Hello,

Welcome to the 37th edition of the Fiat Bridge Daily Crypto Newsletter.

The global cryptocurrency market cap stands at $2.35 trillion, down 2.8% over the last 24 hours, reflecting broader caution as trading volumes hover at $107.45 billion.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $66,689, down 3.3% in 24 hours and 12.9% over seven days. Ethereum (ETH) sits at $1,946, declining 3% daily and 14.4% weekly. Solana (SOL) has fallen to $80, with a 4.8% 24-hour drop and 17.9% seven-day loss.

Stablecoin total market cap is at $307 billion, up 1.93% over seven days, with USDT dominance at 59.92%. DeFi TVL has dipped to $95.6 billion, down 2.9% in 24 hours.

DEX volume at $9.5 billion, and perpetuals volume at $24.6 billion.

The Fear and Greed Index is at 11, still classified as Extreme Fear, up slightly from yesterday's 9 but down from last month's 27 Fear level.

LayerZero Labs is set to launch Zero, a new layer-1 blockchain in 2026, designed specifically for institutional finance with unprecedented scalability.

Backed by Citadel Securities, ARK Invest, and Tether's investment arm, Zero leverages advanced zero-knowledge proofs via the Jolt virtual machine to achieve up to 2 million transactions per second, far surpassing current limits such as Solana's 100,000 TPS.

This addresses key barriers in decentralized systems, such as replication constraints, while maintaining decentralization, permissionlessness, and censorship resistance.

The blockchain features three permissionless zones governed by the network, using the native ZRO token for interoperability across 165+ blockchains.

CEO Bryan Pellegrino claims this advances the industry's roadmap by a decade, enabling on-chain global economic integration.

Partnerships include Google Cloud for AI agents in micropayments, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for 24/7 tokenized collateral, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) for enhanced tokenization, and the Global Token Exchange for treasury layers.

ARK's Cathie Wood joins the advisory board, signaling strong TradFi interest.

Investors could benefit from ZRO's demand surge, as seen in its recent 22% rally amid market weakness. Watch for alpha in scalability-focused plays; undervalued interoperable tokens may rally if Zero succeeds.

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Let’s get to the second story of the day.

Robinhood disappointed investors with Q4 2025 earnings, posting $1.28 billion in net revenues, a 27% year-on-year gain but below the $1.34 billion forecast, triggering an 8% after-hours stock drop to $79.04.

Crypto revenues plummeted 38% to $221 million, hit by a market slump starting in October, while net income dipped 34% to $605 million. Despite this, full-year revenues hit a record $4.5 billion (up 52%), with net income rising 35% to $1.9 billion.

Crypto trading volumes rose modestly by 3% to $82.4 billion, trailing equities and options.

Notably, "other" revenues, including prediction markets via Kalshi, surged 375% to $147 million. CEO Vlad Tenev reaffirmed the "Financial SuperApp" vision, emphasizing diversification beyond volatile crypto.

This shows the sector's cyclical nature. Robinhood's shares are down 42% from October's $148.67 peak, reflecting sensitivity to market drawdowns.

As Robinhood expands into tokenized assets via its new Ethereum Layer-2 testnet (launched alongside earnings), it could capture rebound flows.

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Let’s get to the last story of the day.

Jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has moved for a new trial on seven fraud and conspiracy charges, filing in Manhattan federal court on February 5, 2026.

Convicted in 2023 for misappropriating customer funds at FTX and Alameda Research, leading to a 25-year sentence, SBF cites potential testimony from ex-executives Daniel Chapsky and Ryan Salame (serving 7.5 years) as grounds to challenge the prosecution's narrative.

SBF maintains innocence, arguing that new evidence could prove funds existed for repayments pre-collapse in November 2022. This ties into his broader appeal, but such motions rarely succeed due to stringent standards; experts call it a "long shot."

Crypto natives recall FTX's fallout eroded trust; for newcomers, it's a cautionary tale on due diligence. Investors benefit from monitoring bankruptcy progress; the estate has repaid billions in 2025, with more expected, potentially stabilizing affected assets.

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Now, it’s time for some fun memes 👇

Today's edition highlights a market in extreme fear, yet ripe with innovation, from LayerZero's institutional blockchain push to Robinhood's diversification amid earnings hiccups.

That’s all for today. If you have any questions or feedback, reply to this email, and I would be happy to help in any way possible. 

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Fiat Bridge by Chetan Kale