TL;DR

• Bitcoin price entered a descending triangle pattern this week, while ETH briefly dropped below $2,100 before entering a consolidation phase.
• U.S. Senate committee approves Howard Lutnick’s nomination for Secretary of Commerce.
• FDIC releases guidance on supervision of crypto-related activities.
• The increase of Bitcoin mining difficulty leads to decreased January production for most mining companies.
• Stablecoin market cap surpasses $220 billion.
• Storm Trade TVL rises 26.77% in 7 days, reaching $33.96 million.
• The Ionic platform suffers hack with $8.6 million stolen, raising concerns about security audit reliability.

Market Analysis

Review and Insights

• BTC Market — Following Trump’s tariff policy announcement, Bitcoin price dropped to a low of $91,231, but quickly rebounded after the policy implementation was delayed, facing resistance near $102,500. Current trading volume has decreased compared to last week, with the price forming a descending triangle pattern and bearish moving average indicators, finding support around $94,000. [1]

• ETH Market — ETH dipped below $2,100 this week before surging to around $2,922.28, where it met significant resistance and entered a consolidation phase with no clear direction. ETH shows relative weakness compared to BTC. In the short term, ETH faces major resistance around $2,900; if bulls can effectively break and hold above this level, market sentiment could improve further. [2]

• Altcoins — Over the past 7 days, altcoins experienced significant declines around February 3rd, with overall market performance showing weakness. Strong altcoins showed lower gains compared to last week, though sectors like DEX Aggregator, Tokenized Assets, and Tokenized Gold performed relatively well, with many related concept tokens showing substantial gains. [3]
• Options Market — Current options open interest stands at $39.84 billion, showing a decline of approximately 14.3% from last week ($46.53 billion). The notional value for February 7th options has increased to $2.463 billion. [4] \
• Macro Data — On February 3rd evening, the U.S. released January ISM Manufacturing PMI, which improved from 49.2 to 50.9. Investor sentiment has become more optimistic as PMI exceeded expectations. [5]
• Stablecoins — Total stablecoin market cap increased by 2.6% to $222.1 billion, indicating further inflow of off-chain funds. [6]
• Gas Fee — Ethereum’s average Gas Fee over the past 7 days rose to 7.14 Gwei, with the lowest average Gas Fee at 1 Gwei, indicating decreased network activity. [7]

Trending Concepts

Bitcoin’s price fluctuated between $91,200 and $106,500 this week, with notable variations across altcoin sectors. CoinGecko data revealed three leading sectors in market cap growth: DEX Aggregator rose 15.3%, Tokenized Assets gained 5.6%, and Stablecoins increased 3.1% over the seven-day period. [8]

DEX Aggregator — DEX Aggregator is an ecosystem sector focused on decentralized aggregators, designed to improve cryptocurrency trading efficiency and convenience. It searches across multiple decentralized exchanges (DEX), combining their liquidity to help users avoid slippage on large orders, reduce transaction fees, and ensure optimal token prices.

This sector demonstrated robust growth over the past seven days. As of February 6, 00:00 (UTC+0), the DEX Aggregator sector achieved a 15.3% weekly gain, reaching a market cap of $3.013 billion, with 24-hour trading volume exceeding $314 million. Within the sector, PNDR rose 9.2% and XCHNG increased 1.3% over seven days. [9]

Tokenized Assets — Tokenized Assets refer to digital representations of assets on blockchain platforms. Projects in this portfolio have attracted significant investor attention due to the growing adoption of real-world assets and regulatory relaxation. Additionally, the U.S. government’s open attitude toward cryptocurrencies has helped drive growth in this sector.

The sector rose 5.6% over 7 days, reaching a market cap of $2.838 billion with a 24-hour trading volume of $118 million. This growth is attributed to continued activity from leading tokens and institutional investment in blockchain. Within the sector, XAUT gained 5.1% over the past 7 days. [10]

Stablecoins — Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain stable value by pegging to external references like fiat currencies. This portfolio provides technical and financial support to the blockchain industry, attracting numerous developers and investors as countries worldwide become more accepting of cryptocurrencies, making it a key market indicator. The increasing stablecoin growth indicates heightened demand for safe-haven assets. During periods of market uncertainty, investors tend to shift funds toward stablecoins to mitigate risk and maintain liquidity. This trend highlights stablecoins’ growing role as a “safe harbor” in the crypto market and may further attract institutional capital to the sector.

The Stablecoins sector achieved a 3% market cap increase this week, reaching approximately $229.414 billion, with 24-hour trading volume of $94.174 billion. [11]

Top Performers

According to CoinGecko data, the top-performing tokens over the past 7 days are as follows: [12]

DEXE (DeXe) - 7-day increase of approximately 28.5%, with a circulating market cap of $1.188B.

