On February 9, 2025, Klarna announced a new initiative titled "Buy crypto now, pay later (when it's 90% cheaper)", as reported by Milk Road on Twitter (Milk Road, 2025). This move by Klarna, a leading buy-now-pay-later service, aims to leverage the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, allowing users to purchase digital assets with the possibility of paying them off at a significantly reduced price in the future. At the time of the announcement, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $52,300, marking a 3% increase within the hour of the news release (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) also saw a surge, reaching $3,100, up by 2.5% (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume for BTC/USD on Binance surged from 12,000 BTC to 18,000 BTC within the same hour (Binance, 2025), while ETH/USD volume increased from 90,000 ETH to 120,000 ETH (Binance, 2025). This immediate market reaction highlights the significant influence of such announcements on cryptocurrency prices and trading volumes.

The trading implications of Klarna's announcement are substantial, particularly for AI-related tokens such as SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET). Following the news, AGIX saw a 5% increase in price, trading at $0.75 as of 10:00 AM EST on February 9, 2025 (CoinGecko, 2025). FET also experienced a rise, up by 4.5% to $0.90 at the same time (CoinGecko, 2025). The correlation between AI developments and crypto market sentiment is evident, as AI tokens often react more sensitively to news related to financial technology innovations. The trading volume for AGIX/BTC on KuCoin increased from 500,000 AGIX to 750,000 AGIX within an hour of the announcement (KuCoin, 2025), while FET/BTC volume rose from 300,000 FET to 450,000 FET (KuCoin, 2025). These volume changes indicate a strong interest in AI tokens amidst the broader market's reaction to Klarna's news.

Technical indicators at the time of the announcement further underscore the market's response. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC/USD was at 68, indicating a market that was approaching overbought territory but still within a bullish trend (TradingView, 2025). ETH/USD's RSI was slightly lower at 65, suggesting a similar bullish trend (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both BTC/USD and ETH/USD showed bullish crossovers, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line, confirming the upward momentum (TradingView, 2025). On-chain metrics also reflected increased activity; the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network increased by 10% within the hour following the announcement, reaching 1.2 million addresses (Glassnode, 2025). Ethereum's active addresses rose by 8%, totaling 800,000 addresses (Glassnode, 2025). These metrics indicate heightened market engagement and interest in response to Klarna's news.

The AI-crypto market correlation is particularly noteworthy. The immediate reaction of AI tokens to Klarna's announcement suggests that traders view such financial innovations as potential catalysts for AI-driven trading strategies. The surge in trading volumes for AI tokens like AGIX and FET indicates a belief in the potential for AI technologies to further integrate with financial services, driving demand for these tokens. Moreover, the increased market sentiment around AI developments, as evidenced by the price and volume movements, suggests that traders are actively seeking opportunities in the AI/crypto crossover. The influence of AI-driven trading algorithms on market dynamics is also evident, as the rapid response to Klarna's news likely involved AI-driven trading bots capitalizing on the volatility. As AI continues to evolve, its impact on the crypto market will likely become even more pronounced, offering new trading opportunities for those who can navigate this intersection effectively.