Major financial hubs in Asia are stepping up regulated digital asset efforts 
in 2026, with Hong Kong preparing to issue its first stablecoin licences as 
early as March, while Malaysia’s central bank begins testing ringgit-based 
stablecoins and tokenised deposits under…

Asia crypto regulation: Hong Kong to issue stablecoin licences as Malaysia tests Ringgit digital assets

What to Know: Bitcoin’s rebound attempts are still flow-driven; recent US spot 
Bitcoin ETF data shows short-term net outflows, keeping sentiment fragile. A 
gold-rotation headline signals a broader ‘trust minimization’ impulse, 
investors want fewer hops, fewer counterparties, and cleaner exposure. 
Bitcoin-adjacent scaling is evolving fast, from Stacks’ Nakamoto rollout 
timelines to Lightning’s push toward multi-asset rails. LiquidChain targets 
fragmentation directly by aiming to unify $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL liquidity into 
one execution environment with single-step execution. When crypto volatility 
spikes, the &#8216;digital gold&#8217; narrative gets stress-tested in real time. And in 
early February 2026, it’s being tested hard. Bitcoin has been trying to 
stabilize after a sharp drawdown from its October 2025 highs, with price 
action still highly sensitive to ETF flows and broader risk sentiment. At the 
time of writing, $BTC is around $67,329 on CoinGecko, while $ETH is near 
$1,962, levels that underscore how quickly liquidity can vanish when 
positioning turns defensive. Blink, and bids disappear. That backdrop helps 
explain why headlines about crypto OGs rotating into traditional hedges are 
landing with extra force. Reports framing Erik Voorhees, long associated with 
Bitcoin’s &#8216;digital gold&#8217; thesis, as moving meaningful capital into physical 
gold tap into a very current investor instinct: reduce counterparty exposure, 
simplify the portfolio, and ride out the storm. The data points to a market 
that’s less interested in grand narratives and more interested in survival- 
grade plumbing (and yes, sometimes literal bullion). What most coverage misses 
is the second-order effect: when capital gets more cautious, it doesn’t only 
&#8216;leave crypto.&#8217; It often consolidates into fewer venues, fewer assets, and 
fewer steps. That’s exactly why cross-chain liquidity and simpler execution 
paths are getting renewed attention, especially from DeFi users and developers 
trying to keep strategies viable across Bitcoin-, Ethereum-, and Solana- 
adjacent ecosystems. This is where LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is trying to position 
itself. Read more about $LIQUID here. From Gold Rotations to On-Chain 
Friction: The Liquidity Problem Returns A gold rotation narrative is really a 
proxy for a deeper theme: trust minimization. Physical gold is the extreme 
version, no smart contract risk, no wrapped-asset risk, no bridge risk. 
Crypto’s challenge is recreating that &#8216;simple and direct&#8217; feel without giving 
up composability, while still letting strategies snap together across chains. 
Meanwhile, institutional demand signals have been choppy. Recent US spot 
Bitcoin ETF flow dashboards show a negative 8-day net flow (outflows), 
reinforcing the idea that marginal buyers have turned more selective, at least 
in the near term. That matters for dealer hedging and derivatives positioning, 
often amplifying spot moves when sentiment is already brittle. Seasoned 
traders will recognize the pattern: when flows swing, volatility follows. 
Against that environment, the fragmentation tax in DeFi gets nastier: multiple 
chains, multiple bridges, multiple approvals, multiple failure points. And 
every extra hop is another reason cautious capital simply doesn’t bother. 
LiquidChain ($LIQUID) pitches a direct response: a cross-chain liquidity layer 
designed to fuse Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single 
execution environment. Its core message is straightforward, unified liquidity, 
single-step execution, and verifiable settlement, aimed at reducing the 
operational mess that surfaces whenever markets get jumpy (which, frankly, is 
when tooling gets judged the hardest). Developers also get a &#8216;deploy-once&#8217; 
architecture (build once, reach more users), which is a pragmatic sell when 
budgets tighten. If this risk-off tape persists, smart money will watch one 
thing: do users migrate toward fewer, more consolidated liquidity venues, or 
do they retreat to pure majors and off-chain hedges? Learn more about 
LiquidChain here. LiquidChain Presale Momentum Builds as Traders Hunt &#8216;Better 
Pipes&#8217; Presales don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re a bet that infrastructure 
becomes more valuable when conditions worsen, because in stressed markets, 
execution quality becomes the product. Harsh, but true. According to the 
official presale page, LiquidChain has raised $537K+ with tokens currently 
priced at $0.0136. Those are clean numbers. That matters because they show 
early capital formation even while the broader market is still digesting ETF 
outflows and post-selloff positioning. (A quiet presale during loud volatility 
can be a tell.) LiquidChain’s narrative also aligns with where Bitcoin- 
adjacent development is headed. Bitcoin L2 and scaling conversations keep 
accelerating. Stacks, for example, has been detailing timelines around its 
Nakamoto upgrade rollout, emphasizing faster block times and stronger Bitcoin 
settlement properties. Separately, Lightning Labs has been pushing multi-asset 
Lightning infrastructure via Taproot Assets, framing stablecoin-style 
functionality on Bitcoin rails. In past cycles, we’ve seen infrastructure 
shifts like these set the tone for where builders, and liquidity, show up 
next. The connective tissue: the market is hunting ways to use Bitcoin-linked 
liquidity without turning every transaction into a bridging exercise with 
wrapped-asset baggage. LiquidChain’s &#8216;single execution environment&#8217; pitch is 
essentially a wager that users will pay (in attention, liquidity, and 
eventually fees) for fewer clicks and fewer trust assumptions. Less friction, 
more flow. The risk here is obvious, so let’s state it plainly: cross-chain 
designs live or die on security assumptions, developer adoption, and real 
liquidity depth. Without those, &#8216;unified liquidity&#8217; is just a slogan. But if 
2026 remains a year of tighter financial conditions and more skeptical 
capital, the appetite for simpler, verifiable settlement paths could become 
surprisingly durable. Can it actually deliver? That hinges on audits, 
ecosystem partners, and whether early users stick around once the market 
calms. Buy $LIQUID here. This article is not financial advice; crypto is 
volatile, presales are risky, and cross-chain systems add smart-contract and 
execution hazards.