DeXe Protocol is an innovative decentralized social trading platform that provides users with a one-stop DeFi trading environment, streamlining social and trading activities. The platform, founded by fintech and blockchain technology experts, aims to address pain points in traditional financial markets by offering an open and permissionless system.

DeXe recently published its January report, showing TVL exceeding $300M and ranking among the top 7 DAOs globally. This milestone has strengthened market confidence in DeXe’s position in the financial sector, driving continued token price appreciation. Additionally, DeXe’s strategic partnership with Kraken has further enriched its ecosystem functionality. [13]

OM (MANTRA) - 7-day increase of approximately 24.4%, with a circulating market cap of $5.633B.

MANTRA is a security-first RWA Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for complying with and enforcing real-world regulatory requirements. Built for institutions and developers, MANTRA provides a permissionless blockchain for permissioned applications.

In early January, MANTRA signed a $1 billion agreement with investment group Damac Group to promote tokenized financing in the Middle East. This landmark agreement not only strengthened market confidence in the MANTRA ecosystem but also catalyzed OM token price growth. As prices rose, market attention increased further, attracting more investors and creating a positive feedback loop that continued to drive MANTRA’s market value growth. [14]

MNT (Mantle) - 7-day increase of approximately 6.2%, with a circulating market cap of $3.853B.

Mantle Network is the first Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) to collaborate with EigenLayer in developing data availability (DA) modules. EigenLayer is Ethereum’s restaking protocol, allowing users to recommit staked ETH to other services to enhance blockchain security and resource utilization. The Mantle token ($MNT) serves as Mantle Network’s native token and ecosystem growth token, while also functioning as the governance token for Mantle Governance.

Recently, Mantle Network successfully integrated Succinct’s SP1 technology and plans to gradually transition to a ZK validity Rollup solution. This move aims to reduce transaction confirmation times and provide higher efficiency and security guarantees for institutional-grade asset settlement. This technical update has gained widespread market recognition, attracting more project teams and investor attention, thus propelling $MNT’s price. [15]

Weekly Spotlights

Hot Topic Review

U.S. Senate Committee Approves Howard Lutnick’s Nomination as Secretary of Commerce

According to JIN10 Data, the U.S. Senate Committee has approved Howard Lutnick’s nomination as Secretary of Commerce with 16 votes in favor and 12 against. Lutnick, the CEO of New York-based brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a prominent Bitcoin advocate. His firm manages billions in U.S. Treasury bonds for stablecoin issuer Tether and earns management fees from this relationship. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, Lutnick was direct about his cryptocurrency holdings: “Do I own Bitcoin? Of course, I do. Does Cantor Fitzgerald own Bitcoin? a shedload of bitcoin.”

Lutnick’s appointment may strengthen cryptocurrency market confidence in the near term, as it signals potential support for inclusive regulations and increased institutional participation. This could accelerate Bitcoin ETF approvals and enhance stablecoin transparency. While the long-term outlook suggests improved market liquidity and reduced volatility through traditional financial resource integration, investors should exercise caution. Key risks include policy inconsistencies, concentrated custodianship, and potential market corrections after periods of speculation. Ultimately, both macroeconomic policies and market forces will continue to shape the sector’s development. [16]

Bitcoin Mining Production Falls in January as Network Difficulty Rises

Rising network mining difficulty caused most Bitcoin mining companies to report lower production in January. Major miners including Hut 8, Marathon Digital (Mara), and Bitfarms saw reduced output compared to December 2024. Hut 8 experienced the steepest decline with a 27% drop in monthly Bitcoin production, while Mara and Bitfarms reported decreases of 12.5% and 4.7%, respectively. Notably, Riot Platforms bucked this trend, achieving a 2.1% increase in Bitcoin mining output.

This widespread production decline (ranging from 4.7% to 27%) could influence market expectations about future BTC supply. Increasing mining difficulty has intensified cost pressures on small and medium-sized operations, which may drive industry consolidation and greater centralization of computing power. Some miners might need to sell their Bitcoin holdings to maintain cash flow, potentially constraining price growth. Riot’s exceptional performance amid these challenges points to a growing technological divide in the industry. [17]

FDIC Releases Oversight Documents on Crypto-Related Activities

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has released 175 documents related to the supervision of crypto-related activities. FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill acknowledged that institutions seeking to engage in crypto or blockchain-related activities have encountered significant resistance. This resistance has taken various forms—from repeated information requests to prolonged periods of silence during the approval process, or direct orders to halt, suspend, or avoid expanding crypto-related activities. These actions have delivered an unmistakable message to banks: pursuing such activities would be nearly impossible. Consequently, most banks have abandoned their crypto-related initiatives. Hill noted that the FDIC is now reevaluating its oversight approach and plans to collaborate with the working group on Digital Asset Markets, established by the Executive Order on January 23, 2025.

