Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index Rises to 29, Market Shifts from "Extreme Fear" to "Fear"

Whale Alert: Circle minted 250M USDC on Solana at 19:20 Beijing time on February 9th.

Feb. 9 — Research and brokerage firm Bernstein’s analysts reaffirmed a long-term bullish view on Bitcoin, noting the current pullback is the weakest bear market the asset has ever seen — and doesn’t undermine its broad adoption prospects or investment logic. Led by analyst Gautam Chhugani, the team said in a client report Monday: “We’re in Bitcoin’s weakest bear market on record.” They noted recent price weakness stems from a confidence crisis, not underlying system flaws, and kept their $150,000 end-2026 target for Bitcoin. Bernstein emphasized past Bitcoin downturn catalysts haven’t materialized this time: no major bankruptcies, hidden leverage uncovered, or systemic collapse. Instead, analysts cited strong institutional coordination in the current cycle, including a Bitcoin-friendly U.S. president, spot Bitcoin ETF adoption, growing corporate treasury allocations, and ongoing participation from large asset managers. Addressing Bitcoin’s recent underperformance vs. gold amid

Feb 9 — Per official announcement, Binance Wallet is launching its sixth Pre-TGE Prime Sale for Espresso (ESP) on Feb 10, 2026, from 20:00 to 22:00. Participation requires holding Binance Alpha Points. Details on Pre-TGE rules and the event access page will be released shortly.

On February 9, Decrypt reported that during Sunday’s 60th Super Bowl (Super Bowl LX), Coinbase was the only cryptocurrency firm to air a major commercial. By contrast, the 2022 “Crypto Bowl” featured multiple crypto companies—this year marked a sharp drop in industry marketing. Coinbase’s 60-second ad leaned into a karaoke-style take on the Backstreet Boys’ 1997 hit “Everybody (Backstreet's Back).” CEO Brian Armstrong noted the spot aimed to promote economic freedom and ease polarization through a choir-style performance. Analysts say the strategy reflects the crypto industry’s cautious stance post-market consolidation: marketing efforts have shifted from early celebrity endorsements and high cashback offers to compliance and trust-building.

On February 9th, Cointelegraph reported that The Open Network Foundation has launched TON Pay—a payment SDK—with the goal of turning Telegram into the cryptographic settlement layer of the TON ecosystem. TON Pay enables Telegram Mini Apps to directly accept payments in Toncoin and USDT. Initially focused on Mini Apps, the initiative plans to expand to the web version later, adding support for features including subscriptions, gas-free transactions, and local fiat on/off-ramps.

On February 9th, HyperInsight data shows that amid a sharp 1-hour pullback in the crypto market, whales engaged in panic selling—reducing their 25x-leveraged ETH long positions by 1,125 coins in less than half an hour. As of press time, those positions have dropped to 3,500 coins.