Geopolitical Risks Trigger Turmoil Across Global Assets, Crypto Market Falls into Extreme Fear
Summary
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Macro Economy: Geopolitical tensions surrounding Greenland intensified, with Denmark planning to sell U.S. Treasuries, while growing concerns over Japan’s domestic fiscal outlook ignited turmoil in global bond markets. U.S. financial markets experienced a simultaneous sell-off across equities, bonds, and currencies. Major U.S. equity indices plunged across the board, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 2%, marking its largest single-day decline in over three months. The VIX volatility index surged to its highest level since last November, as risk-off sentiment drove safe-haven flows into gold, pushing prices above a record high of USD 4,800.
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Crypto Market: Against the backdrop of concentrated macro risk releases, sentiment in the crypto market deteriorated sharply. Bitcoin fell below the USD 88,000 level, posting its worst single-day performance in nearly two months and extending losses to a sixth consecutive day. Market sentiment slid back into the Extreme Fear zone. Structurally, Bitcoin’s market dominance remained relatively stable, while altcoins broadly declined in line with the market without showing signs of accelerated panic selling.
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Project Updates
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Hot Tokens: PAXG, XAUT
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PAXG / XAUT: Heightened macro risks and rising risk-aversion drove gold demand to new historical highs
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LINK: Chainlink launched 24/5 U.S. equity data feeds, bringing U.S. stock market data on-chain
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NEAR: Grayscale submitted an S-1 filing to the U.S. SEC to launch a Grayscale Near Trust
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Major Asset Movements
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Crypto Fear & Greed Index: 24 (32 twenty-four hours ago), classified as Extreme Fear
Today’s Outlook
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The U.S. Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the case involving Trump’s dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
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ZAMA token auction postponed to January 21–24
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PLUME token unlock: 39.75% of circulating supply, valued at approximately USD 22.3 million
Macro Economy
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Danish pension fund Akademiker Pension to exit the U.S. Treasury market
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The European Parliament freezes the approval process of the EU–U.S. trade agreement in response to recent Trump tariffs
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U.S. President Trump: Plans to impose a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne
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Bessent on the Federal Reserve: Trump may decide on the next Fed Chair as early as next week
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The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the legal challenge to Trump’s global tariffs; a decision may take at least another month
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Japan’s aggressive fiscal expansion plans sparked market panic, with weak demand at JGB auctions intensifying sell-offs
Policy Direction
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U.S. CFTC Chair Michael Selig launched the “Future Proof” initiative to upgrade crypto regulation
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U.S. CFTC Chair: Congress is “close to passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act”
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated Trump’s objective to build world-leading crypto regulation and advance a strategic Bitcoin reserve
Industry Highlights
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Trump Media & Technology Group announced February 2 as the registration date for its digital token initiative
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Bitmine received investor support to expand its share issuance cap
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Delaware Life introduced a Bitcoin index into its fixed indexed annuities, with IBIT used as an allocation tool
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Crypto payment card transaction volumes surged, with daily transaction counts up approximately 22× compared with late 2024
Deep Dive into Industry Highlights
Trump Media (DJT) Digital Token: A Strategic Loop from Social Media to Finance
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) has set February 2 as the registration date for shareholder digital token eligibility, marking a substantive leap from a pure social platform into the crypto-financial space. Rather than a traditional security token, this initiative functions more as a blockchain-based identity credential and loyalty equity. By collaborating with Crypto.com, TMTG aims to utilize blockchain transparency to precisely identify its millions of retail shareholders. Through token airdrops and product incentives, they are building a highly cohesive "Truth" ecosystem. Furthermore, under the "Truth.Fi" brand, this move is seen as the foundational piece of their broader layout in decentralized finance.
Bitmine’s Share Cap Expansion: A "Liquidity Contingency" for the Ethereum Giant
Bitmine’s proposal to increase its authorized share cap 100-fold (from 500 million to 50 billion) is fundamentally driven by the need to counteract the "price threshold effect" caused by Ethereum (ETH) volatility. As a giant holding over 4 million ETH, Bitmine’s stock price is highly correlated with Ethereum's performance. Management anticipates that if ETH hits record highs, the per-share price could become too expensive for retail participation. Consequently, this expansion is not intended for immediate dilution or financing, but rather to create room for a future stock split, ensuring the stock remains highly liquid and retail-friendly in the secondary market.
Delaware Life & IBIT: The "Crypto Integration Year" for Traditional Insurance
The introduction of a Bitcoin index linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) into Delaware Life’s Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIA) signifies that crypto assets have officially entered mainstream retirement protection tools. Since annuity products prioritize principal protection, this "indexed" approach—rather than direct holding—allows conservative investors to capture Bitcoin’s upside potential while avoiding the risk of total principal loss associated with direct investment. For IBIT, this is not just a new channel for capital inflow; it represents a major milestone in crypto ETFs breaking through the barriers of the long-term wealth management and pension markets.
Crypto Payment Card Surge: A Paradigm Shift from Speculation to Utility
The 22-fold surge in daily transaction volume for crypto payment cards compared to late 2024 reflects a maturing trend of "disintermediation" in everyday payment scenarios. With the proliferation of non-custodial solutions from providers like Etherfi, Gnosis, and MetaMask, users no longer need to transfer assets back to centralized exchanges for fiat conversion. Instead, they can settle transactions instantly at any Visa or Mastercard terminal. This "on-chain storage, off-chain spending" model significantly bolsters the monetary properties of digital assets, signaling that cryptocurrencies are evolving from speculative "digital gold" into practical tools for a circular economy.