The top Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee demanded the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission explain during a Wednesday hearing what happened with the agency’s enforcement interest in Tron Foundation founder Justin Sun and whether his ties to President Donald Trump have had an influence.

Representative Maxine Waters highlighted the U.S. securities regulators’ abandonment of almost all of its previous crypto enforcement cases when Trump took over the White House and replaced the agency’s leadership last year. She underlined the case against Sun in which the agency investigated Sun and his company on wide-ranging allegations, including that they’d improperly jacked up the price of their token (TRX).

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins told the committee that he couldn’t discuss individual cases, but he expressed his willingness to have further conversations in a confidential briefing “to the extent the rules allow me to do that.”

Sun was formally accused by the SEC in 2023 of trying to artificially inflate TRX’s trading volume through a so-called “wash trading” scheme, allegedly having his own employees “engage in more than 600,000 wash trades of TRX between two crypto asset trading platform accounts he controlled.” But the agency moved to pause that case in court a year ago “while they consider a potential resolution.” No resolution has yet been announced.

“Well, while you were exploring a potential resolution, Mr. Sun has been busy ingratiating himself within Trump’s orbit,” Waters said to Atkins, referencing Sun’s ties to the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial Inc.

Waters also flagged a more recent development in which an alleged former girlfriend of Sun suggested publicly that she had evidence of TRX manipulation.

Spokespeople for Tron and Sun didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the exchange during Wednesday’s hearing.

“Chairman Atkins, you have said that under your leadership, the SEC will focus on real fraud,” she said. “Does your statement extend to fraud in the crypto market?”

“Whatever involves securities,” Atkins responded.

His agency last year dropped high-profile enforcement matters against Binance, Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood and several other companies, with its new management criticizing the “regulation-by-enforcement” approach to crypto under the agency’s previous leadership.

Asked by another Democratic lawmaker whether his agency ever protects investors at a cost to Trump’s businesses, Atkins responded, “As far as what the Trump family does or not, I can’t speak to that.”

While Democrats have focused on the SEC’s reversal of its previous crypto enforcement work, Republicans on the committee concentrated on Atkins’ promises that he’ll provide the crypto industry regulations to clarify — alongside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — how the companies can operate in the U.S.

Atkins said the agencies are working on rules “consistent with what’s in the Clarity Act that you all passed here in the House, and hopefully what will come out of the joint work that you’re doing with the Senate. So, you know, we will carry that forward, and basically it’ll help give certainty as to where the jurisdiction of the two agencies are.”

As the SEC and CFTC work on that joint effort under their Project Crypto label, the CFTC also recently moved to embrace the new U.S. stablecoin approach by revising an earlier so-called “no action” letter that now clarifies that national trust banks can issue payment stablecoins, expanding the list of eligible tokenized collateral to include the tokens issued by such banks.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. regulator of credit unions, the National Credit Union Administration, proposed a rule governing how firms can apply to become stablecoin issuers. It’s an opening step toward implementing last year’s Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act — the crypto industry’s first major legislative win.

In the meantime, the crypto sector is now watching a policy race between Atkins’ SEC and Senate lawmakers working on the Clarity Act to regulate U.S. crypto markets. With recent setbacks dragging on the Senate’s progress, Atkins’ agency may take a lead in establishing digital assets rules.

Read More: House Democrats slam SEC for dropping crypto cases with Trump ties

Pepe has lost nearly three quarters of its value, but top wallets have steadily accumulated since the market-wide October sell-off.

Popular meme coins, including Pepe, have been trading in the red for almost a month after shedding 40% as the broader market remains under pressure. Despite multiple attempts, the token has not been able to stabilize since the October crash last year.

Since then, PEPE whales have accumulated 23 trillion tokens.

Heavy Whale Accumulation

In the latest update, Santiment revealed that the frog-themed token has lost approximately 73% of its market capitalization since reaching its peak nearly nine months ago. Despite the steep decline, the on-chain analytics platform noted a major change in behavior among large holders.