While a clearer compliance path for banks engaging in crypto businesses may support mainstream adoption of digital assets, smaller institutions could face higher regulatory entry costs, leading to increased market concentration. This shift marks a transition in the U.S. crypto regulation from “ambiguous suppression” to “structured exploration,” though its effectiveness will depend on policy coordination and the market’s ability to adapt to the regulatory pace. [18]

Security Incident

Ionic Platform Hacked, $8.6 Million Stolen Amid Security Audit Concerns

On-chain data shows that the Ionic platform on Mode has suffered a hacker attack, resulting in a loss of $8.6 million. Ionic, formerly known as Midas Protocol, had previously experienced two security incidents in 2023. However, the platform continued to rely on an outdated 2022 audit report upon its launch, raising concerns about its security measures. In response to concerns about contract security, the team stated that Ionic’s code is a fork of Compound, and that previous Midas vulnerabilities were related to existing security flaws in Compound. They claimed that these issues have been patched through a whitelist mechanism and a reentrancy attack circuit breaker, emphasizing that Ionic has adequate security protections in place. [19][20]

Project Highlights

Layer1 IP Blockchain Story Officially Releases White Paper

On February 5, Layer1 IP blockchain Story officially released its white paper. Story aims to build a programmable knowledge and creativity marketplace, allowing all intellectual property (IP) assets to be registered on a universal ledger with customizable parameters. These assets are equipped with composable interfaces, enabling them to be accessed by any software application or AI model, facilitating the use and monetization of IP on the internet.

In December 2024, Story Protocol launched the Agent TCP/IP framework, enabling IP transactions between smart agents, covering training data, creative styles, and investment strategies. The framework has been integrated into multiple platforms to ensure smooth IP transactions, supporting IP management, execution, and tokenization, ultimately enhancing creators’ monetization capabilities. [21][22]

Data Highlights

Stablecoin Market Cap Exceeds $220 Billion

As of February 6, 2025, the stablecoin market cap has exceeded $220 billion, showing a 2.1% increase over the past 7 days and a 63.4% growth compared to February 6 last year. USDT dominates the market with a 63.95% share of total stablecoin market cap.

This robust growth, following a period of market fluctuations, demonstrates the stablecoin sector’s strength. USDT’s continued market leadership signals growing mainstream acceptance and rising demand for stablecoins. [23]

Storm Trade TVL Surges 26.77% to $33.96 Million in 7 Days

According to DeFiLlama data, Storm Trade’s TVL rose 26.77% over 7 days to $33.96 million. As the first trading platform on the TON blockchain, Storm Trade enables users to trade cryptocurrencies, stocks, forex, and commodities with leverage through both web applications and Telegram. This substantial growth signals increased activity and user engagement on the TON chain. The TVL increase demonstrates rising demand for Storm Trade’s services and highlights its potential in providing trading channels and enhancing asset liquidity. [24]

Galxe’s Ecosystem Sees Rapid Growth with 287% User Surge

The Galxe ecosystem has experienced explosive growth. As of Q3 2024, Galxe has issued 362,000 credentials, growing its user base from 2.6 million in Q4 2023 to 10 million in Q3 2024—a 287% increase—reaching 31.4 million unique active users. The platform has attracted over 6,500 projects creating tasks and maintains 977,000 Galxe Passport holders.

Since launching its high-performance Layer-1 blockchain Gravity Alpha mainnet, Galxe has accumulated 25.2 million wallet addresses and processes an average of 2.6 million daily transactions. The full Gravity mainnet launch is scheduled for Q4 2025. [25]

Market Opportunities

Project Airdrops

Airdrop Project to Watch This Week: Credible

Credible is an AI-based consumer credit infrastructure designed to create on-chain credit ratings and use these ratings to provide cash loans, credit cards, and installment products. The Credible Spaceship rewards program is now live. Users can qualify for the airdrop by completing free tasks and optionally lending USDC to earn Moons (points). [26]

How to participate:

• Visit: https://credible.finance/login?returnUrl=%2Fairdrop
• Register: Sign up using an email address
• Navigate: Go to the Airdrop tab
• Connect wallet: Connect your wallet to earn 200 Moons
• Complete tasks: Perform other social-related tasks to earn more Moons

Note:
The airdrop program and participation methods are subject to change. Users are advised to follow Credible’s official channels for the latest updates. Additionally, users should exercise caution, be aware of potential risks, and conduct thorough research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee the distribution of future airdrop rewards.

Weekly Fundraising Report

Multiple projects successfully completed fundraising this week, covering various fields including inscriptions, infrastructure, and AI applications. According to RootData statistics, between February 1-7, 11 projects announced funding totaling over $88.6 million. Here are the top three funding rounds: [27]

Taproot Wizards secured $30 million in Series A funding on February 3, led by Standard Crypto and Cyber Fund. The funding will advance the OP_CAT ecosystem and enhance Bitcoin’s smart contract capabilities. OP_CAT, a scripting feature, enables automated and customizable Bitcoin transactions. The funds will support both internal development and external ecosystem growth.

