Skeptics say ‘Zero-Dollar Bitcoin’ as a new selloff revives brutal questions about utility, cash flows, and whether confidence alone can sustain its price/

Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest drawdown has revived an old, brutal question: could the world’s largest cryptocurrency ultimately be worth nothing? As prices slide and faith wobbles, a “Bitcoin to $0” thesis is again echoing through markets and media.

Zero‑dollar thesis resurfaces

The spark this week came from conservative commentator Buck Sexton, who wrote that “every time I ask a Bitcoin true believer to explain why they think it has any long-term value… I come away more certain that Bitcoin has no long-term value, and a floor price of zero.” His post went viral after Bitcoin tumbled more than 20% over the past week, amplifying a bearish narrative that critics have pushed for years. The core claim is simple: in a full confidence crisis, an asset with no cash flows and no legal claim on anything tangible has “no ‘fundamental floor.’”

Richard Farr, chief market strategist at Pivotus Partners, put it more bluntly, saying his firm’s Bitcoin target is “$0.0,” arguing it has “failed as a hedge against the dollar,” tracks high‑beta tech, and has not gained real traction as money. “The miners (who are the network) are bleeding cash,” Farr wrote. “We think it’s a zero.”

Belief versus utility

Long‑time antagonist Peter Schiff again contrasted Bitcoin with gold, insisting that “Bitcoin’s value is purely subjective, as it has no utility beyond belief.” “Bitcoin can’t do anything. That’s the problem,” he added. “Yes you can store and transfer your Bitcoin, but beyond that you can’t do anything with it.” That critique dovetails with academic warnings that non‑yielding assets are ultimately hostage to reflexive flows, a point underscored during previous deleveraging waves in 2018 and 2022.

Yet the ferocity of the latest backlash also reflects how over‑financialized the asset has become, tethered to macro risk cycles and ETF flows rather than cypherpunk ideals. Sexton himself argued that the “anger” from online advocates is part of the problem, eroding mainstream credibility just as regulators and traditional finance are demanding more discipline.

Market snapshot

The debate comes as digital assets grind through another risk‑off stretch. Bitcoin (BTC) trades near $70,961, up roughly 2.4% over the last 24 hours on about $42.3b in volume. Ethereum (ETH) changes hands around $2,094, up about 0.65% over the same period, with spot and futures turnover exceeding $50b. Solana (SOL) sits close to $86.6, down roughly 1.4% on the day, with more than $6.1b traded.

These skittish flows mirror broader macro anxiety, from tightening financial conditions to renewed equity volatility, that has historically pressured high‑beta crypto assets. For now, the “zero” narrative is less a precise price target than a stress test of Bitcoin’s maturing, yet still fragile, social contract.

Related coverage: Bitcoin’s correlation with tech stocks has repeatedly spiked during risk‑off shocks, challenging the “digital gold” hedge story. Ethereum’s evolving fee and burn dynamics highlight how protocol cash‑flow narratives can bolster perceived intrinsic value. Solana’s outsized rally and sharp pullbacks underline how execution risk and network outages still shape the market’s tolerance for speculative layer‑1 bets.

The brief, partial U.S. government shutdown put paid to the Employment Situation report that was due Friday; it’s coming this week instead. Look for the bellwether nonfarm payrolls report on Wednesday. The world’s largest economy is forecast to have created 70,000 jobs last month, more than in December, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.4%.

The week also includes earnings from some of the biggest, highest-profile crypto companies, including crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN). Robinhood (HOOD), a trading platform that covers equities as well as crypto, is also on the roster.

Outside the U.S., there will be plenty of focus on Asia, where CoinDesk’s second annual Consensus Hong Kong conference takes place. There’s a high chance participating companies will use the event as a venue for corporate announcements.

