KEYTAKEAWAYS
- Major institutional shifts: BlackRock expanding into European Bitcoin ETPs while its Ethereum ETF surpasses Grayscale, showing increasing mainstream financial adoption of cryptocurrencies.
- Regulatory environment improving: FDIC reverses anti-crypto stance and SEC considers relief for utility tokens, indicating positive shift in US crypto regulation landscape.
- Strategy's aggressive expansion continues with $20.5B Bitcoin acquisition and new accounting standards adoption, while projecting $10B BTC gain target for 2025.
CONTENT
Welcome to the CoinRank Crypto News Roundup. CoinRank will provide daily important crypto news in this column series, allowing readers to quickly obtain the latest crucial updates from the cryptocurrency market.
MORNING NEWS
1. BlackRock Plans to Launch Bitcoin ETP in Europe
BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, is preparing to list an exchange-traded product tied directly to Bitcoin in Europe, following the success of its $58 billion US ETF tracking the cryptocurrency. The fund will likely be domiciled in Switzerland, according to people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. BlackRock could start marketing the fund as soon as this month, one person said.
2. FDIC Reevaluates Crypto Regulation, Original Warning Removed
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced that it is actively reevaluating its supervisory approach to crypto-related activities. This includes replacing Financial Institution Letter (FIL) 16-2022 and providing a pathway for institutions to engage in crypto and blockchain-related activities while adhering to safety and soundness principles. This information was highlighted in a statement from Acting Chairman Travis Hill, indicating a shift in how the FDIC oversees banks involved in crypto activities.
The changes mean that banks can now custody customer crypto assets with FDIC insurance coverage. The Biden administration’s Operation Choke Point FIL 16-2022 letter, which prohibited banks from engaging in crypto-related activities, has been rescinded and replaced. Operation Choke Point is now over. Notably, the link to the original FIL-16-2022 letter now returns a 404 error, as the FDIC is removing evidence of their previous anti-crypto policies.
3. Strategy Announces $10 Billion “BTC Gain” Target for 2025
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has announced a “BTC Gain” target of $10 billion for 2025, with a minimum annual BTC yield target of 15%. The company achieved a BTC yield KPI of 74.3% in fiscal year 2024 and 2.9% in the first quarter of 2025. Company President and CEO Phong Le stated: “We have completed $20 billion of our $42 billion capital plan, significantly ahead of our initial timelines, while leading the digital transformation of capital in the financial markets. Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, we are well-positioned to further enhance shareholder value by leveraging strong support from institutional and retail investors for our strategic plan.”
The business intelligence firm and corporate bitcoin holder reported fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday afternoon, highlighted by a near doubling of its already sizable bitcoin holding in only three months. Operating expenses for the quarter reached $1.103 billion, a 693% increase year-over-year. The company reported a net loss of $670.8 million, or $3.03 per diluted share. The company recorded total revenues of $120.7 million, which missed consensus estimates by about $3 million and down 3% from last year.
As of December 31, 2024, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $38.1 million, down from $46.8 million a year earlier. Strategy currently holds 471,107 bitcoin with a market value of about $44 billion. The fourth quarter marked its largest-ever increase in quarterly bitcoin holdings, culminating in the acquisition of 218,887 BTC acquired for $20.5 billion.
The company also announced that its convertible preferred stock Strike is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq on Thursday, under the ticker STRK. Strike’s conversion ratio to the MSTR common stock is 10:1, and is said to offer investors an embedded perpetual call option on the volatile large-cap stock. While Strategy said last month that it will offer 2.5 million shares of STRK, its latest earnings report said the company issued 7.3 million shares at a public offering price of $80 per share. STRK offers a fixed dividend yield of 8%, and is expected to generate roughly $563.4 million in net proceeds from the offering.
4. VanEck Predicts SOL to Reach $520 by Year-End with $250 Billion Market Cap
According to a recent report from VanEck, Solana (SOL) currently accounts for 15% of smart contract platform (SCP) market capitalization and is expected to rise to 22% by the end of 2025, potentially pushing SOL’s price to $520. Solana’s market cap growth is attributed to its strong developer influence, DEX trading volume share, revenue, and growing active user base.
VanEck’s valuation model links Solana’s expected SCP market share to U.S. M2 money supply growth, which has historically correlated with cryptocurrency market capitalization. M2 includes cash, checking deposits, and short-term investments, serving as a broad measure of money supply in the U.S. and Eurozone. M2 money supply is projected to reach $22.3 trillion by the end of 2025, maintaining an annualized growth rate of 3.2% since October 2023.
Regression analysis suggests total SCP market capitalization will grow 43% to $1.1 trillion by the end of 2025, surpassing its September 2021 peak of $989 billion. Using an autoregressive (AR) model, VanEck estimates Solana’s market cap could reach approximately $250 billion. With 487 million tokens in circulation, this implies a target price of $520 for SOL.
5. Senator Lummis: Digital Assets Subcommittee Will Hold Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Parties Accountable
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that the Senate Banking Committee has discovered the first conclusive evidence of Operation Chokepoint 2.0 today. She assured that the Subcommittee on Digital Assets will find those responsible and hold them accountable.