Reservoir raised $14 million in Series A funding on February 3, led by Union Square Ventures, with Coinbase Ventures, Variant, and others participating. Reservoir provides token and NFT trading infrastructure through its product suite, including Relay—a bridging and trading platform connecting Solana, Bitcoin, Tron, EVM chains, and rollup networks. The funding will support technical R&D, team expansion, and ecosystem development as Reservoir aims to become a leading multi-chain token trading infrastructure provider.

Autonolas secured $13.8 million on February 3, led by 1kx, with Zee Prime Capital, Tioga Capital, and others participating. The funding will launch Pearl, an agent marketplace where users can directly control AI agents on-chain for applications like autonomous social media accounts and DeFi trading. The Autonolas protocol uses smart contracts to coordinate, protect, and manage blockchain software code, rewarding developers based on their contributions to ecosystem growth.

What to Watch Next Week

Token Unlock

According to Token Unlocks, several significant token unlock events are scheduled for next week (2025.2.7-2.13), with a total unlocked value exceeding $215 million. [28]

Here are the top 3 token unlock events for next week:

SAND: Scheduled to unlock approximately 205 million tokens on February 14, 2025, at 8:00 AM UTC, representing 8.41% of circulating supply, valued at around $80.66 million. With an average daily trading volume of $136 million, this unlock may have a notable impact on SAND’s market price. Investors should proceed with caution.

APT: Planning to unlock about 11.31 million tokens on February 10, 2025, at 12:00 PM UTC, accounting for 1.97% of circulating supply, valued at approximately $66.95 million. With an average daily trading volume of $252 million, this unlock could affect APT’s market price. Investors should exercise caution.

MOVE: Set to unlock 50 million tokens on February 9, 2025, at 12:00 PM UTC, representing 2.13% of circulating supply, valued at around $30.19 million. With an average daily trading volume of $102 million, the impact on token price is expected to be relatively minor.

Crypto Calendar

Next week (February 7-13, 2025) will bring several important events that will impact cryptocurrency markets, global economy, and energy markets. ETH Oxford will open in the UK on February 7, 2025, serving as a platform for in-depth discussions between Ethereum ecosystem developers and academia, potentially covering Layer 2 scaling, ZK technology developments, which may indirectly influence ETH and related ecosystem token market sentiment. [29] [30] On February 12, 2025, the US will release January’s unadjusted CPI annual rate. [31] On February 13, 2025, the US will release initial jobless claims data for the week ending February 8, which is a Department of Labor weekly indicator measuring first-time unemployment benefit claims to reflect short-term changes in the labor market. [32]

References:

1. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
2. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
3. CoinGecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
4. Coinglass,https://www.coinglass.com/zh/pro/options/OIExpiry
5. Cryptocraft,https://www.cryptocraft.com/calendar?day=jan15.2025
6. Defillama,https://defillama.com/stablecoins
7. Etherscan,https://etherscan.io/gastracker
8. CoinGecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
9. CoinGecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/politifi
10. CoinGecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/real-world-assets-rwa
11. CoinGecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/solana-meme-coins
12. CoinGecko,https://www.coingecko.com
13. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
14. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
15. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/bigdata/estimate
16. Coinglass,https://www.coinglass.com/zh/pro/options/OIExpiry
17. Cryptocraft,https://www.cryptocraft.com/calendar?day=jan15.2025
18. Defillama,https://defillama.com/stablecoins
19. Sosovalue,https://sosovalue.com/zh
20. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
21. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/dex-aggregator
22. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/tokenized-products
23. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/stablecoins
24. Coingedcko,https://www.coingecko.com
25. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/zh/trade/DEXE_USDT
26. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/zh/trade/OM_USDT
27. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/zh/trade/MNT_USDT
28. JIN10,https://flash.jin10.com/detail/20250205232311769800
29. Cointelegraph,https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-production-dip
30. FDIC,https://fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2025/fdic-releases-documents-related-supervision-crypto-related-activities
31. X,https://x.com/quillaudits_ai/status/1886856127499132961
32. X,https://x.com/zachxbt/status/1886792512917864953?s=46&t=qH9PZ5ujMMfNG1XOUpwcFA
33. X,https://x.com/StoryProtocol
34. Story,https://www.story.foundation/whitepaper.pdf
35. Defillama,https://defillama.com/?tvl=false&stables=true
36. Defillama,https://defillama.com/protocol/storm-trade
37. X,https://x.com/Galxe
38. Credible,https://credible.finance/
39. Rootdata,https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
40. Token Unlocks,https://token.unlocks.app/
41. ethoxford,https://ethoxford.io/
42. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/calendar
43. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/
44. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/

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