What to Watch

(All times ET)

• Crypto
  • Feb. 10: Mantle to host Mantle State of Mind Ep. 06 live from Consensus Hong Kong.
  • Feb. 11: Immutable to complete the merge of Immutable X and Immutable zkEVM.
• Macro
  • Feb. 9, 11 a.m.: U.S. consumer inflation expectations for January (Prev. 3.4%)
  • Feb. 10, 7 a.m.: Brazil inflation rate YoY (Prev. 4.26%), MoM (Prev. 0.33%)
  • Feb. 10, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. retail sales MoM for December Est. 0.5% (Prev. 0.6%)
  • Feb. 10 8:30 a.m.: U.S. employment cost index QoQ (Prev. 0.8%)
  • Feb. 10, 2 p.m.: Argentina inflation rate YoY (PRev. 31.5%), MoM (Prev. 2.8%)
  • Feb. 10, 8:30 p.m.: China inflation rate YoY for January (Prev. 0.8%); MoM (Prev. 0.2%)
  • Feb. 11, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. nonfarm payrolls for January Est. 70K (Prev. 50K)
  • Feb. 11, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. unemployment rate for January Est. 4.4% (Prev. 4.4%)
  • Feb. 11, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. average hourly earnings for January YoY Est. 3.8% (Prev. 3.6%)
  • Feb. 12, 2:00 a.m.: U.K. GDP MoM for December. (Prev. 0.3%)
  • Feb. 12, 5:30 a.m.: India inflation rate YoY for January (Prev. 1.33%); MoM (Prev. 0.05%)
  • Feb. 12, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. initial jobless claims week ending Feb. 7 (Prev. 231K)
  • Feb 12, 10 a.m.: U.S. existing home sales for January Est. 4.25M (Prev. 4.35M)
  • Feb. 13, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. core inflation rate YoY for January (Prev. 2.6%); MoM Est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.2%)
  • Feb. 13, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. inflation rate YoY for January (Prev. 2.7%); MoM Est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.3%)
  • Feb. 14: Japan GDP growth rate QoQ for Q4 (Prel) est. 0.4% (Prev. -0.6%); Annualized est. 1.6% (Prev. -2.3%)
• Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
  • Feb. 10: Canaan (CAN), pre-market, -$0.03
  • Feb. 10: Robinhood Markets (HOOD), post-market, $0.63
  • Feb. 10: Upexi (UPXI), post-market, -$0.07
  • Feb. 10: Lite Strategy (LITS), post-market
  • Feb. 12: Coinbase (COIN), post-market, $1.04
  • Feb. 12: Coincheck Group (CNCK), post-market, $0.01
  • Feb. 12: Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR), pre-market, -$0.06
  • Feb. 13: Trump Media & Tech Group (DJT), post-market
  • Feb. 13: HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE), post-market, -$0.07

Token Events

• Governance votes & calls
  • Feb. 11: Ripple to host XRP Community Day on X Spaces discussing XRP adotion, regulated finance and innovation.
• Unlocks
  • Feb. 10: Aptos APT$1.0610 to unlock 0.69% of its circulating supply worth $12.07 million.
  • Feb. 11: AVAX$9.0210 to unlock 0.32% of its circulating supply worth $14.33 million.
  • Feb. 15: Connex CONX$12.04 to unlock 1.56% of its circulating supply worth $15 million.
• Token Launches

Conferences

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Bitcoin BTC$70,411.45 has retreated by nearly 2.5% in the past 24 hours after failing to hold onto gains made during an end-of-week bounce that pushed it back up to $71,000.

The pullback followed a turbulent few days in which the cryptocurrency plunged to as low as $60,000 before rebounding. BTC is still down more than 11% in the past seven days.

Even so, it’s outperforming the wider market, which saw the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index drop 13.5% over 24 hours and 13.7% in a week.

The drop saw institutions move. Speaking to CNBC, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said late last week that the firm saw significant inflows as prices dropped.

“I think long-time holders are feeling unsure, and I think the new investor set — institutions — are feeling they’re getting a new crack at the apple and seeing prices they thought they’d forever missed,” Horsley said.

Spot bitcoin ETFs on Friday reversed a three-day streak of outflows, bringing in a net $371 million, SoSoValue data shows. Still, retail sentiment remained fragile. Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant’s head of research, noted on social media that U.S. investors are buying back in, based on the Coinbase Premium Index turning positive for the first time since mid-January.