Bitcoin Mogul Erik Voorhees Shifts Millions Into Gold as LiquidChain Presale Climbs

Robinhood posted Q4 revenue of $1.28 billion, up 27% year‑over‑year but shy of 
Wall Street’s $1.34 billion forecast. Net income fell 34% to $605 million, 
largely due to a tax provision versus last year’s tax credit. Mixed Results in 
Q4 Despite Robust Revenue Growth Robinhood Markets Inc. reported a 27% 
increase in fourth-quarter revenue, reaching […]

Robinhood Reports $4.47B Record Annual Revenue, but Q4 Profits Slide 34%

Mandiant, which operates under Google Cloud, has tracked the suspected North 
Korean scammers since 2018, but AI has helped scale up malicious attacks since 
November 2025.

Google Cloud flags North Korea-linked crypto malware campaign

What to Know: Bitcoin whales have added over $4.7B in $BTC, signaling deep 
conviction despite a flat market. This buying trend highlights a shift in 
Bitcoin&#8217;s narrative from just a store of value to a productive asset, 
increasing demand for L2 solutions. Bitcoin Hyper is tackling this demand by 
using the Solana Virtual Machine to bring fast, cheap smart contracts to 
Bitcoin. This large-scale whale accumulation could trigger a major supply 
squeeze when retail interest eventually returns. While the crypto market is 
treading water, giving everyone that &#8216;crypto winter&#8217; feeling, on-chain data 
tells a totally different story. Below the surface of flat price charts, the 
smart money is making big moves. Crypto intelligence firms are reporting that 
Bitcoin whales, wallets with huge $BTC holdings, have quietly added over $4.7B 
worth of Bitcoin during the recent dips. That isn&#8217;t the behavior of a market 
gripped by fear. It’s the signature of cold, hard conviction. This 
accumulation phase isn&#8217;t about short-term price pops; it’s a signal about 
where the market is headed. When institutions buy into weakness, they aren&#8217;t 
just betting on a bounce. They&#8217;re positioning for a fundamental shift. For 
years, Bitcoin was pitched simply as digital gold, a safe place to park value. 
But that story is getting bigger. This buying pressure suggests a bet on 
Bitcoin’s next evolution: from a passive asset into a dynamic, productive 
financial layer. The only thing holding it back has always been the network&#8217;s 
built-in limitations. Slow transactions and no real support for complex apps. 
What good is a trillion-dollar asset if you can&#8217;t build anything on it? This 
is the exact problem a new class of projects, led by ambitious platforms like 
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), is racing to solve. Read more about $HYPER here. 
Unlocking Bitcoin’s Trillion-Dollar Ecosystem Bitcoin&#8217;s core protocol is a 
fortress of security, but that security comes at a cost: speed. The trade-off 
means high fees and a network that’s hostile to the complex smart contracts 
that make DeFi and NFTs possible on chains like Ethereum and Solana. The 
demand for a fix is obvious, and the Layer 2 (L2) race is on. So, how does 
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) plan to win it? It’s entering the race with a genuinely 
disruptive approach. As the first-ever Bitcoin L2 integrated with the Solana 
Virtual Machine (SVM), it tackles Bitcoin’s limitations head-on. By using the 
SVM, known for its lightning-fast, low-cost processing, Bitcoin Hyper aims to 
deliver performance that could even outpace Solana itself, all while borrowing 
its security from the Bitcoin network. Frankly, it&#8217;s a clever architecture. It 
lets Bitcoin remain the ultimate settlement layer for value while the L2 
handles the kind of rapid-fire transactions needed for modern dApps. For 
developers, this means building high-speed DeFi and NFT markets with familiar 
tools. For users, it means finally being able to use their $BTC for more than 
just HODLing. Get your $HYPER today. Smart Money Is Already Moving into the 
$HYPER Presale The market seems to agree. Bitcoin Hyper&#8217;s presale has already 
pulled in a massive $31.3M from early backers, with the $HYPER token currently 
priced at $0.0136754. This isn&#8217;t just retail enthusiasm, either. The on-chain 
data mirrors the whale activity on Bitcoin itself. Etherscan records show 
three whale wallets have already scooped up $1M+ in $HYPER, with one of those 
making a single $500K purchase on January 15th, 2026. This kind of activity 
suggests sophisticated investors see a project that offers more than just a 
small upgrade, it’s a potential step-change for what Bitcoin can do. The risk, 
of course, lies in execution and beating out a crowded L2 field. But the 
unique SVM integration gives it a compelling edge. With high-APY staking set 
to go live right after launch, the project is clearly designed to reward early 
believers who help secure the network. Buy $HYPER here. This article is for 
informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. 
Cryptocurrency investments are high-risk, and you should conduct your own 
research.

Cryptocurrency price in AED