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Recapping Consensus Hong Kong

Crypto's role in payments for AI, regulatory changes and the digital asset market dominated conversations on the ground.

What to know:

Speakers at CoinDesk's Consensus Hong Kong conference said crypto and stablecoins are likely to become the default payment tools for autonomous AI agents in an emerging "machine economy."

Market participants warned that bitcoin, which has already dropped nearly $30,000 in a month, may fall further, with $50,000 seen as the level to watch.

Hong Kong regulators are pressing ahead with crypto rules even as others wait to see how U.S. legislation develops.

Key Senate Democrat wants U.S. crypto bill to move, and SEC chief reveals danger of defeat

Senator Mark Warner, a leading Democratic negotiator on the market structure bill, said he wants it to pass, and SEC chief Paul Atkins said durable policy actually requires it.

What to know:

In a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing today, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said that making crypto policies permanent really demands legislation, despite the authorities he said his agency has to write rules that will work in the interim.

Though progress has moved in fits and starts on the U.S. Senate bill to govern crypto market structure, one of the top negotiators on the Democrats' side, Senator Mark Warner, said during the hearing that he still wants the effort to advance.

Sharplink's Lubin and Chalom make their case for ether DATs as prices plunge

At a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong 2026 featuring Sharplink Gaming Chairman Joe Lubin and CEO Joseph Chalom, the two executives outlined how digital asset treasuries are evolving into a distinct institutional strategy.

What to know:

As institutional adoption of digital assets matures, a new corporate playbook is emerging: treat ether not just as an investment, but as productive financial infrastructure.

At a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong 2026 featuring Sharplink Gaming (SBET) Chairman Joe Lubin and CEO Joseph Chalom, the two executives outlined how DATs are evolving into a distinct institutional strategy.

Crypto PAC Fairshake seeks to force resistant Texas Democrat Al Green from U.S. House

The super PAC is devoting $1.5 million to get Representative Al Green, a Democrat critical of the crypto industry, defeated by a primary challenger.

What to know:

For the second time this week, the Fairshake super PAC has announced a significant campaign spending plan in its effort to build a pro-crypto Congress, this time going after Democratic Representative Al Green.

One of Fairshake's affiliate PACs committed $1.5 million against the longtime Texas congressman in a primary election next month that pits him against a candidate with blockchain-friendly sentiments.

The spending easily outpaces what Green's campaign has raised so far.

$BTC
Bitcoin tumbles back near last week's lows as AI fears crush tech and precious metals plunge

The strong correlation between crypto and the software sector reasserted itself on Wednesday

What to know:

Bitcoin has mostly erased its bounce from last week's crypto crash, returning to the $65,000 area.

The sell-off in digital assets tracked a broader pullback in the tech sector, particularly in the software names with which bitcoin has been so strongly correlated.

Gold and silver each suffered quick afternoon plunges, with silver moving from a modest gain for the day to a 10% decline.

$ADA
Charles Hoskinson confirms deal to onboard LayerZero on Cardano

Input Output CEO and founder Charles Hoskinson announced the a deal to get the institutional-focused LayerZero ported over to the Cardano blockchain.

What to know:

Hoskinson announced a deal to onboard institutional focused blockchain LayerZero to the Cardano blockchain.

LayerZero received investment from Citadel Securities on Wednesday.

Hoskinson lamented the market downturn, saying sentiment is at an all time low while remaining bullish on the macro lens of crypto.

Privacy-focused Midnight blockchain to go live next month, says Cardano's Charles Hoskinson

Input Output Global's Founder Charles Hoskinson said Midnight, the long-awaited privacy-focused blockchain, will launch in the final week of March as a partner chain to Cardano.

What to know:

Input Output Global founder Charles Hoskinson said Midnight, a long-awaited privacy-focused blockchain, will launch in the final week of March as a partner chain to Cardano.

Midnight allows users to keep transactions private by default while sharing specific data with authorized parties when required.

A new Midnight City Simulation, opening to the public on Feb. 26, is designed to test the blockchain’s ability to generate and process proofs at scale under real-world-like transaction loads.

#CZAMAonBinanceSquare #BitcoinGoogleSearchesSurge

Last week's rout delivered bitcoin's biggest realized loss ever; bottoming signals grow

The Feb. 5 shock booked the largest-ever realized loss — $3.2 billion — in bitcoin history.

What to know:

The Feb. 5 crash in bitcoin saw $3.2 billion in realized losses, officially overtaking the 2022 Terra Luna collapse as the single largest loss event in bitcoin's history.

According to data platform checkonchain, daily net losses exceeded $1.5 billion.

$BTC
#BitcoinGoogleSearchesSurge

$BTC
Strategy's STRC returns to $100, poised to unlock more bitcoin accumulation

The perpetual preferred STRC hits $100 par amid bitcoin downturn, enabling potential further BTC purchases for the company.

What to know:

Stretch (STRC) reclaimed its $100 par value for the first time since mid-January, a move that enables Strategy (MSTR) to resume at-the-market offerings for additional bitcoin purchases.

