Experti varují, že kvantové počítače by mohly do roku 2028 prolomit dnešní kryptografii a ohrozit Bitcoin i stablecoiny. Nejzranitelnější mají být administrativní klíče u USDT.
The prospect of quantum computers breaking today’s cryptographic defenses is raising urgent concerns among blockchain security experts. Analysts believe that the first indication of quantum-powered breaches may not be high-profile thefts, but a series of unexplained breaches targeting multiple crypto wallets at once.
Quantum computers and blockchain securityQuantus Network CEO and co-founder Christopher Smith warned that a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could derive private keys from public ones exposed on blockchain networks. This capability would allow attackers to move funds without infiltrating wallets, devices, or exchange infrastructures. Smith noted that in such events, there would be no discernible traces of how the breach occurred: only the fact that funds had been withdrawn.
His warning follows significant progress in quantum algorithms, which have recently reduced the estimated computational resources necessary to attack elliptic-curve cryptography—a mechanism widely used by leading blockchains for security.
Quantum computing refers to a new paradigm in computation, leveraging quantum bits (qubits) to solve certain problems much faster than classical computers.
Mini dictionary: Elliptic-curve cryptography is a method of encrypting data that relies on the mathematics of elliptic curves, widely used for its efficiency in securing digital transactions and communications.
Potential quantum targets in cryptoWhile much of the crypto community’s concern centers on the fate of Satoshi Nakamoto’s untouched Bitcoin—valued at $63 billion—Smith suggested that more attractive targets could be found elsewhere. He identified administrative keys for multi-chain stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT as especially valuable. According to Smith, a successful quantum attack on such administrative wallets could enable malicious actors to rapidly mint new tokens and flood the market before issuers had time to react.
Tether, the company behind USDT, manages the world’s largest stablecoin, which operates across several blockchains. Some of these networks have already taken initial steps to prepare for a post-quantum cryptography era.
Security researcher Sean Cheetham from Blockchain Capital predicted that attackers might avoid high-visibility targets and instead quietly access exchange “hot wallets,” which routinely handle user funds and are often linked to public keys.
Smith emphasized that an attacker could disguise a quantum theft as a standard compromise, providing alternative explanations such as a lost key, thus delaying detection.
Cheetham explained that such incidents would appear ordinary, as the true method of compromise would remain undetected under current investigative techniques.
Timeline for quantum riskRecent advances in artificial intelligence are accelerating the potential impact of quantum computing. In March, Google pushed up its post-quantum transition plans to 2029, following an AI-assisted breakthrough indicating that cracking elliptic curve cryptography could require fewer qubits than previously anticipated.
Roy Blackstone, CEO of crypto security firm NGRAVE, remarked that earlier quantum risk assessments did not anticipate such rapid progress in AI and quantum algorithm research.
Despite these developments, estimates for when a quantum computer will be capable of breaking cryptographic protections remain highly variable. Smith, who leads Quantus Network, said there is a “50-50” chance this milestone could be reached by 2028, given the current pace of research.
Cheetham forecasted that the early 2030s were almost a certainty for the arrival of this technology, though he acknowledged an earlier breakthrough remains possible. Michael Coates, chief information security officer at the Solana Foundation, declined to offer a timeline, stating that uncertainty prevails and the timeframe has constantly shifted.
Blackstone observed that despite disagreements over timing, major blockchain networks are already preparing for post-quantum migration. He warned that failure to do so could have disastrous consequences.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Trump Media and Technology Group terminated its planned Cronos treasury venture with Crypto.com and Yorkville on August 7. The retreat signals that the corporate crypto treasury thesis, built on the premise that holding tokens is a balance sheet strategy, is running into the same saturation problem it was supposed to solve.
Summary
Trump Media and Technology Group, Crypto.com, and Yorkville Acquisition Corp mutually terminated the CRO Strategy treasury venture on August 7, 2026, ending a deal announced in August 2025 that was billed as the first and largest publicly traded CRO treasury firm with an initial $6.42 billion war chest. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn told Axios that saturation among corporate crypto treasury companies drove the decision, not regulatory pressure, and that Trump Media will instead concentrate on Truth Social, data licensing revenue, and a pending merger with fusion energy company TAE. The original deal involved Trump Media purchasing approximately $105 million in CRO tokens (684.4 million tokens at roughly $0.153 each) while Crypto.com purchased $50 million in Trump Media shares, creating a cross-investment structure that tied both companies to CRO price performance. The retreat follows a $406 million quarterly loss driven by crypto asset markdowns, raising questions about whether token treasury strategies can survive extended periods of price stagnation or modest drawdowns in the assets they are designed to accumulate. CRO traded near $0.0513 on August 7 with a market capitalization of roughly $2.4 billion, ranking 38th overall, a fraction of the valuation environment that existed when the deal was structured and announced. On August 7, 2026, Trump Media interim CEO Kevin McGurn told Axios that the company had terminated the CRO Strategy venture, the services agreement, and the digital asset product suite that accompanied the original deal. The companies also abandoned a related prediction market integration. Yorkville Acquisition Corp, the blank check vehicle created to take the treasury venture public, agreed to the termination. McGurn cited saturation. The treasury sector, he said, had become crowded.
The deal between Trump Media and Crypto.com was announced with the kind of numbers that attract headlines. A $6.42 billion treasury play. A branded entity called Trump Media Group CRO Strategy. A SPAC vehicle to take it public. The premise was simple: acquire CRO tokens at scale, hold them on a public balance sheet, and let market appreciation create shareholder value. The strategy echoed what MicroStrategy had done with Bitcoin, but applied to a token that was orders of magnitude smaller in market capitalization, less liquid, and tied to a single exchange ecosystem. The termination, coming less than a year after the announcement, is not just a deal falling apart. It is the first major public admission that the corporate crypto treasury model may have structural limits that its promoters did not advertise.
What the CRO Strategy deal was supposed to build The original announcement in August 2025 outlined a multi-layered financial structure. Trump Media would purchase approximately $105 million in CRO tokens, acquiring 684.4 million tokens at a price of roughly $0.153 per token. Crypto.com would purchase $50 million in Trump Media shares, creating a reciprocal ownership link between the media company and the exchange. The two parties would then form Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, a dedicated entity designed to function as a publicly traded digital asset treasury.
Yorkville Acquisition Corp, a blank check company, would serve as the public listing vehicle. The SEC filing described the venture as the first and largest publicly traded CRO treasury firm, a designation that was accurate only because no one else had attempted the same structure with that specific token.
The deal also included a services agreement covering digital asset product development and a prediction market integration called Truth Predict, which would embed betting features inside Truth Social using Crypto.com Derivatives North America as the infrastructure provider.
The combined structure tied Trump Media to CRO price performance in multiple ways: through direct token holdings, through the treasury entity, through the SPAC listing, and through the product integrations that assumed continued engagement with the Cronos blockchain ecosystem. The multi-layered exposure was presented as strategic depth at the time of the announcement. In retrospect, it created a situation where CRO price weakness propagated through every component of the deal simultaneously, amplifying the downside in a way that a simpler structure would not have.
The valuation environment that produced the deal was also unusual. At the time of the announcement, corporate crypto treasuries were attracting premium multiples from investors who treated token accumulation as a growth strategy. Trump Media’s management appears to have structured the CRO Strategy venture to capture that premium. When the premium disappeared and the valuation environment shifted, the economic rationale for the deal evaporated alongside it.
Why the parties walked away McGurn framed the termination around focus and saturation rather than failure. “We wanted to get focused,” Axios reported him saying. He characterized the crypto treasury sector as overcrowded, arguing that the competitive dynamics had shifted since the deal was announced.
The saturation claim has some factual basis. Between the second half of 2025 and mid 2026, more than 30 public companies announced crypto treasury strategies of various sizes. Most were modeled on the MicroStrategy template: issue equity or convertible debt, buy Bitcoin, and report the holdings as a core balance sheet item. The Trump Media venture stood apart because it targeted CRO rather than Bitcoin, but the underlying logic was the same.
What McGurn did not say is arguably more revealing than what he did. He did not claim the deal was restructured or paused. He confirmed mutual termination, meaning all three parties agreed that the venture no longer served their interests. The services agreement was also terminated. The prediction market integration was downgraded from a full product to a marketing arrangement.
McGurn added that staking CRO had become less central for Crypto.com itself, making a split logical for both sides. That detail matters. If the exchange that issues a token is de-emphasizing it, the case for a third party to build a treasury around it weakens considerably.
The $406 million loss that changed the math The termination did not occur in a vacuum. Trump Media reported a $406 million quarterly loss earlier in 2026, driven primarily by markdowns on its digital asset holdings. The loss was not a realized trading loss in the traditional sense. It reflected the accounting treatment of crypto assets under fair value rules, where price declines flow directly through the income statement.
For a company with limited operating revenue, a nine figure markdown on token holdings is not a rounding error. It is a thesis test. The crypto treasury model assumes that holding tokens creates long term value for shareholders. But the same model forces the company to report price declines as losses, creating quarterly volatility that public market investors tend to punish.
MicroStrategy, the original corporate Bitcoin treasury, has navigated this problem by leaning into it. The company rebranded as Strategy, made Bitcoin accumulation its primary corporate identity, and attracted a shareholder base that understood and accepted the volatility. Trump Media was not positioned to make the same bet. Its core business is a social media platform. Its shareholders purchased the stock for reasons that included but were not limited to the crypto treasury thesis. When the token holdings produced a loss that exceeded the company’s operating revenue by orders of magnitude, the strategic case for continuing became harder to make.
The regulatory environment added complexity. While McGurn explicitly denied that regulatory pressure drove the termination, the broader landscape has shifted. The GENIUS Act and related legislative efforts have introduced new compliance requirements for companies holding digital assets at scale. Whether those requirements directly affected the CRO Strategy venture or simply increased the cost of maintaining it is an open question that the termination announcement did not address.
The accounting treatment itself deserves closer examination. Under ASC 820, crypto assets held at fair value require quarterly mark to market adjustments. When token prices rise, the company reports unrealized gains that flow through its income statement, inflating earnings in ways that may attract shareholders who mistake accounting gains for operating performance. When prices fall, the reverse occurs, and the company must explain why its core business lost hundreds of millions of dollars in a quarter where nothing operationally changed. The asymmetry between the two scenarios creates a ratchet effect: the company captures enthusiasm during price increases but faces existential questions during declines. For a company like Trump Media, whose operating revenue from Truth Social was in the low tens of millions annually, a $406 million markdown made the treasury strategy the dominant item on the income statement, overshadowing every other aspect of the business.
Truth Predict and the prediction market retreat The CRO Strategy termination was not the only product that got scaled back. Truth Predict, the prediction market feature that Trump Media unveiled in October 2025, was also restructured.
The original plan embedded betting features inside Truth Social, powered by Crypto.com Derivatives North America. Users would trade prediction market contracts without leaving the social media platform. The integration assumed that Truth Social’s user base represented a captive audience for event contracts on politics, sports, and financial outcomes.
Under the new arrangement, the companies will pursue a marketing partnership rather than a full product integration. Crypto.com will promote its prediction products to Truth Social users, but Trump Media will not operate the back end infrastructure. McGurn argued that the space was already crowded with prediction market operators and that running infrastructure offered little return compared to simply distributing someone else’s product.
The reasoning reveals a broader shift in how Trump Media sees itself. The company is moving away from operating crypto infrastructure and toward licensing its brand and audience as distribution assets. That pivot is visible in its API business, which now serves roughly 10 customers (up from about five), most of whom are high frequency trading firms that feed Truth Social data into algorithmic strategies. McGurn said the company is also courting large language model developers and prediction market platforms as API customers.
The transition from infrastructure operator to data licensor is a meaningful strategic shift. It reduces Trump Media’s exposure to the operational risks of running crypto products while creating revenue streams that do not depend on token price performance. Whether the data licensing business can generate enough revenue to replace the value that was supposed to come from the treasury venture remains to be seen.
The prediction market landscape that existed when Truth Predict was conceived looked different from the one that emerged by mid 2026. At the time of announcement, Polymarket was the dominant player and the only U.S. focused platform with meaningful liquidity. By August 2026, Kalshi had expanded into event contracts for political and financial outcomes, Robinhood had added prediction market features to its mobile app, and several crypto native platforms had launched competing offerings. The window for Truth Social to capture a meaningful share of the prediction market audience had narrowed considerably, and the cost of operating back end infrastructure for a feature that would compete with well funded competitors no longer justified the investment when a simpler marketing arrangement could provide the same user exposure at a fraction of the cost.
The API pivot also reframes Truth Social’s value proposition. Under the treasury model, Truth Social was a distribution channel for crypto products. Under the data licensing model, it is a source of sentiment signals that have value to financial firms. The platform’s concentrated user base, which skews toward politically engaged American adults, generates text and engagement data that reflects a demographic segment that is underrepresented in other social media sentiment feeds. High frequency traders and LLM developers are willing to pay for access to that signal precisely because it is different from what Twitter, Reddit, or Stocktwits provides. The commercial value of the platform may ultimately have less to do with how many users it retains than with how unique the data those users generate is.
What happens to Yorkville and the SPAC structure Yorkville Acquisition Corp agreed to the termination alongside the other parties. The blank check vehicle was created specifically to take the CRO treasury venture public. Without that venture, the SPAC’s original purpose no longer exists.
However, one piece of the Yorkville structure survives. Yorkville America’s America First ETFs, branded as Truth Social Funds, will continue operating. These funds existed as a separate product line from the SPAC and were not dependent on the CRO Strategy venture for their investment thesis.
The survival of the ETF products while the SPAC terminates illustrates the fragmented nature of the original deal. What was presented as a unified strategic partnership between Trump Media, Crypto.com, and Yorkville was in practice a collection of loosely connected agreements. The treasury venture, the services agreement, the prediction market integration, and the ETF products could be separated because they were never truly integrated at the operational level.
For the broader SPAC market, the termination adds another data point to an already difficult environment. Blank check companies that target crypto related ventures have faced elevated scrutiny from the SEC, and the completion rate for crypto focused SPACs has declined steadily since 2024. The Yorkville termination does not set a legal precedent, but it reinforces the pattern of crypto SPAC deals that announce with fanfare and unwind quietly.
The economics of the SPAC structure also contributed to the deal’s fragility. Blank check companies carry a deadline for completing their acquisition or merger, typically 18 to 24 months from IPO. If the deal is not completed within that window, the SPAC must return capital to shareholders. This deadline pressure means SPAC targets are selected and structured under time constraints that do not always align with the pace at which crypto markets evolve. When the CRO Strategy venture was designed, the crypto treasury thesis was still generating investor enthusiasm. By the time the SPAC needed to close, the market had moved on.
The corporate crypto treasury model under stress The Trump Media termination arrives at a moment when the corporate crypto treasury thesis is being tested across the industry. The model, popularized by MicroStrategy’s multi-year Bitcoin accumulation campaign, rests on three assumptions. First, that the asset being accumulated will appreciate over time. Second, that public market investors will assign a premium to companies that hold the asset. Third, that the cost of capital used to acquire the asset (equity dilution, convertible debt, operating cash) will be lower than the asset’s long term return.
When those assumptions hold, the strategy works. MicroStrategy’s stock price outperformed Bitcoin itself during periods when all three conditions were met. But the model breaks when any of the three conditions fail. If the asset declines or stagnates, the balance sheet deteriorates. If investors stop assigning a premium, the stock trades at a discount to the value of its holdings. If the cost of capital rises, each new acquisition dilutes existing shareholders more than the asset appreciation can offset.
The Trump Media case exposed a fourth vulnerability specific to non-Bitcoin treasuries. CRO is not Bitcoin. It does not have the same market depth, the same institutional custody infrastructure, or the same regulatory clarity. A treasury strategy built around a mid-cap token tied to a single exchange ecosystem carries concentration risk that Bitcoin treasuries do not. When the issuing exchange itself begins de-emphasizing the token, the treasury holder’s position becomes structurally isolated.
The concentration risk extended beyond token price. CRO is the native token of the Cronos blockchain, which is operated by Crypto.com. Unlike Bitcoin, which has no single issuer or controlling entity, CRO’s value and utility are tied to the decisions of one company. If Crypto.com shifts its product strategy away from the Cronos chain, reduces staking incentives, or faces its own regulatory challenges, the token’s value proposition changes in ways that the treasury holder cannot influence. This dependency on a single counterparty’s strategic choices is a risk category that does not exist in Bitcoin treasury strategies, and it helps explain why the CRO Strategy venture was more fragile than its promoters acknowledged.
The question now is whether the Trump Media termination is an outlier or a leading indicator. At least a dozen other public companies have announced crypto treasury strategies since mid 2025. Most hold Bitcoin, which provides more liquidity and a deeper buyer base. But the smaller companies that adopted the model with limited operating revenue and concentrated token positions face the same pressures that led Trump Media to walk away: quarterly markdowns, shareholder skepticism, and the realization that holding tokens does not generate operating revenue on its own.
There is a structural irony in McGurn’s saturation argument. The treasury model was supposed to give companies a differentiated balance sheet strategy. When one or two companies hold crypto, it is a differentiator. When 30 companies adopt the same playbook, it becomes a crowd trade. The more firms that pile into the strategy, the less novel it becomes to investors and the more correlated the stock prices of those companies become to the underlying token price. At that point, an investor who wants crypto exposure can simply buy the token directly rather than paying a management overhead premium to hold it through a public company. The model works best when few firms use it and breaks down precisely when it succeeds in attracting imitators.
What to watch CRO price and volume over 30 days. The token traded at $0.0513 on termination day, down roughly 66 percent from the $0.153 purchase price in the original deal. A continued decline would indicate that the treasury venture was providing structural demand that no longer exists.
Quarterly earnings from other crypto treasury companies. If more firms report significant markdowns on token holdings, the pattern of terminations or strategy shifts could accelerate. Watch for language changes in earnings calls, particularly around “strategic review” or “rebalancing” of digital asset positions.
Crypto.com’s Cronos ecosystem activity. McGurn’s comment that staking CRO has become less central for Crypto.com raises questions about the exchange’s own commitment to the token. Watch for changes in staking rewards, validator counts, or DeFi activity on the Cronos chain.
SPAC completion rates for crypto focused deals. The Yorkville termination adds to a growing list of crypto SPACs that failed to complete their intended transactions. A further decline in completion rates would signal broader market skepticism about the SPAC-to-crypto pipeline.
Trump Media’s data licensing revenue in subsequent quarters. The pivot to API sales and LLM partnerships is the replacement thesis. If Truth Social API revenue scales meaningfully, it validates the decision to abandon the treasury model. If it does not, the company will need yet another strategic direction.
