Crypto World
130k jobs in January, but there were massive revisions
U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January, far exceeding expectations and signaling a rebound in hiring, though sweeping revisions sharply reduced prior payroll estimates.
Summary
- U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January, nearly double economist expectations of 70,000.
- Major benchmark revisions cut total 2025 job growth from 584,000 to 181,000 and signaling a weaker labor backdrop than previously reported.
- Crypto markets slid sharply, with the BTC down more than 11% for the week and falling another 2.5% over the past 24 hours amid broader market volatility.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 last month, well above economists’ forecasts of 70,000 and a sharp acceleration from December’s downwardly revised gain of 48,000.
The unemployment rate edged down to 4.3% from 4.4%, defying expectations for a steady reading.
However, the report also included significant benchmark revisions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics erased roughly 898,000 jobs from payroll estimates covering April 2024 through March 2025. As a result, total nonfarm employment growth for 2025 was revised down substantially, from 584,000 to 181,000.
The revisions suggest the labor market was considerably weaker over the past year than previously reported, even as January’s headline figures point to renewed hiring momentum at the start of 2026.
Crypto markets slid sharply, with Bitcoin (BTC) down more than 11% for the week and falling another 2.5% over the past 24 hours amid broader market volatility.
Crypto World
Arbitrum price forecast: what’s next amid 45% ARB downturn?
- Arbitrum price hovered near $0.10 as cryptocurrencies saw fresh declines.
- The token was down nearly 20% in the past week and 45% over the past month.
- Robinhood Chain has launched its public testnet on Arbitrum.
Arbitrum (ARB) traded around $0.10 at the time of writing on Wednesday, with bulls looking to break above $0.11 following an intraday dip amid broader market weakness.
Ethereum and XRP prices were all down on the day as Bitcoin dropped under $65k again.
The slight dip for ARB as of early US trading hours came as the latest network developments saw Robinhood announce the public testnet launch of its real-world asset platform on Arbitrum.
Arbitrum price hovers near $0.10
The ARB token traded at highs of $0.22 on January 14, 2026. However, as bearish sentiment that has carried from Q4, 2025 decimated crypto bulls, ARB steadily fell and hit lows of $0.099 on Feb 5.
Despite a bounce to $0.12, prices are back near this critical level.
On Wednesday, broader weakness remained a key factor across crypto.
However, Arbitrum shared news that the Robinhood Chain was now live in public testnet, and developers can tap into its infrastructure to support tokenized real-world and digital assets.
Robinhood Chain testnet is now live on the Arbitrum platform.
Phase 1 focuses on developer onboarding and infrastructure testing:
Testnet gas + Stock Tokens
Contract deployment
Bridging + explorer visibilityThis allows tokenized asset flows to be tested without production… pic.twitter.com/gtLvKDxVVH
— Arbitrum (@arbitrum) February 11, 2026
From a network growth viewpoint, this is hugely positive news for Arbitrum.
But can bulls ride it as a fresh catalyst for a rebound? The altcoin is down more than 20% in the past week and by over 45% in the past month.
Arbitrum price forecast
As noted, the ARB token has experienced a sharp decline since peaking at highs of $0.62 in August 2025.
The October 10 crash saw it plummet to lows of $0.10.
Prices briefly steadied to $0.36, but the overall downtrend resumed and ARB broke to $0.094 amid the February 5, 2026, crypto market route.
That crash below the critical support level of $0.10 accelerated the weakness, and an extended downtrend of five months saw the token hit its all-time low.
ARB price is up 13% from that low, but in terms of technical analysis, the daily chart shows ARB continues to trend with an entrenched bearish structure.
For instance, the current price is below the 20-day EMA, which offers upside resistance around $0.13.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers in oversold territory at 24, signaling potential exhaustion.
However, there’s no immediate reversal formation yet, and the Supertrend indicator is flashing bearish signals.
The price trajectory points lower, and short-term bearish continuation could see ARB dip to a new all-time low under $0.09.
On the flipside, if oversold conditions trigger a bounce, the further strength above $0.13-$0.15 highlights the next targets at $0.22 and $0.35.
