Crypto Morning Brief: U.S. January Nonfarm Payrolls Far Exceed Expectations; BlackRock to Purchase UNI Tokens
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Crypto Morning Brief: U.S. January Nonfarm Payrolls Far Exceed Expectations; BlackRock to Purchase UNI Tokens
Stripe integrates the x402 protocol to support USDC smart-proxy payments on the Base network.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday’s Market Highlights
U.S. unemployment rate slightly below expectations; January NFP far exceeds forecast
According to JIN10 Data, the U.S. unemployment rate for January stood at 4.3%, marginally lower than the market expectation of 4.4% and the lowest since August 2025.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 in January on a seasonally adjusted basis—significantly higher than the median market expectation of 70,000—and marked the largest gain since April 2025.
Carrie Lam: SFC is refining Hong Kong’s virtual asset regulatory ecosystem and announces three new initiatives
According to Foresight News, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong, stated at Consensus 2026 that the SFC is enhancing the virtual asset regulatory ecosystem and unveiled three new initiatives:
First, securities margin financing: licensed brokers will be permitted to provide margin financing to creditworthy clients, with eligible collateral including both securities and virtual assets; BTC and ETH are the only assets permitted in Phase I;
Second, perpetual futures: a high-level regulatory framework will be introduced to allow licensed platforms to offer perpetual futures to professional investors;
Third, affiliated market makers: regulations will be relaxed to permit licensed platforms to provide liquidity through affiliated market-making units.
Lam also noted that tokenized assets are developing rapidly—the tokenized gold market has reached $400 million in assets under management, doubling within six months. To date, 11 tokenized money market funds have been authorized, and Project Ensemble is piloting tokenized deposit settlements for money market funds.
BlackRock in talks with U.S. SEC to tokenize iShares ETFs; CFO says completion expected within one year
According to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, BlackRock is in discussions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to tokenize its iShares ETF products. Martin Small, BlackRock’s Chief Financial Officer, stated he could not confirm whether this process would take 90 days or up to 12 months. Hougan commented that this development could become a key narrative driving the market out of its bearish phase and would significantly benefit Layer 1 blockchains and decentralized finance (DeFi).
BlackRock announces purchase of UNI tokens, quantity undisclosed
According to Fortune, BlackRock—the world’s largest asset management firm—has announced the integration of its U.S. Treasury-backed digital token BUIDL onto the decentralized exchange Uniswap. As part of this collaboration, BlackRock will also acquire an undisclosed amount of Uniswap’s native token, UNI. The initiative is facilitated by tokenization firm Securitize, with initial participation restricted to qualified investors (those with assets exceeding $5 million).
Robert Mitchnick, Global Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, said this partnership represents a critical step toward integrating tokenized assets with DeFi and will promote broader adoption of stablecoins across financial services. Hayden Adams, Founder and CEO of Uniswap, remarked that BlackRock’s involvement validates blockchain platforms as the future mainstream infrastructure for asset trading.
Stripe integrates x402 protocol to enable USDC smart-agent payments on Base
According to The Block, Stripe—the global payments giant—has launched a preview version of its machine payment system, integrating the x402 protocol to allow developers and enterprises to charge autonomous smart agents directly using USDC stablecoins on the Base network.
Jeff Weinstein, Stripe’s Product Lead, said this deployment will ultimately expand to include additional protocols, currencies, and blockchains. The system leverages Stripe’s PaymentIntents API, enabling businesses to programmatically charge for smart agent API usage, model context protocol calls, and HTTP requests.
Coinbase board fails to block public disclosure of insider trading case testimony
According to Bloomberg, Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ruled on February 12, 2026, that Coinbase Global Inc.’s board must disclose deposition transcripts related to an insider trading lawsuit against CEO Brian Armstrong, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and other board members. The judge rejected the defense argument that witnesses might be less candid if they knew their testimony could be made public, ordering the Special Litigation Committee to release deposition transcripts from angel investor Gokul Rajaram and Joseph R. Slights III, head of the internal investigation legal team.
