1. Li Lin: Not an investor in LD or Garrett Gin, and did not reduce his BTC or ETH holdings during this market rally.
Huobi founder Li Lin responded on his WeChat Moments, stating that he is not an investor in LD or Garrett Gin, and did not reduce his BTC or ETH holdings during this round of market activity. He also mentioned that he has been repeatedly subjected to rumors in recent years and has had to clarify the situation repeatedly.
2. Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 11.16%, the largest drop since the crackdown on Chinese mining in 2021.
Mempool developer Mononaut stated that Bitcoin mining difficulty has decreased by 11.16% to 125.86 T, marking the largest single negative adjustment since the crackdown on mining in China in July 2021, and also the 10th largest drop in history. This decrease is mainly due to mining farm production restrictions caused by weather factors at the end of January, and the implied hashrate has shown signs of recovery in the latter part of the current difficulty adjustment cycle.
3. CoinShares: Bitcoin quantum computing risks are manageable; only 10,000 early BTC face potential market shock.
A report by CoinShares states that the quantum computing risks facing Bitcoin are "manageable," not an imminent crisis. While the Shor algorithm theoretically threatens ECDSA/Schnorr signatures, the actual risk is still decades away (expected in the 2030s or later). Currently, approximately 1.6 million BTC (8% of the supply) are held in publicly accessible P2PK addresses, but only about 10,200 BTC are in a state where a theft could potentially impact the market; the rest are scattered across numerous small addresses, making them extremely costly to crack.
4. Two underage suspects in the US have been charged with robbing $66 million in cryptocurrency assets across state lines, posing as delivery drivers.
Two underage students (aged 16 and 17) from California have been charged with felonies for allegedly driving over 600 miles, posing as delivery drivers, to break into an Arizona home and attempt to rob approximately $66 million in cryptocurrency assets. Police stated that the two broke into the home, tied up and assaulted the adults inside, demanding the cryptocurrency assets before fleeing. They were quickly apprehended, and uniforms, cable ties, duct tape, and a 3D-printed gun were recovered at the scene. The suspects confessed that they were recruited and coerced through Signal by an unidentified individual using the aliases "Red" and "8". This case is considered the first publicly recorded "wrench attack" in the US in 2026. (The Block)
5. South African Reserve Bank Governor warns that increased use of stablecoins could undermine monetary uniformity.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago warned that crypto assets could face a "fragmentation" risk as stablecoin usage rises. Speaking at the 2026 Warwick Economic Summit, he stated that central banks have a responsibility to maintain monetary unity and affordability for the public, and the development of stablecoins could pose a challenge to this goal. Kganyago pointed out that stablecoins have recently been used more extensively as low-volatility crypto asset tools in South Africa, and the South African Reserve Bank had previously warned of the financial risks posed by insufficient regulation in November 2025. Furthermore, he emphasized that against the backdrop of rising global uncertainty and US tariffs, central banks need to rely on diversified financial models to cope with changes.
6. Weekly Hot Project Updates: Vitalik strongly supports Ethereum's own expansion, ENS halts L2 development, Metamask wallet launches Ondo assets, etc. (0201–0207)
1. Vitalik: L1 scales itself, while L2 should focus on unique value rather than simply expanding link capacity.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted that the original vision of a rollup-centric roadmap is no longer applicable, and a new path is needed. Reasons: Slow progress from L2 to Stage 2; L1 scaling itself (low fees, a significant increase in gas limits expected in 2026). The original vision viewed L2 as a "branded shard" providing full-credit scaling, which L2 is now unwilling or unable to fulfill (partly due to regulatory requirements), while L1 has already scaled directly. He suggested viewing L2 as a lineage, with users choosing different levels of connectivity based on their needs; L2 should seek unique value beyond scaling (such as privacy, non-EVM VMs, extreme scaling, ultra-low latency, built-in oracles, etc.), processing ETH assets at least up to Stage 1 to maximize interoperability. Support for native rollup pre-compiled contracts, utilizing built-in ZK-EVM, achieving EVM verification without a security council and synchronous composability; allowing L2 to self-certify additional functions, with clear information about security guarantees to users.
Optimism co-founder Karl Floersch welcomed the modular L2 stack construction but pointed out that Stage 2 is not yet ready, withdrawal windows are long, and cross-chain tools are insufficient, while supporting native rollup pre-compiled contracts. Arbitrum co-founder Steven Goldfeder emphasized that scaling remains the core value of L2, noting that Arbitrum and Base handle over 1000 TPS during high-activity periods, far exceeding Ethereum, and warned that if Ethereum is not rollup-friendly, institutions may turn to independent L1. Base head Jesse Pollak stated that L1 scaling benefits the ecosystem, and L2 cannot simply be "cheaper Ethereum," with Base focusing on user acquisition and application, account abstraction, privacy, and other specializations. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson hinted that Starknet has met its specialized positioning.
2. Aave DAO proposes a V3 multi-chain contraction scheme, intending to freeze some deployments and set an income threshold for links.