NOON NEWS
1. New Mexico State Senator Submits Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Bill with 5% Public Fund Allocation
Senator Ant Thornton has submitted a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill” to the New Mexico State Senate, proposing to invest 5% of public funds in Bitcoin. The bill aims to establish an alternative treasury for the state. The proposed 5% allocation would diversify state funds and allow the state to benefit from Bitcoin’s long-term price appreciation.
The bill also proposes that the state investment officer manage the Bitcoin reserve under the oversight of the state investment council. Additionally, the bill outlines the necessity of cold storage as a viable means of protecting the state’s Bitcoin holdings.
2. US Bank Currently Holds $24 Million in Bitcoin ETFs
The $472 billion asset manager US Bank reports $24 million holdings in Bitcoin ETFs, up from its previous $14 million according to its latest SEC filings.
3. DOGE Maintains Limited Treasury Payment System Access with Two Associates Having ‘Read-Only’ View
Two Treasury Department employees affiliated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will maintain limited access to the highly sensitive payment system within the agency, following emergency court proceedings Wednesday that arose out of privacy concerns about DOGE’s access to the system. The Trump administration agreed to the limitation that the two Treasury employees have “read-only” access to the system and won’t share it with others working with DOGE, according to a new court filing.
4. BlackRock’s ETHA Holdings Now Exceed Grayscale’s ETHE, Though Grayscale Still Labels ETHE as “World’s Largest Ethereum Fund”
According to official BlackRock data, as of February 4th, their Ethereum exchange-traded fund iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) holds 1,352,934.4641 ETH, with a market value of $3,716,294,503.30. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s official data shows that as of February 5th, their Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF holds 1,327,729.9587 ETH, with a market value of $3,669,048,967.92. This means BlackRock’s ETHA holdings exceed ETHE by approximately 25,200 ETH, though Grayscale’s website still labels ETHE as the “world’s largest Ethereum fund.”
5. Legal Opinion: SEC’s Proposed Retroactive Token Issuance Relief May Benefit Utility Tokens and Projects
The retroactive token and coin offering relief measures proposed by US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce will likely benefit crypto firms and projects with a certain profile, attorneys told Cointelegraph. Franco Jofré, an attorney and senior adviser at Miller & Chevalier, said firms that conducted initial coin offerings during the ICO boom of 2017–2018 have a strong argument for relief under the new proposal.
Projects that exhibit strong utility use cases for their tokens or coins, as opposed to purely speculative instruments with an investment focus, will also likely qualify for any potential relief. These include decentralized finance projects, layer-2 scaling solutions, and other crypto infrastructure that use tokens for governance and security. Custodians and centralized exchanges are also notable candidates for relief.
EVENING NEWS
1. Analyst: Trump’s Plan to Lower 10-Year Treasury Yield Could Benefit Bitcoin
Trump administration plans to lower the 10-year yield by controlling inflation and fiscal spending. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated Wednesday that the Trump administration aims to reduce borrowing costs in the economy by lowering the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.
“He and I are focused on the 10-year Treasury,” Bessent told Fox Business when asked about plans to lower interest rates. “He is not calling for the Fed to lower interest rates,” Bessent added. A declining 10-year yield typically encourages borrowing and investment, increasing risk-taking in the economy and financial markets, which is generally seen as bullish for risk assets, including bitcoin.
2. JPMorgan: Ethereum Likely to Continue Facing “Intense Competition” from Other Networks
According to JPMorgan analysts, Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, ether, has lagged behind in the recent crypto market surge around the U.S. election, underperforming both bitcoin and other altcoins. Ether’s share of the total crypto market cap has dropped to a four-year low, highlighting growing pressure from competitors.
The analysts point to two main reasons: rising competition from blockchains such as Solana and Layer 2 networks offering lower fees and greater scalability, and Ethereum’s lack of a strong narrative compared to Bitcoin’s positioning as a store of value.
3. Bernstein: Strategy’s Balance Sheet to Increase by $12.75 Billion After Adopting New Accounting Standards
Bernstein analysts report that Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) will see a $12.75 billion boost to its balance sheet after adopting FASB’s new fair-value accounting rules. Previously, digital asset values had to be marked down when prices fell but could not be adjusted upward unless sold. Starting January 2025, Strategy’s adoption of the new rules will result in a one-time cumulative adjustment of $12.75 billion to opening retained earnings.
4. USDD 2.0 Surpasses 100 Million in Circulation Within 12 Days of Launch
According to USDD’s official website, USDD 2.0 has officially exceeded 100 million in circulation just 12 days after its launch. As a secure, transparent, and stable decentralized stablecoin, USDD 2.0 maintains a 1:1 peg with the USD through its unique security liquidation mechanism, collateral asset dynamic adjustment strategy, and risk management system.
5. Analyst: $1.6 Billion Worth of Bitcoin Flowed Out of CEXs Yesterday, Highest Daily Outflow Since April
According to Glassnode data shared by Bitwise Research Head Andrew Dragosch, Wednesday saw a net outflow of over 17,000 BTC from centralized exchanges, worth over $1.6 billion at the current market price of $98,600. This marks the largest daily currency outflow since April 2024.
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