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Recapping Consensus Hong Kong 2026

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Recapping Consensus Hong Kong 2026

HONG KONG — Crypto finding a new niche as the payments tool of choice for machines, bitcoin not yet at rock bottom, U.S. regulatory changes and the role of prediction markets were some of the topics discussed at CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong conference this week.

“As AI agents become capable of making and executing decisions independently, we may begin to see the early forms of what some call the machine economy, where AI agents can hold and transfer digital assets, pay for services and transact with one another onchain,” said Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.

These tools may be used to automatically book hotels and flights or make other purchases, Binance CEO Richard Teng said during a fireside chat on Thursday.

“If you think about the agentic AI, so the booking of hotels, flights, whatever purchases that you would make, how you think that those purchases will be made — it’ll be via crypto and stablecoins,” he said. “So, crypto is the currency for AI, if you think about it, and that’s how it’s going to pan out.”

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Other participants discussed market volatility. Bitcoin has already fallen nearly $30,000 in a month, and some industry viewers fear it may drop further before hitting a bottom. Market participants are looking at $50,000 as one level to watch, several individuals told CoinDesk.

Similarly, the sentiment around betting markets is starting to turn negative. Traders said they were concerned the platforms might suck out liquidity from “productive sectors,” and in turn cause a “negative wealth effect.”

On the regulatory front, though Hong Kong’s policymakers’ announcements took center stage, industry participants told CoinDesk they were closely watching U.S. lawmakers and the negotiations around crypto market structure legislation.

One person said the U.S. market is large enough that it has outsize influence on other locales, and so some regulators are waiting to see how the U.S. lands before taking on policymaking in crypto.

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Hong Kong does not appear to be one of these jurisdictions. The Securities and Futures Commission is moving ahead with various proposals to bring crypto companies further into the regulatory sphere.

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Crypto World

Square launches zero-fee Bitcoin payments for US merchants through 2026: Square

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Square launches zero-fee Bitcoin payments for US merchants through 2026: Square


Square is waiving processing fees for Bitcoin payments at US merchants for two years, with instant dollar conversion to reduce adoption barriers.

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$80M Hyperliquid Whale Bet Predicts Bitcoin Crash and Oil Rally

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$80M Hyperliquid Whale Bet Predicts Bitcoin Crash and Oil Rally

Key takeaways:

  • A Hyperliquid whale placed an $80 million bet against Bitcoin and the S&P 500 while going long on Brent crude oil prices.

  • The whale’s history of massive losses and inconsistent signals suggests the trade could fall on the wrong side of the market.

Bitcoin (BTC) showed strength on Wednesday, bouncing back from Tuesday’s $66,000 low after President Donald Trump teased a potential ceasefire in the US and Israel-Iran war. Even with Bitcoin trading above $68,000, one whale used Hyperliquid DEX to place an $80 million bet on a market collapse. 

Traders are now watching closely to see if this whale’s massive position signals a looming Bitcoin price drop.

Hyperliquid whale 0x94d373…c933814 position. Source: CoinGlass

The Hyperliquid whale, linked to address 0x94d373…c933814, carefully built this nearly $80 million leveraged position between Tuesday and Wednesday. The trade includes a $40 million short (sell) on Bitcoin futures near $68,760, a $2 million short on synthetic S&P 500 Index contracts, and a $37 million long (buy) in synthetic Brent oil contracts.

Crude Brent oil (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView

The whale’s aggregate position leverage stood at 7 times, indicating high conviction. The Bitcoin futures liquidation price was $80,083, while the Brent oil position would be forcefully terminated above $93. The timing of the trade is curious as S&P 500 Index futures gained 4% between Tuesday and Wednesday as traders anticipate the US and Israel-Iran war dissipating over the next few weeks.

On Wednesday, President Trump said “Iran’s New Regime President” is considering a “ceasefire,” although the conditions to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain unknown. Iran demands reparations and sovereignty. Thus, one could assume that the Hyperliquid whale is counter-trading the market’s optimistic take, betting that Brent crude oil prices will jump while Bitcoin loses its value.

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This Hyperliquid whale previously lost $40 million

This address belongs to a particularly unlucky whale, or at least one who has been extremely unsuccessful since late January. The Hyperliquid whale apparently uses bots for execution, given the sheer number of small trades that build into huge positions, but it still managed to lose $37 million in its first month of activity in December 2025.

The same user was flagged by X user ‘lookonchain’ on Feb. 5 after taking a massive loss on leveraged bullish bets on Ether (ETH), Bitcoin, Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP). 

Source: X/lookonchain

According to the analysis, the whale had previously made $25 million in profits from shorts in multiple cryptocurrencies, but decided to flip the position on Feb. 4, resulting in a $40 million loss. There is no way to know exactly what triggered this entity to place those bets, but the event proves that even whales can misinterpret the market.

Related: Warren Buffett bought $17B in US T-bills: A bad omen for Bitcoin price?

The erratic signals from President Trump regarding a potential full-on invasion and the war in Iran leave room for opposing views. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied there were talks for a ceasefire but confirmed to Al Jazeera on Tuesday that there was an intention to end the war, according to CNBC.

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Given the history of this whale’s market positioning and its track record of losing trades, it’s possible that the current $80 million bet may fall on the wrong side of the market.