Bitcoin Bounces Above $100K After Historic $10Bn Liquidations

Bitcoin has rebounded above $100,000 following one of the largest single-day liquidation events in crypto history, with over $2.38 billion wiped out in 24 hours, according to Coinglass. However, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou claims the real figure is far higher, estimating between $8-10 billion in total liquidations, stating, "Bybit 24-hour liquidation alone was $2.1 billion."

The discrepancy in reported data is due to API limitations, with Zhou noting, "Other exchanges also practice the same to limit liquidation data," and promising Bybit will begin pushing full liquidation figures moving forward. For context, Zhou estimated the liquidations were 4-6 times higher than what was reported during the FTX collapse as a percentage of open interest.

Market volatility surged as trading volumes spiked to $99 billion, up 173% from daily averages, reflecting heightened participation during the sell-off. This turbulence coincided with Mexico’s agreement to deploy 10,000 troops to the US border and Trump’s pause on some tariffs for a month, easing geopolitical tensions and boosting crypto prices.

Financial figures weighed in, including Robert Kiyosaki, who called the crash "brutal" but opportunistic, urging investors to "stay cool" amid the turmoil. Meanwhile, prediction markets on Polymarket now place a 55% chance that Trump will roll back Mexico tariffs before May, down from 86% earlier today.

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World Liberty Financial Denies Token Sale Allegations

Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has denied allegations of “selling tokens” after a Blockworks report claimed the protocol approached blockchain projects with $10 million token swap offers. “We are not selling tokens—we are simply reallocating assets for ordinary business purposes,” WLFI stated, emphasizing these are routine treasury management moves.

The dispute comes after WLFI raised $254 million from its token sale, scaling back from an initial $450 million target. Adding to the scrutiny, Tron founder Justin Sun became an advisor after investing $30 million in WLFI, with plans to invest an additional $45 million. WLFI’s crypto treasury holds $364 million, dominated by ETH, Wrapped Bitcoin, and notable altcoins like AAVE and LINK.

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THORChain Converts $200M Debt Into Equity Tokens

THORChain has approved a plan to address its $200 million debt crisis by converting defaulted loans into equity through a new token, TCY (Thorchain Yield). Creditors will receive TCY at a 1:1 ratio for every dollar of debt, with holders entitled to 10% of THORChain’s revenue in perpetuity. The move follows the suspension of THORFi services, including Bitcoin and Ether lending, amid financial instability.

A RUNE/TCY liquidity pool will launch with $500,000 at $0.10 per TCY, funded by a $5 million treasury allocation. While this plan turns lenders into equity holders, the timeline for full financial recovery remains unclear. The primary function of THORChain, cross-chain swaps, is unaffected. The native RUNE price on the platform has decreased by 10% in the last day.

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TON Launches $100M Fund to Strengthen Layer-1 Ecosystem

TVM Ventures has announced a $100 million fund to promote projects built directly on The Open Network (TON), aiming to reduce reliance on Layer 2 networks. The fund will focus on decentralized finance, cross-border payments, and network security, supporting startups that drive mass adoption of TON’s base layer.

TON, originally developed by Telegram, has grown through integrated apps like TON Wallet and crypto games attracting millions of users. The fund signals a strategic shift to improve decentralization, liquidity, and security by prioritizing native Layer 1 development over side chains. “We choose the latter,” Yun affirmed, rejecting the L2 path.

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Data of the Day

Global crypto fund inflows plummeted 72% to $527 million last week, down from $1.9 billion, as Trump’s tariff threats and DeepSeek-related market turbulence rattled investor sentiment, according to CoinShares.

“Intraweek flows reflected volatile investor sentiment,” said CoinShares’ James Butterfill, noting $530 million in outflows on Monday, followed by a rebound with over $1 billion in inflows later in the week. The full impact of Trump’s tariff announcement over the weekend is expected to hit markets soon.

Despite recent volatility, 2024 has seen $44 billion in crypto fund inflows, suggesting resilience amid macroeconomic shocks. “The current sell-off is not unexpected,” Butterfill added.

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More Breaking News

• MicroStrategy pauses its 12-week Bitcoin buying streak ahead of Q4 earnings, with speculation of a blackout period before its February 5 report.
• Raydium surpasses Uniswap in January DEX volume, capturing 27% market share driven by the memecoin trading mania on Solana.
• Russia plans to create a mandatory registry for crypto mining equipment, making unregistered mining operations "impossible," according to the Ministry of Energy.
• Asian crypto stocks plunge as Bitcoin falls to a three-week low of $91,163, with Metaplanet, OSL Group, and Boyaa leading the losses amid trade war fears.
• Thailand's SEC plans a blockchain-based platform for trading debt via digital tokens, aiming to boost efficiency in the local capital market.
• Coinbase secures a spot on the UK Financial Conduct Authority's crypto register, becoming the largest exchange to operate legally in the country.
• Uphold relaunches crypto staking services in the UK, following regulatory clarity after a UK Treasury amendment took effect on January 31.
• Kraken acquires a MiFID license to offer crypto derivatives across the EU, expanding its European footprint through a Cypriot firm acquisition.

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