Online search interest for terms such as “crypto capitulation” spiked during the selloff and stayed elevated, according to crypto analytics firm Santiment, offering an opportunity for value investors to step in.

Meanwhile, capital flowed into traditional safe havens. Gold and silver extended their recovery after a selloff late last month, with gold once again topping $5,000 as investors consider a weaker U.S. dollar and major purchasers continued accumulating. These include Tether, whose gold stash has topped $23 billion, and China’s central bank.

Stock market futures are down ahead of the open, after a Japan equities rallied over the ruling party’s landslide win in a snap election. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had campaigned on low interest rates and significant fiscal spending.

The yield on Japanese government bonds kept rising, further unwinding the yen carry trade and affecting risk assets including cryptocurrencies. The unwind could bring nearly $5 trillion of overseas investments back into the country. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today

What to Watch

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead“.

• Crypto
• Macro
  • Feb. 9, 11 a.m.: U.S. consumer inflation expectations for January (Prev. 3.4%)
• Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)

Token Events

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead“.

• Governance votes & calls
  • No major governance votes.
• Unlocks
• Token Launches
  • Feb. 9: Pendle to launch sPENDLE buybacks with first yield distributions starting Feb. 13, and rewards time-weighted from Jan. 29.
  • Feb. 9: ZKsync to launch Season 1 of the ZKnomics Staking Pilot Program via Tally

Conferences

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead“.

Market Movements

• BTC is down 2.90% from 4 p.m. ET Sunday at $69,045.23 (24hrs: -2.44%)
• ETH is down 4.07% at $2,034.28 (24hrs: -4.40%)
• CoinDesk 20 is down 3.09% at 1,973.38 (24hrs: -3.46%)
• Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 25 bps at 2.74%
• BTC funding rate is at -0.037% (-4.0362% annualized) on Binance

• DXY is down 0.33% at 97.31
• Gold futures are up 1.67% at $5,033.80
• Silver futures are up 5.62% at $81.05
• Nikkei 225 closed up 3.89% at 56,363.94
• Hang Seng closed up 1.76% at 27,027.16
• FTSE 100 is up 0.31% at 10,402.44
• Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.39% at 6,021.78
• DJIA closed on Friday up 2.47% at 50,115.67
• S&P 500 closed up 1.97% at 6,932.30
• Nasdaq Composite closed up 2.18% at 23,031.21
• S&P/TSX Composite closed up 1.49% at 32,471.00
• S&P 40 Latin America closed down 2.89% at 3,653.05
• U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 2 bps at 4.23%
• E-mini S&P 500 futures are unchanged at 6,949.25
• E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.20% at 25,113.25
• E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are unchanged at 50,246.00

Bitcoin Stats

• BTC Dominance: 59.33% (-0.05%)
• Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.02944 (-0.92%)
• Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 977 EH/s
• Hashprice (spot): $34.55
• Total fees: 2.23 BTC / $157,182
• CME Futures Open Interest: 116,125 BTC
• BTC priced in gold: 13.8 oz.
• BTC vs gold market cap: 4.62%

Technical Analysis

• Bitcoin is testing the 200-week exponential moving average (~$68,339), a critical support level to prevent an extended structural drawdown.
• The weekly RSI is firmly oversold at 28.18, a level that has historically preceded short-term rebounds.
• While this positioning suggests there’s a high probability of a bounce, a clear reversal of the downtrend requires a sustained breakout above $74,000.

