Why Is Crypto Up Today? – February 3, 2026

After several days of notable decreases, the crypto market is up today. It increased by 2.5% over the past 24 hours to $2.72 trillion, still unable to return above $3 trillion. Moreover, 95 of the top 100 coins appreciated in this timeframe. Also, the total crypto trading volume stands at $160 billion.

Crypto Winners & Losers

On Tuesday morning (UTC), all top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen their prices rise.

Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 2.8%, now changing hands at $78,533.

Bitcoin (BTC)

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Ethereum (ETH) is up 4.3%, now trading hands at $2,318. This is the second-highest rise in the category.

The biggest increase is 4.5% by Lido Staked Ether (STETH), currently standing at $2,319.

Dogecoin (DOGE)’s 4% is next, climbing to $0.1068.

The smallest increase among the top 10 is 0.3% by Tron (TRX), changing hands at $0.2833.

Furthermore, of the top 100 coins per market cap, 95 have posted price increases today.

Four of these saw double-digit increases, the highest of which is Hyperliquid (HYPE)’s 22.6% to $37.

It’s followed by Kinetiq Staked HYPE (KHYPE), with a 22.4% rise to $37.

On the other hand, the only two coins that recorded drops above 1% are Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC). They’re down 5.6% and 4.7% to $374 and $288.

Meanwhile, the US crypto market structure legislation failed to pass the US Senate, as there was no agreement on allowing exchanges to offer yield or rewards on stablecoins.

The Monday meeting saw crypto industry groups, exchange representatives, and Wall Street bankers coming together for a discussion.

According to people familiar with the matter, White House wants the participants to reach a compromise on stablecoin yields by the end of this month.

‘Defining Potential Downside Boundaries’

The January 2026 Nonfarm Payrolls report in the US, scheduled for release this Friday, has been postponed due to a partial US government shutdown.

Bitunix analysts argue that delayed nonfarm payrolls data and manufacturing weakness weigh on risk assets. “Markets have clearly shifted into a phase where risk-off sentiment and deleveraging are occurring simultaneously,” they write.

Also, Nick Forster, Founder onchain options platform Derive.xyz, commented on “a bloodbath across crypto markets over the past few days.”

A combination of thin liquidity, profit-taking, and large-scale liquidations seems to be driving the selloff. This led to BTC volatility surging more than 50% from 30% on Thursday to 45%.

At the same time, BTC skew plunged from -2% to -8%, before recovering modestly to -4%, which is “a clear sign that traders aggressively scrambled for downside protection,” Forster says.

“Broader macro concerns are compounding crypto’s weakness,” he adds. “Fears around an overheated tech sector, highlighted by Microsoft’s 10% drop last week, and lingering unease over AI-driven exuberance are weighing heavily on high-beta assets.”

BTC volatility term structure (orange line) with box plot of historical data (blue) overlaid.
Source: Derive.xyz, Amberdata

“Options markets are beginning to define potential downside boundaries,” he says. Based on recent flow and open interest, BTC support is forming around $70,000.

The past 24 hours have seen heavy put buying across the $78,000-$74,000 strikes for the 27 February expiry. “Open interest for this tenor shows a notable concentration between $70,000 and $75,000, signalling where traders are bracing for further downside.”

Short-term fear dominates market psychology. Near-dated volatility is trading well above longer-dated levels, reflecting “acute uncertainty in the immediate term,” Forster says.

He continues: “Importantly, while short-dated vols have surged far beyond historical norms, longer-dated volatility remains comparatively anchored. This suggests that markets expect the uncertainty to fade over a 60+ day horizon rather than persist structurally.”

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Tuesday morning, BTC was trading at $78,533. It started the day at the intraday low of $76,364 before gradually rising to the high of $79,130. It dropped somewhat since, but it’s currently trading mostly sideways.

The red percentage in the 7-day period now stands at just below 11%. The coin moved between $75,442 and $90,117 in this timeframe.

If Bitcoin bounces off the $76,000 level, it could rise to $79,550, aiming for $80,700. This would open door for a recovery to $85,000. Alternatively, a fall below $74,300 would pull the price towards $70,000.

According to Bitunix analysts, “prices are currently oscillating within a range, with the area around $80,000 acting as a critical structural resistance that would signal a return of risk capital. On the downside, $75,000 represents an important support zone, reflecting the market’s absorption threshold amid ongoing deleveraging. Whether BTC can hold this range will determine if the crypto market continues with a passive adjustment or begins to show relative resilience and structural divergence.”

Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: TradingView

At the same time, Ethereum was changing hands at $2,318. It appreciated from the intraday low of $2,224 to the intraday high of $2,387. Much like BTC, ETH has been trading sideways since the early morning (UTC), and it will be interesting to see where it will go from here.

Over the past week, ETH fell by a significant 21%. It traded in the $2,196-$3,034 range. It’s quite a wide range for the coin and for the timeframe.

The coin is nearing a drop below the $2,000 level, and this is likely to happen should the downturn return. However, if ETH holds the $2,350 zone, it could recover to $2,530, $2,670, and $2,750.

Ethereum (ETH)

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Moreover, the crypto market sentiment posted another (even if minor) decrease, pushing deeper within the extreme fear zone.

The crypto fear and greed index stands at 17 today, compared to 18 on Sunday/Monday and 26 on Saturday.

Caution is palpable, and fear is increasing among market participants. We may see a smaller rise in sentiment following this latest increase in the overall market, but even that will largely depend on whether the market will be able to stay green long enough for the metric to react.

Source: CoinMarketCap

BTC ETFs Go Green, ETH ETFs Stay Red

After four days of outflows, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) closed the Monday session with $561.89 million in positive flows. With that, the total net inflow managed to stay above $55 billion, rising to $55.57 billion.

Of the twelve ETFs, a whopping eight posted positive flows. We find Fidelity at the top, having taken in $153.35 million.

It’s followed by BlackRock’s $141.99 million and Bitwise’s $96.5 million in inflows.

Source: SoSoValue

However, the US ETH ETFs continued the red streak for the third consecutive day. It let go of $2.86 million on 2 February. The total net inflow has remained largely unchanged, still standing at $11.97 billion.

Of the nine ETH ETFs, one saw outflows and three recorded inflows. BlackRock posted negative flows of $82.11 million.

At the same time, Fidelity took in $66.62 million, followed by VanEck’s $7.64 million and Bitwise’s $4.99 million. These three’s green total was not enough to beat the one red fund.

Source: SoSoValue

Meanwhile, German bank ING Deutschland opened retail access to crypto-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs). This allows customers to gain exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana through its securities platform.

The products are physically backed ETNs issued by established providers, including 21Shares, Bitwise, and VanEck.

Quick FAQ

1. Did crypto move with stocks today?

The crypto market posted an upturn over the past 24 hours. Also, the US stock market opened the week and the month with a sharp increase. By the end of trading on Monday, 2 February, the S&P 500 was up 0.54%, the Nasdaq-100 increased by 0.73%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.05%.

1. Is this rally sustainable?

It is currently doubtful that the market will continue seeing significant consecutive increases in the short term. It’s likely we’ll see additional drops, unless the market finds and defends a firm green foothold that would allow a longer-term rally.