Morning Crypto Report: ‘I Am Capitulating’: What’s Vitalik Buterin Talking About? Bitcoin Quantum Threat Drama Gets 20,000 BTC Twist, Cardano out of Top 10 as Bitcoin Cash Wins Back 25% of BCH Price

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin declares he is “capitulating” — not to crypto, but to finally calling Twitter “X” just days after selling $6.6 million worth of ETH during peak crypto panic.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin faces renewed anxiety over quantum vulnerability as CoinShares highlights 20,000 BTC potentially exposed to future decryption. Bitcoin Cash surges 25%, reclaiming a top 10 spot and pushing Cardano out in a rare reversal of fortunes.

As the crypto market tries to stabilize this Sunday near $69,000 after a $1.46 billion liquidation wipeout, its participants brace for next week’s volatility, with majors stuck below key resistance and macro risks from Fed policy still unresolved.

TL;DR

• Vitalik Buterin publicly capitulates to calling Twitter “X” days after selling $6.6 million in ETH.
• Bitcoin’s quantum threat risk resurfaces: 20,000 legacy BTC in theoretical danger.
• Bitcoin Cash explodes 25%, reclaims top 10: Cardano dethroned.

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin confirms he is capitulating

Vitalik Buterin’s latest post is designed to be misread on purpose as the Ethereum visionary wrote “I am capitulating” but then immediately clarified the target: naming. The message is that he will call Twitter “X” going forward, and that “tweet” has become a generic term for short-form posts on platforms with X-like UX, explicitly mentioning Farcaster and Lens in his examples. He even added a usage guide.

Of course, Buterin’s use of the term “capitulate” — just days after selling 2,961.5 ETH for $6.6 million at an average price $2,228 — set off another round of uncertainty and fear.

As was later confirmed by on-chain data, the ETH sale went to multiple addresses linked to open-source biotech projects and the Ethereum Foundation, including Kanro, Buterin’s nonprofit focused on pandemic prevention.

The timing aligned with Ethereum’s plunge to new local lows under $1,950 — down 22% from the peak — during one of the worst liquidation cascades since “Black Friday” on Oct. 10, 2025. While Buterin did not comment on the ETH price directly, the dual signal of “capitulating” and exiting ETH positions fueled discussion as to whether Ethereum’s creator is signaling about something deeper than just the name of X.

Up to 20,000 Bitcoin (BTC) vulnerable to quantum threat

A fresh report from CoinShares’ Christopher Bendiksen touches on the long-circulating “quantum computing kills Bitcoin” talk — but this time with hard numbers and specific attack surfaces.

The punchline is that around 1.7 million BTC, which is 8% of the total supply, old P2PK addresses could be vulnerable to theoretical Shor’s algorithm attacks decades down the line.

But in the short to medium term? Only about 20,000 BTC, or 0.1% of the Bitcoin supply, are potentially exposed in any way, and even that would require optimistic advances in qubit scale and stability far beyond today’s tech.

The key distinction, as outlined by Bendiksen, is that modern Bitcoin formats (P2PKH, P2SH, Taproot) do not expose public keys until coins are moved. Old-school P2PK coins have exposed keys from inception, making them a future vulnerability target.

CoinShares argues against aggressive interventions like burning dormant coins or forced migrations, citing decentralization, immutability and property rights risks. Instead, they suggest monitoring and optional QR-format forks as a long-term buffer.

No panic has emerged on the market — yet. But the idea of 20,000 BTC potentially becoming liquid via quantum unlocks surely adds a surreal undertone to an already chaotic week on the crypto market. 

Bitcoin Cash sets 25% comeback into top 10: Cardano out

In a week dominated by sell-offs, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) pulled off a 25% rebound and muscled its way back into crypto’s top 10 club — knocking out Cardano (ADA) in the process.

According to CoinMarketCap, the BCH market cap surged to $10.5 billion, overtaking ADA’s $9.86 billion. While both coins rallied after Feb. 6’s crash, BCH’s bounce was slightly stronger — +25% vs. +24% for ADA — and this 1% delta was enough to make it into the crypto market’s elite.

This marks one of the few times since 2021 that Bitcoin Cash has reclaimed a higher position than Cardano. It comes amid renewed chatter around BCH as a potential Bitcoin alternative in payment use cases, with small transaction fees and simple UTXO structure appealing to some retail investors amid high L2 fees elsewhere.

For Cardano, the loss stings. While founder Charles Hoskinson teased new AI-native governance tools last week, ADA’s price action continues to disappoint — from a peak above $0.70 in mid-January to sub-$0.25 just days ago. Even with the 24% recovery, the network has struggled to retain retail interest.

Crypto market outlook: BTC, ETH, ADA, BCH price update

Despite Buterin’s “capitulation,” Ethereum’s structural fundamentals are here to stay, though the shift in tone signals mounting fatigue and seems like a lack of ideas. 

• Ethereum (ETH): Watching $2,000-$2,150 as critical resistance is crucial. Failure there, and ETH could revisit $1,750-$1,800 quickly.

• Bitcoin (BTC): $70,000 zone has become a magnet. Bulls need to reclaim and hold $73,000 to confirm a trend reversal. Below $66,000, another flush toward $60,000 or even $55,000 remains likely.

• Cardano (ADA): Risks slipping further unless it can regain the psychological $0.30 level and reclaim top 10 confidence. BCH might fade, but its temporary return speaks volumes about capital desperation and rotation games.

Among upcoming catalysts is Consensus Hong Kong on February 10-12, and Fed commentary around Warsh confirmation will set the tone for next week. For now, the crypto market stays fragile, fragmented and fundamentally suspicious.