Crypto World
BlockFills halts withdrawals, restricts trading, according to reports
Amid sharp, mostly downward volatility in crypto markets, BlockFills has halted withdrawals and restricted trading on its platform, according to reports in Mining Mag and the Financial Times.
Based in Chicago and backed in part by market-making giant Susquehanna Investment Group, BlockFills saw $60 billion in trading volume last year, according to the FT.
“In light of recent market and financial conditions, and to further the protection of clients and the firm, BlockFills took the action last week of temporarily suspending client deposits and withdrawals,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.
“Clients have been able to continue trading with BlockFills for the purpose of opening and closing positions in spot and derivatives trading and select other circumstances,” the spokesperson said.
BlockFills’ moves come as the months-long slide in crypto prices accelerated into a full-blown crash last week. Bitcoin plunged to as low as $60,000 before bouncing to its current $67,000, still down about 50% from its record high last October.
The action is reminiscent of 2022’s crypto winter, which saw numerous platforms forced to suspend withdrawals as the bear market deepened, with many of them ultimately collapsing.
Crypto World
Silver Price Stabilises | Market Pulse
As indicated by today’s ATR reading on the XAG/USD chart, trading activity has returned to the more normal levels seen prior to the third week of January, when:
→ silver entered a phase of exuberant growth towards its record high around the $120 mark;
→ this was followed by a dramatic collapse towards the $75 area.
The volatility indicator has now fallen back to customary levels, suggesting that supply and demand are gradually moving into balance.
Yesterday’s release of weaker US retail sales data could have served as a bullish catalyst for gold and silver, as signs of slowing economic activity ahead of key employment figures tend to increase demand for safe-haven assets. However, this did not occur, reinforcing the view that the market is stabilising.

On 2 February, when analysing the XAG/USD chart, we wrote:
“Even if silver attempts to turn higher under the current conditions of extreme oversold territory, it may encounter a strong resistance zone in the $87.5–95 range, where bears previously demonstrated clear dominance by breaking the long-term ascending channel.”
Indeed, the highlighted area not only halted the recovery impulse but also — after forming a head and shoulders reversal pattern — pushed silver down to a lower low.
Price action analysis allows for several important observations:
→ the V-shaped rebound below the psychological $70 level appears to reflect the liquidation of a cascade of buyers’ stop-loss orders, followed by a wave of buying that signals aggressive demand;
→ the bullish gap around $78 now appears to be acting as support.
In light of the above, it is reasonable to conclude that the XAG/USD market may continue developing a consolidation phase, fluctuating between two key zones:
→ resistance near $95;
→ support around $70.
For a long-term outlook on silver prices, see this article.
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Crypto World
Bitcoin Fails To Pass $69,000 In A US Nonfarm Payrolls Reaction
Bitcoin (BTC) saw flash volatility around Wednesday’s Wall Street open as US jobs data came in well above expectations.
Key points:
-
Bitcoin attempts to rescue the day’s losses on the back of stronger US nonfarm payrolls data.
-
Mixed signals result in risk assets diverging in their reactions to the numbers.
-
Bitcoin traders stay wary of a deeper BTC price dip to come.
Analysis: Fed interest-rate pause to “continue”
Data from TradingView tracked a BTC price spike to nearly $69,000 which quickly retraced, extending daily losses past 4% at the time of writing.

US nonfarm payrolls outperformed considerably on the day, with 130,000 jobs added in January versus the anticipated 55,000.

Strong labor-market numbers tend to imply less need to lower interest rates — typically a headwind for crypto and risk assets. At the same time, the reduced likelihood of recession creates a nuanced picture for risk-asset performance.
As such, the S&P 500 initially gained 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6% before both retraced their moves.
Precious metals also saw uncertain price action, with gold hitting new February highs before giving back gains to target $5,000 support.

Reacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter additionally referenced cooling unemployment in predicting that the Federal Reserve would hold rates steady at its March meeting.
“The unemployment rate FELL to 4.3%, below expectations of 4.4%. This was a much stronger than expected jobs report, all around the board,” it wrote in a post on X.
“The Fed pause will continue.”

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool put the odds of a March rate pause at over 90%.
Attention now focused on Friday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for further cues as to the path of inflation.
Trader eyes BTC price “slow bleed” toward $50,000
Commenting on recent BTC price action, traders remained unimpressed and skewed toward fresh downside.
