Polymarket introduced five-minute Bitcoin prediction markets that settle immediately when each window closes, letting participants wager on BTC finishing higher or lower. At launch, the product focuses on price direction and runs on a near-continuous schedule, with outcomes derived from trusted pricing feeds. The format may draw high-frequency strategies and automated traders.

Solana rose as Bitcoin stabilized above $68,000, with derivatives open interest climbing across major venues. The advance followed a reclaim of intraday structure and improving on-chain activity, as active addresses trend back toward late‑2024 highs. Traders are watching acceptance above the $85–$90 area as a potential sign that selling pressure is easing.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has established an Innovation Advisory Committee and appointed executives from Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Ripple, Chainlink, Uniswap Labs, Crypto.com, CME Group, Nasdaq, and Intercontinental Exchange. The committee is tasked with advising on digital assets, derivatives markets, decentralized finance, tokenization, and blockchain-based settlement, signaling deeper regulatory integration of crypto into U.S. market oversight.

LayerZero Labs has introduced Zero, a new layer-1 blockchain architecture designed to support up to 2 million transactions per second per zone and optimized for institutional-grade workloads, with mainnet launch planned for fall 2026. The network will initially consist of multiple specialized zones, including an EVM-compatible execution environment, a privacy-oriented payments area, and infrastructure tailored to trading and financial use cases, supported by backers such as Citadel Securities, ARK Invest, DTCC, and Google Cloud.

Binance and Franklin Templeton have introduced an institutional collateral program that lets eligible clients use tokenized shares of a U.S. government money market fund, issued via the Benji platform, as margin on Binance. The rollout is the first product from their collaboration announced last year and expands exchange collateral options with regulated, on‑chain fund instruments.

Ripple has unveiled a partnership with UK-based asset manager Aviva Investors to tokenize traditional investment funds on the XRP Ledger. The initiative aims to use XRPL’s built-in tokenization and compliance features to support near-instant settlement and programmable fund structures. Ripple positions this move as part of a broader institutional strategy that could enhance XRPL network activity and long-term utility for XRP.

CME Group has launched LINK futures on its CFTC-regulated exchange, adding Chainlink to its crypto derivatives roster. The contracts come in two sizes: a 5,000 LINK standard and a 250 LINK micro, both cleared through CME Clearing. LINK joins ADA and XLM, giving traders regulated tools for hedging and price discovery.

MultiversX has integrated Google's Universal Commerce Protocol, allowing AI agents to access and operate crypto wallets directly on its blockchain. Through this setup, software agents can check balances, validate conditions and execute on-chain transactions without human intervention. The move positions the network as infrastructure for autonomous economic activity and advances machine-to-machine payments on public blockchains.

In November 2021, Bitcoin set an all-time high near $69,000. On February 5, 2026, according to CoinMarketCap, BTC slid toward the low $60,000s and erased those gains as more than $1.5 billion in crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours. The decline followed a leverage unwind, shifting focus to spot demand and the $60,000 area.