Entropy, a decentralized custody startup led by a16z, has announced its closure and will return remaining funds to investors. Entropy founder and CEO Tux Pacific stated on the X platform that the decision was made after four years of product development, multiple business adjustments, and two rounds of layoffs. Entropy positioned itself as an alternative to centralized crypto custody institutions, utilizing technologies such as multi-party computation, threshold cryptography, and trusted execution environments to provide users with cross-chain asset management and automated signature services. The company completed a $25 million seed round in 2022 led by a16z, with participation from investors including Dragonfly, Variant, and Coinbase Ventures, bringing its total funding to approximately $27 million. Pacific stated that recent research revealed the business model was unsustainable for venture capital-level growth, leading to the decision to cease operations and return capital. This event also reflects the increasingly challenging environment for crypto startups since 2025. (TheBlock)

Moonbirds officially stated on X: "We have seen some rumors circulating, so we would like to clarify that we have not yet taken any snapshots of Moonbirds, Mythics, or Oddities NFTs."

Markets closed another rough week as 2026 opened with tension everywhere. Stocks slipped again while traders reacted to geopolitics, weather shocks, and policy risk. The mood stayed cautious from Monday to Friday. Nothing felt settled. Money moved fast, but confidence did not. The S&P 500 finished Friday barely above flat, up less than 0. 1% on […] source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/busy-week-fomc-policy-call-meets-earnings/

Vitalik Buterin recently expressed a shift in his perspective on the blockchain concept of recording only transaction sequences without committing to state. According to ChainCatcher, Buterin explained the reasons behind this change in viewpoint. Initially, Buterin opposed the idea because if a blockchain does not commit to state, users would either need to verify all transactions from the genesis block or rely on a single third-party service, both of which are not ideal. In contrast, designs like Ethereum's, which commit to state roots in block headers, allow for state verification under the assumption of a majority honest consensus using Merkle proofs, making it more feasible. Buterin highlighted that the development of zero-knowledge technologies such as ZK-SNARKs has been pivotal. These technologies enable the verification of blockchain correctness without re-executing all transactions, thus achieving both security and scalability. Additionally, Buterin reflected on real-world uncertainties such as network disruptions, service provider shutdowns, consensus centralization, and censorship risks. He emphasized that blockchain systems must always retain a self-verifiable option that does not rely on others. In his view, the concept of a "mountain cabin" is not for everyday use but serves as a safety net in extreme situations and as leverage against intermediaries and service providers. Maintaining this minimal viable, self-sufficient path is an essential part of Ethereum's long-term evolution.

Vitalik Buterin recently published an article stating that he no longer fully agrees with the old view from 2017 that blockchain "only records the order of transactions and does not commit to state," and explained the reasons for this shift. Vitalik pointed out that his early opposition to this idea stemmed from the fact that if the on-chain state is not committed to, ordinary users either have to fully verify all transactions from the genesis block or are forced to trust a single third-party service provider—neither of which is ideal. In contrast, designs like Ethereum, which commit to the state root in the block header, allow for the verification of arbitrary states through Merkle proofs under the "majority honesty" consensus assumption, making it more feasible. He emphasized that the real change in this trade-off is the development of zero-knowledge technologies such as ZK-SNARKs, which make it possible to verify on-chain correctness without re-executing all transactions, thus "achieving both security and scalability." Furthermore, Vitalik also reflected on the uncertainties of the real world: network outages, service provider shutdowns, consensus centralization, and censorship risks can occur at any time; therefore, the blockchain system must always retain a "self-verifiable" fallback mechanism that does not rely on others. In his view, the "mountain cabin" is not a model for everyone's daily living, but rather a safety net in extreme situations, and also an important bargaining chip to constrain intermediaries and service providers. Maintaining such a minimum viable and autonomously usable path is an indispensable part of Ethereum's long-term evolution.

null source: https://x.com/lookonchain/status/2015599994108309842

a16z-backed crypto custody startup Entropy is shutting down after four years, with founder Tux Pacific saying remaining capital will be returned to investors. source: https://cryptonews.com/news/a16z-backed-crypto-custody-startup-shut-down-return-capital/

null source: https://x.com/BSCNews/status/2015598282458726706

null source: https://x.com/cointelegraph/status/2015598223063171412

1. CZ: Memoir may be published in late February or early March; 2. International gold prices break through $5,000/ounce, continuing to set new historical highs; 3. Japan may lift the ban on spot crypto ETFs in 2028, SBI and Nomura have already advanced product preparation; 4. Entropy, a decentralized custody startup invested in by a16z, announces closure and returns funds to investors; 5. OCC responds to US senator's question: WLFI's banking license application will be strictly reviewed according to current regulatory standards; 6. The Polymarket bet on "Gold or ETH: Which will rise to $5,000 first" has settled, with a total bet of nearly $1.62 million; 7. The agent of the "1011 insider whale" added $20 million USDC to Hyperliquid to avoid liquidation, and the overall floating loss has expanded to approximately $83.4 million; 8. The US is entering a period of clear regulation for crypto assets, and the passage of the market structure bill may improve industry predictability and benefit retail investors; 9. a16z Crypto: The security focus of public chains such as BTC and ETH should be on protocols and governance, without blindly switching to quantum attack-resistant solutions; 10. Analysis: If the Crypto Market Structure Act restricts stablecoin yields, it may lead to capital outflows from the United States.

Over $20 million in cryptocurrency, linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack and stored in a US government wallet, has been suspiciously transferred, raising concerns of a potential theft. Blockchain analysts are investigating the sudden movement, which includes funds like Ethereum and stablecoins, possibly tied to a hacker.