Tether Investments, the investment arm of the leading stablecoin issuer, has made a strategic investment in LayerZero Labs, which develops an interoperability protocol called LayerZero.

The move is essentially a bet on the technology underpinning USDt0, a blockchain-agnostic version of Tether’s dollar-pegged token that has moved over $70 billion across blockchains in less than a year, according to a press release the company shared.

LayerZero’s infrastructure enables cryptocurrencies to flow across different blockchains without fragmentation or illiquidity. That allows developers building financial tools to rely on stablecoins without getting their funds locked in a single network.

That same architecture also supports more experimental use cases, like AI agents managing their own wallets and sending payments autonomously, in what Tether called “agentic finance.”

Tether’s investment comes on the heels of USDt0’s deployment by Everdawn Labs and is built using LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Alongside their tokenized Tether gold token, XAUt0, the projects are seen as real-world tests of LayerZero’s interoperability framework.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Tether did not reply to a request for comment.

The stablecoin giant has been using the billions it generates from backing USDT tokens in circulation to make a wide range of investments. These include a majority stake in Latin American agricultural firm Adecoagro (AGRO), a privacy-focused health app, and a stake in video-sharing platform Rumble (RUM).

The company has been aggressively accumulating gold, and earlier this month, itbought a $150 million stake in Gold.com to boost the distribution of tokenized gold.

LayerZero’s ZRO token gained as much as 10% on the news, but quickly reversed, now lower by 3% over the past 24 hours.

Editor’s note: This press release examines the market implications of Zara’s recent cultural visibility during the Super Bowl, framing it as more than a one-off branding moment. Through commentary from an eToro market analyst, the announcement explores how global consumer brands are redefining value by prioritizing cultural relevance, accessibility, and identity over traditional luxury signals like exclusivity and price. While rooted in fashion and consumer culture, the analysis connects directly to long-term brand positioning, investor perception, and how intangible assets such as narrative and cultural alignment can shape competitive advantage over time.

Key points

• Zara’s Super Bowl moment is positioned as a strategic signal, not a traditional advertising play.
• The brand is increasingly framed as “accessible luxury” rather than fast fashion.
• Cultural embedding is highlighted as a form of earned media that reduces marketing dependence.
• Employee inclusion is cited as a source of internal cohesion and intangible capital.
• The growing influence of Hispanic culture is identified as a structural demand driver.

Why this matters

For investors and market observers, the analysis highlights how cultural relevance can reshape long-term brand valuation even when near-term financials remain unchanged. As attention costs rise and consumer identity becomes central to purchasing behavior, companies that successfully shift their perceived category may unlock durable advantages that are not immediately priced in by markets. This dynamic is especially relevant for consumer-facing companies competing across global, demographically diverse markets.

What to watch next

• How Zara’s brand positioning continues to evolve in future cultural moments.
• Whether market perceptions begin to reflect a reclassification beyond fast fashion.
• Signals of sustained alignment with emerging demographic and cultural trends.

Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company/PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – 10 February, 2026: Zara’s appearance on the Super Bowl stage has sparked renewed debate around the evolving definition of luxury, highlighting a broader shift in how global brands compete for cultural relevance, consumer identity, and long-term value.

Commenting on the development, Javier Molina, Market Analyst at eToro, said the moment carries strategic significance beyond its cultural visibility.

What may initially appear as a high-profile cultural moment reflects a deeper change in perceived value hierarchies, where cultural resonance and accessibility increasingly rival traditional notions of exclusivity.

The episode underscores Zara’s ability to generate global relevance without relying on direct advertising expenditure. As the cost of consumer attention continues to rise, embedding the brand within culture has become a powerful source of earned media — supporting brand strength while limiting the need for incremental marketing investment.

More importantly, the moment signals a potential repositioning. Zara is increasingly being viewed beyond the confines of fast fashion, occupying a middle ground best described as accessible or functional luxury. Rather than competing on price or scarcity, the brand is engaging consumers through narrative, identity, and cultural alignment — factors that resonate strongly with younger generations and are structurally difficult for traditional luxury brands to replicate.

There are also internal implications. By placing employees at the centre of the story as recipients of symbolic value rather than passive observers, the brand strengthens cohesion and execution within a business model built on speed, scale, and operational efficiency. This intangible capital can translate into improved performance over time.

