MarketWhisper

Bitcoin peer-to-peer trading platform LocalBitcoins announced on Thursday that it will cease operations due to the crypto winter. The company has suspended new user registrations, and transactions will end on February 17, 2023, with a 12-month withdrawal period for users. Following Affirm and tZERO, LocalBitcoins becomes yet another crypto platform to exit the market.

The US Dollar Index 96.3 is approaching a critical inflection point. History shows that after the dollar fell below 96 in 2017, BTC surged tenfold, and in 2020, it increased by 540%. If the fractal repeats, it could reach $150,000. However, current interest rates and real yields are relatively high, increasing the risk of yen arbitrage unwind. The BTC/XAU ratio has fallen back below the 200-week moving average, and historically, every four years after touching this level, a new cycle begins.

US fast-food chain Steak 'n Shake announced on Tuesday that it has purchased an additional $5 million worth of Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to $15 million (approximately 167.7 BTC). The company will accept Bitcoin payments starting May 2025, with same-store sales expected to grow by 18% in 2026, and considers Bitcoin as the main reason for beating competitors. The company will offer hourly Bitcoin rewards of $0.21 to hourly workers starting March 1.

Trump family net worth stands at $10B, doubling since 2024. Donald Trump hit $7.3B, Eric $750M, Barron $150M at 19, Don Jr. $500M, Jared Kushner $1B. They generated $1.8B+ since November, with $1.2B from crypto.

Vlad Tenev net worth stands at $5.9B as of January 28, 2026, ranking 678 globally. The 38-year-old Robinhood CEO's wealth surged sixfold over the past year through strategic crypto expansion, with his 6%+ equity stake in Robinhood Markets driving gains as the platform revolutionized commission-free trading since 2013.

Cheems meme icon Balltze, the Hong Kong Shiba Inu, died on August 18, 2023, during surgery. The cheems meme featuring Balltze's awkward expression and adding "m" to words ("bunger") went viral in 2017, inspiring CHEEMS cryptocurrency and the famous "Swole Doge vs Cheems" format.

John McAfee wife Janice Dyson, 39, works odd jobs in Spain, nearly homeless and unable to afford the €30,000 autopsy. Despite the court's suicide ruling, Janice reveals: "He had a pulse and was breathing" but doctors performed CPR without removing the noose from his neck.

Hyperliquid rose 8% on Wednesday, with a weekly increase of 50%, breaking through the 200-day EMA. Pump.fun increased by 17%, approaching the $0.003399 resistance, with a potential 40% breakout. Zcash gained 21% over two days before encountering resistance at $400. HYPE's RSI reached 70, indicating overbought, PUMP is at 62, and ZEC is at 48, turning neutral.

PayPal and the U.S. National Cryptocurrency Association's survey on Monday shows that 39% of American merchants have accepted cryptocurrency payments, and 88% have received customer inquiries. Millennials and Generation Z show the highest interest. 60% of the top 25 American banks have launched Bitcoin custody and trading services. Payment infrastructure provider Mesh has completed a $75,000,000 Series C funding round, valuing the company at $1,000,000,000.

The US Dollar Index fell below 96 this week, hitting a four-year low since February 2022, and broke below a key trendline that has supported it for 15 years since 2011. Trump downplayed the decline, saying "the dollar is performing very well," and subsequently, the DXY recorded its largest single-day drop since April. Historical data shows that after the dollar broke 96 in 2017 and 2020, Bitcoin experienced explosive growth, with technical RSI bullish divergence expected to rebound to $95,000.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Investment announced on Monday that its gold ETF will issue tokenized fund units based on Ethereum, with HSBC serving as the tokenization agent. This marks the transition of Hong Kong's RWA strategy from concept to implementation. Deputy Financial Secretary Wong Wai-lun revealed that Hong Kong aims to expand gold reserves to 2,000 tons within three years and establish a central clearing system, inviting the Shanghai Gold Exchange to participate in building a complete on-chain financial ecosystem.

The fastest AI unicorn to reach a trillion-dollar valuation in 2026. Skild AI completes Series C funding with a valuation exceeding $14 billion, achieving this in just 3 years with investments from SoftBank, NVIDIA, and Bezos. The founders come from Meta AI, not building robot hardware, but focusing on creating a "general brain" called Skild Brain, which uses shared models to give robots physical world capabilities.

Standard Chartered Bank Digital Asset Research Director Jeff Kendrick predicted on Monday that by the end of 2028, up to $500 billion of US bank deposits could shift to stablecoins, accounting for about one-third of the total. He emphasized that "the tail is starting to wag the dog," indicating a rapid increase in the influence of stablecoins. Regional banks, heavily reliant on net interest margins, face the greatest risk, and delays in the 《CLARITY Act》 could accelerate the shift.

X Premium unveils "X Payments Wallet," with Musk's clear ambition to embed Bitcoin transactions into the social platform. X has obtained a US money transfer license, allowing hundreds of millions of users to buy Bitcoin and tip creators with one click, without relying on CEX. "Scenario is transaction" poses a dimensionality reduction challenge to traditional platforms.

Open-source AI assistant ClawdBot developer Peter Steinberger denies any connection to cryptocurrency. When the project was renamed to Moltbot due to trademark issues, scammers hijacked X and GitHub accounts to promote fake meme coins. Steinberger emphasized that he will never issue tokens and accused scammers of hacking into Discord and Telegram to harass him, making his online life a nightmare.

Pi coin drops to $0.17, approaching the all-time low of $0.1585. In January, 134 million tokens will be unlocked (far exceeding December's 8.7 million), which the market finds hard to digest. RSI is at 30.94 indicating oversold conditions, and MACD shows a bearish trend. The key support level is $0.13; if broken, it may test $0.12. Despite having 215 applications in the ecosystem, the short-term outlook remains bearish.

XRP continues its rebound on Monday, with spot ETF experiencing its fifth consecutive day of net inflows, attracting $9,160,000 on January 27. Since its launch in November, total inflows have reached $1.25 billion, surpassing SOL ETF's $877 million. The Senate Agriculture Committee will review the "Market Structure Bill" on January 29, boosting legislative expectations. Short-term target is $2.5, and mid-term target is $3.0.

Open-source AI assistant Moltbot founder Peter Steinberger issued a stern statement on Monday, emphasizing that no tokens have ever been issued and will never be issued. During the project rebranding, scammers hijacked GitHub and X accounts to launch a fake $CLAWD token. The token was listed on the Solana chain with a market cap once soaring to $16,000,000, but after the founder denied it, the value quickly collapsed to near zero.

Bitcoin address starting digits hide secrets. Starting with "1" indicates a single private key, while starting with "3" uses P2SH multi-signature technology, requiring multiple private keys to authorize a transfer. Exchanges and large holders adopt schemes like "3 of 5," similar to a dual-key system for nuclear missile launches. This article reveals the principles of P2SH and Bitcoin script design logic.

Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT strongly refutes Russia's ban allegations, stating that it has completely exited the Russian market since 2022. Russian authorities accused it of transferring $11 million to fund the Ukrainian military, but WhiteBIT clarified that this was a donation of the company's own funds and facilitated $160 million in cryptocurrency donations through Whitepay. The exchange lost 30% of its user base after withdrawing from Russia, but its business subsequently grew by 8 times.