The TAE Technologies merger timeline. Trump Media’s pending merger with fusion energy company TAE Technologies represents the next strategic bet after crypto. The valuation assigned to that merger, the SEC review timeline, and shareholder reaction will determine whether the company can execute a pivot away from digital assets without losing its investor base.
Crypto treasury company stock price correlations. If companies that adopted the treasury model begin trading with higher correlation to each other and to bitcoin, it would validate McGurn’s saturation argument. A cluster of small cap treasury companies moving in lockstep suggests that investors treat them as interchangeable bitcoin proxies rather than differentiated businesses, which removes the strategic rationale for the model.
Frequently asked questions u003cstrongu003eWhat was the Trump Media CRO Strategy deal?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eTrump Media Group CRO Strategy was a planned joint venture between Trump Media and Technology Group, Crypto.com, and Yorkville Acquisition Corp. The venture would have created the first publicly traded company built around a treasury of CRO tokens, with Trump Media purchasing approximately $105 million in CRO and Crypto.com purchasing $50 million in Trump Media shares. Yorkville would have served as the SPAC vehicle to take the venture public.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eWhy did Trump Media terminate the deal?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eInterim CEO Kevin McGurn cited saturation in the corporate crypto treasury sector. He said the competitive landscape had shifted since the deal was announced in August 2025, and that Trump Media wanted to focus on Truth Social, data licensing, and a pending merger with fusion energy company TAE rather than operating crypto infrastructure.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eHow much did Trump Media lose on its crypto holdings?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eTrump Media reported a $406 million quarterly loss driven by markdowns on digital asset holdings. This was an accounting loss under fair value rules rather than a realized trading loss, but it demonstrated the balance sheet volatility that token treasury strategies create for public companies.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eWhat happens to CRO after the deal termination?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eCRO traded near $0.0513 on August 7, 2026, with a market capitalization of roughly $2.4 billion. The token was down approximately 66 percent from the $0.153 purchase price in the original deal. The termination removes a source of structural demand, but CRO remains the native token of the Cronos blockchain and continues to be used across the u003ca href=u0022https://crypto.news/kraken-xstocks-tokenized-equity-voting-rights/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022u003eCrypto.com ecosystemu003c/au003e.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eWhat is Truth Predict and is it still operating?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eTruth Predict was a prediction market feature planned for Truth Social, powered by Crypto.com Derivatives North America. The full product integration was downgraded to a marketing arrangement. Crypto.com will promote its prediction products to Truth Social users, but Trump Media will not operate the infrastructure.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eHow does this compare to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin treasury strategy?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eMicroStrategy (now Strategy) built its treasury around Bitcoin, which has deeper liquidity, broader institutional custody, and clearer regulatory treatment than CRO. MicroStrategy also made Bitcoin accumulation its primary corporate identity, attracting a shareholder base that accepted the volatility. Trump Media’s core business is a social media platform, making the treasury strategy a secondary bet that was harder to sustain when token prices declined.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eWhat is Yorkville Acquisition Corp and does it still exist?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eYorkville Acquisition Corp was a blank check (SPAC) company created to take the CRO Strategy venture public. The SPAC agreed to the mutual termination. However, Yorkville America’s America First ETFs, branded as Truth Social Funds, will continue operating as a separate product line.u003c/pu003e
u003cstrongu003eDoes the termination affect Trump Media’s stock price?u003c/strongu003e u003cpu003eTrump Media trades under the ticker MCGA. The stock was down 0.10 percent on August 7. The longer term impact will depend on whether investors view the termination as a positive (reduced crypto exposure risk) or a negative (loss of a growth catalyst). The company’s pivot to data licensing and the TAE merger will shape the next phase of its valuation narrative. This is educational analysis, not investment advice.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003cemu003eDisclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency markets carry significant risk. Always conduct independent research before making investment decisions. Information is current as of August 8, 2026.u003c/emu003eu003c/pu003e
Zaměstnanec technologické firmy v Shenzhenu byl odsouzen k trestu tří let a tří měsíců odnětí svobody za vydírání zaměstnavatele pomocí 0,88 BTC, 0,8 BTC a 90 000 USDT. Soud zároveň uznal Bitcoin i USDT jako majetek s hodnotou.
An employee at a Shenzhen technology company has been sentenced to three years and three months in prison after stealing proprietary R&D data and attempting to extort his own employer by pretending to be a foreign hacker. The ransom demand: 0.88 BTC, an additional 0.8 BTC, and 90,000 USDT, which prosecutors valued at over 630,000 RMB, roughly $87,000 to $88,000.
The company didn’t pay. Instead, it called the police. And the employee, identified only as Jia, learned the hard way that disguising yourself as an overseas threat actor is significantly harder when you’re logging in from the same office network.
Inside the scheme Jia’s plan was straightforward in concept if not in execution. With access to his employer’s sensitive research and development files, he exfiltrated data and then sent ransom demands via email, styling himself as a foreign cybercriminal to throw investigators off the trail.
Jia’s motivation wasn’t ideological or even particularly sophisticated. According to court findings, he had accumulated significant debts from online lending platforms. Drowning in repayment obligations, he decided to monetize the one asset he had easy access to: his employer’s intellectual property.
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The company’s refusal to engage with the demands proved critical. No payment was ever made, no data was released to third parties, and law enforcement was able to trace the extortion attempts back to Jia. He was subsequently arrested, charged, and convicted.
Beyond the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of 10,000 RMB.
Why the legal reasoning matters more than the crime In its ruling, made public in August 2026, the Shenzhen court explicitly recognized both Bitcoin and USDT (Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin) as virtual assets possessing property value. This distinction is crucial in a country where cryptocurrency trading has been effectively banned since 2021 and digital tokens are explicitly not classified as legal tender.
The court threaded a legal needle. It acknowledged that while Bitcoin and USDT don’t function as currency under Chinese law, they carry sufficient economic significance to serve as the basis for extortion charges. In practical terms, demanding crypto as ransom is legally equivalent to demanding cash or physical goods of comparable value.
For prosecutors to secure an extortion conviction, they needed to establish that the demands had quantifiable monetary value. By valuing the combined crypto demands at over 630,000 RMB, the court created a framework that treats digital assets as property even within a jurisdiction that has otherwise tried to squeeze crypto out of its financial system.
Chinese media coverage has flagged this ruling as a potential turning point for how courts handle cases involving digital assets, with implications for market liquidity and the perceived role of Bitcoin as an asset hedge.
China’s complicated relationship with crypto China’s stance on cryptocurrency has been one of the more dramatic regulatory arcs in the industry’s short history. The country was once home to the majority of Bitcoin mining operations globally and hosted some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. In 2017, China banned initial coin offerings. In 2021, regulators declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal and ordered miners to shut down operations, triggering a massive migration of hash power to the US, Kazakhstan, and other jurisdictions.
Yet throughout these bans, Chinese courts have periodically been forced to grapple with crypto’s existence in legal disputes. Property ownership cases, fraud proceedings, and now extortion charges have all required judges to assign some form of legal status to tokens that the government officially discourages citizens from holding.
Implications for digital asset recognition For companies operating in China’s tech sector, the case serves as a reminder that insider threats remain one of the most persistent cybersecurity risks. Jia had legitimate access to the data he stole. No zero-day exploit was needed, no supply chain compromise, just a financially stressed employee with database credentials and a cryptocurrency wallet address. The fact that his employer refused to pay and immediately reported the incident resulted in both a criminal conviction and the preservation of the company’s data.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Senát USA posunul CLARITY Act blíž k finálnímu hlasování, což trhu přidalo mírný optimismus pro Bitcoin. Pravděpodobnost, že BTC do konce roku 2026 dosáhne 200 000 USD, lehce vzrostla.
The U.S. Senate has advanced the CLARITY Act, a significant cryptocurrency regulation bill, closer to a full vote, a move that could shape the future regulatory framework for digital assets. Majority Leader John Thune’s decision to set up a procedural vote points towards imminent consideration on the Senate floor, although the bill still requires sufficient support to overcome a potential filibuster. The legislation, which establishes federal guidelines for classifying digital assets as securities or commodities, comes after approval from the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees earlier this year.
Market participants appear to interpret this legislative progress as a potential catalyst for Bitcoin’s future price movement. The likelihood of Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by the end of 2026 has seen a slight uptick, with certain sub-markets reflecting increased optimism. The movement suggests that passing the CLARITY Act may provide regulatory clarity that could be supportive of higher Bitcoin valuations.
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The active sub-markets for Bitcoin’s price reflect mixed sentiments, with some seeing a notable increase in odds for significant price milestones. As the Senate moves forward with this bill, market observers are closely watching for further developments that could influence these trends.
Key Takeaways Senate action on the CLARITY Act appears to suggest potential regulatory clarity for digital assets. Market pricing implies a slight increase in the likelihood of Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by the end of 2026. Sub-market activity indicates mixed but slightly optimistic sentiment regarding Bitcoin’s future price trajectory. What to Watch Watch for the outcome of the Senate vote on the CLARITY Act, as its passage could further influence Bitcoin’s price outlook. Key indicators will include whether the bill secures enough votes to overcome a filibuster and any subsequent market response. Additionally, developments in regulatory announcements or major institutional adoption could impact market sentiment further.
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What Price Will Bitcoin Hit Before 2027
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.9% — — View market → December 31 3.9% — — View market → December 31 4.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 8.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 21.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.9% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.4% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.1% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.4% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 5.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 59% — — View market → January 1 2027 8.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.8% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 36.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 13.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 7.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.6% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.8% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 0.9% — — View market → January 1 2027 11.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 23.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 34.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 52.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 72.5% — — View market → When Will Bitcoin Hit 150k
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31, 2026 3.6% — — View market →
Větev Bitcoinu s BIP-110 se zastavila na bloku 961 633 po vytěžení pouhých dvou bloků, zatímco řetězec bez prosazení postoupil na 961 721 a rozdíl narostl na 88 bloků.
Bitcoin’s BIP-110-enforcing branch stalled at block 961,633 on Sunday after producing only two blocks, while the non-enforcing chain advanced to 961,721, widening the gap to 88 blocks.
According to the BIP-110 monitor, updated at 10:19 am UTC, the branch’s latest block had been mined about 12 hours earlier. Ocean records show that a pseudonymous mining group called Roughnecks produced the branch’s first two blocks using Ocean’s Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining (DATUM) mining protocol.
The divergence began after BIP-110 entered mandatory signaling at block 961,632 on Saturday. Only 51 of the preceding 2,016 blocks, or 2.53%, signaled support. During this window, BIP-110 nodes reject blocks that do not signal through version bit 4, while ordinary Bitcoin nodes accept both signaling and non-signaling blocks.
Under the proposal, mandatory signaling continues through block 963,647. The enforcing branch must mine through the remainder of the 2,016-block adjustment period before its difficulty can adjust, making progress slow without substantially more hashpower.
BIP-110 has faced opposition from prominent Bitcoin advocates. Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor said he shared the proposal’s objectives but argued that its approach threatened Bitcoin’s neutral rules and consensus.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back warned that the consensus-level change could damage Bitcoin’s credibility and potentially make certain unspent transaction outputs unspendable.
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Americké spotové Bitcoin ETF přilákaly za poslední týden zhruba 1 miliardu USD čistých přílivů, nejvíce od dubna. Podle Bloombergu přišly týdenní přílivy po hacku Coldcard.
US spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pulled in roughly $1 billion of net inflows over the most recent week, following the Coldcard hack.
The figure marks the strongest weekly performance since April and the third-best result since October of the prior year, reports Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
“The Bitcoin ETFs just clocked their best week in flows (about $1b) since April and the 3rd best week since the good ole days were ruined by the Silent IPO last Oct. IBIT, FBTC and few others saw inflows every single day since the Coldcard hack, making it hard not to see causation in the correlation. Would be ironic, but somehow on brand, if the hack of BTC in cold storage (seemingly worst possible situation) marked the beginning of next run.”
Source: Eric Blachunas/X Balchunas also explained that Bitcoin witnessed a silent IPO (initial public offering) phase after BTC ETFs were launched as long-term holders took the opportunity to exit at scale.
“OGs who made it through 5-6 hella drawdowns and are now multi-millionaires in their 30s and 40s and need $ money for stuff. They’re cashing out a little à la VC investors. The ETF was Bitcoin’s IPO.”
Earlier this month, attackers exploited a long-standing firmware flaw in Coldcard hardware wallets made by Coinkite to drain approximately 1,816 Bitcoin worth $116 million from more than 5,200 addresses beginning July 30th. Blockchain analysis from Galaxy Research confirmed the scale of the theft across four waves of activity.
BIP-110 vstoupil do povinného signalizačního období na bloku 961 632, ale těžaři jej podporovali jen z 2,53 % předchozích 2 016 bloků. Vynucující uzly už odmítají bloky bez version bit 4.
Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110 entered its mandatory-signaling phase at block 961,632 on Saturday, with miners signaling support in just 51 of the preceding 2,016 blocks, or 2.53%, well below the 55% threshold required for early activation, according to the BIP-110 monitor.
Starting at block 961,632, nodes enforcing BIP-110 began rejecting blocks that did not set version bit 4, while ordinary Bitcoin nodes continued accepting both signaling and non-signaling blocks. A minority BIP-110 branch subsequently emerged, but quickly fell behind the dominant chain.
The low signaling rate makes a sustained rival chain unlikely without substantially greater miner participation. With relatively little mining support, a BIP-110 branch could advance slowly or stop producing blocks altogether.
The milestone tests whether supporters can advance a contentious consensus change without broad miner backing, potentially separating enforcing nodes from the dominant chain and escalating a dispute over how Bitcoin’s block space should be used.
BIP-110 seeks temporary limits on Bitcoin dataWritten by pseudonymous developer Dathon Ohm, BIP-110 proposes additional consensus restrictions lasting roughly one year.
It would limit most new output scripts to 34 bytes, cap OP_RETURN outputs at 83 bytes, restrict certain data pushes and witness elements to 256 bytes, and temporarily limit several Taproot features. Unspent transaction outputs created before activation would be exempt.
Supporters said the restrictions would discourage inscriptions and other non-monetary data that increase storage and bandwidth costs for node operators.
The proposal’s critics, including Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and Blockstream CEO Adam Back, have argued that the proposal could divide Bitcoin and cause nodes to reject transactions permitted under the network’s existing rules.
The proposal uses version bit 4 for miner signaling. Its deployment schedule sets blocks 961,632 through 963,647 as a mandatory-signaling window, during which nodes enforcing BIP-110 reject blocks that do not carry the signal.
The specification defines block 963,648 as the beginning of its locked-in state and block 965,664 as the point when its transaction restrictions take effect.
BIP-110 proponents have also discussed a more extensive fallback. On Aug. 1, Bitcoin developer Chris Guida rebased preliminary code for a proof-of-work change originally written by Bitcoin Knots maintainer Luke Dashjr.
Guida described the code at the time as a contingency if miners opposed BIP-110, but said no activation date had been set.
Magazine: 10 weirdest things ever tokenized... including farts
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Spotové Bitcoin ETF v USA zaznamenaly ve čtvrtek pátý den čistých přílivů v řadě, a to ve výši 98,85 milionu USD. Ether ETF přidaly 49,60 milionu USD a rostly čtvrtý den po sobě.
Institutional capital isn’t waiting for regulatory perfection. For five trading sessions in a row, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have absorbed fresh inflows, with Thursday’s total reaching $98.85 million, according to data from SoSoValue. The streak, the longest since mid-July, signals that professional allocators are quietly adding BTC exposure even as Washington debates the future of digital asset legislation.
Spot Ether ETFs didn’t miss the move. They pulled in $49.60 million on the same day, extending their own inflow run to four trading days. The parallel buying suggests the momentum is not isolated to Bitcoin but reflects a broader institutional tilt toward regulated crypto products. While the dollar amounts are modest compared to the blockbuster inflows seen earlier this year, the consistency carries weight at a moment when many have been questioning whether ETF demand had stalled.
A Quiet but Steady Institutional Pulse Daily ETF flow data has become a real-time sentiment gauge for institutional crypto positioning. After a choppy July marred by outflows and macroeconomic jitters, the consecutive inflows indicate that some large players are rebuilding positions. Traders often treat persistent ETF buying as a proxy for conviction, especially when it spans both BTC and ETH products in parallel.
The timing is notable. The Ethereum ecosystem, for instance, remains the most active blockchain by developer count, underpinning the narrative that ETH’s utility supports long-term demand. Meanwhile, networks like Sui are seeing their own institutional traction: an 18% price surge this year was driven in part by institutional staking and a major fintech partnership, as covered in a recent price analysis. These signals suggest that crypto’s institutional chapter is not limited to ETF vehicles alone, but flows into the spot funds remain the cleanest daily pulse check.
Regulatory Uncertainty Still Casts a Shadow Yet the inflows are not happening in a vacuum. Four days before a Senate vote, a landmark crypto bill is facing an eleventh-hour challenge from the banking industry, as noted in a detailed report on the legislation’s fate. The outcome could reshape how custodians, exchanges, and ETF issuers operate in the U.S. market. It’s exactly the kind of policy drama that has historically prompted institutional investors to pause. So far, ETF flows haven’t blinked.
That detachment could mean two things. Either institutional buyers are betting the bill will pass largely intact, or they are simply pricing in a regulatory trajectory that won’t derail the ETF wrapper itself. The latter seems more plausible given that spot Bitcoin ETFs already survived a prolonged SEC battle and have since become a fixture in many portfolios. Ether ETF approval, though more recent, cemented the product class.
What the Flows Signal, and What They Don’t The five-day streak is a positive data point, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Trading volumes in the spot ETFs have been somewhat subdued relative to the first quarter, and the inflows are still far from the billion-dollar days that defined the initial launch frenzy. It’s a steady accumulation phase, not a speculative surge.
The $98.85 million figure, while respectable, is also small enough to be driven by a handful of large allocators rather than broad retail participation. That makes the streak fragile. A single negative macro print or an unexpected regulatory setback could flip flows back to outflows within a day. Still, the pattern of inflows into both Bitcoin and Ether products suggests that institutional conviction is deeper than short-term price action might imply.
As August progresses, market watchers will be looking to see whether the streak can extend through a full week, a threshold that could shift framing from “tactical rebound” to “renewed accumulation.” The macro backdrop—interest rate expectations, dollar strength, and equity market sentiment—remains the wild card. But for now, the inflow data offers a quiet counter-narrative to the regulatory noise: money is still moving in.
AUTHOR
Brenda is a writer with three years of experience specializing in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. She graduated from the University of Mombasa with a degree in Psychology. She has worked at Cryptopolitan and Blockchain Reporter.