Related: BTC traders wait for $50K bottom: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week
Daan Crypto Trades brought in Fibonacci retracement levels at $64,569, $62,474 and $59,805 while eyeing the potential for a deeper retracement.
“Pretty weak showing overall after the initial bounce. Bulls failed to push higher past that $72K+ mark and instead saw price break down again,” he summarized.
“Unless ~$68k is retaken, the fib retracement levels are the ones to watch in the short term.”

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on $69,000 having key long-term significance, with the risk of an extended rangebound environment developing around that level now higher.
$50,000 BTC price bottom targets also persisted, with trader Jelle arguing that BTC/USD was copying 2022 bear market trajectory “closely.”
“Would see a relatively slow bleed towards the low $50ks from here – before bouncing back up; if it keeps playing out the same,” he told X followers.
“Lots of people talk about buying there. I wonder if they will if price gets there.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Crypto World
Quince Therapeutics (QNCX) Stock Erupts 300% as Buyout Rumors Emerge
TLDR
- Quince Therapeutics (QNCX) shares surged over 300% Tuesday after the company hired LifeSci Capital to review strategic options
- The biotech firm is exploring partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and licensing deals to maximize shareholder value
- Trading volume hit 1.1 billion shares as investors speculated on a potential buyout at a premium price
- Quince develops bone-targeted drug platforms for rare disease treatments that deliver therapies directly to disease sites
- The company warned no deal is guaranteed and won’t provide updates unless a transaction is approved
Quince Therapeutics shares skyrocketed Tuesday after the rare disease biotech announced it hired LifeSci Capital as its exclusive financial advisor. The stock jumped over 300% as trading volume exploded past 1.1 billion shares.
Quince Therapeutics, Inc., QNCX
The company said it’s exploring strategic alternatives to maximize value for shareholders. Possible outcomes include partnerships, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, or licensing agreements.
LifeSci Capital will also help evaluate restructuring options for Quince’s liabilities. The announcement triggered a massive surge in the micro-cap stock.
Investors appear to be betting the strategic review will result in a sale of the company or its assets at a premium. This speculation drove the dramatic price movement Tuesday.
Quince focuses on developing therapies for rare diseases using its proprietary bone-targeting technology. The platform delivers treatments directly to bone fracture and disease sites.
The Technology Behind the Rally
The company’s bone-targeted drug platform can deliver small molecules, peptides, or large molecules precisely where needed. This approach promotes faster healing with reduced off-target safety risks compared to traditional therapeutics.
This specialized technology could make Quince an attractive target for larger pharmaceutical companies looking to expand their rare disease portfolios. The platform’s precision delivery system addresses a key challenge in drug development.
Quince cautioned that no transaction is guaranteed from the strategic review process. The company said it won’t provide additional updates unless its board approves a specific deal or determines disclosure is necessary.
Analyst Views and Upcoming Earnings
The stock currently holds a Buy rating from Wall Street analysts. However, recent rating changes have been mixed.
Citizens downgraded Quince to Market Perform on January 30. D. Boral Capital also cut its rating to Hold the same day.
Just one day before, D. Boral Capital maintained a Buy rating with a $5.00 price target. That target implies massive upside from current trading levels.
Quince is scheduled to report earnings on March 23. Analysts expect a loss of 21 cents per share, better than last year’s 28-cent loss.
The stock traded at $0.57 Tuesday afternoon, representing a 338% gain from the previous close. Shares had also jumped 27.2% in after-hours trading Monday when the news first broke.
Crypto World
BTC trades sharply lower on Wednesday, giving up large chunk of Friday gains
After crashing throughout the week, bitcoin bottomed late last Thursday at $60,000 before a mammoth Friday rally took the price nearly 20% higher to just shy of $72,000. That bounce, however, is looking more and more like the “dead cat” type.
In mid-morning U.S. trade, bitcoin is down sharply yet again, trading just below $66,000 and down more than 4% over the past 24 hours. Ether and solana are lower by closer to 5.5% and XRP is down 3.5%.
Higher earlier in the session, U.S. stocks have returned to roughly flat on the day. Gold and silver are higher by 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. government reported January job growth of 130,000, nearly doubling economist forecasts. The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 4.3%.
