL (Advanced Lending Facility).
He added that structures like FTX's, which invest client funds in illiquid assets, no longer exist in the industry. Finally, he pointed out that if a company is actually bankrupt but publicly denies it, this could lead to legal liabilities in jurisdictions such as the US, Europe, the UK, and Singapore.
Bloomberg analysts say "BTC ETF stabilization effect differs from expectations"
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, admitted via X that his initial expectation that "Bitcoin ETFs would improve market stability" was wrong. He had originally anticipated that new funds flowing into the ETF would replace the high-risk speculative funds that preceded the FTX incident, thereby reducing volatility. However, his analysis revealed that the stabilizing effect did not materialize due to increased selling pressure caused by early investors selling at high prices.
Balchunas emphasized that "BTC will remain a highly volatile and high-risk asset in the future," and pointed out that its approximately 450% increase over the past two years may itself be an overheated signal.
DeFi trading platform DeFi.app raises $4 million in funding.
According to The Block, DeFi trading platform DeFi.app has completed a $4 million funding round. The round was led by Mechanism Capital, with participation from DCF Capital Partners, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan, Comphy Capital, and George Ball Group, among others.
BitMine's chairman stated that "the influence of MrBeast on the digital asset market should be closely monitored."
In a January 20th interview with Wilfred Frost's "The Master Investor Podcast," BitMine Chairman Tom Lee emphasized the necessity of investing in MrBeast. He stated that despite MrBeast's over 1 billion global viewers, Wall Street underestimates its influence. He added, "This scale of global influence could represent a significant opportunity for brand value and the digital asset market in the future."
Ethereum breaks $2,100
According to cryptocurrency exchange OKX, Ethereum (ETH) has broken through $2,100. The current price is $2,101.61, representing a 24-hour increase of 5.6%.