The preferred equity stabilized near par despite recent bitcoin volatility, supported by a monthly dividend rate that Strategy recently increased to 11.25%.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says Midnight won't chase Monero, ZCash users

Midnight will target "billions who don't know they need privacy" rather than privacy maxis as mainnet launch nears in March, he said.

What to know:

Charles Hoskinson said Midnight won't actively recruit Monero and ZCash users, calling them a "different demographic" that already cares deeply about privacy.

Midnight will rather target "billions of people that don't know they need privacy" with default privacy protection instead of optional features.

Hoskinson argued privacy isn't a binary "light switch" like privacy coins suggest, criticizing the on/off approach of Monero and ZCash.

UK appoints HSBC for blockchain bond pilot

The Treasury appointed banking giant and law firm Ashurst to steer its digital gilt trial this year as Britain plays catch-up to Hong Kong and Luxembourg.

What to know:

The pilot will run inside the Bank of England's "digital sandbox," allowing the tokenized government bond to be tested under relaxed regulatory rules before any permanent market structure changes.

The banking giant has already orchestrated over $3.5 billion in digital bond issuances through its proprietary Orion system, including Hong Kong's $1.3 billion green bond — one of the largest tokenized debt sales to date.

Industry experts note that even if the pilot succeeds, full-scale adoption of digital gilts will need new laws and clarified tax treatment before becoming a standard feature of UK debt markets.

$USD1
Trump-linked WLFI's Zak Folkman teases forex platform at Consensus Hong Kong

Folkman says more details will be revealed soon at an event at Mar-a-Lago.

What to know:

World Liberty Financial, a Trump-family-linked crypto project, plans to launch a foreign exchange platform called World Swap as part of its USD1 stablecoin ecosystem.

Co-founder Zak Folkman said World Swap aims to simplify cross-border transfers and challenge traditional remittance providers that charge fees of 2% to 10% per transaction.

The company is building a broader financial stack around its cash-backed USD1 stablecoin, including the recently launched World Liberty Markets lending platform, which has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits.

Analysts react as Robinhood slumps 10%, with slowdown in crypto trading weighing on results

JPMorgan and Compass Point were among the sell-side teams trimming price targets on HOOD.

What to know:

Robinhood shares dropped 10% after fourth-quarter revenue of $1.28 billion missed estimates.

Crypto revenue slid 38% year over year to $221 million, dragging transaction revenue and contributing to misses in adjusted EBITDA and net interest income.

JPMorgan lowered its price target to $113 from $130, citing moderating growth and tougher 2025 comparisons.

$UNI BlackRock takes first DeFi step, lists BUIDL on Uniswap as UNI jumps 25%

BlackRock will make shares of its $2.2 billion tokenized U.S. Treasury fund tradable on the decentralized exchange Uniswap.

What to know:

BlackRock will make shares of its $2.2 billion tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, tradable on the decentralized exchange Uniswap, marking its first move into DeFi.

UNI, the exchange's governance token, jumped 25% on the news.

Trading BUIDL on UniswapX will allow pre-qualified, whitelisted investors to swap the tokenized Treasury fund around the clock with approved market makers using stablecoins, with Securitize handling compliance.

In unfamiliar market conditions, historical data-driven AI trading bots will falter

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says AI trading apps are like interns for now; soon they will be full time employees.

What to know:

Unusual market events like the 10/10 liquidations or even last week’s severe selloffs will leave agentic trading models short of the mark.

Humans day traders and retail players are too emotional to compete with AI said the founder of an agentic trading startup.

$BTC
Cryptos crumble, bitcoin falls through $66,000, as Friday's bounce fades
With so many other asset markets in rally mode, investors for the moment appear to have moved on from crypto.

What to know:

Friday's crypto bounce is sharply reversing on Wednesday, with bitcoin falling back below $66,000.

Fading Fed rate cut hopes are weighing on markets, but the crypto bear market began last year as the U.S. central bank was cutting rates.

The hard data, along with anecdotal evidence, suggests crypto investors have lost interest and moved on to any number of other rallying markets.

The human brain's edge is fading. AI could outhink us in 2 years, Ben Goertzel says

"The human brain is better at taking the imaginative leap to understand the unknown ... We should enjoy it for a couple more years."

What to know:

Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, predicts that artificial intelligence will surpass humans in high-level market thinking and strategy in about two years.

While AI systems like his Quantium project are good at predicting bitcoin volatility, people still currently excel at long-term, imaginative strategic thinking.

Goertzel sees growing interest in real-world DeFi and TradFi integration and decentralized AI as proof the technology is maturing.

The Protocol: Robinhood unveils its layer-2 testnet
Also: Citadel Securities backs LayerZero chain, MegaETH mainnet debut and ENS scraps L2 plans

What to know:

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk.

In this issue:

Robinhood starts testing its own blockchain as its push into crypto and tokenization deepens.

Citadel Securities backs LayerZero as it unveils ‘Zero’ blockchain for global markets.

MegaETH debuts mainnet as Ethereum scaling debate heats up.
Ethereum's ENS identity system scraps planned rollup after Vitalik's warning about layer-2 networks.