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Decentralized AI is in a trough but real opportunities are emerging, crypto VCs say

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Decentralized AI is in a trough but real opportunities are emerging, crypto VCs say

The intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) has entered a quieter, more selective phase, according to two prominent venture capitalists.

Anand Iyer of Canonical Crypto and Kelvin Koh of Spartan Group described the current climate as a post-hype moment for decentralized AI protocols, with capital and talent shifting toward more focused, utility-driven applications during Consensus Hong Kong 2026.

“I think we’re in the trough right now,” said Iyer, whose San Francisco-based firm backs early-stage infrastructure and applications built on decentralized networks. “We went through a frothy period. Now it’s about figuring out where the real strength lies.”

Both Iyer and Koh criticized what they see as overinvestment in GPU marketplaces and attempts to build decentralized alternatives to large AI models like those from OpenAI or Anthropic. The capital required, Koh noted, is “night and day” compared to what’s available in crypto.

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Instead, they see potential in purpose-built, full-stack solutions, tools that start with a specific problem and build down to the model, compute, and data layers.

Iyer pointed to startups skipping expensive SaaS tools and using AI to build custom internal systems in days. “Speculation won’t drive product anymore,” he said. “We have to think about users first.”

Both investors emphasized the importance of proprietary data, regulatory advantages, or go-to-market edges as new forms of competitive moats.

For founders looking to raise capital, Koh offered blunt advice: “Twelve months ago, it was enough to have a wrapper on ChatGPT. That’s no longer true.”

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Crypto World

Arbitrum price forecast: what’s next amid 45% ARB downturn?

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Arbitrum ARB Token Symbol
Arbitrum ARB Token Symbol
  • 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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

Arbitrum Price Chart
ARB price chart by TradingView

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.

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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.

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BlockFills halts withdrawals, restricts trading, according to reports

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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.

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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.

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Silver Price Stabilises | Market Pulse

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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.

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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.

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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.

Start trading commodity CFDs with tight spreads (additional fees may apply). Open your trading account now or learn more about trading commodity CFDs with FXOpen.

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This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

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Bitcoin Fails To Pass $69,000 In A US Nonfarm Payrolls Reaction

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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.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

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

US civilian unemployment data. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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.

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Precious metals also saw uncertain price action, with gold hitting new February highs before giving back gains to target $5,000 support.

XAU/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

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.”

Fed target rate probabilities for March FOMC meeting (screenshot). Source: CME Group

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.

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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.”

BTC/USDT perpetual contract one-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

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.”

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“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.”

BTC/USD 2022 chart fractal. Source: Jelle/X