During the broader market crash in October, which began around four months ago, the top 100 Pepe wallets switched direction and accumulated a combined 23.02 trillion PEPE tokens. Santiment highlighted that “smart money” wallets often play a significant role when altcoins eventually reverse trend and post major rallies.

While retail sentiment toward Pepe and the broader meme coins is currently very bearish, it stated that assets seeing heavy accumulation have historically broken out again once Bitcoin regains steady bullish momentum.

However, a market commentator said Pepe’s price trend looks strongly bearish. According to the analysis, PEPE is trading below all major moving averages, while the Supertrend indicator remains on a sell signal. The ADX shows strong trend strength, and the negative directional indicator appears to be dominating, which points to continued downside pressure.

The analyst identified $0.0000031 as an important support level to watch. If that level breaks, the next downside targets are $0.00000197 and then $0.000000529. The commentator added that only a move back above $0.00000726 would shift focus back to a potential reversal.

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Meme Coins’ Struggle Continues

Pepe, which is trading at $0.0000035 after declining by 4% over the past day, is not the only meme coin to have suffered under the current market conditions. Dogecoin, the oldest and largest meme coin by market cap, has witnessed a similar downturn as it trades near $0.090. Shiba Inu was also down by almost 3% during the same period, hovering at $0.0000058.

Bonk and Floki shared a similar fate as well.

Hong Kong — Tokenization is gaining traction, but its success depends less on market hype and more on real-world utility, say executives from Ondo Finance and Securitize.

“There’s no shortage of firms, of issuers, of companies that are interested in tokenizing,” said Graham Ferguson, head of ecosystem at Securitize, during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong. “But it’s on us to figure out how to distribute these assets on-chain via exchanges in a way that is compliant, regulatory-friendly globally.”

Ferguson emphasized that despite high interest on the institutional side, distribution and compliance remain the bottlenecks. “The biggest issue that we run into is communicating with exchanges and DeFi protocols about the requirements that are necessary to adhere to our obligations as a regulated entity,” he said.

Securitize has partnered with firms such as BlackRock to tokenize real-world assets, including U.S. Treasury funds. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, launched in 2024, now holds over $2.2 billion in assets, making it the largest tokenized Treasury fund on the market.

Ondo Finance, which also focuses on tokenized Treasuries and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has about $2 billion in total value locked (TVL) according to data from rwa.xzy. Min Lin, Ondo’s managing director of global expansion, said tokenized Treasuries today are a fraction of the potential market.

Both speakers stressed that the next phase of tokenization will be driven by what users can actually do with tokenized assets. Ondo recently enabled tokenized stocks and ETFs to be used as margin collateral in DeFi perpetuals — a first, Lin said.

“That brings a lot more capital efficiency in terms of the utility of those tokenized assets,” he added.

Ferguson agreed, arguing that technological advantages like programmable compliance and fast settlement aren’t enough on their own. “Utility is absolutely far and away number one,” he said. “That’s what will drive the next phase.”

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) spent years marketing itself as being governed by decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) that would have oversight over many parts of the product, including “the addition and removal of merchants and custodians.”

Its whitepaper claimed that “signatures are required from DAO members in order to add/remove members.”

Even as recently as a few months ago, WBTC has continued to emphasize that it “operates through a DAO.”

However, this supposed role of the WBTC DAO hasn’t always been respected.

HTX, formerly Huobi, was added as a merchant, the product’s term for an entity who can initiate mints and burns of WBTC, however, it was not approved by the DAO members listed on the Github, but a different set of signers from a different multisignature wallet.

A review of the smart contract reveals that 0xbE6d2444a717767544a8b0Ba77833AA6519D81cD is one of the merchants returned by the “getMerchants” function.

The Uniswap price spiked after securing a major deal with Securitize, BlackRock’s partner. 

Uniswap (UNI) token jumped to a high of $4.57, its highest point since January 29, and 62% above its lowest level this year. It then pulled back to $3.7 at press time. It remains 68% below its 2025 peak.

UNI price jumped after a major deal between Uniswap and Securitize, a company that offers real-world asset tokenization. The partnership will see the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) available on UniswapX. 

