The Blockchain Bulletin, Feb 4: Michael Saylor Puts a Pause on Bitcoin Purchase

Hey folks! Welcome to another edition of The Blockchain Bulletin. Over the last 24 hours, the market witnessed a severe bloodbath, impacting traders and investors. With the announcement of new import tariffs by President Donald Trump, financial markets, including cryptocurrency, were shattered, resulting in a market liquidation of over 2 billion. However, later in the day, following a call with Trump, Canadian President Justin Trudeau decided to pause tariffs on U.S. goods. Likewise, Trump announced a 30-day hold on tariffs for Canadian and Mexican goods, providing temporary relief to markets.

In the wake of these developments, Bitcoin rebounded to a high of $102,500, while Ethereum reached a peak of $2,920. Over the past 12 hours, total liquidations across the network amounted to $295 million, with $191 million in short liquidations. Meanwhile, gold reached a new all-time high of $2,829, reflecting broader financial uncertainty and increasing demand for safe-haven assets.

Amidst the market uncertainty, institutional adoption continues to rise. Australia-based Monochrome Group announced its expansion into Singapore, bringing Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the region. This move marks a significant step toward bridging the gap between traditional finance and digital assets, offering regulated investment options for institutional investors in the rapidly growing Asian market.

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor has hit the pause button on buying Bitcoin and did not acquire any from Jan 27. In his X post on Monday, the founder of MicroStrategy (MSTR) stated that the firm did not make any new Bitcoin purchases nor sell any shares of Class A common stocks. Saylor reaffirmed that the firm currently holds 471,107 BTC worth $30.4 billion, with each BTC priced at $64,511.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has seen renewed bullish sentiment with whale transfers. Analysts believe that this could lead to further price appreciation if market conditions remain favorable. In contrast, Dogecoin (DOGE) faced a sharp 25% price crash, triggering major transactions, including 800 million DOGE sent to an unknown wallet and another 200 million DOGE transferred to Binance.

In an effort to boost real-world cryptocurrency adoption, Binance Pay has integrated with xMoney. This partnership aims to streamline crypto transactions for users and merchants, expanding the utility of digital assets for everyday purchases. With this integration, Binance continues to reinforce its position as a leader in crypto-based financial solutions.

Technical indicators suggest that Bitcoin’s price is at a pivotal point, with analysts closely watching key resistance and support levels. Recent price movements indicate a potential breakout or breakdown, depending on broader market sentiment. With macroeconomic uncertainties and institutional activity shaping the landscape, Bitcoin traders remain on high alert.

On the regulatory front, Coinbase has secured Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registration to expand its services in the UK. Further, it announced the addition of Ether fi (ETHFI) and Bittensor (TAO) to its project roadmap. Ether fi is a new infrastructure staking protocol on Ethereum, while Bittensor is a C2C machine learning protocol incentivizing participants to train and operate machine learning models in a distributed manner.

On the other hand, Coinbase faced criticism for its security concerns. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT revealed that Coinbase users lost more than $65 million from December 2024 to January 2025 due to scams involving fake phone calls, emails, phishing websites, and fraudulent “safe wallets.” Allegations suggest Coinbase failed to mark fraudulent addresses and did not take any legal action to combat fraud.

Whale activity in the XRP ecosystem has raised concerns about market stability, with significant token transfers fueling speculation among traders. Large XRP movements often precede price fluctuations, leading analysts to anticipate increased volatility in the short term. Meanwhile, Ripple minted an additional 1 million RLUSD tokens, pushing its market cap to $110 million. This follows the firm’s previous minting of 2 million tokens on February 1st.

A dormant Ethereum whale recently transferred approximately $228 million worth of ETH to Bitfinex, sparking discussions about potential market impacts. Such large transactions often precede major price movements, with traders closely monitoring the possibility of increased selling pressure.

Last night, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund, while Crypto Czar David Sacks has proposed holding a press conference on Tuesday to discuss securing America’s leadership in the digital asset ecosystem. Meanwhile, Toncoin announced a $100 million fund to boost projects on its network, signaling continued investment in blockchain innovation.

Technical analysis suggests that XRP is facing significant resistance at the 21-day exponential moving average (EMA), leading analysts to predict potential downside movements. If XRP fails to break above this critical level, it could see further declines in the near term. In a nutshell, the crypto market remains volatile amid economic policies and regulatory shifts. While some developments bring hope, risks and uncertainty continue to impact investors.