Last week, the crypto market saw a major meltdown following ongoing geopolitical tensions that pushed the price of Bitcoin to $78,740 at the time of reporting, dragging other coins with it. Crypto was not the only market affected; precious metals like gold and silver have fallen sharply. As such, last week’s crypto news saw stories of price dips, but there were positive developments, like the tokenization boom and payment stablecoin surge.
However, crypto exploit stories are not new, as usual, with hackers draining millions of dollars worth of funds every week.
As we move on, here are briefs of the top weekly crypto news stories that shaped the industry.
Binance to convert $1 billion SAFU funds to Bitcoin
Binance announced plans to convert its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to Bitcoin in the coming days. The SAFU fund, which is Binance’s emergency fund used in cases like security breaches, is currently held as stablecoins. These funds worth of stablecoins will be converted to Bitcoin.
President Trump nominates Kevin Warsh as new Fed Chair
As Jerome Powell’s term as the current Chair of the US Federal Reserve ends in May 2026, US President Donald Trump has picked Kevin Warsh as the next Chair. The nomination is in a progressive state, and it is not fully confirmed.
Although there are oppositions form Republicans like Senator Thom Tillis, Trump believes that Warsh could get bipartisan support.
According to economists, if Kevin Warsh serves as the Chair, he could rethink the role of the Federal Reserve, especially by re-evaluating the Fed’s post-crisis policies, like the one after the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Stablecoin payment grows by 70%
According to stablecoin issuer Circle’s Internet Financial System report, stablecoin payments have soared by 70% due to increased institutional confidence in the real-world use cases of digital dollars. The major inflow of stablecoin payments is driven by the GENIUS Act in the US for payment stablecoins, stated the report.
Step Finance treasury wallet exploit cause $28.9 million loss
Solana-based DeFi platform Step Finance announcedthat some ofnits treasury wallets were compromised, leading to a loss of nearly $28.9 million worth of protocol funds. Hackers drained funds equal to 261,854 Solana tokens, which were then moved to unknown addresses.
The treasury wallet breach also resulted in a nearly 80% dip in Step Finance’s native STEP token.
Avalanche sees increased tokenization in Q4 2025
Avalanche blockchain saw an exponential surge in tokenization in the last quarter of 2025, driven by real-world asset tokenizations from major institutions. In Q4 2025,
the total value locked (TVL) of tokenization reached approximately $1.3 billion on the blockchain platform. BlackRock’s $500 million tokenized money-market fund, BUIDL, played a key role in driving the surge on Avalanche.
Memecoin creation on Solana shows a new high
Solana, a well-known name in memcoin launches, has once again experienced an explosive trend of memecoin creation. Daily memecoin creation on the blockchain reached a new high not seen in the past 11 months. Although memecoin creation is high on Solana, its native token, SOL, did not showcase a bullish momentum at the time of reporting.
Brazil’s Nubank receives conditional approval from OCC
Nubank, a major crypto-friendly bank in Brazil, secured a conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). A company receiving the OCC license means it can operate as a fully licensed bank in the US under regulatory supervision.
Nubank got a conditional approval, meaning the bank still needs to achieve regulatory requirements prior to its complete launch in the US.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood goes bullish on AI over Gold
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood shared her opinion on how gold poses a greater risk than AI. In her opinion, AI is not the real bubble, and gold looks more like a bubble due to its extreme price surge. She made the remark when the price of gold was as high as nearly $5,600 per ounce last week. However, soon after her comment, the price of gold dipped to 4,895.440.
What to watch for this week?
This week is vital for all the market watchers, investors, and common individuals who are keenly watching the crypto industry for further developments. Specifically, the crypto price is an important point of discussion as Bitcoin is currently down due to the Federal Reserve leadership changes and the ongoing macroeconomic factors.
Moreover, upcoming token unlocks, for instance, the SUI token unlock today, will have an impact on the supply and price of those coins. Besides, crypto witnessed the highest single-day liquidation on January 31, making it the largest one since October 10, 2025. This could also amplify the current market situation.
