Washington moved to wind down a controversial immigration surge in Minnesota as federal agents began pulling back after weeks of backlash.
Markets, meanwhile, remain tense: Bitcoin is stuck near $65,000 as traders debate whether another leg lower lies ahead.
In corporate news, SoftBank-backed PayPay has filed for a blockbuster US IPO, while AI heavyweight Anthropic locked in a staggering $380 billion valuation, underscoring how capital continues to concentrate at the top of the tech stack.
Minnesota ICE surge ending
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, said the White House will wrap up the Minnesota immigration surge after “good changes” in recent weeks.
The drawdown will continue into next week after 700 agents were already slated to leave the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, though a small federal footprint, will stay temporarily as command shifts back to the local field office.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” brought thousands of ICE and CBP officers since December and sparked intense backlash after two US citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot in January during separate confrontations there.
Bitcoin stuck around $65,000
Bitcoin is hovering around $65,000, down 48% from its October all-time high of $126,000, as traders wrestle with where the market goes next.
Open interest climbed 1.47% to $45.41 billion while trading volume surged 27%, signaling fresh position-building after recent liquidations.
The cryptocurrency has been stuck between $66,000 and $72,000 following a sharp rebound from a February 5 crash below $60,000.
Analysts are pointing to Bitcoin’s four-year halving cycle, warning the asset could slide to $50,000 this summer as it enters a historically bearish phase.
Buyers and sellers remain in a standoff while debate intensifies over whether traditional cycle patterns still hold.
PayPay files for US IPO
SoftBank-backed PayPay has filed publicly for a US IPO, aiming to list on Nasdaq under the ticker PAYP.
The filing sets up what could be the biggest-ever US listing by a Japanese company, though the share count and price range will come later.
PayPay reported a profit of ¥103.3 billion on revenue of ¥278.5 billion in the nine months ended Dec. 31, according to the SEC document.
The offering was previously expected in December but was pushed back after a prolonged US government shutdown slowed regulatory review.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Mizuho, and Morgan Stanley are leading the deal as bookrunners too.
Anthropic secures whopping $380 billion valuation
Anthropic has closed a $30 billion Series G funding round at a $380 billion post-money valuation, more than doubling its worth since September and marking the second-largest private tech financing ever after OpenAI’s $40 billion raise.
Singapore’s GIC and Coatue led the round, with D.E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, ICONIQ, and MGX co-leading alongside participation from Nvidia, Microsoft, Sequoia, and Lightspeed.
The Claude AI maker reported annualized revenue of $14 billion, up from $10 billion earlier, with roughly 80% coming from enterprise clients.
The funds will support infrastructure expansion, research, and enterprise product development as Anthropic competes with OpenAI and Google, which plans $185 billion in capex this year.
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