Finally, the moment reinforces a broader structural trend shaping Western consumption: the growing influence of Hispanic culture as a driver of both demand and cultural leadership. For Zara, this represents not just visibility, but strategic alignment with the demographic and cultural momentum of its core markets.

From an investment perspective, Molina noted that such cultural shifts may not immediately impact quarterly results, but they play a meaningful role in redefining long-term brand positioning. When a company begins to change the category in which it operates, markets are often slow to fully reflect that transformation — creating potential value over time.

About eToro

eToro is the trading and investing platform that empowers you to invest, share and learn. We were founded in 2007 with the vision of a world where everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way. Today we have 40 million registered users from 75 countries. We believe there is power in shared knowledge and that we can become more successful by investing together. So we’ve created a collaborative investment community designed to provide you with the tools you need to grow your knowledge and wealth. On eToro, you can hold a range of traditional and innovative assets and choose how you invest: trade directly, invest in a portfolio, or copy other investors. You can visit our media centre here for our latest news.

Disclaimers:

eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

eToro is a group of companies that are authorised and regulated in their respective jurisdictions. The regulatory authorities overseeing eToro include:

• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK
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This communication is for information and education purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice, a personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without taking into account any particular recipient’s investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past or future performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as, a reliable indicator of future results. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication.

Is this the new crypto sensation or just another scam?

The cryptocurrency market experienced a severe pullback in the past few weeks, culminating in a sharp crash on February 6.

The meme coin sector was significantly affected by the red wave, and most leading tokens in that niche have posted substantial losses. However, the lesser-known pippin (PIPPIN) defied the carnage and its valuation soared by over 100% in the past week.

Swimming Against the Tide

PIPPIN is a Solana-based meme coin that began trading in late 2024. It is themed around an AI-generated unicorn character named “Pippin,” which has become the logo of the token.

The meme coin had its glory days toward the end of 2025, when its price reached an all-time high of almost $0.60, and its market capitalization surpassed $500 million. While January was also positive, the beginning of February offered a deep correction.

In the past week, though, the asset entered another major uptrend, which contrasts with the overall bearish environment in the crypto market. As of press time, PIPPIN is worth roughly $0.38, or a 114% increase on a weekly basis.

Analysts are curious if the bull run is sustainable since there isn’t an evident catalyst driving the move north. X user ALTS GEMS Alert claimed the price has initiated a “strong bounce” from the demand zone at around $0.26, predicting that if buyers remain active, PIPPIN could soar to $0.40 and even $0.60.

Satori chipped in, too. The analyst told their over 700,000 followers on X that they have added the coin to their watchlist, arguing it has potential for much more impressive gains ahead.

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A Ticking Time Bomb?

At the same time, some industry participants warned investors to stay away from PIPPIN, claiming its valuation is driven by pure speculation, and its utility is questionable.

X user Dippy.eth described the asset as “the largest scam of the past year,” arguing it has reached the first “take profit” zone. “0 technologies, 0 real metrics, 0 real users, 0 attention from real CT degens,” they added.

Crypto_Jobs is also pessimistic, envisioning a possible plunge to as low as $0.21. Some indicators, such as PIPPIN’s Relative Strength Index (RSI), support the bearish scenario. The technical analysis tool measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to help traders identify potential reversal points.

It ranges from 0 to 100, and readings above 70 suggest the valuation has risen too much in a brief period and could be due for imminent correction. Currently, the RSI stands at around 85.

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 1968.37, down 3.4% (-69.59) since 4 p.m. ET on Monday.

None of the 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: CRO (-1.1%) and BCH (-2.1%).

Laggards: APT (-5.5%) and ETH (-5.4%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

Kraken sacked its chief financial officer, Stephanie Lemmerman, just as the crypto exchange prepares to publicly list in the U.S. in the early part of this year, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Lemmerman joined Kraken from Dapper Labs in November 2024 and was the exchange’s CFO for one year and four months. She now has a strategic advisory role at Kraken, one of the people said.

Robert Moore, formerly VP of business expansion, has basically taken over her job, the person said. An updated leadership page on the website of Kraken’s parent company, Payward Inc., lists Moore as deputy CFO. Lemmerman does not appear.