Crypto Equities

• Coinbase Global (COIN): closed on Friday at $165.12 (+13.00%), –1.24% at $163.07 in pre-market
• Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $19.76 (+17.34%), –0.30% at $19.70
• MARA Holdings, Inc. (MARA): closed at $8.24 (+22.44%), –2.67% at $8.02
• Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT): closed at $14.45 (+19.82%), –1.18% at $14.28
• Core Scientific, Inc. (CORZ): closed at $16.81 (+13.47%), –0.30% at $16.76
• CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $10.08 (+21.96%), –0.89% at $9.99
• Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $10.56 (+12.10%)
• CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI): closed at $40.43 (+14.76%)
• Circle Internet Group (CRCL): closed at $57.04 (+13.56%), –1.05% at $56.44
• Bullish (BLSH): closed at $27.45 (+10.24%), unchanged at $27.45

Crypto Treasury Companies

• Strategy (MSTR): closed at $134.93 (+26.11%), –3.47% at $130.25
• Strive Asset Management (ASST): closed at $11.91 (+20.84%), –3.40% at $11.51
• Sharplink Gaming (SBET): closed at $7.03 (+15.82%), –0.71% at $6.98
• Upexi, Inc. (UPXI): closed at $1.14 (+4.59%), +0.88% at $1.15
• Lite Strategy, Inc. (LITS): closed at $1.06 (+11.58%)

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

• Daily net flows: $330.7 million
• Cumulative net flows: $54.63 billion
• Total BTC holdings ~1.27 million

Spot ETH ETFs

• Daily net flows: -$21.3 million
• Cumulative net flows: $11.83 billion
• Total ETH holdings ~5.83 million

Source: Farside Investors

While You Were Sleeping

• Takaichi victory sends Nikkei to record, bitcoin to $72,000 and gold past $5,000 (CoinDesk): Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged to a record on Monday, breaching 57,000 following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decisive “supermajority” electoral victory.
• China Urges Banks to Curb Exposure to U.S. Treasuries (Bloomberg): Chinese regulators advised financial institutions to rein in their holdings of U.S. Treasuries, citing concerns over concentration risks and market volatility.
• Tether’s gold stash tops $23 billion as buying outpaces nation states, Jefferies says (CoinDesk): The Wall Street investment bank estimates the crypto firm holds at least 148 metric tons of physical gold, joining the top 30 global holders of bullion.
• U.S. IPO proceeds to quadruple to record $160 billion in 2026 as dealmaking rebounds, says Goldman (Reuters): U.S. equity markets are set for a sharp rebound in IPOs in 2026, Goldman Sachs analysts said, forecasting proceeds quadrupling to a record $160 billion as marquee names such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic edge closer to public listings.

TLDR

• SoFi stock surged 7% Friday after two executives bought shares totaling over $200,000 following the company’s Q4 earnings beat
• Citizens upgraded the stock to Market Outperform with a $30 target, while JPMorgan moved to Buy with a $31 target
• The fintech company posted Q4 EPS of $0.13 versus $0.11 expected and revenue of $1.03 billion versus $973.43 million forecast
• Insiders have purchased $204,800 in stock over the past three months, showing management confidence
• The stock has dropped 20% year-to-date despite strong revenue growth of 35.6% over the last twelve months

SoFi Technologies shares jumped over 7% Friday following insider purchases by two company executives. The buying activity occurred just days after the fintech platform reported quarterly results that exceeded analyst estimates.

SoFi Technologies, Inc., SOFI

General Counsel Robert S. Lavet acquired 5,000 shares for approximately $105,200 on February 6. EVP Eric Schuppenhauer purchased 5,000 shares the previous day for roughly $99,650. Both executives bought shares after the stock pulled back from recent highs.

The purchases followed SoFi’s fourth-quarter earnings announcement. The company reported earnings per share of $0.13, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11. Revenue hit $1.03 billion for the quarter, surpassing expectations of $973.43 million.

Analyst Upgrades Drive Momentum

Citizens upgraded SoFi from Market Perform to Market Outperform with a $30 price target. The upgrade represents about 44% upside from current levels around $20.86. The firm attributed the recent selloff to broader market rotation rather than company-specific issues.

JPMorgan also upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The bank set a $31 price target and highlighted improved execution and steady member growth. Analysts noted that SoFi continues adding customers while some competitors experience slower growth.

Mizuho maintained its Outperform rating with a $38 price target. The firm recommended investors buy on weakness after the post-earnings dip. Needham kept its Buy rating but adjusted its target to $33 from $36.