Developer varuje, že prodej coinů z hard forku BIP-110 může spustit replay attack a nechtěně odčerpat skutečné BTC z peněženky. Držitelům se doporučuje s BTC nehýbat, dokud se řetězce jasně neoddělí.
The Bitcoin network is bracing for a potential minority chain fork this weekend, and the immediate risk isn’t just about price volatility—it’s about users accidentally draining their own wallets. A developer warning circulating ahead of the expected BIP-110 split makes clear that selling forked coins could inadvertently authorize transactions on the original Bitcoin chain, resulting in permanent loss of real BTC. The safest course, as outlined in the original report, is to do nothing until the chains are properly separated.
Unlike previous high-profile forks such as Bitcoin Cash, which shipped with strong replay protection, this minority chain apparently inherits Bitcoin’s transaction format without any mechanism to distinguish new chain operations from legacy ones. That means any signed transaction broadcast on the fork network to sell or move new coins can be captured and replayed on Bitcoin itself. The result: a user thinking they are only disposing of forked tokens could be emptying their BTC balance into an attacker’s address.
Why Replay Attacks Still Threaten Bitcoin Forks Replay attacks are not a new concept. They plagued the 2017 Bitcoin Cash split until wallets and exchanges implemented opt-in replay protection. The core problem is that if two chains share an identical transaction history, a valid signature on one chain remains valid on the other unless the transaction data is modified to include a chain-specific identifier. BIP-110 seems not to have addressed this, leaving the door open for a wave of opportunistic exploits as soon as trading begins on the new chain.
Exchanges that plan to list the forked asset face a delicate operational challenge. They must decide whether to credit customers with the new tokens and enable trading, knowing that any sell order from a user could trigger a cross-chain broadcast. Historically, platforms like Coinbase and Binance have taken a cautious stance with unprotected forks, often delaying support until replay safeguards are in place. The absence of such protections now shifts the burden entirely onto individual holders.
What You Should Do, and What Remains Unclear For the average Bitcoin holder, the instruction is simple: don’t move coins. Don’t attempt to claim, sell, or transfer the forked tokens from any wallet that also holds real BTC. Even advanced users who understand transaction structure could fall victim if the wallet software does not enforce replay prevention at the protocol level. The safest play is to wait for clear separation signals, such as the introduction of a unique chain ID or a software update from major wallet providers.
What remains uncertain is whether the minority chain will attract enough liquidity or exchange support to matter. Forked coins without replay protection often fade quickly because the risk of loss discourages legitimate trading. If the chain fails to gain traction, the replay risk might never be fully tested. However, if a single exchange lists the new asset and users start trading, the vulnerability becomes instantly exploitable. That timing uncertainty is what makes the coming days critical.
Broader market participants are watching for any sign of disruption to Bitcoin’s settlement layer. While Bitcoin itself is unlikely to face fundamental security threats, a high-profile replay incident could shake confidence among institutional custodians and delay integration plans for new protocols. The episode also reinforces the need for standardized replay protection in any future upgrade proposal that might create a parallel chain, intentional or not.
AUTHOR
Kester is an experienced freelance content writer. His focus is primarily on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. One might even refer to him as a "blockchain enthusiast." He has been following advancements in the crypto and blockchain area for several years, researching and writing his insights in the media. In addition to being a skilled content writer, Mushumir is also knowledgeable in SEO and digital marketing. He aspires to succeed as a content creator in the digital realm, dealing with customers in the finance and tech industries to generate traffic through engaging taglines and content. Mushumir enjoys traveling, reading, and playing cricket when he is not writing. He now works as a news and article writer for BlockchainReporter.
Spot Bitcoin ETF zaznamenaly nejlepší týden od poloviny dubna, když v prvním plném srpnovém týdnu přiteklo 853,54 milionu USD. BTC zároveň stoupl z 62 200 USD na 65 400 USD.
Meanwhile, the spot Ethereum ETFs extended their consecutive weekly streak to five in a row.
After a shaky July in terms of ETF performance, the Bitcoin funds started August with a bang, attracting more than $800 million in the first full week of the month.
This coincided with the underlying asset’s price revival, as BTC jumped from a monthly low at $62,200 on Monday to over $65,000 on Friday.
Best Week Since Mid-April July began with big hopes as investors pulled out more than $2.4 billion out of the spot Bitcoin ETFs in May and another $4.5 billion in June. Although there were many good days throughout the seventh month of the year, it ultimately ended with a more modest net inflow of $172.43 million. Thus, it lost the July inflow war to Ethereum.
The funds attracted nearly that amount on August 3 alone, pulling in $170 million. Another $211.49 million followed on Tuesday, $244.42 million on Wednesday, $128.69 million on Thursday, and $98.85 million on Friday. Thus, the perfect all-green week was complete, and the end number stands at $853.54 million, which is actually more than all four previous weeks combined.
Moreover, it’s the best single-week performance since mid-April, when the funds were on a roll, gaining nearly $1 billion at one point. It’s also the third-best of the year, as the record still belongs to the week that ended on January 16, when the ETFs attracted $1.42 billion.
Bitcoin ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue The past week has been quite positive for BTC’s price performance as well. Perhaps fueled by the ETF inflows, the asset rose from $62,200 on Monday to $65,400 on Friday after the weaker-than-expected US jobs data.
ETH ETFs Extend Streak Unlike the spot Bitcoin ETFs, the Ethereum counterparts didn’t have a full red week in July, ending the month with $365 million in net inflows. Their first in August has been quite impressive as well, attracting almost $245 million.
You may also like: Italy’s Biggest Bank Cuts IBIT Exposure by 94% While Buying More Staked Ethereum BTC vs ETH vs XRP: Which ETFs Attracted the Most Money on Monday? Crypto ETF Recap: Ethereum Still Outpaces Bitcoin, but Cracks Are Emerging The start of the week wasn’t as promising as investors pulled out $11.42 million. However, they changed their tune during the other four trading days, inserting $53.75 million on Tuesday, $60.86 million on Wednesday, $92.15 million on Thursday, and $49.60 million on Friday. Thus, the cumulative net inflows have increased from $11.21 billion last week to $11.46 billion.
Spot Ethereum ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue ETH’s price has also climbed by around 3% weekly, currently trading well above $1,920 after it dipped toward $1,800 on Monday.
BTCPay Server měl kritickou chybu, kterou útočníci zneužili ke krádeži prostředků z Lightning nodů běžících na LND. Provozovatelé by měli okamžitě aktualizovat na verzi 2.4.2 nebo server odpojit.
Another bitcoin infrastructure exploit hits, this time draining merchant Lightning nodes. (Max Bender/Unsplash)Summary
Attackers exploited a critical vulnerability in BTCPay Server to steal funds from Lightning nodes running LND, prompting urgent calls to update to version 2.4.2 or take servers offline.The flaw allowed unauthenticated access to LND “.macaroon” credential files, enabling attackers to seize control of affected Lightning nodes and drain their channels, though BTCPay’s standard on-chain wallets were not impacted.Victims including hardware-wallet maker Foundation and bitcoin publication Citadel21 reported their Lightning nodes were swept, as BTCPay and the Bitcoin Red Team investigate and prepare a full postmortem on the incident.A rough week for bitcoin's software is getting worse, this time hitting merchants who accept bitcoin BTC$64,987.55 payments through Lightning, a separate network built on top of bitcoin for instant, low-cost transfers.
Attackers drained Lightning nodes running behind BTCPay Server late on Friday after exploiting a critical vulnerability that exposed the credentials protecting them, the team said in an X post.
BTCPay confirmed funds were stolen and told anyone running LND, the most widely used software for operating a Lightning node, to update immediately to version 2.4.2 or take the server offline.
The project has not disclosed how many users were hit or how much bitcoin was taken.
The flaw allowed an unauthenticated remote attacker to obtain “.macaroon” files, or credentials that give software permission to interact with an LND Lightning node. BTCPay said the attacks it reviewed targeted those files, which could then be used to take control of the node and move funds.
Hardware-wallet maker Foundation was among the victims. Chief Executive Zach Herbert said attackers drained the company's BTCPay Lightning node overnight, closing its channels and sweeping the funds. Its BTCPay on-chain hot wallet was untouched.
Citadel21, the bitcoin publication run by pseudonymous commentator hodlonaut, also reported that its Lightning node had been swept, though it said little money was held there.
The vulnerability had already been reported to BTCPay by members of the Bitcoin Red Team — a group of developers that began pointing AI models at bitcoin codebases this week and has filed thousands of findings across hundreds of projects since.
Read More: Bitcoin developers flag 85 critical bugs in an "extremely bad" situation.
BTCPay credited Red Team members Craig Raw, Rob Hamilton, Calle and Evan Kaloudis with responsibly disclosing the issue and helping analyze it.
The group's stated reason for publishing findings quickly was that people outside it would arrive at the same bugs, and by the time BTCPay's public warning went out, attackers were already exploiting this one against live servers.
Meanwhile, BTCPay narrowed the scope after its initial alert, saying its standard on-chain wallets, including hot wallets generated inside BTCPay, are not affected by the credential flaw.
The exposure applies specifically to deployments using LND, and funds held inside LND's own on-chain wallet can still be at risk because they sit under the compromised Lightning node.
BTCPay has not yet published technical details of the vulnerability, saying operators need time to patch. A full postmortem is due in the coming days.
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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Jun 30, 2026
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Why it matters:
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Bitcoin a Ether ETF ve čtvrtek přilákaly přes 220 milionů USD čistých toků, což potvrzuje silnou institucionální poptávku navzdory volatilitě. Nejvíc opět dominoval BlackRock.
Institutional capital continues to flow into cryptos despite volatility that keeps retail investors on the defensive. On Thursday, ETFs backed by bitcoin and Ether recorded more than $220 million in net flows, confirming the intact appetite of traditional finance for these assets. Once again, BlackRock concentrates the bulk of subscriptions and strengthens its role as the main driver of this momentum in the crypto ETF market.
In brief More than $220 million jointly injected into Bitcoin and Ether ETFs during Thursday’s session. A fourth consecutive day of net inflows (+$128.69 million), bringing the four-session total to $755 million. The IBIT fund crushes the competition on Bitcoin with +$128.33 million, while ETHA largely dominates Ether (+$81.14 million). Despite falling prices, the number of shares outstanding remains stable, reflecting a long-term accumulation strategy rather than immediate speculation. Bitcoin ETF : a fourth consecutive day of gains driven by BlackRock The Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $128.69 million across six distinct vehicles, extending the current positive streak to four consecutive sessions for a total of $755 million. Once again, the capital allocation among the various funds shows a marked disparity :
BlackRock (IBIT) : a dominating presence with +$128.33 million captured alone ; Morgan Stanley (MSBT) : an additional inflow of +$14.94 million ; Fidelity (FBTC) : a positive flow of +$11.20 million ; Grayscale : an inflow of +$7.48 million on GBTC and +$6.83 million on the Bitcoin Mini Trust ; Bitwise (BITB) : a modest subscription of +$1.75 million ; VanEck (HODL) & Valkyrie (BRRR) : capital outflows of -$32.77 million for VanEck and -$9.07 million for Valkyrie. Despite these conflicting reallocations among managers, overall activity remained particularly strong in the spot derivatives secondary market. The total daily trading volume for all Bitcoin ETFs reached $1.36 billion on Thursday, while the combined net assets under management closed at $78.77 billion.
Thus, the massive concentration of volumes towards IBIT confirms BlackRock’s dominant position as the primary access channel for institutional investors. These figures reflect the persistence of a solid working capital demand among major players, maintaining a regular liquidity floor despite sometimes hesitant short-term price fluctuations.
The Ether surge and selective altcoin momentum On the side of the market’s second-largest asset, the trajectory was even more explicit with a total net subscription of $92.15 million spread across five funds, with no Ether ETF recording any capital outflow during the session. BlackRock’s ETHA product also dominated by collecting $81.14 million. The remaining amounts were subscribed through Grayscale’s Ether Mini Trust fund at $4.55 million, its historic ETHE fund for $3.07 million, BlackRock’s ETHB vehicle for $1.96 million, and Fidelity’s FETH for $1.42 million. With a traded volume of $435.46 million and net assets reaching $10.64 billion for Ether ETFs, this segment confirms a significant resurgence.
By contrast, the landscape was much more mixed regarding other cryptos. XRP-backed ETFs returned to positive territory thanks to an injection of $3.45 million, mostly driven by Bitwise’s fund at $2.89 million and Franklin Templeton’s (XRPZ) at about $562,000, bringing the sector’s net assets to $964.21 million.
The HYPE ETFs continued their recovery trajectory by attracting $2.84 million via Bitwise’s BHYP product, raising the daily volume to $5.10 million and net assets to $265.04 million. Conversely, Solana ETFs took an opposite course, with Fidelity’s FSOL fund registering a net outflow of $859,450, leaving total combined net assets at $857.24 million.
Lawrence Lepard’s insight on holder maturity Beyond daily cash flows, the ownership structure of these vehicles offers a fundamental reading grid on institutional investor attitudes toward price fluctuations. Commenting on the firmness of subscribers amid recent volatility, Austrian economist and investment manager Lawrence Lepard highlighted the remarkable stability of shares held: “although the value of Bitcoin ETFs has dropped significantly from its peak, the total number of shares outstanding has decreased by a much smaller proportion, indicating very limited net sales from holders”.
This observation reveals a marked divergence between spot market volatility and the long-term commitment of ETF holders. As asset management giants centralize most incoming flows, asset data indicate that a significant fraction of institutional investors view these vehicles as strategic allocation instruments rather than mere short-term speculation tools.
While this financial foundation provides valuable structural support to the ecosystem, it also raises questions about capital concentration in the hands of a limited number of financial conglomerates. Upcoming regulatory developments and evolving demand in altcoin-specific derivatives products will determine whether this selective appetite extends to the broader market or continues to primarily benefit the sector leaders.
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Washington uvalil sankce na Shelbit a Aban Tether 7. srpna 2026 kvůli podezření, že podporují finanční sítě napojené na Írán. OFAC zároveň označil i Siavashe Kayvanpoura a další osoby a firmy spojené s těmito toky.
Washington sanctioned Shelbit and Aban Tether on August 7, 2026, accusing the two crypto platforms of supporting financial networks linked to Iran. Behind these little-known names lies a network of companies, online betting, and wallets associated with the Revolutionary Guards.
In brief The OFAC listed Shelbit, Aban Tether, and several related persons and companies on its sanctions lists on August 7, 2026. The U.S. Treasury describes three categories of crypto transfers of more than 1 million, 2 million, and 2 million dollars around Shelbit, the IRGC, and Nobitex. Assets under U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, while actors continuing certain transactions face sanctions. Shelbit and Aban Tether enter OFAC’s crosshairs Shelbit was already under the spotlight before the American decision. Cointribune had recently documented the Shelbit dossier and its transfers to Binance, amid suspicions of money laundering and sanctions evasion. On August 7, Washington took a step further by directly listing the platform and its alleged operator in its sanctions framework.
In its press release published on August 7, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a branch of the U.S. Treasury responsible for enforcing economic sanctions, targets two platforms: Shelbit and Aban Tether. The agency also targets Siavash Kayvanpour, described as the head of a network of companies established notably in Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, and Poland.
The initial assessment reported by Cointelegraph mentions more than 5 million dollars in transfers detailed by the administration. However, the official statement distinguishes several movements: over 1 million dollars are said to have circulated from wallets controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Shelbit, more than 2 million from Shelbit to the IRGC, then over 2 million from addresses linked to Kayvanpour to Nobitex.
This breakdown does not allow to confirm that all these amounts represent entirely distinct funds.
Aban Tether follows a different mechanism. According to OFAC, this Iranian platform processed millions of dollars in transactions with Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, four Iranian exchanges already designated by Washington. The agency sanctions Aban Tether under its activity in the Iranian financial sector.
A network of companies and betting behind crypto flows The dossier goes beyond the two platforms displayed on the list. The Treasury describes Shelbit as the gateway for a vast network of Persian betting sites, run by two Iranian influencers convicted in 2023 for illegal gambling. Tens of millions of dollars from this group are said to have passed through Shelbit, while these sites retained access to the Iranian payment system.
Washington also links several companies to Kayvanpour: SHPS Shelbit in Georgia, Shelbit General Trading in the United Arab Emirates, Shelbit Technologies in Poland, as well as Crypto Home DMCC and NFT Home DMCC in Dubai. The Emirati regulator VARA had already taken measures against Shelbit General Trading in January 2025 and July 2026. Despite these interventions, the activity continued.
This offensive is part of a larger sequence. In May, Scott Bessent claimed that the United States had recovered one billion dollars of cryptos linked to Iran, without detailing all the operations involved. The new decision is therefore not an isolated strike: it expands American pressure to providers connecting wallets, local platforms, and commercial networks.
We will continue to increase economic pressure. Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, the Treasury will track and dismantle illicit financial networks keeping the regime afloat.
Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary The State Department also offers up to 15 million dollars for any information that can disrupt the IRGC’s and its branches’ financial mechanisms. This amount shows the priority given to monitoring these networks.
What the sanctions change for crypto actors Being listed on OFAC’s lists has immediate effects. Properties and interests held in the United States, or controlled by Americans, must be blocked and reported. The rule extends to entities owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more sanctioned persons.
Restrictions do not stop at U.S. borders. Financial institutions and foreign companies can face sanctions if they conduct certain operations with designated persons. OFAC can also impose civil penalties based on strict liability without having to prove intent to circumvent rules.
This is the sensitive point for exchanges. Transfers on a public blockchain leave traces, but identifying real beneficiaries still depends on internal controls, customer data, and cooperation between authorities. A platform that maintains relationships with a sanctioned address or company can therefore see its access to banking partners and the U.S. market severely compromised.
In short, Washington tightens the noose on the infrastructure enabling funds to circulate, not just on their final holders. The designation of Shelbit, targeting of Aban Tether, and threat of secondary sanctions push intermediaries to review their controls. The risk of sanctions for maritime companies had already shown how far this exposure could extend. Now, crypto platforms are warned.
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Maloobchodní investoři z Bitcoinu ustupují nejrychleji od prosince, zatímco velcí držitelé dál přikupují kolem 63 000 až 65 000 USD. Santiment říká, že to zvyšuje šanci na růst BTC nad 70 000 USD.
Retail investors are exiting Bitcoin at their fastest pace since December as whales keep accumulating near current prices.
Bitcoin whales and sharks are continuing to increase their holdings as the cryptocurrency trades in the $63,000 to $65,000 range, according to the latest data from Santiment.
The accumulation trend has strengthened since its previous report earlier this week, which highlighted a surge in network activity driven by the impact of the Coldcard hardware wallet security incident.