As a result, on-chain trading for BUIDL will now be possible, unlocking liquidity options for BUIDL holders. It aims to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance. In a statement, Hayden Adams, Uniswap Labs founder and CEO said:

“Enabling BUIDL on UniswapX with BlackRock and Securitize supercharges our mission by creating efficient markets, better liquidity, and faster settlement. I’m excited to see what we build together.”

The partnership came at a time when Uniswap is facing major headwinds, including the soaring competition from other DEX networks like PancakeSwap and Raydiu. Most of the competition is coming from perpetual DEX networks like Hyperliquid, edgeX, Lighter, and Aster.

For example, data compiled by DeFi Llama shows that Uniswap handled over $60 billion in volume in January, much lower than the October high of $123 billion. Its fees dropped to $58 million from the October high of $132 million.

On the other hand, Hyperliquid’s volume in January stood at over $208 billion, while its fees was $78 million. Aster and Lighter are handling more volume than Uniswap as demand for decentralized perpetual futures rise.

UNI price prediction: Technical analysis

The daily timeframe chart shows that the UNI crypto price has been in a strong downward trend in the past few months. It dropped from a high of $12.30 in August to a low of $2.80 this month.

The coin rebounded and retested the important resistance level at $4.55 after the BlackRock announcement. This price was important as it coincides with the neckline of the head-and-shoulders chart pattern that formed between April and January this year.

Therefore, there are signs that the coin has formed a break-and-retest pattern, a common continuation sign in technical analysis. This pattern often leads to a continuation, meaning the downward trend will resume as the crypto market crash continues.

Bitcoin, the trailblazer of the crypto markets, extended a three-day retreat after failing to sustain a breakthrough above $70,000, briefly slipping under $66,000 during the New York session. The move comes as liquidity in spot markets appears thinner, with on-chain signals pointing to the possibility that selling pressure on dominant venue Binance is guiding the short-term trajectory. While the setup has drawn comparisons to prior pullbacks, the current dynamics show subdued US participation and a reluctance among traders to redeploy capital at current levels. Investors are watching whether the price can establish a more durable bottom or if the weakness spills into the broader risk-on spectrum, given the sensitivity of Bitcoin to macro risk sentiment, ETF flows, and spot demand signals.

Key takeaways

• The Coinbase premium index has dipped below zero, signaling muted US spot demand at current price levels.
• Cumulative volume delta (CVD) on Binance has remained negative, underscoring persistent net selling pressure rather than accumulation.
• The 30-day new money flow has flipped to negative territory, around –$2.8 billion, suggesting weaker fresh capital entering the market.
• Open interest has declined to about $17.6 billion, indicating a unwind of leverage rather than new long exposure.
• The “young supply” metric (coins moved in the last 0–1 month) has cooled to roughly 13%, pointing to thinner speculative participation compared with prior rallies.

Tickers mentioned: $BTC

Sentiment: Bearish

Price impact: Negative. The failure to sustain above $70,000 and the renewed downside move below $66,000 reflect renewed selling pressure and a cautious posture among traders.

Trading idea (Not Financial Advice): Hold. The lack of robust spot demand and waning open interest suggest patience until on-chain signals and price action align for a nearer-term reversal.

Market context: The current pullback follows a period of net selling pressure on Binance with a subdued US participation backdrop, as the Coinbase premium remains negative and on-chain metrics trend softer than in prior upswings.

Why it matters

The latest data paints a picture of a market that is trading with caution rather than enthusiasm. Bitcoin’s price action near the $66,000 level coincides with several on-chain indicators that have historically presaged slower bullish inflows rather than renewed buying interest. The negative CVD on Binance, coupled with a muted Coinbase premium, suggests that spot-led demand—the fuel for a sustained upmove—has cooled at these price levels. In practical terms, the market is testing whether investors will step in at lower levels or if the liquidity tap remains largely off, complicating any attempt to stage a durable rally in the near term.

From a leverage perspective, the steady decline in open interest implies that traders are closing positions rather than initiating new long bets. This is important because it signals a risk-tolerant environment is not currently driving new exposures; instead, participants are digesting the recent price action and awaiting clearer catalysts. The combined effect of shrinking leverage and muted new money flow reduces the odds of a rapid, self-sustaining rebound in Bitcoin prices without a shift in the broader liquidity backdrop or a fresh wave of buying momentum from major players.