Clearly it matters that Kraken has removed its CFO after lodging a confidential filing with U.S. regulators in November. That came just days after Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation, including $200 million from Citadel Securities.

Other people who have been promoted to senior roles include Curtis Ting, who was made chief operating officer in December, and Kamo Asatryan was made chief data officer in January.

A second person familiar with the changes said finance at Kraken is changing to become more of a product than a back-office function.

Kraken declined to comment.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called for a rethink of how crypto and AI should come together, warning that a growing focus on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) risks missing the bigger picture.

In a post on X that revisits ideas he first outlined two years ago, Buterin argues that the accelerated push toward artificial general intelligence often resembles the kind of unchecked speed and scale that Ethereum itself was created to challenge.

Rather than racing to build more powerful AI systems, he says the goal should be to guide AI development in a way that protects human freedom, spreads power more evenly and avoids both extreme AI risks and everyday security failures.

Buterin outlines a near-term vision where Ethereum plays an important — though not exclusive — role as infrastructure for AI. That includes tools to allow people to interact with AI models more privately, reducing the need to trust centralized providers. For example, running models locally, making anonymous payments for AI services and using cryptography to verify how AI systems behave.

He also describes Ethereum as a way for AI systems to coordinate economically, allowing bots to pay other bots, post security deposits, build reputations and resolve disputes without relying on a single company. Paired with AI tools that help people evaluate decisions and outcomes, Buterin argues these systems could make long-discussed ideas like decentralized governance work at real-world scale.

“To me, Ethereum, and my own view of how our civilization should do AGI, are precisely about choosing a positive direction rather than embracing undifferentiated acceleration of the arrow,” Buterin wrote on X.

Read more: ‘You are not scaling Ethereum’: Vitalik Buterin issues a blunt reality check to the biggest crypto networks

The MSTR stock price remains in a deep bear market amid the ongoing crypto winter.

Strategy was trading at $138 on February 10, down sharply from the all-time high of $542. Its market capitalization has slumped from a record high of over $133 billion to the current $39 billion.

Technical analysis: MSTR stock poised for rebound 

The weekly timeframe chart shows that the MSTR share price has remained in a bear market in the past few months as Bitcoin (BTC) has plunged from its all-time high of $126,300 to the current $69,000.

There are signs that the stock is about to bottom. The most important sign is that the Relative Strength Index has plunged to 27, its lowest level since June 2022. 

Strategy, previously known as MicroStrategy, jumped by over 2,700% the last time the RSI moved to this level. It jumped from ~$20 to a record high of $542.

The spread of the two lines of the Percentage Price Oscillator has narrowed, a sign that a bullish crossover is possible. 

At the same time, the stock has settled at the 78.6% Fibonacci Retracement level, a sign that a rebound may happen soon.

If this happens, the next key target to watch will be the 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level at $216 followed by $232, its lowest level in March and April last year. 

Saylor confirms Strategy will not sell Bitcoin 

Meanwhile, Saylor, the company’s founder and chairman, maintains his bullish outlook on Bitcoin, arguing that claims over whether the company would sell were unfounded and that he will continue buying.

Strategy bought 1,142 coins last week, bringing the total holdings to 714,644, which are now valued at over $49 billion. The company remains in the red, with an average cost per Bitcoin of $76,052.

Strategy’s balance sheet also has over $2.4 billion in cash, which is enough to cover dividends and debt maturities. He said:

We have two-and-a-half years’ worth of dividends in cash, our net leverage ratio is investment grade. We will not be selling. Instead, I believe we will be buying Bitcoin every quarter forever.

Saylor believes that Bitcoin will eventually bounce back as it has done in the last crypto bear markets. He also expects the coin to outperform traditional assets such as gold and the stock market.

Solana has spent recent sessions under heavy pressure, sliding to levels not seen in nearly two years. The sharp decline followed broader market weakness, dragging SOL well below prior support zones. 

Despite the drawdown, early signs of stabilization are emerging. Historical patterns suggest Solana may be preparing for a recovery that could eventually carry the price back toward, and potentially beyond, the $100 mark.

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Solana Has Seen Similar Conditions Before

On-chain valuation metrics indicate Solana is deeply undervalued. The Market Value to Realized Value ratio has fallen to a near two-and-a-half-year low. This reading shows the market value of SOL is significantly below the aggregate cost basis of circulating tokens, reflecting widespread unrealized losses among holders.

