• AXS jumps over 15% after bouncing off $1.20 support amid rising trading activity.
• bAXS rollout and higher volume fuel rally, but broader market sentiment stays weak.
• Failure above $1.60 may signal a dead cat bounce, with downside risk toward $0.80.

Gaming token Axie Infinity is up by more than 15% in the past 24 hours as bulls show a notable bounce off the $1.20 support level.

The AXS price ticked up amid heightened trader activity, with the intraday surge pushing the cryptocurrency towards the top 100 by market capitalization.

However, with sentiment across the market still fragile, the big question is whether the upward move signals renewed bullish momentum or merely a fleeting “dead cat bounce”.

Why is Axie Infinity price up today?

AXS is among the top altcoin gainers with double-digit advances on February 9, 2026, posting gains that outpace all top 10 coins by market cap.

This outperformance coincides with Bitcoin’s steady hold above $70,000, bolstered by fresh institutional buying such as Binance’s acquisition of 4,225 BTC as it looks to convert its $1 billion SAFU Fund into BTC.

While the buying, much like Strategy’s (formerly known as MicoStrategy) BTC purchase over the past weeks, has not triggered bulls, stability has benefited small altcoins.

Notably, trader interest in AXS has also spiked following recent announcements from Sky Mavis, the developer behind Axie Infinity, regarding the rollout of bAXS.

The token offers in-ecosystem utility as well as staking and gameplay rewards, and bulls have shown excitement since the news.

What is bAXS and what can you do with it?

bAXS will do the same things as AXS: Use it to ascend, evolve, and breed axies.

Advertisement

Spend it in-game, forge new items on App.axie, and more.

Over time, we’ll also distribute most rewards in bAXS.

The difference between both tokens is… pic.twitter.com/X8kcpNTlGf

— Axie Infinity (@AxieInfinity) February 5, 2026

Advertisement

Axie Infinity price outlook: Momentum or dead cat bounce?

AXS recently surged to highs near $3 earlier in the year, before plummeting sharply amid last week’s market bloodbath.

The intraday gains of over 15% has therefore emboldened bulls, who targeted strength above $1.50.

Accompanied by a 250% spike in trading volume, AXS rose to above $1.56 as of writing.

The 4-hour chart shows a potential falling wedge breakout, with the RSI and MACD signaling room for more gains.

However, the broader crypto market remains mired in bearish sentiment.

Weakness, despite the impending bAXS airdrop, also saw bears retest the downtrend line from above $4.54.

Losses may mean fleeting gains or what analysts call a “dead cat bounce” scenario.

The outlook of the RSI on the 4-hour chart suggests fresh selling may strengthen this prospect.

In this case, a breakdown below the pivotal $1.20 support could accelerate downside momentum, potentially driving AXS toward lows of $0.80.

Prior accumulation zones sit here and might offer relief.

On the downside, a decisive close above $1.60 could invalidate the short-term bearish setup and allow buyers to test horizontal resistance near $3.00.

Two crypto users lost $12.25 million and $50 million after copying incorrect wallet addresses.

In January, a crypto user lost $12.25 million by copying the wrong wallet address. In December as well, another one ended up losing $50 million in a similar way.

Together, the two incidents cost $62 million, according to the popular Web3 security solution, Scam Sniffer.

Crypto Blunders

Signature phishing attacks also surged in January. In fact, Scam Sniffer found that $6.27 million was stolen from 4,741 victims, which is a 207% increase from December. The largest cases involved $3.02 million from SLVon and XAUt via permit/increaseAllowance, and $1.08 million from aEthLBTC via permit.

Two wallets alone accounted for 65% of all phishing losses.

Address poisoning is a scam where attackers send small transactions from wallet addresses that closely resemble real ones, hoping users copy the wrong address from their transaction history. This can lead to funds being sent directly to scammers by mistake. Signature phishing further increases the risk by tricking users into signing malicious approvals that give attackers permission to move funds later. As such, these tactics rely on social engineering and human error, and may make even experienced users vulnerable.

In November last year, a crypto holder lost over $3 million worth of PYTH tokens after mistakenly sending funds to a scammer’s wallet. The error occurred when the victim copied a fake deposit address from their transaction history.

Blockchain analysts at Lookonchain said the attacker created a lookalike address matching the first four characters of the real wallet and sent a tiny SOL transaction to appear legitimate. The victim later transferred 7 million PYTH tokens without fully verifying the address and fell victim to an address poisoning attack. The transferred stash was worth about $3.08 million at that time.

You may also like:

Coordinated Multisig Scam Attempt

Amidst the growing frequency of such attacks, the non-custodial wallet, Safe, formerly known as Gnosis Safe, also issued a warning for its users about a large-scale address poisoning and social engineering campaign targeting multisig wallets. According to the platform, attackers created thousands of lookalike Safe addresses to trick users into sending funds to the wrong destination. It disclosed that the incident was not a protocol exploit, infrastructure breach, or smart contract vulnerability.