Looking at the supply-side signals, the “young supply” share has cooled toward the lower end of its range, suggesting a lull in speculative participation from newer entrants. When the youth supply shrinks, it often accompanies a lack of capitulation-driven liquidity rather than the exuberance seen in stronger uptrends. In the current context, the market atmosphere resembles a phase of consolidation with a cautious tilt, rather than a momentum-driven breakout. The data also underlines the interplay between spot demand and the efficiency of price discovery in a market where futures and ETFs can influence the pace and direction of moves, even as spot liquidity remains fragile.

For readers tracking cross-corridors of influence, the ongoing discussion around spot Bitcoin ETFs and their inflows remains relevant. Related reporting has highlighted that spot Bitcoin ETFs added significant inflows recently, underscoring how new vehicles can alter risk appetite and liquidity dynamics even as spot markets grapple with a cooler demand cycle. This backdrop reinforces the notion that any sustained upside will likely hinge on a combination of improved on-chain demand, favorable macro conditions, and constructive ETF or futures flows that re-energize liquidity in the ecosystem.

Additional on-chain context comes from CryptoQuant data, which continues to emphasize the absence of robust spot demand below the $70,000 threshold. The 30-day money flow is negative, hovering near –$2.8 billion, with daily readings around the mid-to-high single-digit hundreds of millions of dollars in the red. In this environment, weaker inflows reduce the likelihood of a fast-paced re-acceleration, even as the market eyes any sign of a structural shift or a change in the ratio of bids to asks that could spark renewed buying interest.

All told, the market appears to be navigating a transitional phase: price discovery is proceeding in a backdrop of thinning liquidity, a cautious stance among buyers, and on-chain signals that favor restraint over aggression. While some traders will remain hopeful for a fast revival, others may choose to observe the next few sessions for clearer confirmation that demand is returning with conviction, not merely oscillating around a key price threshold.

Related: Spot Bitcoin ETFs add $167M, nearly erase last week’s outflows

CryptoQuant data further reinforces the lack of spot demand below $70,000. The 30-day cumulative new money flow has turned negative, near -$2.8 billion, while recent daily readings remain subdued around -$239 million. Unlike prior uptrends where price pullbacks drew meaningful inflows, the current price slide has not sparked a corresponding surge of capital into the market.

The “young supply” share (0–1 month), which tracks coins moved recently, has also cooled toward the lower end of its recent range, hovering near 13%. This pattern points to reduced speculative participation from newer traders, a characteristic frequently observed before the formation of a new base rather than during a fresh leg higher. Strong rallies in the past have been accompanied by rising young supply, expanding capital inflows, and increasing open interest—none of which are evident in the current phase, adding to the cautioned tone around near-term price prospects.

Related: Rare Bitcoin signal flashes: Will a 220percent BTC price rally follow?

TLDR:

• Gold’s 427% rally since 2016 enters the same zone where previous decade-long super runs peaked in 1980 and 2011. 
• Historical pattern shows gold consolidates for years after peaks while capital rotates into stocks for extended rallies. 
• Cryptocurrency now provides institutional alternative for capital rotation that didn’t exist during previous gold cycles. 
• Combination of cooling inflation, rising real rates, and Fed tightening typically signals end of gold super runs.

Gold has reached a price level that historically marks the end of major bull runs. The precious metal recently hit a cycle high near $5,600, reflecting a 427% gain since 2016.

Market analysts now compare current conditions to previous decade-long rallies that ended in 1980 and 2011. The pattern suggests a potential rotation of capital into other asset classes.

However, this cycle introduces a new variable with crypto markets now positioned as institutional investments.

Historical Super Runs Follow Consistent Decade Pattern

Gold moves in extended bull markets that typically last nine to ten years. The 1970 to 1980 rally delivered returns of 2,403% before peaking.

Another super run from 2001 to 2011 generated 655% gains. The current 2016 to 2026 cycle has produced 427% returns so far.

