IoTeX reported containing a hack with losses around $2 million, disputing on-chain analyst estimates placing the theft at $4.3 million.

The blockchain platform stated it coordinated with exchanges and law enforcement to freeze stolen funds following what it called a “long-planned attack by professional actors targeting multiple chains.”

On-chain analyst Specter posted that IoTeX’s private key may have been compromised, resulting in multiple contract assets being drained including USDC, USDT, IOTX, PAYG, WBTC, and BUSD.

The attacker swapped stolen assets for ETH and bridged 45 ETH to Bitcoin, while also minting 111 million CIOTEX tokens.

IoTeX said chain operations and deposits will resume in 24-48 hours after security upgrades are finalized.

IoTeX disputes $4.3M loss estimate with $2M confirmation

IoTeX’s initial statement acknowledged “suspicious activity involving an IoTeX token safe” and noted that “potential loss is lower than circulating rumors suggest.”

The team said it coordinated with major exchanges and security partners actively assisting in tracing and freezing the attacker’s assets.

The updated statement confirmed “the exploit impact is around $2M USD (including USDC, USDT, IOTX, and WBTC).”

Specter’s analysis showed the attacker drained multiple contract assets and executed a multi-step laundering process.

Stolen funds were swapped for ETH, with at least 45 ETH bridged to Bitcoin where tracing becomes more difficult. The minting of 111 million CIOTEX tokens shows the attacker gained control over token issuance functions.

Chain secured with 24-48 hour downtime for upgrades

IoTeX suspended chain operations following the discovery. “Our team has contained the situation and the IoTeX chain is being secured,” the platform announced.

Deposits and normal operations will resume within 24-48 hours pending completion of security upgrades.

The team works with law enforcement to investigate and recover funds. IoTeX also committed to transparent updates as the situation develops.

Ever notice how the biggest opportunities show up when most people are too scared to look? That is exactly what is happening in crypto right now.

Robinhood just launched a blockchain testnet that processed 4 million transactions in its first week. Traditional finance is building deeper into crypto, not pulling back. At the same time, roughly $1 trillion was wiped from total crypto capitalization over recent months.

This disconnect between institutional building and retail fear creates a rare setup. And one presale is catching both crowds.

Pepeto: Investors Migrate for Utility and Explosive Upside

Traders and investors are actively moving toward projects that deliver actual usable tools instead of flashy promises. And Pepeto is at the center of that shift.

While most tokens fight to regain any kind of momentum in today’s volatile market, Pepeto offers something almost nobody else does at this stage: three working demo products. A cross chain swap, a bridge, and an exchange. Not concepts. Not wireframes. Working technology backed by dual audits from SolidProof and Coinsult.

Among these tools, the cross chain bridge stands out. Investors can move assets between blockchains without centralized intermediaries. That infrastructure turns Pepeto from a meme coin into something that could power an entire trading ecosystem.

Remember Pepecoin? It went from nothing to a $7 billion market cap. Zero products. Zero audits. Now imagine the same meme power plus working technology and a connection to the original Pepe cofounder.

Pepeto has raised over $7.258M so far at a price of $0.000000185. The presale is over 70% filled. The tokenomics carry a 0% buy and sell tax. And staking at 212% APY means a $20,000 position would generate roughly $42,400 in annual staking rewards.

But here is what really matters for investors thinking bigger. Staking is a holding bonus. The real play is what happens to your position when listings hit. If Pepeto captures even a sliver of the meme coin market that turned PEPE into a multi billion dollar token, the math on a 100x to 300x return is not wishful thinking. It is pattern recognition.

By providing real utility during a period of peak fear, Pepeto positions early investors to benefit from both adoption driven growth and price surges once market conditions flip. The presale window will not stay open much longer.

Avalanche Teases Recovery as AVAX Pushes Above $9

AVAX pushed above $9 this week, climbing from $8.63 to roughly $9.34 by February 20. Not a dramatic surge, but it hints at traders testing the waters after heavy selling.

Solana Investors Eye $100 as SOL Consolidates Around $86

Solana rose modestly from $84 to $86 as it consolidates. A push toward $100 is on investors’ radar. Many are balancing SOL positions with early stage projects offering working tools, which is why Pepeto is drawing attention.

Conclusion

While the altcoin market searches for its footing, capital is flowing toward projects that prove they can deliver. That is where Pepeto stands out. Three demo products live. Dual audits complete. A community growing fast enough to remind you of the early days of every meme coin that went on to create millionaires.

In a market that rewards function over speculation, the presale window at $0.000000185 will not last. Act while it is still open.

Visit the official website to buy into the Pepeto Presale now, and visit X for the latest community updates.

FAQs

Why is Pepeto gaining traction while bigger tokens struggle? Pepeto combines meme coin energy with working infrastructure: a swap, bridge, and exchange. That mix of culture and utility is drawing investors away from tokens that only offer speculation.

How do Pepeto’s demo products work for presale buyers? Presale participants can test the cross chain swap, bridge, and exchange demos. This gives buyers a hands on look at the technology before full public launch.