The Aave DAO has released an ARFC proposal, "Focussing the Aave V3 Multichain Strategy — Phase 1," proposed by ACI. This proposal serves as a continuation of the previously approved TEMP CHECK, aiming to tighten management of Aave V3 multichain deployments. The first phase plans to freeze Aave V3 instances on the zkSync, Metis, and Soneium networks, citing low long-term utilization, TVL, and revenue contribution, while still consuming governance and operational resources and creating risk exposure. Simultaneously, the proposal stipulates that any future new Aave V3 deployments must be backed by a minimum annual revenue commitment of $2 million from the target chain to ensure that deployment costs, risks, and returns are commensurate.
3. ENS announced that ENSv2 will only be deployed on Ethereum L1, and will cease developing its own L2 link .
Ethereum Name Service (ENSv2) announced that it will be deployed solely on Ethereum L1 and will discontinue development of its self-developed L2 platform, "Namechain." The team stated that with significant improvements in Ethereum L1 scaling and registration costs, the original rationale for building a separate L2 platform is no longer sufficient. The cessation of Namechain development will not alter the functional progress of ENSv2; related contracts, the ENS App, and the ENS Explorer have entered the public alpha phase. The ENS team also pointed out that remaining on L1 allows them to leverage Ethereum's native security and decentralization, while the technical experience gained from Namechain will be used to improve ENS's interoperability support across various L2 platforms.
4. South Korean financial regulators are investigating significant fluctuations in the ZK index, suspecting market manipulation .
South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service is monitoring the ZK token listed on Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, investigating its unusual price fluctuations. On February 1, ZK surged nearly 1000% in just three hours, soaring from 33 won to 350 won before quickly falling back. The financial regulator stated that it is collecting and analyzing relevant data and will launch a formal investigation if market manipulation is confirmed.
5. One week after Polkadot launched its smart contract functionality, only 19 contracts ( links) have been deployed.
Polkadot officially launched its smart contract functionality on January 27th; however, a week later, only 19 contracts had been deployed, far fewer than Ethereum and Solana during the same period. The Polkadot team stated that early on-chain data has limited significance, emphasizing that smart contract functionality will gradually improve over time with subsequent integrations. Although development is currently slow, the team remains focused on steady progress and future market expansion.
6. Polymarket team member shampoo accused Kalshi of fabricating API data requests .
Polymarket team member shampoo accused Kalshi of fabricating API data requests, inflating trading volume in the Esports tag to $1.7 billion, when the actual trading volume across all subcategories under that tag was approximately $63 million, representing an overstatement of more than 26 times. Furthermore, Kalshi also double-counted the CS market by referring to it as both CS:GO and CS2. Previously, the Kalshi team had also accused Polymarket of double-counting trading volume.
7. Aster CEO responds to market doubts and releases roadmap ( link)
Aster CEO Leonard responded to market accusations on Twitter. He denied that CZ/Binance controlled the project or used it for dumping and exiting liquidity; Yzi Labs' investment has been locked for a long time, and the project operates independently. He denied any competitive sabotage against other DEXs. He disclosed buyback data: 254 million tokens have been bought back, of which 78 million were burned, 78 million were relocked for airdrop distribution, and the remaining approximately 98 million tokens are planned to be burned. Future plans: launch privacy-focused L1 and staking functionality in March; expand asset liquidity; optimize trading experience and UI. Q6 is the final trading airdrop, and circulating supply growth will slow; monthly 1% unlocking will be suspended; up to 80% of fees in Q6 will be used for buybacks and burning.
8. BNB Chain announces the release of its first official BNB application proposal, BAP-578 link.
BNB Chain has announced its first official BNB application proposal, BAP-578. This proposal introduces a new token standard: Non-Fungible Proxy (NFA), a type of AI-driven asset capable of autonomous on-chain action. NFAs can own wallets, execute transactions, maintain operational history, and operate across different dApps. BAP-578 aims to foster consensus among developers on application-layer standards such as NFT utility and AI behavior, while laying the foundation for an "proxy economy," transforming AI from a passive tool into an active on-chain entity capable of directly holding assets and interacting with the protocol.
9. MetaMask partners with Ondo Finance to launch tokenized US stocks, ETFs, and commodities LINK.
MetaMask, a self-custodied crypto wallet developed by Consensys, has announced a partnership with Ondo Finance, a platform for tokenized physical assets, to directly import tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs, and commodities into the MetaMask wallet through Ondo Global Markets.
10. Perp DEX's daily trading volume surpasses $70 billion for the second time in history, second only to the "10/11" flash crash.
Perp DEX saw its single-day trading volume surpass $70 billion for the second time in history on February 5th, second only to the "1011" flash crash on October 10th, 2025. Hyperliquid's single-day trading volume reached $24.7 billion, Aster's reached $10 billion, EdgeX's reached $8.7 billion, and Lighter's reached $7.5 billion, among others.