These prolonged trends don’t continue indefinitely, according to market data. Instead, gold runs hard for approximately a decade before entering extended consolidation periods.

After reaching peaks, the metal often trades sideways or declines for years. The pattern has repeated across different economic environments and policy regimes.

Bull Theory noted on social media that gold just entered the same zone where every major bull run historically ended. The observation points to technical and fundamental factors aligning with previous market tops.

Yet a new high alone doesn’t confirm a peak has formed. The current position simply indicates the rally is no longer in early stages.

Several factors typically combine to end gold super runs. Inflation cooling and real rates moving higher create headwinds for the metal.

Federal Reserve tightening policies reduce speculative demand. Dollar stabilization removes currency-driven buying pressure. Risk appetite returning to markets pulls capital toward growth assets.

Crypto Emerges as New Rotation Destination

Previous gold peaks in 1980 and 2011 triggered capital flows into equities. After the 1980 top, stocks entered a two-decade bull market.

The 2011 peak preceded another extended equity rally through the 2010s. Gold cooled while stock markets absorbed investment capital seeking returns.

The current cycle presents a different landscape compared to earlier periods. Cryptocurrency markets have matured into institutional asset classes with regulated exchange-traded funds.

Public companies now hold Bitcoin on balance sheets. The investor base has expanded beyond retail traders to include pension funds and corporate treasuries.

This development changes the traditional rotation pattern that followed gold peaks. Capital flowing out of precious metals now has multiple destinations.

Instead of moving solely into stocks, funds can allocate to Bitcoin and digital assets. Crypto represents the risk-on component that didn’t exist in previous cycles.

The potential shift could reshape how bull markets unfold across asset classes. If gold enters a consolidation phase similar to past patterns, both stocks and crypto may benefit.

Bitcoin’s role as a high-beta growth asset positions it to capture speculative capital. The combination of established equities and emerging digital markets creates broader opportunities for portfolio allocation.

Ondo Global Markets has announced a strategic partnership with Chainlink, adopting Chainlink Data Feeds as its official oracle solution to enhance onchain pricing for its tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs.

Chainlink’s decentralized oracle networks will enable smart contracts on Ondo’s platform to securely interact with external data sources, ensuring accurate and reliable pricing information for tokenized assets such as SPYon, QQQon, and TSLAon. These feeds are now live and are already securing DeFi applications like Euler, allowing users to borrow stablecoins against tokenized stocks and ETFs used as collateral.

Tokenized securities can now be securely and reliably used as productive DeFi collateral, including within lending markets, vaults, and structured products—all backed by institutional-grade market data powered by Chainlink.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

Ripple has announced a new partnership with Aviva Investors, marking a significant step toward the tokenization of traditional financial assets on the XRP Ledger. This partnership will bring the benefits of tokenized fund structures to the UK investment sector. Ripple’s collaboration with Aviva Investors highlights the growing momentum behind the tokenization of markets and the expanding use of blockchain technology in traditional finance.

Ripple Partners with Aviva Investors for Tokenized Fund Structures

Ripple has teamed up with Aviva Investors, a key asset manager in the UK, to bring traditional financial assets onto the XRP Ledger. This collaboration represents a strategic move to expand Ripple’s efforts in the tokenization space. Both parties aim to bring technological efficiencies to the investment sector by developing tokenized fund structures.

Ripple has been at the forefront of blockchain and digital asset innovation, with the XRP Ledger having processed over four billion transactions since 2012. It currently operates with more than seven million active wallets and 120 individual validators. This marks Ripple’s first partnership with an asset manager in the UK, as it seeks to integrate regulated financial assets into its blockchain ecosystem.

We’re thrilled to announce that @Ripple is partnering with Aviva Investors to bring traditional fund structures to the XRP Ledger. This marks our first collaboration with a European investment management firm to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs) at scale.

By leveraging the…

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— Reece Merrick (@reece_merrick) February 11, 2026

The partnership is set to enable Aviva Investors to debut tokenized financial products using Ripple’s blockchain technology. The collaboration promises to enhance both time and cost efficiency in the investment process. Ripple’s involvement in tokenization is part of a broader strategy to institutionalize blockchain-based financial solutions, adding to its existing portfolio of global partnerships with firms like BNY Mellon and American Express.