That has interest rate traders quickly retreating on any expectations for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. They’re now pricing in just a 6% chance of a March easing and a 23% chance for an April rate cut, according to CME FedWatch. Prior to the report, the chances of a March move were 21%, and those of an April move were 52%.
Whether rate cuts would have pulled crypto out of its bear market is arguable. After all, this sharp downside action began in 2025 as the Fed eased monetary policy at three consecutive meetings.
Interest wanes
With so many other assets across the globe in bull markets as crypto continues to falter, it appears that investor interest in crypto is disappearing.
Coinglass on Wednesday reported that bitcoin perpetual futures open interest has fallen again and now stands 51% below its October 2025 peak, “signaling a significant retreat in trader conviction and leverage.”
“We’re seeing an ‘exit-crypto’ movement as investors grow tired,” one analyst told Bloomberg in a story about South Korean investors bailing on crypto as that country’s Kospi stock market index hits record highs.
Monthly trading volume on the Kospi was up 221% year-over-year last month, the story continued, while trading on crypto exchanges was down about 65%.
“This is a washout,” the analyst said. “Retail is exhausted and fleeing to the Kospi.”
Crypto stocks sharply lower across the board
There’s no green to be found across the entire crypto-related stock sector. Robinhood (HOOD) is lower by 12.5% after reporting a sharp decline in crypto trading revenue in the fourth quarter. That’s dragging on peer Coinbase (COIN), which is lower by 7% ahead of its earnings report scheduled for Thursday evening.
Leading bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (MSTR) is down 4.5% and ether treasury giant Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) is off 3.8%.
Circle Financial (CRCL) is lower by 4.7%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) by 3.2% and Bullish (BLSH) by 5.3%.
Crypto World
AI likely to think better, more strategically than humans in 2 years, SingularityNET CEO says
Two years. That’s the amount of time human beings have before artificial intelligence becomes better thinkers and strategists than us, according to Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized AI marketplace.
While the artificial intelligence industry is currently focused on developing automated agents to improve market efficiency, Goertzel suggested that, for the time being, people remain the primary driver of high-level strategy. He noted that while his Quantium project can predict short-term bitcoin volatility with high accuracy, long-term strategic thinking remains a uniquely human domain, for now.
“The human brain is better at taking the imaginative leap to understand the unknown,” Goertzel said in an interview at Consensus Hong Kong. It won’t last, though. “We should enjoy it for a couple more years.”
Goertzel’s two-year countdown isn’t just an AI expert’s prediction: It’s a roadmap for the integration of SingularityNET’s decentralized AI with the broader blockchain ecosystem. As the distinction between human-driven and machine-driven markets blurs, Goertzel explained that the current bear cycle is merely a “stress test” for the infrastructure that will eventually host artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Goertzel said he’s noted a palpable shift in energy from speculative hype to technological utility. The prevailing mindset among the conference’s attendees has changed, he said. The focus has moved from the “depressing” fluctuations of exchange rates toward the sophisticated integration of decentralized finance (DeFi) with traditional financial systems.
To Goertzel, this indicates that the technology has reached a stage where it works reliably for complex, real-world applications.
Furthermore, he highlighted the explosive growth of decentralized AI projects at the event as a sign the industry is poised for a major convergence, where blockchain provides the necessary data sovereignty and security for the next generation of artificial intelligence.
Crypto World
Amazon (AMZN) Shares Struggle to Find Support After Weak Report
As the chart shows, Amazon (AMZN) shares have displayed pronounced bearish momentum following the release of a weak earnings report on 5 February:
→ Revenue: $213.4 bn (forecast: $211.4 bn)
→ Earnings per share (EPS): actual $1.95, forecast $1.97
According to media reports, particular concern arose after Amazon announced plans to spend $200 bn on capital expenditure in 2026, mainly on AI, data centres, and chips. This represents an increase of roughly 60% from last year and significantly exceeds analysts’ expectations of around $146 bn.
Market participants may fear that the AI arms race (against Microsoft and Google) will be extremely costly, monetisation of these technologies could take years, and success is not guaranteed. As a result, we see two wide bearish gaps under the $232 and $220 levels, formed after the earnings release.

