Daily Crypto Briefing – January 31, 2026

The crypto market ended January with a brutal selloff as Bitcoin crashed below $80,000 and major liquidations swept across the ecosystem. Here's what happened in the past 24 hours.

Top Stories

Bitcoin Crashes Below $80K in Massive Liquidation Event

The Block reports Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 following $1.6 billion in monthly ETF outflows, marking the third-worst month on record. The price briefly traded below MicroStrategy's cost basis for the first time since October 2023.

Weekend Liquidity Cascade Hits $2 Billion in Liquidations

Cointelegraph notes Bitcoin saw a sudden weekend liquidity cascade that took BTC price near $75,000 for the first time since its April 2025 low. The selloff resulted in approximately $2 billion in liquidations across the market.

Whale vs. Retail Divergence Emerges

CoinDesk analysis shows large Bitcoin holders are quietly accumulating while retail traders flee. Glassnode data reveals "mega-whales" are buying the dip as smaller investors distribute their holdings.

Step Finance Hit by $27 Million Treasury Hack

CoinDesk reports Solana DeFi platform Step Finance suffered a $27 million treasury hack, causing its STEP token to plummet over 80%. The platform is working with security firms to investigate the incident.

Markets

Bitcoin Falls Out of Global Top 10 Assets

• Bitcoin dropped out of the global top 10 assets by market cap after falling below $80,000
• Ethereum also declined significantly, dropping to 56th place with a market cap just above $300 billion
• Over $850 million in bullish bets were liquidated as ETH, SOL, and DOGE slid 7%
• Silver experienced a historic 35% plunge, recording the largest liquidations across crypto markets

Precious Metals Crash Harder Than Crypto

• Gold and silver saw double-digit crashes in a single day, erasing billions in market cap
• Cathie Wood called gold the "real bubble," not AI, as precious metals faced historic collapses
• Bitcoin remained relatively resilient compared to traditional safe-haven assets

Regulation

SEC-CFTC Coordination Breakthrough

Bitcoin.com reports U.S. financial regulators are signaling a breakthrough in crypto oversight, moving toward coordinated supervision as Congress advances market structure legislation. The SEC and CFTC have relaunched Project Crypto to provide clearer digital asset regulation.

First Bank Failure of 2026

CryptoBriefing notes Chicago-based Metropolitan Capital Bank became the first bank to fail in 2026, potentially signaling vulnerabilities in the financial sector and prompting increased regulatory scrutiny.

U.S. Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchanges

CoinDesk reports the U.S. imposed sanctions on crypto exchanges tied to Iran for the first time, accusing them of facilitating transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Corporate News

Tether Records $10 Billion Profit in 2025

The Block reports Tether raked in over $10 billion net profit in 2025 as excess reserves topped $6.3 billion. The stablecoin giant saw USDT supply grow by over $50 billion, marking its second-largest annual issuance in history.

BitMine Faces $6 Billion Paper Loss

Cointelegraph notes BitMine Immersion faces a $6 billion paper loss as the Ether sell-off deepens, highlighting the risks of crypto treasury strategies as leverage unwinds.

Vitalik Commits $45 Million as Ethereum Foundation Enters Austerity

CryptoBriefing reports Vitalik Buterin committed $45 million in ETH as the Ethereum Foundation enters an "austerity phase," deploying funds toward security, privacy, and open infrastructure.

Technology

Tokenized Equities Market Explodes 3,000%

CoinDesk analysis shows the market for tokenized equities exploded by almost 3,000% in a single year, approaching the $1 billion milestone as new SEC rules and DTCC pilots pushed adoption.

AI Agents Launch Social Network and Digital Religion

Decrypt reports AI agents on an AI-centric social network spontaneously founded "Crustafarianism"—complete with scripture, prophets, and theology, showing the unpredictable evolution of autonomous digital entities.

Quick Hits

• Mining profits hit 14-month low after winter storm disrupts operations, according to CryptoQuant
• XRP slides 7% as rapid selling breaks major $1.79 support level, CoinDesk reports
• U.S. government seizes $400 million from darknet mixing service Helix, [per CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/01