Ripple’s Continued Focus on Institutional Tokenization

Ripple has been building on its vision to offer institutional-grade tokenization solutions on the XRP Ledger. The firm’s recent roadmap emphasized its commitment to expanding the adoption of tokenized assets, aiming to enhance liquidity and operational efficiency across financial markets. This partnership with Aviva Investors is part of Ripple’s ongoing efforts to integrate traditional finance with blockchain technology.

Aviva Investors shares Ripple’s enthusiasm for the potential of tokenization in transforming financial markets. According to Nigel Khakoo, Vice President of Trading and Markets, the development of tokenized fund structures can bring substantial technological advancements to the investment sector. Tokenization, he explained, could lead to greater scalability for regulated financial assets.

Ripple’s tokenization efforts have already made waves in other industries. The company has recently provided custody services for Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt’s initiative to tokenize over $280 million in polished diamonds. Ripple’s expanding focus on tokenization is poised to reshape how financial assets are managed and traded on blockchain platforms.

Ripple’s Commitment to XRP as the Core Asset

Despite its expanding ventures into tokenization and other blockchain technologies, Ripple remains committed to XRP as its core asset. CEO Brad Garlinghouse reaffirmed that XRP continues to be the company’s top priority. This statement follows speculation that Ripple might be shifting its focus toward its stablecoin, RLUSD, particularly in light of its recent partnership with Zand Bank in the UAE.

Ripple’s dedication to XRP is evident in its significant investment in the digital asset’s future. The company has established a $1 billion treasury project for XRP, signaling its long-term vision for the coin. While Ripple continues to innovate in the blockchain space, it remains focused on the continued growth and utility of XRP within its ecosystem.

As Ripple forges ahead with its strategic initiatives, its commitment to XRP serves as the foundation for its broader ambitions. The firm’s ongoing efforts to integrate traditional financial assets onto blockchain platforms further highlight XRP’s potential in the future of global finance.

Cambodian police have reportedly dismantled yet another scam operation, this time detaining 800 scammers operating from the Xinli Casino in southern Cambodia.

Local media reports that police discovered the hundreds of scammers nestled on the 18th and 19th floors of the casino, located in the coastal city of Sihanoukville.

They detained 800 individuals whose nationalities include Chinese, American, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Indian, and Khmer nationals. Police reportedly seized 650 computers and 1,000 mobile phones.

The latest raid adds to the country’s tally of 200 scam center busts its carried out this year.

Read more: Cambodian scam rings facing disruption since kingpin’s arrest

The senior minister for Cambodia’s Commission for Combating Online Scams, Chhay Sinarith, told the publication that 11,000 scam workers have been deported and 173 top crime figures have been arrested since Cambodia began its crackdown campaign late last year. 

Earlier this week, officials granted Reuters access to another compound in Kampot known as “My Casino.”

Around 7,000 workers reportedly fled the compound after its owner, casino tycoon Ly Kuong, was arrested last month. Police claim they weren’t able arrest any fleeing workers. 

Kampot’s Chief of Police, Mao Chanmothurith, told reporters that the entire province only has 1,000 policemen and 300 military policemen and that “even with both forces combined, we still can’t stop them because there were about 6,000 to 7,000 of them.”

Read more: China executes four more in pig butchering scam crackdown

These compounds are often full of trafficked victims who are forced to carry out cryptocurrency scams, including so-called “pig-butchering.”

Cambodia scam compounds are in disarray

Last year, the US indicted the alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi. He runs the Prince Group and is accused of stealing billions of dollars from victims via an international scam network. 

Chen was arrested last month and extradited to China, which has executed a number of scam kingpins since the start of the year.

His arrest threw many scam compounds into disarray, forcing thousands of workers flee and leading to what Amnesty International claims is a “humanitarian crisis.”

Reuters notes how Cambodia has been lax with these scam operations in the past, but stepped up its enforcement after international pressure from the US and China.

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