The week of February 1-7, 2026, recorded $251.9 million in crypto VC funding 
across 12 projects, with Anchorage Digital&#8217;s $100 million strategic round 
leading. Here’s a deep dive into this week’s crypto funding activity as per 
Cryptofundraising data. Anchorage Digital…

Crypto VC Funding: Anchorage Digital secures $100m, TRM Labs raises $70m

While some consider the altcoins season may never come, others believe the 
altcoin market has changed, suggesting that a different version of the highly 
anticipated rally is in its early stages. Related Reading: Ethereum Targets 
April 2025 Lows As Price Drops Below $2,000 – What’s Next For ETH? ‘Inverted 
Altcoin Season’ Just Begun On Friday, the market recovered 15% from its multi- 
year lows, with most cryptocurrencies bouncing in the short-term timeframe. 
Amid the recent crash, investors’ sentiment has sunk to its lowest levels 
since 2022, with many expressing concerns about the future performance of 
altcoins. Market observer Ali Martinez discussed how the long-awaited altcoin 
season might have started, but not in the way most investors expected. In an X 
post, the analyst highlighted that after Bitcoin bottomed in November 2022, a 
nearly three-year bull run began, which carried the flagship crypto to its 
October all-time high (ATH). “During that entire period, many traders kept 
waiting for a traditional altcoin season: the familiar phase where Bitcoin 
rises and capital rotates broadly into altcoins, lifting nearly everything 
together,” he noted. However, unlike a traditional alt season, the market 
didn’t see altcoins rally all at once this cycle. Instead, many altcoins have 
been simultaneously breaking down structurally, with “channels that held for 
years (…) failing, support levels (…) giving way, and downside expansions (…) 
accelerating.” To him, “we are witnessing what I would call an inverted 
altcoin season.” Martinez noted the performance of cryptocurrencies like 
Filecoin (FIL), Polkadot (DOT), Avalanche (AVAX), and Cardano (ADA), which 
have either completed or started the breakdown from their macro channel 
supports. He considers this to be where new opportunities emerge: For traders 
willing to shift their bias, this environment has created meaningful 
opportunities — especially on the short side. (…) What’s important is that 
this pattern isn’t finished playing out. As a result, the analyst affirmed 
that the new inverted altcoin season is in its early stages, concluding that 
this cycle, it “didn’t arrive as a broad rally. It arrived as a selective 
unwind.” No More Broader Altcoins Rally? During a Thursday panel at the Ondo 
Summit 2026, Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen discussed what crypto will look like in 
2030. The executive predicted that the Real-World Asset (RWA) sector will grow 
significantly in the next four years, with “everything tokenized.” However, 
she also shared the “controversial opinion” that the highly anticipated alt 
season “may never come” and that altcoins could never rally all at once again, 
which would be “a little bit tricky” for crypto businesses, she added. Others 
have previously discussed market changes and whether the “old cycles” for 
Bitcoin and altcoins still hold. Last year, analyst Altcoin Sherpa asserted 
that the crypto market is in a “hyper-accelerated regime.” He explained that 
the earlier cycles consisted of euphoric, corrective, and accumulation phases 
before the start of a recovery phase. Meanwhile, the market now experiences 
short-term uptrends followed by mid-term downtrends under the new regime. “We 
have 1-3 months of pump followed by 2-6 months of downtrend and rinse repeat,” 
he wrote. “There is no more euphoria where things go berserk for an entire 
year. Just 1-3 months and then down.” Related Reading: Solana Eyes Deeper 
Correction As Bearish Pattern Confirmation Targets $40 Based on the new 
system, he advised traders not to expect 2021-like market conditions for most 
altcoins or a traditional Alt season. Instead, Altcoin Sherpa suggested that 
investors should capitalize on shorter rallies while being aware of their 
limited duration. Nonetheless, he noted that, unlike previous cycles, altcoins 
will also recover faster and won’t take over a year to bottom and accumulate 
before a fresh leg up begins. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from 
TradingView.com

An ‘Inverted Alt Season’? Analyst Explains How The Altcoins Market Has Changed

The unwinding of Trend Research&#8217;s ETH position highlights the volatility and 
risks associated with leveraged crypto investments.
The post Ethereum whale Trend Research unwinds ETH position as losses reach 
$747M appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ethereum whale Trend Research unwinds ETH position as losses reach $747M