Technical Analysis of Amazon (AMZN)
Since June last year, the thickened trendline acted as a key support, regarded by the market as an attractive level to buy AMZN shares. That line has now been decisively broken.
Using this trendline as the median and the historical peak as the upper boundary to construct a channel, we can observe that the line dividing the channel into the lower two quarters (QL) currently serves as support.
The gap areas may act as resistance, and prevailing negative sentiment is likely to continue weighing on AMZN shares. In this scenario, bears could break not only the QL line but also the psychological $200 level, heightening concerns.
Under this bearish scenario, the share price could fall towards the lower boundary of the channel, near $188.
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Crypto World
Robinhood Enters Layer 2 Race With Public Testnet Launch of Robinhood Chain
Infrastructure providers, including Chainlink, Alchemy, and LayerZero, are already integrating with Robinhood Chain’s newly launched testnet.
Robinhood has launched the public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on Arbitrum. The US-based trading platform said the testnet is designed to accelerate the development of tokenized real-world and digital assets.
This move would give developers early access to the core infrastructure ahead of a planned mainnet launch later this year.
Arbitrum-Based Layer 2 Testnet
With the public testnet now live, developers can begin building and verifying applications on Robinhood Chain, using an environment that is compatible with standard Ethereum development tools and leverages Arbitrum technology. Robinhood stated that several infrastructure providers, such as Alchemy, Allium, Chainlink, LayerZero, and TRM, are already integrating with the network.
More partners are expected to be onboarded during the early stages of the testnet. As part of the launch, participants can access network entry points to the testnet, developer documentation hosted on Robinhood’s website, and early infrastructure support from ecosystem partners.
The company stated that the testnet phase is intended to support experimentation, identify potential issues, improve network stability, and lay the groundwork for developers ahead of the upcoming mainnet.
Robinhood Chain is backed by the company’s existing infrastructure and experience. It was developed with a focus on reliability, security, and compliance, the release said. Built on Arbitrum, the network supports bridging and self-custody, along with the scalability and customizability needed for financial-grade decentralized products such as tokenized asset platforms, lending platforms, and perpetual futures exchanges.
Going forward, Robinhood said developers building on the chain will gain access to testnet-only assets, including Stock Tokens for integration testing, as well as direct testing with Robinhood Wallet. The company added that the chain is designed to provide a familiar development environment within the broader Ethereum and Arbitrum ecosystem.
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Institutional Expansion Meets Revenue Headwinds
The trading platform has continued to deepen its exposure to cryptocurrencies since rolling out crypto trading for users. Last year, Robinhood officially completed the $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp, which was touted as its formal entry into institutional crypto. However, its revenue trends have weakened in the last few months.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Robinhood generated $221 million from cryptocurrency transactions, down 38% from a year earlier. The result contrasted with the previous quarter, when crypto revenue jumped to $268 million, amidst broader market turmoil.
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Crypto World
UNI Soars 30% Amid Strategic Investment from BlackRock
Uniswap and Securitize have announced a strategic partnership with BlackRock to provide DeFi liquidity for BlackRock’s tokenized fund.
Uniswap Labs and Securitize have announced a new partnership with financial giant BlackRock to enhance DeFi liquidity for institutional investors through BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, also known as BUIDL.
Following the announcement, the price of Uniswap’s native token, UNI, surged by 27% from around $3.30 to $4.36, before retracing to $3.81 by press time.

The collaboration will enable on-chain trading of BUIDL’s share on UniswapX, an auction-driven trading protocol, unlocking new liquidity options for BUIDL holders, Uniswap said in a blog post today.
Tokenization platform Securitize, for its turn, will facilitate trading for BUIDL investors who elect to participate through UniswapX’s framework.
“For the first time, institutions and whitelisted investors can access technology from a leader in the decentralized finance space to trade tokenized real-world assets like BUIDL with self-custody,” said Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize.
As part of the collaboration, BlackRock has also made a strategic investment within the Uniswap ecosystem, the blog post reads, though no details were given.
The collaboration comes shortly after investment management firm Franklin Templeton teamed up with Binance to launch tokenized collateral program. As The Defiant reported earlier, eligible clients can now use tokenized money market funds as off-exchange trading collateral.
This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.
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