Retail Dumps Holdings At the time, Santiment reported that active Bitcoin addresses had climbed to a three-month high of 712,000 over the previous seven days, while transactions worth more than $100,000 reached a five-month high of 61,800. The firm said affected users rushed to move their funds and reorganize their wallets after the security breach, which ended up triggering a sharp increase in on-chain activity.
In its latest update, Santiment flagged a notable shift. While large holders have continued adding BTC to their wallets, micro holders are reducing their exposure at the fastest pace since December 2024. The Coldcard hack remains a major factor, as both the accumulation by whales and the selling by smaller investors began around the same period.
The uncertainty surrounding the CLARITY Act also contributed to the trend. Bitcoin’s ongoing period of sideways price action has discouraged retail participants, adding to the selling pressure from smaller wallets. It is this divergence between large and small holders that is becoming more pronounced, Santiment explained.
With key stakeholders steadily accumulating while retail investors continue to exit, the analytics platform said the odds of BTC climbing above $70,000 are increasing. This, in turn, makes that outcome more likely than a drop below the $60,000 level.
The Coldcard fallout was also evident in data from CoinMetrics, which recorded a temporary increase in BTC held on exchanges.
You may also like: Bitcoin Barely Budges as Weak US Jobs Data Cuts Fed Hike Odds to 44% Bitcoin Miners Are Selling Again: Here’s How Much BTC Was Reportedly Offloaded Arthur Hayes: AI Bubble Burst Could Trigger Bitcoin Rally ETFs Stay in Positive Territory On the institutional side, US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded four straight days of inflows. On 6th August, these funds attracted nearly $129 million. BlackRock’s IBIT led the numbers with $123 million in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s ETF with $11.2 million. Outflows came from VanEck’s HODL, which shed $32.7 million, and Valkyrie’s BRRR, which lost $9.07 million on the day. The remaining funds either posted smaller additions or ended the session unchanged.
The latest stretch of gains has pushed the monthly figures to almost $755 million.
Podání u SEC ukazují, že ETF BlackRocku navázané na Bitcoin a Ethereum ve 2. čtvrtletí 2025 poklesly o 3,5 miliardy USD, po loňském růstu o 13,9 miliardy USD. Rozdíl činí 17,4 miliardy USD.
BlackRock’s ETFs linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a sharp reversal in the second quarter of 2026. Their activity on shares changed from a net increase of $13.9 billion a year earlier to a decrease of $3.5 billion. An annual gap of $17.4 billion that mainly reveals the scale of redemptions.
In brief IBIT and ETHA show a combined net decline of $3.5 billion. The gap with the 2025 increase reaches $17.4 billion. The 106,148 BTC declared do not necessarily correspond to direct sales. The IBIT Bitcoin ETF incurs $2.9 billion in net outflows BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust concentrates most of the reversal. This evolution continues a sequence during which BlackRock had already sold over a billion dollars of Bitcoin via IBIT, due to redemption requests presented by investors. Between April and June 2026, IBIT recorded $4.3 billion in contributions linked to the issuance of new shares.
At the same time, distributions associated with the redeemed shares reached $7.2 billion. The balance thus stands at -$2.9 billion. The Ethereum fund ETHA also shows a decrease. Its share creations amounted to $943.3 million, against about $1.5 billion distributed in redemptions. Its net contraction thus reaches $583.4 million. Together, the two BlackRock crypto ETFs lose $3.5 billion on this accounting line.
The $17.4 billion shock comes from the annual comparison. In Q2 2025, IBIT and ETHA had recorded a combined increase of $13.9 billion thanks to share creations. One year later, their balance becomes negative $3.5 billion. The gap between these two periods thus reaches $17.4 billion.
The 106,148 bitcoins do not all represent exchange sales Regulatory documents show 106,148 BTC in a category dedicated to assets used during share redemptions. This impressive volume can give the image of a massive Bitcoin sale. However, the technical reality requires more caution.
Since 2025, authorized participants can perform certain creations and redemptions in kind. They can therefore receive bitcoins directly when IBIT shares are canceled. Not all 106,148 BTC concerned have necessarily been sold for dollars on a platform. Part of it may have been transferred directly to intermediaries.
Fund notes notably mention $3.85 billion in in-kind distributions for Bitcoin. They do not provide the exact breakdown between BTC transferred directly and those actually sold. They also do not identify the investors behind the redemptions.
This distinction prevents an exaggerated interpretation. The figure of $17.4 billion does not measure a loss suffered by Bitcoin holders. It also does not prove that BlackRock has liquidated this amount on the market. It reflects the shift from strong share creation to a period dominated by redemptions.
The movement nevertheless confirms a change in institutional behavior. Several major players have already reduced their positions in crypto funds, as illustrated by the massive retreat of institutional exposures to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The market no longer benefits from the almost automatic accumulation observed after the launch of spot ETFs.
Bitcoin must now confirm the return of buyers The first sessions of August offer a beginning of stabilization. Between August 3 and 5, IBIT attracted $478.5 million. ETHA received $83.8 million. These $562.3 million however represent only 15.9% of the net contraction of $3.5 billion recorded in the second quarter.
At this rate, nearly 19 sessions would be necessary to compensate an equivalent amount. Still, entries would have to remain constant. A handful of positive days is therefore not enough to confirm the end of redemptions.
The true indicator will be the duration. Regular flows over several weeks would show that institutional demand is returning. An alternation of inflows and outflows would rather signal a cautious market, in which investors use Bitcoin ETFs to quickly adjust their exposure.
SEC documents ultimately reveal less a Bitcoin collapse than a change of cycle for BlackRock products. The massive creations of 2025 have given way to arbitrage and redemptions. The recent recovery, when American ETFs attracted capital despite Bitcoin’s decline, will have to continue to erase this accounting shock of $17.4 billion.
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Lydie M.
Enseignante et ingénieure IT, Lydie découvre le Bitcoin en 2022 et plonge dans l’univers des cryptomonnaies. Elle vulgarise des sujets complexes, décrypte les enjeux du Web3 et défend une vision d’un futur numérique ouvert, inclusif et décentralisé.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
Hackeři zneužili chybu v CryptoJS a ukradli přes 5,7 milionu USD z více než 2 100 peněženek na sítích Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Rootstock a Polygon. Největší zásah utrpěl Bitcoin.
A wave of sophisticated thefts has shaken the cryptocurrency community, exposing a critical flaw affecting the core security of widely used web and mobile wallets. Attackers leveraged a longstanding vulnerability in the CryptoJS JavaScript library to brute-force secret seed phrases, compromising user funds with alarming ease.
Flaw in CryptoJS exposes hundreds of walletsThe vulnerability, identified as “Ill Bloom,” has been linked to the theft of assets from over 2,100 wallet addresses on major blockchain networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Rootstock, and Polygon. Losses attributed to this exploit have now surpassed $5.7 million.
Normally, a standard 12-word seed phrase is designed to be virtually unbreakable, requiring computational timescales beyond the age of the universe to crack. However, CryptoJS library versions 3.x, specifically those starting with 3.1.2 except for 3.2.0 and 3.2.1, had a critical defect in their random number generation functions.
This bug caused the affected versions to produce only weak pseudo-randomness, drastically reducing the number of possible seed phrase combinations and making brute-force attacks feasible even on ordinary home computers.
Compounding the problem, CryptoJS was quietly embedded within hundreds of software packages. Wallet developers widely integrated it without awareness, inadvertently exposing users across many applications.
More than 2,100 wallet addresses across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Rootstock, and Polygon have fallen victim to Ill Bloom, with total losses above $5.7 million.
The first large-scale incident linked to Ill Bloom occurred on May 27, 2026, when attackers compromised 431 wallets in one day, siphoning off $3.14 million. Bitcoin investors suffered the greatest impact, losing $2.57 million. Ethereum, Rootstock, Tron, and Polygon users also faced significant losses, with values ranging from $23,000 to $286,000 across these networks.
Impacted wallets and user safeguardsBy August, applications confirmed as affected included RWallet (also known as RRWallet), Bexo Wallet, NanChat, Bitcoin Libre, and Milo Wallet. Some projects, notably Milo and RWallet, have ceased operations, leaving users with no dedicated support channels.
Developers of Bitcoin Libre responded by patching the bug in earlier releases. NanChat has issued a new security fix for its users, while an update for Bexo Wallet was still under review in app stores at the time of reporting.
Security researchers warn that updating wallet applications alone is not enough to safeguard user assets. Seed phrases created on versions affected by Ill Bloom remain fundamentally vulnerable, as their entropy was compromised from the start.
Specialists recommend that users review all public addresses potentially exposed, and if risk is detected, immediately transfer funds to freshly generated wallets. They urge the community to avoid storing substantial sums in browsers or mobile wallets whose keys were created with unsafe libraries.
For investors aiming to minimize risks and closely monitor their digital assets, leveraging advanced portfolio tools is vital. CryptoAppsy, for example, eliminates account setup complexity and brings together investments, real-time pricing, and multi-currency management on a single platform. By using features such as smart price alerts, coin-specific news filtering, instant tracking of new altcoins, and macroeconomic data like Fed interest rates, users can remain vigilant and ready to react to changes in market conditions.
Experts emphasize that if a wallet’s seed phrase originated from the defective CryptoJS versions, only migrating to a new wallet that generates fresh keys can restore full security.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Morgan Stanley has significantly increased its Bitcoin holdings, now totaling approximately $400 million. The banking giant’s recent moves have attracted considerable attention from both institutional investors and the broader crypto community, especially as market volatility continues to challenge investor sentiment.
Continuous Bitcoin PurchasesData from Arkham Intelligence reveals that Morgan Stanley has purchased Bitcoin for three consecutive days. This sustained accumulation comes just months after the launch of the firm’s MSTU Bitcoin ETF in April, demonstrating an ongoing strategic focus on crypto assets.
The purchases highlight Morgan Stanley’s determination to strengthen its exposure to Bitcoin at a time when the price has fluctuated around $64,000, with market sentiment wavering between positive and negative territory.
These actions suggest that regardless of the short-term price direction, the bank continues to view Bitcoin as an essential component of its broader digital asset strategy. Market analysts are closely monitoring whether these acquisitions point to long-term conviction or are positioned as tactical moves aimed at managing liquidity.
Expanding Crypto ETF OfferingsMorgan Stanley’s focus extends beyond just Bitcoin. The company has introduced what it describes as the lowest-cost Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded funds, seeking to provide institutional clients with a broader suite of crypto investment vehicles.
With these developments, Morgan Stanley is reinforcing its position as a key issuer in the crypto ETF landscape. The firm aims to offer institutional customers seamless, cost-efficient access to cryptocurrencies, expanding beyond traditional products to meet growing client interest in digital assets.
Following its steady Bitcoin accumulation, further data showed that the banking giant now holds about $400 million worth of Bitcoin, signaling its conviction in the asset despite the market downturn.
Market Dynamics and Investor DebateThe timing of these purchases has fueled discussions among market watchers. Some analysts propose that the moves reflect a strong, long-term belief in Bitcoin’s future potential from one of Wall Street’s largest players, while others question whether Morgan Stanley is primarily responding to short-term liquidity needs.
Given Bitcoin’s unpredictable price action and ongoing fluctuations around key resistance levels, close monitoring of institutional activity remains crucial for market participants. Investors are watching for signals that could either confirm Morgan Stanley’s conviction or reveal more complex motivations behind the bank’s strategy.
As the landscape for digital and traditional assets continues to converge, platforms like 1stepSwap are also gaining traction. By enabling direct wallet access to shares of major US companies and commodities such as gold and silver, 1stepSwap exemplifies new models for integrating real-world assets with blockchain technology. The platform’s standout feature—locating the best market price at any moment—allows users to seamlessly diversify their portfolios and execute trades on some of the largest stocks in seconds, without complex middlemen or procedures.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Bhútán po 30 dnech znovu přesunul 434.87 BTC v hodnotě asi 27,93 milionu USD na adresy napojené na burzy. Tím pokračuje v postupném rozprodávání svých bitcoinových rezerv.
Bhutan Breaks a 30-Day Silence With Fresh Bitcoin TransferThe Royal Government of Bhutan has returned to the market, transferring 434.87 $BTC worth approximately $27.93 million to exchange-linked addresses, according to on-chain data flagged by Lookonchain. The move ends a 30-day period of inactivity from the kingdom's tracked wallets and signals that Bhutan's steady monetization of its sovereign Bitcoin reserves remains ongoing.
The transfer fits a well-established pattern. Transfers to trading firms appear to reflect a planned treasury drawdown and liquidity management strategy rather than panic selling, with every sale effectively pure profit given Bhutan's near-zero mining costs. Bhutan has typically broken sales into smaller batches rather than executing large single transactions.
A Sovereign Reserve in Steady DeclineThe state-owned investment arm Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) accumulated Bitcoin through mining operations powered by the country's abundant hydroelectric resources, but holdings have fallen sharply from a peak of roughly 13,000 BTC. At its peak in late 2024, the country's holdings were estimated at nearly 13,000 BTC. Since then, more than 70% of that balance has been moved out through repeated transfers.
Bhutan has sold more than $200 million worth of Bitcoin since the start of 2026. Bhutan's realized profit from Bitcoin is estimated at more than $750 million, and because the coins were mined using domestic hydropower, the cost basis may be far lower than open-market purchases.
The April 2024 block reward halving doubled the cost of producing each coin, and Bhutan's mining output experienced a significant drop compared to 2023, a period when the country mined an estimated 8,200 BTC. It has now been over a year since Bhutan registered a mining inflow exceeding $100,000 to its identified addresses. Without fresh production replacing sold coins, the reserve continues to shrink with each transfer.
The government previously pledged up to 10,000 BTC for its Gelephu Mindfulness City project, but current reserve levels have dropped to a point where achieving that target appears increasingly difficult. At the current pace, analysts estimate that Bhutan's remaining Bitcoin could be exhausted by around October 2026, assuming the government continues selling at recent rates and does not restart major mining operations.
Sources:
CoinDesk: Bhutan moves another 500 Bitcoin to exchanges as 2026 outflows top $150 million
CoinPaper: When Will the Royal Government of Bhutan Stop Selling Bitcoin?
Cryptopolitan: Bhutan sells another 100 BTC as sovereign reserve heads toward zero
Dunamu získala roční kontrakt od jihokorejské policie na úschovu zabavených kryptoměn. Službu zajistí přes Upbit Custody s nepřetržitým monitoringem a cold storage.
Key HighlightsGovernment Procurement Process Awards Contract to DunamuAdvanced Security Infrastructure Protects Seized AssetsAsset Disappearances Drive Demand for Enhanced Security Dunamu secures one-year contract to protect digital assets confiscated by South Korean law enforcement. The Upbit Custody platform will handle seized cryptocurrencies with 24/7 security monitoring. Multi-signature technology and cold storage wallets will protect assets in criminal cases. Previous Bitcoin disappearances prompted authorities to seek enhanced custody solutions. Competitive government procurement process selected Dunamu as the winning bidder. The National Police Agency of South Korea has selected Dunamu to handle the storage of digital assets confiscated in criminal cases. The parent company of Upbit obtained this one-year arrangement via the country’s competitive government procurement system. This decision comes after previous incidents of asset disappearances highlighted the need for improved security measures in police cryptocurrency storage.
Government Procurement Process Awards Contract to Dunamu Dunamu emerged victorious from an open bidding process administered by South Korea’s Public Procurement Service. The firm achieved the top technical evaluation score and was designated as the leading candidate for negotiations on July 8. Following successful technical discussions, Dunamu cleared all procurement requirements and was formally awarded the contract.
The contract encompasses custody and management solutions for cryptocurrencies and additional digital assets confiscated by law enforcement authorities. Government procurement documentation indicated the one-year agreement was valued at approximately 267 million won. This figure represented around $195,000 according to prevailing exchange rates during the tender period.
The services will be delivered through Upbit Custody, Dunamu’s specialized institutional-grade digital asset storage solution. The platform operates continuous surveillance and incident response capabilities around the clock. Security operations remain active during overnight hours, weekends, and national holidays to maintain uninterrupted asset protection.
Advanced Security Infrastructure Protects Seized Assets Upbit Custody maintains confiscated digital holdings in a fully offline cold storage environment. The infrastructure keeps custody systems completely disconnected from internet access, minimizing vulnerability to external cyber threats. Dunamu implements multiple key-management protocols engineered to mitigate risks associated with credential compromise.
The custody solution integrates Multi-Party Computation alongside Distributed Key Generation to enhance private key protection. Additionally, multi-signature technology requires multiple authorizations before any asset movement can occur. These security layers distribute key control responsibilities and eliminate single points of failure in credential management.
The platform enables segregated wallet architectures for various asset types and operational requirements. This configuration allows law enforcement to maintain organized records of seized holdings without consolidating all digital assets into a single wallet. Dunamu will deliver these custody capabilities through ongoing surveillance and rigorous internal security protocols.
Asset Disappearances Drive Demand for Enhanced Security South Korean law enforcement agencies encountered heightened scrutiny following multiple incidents of missing cryptocurrencies during criminal proceedings. The Gangnam Police Department reported in February that 22 Bitcoin had vanished from their custody. Officials estimated the value of these missing assets at approximately 2.1 billion won at the time of disclosure.
The Bitcoin in question had been seized during a 2021 criminal inquiry before authorities detected an unauthorized transaction. The hardware cold wallet reportedly remained in police possession throughout the period when the loss occurred. Subsequent investigations examined access logs, key-handling protocols, and blockchain records connected to the disappeared funds.
Additional reported cryptocurrency losses amplified calls for enhanced digital asset security across law enforcement organizations. This pressure led authorities to pursue an external custody provider with specialized infrastructure and continuous protection mechanisms. Dunamu will now oversee police-seized digital assets through the Upbit Custody platform for the duration of the one-year contract term.
Oliver Dale
Editor-in-Chief of Blockonomi and founder of Kooc Media, A UK-Based Online Media Company. Believer in Open-Source Software, Blockchain Technology & a Free and Fair Internet for all. His writing has been quoted by Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Investopedia, The New Yorker, Forbes, Techcrunch & More. Contact [email protected]
Donald Trump řekl, že rostoucí využívání bitcoinu snižuje tlak na dolar a prospívá americké ekonomice. Zároveň varoval, že USA nesmí v digitálních aktivech zaostávat za Čínou.
President Donald Trump offered a take on Bitcoin and the dollar that would have sounded like science fiction four years ago: the two aren’t in competition. During a White House press conference on June 27, 2025, Trump said that the rising acceptance of Bitcoin for transactions “takes a lot of pressure off the dollar” and positively impacts the US economy.