Playnance, a Web2‑to‑ Web3 gaming infrastructure whose model separates 
gameplay from value custody, ensuring all balances are secured in audited 
smart contracts rather than studio servers. Decoupling Gameplay from Value 
Custody In the rapidly evolving world of Web3 gaming, the term non-custodial 
is often used as a marketing buzzword. Yet for a platform hosting thousands 
[…]

Playnance Launches Secure Non-Custodial Gaming Platform for 30+ Studios

Bitcoin is hovering around the $65,000 level as persistent selling pressure 
continues to weigh on market sentiment. The recent decline has intensified 
uncertainty among investors, with volatility rising while liquidity conditions 
remain fragile. After a strong rally earlier in the cycle, price action now 
reflects a more defensive phase, with traders increasingly focused on downside 
risk rather than upside momentum. Related Reading: Bitcoin Short-Term Holders 
Deep In Loss: MVRV Signals Capitulation Phase A recent CryptoQuant report 
frames the central question facing the crypto market: how far this bear phase 
could extend before a durable bottom forms. Bitcoin has declined roughly 17% 
this year, a move attributed to several converging factors. These include 
approximately $12 billion in institutional ETF outflows over the past three 
months, broader global risk aversion tied to macroeconomic conditions, and 
ongoing regulatory ambiguity that continues to limit large-scale capital 
commitment. Despite the negative backdrop, analysts note that intense 
institutional selling does not necessarily preclude a reversal. Historically, 
periods of heavy distribution often precede accumulation phases. The 
analytical focus is therefore shifting toward identifying a potential 
accumulation zone — a price range where selling pressure becomes exhausted, 
and larger market participants begin rebuilding exposure. That transition, if 
confirmed, would likely mark the early stages of trend stabilization rather 
than an immediate recovery. Market Cycle Signals: Capitulation Phase Or Early 
Accumulation? According to the report, understanding the current Bitcoin 
environment requires focusing on market structure rather than short-term price 
forecasts. One framework gaining attention is the BTC Market Cycle Signals 
indicator, an on-chain analytical tool that interprets Bitcoin’s cycle through 
three distinct phases using monthly Bollinger Band positioning. This approach 
aims to contextualize volatility rather than simply react to it. The first 
phase, Distribution, typically occurs when the price reaches or exceeds the 
upper Bollinger Band, often reflecting euphoric sentiment and profit-taking 
behavior. This stage historically aligns with cycle tops. The second phase, 
Capitulation, emerges when price declines below the 20-month moving average 
and gravitates toward the lower band, signaling panic, forced selling, and 
deteriorating sentiment. Finally, the Accumulation phase represents conditions 
where long-term positioning becomes favorable, although this zone does not 
always coincide with the exact market bottom. Current price action appears to 
be converging toward the level associated with early accumulation, estimated 
around $54,600. Historically, this range has acted as a transitional zone 
between capitulation and renewed accumulation activity. However, this should 
be interpreted cautiously. While such indicators help clarify cycle 
positioning, they do not eliminate uncertainty. Market reversals typically 
require confirmation through liquidity inflows, improving sentiment, and 
sustained structural demand rather than technical positioning alone. Related 
Reading: Ethereum Coinbase Premium Drops To 2022 Bear-Market Levels: 
Capitulation Or Further Downside? Bitcoin Breaks Key Support As Bearish 
Momentum Intensifies Bitcoin continues to trade under heavy pressure, with the 
weekly chart showing a decisive breakdown below the $70,000 level after 
several weeks of weakening structure. Price recently closed near $67,200 
following a sharp rejection from the mid-$90K region, confirming a clear 
lower-high formation and reinforcing a bearish trend continuation. The move 
also represents a loss of momentum after the failed recovery attempt above the 
50-week moving average, which had previously acted as dynamic support during 
the uptrend. Technically, Bitcoin is now trading below the 50-week and 
100-week moving averages. While the 200-week average remains significantly 
lower near the mid-$50K area. Historically, this zone has acted as a major 
long-term support. Suggesting that further downside in that region cannot be 
ruled out if selling pressure persists. Volume expansion during the recent 
drop indicates distribution rather than simple low-liquidity volatility. 
Related Reading: Are We Near A Bitcoin Bear Market Bottom? History Offers A 
Framework The market appears to be transitioning from a late bull-cycle 
correction into a potential bear-market consolidation phase. Unless Bitcoin 
quickly reclaims the $70K–$75K range and stabilizes above it, the probability 
of continued downside or prolonged sideways accumulation remains elevated in 
the near term. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in UAH