Zerohash adds support for Monad blockchain to expand USDC stablecoin payment services
According to The Block, Zerohash—a $1 billion-valued crypto infrastructure company—announced expanded support for the Monad blockchain and USDC stablecoins to extend stablecoin payment capabilities across Layer 1 networks. This integration enables Zerohash clients—including Kalshi, Gusto, and Public—to build and launch stablecoin-based payment workflows without managing blockchain infrastructure or obtaining regulatory licenses. The solution supports real-time account funding, cross-border payments, business-to-business settlements, and onchain commerce.
Robinhood releases Q4 and full-year 2025 financial results
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) recently reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results. Total revenue for 2025 reached $4.5 billion, up 52% year-on-year; net income totaled $1.9 billion, up 33%; diluted earnings per share were $2.05. Fourth-quarter revenue was $1.28 billion, up 27% year-on-year.
Data shows the company recorded $68 billion in net deposits for the year. Robinhood Gold subscription users reached 4.2 million, up 58% year-on-year. Assets under management in retirement accounts rose 102% to $26.5 billion.
Robinhood stated it plans to continue product development and expand internationally in 2026, forecasting adjusted operating expenses to increase to $2.6–2.725 billion, representing approximately 18% year-on-year growth.
The report notes that Robinhood has launched stock and share ISAs in the UK and plans to expand into Asia via the acquisition of an Indonesian brokerage and crypto firm.
Robinhood launches public testnet for its Arbitrum-based blockchain
According to The Block, U.S.-based trading platform Robinhood announced the launch of its public testnet for an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum. The network aims to lay the foundation for a tokenized real-world assets ecosystem and enable developers to leverage DeFi liquidity within the Ethereum ecosystem. The testnet phase will support experimentation to identify issues and improve network stability ahead of mainnet launch.
Strategy CEO: Company to issue more perpetual preferred shares
According to Bloomberg, Phong Le, CEO of Strategy, said in an interview that the company plans to issue more perpetual preferred shares to alleviate investor concerns over sharp stock price volatility. Le explained that Strategy’s perpetual preferred shares—branded “Stretch”—offer investors “exposure to digital capital while mitigating volatility risk.” The dividend rate resets monthly and currently stands at 11.25%, designed to keep the share price anchored near its $100 par value.
To date, preferred shares represent a small portion of Strategy’s overall financing. The company has raised approximately $370 million in common stock and $7 million in perpetual preferred shares to fund its recent Bitcoin purchases over the past three weeks.
U.S.-listed Chinese company “Addentax Group” seeks $200M private placement to support crypto and AI strategy
According to PRNewswire, Addentax Group Corp. (“Addentax”), a U.S.-listed company, signed a memorandum of understanding on February 9 with two Middle Eastern institutional investors backed by royal families, securing up to $200 million in strategic investment to advance its business in AI-driven financial services and cryptocurrency.
Addentax stated that, if completed, the investment will be used to scale its AI-powered fintech platform, broaden its compliant suite of cryptocurrency financial services, deepen market penetration in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region, and sustain R&D investment. The transaction remains subject to due diligence, regulatory approvals, and execution of definitive agreements.
Market Data
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This article details how Robinhood achieved multiple all-time highs in fiscal year 2025, yet suffered a sharp decline in its stock price due to a significant drop in cryptocurrency trading revenue amid broader crypto market weakness. Although the company has diversified revenue streams and invested heavily in infrastructure to reduce reliance on crypto, its core business remains materially impacted by crypto market volatility.
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Market Recap for February 11: Dow Soars to New High, Bitcoin Still Catching Its Breath
This article reports that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq underperformed due to AI-related narratives. December retail sales data came in below expectations, increasing market expectations for Fed rate cuts. Upcoming nonfarm payroll and CPI reports will serve as key catalysts for the next market move.
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