What Trump actually said Trump’s comments came during a press conference tied to a Supreme Court announcement. He argued that broader cryptocurrency adoption can create jobs and contribute to economic resilience during downturns. He also framed US leadership in crypto as a competitive necessity, warning that allowing China to gain dominance in digital assets would be a strategic mistake.
Trump made a similar statement in November 2025 at the America Business Forum in Miami, where he reiterated his warning against letting foreign competitors lead in digital asset innovation.
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The policy backdrop In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, utilizing forfeited Bitcoin already held by the Treasury Department.
Beyond the reserve, the administration has been pushing broader digital-asset legislation, including stablecoin frameworks and bills like the GENIUS Act. The goal, as Trump has repeatedly framed it, is to establish the US as a “crypto superpower.”
The dollar argument, unpacked Trump’s claim that Bitcoin relieves pressure on the dollar inverts the narrative that has dominated crypto discourse for over a decade. The traditional Bitcoin pitch positions it as a hedge against dollar debasement: if the Fed prints too much money, Bitcoin’s fixed supply makes it a lifeboat. Trump is arguing something subtly different — that if global transactions increasingly settle in Bitcoin, the dollar faces less inflationary pressure from its role as the world’s reserve currency.
This echoes a concept economists have debated for decades, sometimes called the Triffin dilemma. Because the dollar serves as the global reserve currency, the US must run persistent trade deficits to supply enough dollars to the world. If Bitcoin absorbs some of that transactional demand, the argument goes, the dollar gets breathing room.
What this means for markets The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve creates a structural floor of demand. The government isn’t just talking about Bitcoin — it’s holding it, intentionally, as a reserve asset. By casting crypto leadership as a race against China, Trump has also given bipartisan cover to legislators who might otherwise be skittish about supporting digital-asset bills.
The executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve creates institutional inertia that’s harder to unwind than a press conference quote. Once Bitcoin sits formally on the government’s balance sheet, removing it becomes a political act that requires its own justification.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin miner MARA swung to a net loss of $611.3 million from a year-earlier profit in the second quarter of 2026, driven primarily by a change in the value of its Bitcoin holdings, despite reporting its highest quarterly Bitcoin production in more than a year.
The net loss, equivalent to $1.60 per diluted share, is down compared to a net income of $808.2 million, or $1.84 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the company’s 10-Q SEC filing. MARA mined 2,422 Bitcoin in the quarter, 3% more than the prior year period, but higher production was more than offset by a 28% decline in the average Bitcoin price.
“Two things defined Q2 for MARA. Bitcoin prices created a challenging revenue environment [and] we used the quarter to fundamentally transform our power portfolio and capital structure,” said MARA chief financial officer Salman Khan during an earnings call on Thursday.
The quarter highlights MARA’s exposure to Bitcoin prices even as it expands mining capacity and pursues AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. As of June 30, MARA held a total of 35,577 Bitcoin, with a total fair value of $2.1 billion, making it the fourth-largest public Bitcoin holder after Strategy, Twenty One Capital and Metaplanet.
MARA eyes continued AI expansion In February, the company acquired a majority stake in Exaion SaS, which operates high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and secure cloud and AI infrastructure.
In the same month, MARA also announced a partnership with Starwood Capital Group and its data center development platform Starwood Digital Ventures to enable the conversion of select MARA sites to meet demand from “enterprise, hyperscale and AI customers.”
MARA said it is targeting at least two AI/HPC lease signings by year-end.
“Working alongside Starwood, we are progressing lease discussions across multiple sites, and we remain confident in our ability to sign at least 2 leases before year-end,” MARA CEO Fred Thiel said on Thursday.
In July, MARA also agreed to acquire a 1,200-acre powered land site in Matagorda County, Texas, with expected access to up to 2 gigawatts of grid capacity by April 2028. The company said it intends to develop the site for AI and HPC workloads as well as Bitcoin mining.
MARA’s expansion plans also include its pending acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power in Ohio, a $1.5 billion deal that MARA has said could support up to 600 megawatts of AI and critical-IT load over time.
Bitcoin mining remains foundationalIn a letter to shareholders on Thursday, Thiel said Bitcoin mining still represents the core of MARA’s business and will continue to generate cash flow that supports its other investments.
“Ultimately, we do not view Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure as competing businesses,” said Thiel.
“Our capital allocation philosophy remains straightforward. Every megawatt should be deployed into its highest-value application. In some markets, that will continue to be Bitcoin mining. In others, it will be AI infrastructure, sovereign cloud, or enterprise computing.”
Magazine: 10 weirdest things ever tokenized... including farts
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
Bitcoinová peněženka nečinná od roku 2011 přesunula 49,97 BTC v hodnotě asi 3,2 milionu dolarů na adresu s historií transakcí k FalconX. Mince zatím z této adresy neodešly.
Bitcoin wallet dormant since 2011 moves $3.2 million toward FalconX-linked address(Shutterstock)Summary
A long-dormant bitcoin wallet that received 49.97 BTC in 2011, when the cryptocurrency traded around $10, moved nearly 50 BTC worth about $3.2 million on Thursday.The coins were sent to a SegWit address that has previously funneled bitcoin to institutional brokerage FalconX and received funds from Nexo and Prime Trust–linked wallets, though the newly moved BTC has not yet left that address.The transfer comes amid heightened security concerns following a major exploit of Coldcard hardware wallets, which has led long-term holders to reexamine old storage setups, but there is no evidence connecting this 2011 wallet to the flaw.A bitcoin wallet that had been dormant since 2011 moved nearly 50 BTC worth about $3.2 million on Thursday, shifting the coins to an address with a history of sending bitcoin to institutional crypto brokerage FalconX.
The wallet received the coins on July 16, 2011, when bitcoin traded around $10, and had not spent them since, according to Galaxy Research. The 49.97 BTC position is now worth roughly $3.2 million after surviving more than a decade of bitcoin booms, crashes and exchange failures.
The transaction, included in block 961331 at 20:14 UTC on Aug. 6, combined four inputs from the dormant address totaling 49.97 BTC with two smaller inputs from other addresses. Exactly 50 BTC was sent to a SegWit address, while a second output received about 0.00116 BTC after fees.
SegWit is a newer Bitcoin address format that makes transactions more space-efficient and generally cheaper to send. Addresses beginning with bc1 use it.
The destination is not a fresh wallet, however. Arkham data show the address has been active for several years and previously sent 6.336 BTC and 16.131 BTC to addresses the analytics platform labels as FalconX deposits.
It has also received funds from wallets Arkham labels as a Nexo hot wallet and Prime Trust custody.
The newly arrived 50 BTC remained in the address as of Friday morning. That means there is no on-chain evidence that the dormant coins themselves have been sent to FalconX, another exchange or sold.
A 2011 wallet's coins landed in an address that has sold through a prime broker before. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)Dormant wallets from bitcoin's earliest years tend to draw attention when they move because their owners accumulated coins when the asset was worth a fraction of today's price.
While movement alone gives little indication of what the holder plans to do next, and transfers can reflect anything from wallet upgrades and custody changes to preparations for a sale.
The movements come on the back of one of the worst cold-wallet exploits to hit Bitcoin in years, a reminder that coins can sit safely for more than a decade and still become vulnerable when the software protecting their keys fails.
Coinkite, maker of the Coldcard hardware wallet, urged users on Tuesday to move funds after disclosing a flaw in firmware dating to 2021 that could expose keys generated by affected devices. Attackers have swept as much as $114 million from vulnerable wallets since July 30, according to the company, in four waves of thefts.
There is no evidence linking the 2011 wallet to the Coldcard issue, and the address predates the device by years. But the disclosure has sent long-term holders back to check old storage setups, adding another reason for dormant bitcoin to suddenly move on-chain.
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The Evolution of the Crypto CEX Landscape: A Case Study on Binance
The Evolution of the Crypto CEX Landscape: A Case Study on Binance
Binance remains crypto’s leading exchange, expanding from spot and derivatives into RWAs, payments, savings, yield, and broader financial services.
Jun 29, 2026
Binance remains crypto’s leading exchange, expanding from spot and derivatives into RWAs, payments, savings, yield, and broader financial services.
Why it matters:
Binance remains crypto’s leading exchange, expanding from spot and derivatives into RWAs, payments, savings, yield, and broader financial services.
Bitget podepsal dohodu s úřadem Gelephu Mindfulness City o přípravě na získání licence a vstup do regulovaného digitálního finančního ekosystému v Bhútánu. Město stojí na strategii, která počítá až s 10 000 bitcoiny.
Bitget has signed a cooperation agreement with the Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority (GMCA), marking a step toward establishing a local presence in Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), Bhutan. The agreement sets out a framework for Bitget to establish a legal presence in GMC, prepare an application for a Financial Services Licence under the regime administered by the Gelephu Financial Services Office, and work with the authority on operational, regulatory and ecosystem-building workstreams.
No licence has yet been granted, with the agreement committing Bitget to preparing an application under a regulatory regime that took effect last year. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the exchange looks forward to contributing infrastructure knowledge and talent development to the city's growing digital finance ecosystem, describing Bhutan as approaching digital assets with "a rare mix of long-term thinking, clean-energy advantage and regulatory clarity."
A City Built on BitcoinGMC is a Special Administrative Region in southern Bhutan, being developed to become an international financial and innovation hub. Its financial services and virtual asset regime is governed by the Financial Services Act 2025, with firms carrying on regulated virtual asset activities in or from GMC required to obtain a Financial Services Licence from the GFSO.
The city's digital finance ambitions are underpinned by Bhutan's national $BTC strategy. Bhutan committed up to 10,000 Bitcoin toward the long-term development of GMC, a pledge that builds on the kingdom's years-long use of Bitcoin mining powered by surplus hydropower. Bhutan was among the earliest sovereign Bitcoin miners, converting that clean energy surplus into digital assets for several years.
Jigdrel Singay, Board Director of Gelephu Mindfulness City, said the city's objective is to build a world-class digital asset ecosystem founded on robust regulation, institutional standards and long-term economic value, adding that partners such as Bitget play an important role in bringing global expertise while contributing to local capability development.
What the Deal Means for BitgetFor Bitget, the agreement opens a potential foothold inside one of the most closely watched digital asset jurisdictions being developed today. The framework commits Bitget to working with GMCA on operational, regulatory and ecosystem-building workstreams, all subject to the required regulatory approvals.
Bhutan signalled its longer-term intentions in December 2025 through the Bitcoin Development Pledge, framing digital assets as part of its national economic development strategy. Bitget's move into GMC places the exchange at the centre of that strategy as Bhutan works to attract regulated global operators to the zone.
Sources:
Investing.com: Bitget signs cooperation deal with Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City
CoinDesk: Bhutan Commits Up to 10,000 Bitcoin to Back New Mindfulness-Based Economic Hub
GlobeNewswire via Manila Times: Bitget Signs Cooperation Agreement with Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority
Bílý dům oznámil plán zrušit zbytečné regulace pro Bitcoin a další kryptoměny. Tah navazuje na širší posun k jejich začlenění do federálního finančního rámce.
The White House has announced plans to eliminate what it deems unnecessary regulations for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a social media report. This move follows a May 2026 executive order that instructed federal agencies to review and potentially revise rules deemed as obstacles to digital asset activities. The administration’s approach reflects a broader policy shift towards integrating cryptocurrencies into the federal financial framework, as evidenced by the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. This regulatory shift comes amid ongoing legislative efforts by Congress to clarify crypto market structures and stablecoin regulations.
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Key Takeaways The White House’s initiative appears to align with efforts to foster a more supportive environment for digital assets in the U.S. Market pricing suggests that the regulatory announcement could potentially boost optimism regarding Bitcoin’s price trajectory. The current market odds for Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by the end of 2026 remain low, but the policy shift could influence future probabilities. What to Watch Observers should monitor how quickly federal agencies respond to the White House’s directive to identify and remove regulations. Developments in Congress concerning crypto market structure and stablecoin rules could also impact market sentiment. Market participants will be attentive to any major institutional adoption announcements or regulatory adjustments that could affect Bitcoin’s price projections.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31 2.2% — — View market → December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.5% — — View market → December 31 3.5% — — View market → December 31 4.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 7.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 22.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.1% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.1% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.4% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 5.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 54.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 9.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.7% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 34.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 15.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 7.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.6% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.8% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 0.9% — — View market → January 1 2027 11.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 22.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 33.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 51.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 71.5% — — View market →
Canaan schválila prodej části 1 915 BTC a 3 952 ETH z treasury, aby financovala zpětný odkup akcií v rámci programu až do výše 30 milionů USD. Krypto rezervy firmy měly k 3. srpnu hodnotu asi 130 milionů USD.
Canaan has authorized management to sell part of its Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings to finance share repurchases under an existing $30 million program.
Summary
Canaan’s crypto treasury was worth about $130 million as of Aug. 3. The miner held 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH at the end of June. Canaan had spent $2 million on buybacks as of May 19. Its Nasdaq-listed shares must regain the $1 minimum bid price by Jan. 11, 2027. Canaan opens crypto treasury to fund buybacks Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner Canaan has authorized management to monetize part of its digital asset treasury and use the proceeds to repurchase its American depositary shares.
The purchases will fall under an existing program that allows Canaan to buy back up to $30 million of its ADSs or Class A ordinary shares during the 12 months beginning Dec. 12, 2025, according to the company’s Aug. 4 announcement.
Canaan did not disclose how much cryptocurrency it intends to sell or when any sales will occur. The company also did not commit to using the entire remaining authorization.
Canaan did not disclose how much cryptocurrency it intends to sell or when any sales will occur. The company also did not commit to using the entire remaining authorization.
Further transactions will depend on Canaan’s share price, broader market conditions, working capital requirements, and board approval. Repurchases may take place through open-market transactions, block trades, or privately negotiated deals.
As of May 19, Canaan had spent approximately $2 million to repurchase 2.8 million ADSs. This left a nominal $28 million under the authorization at the time, although the company has not disclosed whether it completed additional purchases before the latest announcement.
Crypto holdings reached $130 million Canaan held 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH at the end of June. The company valued the combined portfolio at approximately $130 million using market prices from Aug. 3.
Its Bitcoin balance increased by 49 BTC in June after accounting for operating costs and BTC received as payment for mining-machine sales. Canaan mined 64 BTC during the month.
Chairman and CEO Nangeng Zhang said the company’s mining operations provide a continuing source of Bitcoin that can be used as capital.
“At current trading levels, we believe Canaan’s market value does not fully reflect the value of our digital asset holdings, cash position, and the strength of our underlying business.”
Canaan said it was trading below the combined value of its cryptocurrency holdings and the cash and cash equivalents reported at the end of March. However, the comparison does not account for the company’s liabilities or restrictions affecting parts of its treasury.
At the end of March, Canaan held $43.5 million in cash. It also reported that 905 BTC had been pledged against secured term loans, while another 100 BTC had been transferred to a fixed-term product.
Mining efficiency improves as capacity stays idle The decision follows improvements in Canaan’s North American mining efficiency despite underused capacity.
Canaan achieved fleet efficiency of 17.9 joules per terahash across its North American non-joint venture operations in May. It marlet, an 11% improvement from the previous year and a roughly 4% gain from the 18.7 J/TH recorded in March and April.
Operating activity nevertheless remained below installed capacity. At the end of May, Canaan had 10.05 exahashes per second of installed non-joint venture capacity, while only 6.47 EH/s was operating after a hosting agreement expired.
By June, non-joint venture operating hashrate had fallen further to 3.36 EH/s. Joint venture operations recovered to 4.09 EH/s following wildfire-related disruption at facilities in West Texas.
Nasdaq compliance remains a risk Canaan’s ADSs were trading near $0.19 on Aug. 6, well below Nasdaq’s $1 minimum bid-price requirement. Each ADS represents 15 Class A ordinary shares.
Nasdaq granted the company an additional 180 days, until Jan. 11, 2027, to regain compliance. Canaan must maintain a closing bid price of at least $1 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days.
The company has not directly linked the buyback decision to its listing deficiency. Still, repurchases could reduce the number of outstanding shares and offer price support, while selling cryptocurrency would lower the reserves available for mining operations, debt obligations, and working capital.
Poptávka po amerických spotových bitcoinových ETF za poslední týden zrychlila a od víkendového hacku Coldcard do nich přiteklo zhruba 620 milionů USD. Eric Balchunas ale říká, že souvislost není jasná.
Demand for US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has accelerated over the past week, with a string of daily inflows coinciding with the Coldcard wallet hack — timing that has prompted speculation about whether some investors are reconsidering self-custody.
According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) as well as Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF (MSBT) have recorded inflows every trading day since the weekend exploit, totaling roughly $620 million. The cumulative figure is consistent with Cointelegraph’s recent reporting on the ETF inflow streak.
The Coldcard exploit drained more than $116 million worth of Bitcoin from over 5,200 wallet addresses, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.
“I’m not saying it’s connected, we just don’t know,” Balchunas said in a post on X. “[Although] long-term I can’t imagine there aren’t some who migrate over.”
Source: Eric Balchunas
Coldcard exploit renews debate over self-custody risksThe Coldcard hack renewed concerns that even hardware wallet users can be exposed to firmware flaws and software vulnerabilities, highlighting the operational risks that come with self-custody.
The incident also reignited debate over the trade-offs between holding Bitcoin directly and gaining exposure through regulated investment products such as spot Bitcoin ETFs, where asset custody and security are handled by institutional providers.
Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao also weighed in on the debate, arguing that storing crypto on centralized exchanges may now be “statistically safer” than self-custody, citing data from analyst Willy Woo that cumulative Bitcoin losses from self-custody incidents have surpassed those from exchange hacks.
Source: Changpeng Zhao
“Hack data is easier to collect on the CEX side, usually major news. It is harder on the self-custody side, where hacks, lost coins, etc are often not reported,” CZ said.
The debate comes as AI-assisted cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. On Monday, Bitcoin swap service Boltz suspended its non-custodial bridge, citing a steady rise in AI-assisted exploits that were allowing attackers to identify and exploit vulnerabilities faster than its team could patch them.
Magazine: Do the Coldcard attacks mean all hardware wallets are now insecure?
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
USA v březnu 2025 vytvořily strategickou bitcoinovou rezervu a zakázaly z ní prodávat bitcoiny. Do stejného modelu se mezitím dívá nejméně 12 dalších zemí.
A Bitcoin strategic reserve is a government-held stockpile of Bitcoin treated as a national asset alongside gold, oil, and foreign currency reserves. The United States signed an executive order creating one in March 2025, and at least a dozen other countries are now exploring the same idea.
