Aster Launches Phase Six Buyback Plan, Allocating Up to 80% of Platform Fees to Token Repurchase

On February 3, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan noted that the crypto market has been in a long-term downtrend since early 2025, and the current environment should be viewed as a full-blown "Leonardo DiCaprio-style crypto winter à la *The Revenant*" rather than a temporary technical correction. Historically, crypto winters have typically lasted around 13 months from peak to trough, Hougan said, and this cycle may have kicked off earlier than most investors realize. While Bitcoin hit its peak in October 2025, he noted the market’s underlying weakness was already evident by January 2025—only masked by strong inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and digital asset treasuries. Though specific timing remains uncertain, Hougan believes the market may be closer to recovery than to further downside. He pointed to several positive catalysts: the winter has already stretched over a year, plus strong economic growth, positive surprises from the Crypto Market Structure Act (CLARI

On February 3, The Block reported that Tether has released an open-source operating system for Bitcoin mining—providing miners with a new alternative to proprietary, manufacturer-controlled software and signaling the firm’s ongoing expansion into crypto infrastructure. The stablecoin issuer said it has open-sourced MiningOS (MOS), an OS built to manage, monitor, and automate Bitcoin mining operations. MOS caters to use cases ranging from small-scale home rig setups to large industrial mining farms. Tether first teased plans for an open-source mining OS last year, arguing new entrants shouldn’t have to rely on costly, closed management tools to participate in Bitcoin mining. Other firms, including Block (founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey), have also pushed for more open mining infrastructure. Per Tether, MOS boasts a modular peer-to-peer architecture that lets operators run mining operations without relying on centralized services. The system coordinates hardware, energy u

On February 3, monitoring by HyperInsight (via its Telegram channel @HyperInsight) shows that the wallet address linked to the "Silver Iron Head Air Force" (0x61cee) has re-entered the market to short silver. Its current 20x leveraged short position on xyz:SILVER (a synthetic silver asset) totals $9.5 million, with an average entry price of $83.73 and an unrealized loss of $272,000. This address has maintained a consistent short stance on silver. Its previously held and closed silver short position incurred a realized loss of $4.79 million after being held for several days.

On Feb. 3, per CoinDesk, economist Robin Brooks predicted President Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh would cut interest rates by 100 basis points ahead of the midterm elections — a call that clashes with external concerns over his hawkish stance.

**Feb 3 (AP) — The Paris Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday it conducted a search of the French office of Elon Musk’s social media platform X as part of a preliminary investigation into multiple alleged illegal activities, including the spread of child pornography and deepfake content.** **The probe was opened by the prosecutor’s cybercrime division in January of last year, the office noted in a statement.** **Separately, the office has requested voluntary interviews with Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino—X’s CEO (serving 2023–2025)—scheduled for April 20. Several X employees have also been summoned to testify as witnesses during the same week in April.**

On February 3, U.S. Treasury yields climbed as latest data pointed to the U.S. economy’s growing resilience. Kudotrade’s Konstantinos Chrysikos noted in a report that Monday’s ISM Manufacturing PMI delivered a “significant upside surprise.” He noted that while employment and inventories remain in contraction territory, a rebound in the employment subindex signals the labor force’s drag on the economy could be easing. “Overall, this data reinforces the view that U.S. economic growth remains resilient,” he said. Per Tradeweb data, the U.S. 2-year Treasury yield rose 1.4 basis points to 3.582%, while the 10-year yield climbed 1 basis point to 4.286% (IG).