The stock has fallen roughly 20% year-to-date after trading above $30 in late 2025. Citizens views this decline as creating an opportunity for investors. The company has grown revenue 35.6% over the past twelve months.

Insider Activity Signals Confidence

The recent executive purchases add to a broader pattern. Corporate insiders have bought $204,800 worth of stock over the last three months according to regulatory filings.

While insider buying doesn’t guarantee future gains, it often attracts investor attention. Executives are investing their own capital at current price levels.

Citizens highlighted SoFi’s shift toward fee-based and capital-light revenue streams. The firm also pointed to opportunities in blockchain, artificial intelligence, business banking, and new loan platforms.

The stock has traded between $8.60 and $32.73 over the past 52 weeks. Current prices sit near the middle of that range following the pullback.

SoFi continues expanding its member base and product portfolio. The company is monetizing its platform while entering new business verticals. The combination of earnings results, analyst upgrades, and insider purchases pushed shares higher this week.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin drew a clear boundary around what he considers “real” decentralized finance (DeFi), pushing back against yield-driven stablecoin strategies that he says fail to meaningfully transform risk. 

In a discussion on X, Buterin said that DeFi derives its value from changing how risk is allocated and managed, not simply from generating yield on centralized assets. 

Buterin’s comments come amid renewed scrutiny over DeFi’s dominant use cases, particularly in lending markets built around fiat-backed stablecoins like USDC (USDC). 

While he did not name specific protocols, Buterin took aim at what he described as “USDC yield” products, saying they depend heavily on centralized issuers while offering little reduction in issuer or counterparty risk.

Two stablecoin paths outlined

Buterin outlined two paths that he considers to be more aligned with DeFi’s original ethos: an Ether (ETH)-backed algorithmic stablecoin and a real-world asset (RWA) backed algorithmic stablecoin that is overcollateralized. 

In an ETH-backed algorithmic stablecoin, he said that even if most of a stablecoin’s liquidity comes from users who mint the token by borrowing against crypto collateral, the key innovation is that risk can be shifted to markets rather than a single issuer. 

“The fact that you have the ability to punt the counterparty risk on the dollars to a market maker is still a big feature,” he said.

Buterin said that stablecoins backed by RWAs could still improve risk outcomes if they are conservatively structured. 

He said that if such a stablecoin is sufficiently overcollateralized and diversified so that the failure of a single backing asset would not break the peg, the risk faced by holders would still be meaningfully reduced.

USDC dominates DeFi lending

Buterin’s comments land as lending markets across Ethereum remain heavily centered on USDC.

On Aave’s main Ethereum deployment, more than $4.1 billion worth of USDC is currently supplied out of a total market size of about $36.4 billion, with roughly $2.77 billion borrowed, according to protocol dashboard data.

A similar pattern appears on Morpho, which optimizes lending across Aave and Compound-based markets. 

On Morpho’s borrow markets, three of the five largest markets by size are denominated in USDC, typically backed by collateral like wrapped Bitcoin or Ether. The top borrowing market lends USDC and has a market size of $510 million.

On Compound, USDC remains one of the protocol’s most used assets, with about $382 million in assets earning yield and $281 million borrowed. This is supported by roughly $536 million in collateral. 

Cointelegraph reached out to Aave, Morpho and Compound for comment. Aave and Morpho acknowledged the inquiry, while Compound had not responded by publication.

Related: CFTC expands payment stablecoin criteria to include national trust banks

Buterin’s call for decentralized stablecoins

Buterin’s critique does not reject stablecoins outright but questions whether today’s dominant lending models deliver the decentralization of risk that DeFi promises.

The comments also build on earlier critiques he made about the structure of today’s stablecoin market. 

On Jan. 12, he argued that Ethereum needs more resilient decentralized stablecoins, warning against designs that rely too heavily on centralized issuers and a single fiat currency. 

At the time, he said stablecoins should be able to survive long-term macro risks, including currency instability and state-level failures, while remaining resistant to oracle manipulation and protocol errors.