Summary
A Bitcoin strategic reserve is a nationally held stockpile of Bitcoin managed by a government entity and treated as a sovereign asset, similar in concept to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or the gold held at Fort Knox. President Trump signed Executive Order 14178 on March 6, 2025, directing the creation of a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve seeded with approximately 200,000 BTC already held by federal agencies from criminal forfeitures and civil seizures, valued at roughly $17 billion at the time of signing. The executive order prohibits selling Bitcoin from the reserve and directs the Treasury and Commerce departments to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin, meaning the government must find ways to buy more without drawing on taxpayer funds. At least 12 countries and several US states have introduced legislation or executive proposals to create their own Bitcoin reserves, including Brazil, the Czech Republic, Poland, Japan, and the US states of Texas, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. Critics argue that Bitcoin is too volatile to serve as a reserve asset, that government holdings concentrate systemic risk, and that taxpayer exposure to a speculative asset violates fiduciary principles. Proponents counter that Bitcoin is the only reserve asset with a fixed supply, that it is uncorrelated with traditional reserve assets over long horizons, and that early adoption creates a strategic advantage that late movers cannot replicate. Every country holds reserves. The composition of those reserves has changed slowly over centuries, from silver to gold, from gold to dollars, from dollars to a basket of currencies and sovereign debt. The question that the Bitcoin strategic reserve forces into the open is whether digital scarcity belongs in that basket, and whether a government that ignores it risks falling behind those that do not.
This guide explains what a Bitcoin strategic reserve is, how the US version was created, what other governments are doing, what the reserve actually holds, and what the strongest arguments for and against it look like. It does not advocate for or against the policy. The facts are contentious enough without opinion.
How the US strategic Bitcoin reserve was created The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve exists because of Executive Order 14178, signed by President Trump on March 6, 2025. The order directed the Secretary of the Treasury to create a reserve capitalized with Bitcoin already in government possession. It also created a separate entity called the US Digital Asset Stockpile for non-Bitcoin digital assets held by the government.
The initial reserve was seeded with approximately 200,000 BTC, most of which came from criminal forfeitures and civil asset seizures conducted by the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Homeland Security. The largest single source was the Silk Road seizure, which yielded roughly 69,000 BTC in November 2020 and an additional 50,676 BTC in January 2022. Smaller quantities came from dozens of other federal cases involving fraud, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.
The executive order included two provisions that distinguish it from a simple accounting reclassification. First, the order prohibits selling any Bitcoin held in the reserve. This is a break from prior practice, where seized crypto was routinely auctioned by the US Marshals Service. The government had already sold an estimated 195,000 BTC before the order was signed, at prices far below current market value. The no-sale provision is designed to prevent that from happening again.
Second, the order directs the Treasury and Commerce departments to develop “budget-neutral strategies” for acquiring additional Bitcoin. Budget-neutral means the acquisition cannot come from new appropriations or increased taxes. The mechanisms under discussion include revaluing the gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve, which are currently booked at the statutory rate of $42.22 per ounce, and using the difference between that rate and the market price to fund Bitcoin purchases.
What the reserve actually holds As of mid-2026, the US government holds approximately 198,000 BTC in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The exact figure fluctuates slightly as new forfeiture proceedings conclude and transfer seized assets into the reserve. At current prices, the reserve is valued at roughly $13 billion, making it the largest known government Bitcoin holding in the world.
The Bitcoin is held in cold storage wallets managed by the Treasury Department in coordination with custody providers. The specific custody arrangement has not been fully disclosed for security reasons, though the Treasury has confirmed that the holdings are verifiable through proof of reserves audits conducted quarterly.
The separate Digital Asset Stockpile holds non-Bitcoin digital assets seized in federal cases, including Ethereum, stablecoins, and various altcoins. The executive order treats this stockpile differently from the Bitcoin reserve. While Bitcoin cannot be sold, the non-Bitcoin assets may be liquidated at the government’s discretion, and the proceeds can be used to acquire additional Bitcoin for the reserve.
El Salvador remains the only other country with a confirmed, operational Bitcoin reserve at the national level. President Nayib Bukele began purchasing Bitcoin in September 2021 when the country adopted it as legal tender. El Salvador holds approximately 6,100 BTC, though the country’s purchases have slowed since the International Monetary Fund conditioned a $1.4 billion loan agreement on limiting new Bitcoin acquisitions.
Why governments are interested The argument for a Bitcoin strategic reserve rests on three pillars: supply scarcity, sovereignty, and diversification.
Supply scarcity is the simplest argument. Bitcoin has a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins, enforced by code that no single entity controls. Approximately 19.7 million of those coins have already been mined, and the issuance rate halves every four years through a mechanism called the halving. Gold has a finite but unknown total supply that increases by roughly 1.5% per year through mining. The US dollar has no supply cap and has expanded its monetary base by more than 40% since 2020. For governments concerned about long-term purchasing power preservation, an asset with a mathematically fixed supply offers a guarantee that no fiat currency or commodity can match. The scarcity argument gains additional force when measured against sovereign debt levels. Global government debt exceeded $100 trillion in 2024. Every dollar, euro, or yen of that debt represents a future claim on currency that does not yet exist. Bitcoin cannot be inflated to service debt, which is precisely why some governments view it as a hedge against the monetary expansion that their own fiscal policies require.
Sovereignty is the geopolitical argument. US dollar reserves held in foreign central banks are ultimately claims on the US financial system. Those claims can be frozen, as the US demonstrated by immobilizing approximately $300 billion in Russian central bank reserves after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Bitcoin held in self-custody cannot be frozen by any foreign government. For countries seeking to reduce dependence on dollar-denominated reserves, Bitcoin offers a form of sovereign insurance that no other asset provides.
Diversification is the portfolio argument. Central bank reserves are typically concentrated in US Treasuries, gold, and a small number of foreign currencies. Adding an uncorrelated asset to a reserve portfolio reduces overall portfolio risk, even if that asset is individually volatile. Research from ARK Invest and Fidelity Digital Assets has argued that a 1% to 5% Bitcoin allocation in a sovereign reserve portfolio would have improved risk-adjusted returns over every five-year period since 2014. The diversification case does not require Bitcoin to outperform every year. It requires Bitcoin to behave differently from existing reserve assets during the periods that matter most. During the banking stress of March 2023, Bitcoin rallied while regional bank stocks collapsed. During periods of dollar weakness, Bitcoin has historically appreciated in dollar terms. These correlation properties are what portfolio theory says a reserve manager should want, even if the asset itself is more volatile than any single holding in the existing portfolio.
The legislation wave: who else is moving The US executive order triggered a wave of similar proposals around the world. The dynamics vary by country, but the pattern is consistent: one branch of government introduces a Bitcoin reserve proposal, public debate follows, and the proposal either advances or stalls depending on the political environment.
Brazil introduced a bill in November 2024 to create a Sovereign Strategic Bitcoin Reserve holding up to 5% of the country’s international reserves. The Czech National Bank governor stated publicly that the institution was considering a Bitcoin allocation. Poland’s presidential candidate included a strategic reserve proposal in his campaign platform.
In Asia, Japan’s parliament debated a Bitcoin reserve proposal in late 2024, though the government initially declined to pursue it. Hong Kong legislators have proposed adding Bitcoin to the Exchange Fund, the territory’s sovereign wealth vehicle.
In the United States, the action at the state level has moved faster than at the federal level in some cases. Texas introduced legislation to create a state-level Bitcoin reserve funded through voluntary Bitcoin donations and seized assets. New Hampshire signed a Bitcoin reserve bill into law, becoming the first US state to do so, authorizing the state treasurer to allocate up to 5% of certain public funds to Bitcoin and other digital assets with a market capitalization above $500 billion. Arizona and Oklahoma have advanced similar proposals. The state-level reserves are typically smaller in scope and funded through existing investment authorities, but they represent a parallel adoption track that does not require Congressional approval.
The competitive dynamic between countries is worth understanding. Game theory suggests that if one major economy builds a Bitcoin reserve, others face a choice between accumulating at current prices or potentially accumulating at higher prices later, after the first mover has already captured the advantage. This is the logic behind what Bitcoin proponents call “the Nash equilibrium argument”: once one sovereign begins accumulating, rational self-interest pushes others to follow. Whether this dynamic plays out in practice depends on whether government decision-makers treat Bitcoin as a legitimate reserve asset or as a speculative experiment that carries more political risk than strategic benefit.
The connection between Bitcoin treasury companies and government reserves is worth noting. Companies such as MicroStrategy (now Strategy) demonstrated the corporate treasury model starting in 2020, accumulating more than 200,000 BTC on their balance sheet. The corporate adoption provided a proof of concept that governments are now adapting to a sovereign context.
What the reserve does not do The strategic reserve does not make Bitcoin legal tender in the United States. Legal tender status would require separate legislation and would mean that merchants would be required to accept Bitcoin as payment, which the executive order does not contemplate.
The reserve does not directly affect the Bitcoin ETF market. The government’s holdings are in cold storage, not in ETF wrappers, and the no-sale provision means the reserve Bitcoin will not enter the open market through government liquidation. However, the reserve’s existence has been cited by institutional analysts as a signal of legitimacy that supports long-term ETF demand.
The reserve does not generate yield. Unlike Treasury bonds or even gold leasing arrangements, Bitcoin held in cold storage produces no income. The opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset is a recurring criticism, particularly from economists who argue that the same capital deployed in Treasury securities would generate billions in annual interest income. At current interest rates, $13 billion in Treasury securities would generate roughly $500 million to $600 million per year. The Bitcoin reserve generates zero. Proponents respond that gold also generates no yield in vault storage, yet no serious economist argues that the US should liquidate its gold reserves to buy Treasuries. The yield argument, they contend, misunderstands the purpose of a reserve asset, which is to preserve value across decades, not to produce income in any given year.
The reserve does not protect against Bitcoin price declines. If Bitcoin drops 50%, the reserve loses 50% of its value. There is no insurance, no backstop, and no rebalancing mechanism described in the executive order. The implicit assumption is that Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory will be upward, but the order does not address what happens to the reserve in a prolonged bear market.
The opposing case at full strength The strongest arguments against a Bitcoin strategic reserve deserve their full weight.
Volatility is the most immediate objection. Bitcoin has experienced drawdowns exceeding 50% four times in its history. A reserve asset that can lose half its value in months introduces a form of balance sheet risk that gold and Treasuries do not carry. The counterargument that Bitcoin recovers from every drawdown is true historically but is not a guarantee, and it does not address the political consequences of a reserve losing billions in value during a single quarter.
Concentration risk is the systemic concern. If the US government holds 200,000 BTC and the no-sale provision is ever reversed, the mere possibility of government selling could depress the market. The government becomes both a holder and a potential source of supply overhang, which creates a reflexive dynamic where the reserve’s existence affects the value of what it holds. The same dynamic exists with gold, where central bank sales have historically moved the gold price, but Bitcoin’s market is far smaller and more sensitive to large holders. The US reserve represents roughly 1% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist. Any change in the no-sale policy would be a market moving event before a single coin was transferred.
Fiduciary duty is the governance objection. Government reserves are ultimately public assets. Allocating public assets to a volatile, speculative instrument raises questions about whether officials are meeting their fiduciary obligations to taxpayers. The budget-neutral acquisition strategy partly addresses this, since it avoids direct taxpayer funding, but the opportunity cost argument remains.
Environmental concerns, while less prominent in 2026 than in prior years due to Bitcoin mining’s increasing renewable energy share, are still raised by critics who argue that government endorsement of Bitcoin implicitly endorses the energy consumption of proof of work mining. The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index estimates that the Bitcoin network consumes roughly 150 terawatt hours per year, comparable to the energy consumption of some mid-sized countries. Proponents counter that an increasing share of that energy comes from renewable or stranded sources, and that the network’s energy consumption is the cost of maintaining a decentralized monetary system that no government can shut down.
What this does not cover This guide does not cover the mechanics of Bitcoin mining or the proof of work consensus mechanism that secures the network. It does not cover the tax treatment of government-held Bitcoin or the accounting standards that apply to sovereign digital asset holdings. It does not cover the separate question of central bank digital currencies, which are government-issued digital currencies that are conceptually distinct from holding Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
Practical checks for tracking the reserve Check on-chain holdings. The US government’s known Bitcoin addresses are tracked by blockchain analytics firms including Arkham Intelligence and Glassnode. Movements from these addresses are published in real time and can signal policy changes before official announcements.
Check legislative status. The executive order created the reserve, but Congressional legislation could modify, expand, or eliminate it. Track bills related to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through Congress.gov or crypto policy trackers such as the Blockchain Association’s legislative dashboard.
Check other countries. Government Bitcoin adoption is a competitive dynamic. If major economies begin accumulating, the game-theory pressure on non-holders increases. Monitor central bank announcements, parliamentary debates, and presidential campaigns in major economies for reserve-related proposals.
Check the gold certificate revaluation debate. The budget-neutral acquisition strategy most discussed involves revaluing the Fed’s gold certificates from $42.22 per ounce to market price. This would release hundreds of billions in paper value that could theoretically be used to purchase Bitcoin. The revaluation requires legislative action and faces significant opposition, but it remains the most plausible path to expanding the reserve beyond seized assets.
How much Bitcoin does the US government hold? Approximately 198,000 BTC as of mid-2026, valued at roughly $13 billion at current prices. The holdings come primarily from criminal forfeitures and civil seizures, including the Silk Road cases, the Bitfinex hack recovery, and numerous smaller enforcement actions.
Can the government sell the Bitcoin in the reserve? The executive order prohibits selling Bitcoin from the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. However, executive orders can be revoked or modified by any sitting president. Permanent protection would require Congressional legislation, which has been proposed but not yet enacted.
How does the Bitcoin reserve compare to the gold reserve? The US holds approximately 8,133 metric tons of gold, valued at roughly $700 billion at current market prices. The Bitcoin reserve at $13 billion represents less than 2% of the gold reserve’s value. Gold has served as a reserve asset for centuries with lower volatility, but its supply increases through mining while Bitcoin’s supply is fixed.
Does the reserve affect Bitcoin’s price? The creation of the reserve was initially bullish for Bitcoin’s price because it signaled government legitimacy and removed approximately 200,000 BTC from potential market supply. The no-sale provision is the key mechanism: those coins will not be sold, which permanently reduces the available supply. Long-term price effects depend on whether other governments follow with their own reserves.
Which US states have Bitcoin reserves? New Hampshire was the first state to sign a Bitcoin reserve bill into law. Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma have advanced similar legislation at various stages. State reserves are typically smaller and operate under existing state investment authority, and they do not require federal approval.
What is the Digital Asset Stockpile? The Digital Asset Stockpile is a separate entity created by the same executive order. It holds non-Bitcoin digital assets seized by federal agencies. Unlike the Bitcoin reserve, assets in the stockpile may be sold, and proceeds can be used to acquire additional Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Could a future president eliminate the reserve? Yes. An executive order can be revoked by a subsequent executive order. A future president could direct the Treasury to liquidate the reserve and convert the proceeds to dollars or other assets. This is one reason proponents have pushed for Congressional legislation to codify the reserve into law, which would require an act of Congress to undo.
What happens if Bitcoin goes to zero? The reserve would be worthless, and the US government would have foregone the interest income it could have earned by holding equivalent value in Treasury securities. Proponents argue that Bitcoin going to zero is extraordinarily unlikely given its network effects, adoption trajectory, and 15-year track record. Critics argue that unlikely is not impossible, and that reserve assets should not carry existential risk.
Disclaimer This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or policy advice. Government reserve policies are subject to change through executive action, legislation, or judicial review. Bitcoin is a volatile asset and past performance does not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions. Information accurate as of August 6, 2026.
Breez spustil Glow, open-source Bitcoin peněženku a vývojářský toolkit pro snadnější integraci Lightning Network. Aplikace má sloužit i jako šablona pro vývojáře, kteří chtějí přidat Bitcoin funkce bez správy cizích prostředků.
Bitcoin software provider Breez has introduced Glow, a new application designed for both everyday users and developers seeking to integrate Bitcoin features with ease.
Dual-purpose app for users and developersGlow aims to streamline Lightning Network transactions for users, while also acting as an open-source foundation for developers building Bitcoin applications. Breez, known for its non-custodial Bitcoin solutions, states that Glow can be utilized as a functional wallet for daily transactions as well as a toolkit for developers examining best practices in Bitcoin integration.
The app comes packaged with essential features important for Bitcoin-based projects, such as passkey login, Lightning addresses, and support for stablecoin transfers. By offering full transparency through open-source code, Breez enables developers to examine exactly how each feature is implemented, lowering barriers for teams unfamiliar with Bitcoin’s technical complexities.
Developers seeking to add Bitcoin payments or wallet functionality to their own products can use Glow as a template, examine its API calls, and incorporate similar features without the need for building components from scratch. Breez allows developers to fork, rebrand, and release the Glow platform under their own brands.
Mini dictionary: Breez is a technology company specializing in non-custodial, open-source Bitcoin wallet solutions on the Lightning Network, making it easier for users and developers to transact with Bitcoin.
Minimizing regulatory burdenAccording to Breez, developers utilizing the Glow SDK do not maintain custody of user funds. This approach means regulatory requirements can typically be kept to a minimum, allowing teams to focus primarily on product development instead of compliance mandates.
Breez emphasized that developers are able to build on the Glow platform without managing or accessing customers’ cryptocurrency holdings, since wallet private keys and authority over funds remain exclusively with the end user.
Developers can examine how Lightning addresses and other features are integrated within Glow, then replicate those processes in their own apps while maintaining a non-custodial structure.
Recent developments and partnershipsThe release of Glow comes shortly after Breez’s recent partnership with Turnkey. Last month, Breez announced a collaboration enabling developers to integrate non-custodial Bitcoin into their own server-hosted wallet applications.
In this architecture, cryptographic keys are managed outside of the application servers, including those of Breez and Turnkey. The backend infrastructure only manages roles and permissions, while the ultimate control to move funds remains with the user.
Breez and Turnkey state that this solution addresses a longstanding challenge for large consumer apps hesitant to support Bitcoin due to unresolved custody and compliance concerns. The partnership offers these platforms a method to add non-custodial Bitcoin features without needing to overhaul existing backend systems or assume legal responsibility for user funds.
With Glow, Breez is seeking to make Bitcoin application development more accessible, offering both a working digital wallet and a modular blueprint for builders in one package.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Michael Saylor uvedl, že Strategy by i při poklesu Bitcoinu na 5 000 USD zůstala nadměrně zajištěná díky až šestinásobnému zajištění. Firma drží zhruba 842 138 BTC.
Strategy’s version, according to Michael Saylor, is not that story.
The executive chairman of Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has publicly stated that even a collapse in Bitcoin’s price to $5,000 would leave the company’s collateralization position intact. The reason, he argues, is straightforward: most of that capital was never borrowed in the first place.
