Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted nearly 5% to $64,300 as President Trump’s proposal to raise global tariffs to 15% triggered a massive risk-off rotation and $3.8 billion in ETF outflows.
- Chevron (CVX) has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Lukoil’s 75% stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oil field, a move aimed at securing a 480,000-barrel-per-day asset before a Feb. 28 sanctions deadline.
- Anthropic accused Chinese AI labs DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Moonshot AI of "industrial-scale" intellectual property theft, alleging they used 16 million fraudulent queries to distill the logic of its Claude model.
- Elon Musk’s xAI reached a landmark deal with the Pentagon to deploy its Grok model within classified systems, breaking the previous exclusivity held by Anthropic’s Claude in high-security military environments.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly initiated a comprehensive FX rate review following a volatile January that saw discussions of joint US-Japan currency interventions.
Bitcoin Retreats Amid Tariff Turmoil and ETF Outflows
The cryptocurrency market faced a sharp correction on Monday as Bitcoin (BTC) fell to a low of $64,300, wiping out gains from earlier in the month. The sell-off was catalyzed by President Donald Trump’s announcement that he intends to leverage Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act to raise global tariffs from 10% to 15%.
Traders are now closely monitoring $60,000 as a critical technical support level, as bearish sentiment is further exacerbated by five consecutive weeks of net outflows from U.S. spot ETFs. Analysts noted that the broader market anxiety has led to a significant "de-risking" phase, with capital rotating toward safe-haven assets like gold.
Chevron Moves to Oust Russian Interests in Iraq
Chevron (CVX) is positioning itself to take over one of the world’s largest oil projects, the West Qurna 2 field in Iraq. The U.S. energy giant has signed a preliminary agreement with Basra Oil Co. to negotiate terms for the stake currently held by Russia’s Lukoil, which is facing intense pressure to divest due to U.S. sanctions.
The West Qurna 2 field accounts for approximately 10% of Iraq’s total oil output, producing roughly 480,000 barrels per day. Washington is reportedly favoring American operators to manage these strategic assets to minimize Russian and Chinese influence in the Middle East energy sector.
Anthropic Alleges "Industrial-Scale" AI Distillation by Chinese Firms
In a major escalation of the U.S.-China tech war, Anthropic has accused three prominent Chinese AI firms—DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Moonshot AI—of illicitly siphoning data from its Claude model. The company claims the firms used 24,000 fraudulent accounts to conduct over 16 million exchanges, a process known as "distillation" used to train rival models at a fraction of the cost.
According to Anthropic, MiniMax alone was responsible for 13 million exchanges, specifically targeting agentic coding and tool orchestration capabilities. The allegations have intensified concerns in Washington regarding the effectiveness of current export controls and the potential for American AI technology to be integrated into foreign military and surveillance systems.
xAI Secures Pentagon Foothold for Classified Operations
Elon Musk’s xAI has successfully breached the high-security defense market after reaching a deal with the Pentagon to integrate its Grok model into classified networks. This development follows a $200 million contract initially signaled in late 2025, marking a significant shift in the Department of Defense’s AI procurement strategy.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude was the primary model authorized for the military’s most sensitive intelligence and weapons-related work. The deployment of Grok 4 into these systems suggests a growing appetite within the Pentagon for diverse AI architectures, despite ongoing debates regarding the safety and bias of Musk’s unfiltered model.
Treasury Secretary Bessent Initiates Major FX Policy Review
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has officially launched a review of U.S. foreign exchange policy following a period of "excessive" volatility in the USD/JPY pair. Reports from Nikkei indicate that the review was prompted by secret discussions in January regarding a possible joint intervention to stabilize the yen.
While Bessent has publicly reaffirmed a "strong dollar policy," his rhetoric has occasionally clashed with President Trump’s recent comments expressing indifference toward a weaker greenback. Market participants are looking for clarity on whether the Treasury will shift toward a more interventionist stance to manage trade imbalances or maintain its traditional market-determined approach.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.