Safe identified around 5,000 malicious addresses, which have now been flagged and removed from the Safe Wallet interface to reduce the risk of accidental fund transfers.

Speaking on CoinDesk Live at the Ondo Summit in New York City, former House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry and White House advisor Patrick Witt said a sweeping crypto market structure bill could pass within months.

Latest developments: Optimism is rising across Washington and industry.

• McHenry and Witt discussed the growing momentum for landmark crypto legislation, even as debates intensify over yield, DeFi, and ethics.
• McHenry predicted a finalized market structure bill could reach the president’s desk by Memorial Day.
• Witt said President Trump has personally prioritized the legislation following passage of the Genius Act.

Inside the White House push: Negotiations are narrowing.

• Witt said a recent White House–brokered meeting on stablecoin yield surfaced “new areas of agreement” while clearly defining remaining red lines.
• He said the administration’s goal is to move from high-level principles to drafting actual legislative language.
• Witt emphasized his role is to broker a deal that can survive both Senate and House scrutiny.

The sticking point: Stablecoin yield is the biggest unresolved issue.

• Witt said there is broad agreement on banning deceptive practices, including marketing stablecoins as FDIC-insured deposits.
• The dispute centers on whether centralized exchanges should be allowed to pay passive yield on idle stablecoin balances.
• Banks, especially community lenders, see yield as a threat to deposit funding, while crypto firms argue yield drives platform engagement.

Why DeFi matters: McHenry says it’s foundational.

• McHenry said market structure legislation “doesn’t work without DeFi.”
• He argued decentralization is the source of crypto’s efficiency, transparency and lower costs compared with traditional finance.
• McHenry said tokenized lending products are already cheaper than traditional securities lending, signaling strong market demand.

The politics: Ethics concerns loom but may not block passage.

• McHenry said ethics rules should apply permanently to all officials, not target any single administration or family.
• Witt said some Democratic proposals would have imposed sweeping restrictions on officials’ spouses and were “grossly over-scoped.”
• Both said a narrower ethics compromise could still unlock bipartisan support, though Republicans could move the bill forward on partisan votes if needed.

What comes next: A compressed legislative timeline.

• Witt said drafting teams are now “trading paper” and working through specific statutory language.
• He said the White House is pushing banks and crypto firms to negotiate in good faith.
• McHenry said Senate action could come before Easter, setting up a rapid sprint toward final passage.

Watch CoinDesk Live from Ondo Summit here.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $70,000 as traders attempt to stabilize price action following the sharp sell-off last Friday, which briefly pushed BTC below $60,000 and erased nearly $10,000 in a single session.

Onchain data shows long-term holders (LTHs) reduced exposure at the fastest pace since December 2024, but the total supply held by long-term investors continued to rise in 2026, a divergence that may indicate traders repositioning and what may prove to be discounted Bitcoin.

Key takeaways:

• Bitcoin long-term holders recorded a –245,000 BTC net position change last week, the largest daily outflow since December 2024.

• Despite selling, LTH supply rose to 13.81 million from 13.63 million BTC in 2026, showing investors believe the sell-off generated discounted buying opportunities.

Bitcoin distribution rises, but supply continues to age

Glassnode data shows that the BTC LTH net-position change over 30 days reduced exposure by 245,000 BTC last Thursday, marking a cycle-relative extreme in daily distribution. Similar spikes in LTH net position change appeared during the corrective phases in 2019 and mid-2021, when prices consolidated rather than transitioning into downtrends.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant data shows total LTH supply increased to 13.81 million from 13.63 million BTC in 2026, despite the ongoing distribution. This divergence reflects the time-based nature of LTH classification. 

As the short-term holders reduce trading activity during periods of uncertainty, supply continues to age into long-term status. As a result, the LTH supply can rise even while older cohorts sell.

The long-term holder spent-output profit ratio (SOPR) regained a position above 1 on Monday, signaling recovery after a period of realized losses. With Bitcoin above the overall realized price of $55,000, this condition may be aligned with a base or bottom building phase. 

Related: Bitcoin whales took advantage of $60K price dip, scooping up 40K BTC

Macro conditions continue to dominate near-term risk

Macroeconomic factors may remain the main driver of near-term volatility, with January U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due Wednesday amid elevated policy uncertainty.

Markets currently assign 82.2% odds of no rate cut at the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, according to CME FedWatch, reflecting persistent inflation pressure and a restrictive policy outlook.

Uncertainty around Kevin Warsh’s anticipated appointment as the US Federal Reserve chair has added pressure to risk assets. Elevated treasury yields and tight financial conditions continue to pressure risk assets, with the US 10-year yield holding near multi-month highs of 4.22% and credit spreads remaining compressed. Periods of high real yields have coincided with lower crypto liquidity and muted BTC spot demand.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) has dropped below 97 on Monday, after rebounding from January lows, remaining a key source of volatility for Bitcoin.

Related: BTC traders wait for $50K bottom: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week