Hi guys, welcome back to what happened in crypto. On Feb. 3, we had a mix of technical reflection, real-world adoption, and political controversy in crypto. We had Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin challenge long-held assumptions about layer-2 scaling, while a major partnership brought Tether’s USDT to millions of smartphones in emerging markets. At the same time, questions swirled around potential conflicts of interest after a $500 million investment in Trump-backed World Liberty Financial by an Abu Dhabi royal surfaced.
Vitalik Buterin issues a blunt reality check to the biggest crypto networks
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sparked debate by urging a rethink of layer-2 (L2) networks’ role in the Ethereum ecosystem. In a detailed X post, he argued that the original rollup-centric roadmap is outdated. He said that two main factors have led to this. Firstly, the progress in L2 decentralization and interoperability has been slower than expected. And secondly, Ethereum’s mainnet (L1) is now able to scale effectively with persistently low transaction fees and planned gas limit hikes in 2026.
He advises viewing L2s as a “full spectrum” of chains with varying Ethereum ties, not as “branded shards.” Developers should look at L2s and prioritize their unique value-adds, he says. This shift acknowledges L1’s direct scaling while encouraging L2 innovation beyond mere capacity expansion.
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Opera and Tether Turn Smartphones Into Digital Dollar Wallets for Millions
Opera, Tether, and MiniPay announced a major partnership on February 2, 2026, to integrate Tether’s USDT stablecoin and Tether Gold (XAU₮) into MiniPay. Opera’s self-custodial wallet is built on the Celo blockchain. This allows millions of users in emerging markets to easily send, receive, hold, and convert USDT via their smartphones. Users can also tap to convert balances into gold-backed tokens as an inflation hedge, amid gold’s ~50% price rise in 2025.
MiniPay has over 12.6 million activated wallets and 350 million transactions processed since its inception. It saw exponential growth with a 50% user increase in Q4 2025 and 300,000 unique USDT buyers in December alone. Opera’s stock surged nearly 18% following the news.
White House faces questions over UAE royal’s investment in WLFI
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), sold a 49% stake worth $500 million to a firm linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi royal and head of a massive state investment fund. The deal occurred just four days before Trump’s inauguration in January, according to undisclosed corporate documents.
The report shows potential conflicts of interest, as months later, the Trump administration approved supplying the UAE with advanced U.S.-made AI chips. The deal went through despite prior concerns in the Biden era over the risks of technology transfer to China. There are ethical concerns over foreign ties to Trump-associated businesses, raising questions about whether the Emirati investment influenced this policy shift.
These developments highlight crypto’s dual nature. On one side, we have deep architectural debates about Ethereum’s future coexisting with practical steps toward mass financial inclusion via stablecoins. On the other hand, the WLFI story reminds us that crypto remains deeply intertwined with geopolitics and power.