Why overcollateralization matters here Strategy has issued Bitcoin-backed preferred securities with reported overcollateralization rates as high as 6x. In plain terms, for every dollar of obligation attached to those instruments, there are roughly six dollars of Bitcoin sitting behind it.
At a $5,000 price level, which would represent a drawdown of more than 90% from recent highs, most leveraged Bitcoin players would have been wiped out long before reaching that floor.
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Strategy has structured its exposure primarily through equity and preferred stock raises, not through debt that carries margin-call mechanics.
The numbers behind the conviction Strategy currently holds approximately 842,138 BTC, making it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin on the planet. The average cost basis sits near $75,000 per BTC, which means the total outlay exceeds $64 billion.
Early 2026 was not kind to that position. Bitcoin price declines generated paper losses estimated between $8 billion and $12 billion during the first quarter.
Paper losses on an equity-funded position are uncomfortable, but they’re not the same thing as a margin call. No one is forcing an asset sale because the price moved against you.
The firm updated its capital framework in mid-2026, introducing a provision that allows limited Bitcoin sales to cover dividends and liquidity needs. The framing from Strategy was careful: the company still describes itself as a net buyer over time.
That rebranding, from MicroStrategy to Strategy, accompanied these updates. The company is, in its own telling, a Bitcoin treasury company with a capital strategy built specifically around long-term accumulation and yield generation from Bitcoin-backed securities.
What this means for investors watching Strategy Paper losses in the $8 billion to $12 billion range are real costs to shareholders, even if they don’t trigger forced selling. The average cost basis of roughly $75,000 per BTC means the position was underwater at various points in early 2026.
The preferred securities Strategy has issued carry yield obligations. The 6x overcollateralization ratio provides a deep buffer, but the company still needs to generate enough capital to service those instruments over time. That’s where the new permission to sell limited Bitcoin holdings comes in.
The $5,000 floor claim is worth taking seriously as a stress test reference rather than a price prediction. If Strategy’s collateral remains solid at that level, it removes a major tail risk that has historically hung over the stock: the fear that a severe Bitcoin drawdown could force distressed asset sales. Saylor is essentially arguing that Strategy has been deliberately de-risked against that scenario through its capital structure, and the overcollateralization numbers, at least as reported, support that reading.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
PowerCompute refinancovala dluh ve výši 18 milionů USD prostřednictvím Arch Lending a zastavila 307 BTC jako zástavu. Nový bitcoinový úvěr snižuje náklady na financování, aniž by firma musela prodávat své BTC.
PowerCompute has refinanced and consolidated $18 million of existing debt into a Bitcoin-backed credit facility using 307 BTC as collateral, lowering its borrowing cost while keeping its Bitcoin treasury intact.
Summary
PowerCompute has refinanced $18 million of debt through a Bitcoin backed credit facility using 307 BTC as collateral. The new loan replaces three existing facilities and lowers the initial interest rate to about 2% APR. The company said the refinancing lets it reduce borrowing costs without selling its Bitcoin holdings. The facility renews every 30 days with pricing reset according to market conditions. The refinancing comes as more companies use Bitcoin backed lending to unlock capital while retaining treasury exposure. According to a press release issued by PowerCompute on Wednesday, the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury and mining company completed the refinancing through a new facility from Arch Lending after first signing an agreement on July 27 and using a short-term bridge loan to combine its three outstanding loans before moving into the final structure on Aug. 3.
The transaction replaces an $11 million loan from Galaxy Digital, a $5 million loan from SE and AJ Liebel that financed the purchase of the company’s 15-megawatt Oklahoma mining site, and another $2 million loan from SE and AJ Liebel used to acquire its 11-megawatt Mississippi facility.
PowerCompute pledged 307 BTC from its treasury as collateral for the new loan. Rather than selling those holdings to reduce debt, the company is using them to secure financing while remaining exposed to any future appreciation in Bitcoin’s price.
PowerCompute has reduced borrowing costs with Bitcoin-backed refinancing After first entering a bridge loan that temporarily consolidated its three debt facilities over a three-day period, PowerCompute said it signed a Bitcoin industry non-recourse collateral loan facility with Arch Lending on Aug. 3.
The revolving facility renews every 30 days unless either party provides notice that it will not continue. At each renewal, the interest rate, floor price and ceiling price are reset according to prevailing market conditions.
PowerCompute said the facility initially carries an interest rate of about 2% APR. The company compared that with the 12% interest charged on its previous Liebel loans, saying the refinancing substantially lowers its financing costs and strengthens its capital structure.
Bruce M. Rodgers, the company’s chairman, chief executive officer and president, said the refinancing reduces interest expenses while allowing PowerCompute to keep strategic exposure to its Bitcoin treasury as it continues expanding into high-performance computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Arch Lending has structured the facility around Bitcoin collateral Arch Lending described the agreement as a Bitcoin-backed credit facility that incorporates a proprietary hedging structure intended to reduce liquidation risk while delivering lower financing costs.
Himanshu Sahay, co-founder and chief technology officer at Arch Lending, said the financing was designed around PowerCompute’s immediate funding needs while supporting its long-term Bitcoin treasury strategy. Instead of requiring the company to sell Bitcoin to repay debt, the structure allows it to refinance existing obligations while continuing to hold the asset.
PowerCompute nevertheless disclosed that the facility carries risks tied to Bitcoin’s market price. If the value of the collateral declines, the company may be required to post additional Bitcoin under the loan terms.
The company also noted in its forward-looking statements that the facility remains subject to ongoing compliance with its conditions alongside risks associated with cryptocurrency mining, expansion into HPC and AI infrastructure, equipment availability, financing conditions and changing regulations.
Bitcoin-backed corporate lending continues to gain traction PowerCompute’s refinancing adds to a growing number of companies using Bitcoin as collateral instead of selling treasury holdings to raise capital.
Earlier this year, Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer said Metaplanet’s acquisition of Japanese brokerage Siiibo Securities could eventually support Bitcoin-backed corporate bonds through its newly formed Metaplanet Securities business. The proposal remains under development, but the company has outlined plans to create Bitcoin-linked debt products that could later settle onchain while using its regulated securities platform in Japan.
Institutional lending activity has also accelerated over the past two years. In October 2025, Two Prime Lending said it issued $827 million in Bitcoin-backed loans during the third quarter, lifting its cumulative lending volume above $2.55 billion since launching in March 2024. At the time, the lender said corporate treasuries, Bitcoin miners and trading firms were increasingly borrowing against Bitcoin instead of liquidating their holdings.
Coinbase also disclosed last year that its Bitcoin-backed lending service, built on the Morpho protocol through Base, had surpassed $1 billion in originations within roughly ten months of launch, illustrating continued institutional demand for crypto-collateralized financing.
Unlike conventional bank lending, Bitcoin-backed loans rely on digital assets rather than credit history as collateral. Such facilities are commonly over-collateralized to account for Bitcoin’s price volatility while allowing borrowers to access liquidity without immediately disposing of their holdings.
PowerCompute continues expanding beyond Bitcoin mining Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Tampa, Florida, PowerCompute describes itself as a Bitcoin treasury, mining and specialty finance company that is expanding into HPC and AI infrastructure.
The company currently operates 26 megawatts of wholly owned power infrastructure across its Oklahoma and Mississippi facilities. Alongside its mining operations, it also runs a technology-enabled specialty finance business that provides funding to nonprofit community associations in Florida.
The refinancing follows a period during which PowerCompute has been repositioning its balance sheet while developing computing infrastructure beyond cryptocurrency mining. By replacing higher-cost debt with a Bitcoin-backed facility, the company said it expects to reduce financing expenses while continuing to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet under the new lending arrangement.
Americké spotové bitcoinové ETF přilákaly ve středu čisté přílivy ve výši 244,4 milionu USD a za tři dny už 626 milionů USD. Nejvíc získal BlackRock IBIT s 479 miliony USD.
US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drew $244.4 million in net inflows on Wednesday, bolstering their momentum as August began.
Bitcoin ETF inflows intensifySpot Bitcoin ETFs in the US started the month with a strong performance, locking in a combined $626 million in net inflows across three consecutive sessions, according to data from SoSoValue.
Among these, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), a product from leading asset manager BlackRock, led the sector with $479 million in net inflows during the three-day span. Cumulative net inflows for IBIT have now reached nearly $61 billion, Farside Investors reported.
The surge in ETF inflows followed Bitcoin’s price moving above $64,920 at one point on Wednesday. Bitcoin was last recorded at $64,744.53, representing a 0.7% increase over the last 24 hours, based on CoinGecko figures.
Market sentiment and price movementDespite strong inflows and a positive price trend, sentiment among cryptocurrency investors remained cautious. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which monitors the emotional state of the broader crypto market, held steady in the “Extreme Fear” zone with a score of 25, falling from 27 the previous day.
Many investors and analysts view sustained ETF inflows as an indicator of growing institutional interest in Bitcoin. However, persistent fears about market volatility and security risks have kept overall sentiment restrained.
BlackRock, headquartered in New York, is the world’s largest asset manager. Its iShares ETFs play a significant role in the development of crypto-backed products for institutional and retail investors.
Mini dictionary: Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a tool that aggregates various market indicators to gauge the prevailing sentiment among cryptocurrency investors. Scores below 25 are considered “Extreme Fear,” potentially signaling undervalued market conditions or pessimism among participants.
Ethereum and XRP ETFs move in opposite directionsOn Wednesday, spot Ether and XRP ETFs exhibited diverging trends. Spot Ether ETFs registered $60.9 million in net inflows, marking the second consecutive day of positive net flows. This brought total inflows for Ether ETFs over the two-day period to $114.6 million.
Meanwhile, XRP ETFs recorded $3.58 million in net outflows. These withdrawals reduced net assets in XRP ETFs to $993.4 million, while cumulative net inflows for the asset class stayed at $1.51 billion.
ETFLatest Net Inflows/Outflows2-3 Day Total InflowsCumulative Net InflowsTotal Net AssetsSpot Bitcoin ETFs+$244.4 million (Wed)+$626 millionN/AN/AiShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)N/A+$479 million~$61 billionN/ASpot Ether ETFs+$60.9 million (Wed)+$114.6 million (2 days)N/AN/AXRP ETFs-$3.58 million (Wed)N/A$1.51 billion$993.4 millionPerformance data for Wednesday underscores the varied investor appetite for different cryptocurrency-backed ETFs, highlighting divergent patterns for Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US accumulated $626 million in net inflows over three consecutive days, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which contributed $479 million and raised cumulative net inflows to nearly $61 billion.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Trust in crypto exchanges has been a work in progress since late 2022, when FTX’s collapse taught everyone that “your funds are safe” can mean very different things. Binance’s latest Proof of Reserves report, based on a snapshot taken August 1, offers its answer to that lesson: on-chain wallets holding more than the platform owes users, across every major asset it tracks.
The numbers are straightforward. Bitcoin is backed at 100.25%, Ethereum matches that figure exactly, and the stablecoin picture is even more comfortable, with USDT at 103.62%, USDC at 107.64%, and USD1 at 112.80%.
What the numbers actually say The snapshot was taken at August 1, 2026, at 00:00:00 UTC, pegged to Bitcoin block height 962079. That level of specificity matters. It makes the data point-in-time verifiable rather than a vague general claim.
On the Bitcoin side, Binance’s net user account balances stood at 656,644.187 BTC, while on-chain wallets held 658,293.119 BTC. In English: the exchange keeps slightly more Bitcoin on-chain than users are collectively owed, which is exactly the point of the exercise.
Ethereum net balances came in at approximately 3.98 million ETH, also covered at 100.25%. The USDT position is the largest in dollar terms, with net holdings valued at roughly $32.9 billion, backed at 103.62%.
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SOL sits at exactly 100.00%, which is the minimum acceptable threshold. It passes, but there is no cushion there worth celebrating.
The methodology behind these figures is worth understanding. Binance uses two overlapping verification tools: Merkle tree proofs and zk-SNARKs, a form of zero-knowledge cryptography. The Merkle tree approach lets any individual user verify their own balance is included in the total. The zk-SNARK layer proves the aggregate math is correct without exposing anyone’s private account data.
How Binance got here Binance started publishing Proof of Reserves in late 2022, directly in response to FTX. The early versions relied on third-party audits, which had their own limitations, including auditor liability concerns that led some firms to quietly walk away from crypto attestations during that period.
The shift to a self-verified zk-SNARKs system was a technical upgrade, not a retreat from accountability. Zero-knowledge proofs, when implemented correctly, are mathematically stronger than a traditional audit because they do not rely on trusting the auditor’s methodology or independence.
The BTC holdings figure tells a growth story as well. Net balances on the platform stood at around 591,000 BTC in early 2025. The jump to 656,644 BTC by August 2026 represents a meaningful increase in user deposits.
What investors should watch The $32.9 billion USDT position is significant. Tether remains the dominant stablecoin for crypto trading pairs, and a 103.62% backing ratio at that scale means Binance is holding reserves in excess of what users could theoretically withdraw all at once.
USDC’s 107.64% backing and USD1’s 112.80% ratio follow the same logic. Higher overcollateralization in stablecoins reduces the risk of a run scenario where user withdrawals outpace available reserves.
The growth in BTC holdings from 591,000 to 656,644 between early 2025 and August 2026 is the kind of concrete, time-stamped data point that appears in custody assessments and counterparty risk reviews.
The one area worth watching going forward is the SOL position sitting precisely at 100.00%. A collateralization ratio at the floor with no buffer means any increase in net user balances, even a small one, would theoretically put it below par before the next rebalancing.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Grayscale v rámci čtvrtletního rebalancování GDLC ETF navýšil váhu XRP, Solany a Bitcoinu, zatímco Ethereum mírně snížil váhu. Do fondu nepřidal ani neodebral žádný token.
Grayscale has completed CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF’s (GDLC) quarterly rebalancing, increasing XRP, Solana (SOL), and Bitcoin (BTC) allocations. The crypto asset manager also announced weightings of Ethereum (ETH) and BNB in the large-cap digital assets fund.
XRP, Solana & Bitcoin Holdings to Rise in Grayscale’s GDLC ETF Grayscale Investments Sponsors finished its quarterly portfolio review and rebalanced the GDLC ETF in line with the CoinDesk 5 Index Methodology. The index provider determined that Bitcoin, Ethereum (Ether), XRP, Solana (SOL), and BNB continued to meet the inclusion criteria.
As a result, Grayscale has adjusted the fund’s portfolio by purchasing and selling some existing fund components in line with their weightings. Thus, no new tokens were added to or removed from the GLDC ETF during rebalancing.
The crypto components’ weighting in the fund is adjusted to 75.54% Bitcoin, 13.30% Ethereum, 4.64% BNB, 3.98% XRP, and 2.54% SOL. Each share represented almost 0.0003 Bitcoin, 0.0021 Ether, 0.0023 BNB, 1.0633 XRP, and 0.0099 SOL.
Notably, the earlier allocations were 75.53% BTC, 13.43% ETH, 4.64% BNB, 3.88% XRP, and 2.52% SOL. The latest update shows a slight increase in XRP, Solana, and Bitcoin weightings, whereas a small cut in Ethereum. Meanwhile, BNB’s allocation remains stable at 4.64% in the Grayscale GDLC ETF.
Meanwhile, Grayscale XRP ETF (GXRP) sold over $180 million worth of Ripple’s XRP. It also reported massive depreciation in net asset value due to XRP price downturn.
Price Action Mixed amid Rising Uncertainty Bitcoin price holds advance towards $65K amid pause in US-Iran war for diplomatic deal between the US, Iran and Oman. BTC currently trades at $64,722, up almost 1 % over the past 24 hours, but trading volume remains low due to broader crypto market uncertainty.
Meanwhile, XRP price dropped more than 2% in the past 24 hours as Senate Majority Leader John Thune didn’t file cloture on the Clarity Act. XRP is currently trading at $1.05, with a 24-hour low and high of $1.04 and $1.07, respectively.
However, trading volume has increased by 33% over the last 24 hours as traders await Clarity Act’s progress in the Senate. Analyst Ali Martinez predicted a fall to $0.80 if XRP price fails to hold above $1.
Check out the best crypto copy trading platforms to closely track the moves of experienced traders amid crypto market uncertainty.
Největší známý útočník spojený s chybou COLDCARD drží 1 159 BTC na sedmi adresách a zatím je nepohnul. Jiný útočník už začal míchat 64 BTC prostřednictvím mixéru.
Most of the Bitcoin stolen through the COLDCARD wallet flaw remains unmoved, but on-chain investigators have detected a separate attacker beginning to route smaller amounts through a mixer.
Summary
The largest known COLDCARD attacker controls 1,159 BTC across seven addresses. None of the 1,159 BTC has entered mixers or been transferred to an identifiable cash-out service. A separate attacker sent 64 BTC toward a mixer, initially mixing about 10 BTC. Investigators have distributed roughly 600 flagged addresses to law enforcement, exchanges, and analytics firms. COLDCARD attacker leaves 1,159 BTC untouched Galaxy Research said the largest known theft connected to the COLDCARD vulnerability involved 1,159 BTC. The funds remain spread across seven addresses associated with the attacker and have not moved since the initial sweep.
The Bitcoin was stolen within 41 minutes, according to the latest on-chain monitoring cited by Bitcoin News. Investigators have not detected transfers from the seven addresses to exchanges, mixers or other services commonly used to obscure stolen funds.
The assets are therefore better described as unmoved rather than technically frozen. Bitcoin transactions cannot be stopped at the protocol level merely because an address has been flagged.
However, the attacker could face difficulties converting the funds into fiat or other assets. Law enforcement agencies, cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain analytics companies have reportedly flagged about 600 addresses connected with the wider theft.
Any transfer to a compliant exchange could trigger transaction monitoring controls and requests for information about the account receiving the Bitcoin.
Smaller attacker begins mixing stolen Bitcoin Separate on-chain activity suggests another attacker has started attempting to obscure part of the stolen funds.
Analysts tracked 64 BTC entering a transaction flow linked to a mixer. Approximately 10 BTC was initially mixed, while about 54 BTC returned as change. The remaining funds were subsequently divided into outputs of roughly 7 BTC each for further mixing.
UPDATE COLDCARD:
THE THIEF IS NOW MIXING HIS 64 BTC
1. The funds were sent to that address:
bc1pynd6vswmxkghw6k5463xwcj7el7u4tpl2t2pnh0s8llmc2wgzfqsdu7h92
2. It was mixed in that strange transaction:
– 64 BTC input
– and a 54 BTC output… https://t.co/717BUz0gxm pic.twitter.com/GMzSkE3xrA
— Marius Off🔗Chain (@mariusoffchain) August 5, 2026 Mixers combine or restructure transactions to make it harder to connect the original source of cryptocurrency with its eventual destination. However, they do not guarantee that funds will become untraceable.