Such conditions have historically marked late-stage corrections rather than early sell-offs. When realized value exceeds market value by this margin, selling pressure often diminishes. Investors become less inclined to exit at a loss, setting the stage for stabilization. This valuation imbalance supports the view that SOL is trading below fair value..

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

Profitability data reinforces this outlook. Only 21.9% of Solana addresses are currently in profit, meaning roughly 78.1% of holders are underwater. This level of distress has historically aligned with market bottoms, as lower prices tend to attract demand from value-oriented participants.

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In previous cycles, profitability dropping near or below 20% preceded notable recoveries. Reduced profit-taking limits supply, while depressed prices encourage accumulation. If history repeats, Solana could benefit from renewed interest as investors position for a rebound from deeply discounted levels.

SOL Price Bounce Back Requires Breaching This Level

Solana is trading near $86 at the time of writing, holding above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement. This level is often described as bear market support. As long as SOL remains above it, downside risk appears contained, increasing the probability of a technical bounce.

Current stabilization suggests SOL may be forming a bottom. Any recovery will likely depend on improving capital flows. The Chaikin Money Flow indicator shows an uptick while still in negative territory. This shift suggests outflows are slowing, an early signal that selling pressure is easing.

A decisive move above $90 would place Solana on a recovery path toward $100. Confirmation would come if price flips the 61.8% Fibonacci level near $105 into support. Failure of inflows to materialize, however, could reverse progress. A drop below $81 would expose SOL to further declines toward $75 or even $70.

• RIVER coin price has surged 27% on bridge launch and new exchange listing.
• The cryptocurrency’s volume has spiked 126%, confirming strong buyer interest.
• Key support lies at $15.40, and a break below risks causing a $14.09 pullback.

RIVER coin has surged 27.4% in the past 24 hours, reaching an intraday high of $17.94.

The sudden spike comes after a period of relative stagnation, sharply outperforming a broader flat crypto market.

Traders are cautiously optimistic, but some analysts warn this could be a short-lived recovery.

The catalysts behind the rally

The primary driver of the rally was the launch of RIVER’s official cross-chain bridge.

This bridge allows seamless asset transfers between Ethereum, Base, and BNB Chain.

By enabling smoother liquidity flows, it addresses a core challenge faced by many DeFi projects.

At the same time, RIVER went live on LBank, a major centralised exchange, sparking fresh market activity.

$RIVER spot trading is live on @LBank_Exchange pic.twitter.com/U7HCPJR2dG

— River (@RiverdotInc) February 9, 2026

The exchange listing was accompanied by a $50,000 trading competition, which boosted short-term trading volume.

Combined, these events enhanced the token’s utility and made it easier for investors to access RIVER.

Volume data confirms the strength of the move, with a 126% surge in 24-hour trading volume to $83 million.

This shows that the rally was driven by genuine buying interest rather than thin order books.

The token also benefited from positive sentiment in the broader DeFi sector, which continues to attract investor attention.

RIVER coin price outlook

Analysts are watching key price levels closely to gauge the sustainability of the bounce.

If RIVER can hold above $15.40, it could attempt to reach a near-term target of $20.65.

This would represent a continuation of the current bullish momentum and strengthen confidence in the token’s recovery.

However, a break below $14.09 could signal that the rally has lost steam.

In that case, the coin may experience a pullback toward $12.50, testing lower support levels.

Traders are advised to monitor volume and bridge adoption as indicators of whether the move has lasting strength.

The rally also coincides with broader infrastructure upgrades, which could attract long-term users.

The cross-chain bridge is designed to simplify liquidity access and reduce fragmentation across networks.

Sustained adoption of this feature will be critical for supporting higher prices in the coming months.

Despite these positive factors, some analysts caution that the rebound could be a “dead mouse bounce.”

They argue that while short-term catalysts are present, the coin is still trading far below its all-time high of $87.73 that it hit at the beginning of the year 2026.

Price action remains fragile, and a failure to maintain support levels could result in another rapid decline.

Investors are therefore advised to weigh the recent gains against the risk of a correction.

The combination of technical indicators, exchange activity, and sector momentum will likely determine the next phase.

For now, the market is watching closely to see whether RIVER can convert its recent spike into a sustainable uptrend.