Is the 212% staking APY the main reason to invest? Staking is a holding bonus, not the primary thesis. The real opportunity is the potential price multiple when Pepeto lists on exchanges and captures meme coin market share.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

TLDR:

• STRC faces a major tailwind as U.S. money market funds lose $233.7 billion annually from a projected 300bps rate drop
  
• STRC pays 11.25% annually with $2.25 billion in cash reserves covering over 2.5 years of dividends at 5.6x overcollateralization
  
• A 0.5% rotation from money markets into STRC could generate $2–$4 billion, funding the purchase of up to 80,000 Bitcoin
  
• Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings could grow 13%–34% if STRC scales to $10–$20 billion in notional value by the year 2028

STRC, Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, is drawing growing institutional attention as the Federal Reserve advances its rate-cutting cycle into 2026.

U.S. money market funds now hold $7.79 trillion, currently yielding between 4.5% and 5%. Analysts project yields on those funds could fall by 300 basis points.

That drop could push hundreds of billions toward high-yield alternatives. Trading near $100 par on Nasdaq and paying 11.25% annually, STRC stands positioned at that crossroads.

Fed Rate Cuts Threaten Hundreds of Billions in Annual Income

U.S. money market fund yields remain elevated from the prior rate-hiking cycle. However, the Fed has already moved 125 basis points into the current easing cycle, with markets pricing in another 75–100 basis points ahead.

Analysts expect front-end yields to compress toward 1%–2%, replicating the post-2008 and 2020 patterns.

A 300-basis-point decline across $7.79 trillion in money market assets equals roughly $233.7 billion in lost annual income.

Pensions, insurers, and corporate treasuries cannot simply absorb that loss. They are historically known to pursue higher-yielding alternatives when safe returns erode.

EPFR and McKinsey data indicate that for every 100-basis-point drop in short-term rates, alternative and high-yield vehicles see 10%–20% accelerated inflows within 12–18 months.

A 5%–10% rotation out of money markets alone could direct $390–$780 billion toward private credit, listed preferred stocks, and similar instruments.

STRC Positioned to Capture Institutional Yield Demand

STRC currently trades at $99.82 with an effective annual yield of 11.27%, paying dividends every month. Its notional value already stands at $3.458 billion. Average daily trading volume runs at approximately $128 million, reflecting growing market participation.

Analyst Adam Livingston wrote on X: “STRC sits at the perfect nexus because it’s liquid, high-yield, and structurally engineered to vacuum up the dumbest, most desperate money on Earth.”

He added that Strategy holds $2.25 billion in cash reserves, covering more than 2.5 years of dividends at 5.6 times overcollateralization.

If only 0.5% of projected capital rotation flows into STRC, that equals $2–$4 billion in new capital. At $100 par, that creates 20–40 million new shares issued. Proceeds from those shares go directly toward Strategy’s Bitcoin acquisition program.

Bitcoin Supply Could Face Pressure from STRC’s Expansion

Each $1 billion raised through STRC issuance allows Strategy to purchase approximately 14,700 Bitcoin at a $68,000 spot price.

A $4 billion capital inflow translates to roughly 58,800–80,000 additional Bitcoin removed from the open market.

Strategy currently holds 717,000 BTC. Analysts project STRC could scale to $10–$20 billion in notional value by 2028.

That growth range would add an estimated 95,000–242,000 Bitcoin to Strategy’s treasury, a 13%–34% increase in total holdings.

That accumulated buying would represent 8%–11% of annual Bitcoin issuance. Livingston noted: “Do that at scale and you’re talking supply-shock math that makes ETF inflows look quaint.”

Post-GFC private credit grew more than seven times as rate cuts redirected capital toward yield-bearing alternatives, and Bitcoin compounded sharply during each of those liquidity-driven periods.

The crypto market has retracted most of the gains made during the 2024-2025 pump that kicked off after the 2024 elections in the United States, and has lost about 40% of its value from the peak recorded in October 2025.

The Total3 Market Cap, a metric tracking the market capitalization of the entire crypto market, excluding Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), surged by over 91% immediately following the outcome of the US Presidential election on November 5, reaching a high of $1.16 trillion by December 2024.

For context, the Total3 Market Cap was about $600 billion directly before the 2024 US election pump.

The market then fell to the $900 billion range, with price whipsawing until January 2025, when the Total3 briefly climbed back up to $1.13 trillion on January 18 — two days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

The crypto market continued to trade sideways for much of 2025, but finally hit a new peak of about $1.19 trillion in October 2025, days before a historic market crash broke the structural uptrend of the crypto sector.

The Total3 Market Cap is about $713 billion at the time of publication, around the same level it was on November 10, 2024, with the market showing no signs of a sustained recovery.

Related: Bitcoin most ‘undervalued’ since March 2023 at $20K, BTC price metric shows

Crypto staples like Bitcoin and Ether have also retraced most gains

BTC shed over 50% of its price from peak to trough during the market downturn, falling to a low of about $60,000 before staging a limited recovery to about $68,000.

The price of ETH also plummeted by about 60% from its all-time high of nearly $5,000, reached in August 2025.

Crypto investor sentiment is also sitting at multi-year lows. The Fear and Greed Index, a sentiment tracker, is at 14 at the time of publication, indicating “extreme fear,” according to CoinMarketCap.

The indicator fell to a five on February 5. This is the lowest level recorded by the CoinMarketCap Fear & Greed Index, based on available data.

Magazine: If the crypto bull run is ending… it’s time to buy a Ferrari: Crypto Kid