In partnership with
Good afternoon,
Bitcoin remains pinned below $70,000 as negative funding rates and mounting bearish momentum signal weakening bullish conviction, putting the asset on track for its longest losing streak since 2018. Elsewhere, Monero transaction activity is holding steady despite major exchange delistings, Germany’s central bank president is backing the benefits of stablecoins and CBDCs for the European Union, and a new global study finds stablecoins evolving into everyday money.
Let’s unpack this and more! 👇
If you work in fintech or finance, you already have too many tabs open and not enough time.
Fintech Takes is the free newsletter senior leaders actually read. Each week, I break down the trends, deals, and regulatory moves shaping the industry — and explain why they matter — in plain English.
No filler, no PR spin, and no “insights” you already saw on LinkedIn eight times this week. Just clear analysis and the occasional bad joke to make it go down easier.
Get context you can actually use. Subscribe free and see what’s coming before everyone else.
News Roundup
Artificial Intelligence
Meta Patented an AI That Could Simulate Users’ Social Media Activity After Death (Business Insider)
How Ethereum Devs Plan to Use AI to Accelerate Blockchain Development (DL News)
Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance
Germany‘s Central Bank President Backs Euro Stablecoins and CBDC Benefits for EU (Cointelegraph)
Philippines’ Digital Bank Maya Eyes Up to $1B U.S. IPO (Decrypt)
ZeroLend to Wind Down Operations, Citing Illiquid Layer-2 Chains (Cointelegraph)
Digital Yuan Red Envelopes Go Interest-Bearing for Lunar New Year (Cointelegraph)
Nakamoto Inc. to Acquire BTC Inc. and UTXO Management in All-Stock Deal (Bitcoin Magazine)
Zora Launches Attention Markets on Solana (The Defiant)
Elemental Royalty Becomes First Public Gold Firm to Offer Dividends in Tether Gold (XAU₮) (Tether)
Exchanges
Crypto.com Earns ISO/IEC AI Certification as It Expands Into AI Services (Cointelegraph)
Kraken Commits to ‘Trump Accounts’ for Wyoming Newborns (Decrypt)
South Korean Financial Heavyweights Accelerate Crypto Exchange Deals (Cointelegraph)
SBI Holdings to Acquire Majority Stake in Singapore’s Coinhako (Cointelegraph)
January 2026 Exchange Report: Spot +10%, Derivatives +0.5%, Traffic -0.3% (Wu Blockchain)
Gemini Ousts CFO, COO and CLO in Major Leadership Shakeup (The Block)
World Markets Debuts ‘No ADL’ DEX on MegaETH, Bundling Spot, Perps and Lending (The Defiant)
Japan’s Top Securities Firms Weigh Launching Crypto Exchanges (DL News)
Exchange-Traded Funds
Infrastructure
TON Foundation Partners With Banxa to Expand Stablecoin Payments Across APAC (The Block)
LI.FI Launches ‘LiFI Composer’ to Bundle Swaps, Bridging and Staking Into One Transaction (The Block)
StarkWare Integrates EY’s Nightfall Into Starknet to Enable Confidential Institutional Transactions (The Block)
Markets
Bitcoin Nears Longest Losing Streak Since 2018 as Bearish Momentum Builds (Decrypt)
Monero Transaction Activity Holds Steady Despite Major Exchange Delistings (TRM Labs)
Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Under Pressure After February Sell-Off (Decrypt)
Global Study Finds Stablecoins Evolving Into ‘Everyday Money’ (The Block)
Ethereum Tokenized RWA Market Surges 315% YoY to $17B (The Block)
eToro Shares Jump 19% as Q4 Net Income Rises and Crypto Derivatives Swing to $74M Gain (The Block)
Bitcoin Stuck Below $70K as Negative Funding Rate Signals Weak Bullish Conviction (Cointelegraph)
Mining
Hive Posts Record $93.1M Revenue as Hashrate Grows, Despite $91M Net Loss (The Block)
Politics & Regulation
Ireland Opens GDPR Probe Into X Over Grok’s AI-Generated Image Risks (Decrypt)
U.S. Congressman Urges DOT Probe Into Overseas Support for Self-Driving Cars (Decrypt)
CFTC Chair Vows Legal Fight as States Challenge Prediction Market Oversight (The Block)
Netherlands to Tax Actual Crypto Returns From 2028, Including Unrealized Gains (The Block)
Token Generation Events
85% of 2025 Tokens Trade Below Launch as VC Returns Slide (DeFi Edge)
Treasuries
Venture Capital
Dragonfly Capital Closes $650 Million Fourth Fund Amid Crypto VC ‘Mass Extinction’ (Fortune)
Other News
Check This Out!
March is set to record the largest token unlock of 2026, with more than $6 billion scheduled to enter circulation — roughly three times the typical monthly average, according to CryptoRank.
Source: CryptoRank
Meme of the Day
Source: Bold Leonidas
Rate Today’s Edition
What do you think of today's edition?
Share this newsletter, claim your reward! 🎁
Participate in the On & Off Chain referral program by sharing the newsletter with your friends to claim your reward:
✌️2 referrals: A personal shoutout in On & Off Chain
Must be subscribed
