Ethereum Mainnet Activity Cools Down, Transaction Fees Drop Below Some L2 Networks by Multiple Times

On February 10, Coinglass data showed Bitcoin dropped below $69,000. Funding rate metrics reveal the market remains broadly bearish: BTC and ETH funding rates are negative across multiple exchanges, meaning shorts are paying longs to maintain their positions. Bearish sentiment toward major altcoins SOL and XRP is stronger than toward Bitcoin. BlockBeats Note: A funding rate is a fee set by crypto exchanges to align perpetual contract prices with the underlying asset’s spot price. It facilitates fund transfers between long and short traders—exchanges do not collect this fee. The mechanism adjusts the cost or profit of traders holding contracts to keep contract prices close to the underlying asset’s price. **Funding Rate Baselines**: - 0.01% = baseline rate - Above 0.01% = generally bullish market - Below 0.005% = generally bearish market

On February 10, per monitoring from HyperInsight, as Ethereum briefly dropped below $2,000, the entity known as "Pal" partially closed its ETH long positions. It currently holds 3,500 ETH in long positions, with an unrealized loss of $180,000 and a liquidation price of $1,991.01.

February 10th — Basechain AI project Bankr announced today that its token issuance platform is now live. Key updates from the announcement: - New tokens issued via Bankr will generate higher fees for delegates. - Third-party service fees have been scrapped, with that portion of revenue reinvested into the ecosystem. - Developers will earn roughly 14% more per transaction fee, plus additional revenue flowing to the BNKR ecosystem. - Total transaction fees remain 1.2%; existing tokens will not migrate to the new mechanism. - Bankr’s LLM key is launching soon: using just one line of code, delegates’ transaction fees will automatically cover API costs. Per GMGN monitoring (link: https://gmgn.ai/base/token/i_m4TE56o8_0x22af33fe49fd1fa80c7149773dde5890d3c76f3b), the Base ecosystem AI Agent token BNKR briefly topped $120 million in market cap (an all-time high). It currently holds a $108 million market cap with a 24-hour growth rate of 19.8%.

**Wintermute Comment (Feb 10): Bitcoin Dips to $60k, Erases Trump-Era Gains** Bitcoin fell to $60,000 last week, wiping out all gains since the Trump election. Spot flows signal **significant structural pressure**: Coinbase’s premium has stayed in negative territory (persisting since December 2023), pointing to long-term U.S. selling pressure. Internal OTC data confirms U.S. counterparties were the dominant sellers last week—trend amplified by ongoing ETF redemptions. Over recent months, AI-linked assets have steadily absorbed market capital, crowding out other asset classes. The correlation is clear: crypto underperforms as AI stocks rise, and crypto losses are amplified—nearly all tied to capital rotating into AI. For crypto to regain outperformance, AI trading must cool first. Microsoft’s soft earnings report kickstarted this shift, but it’s far from sufficient. Last week’s market saw a **“surrender-style” liquidation**: volatility spiked, and buy orders emerged at $60k. Wi

On Feb 10, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said, "Binance users hold a larger share of stablecoins (including USDT, USDC, USD1, etc.) than users of any other centralized exchange."

CoinGlass reported on Feb. 10 that exchange data shows capital is flowing back, but leverage hasn’t rebounded in tandem. Binance has seen notable capital inflows and higher trading volume, yet its average leverage ratio remains muted. This isn’t a trending market—instead, it’s a post-deleveraging environment awaiting catalysts.