Analysts said the relatively large and consistently sized outputs make this laundering attempt easier to follow. Investigators can continue monitoring the transactions as the Bitcoin passes through additional addresses.
The activity also appears separate from the seven-address cluster holding 1,159 BTC. Previous reporting found that multiple attackers may have exploited the same wallet weakness, meaning movements from one cluster should not automatically be attributed to every COLDCARD theft.
Galaxy previously tracked 1,596 stolen BTC As previously reported by crypto.news, Galaxy Research confirmed that attackers stole 1,596 BTC from approximately 7,300 addresses across three attack waves. It also identified 14 smaller incidents connected to the same seed-generation flaw.
A suspected fourth wave could raise the total to approximately 2,055 BTC, although Galaxy had not confirmed those additional losses through sufficient victim reports.
The vulnerability resulted from a firmware error that weakened the randomness used to generate wallet seed phrases. Attackers could reproduce possible seeds offline, derive their Bitcoin addresses, and compare them with addresses visible on the blockchain.
They did not need physical access to the devices, their PINs, or the Bitcoin network itself. The underlying Bitcoin protocol was not compromised.
Coinkite has released corrected firmware, but an update cannot secure a seed phrase generated using a vulnerable version. Affected users must create an entirely new seed and transfer their Bitcoin to addresses derived from it.
The Coldcard hack is especially damaging to Canadian bitcoiners. Our analysis of attackers and victims finds that BTC holders in Canada are bearing 25% of attributable losses.
With estimates ranging as high as $110M, according to Galaxy Research’s dataset, we analyzed the… pic.twitter.com/AyxfHCcOrY
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) August 4, 2026 US investigators monitor flagged addresses Galaxy previously said it shared confirmed attacker and victim addresses with US law enforcement agencies, exchanges and cyber-investigation groups. The expanding address list could help authorities identify stolen funds when attackers attempt to use regulated services.
Still, recovering the Bitcoin remains uncertain. An attacker may move funds through several addresses, mixers, decentralized platforms or services outside US jurisdiction before attempting to convert them.
The latest mixer activity gives investigators a new transaction trail to follow, while the 1,159 BTC held by the largest known attacker remains exposed to continuous public monitoring.
USA drží 328 372 BTC v hodnotě zhruba 25 miliard USD, což z nich dělá největšího státního držitele Bitcoinu. Rezerva vznikla z konfiskací a prezident Donald Trump zakázal její prodej.
The United States government is sitting on 328,372 BTC, worth approximately $25 billion, making it the single largest sovereign holder of Bitcoin on the planet. Not bad for a collection that was never actually purchased.
Every last satoshi in that reserve came from criminal and civil asset forfeitures, including seizures tied to the Silk Road marketplace and the Bitfinex hack. The government essentially stumbled into becoming a Bitcoin whale through law enforcement, then decided to keep the coins instead of auctioning them off like it used to.
From evidence locker to strategic asset The pivot happened on March 6, 2025, when President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14233, formally establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The order did two important things: it consolidated all federally seized Bitcoin under a single framework, and it explicitly prohibited the sale of any coins in the reserve.
The Treasury Department now manages the reserve alongside a separate entity called the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, which handles other forfeited tokens that aren’t Bitcoin. The distinction matters because the executive order treats Bitcoin differently from every other digital asset, essentially giving it a privileged tier in the government’s balance sheet.
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Congress wants to go bigger The executive order was just the opening move. Two pieces of legislation are working their way through Congress with the goal of making the reserve permanent and potentially expanding it dramatically.
The BITCOIN Act and the American Reserve Modernization Act, or ARMA, are both pending. These bills aim to codify the reserve’s existence into law, meaning a future president couldn’t simply reverse it with a new executive order. They also explore frameworks for acquiring additional Bitcoin beyond what’s seized through law enforcement.
Some legislative proposals envision the US eventually holding up to 1 million BTC. That would represent nearly 5% of Bitcoin’s hard-capped 21 million supply. As of July 2026, those expanded holding targets remain unresolved due to inter-agency coordination challenges that have slowed progress.
The current 328,372 BTC reserve already accounts for roughly 1.5% of Bitcoin’s total supply cap. And because the executive order prohibits sales, those coins are effectively removed from the liquid market.
What this means for investors Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins is its defining feature. When a sovereign government locks away 1.5% of that supply with no intention of selling, it creates a structural reduction in available coins.
The signal to other nations may matter more than the direct supply impact. When the world’s largest economy formally treats Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, it provides cover for other governments to do the same. Several countries have already begun exploring similar frameworks, and the US move gives them a template to follow.
Traders should watch the legislative calendar closely. If either the BITCOIN Act or ARMA passes with provisions for active Bitcoin acquisition beyond seizures, it would represent a fundamentally different demand dynamic than anything the market has priced in.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin zůstává bez výraznějšího pohybu, i když akciové trhy rostou a zlato klesá. Glassnode vidí slabou institucionální poptávku a červnové odlivy z ETF ve výši zhruba 65 800 BTC.
Bitcoin (BTC) remained subdued while stocks edged higher and gold lower, suggesting the market is trapped between weakening institutional demand and growing signs of seller exhaustion, according to a Glassnode report on Wednesday.
The firm stated that Bitcoin's lack of movement stood in sharp contrast to broad gains across global markets, as major equity indexes reached new highs and gold extended its rally.
"Everything has moved except the asset this report is about," Glassnode wrote.
Stocks Climbed And Oil Slid While Bitcoin Did Nothing At All. Source: GlassnodeBitcoin faced little pressure following Coldcard wallet theftThe report examined the market's response to the compromise and theft of funds from several self-custodied Coldcard hardware wallets. While the theft triggered notable on-chain activity, it produced almost no impact on BTC's price.
Following the incident, the movement of BTC that had remained dormant for at least a year rose to 119,000 BTC over three days, around 200 times the amount stolen, as wallet holders moved funds to new addresses out of precaution.
However, only about one-tenth of those BTC reached exchanges, while new wallet creation returned to normal within days. At the same time, the supply held in wallets younger than one month continued rising, indicating users were simply migrating assets into fresh cold storage rather than selling.
"The largest forced movement of old coins this cycle produced no measurable sell pressure and no discernible price response," Glassnode stated.
Bitcoin lacks strong demand push amid sign of market bottomThe report noted that Bitcoin is beginning to display characteristics associated with market bottoms, although unlike previous cycles. These signals are forming through prolonged inactivity instead of panic selling.
Historically, major bottoms have been marked by sharp price declines and volatility spikes. This time, profitability has compressed gradually during months of sideways trading while volatility has remained unusually low.
Glassnode stated that its Seller Exhaustion Constant has fallen to the lowest level of the current cycle and entered the range where previous market bottoms formed. However, the indicator still remains about one-third above the levels reached during earlier bear market lows.
Seller Exhaustion Constant. Source: GlassnodeInstitutional demand remains a missing catalystGlassnode also highlighted continued weakness in institutional demand. The report stated that US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), along with corporate treasury buyers, have collectively failed to provide meaningful support in recent months. June alone recorded roughly 65,800 BTC in net ETF outflows, the largest monthly withdrawal on record, while corporate treasury purchases were insufficient to offset those redemptions.
"Whatever forms the bottom will have to form without the structural bid that defined the last two years, until that bid turns," Glassnode added.
Despite the subdued outlook, the firm noted that options markets remain unusually calm. Upside implied volatility has fallen to its lowest level on record, while downside volatility remains relatively ordinary, indicating traders are paying for neither bullish nor bearish scenarios.
Bitcoin Implied Volatility. Source: GlassnodeWhile deeply compressed markets have historically broken higher, Glassnode stated that Bitcoin's current setup lacks the level of demand that fueled previous recoveries.
Bitcoin is trading at $64,900, up 1% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing.
Vladimir Putin podepsal zákon, který v Rusku zavádí regulaci kryptoburz a depozitářů, ale dál zakazuje domácí platby kryptoměnami. Hlavním regulátorem bude Bank of Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a landmark law that establishes a regulatory framework for crypto exchanges, digital depositories, and market participants, as reported by TASS. While the law introduces regulation for these entities, it maintains a ban on using cryptocurrency for domestic payments within Russia. The Bank of Russia is set to be the main regulator for this framework, with a transition period extending through July 2027. The regulation aims to create a legalized infrastructure for buying, selling, and storing digital currencies through licensed intermediaries.
Crypto markets appear to have interpreted the development as a mixed indicator for Bitcoin’s future price, especially in speculative markets. The introduction of regulatory clarity is seen as potentially positive for institutional engagement. However, the continued ban on using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment could dampen broader retail enthusiasm, which may be impacting market sentiment regarding Bitcoin’s ability to reach high price targets.
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Current market odds for Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by December 31, 2026, remain low, with pricing reflecting a 2% probability. The regulatory framework seems to have led to a moderate decrease in optimism for such high price levels, as suggested by the slight downtrend in odds for Bitcoin achieving significant price hikes.
Key Takeaways The new Russian law appears to provide regulatory clarity for crypto exchanges and digital depositories. Market pricing suggests that while regulatory clarity could encourage institutional participation, the ban on crypto payments may limit retail enthusiasm. Current odds for Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by the end of 2026 are at 2%, reflecting limited market confidence in achieving this price level. What to Watch Observers should monitor how the Bank of Russia implements the new regulatory framework and its impact on institutional engagement within the crypto market. Developments in international crypto regulations, particularly regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border trade, could influence market sentiment. Watching for any further legislative changes in Russia that might affect the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method will also be pivotal in assessing future market movements.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.4% — — View market → December 31 3.5% — — View market → December 31 4.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 8.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 24% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.1% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.7% — — View market → January 1 2027 5.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 56.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 10.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.7% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 35% — — View market → January 1 2027 15.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 7.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 4% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.8% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.3% — — View market → January 1 2027 0.9% — — View market → January 1 2027 10.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 22.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 33.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 50.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 71.5% — — View market →
Senátorka Cynthia Lummisová uvedla, že o Clarity Act se bude hlasovat před srpnovou přestávkou, i když část demokratů stále klade další požadavky. Pokud projde, vytvoří regulační rámec pro americký kryptotrh.
Pro-bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis has said that bipartisan work is going into the crypto Clarity Act but warned that some lawmakers are still making unreasonable demands.
The Republican, speaking to Fox Business Wednesday, said that she had been working with Democratic lawmakers into the night to get the bill over the line.
But she said that some Democrats were still dragging their feet on the bill. Lawmakers are pushing to get a vote on the crypto market structure bill before the Senate goes to recess.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Senator Cynthia Lummis says "I believe we will get a vote on the Clarity Act before August recess." 👀
"I don't think we'll be leaving on Friday, I think we'll go into the weekend."
Pass it! 🚀
pic.twitter.com/1AZR7DzEln
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) August 5, 2026 “The president agreed to an ethics provision that no president has ever agreed to,” Lummis said. “He’s gone farther to protect ethics than any president in history — yet the Democrats do want more. Their proposal is in front of the president now, and we’ll see what he does.”
She added: “We’re going to vote on it. If it dies, it’s going to be because the Democrats kill it. I’ve bent over backwards for 11 months, to give them as much as we can possibly give them to regulate this industry.”
The Clarity Act has been in a deadlock for much of 2026, partially because the banking lobby raised concerns over crypto companies allowing clients to earn stablecoin yield.
An updated bill of the Clarity Act was introduced in July addressing concerns around ethics; it now bans government officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto.
Democrats have criticized President Trump’s family crypto business ventures. The White House has always said there have been no conflicts of interest.
A group of Democrats in July said the bill needs work.
Major financial institutions like Fidelity and BlackRock, and law enforcement organizations have thrown their weight behind the new bill,
If passed, the Clarity Act would create a regulatory framework for the U.S. cryptocurrency market.
Mathew Di Salvo
Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.
Sixteen security researchers walked into 390 open-source Bitcoin codebases and, in slightly more than a day, found nearly 5,000 things wrong. The result of an audit sprint by the Bitcoin Red Team, a volunteer group that delivered one of the most thorough security sweeps the Bitcoin ecosystem has ever seen.
The numbers are bracing: 4,962 total security findings across 390 projects, logged in a 27.5-hour window spanning August 4 to 5, 2026. Of those, 85 were classified as critical and 635 as high-severity. That works out to roughly 2.31 findings per researcher per hour.
What triggered the audit The sprint was a direct response to vulnerabilities recently discovered in the COLDCARD hardware wallet, one of the most widely trusted cold storage devices in Bitcoin’s self-custody culture.
Funding came from OpenSats, a nonprofit that supports open-source Bitcoin development, which contributed nearly $40,000 to support the effort. The volunteer model and AI-powered tooling stretched every dollar considerably further.
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How AI changed the math The Bitcoin Red Team leaned heavily on AI-driven analysis tools to scan codebases at a speed no manual review could match. The team averaged 180 findings per hour collectively.
The Red Team is reportedly planning to open-source the tools they used, which could set a new baseline for how the broader crypto community approaches security auditing.
Responsible disclosure, not reckless exposure The Bitcoin Red Team followed a strict responsible disclosure process, reproducing critical issues locally before informing project maintainers privately.
Prior to this sprint, the group had already conducted scans of roughly 150 repositories that resulted in over a dozen private disclosures. The August audit was a dramatic escalation in both scope and urgency, driven by the COLDCARD fallout.
What this means for investors and the broader ecosystem The Bitcoin ecosystem has long prided itself on its open-source ethos. In practice, most projects don’t receive meaningful security review unless they’re high-profile enough to attract attention or well-funded enough to pay for it.
The existence of vulnerabilities doesn’t mean funds were stolen or that Bitcoin itself is compromised. Bitcoin’s core protocol wasn’t the target here. The projects audited were the surrounding ecosystem of tools and applications that people use to interact with Bitcoin.
The costs of remediation will fall on individual project maintainers, many of whom are themselves volunteers or small teams.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Tom Lee varuje, že kvantové počítače mohou do roku 2028 či 2029 ohrozit bezpečnost Bitcoinu. Riziko se týká hlavně starších adres s veřejným klíčem, zhruba 7 milionů BTC.
Fundstrat cofounder Tom Lee has warned that quantum computers might compromise the security of Bitcoin as soon as 2028 or 2029. Lee cited recent research from Google, claiming advancements in quantum technology could soon render Bitcoin’s existing protections obsolete, and cautioned that the crypto sector currently does not have a unified mitigation strategy.
Ethereum and Solana seen as less vulnerableLee also suggested that networks such as Ethereum and Solana may face lower risks from emerging quantum threats. He stated that their protocols offer stronger protection compared to Bitcoin’s, although he did not elaborate on specific security features in his brief remarks. Ethereum and Solana are both popular blockchain platforms supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications.
However, his statements drew immediate attention from Adam Back, the creator of Hashcash and a prominent figure in Bitcoin’s early development. Back challenged Lee’s assessment, emphasizing that Bitcoin does not use traditional encryption for transaction processing.
Adam Back pointed out that Bitcoin protects coin ownership with ECDSA-based digital signatures, and seed phrases are secured by an exceptionally high level of entropy, making them effectively immune to brute-force attacks even by quantum computers.
These digital signatures are cryptographic methods used to authenticate and secure transactions, rather than encrypt data. The security of Bitcoin wallets relies on the computational difficulty of deriving a private key from its corresponding public key.
Mini dictionary: ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) is a cryptographic technique widely used in blockchain networks to ensure transaction authenticity without revealing private keys. Its security is based on the difficulty of solving certain mathematical problems efficiently, which quantum computers may potentially address with future advancements.
Focus on legacy addresses and public key exposureThe genuine quantum threat to Bitcoin centers on a subset of coins held in older wallet addresses, where public keys have already been exposed on the blockchain. Analysts believe around 7 million BTC, or approximately 30%–35% of the total supply, reside in such addresses that have either been reused or have remained dormant for years.
If a sufficiently powerful quantum computer using Shor’s algorithm were built, attackers could theoretically derive the private keys associated with these exposed public keys and seize control of the funds. Shor’s algorithm is anticipated to solve certain cryptographic problems exponentially faster than classical computers.
However, there are currently no quantum computers capable of mounting this kind of attack. The threat remains theoretical, and Bitcoin developers have been researching post-quantum cryptographic solutions for several years with the goal of upgrading the protocol well before practical quantum threats emerge.
Potential network responses and the BIP-361 debateIn the event quantum threats become imminent, Bitcoin could implement a hard fork to integrate quantum-resistant signature schemes. Moving coins from exposed addresses to safer ones would be possible for active holders. However, assets in lost wallets or long-inactive addresses—including the approximately one million BTC attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto—are unlikely to be secured by their original owners.
The network faces a difficult choice: freeze nearly a third of all Bitcoin through the contested BIP-361 proposal, or risk leaving these dormant coins vulnerable to potential quantum attacks.
BIP-361 is a controversial proposal that would allow the network to freeze coins at risk of quantum theft. If enacted, it would mark an unprecedented intervention, pitting the preservation of network integrity against long-standing principles of immutability and decentralization.
MeasureQuantum ThreatNetwork ResponseLegacy addresses (public key exposed)High risk (approx. 7 million BTC vulnerable)BIP-361 freeze or move to new addressesModern addresses (public key not disclosed)Low risk (quantum attack theoretical)Monitor and implement post-quantum upgradesDisclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Bitcoin se znovu dostal do bezpečnostní debaty, zatímco Pentagon připravuje novou jadernou strategii zaměřenou na regionální konflikty s Čínou nebo Ruskem. Trh na zprávu nereagoval; Bitcoin se obchodoval poblíž 64 500 USD.
Bitcoin has entered the national-security debate again as the Pentagon drafts a nuclear strategy centered on potential regional conflicts with China or Russia.
Summary
The Pentagon is reportedly considering shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons for regional conflicts. US military officials previously confirmed operational Bitcoin testing and classified crypto-related work. Washington’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve holds forfeited BTC under a no-sale policy. Bitcoin traded near $64,500, with no clear price reaction to the Pentagon report. Pentagon drafts new nuclear strategy Defense Department policy chief Elbridge Colby is drafting a classified nuclear framework that could expand the role of shorter-range tactical weapons, NBC News reported on Aug. 5, citing five people familiar with the plans.
The emerging strategy would prepare Washington for a possible regional war involving China or Russia. It reportedly seeks to give the US president more limited nuclear options during a crisis instead of relying mainly on long-range strategic weapons.
The approach would mark a departure from decades of US doctrine built around the threat of a large retaliatory strike. Tactical weapons have shorter ranges and are designed for more limited military targets, although any nuclear use would still carry a severe risk of escalation.
The framework has not been adopted as official US policy. Its reported objectives include preventing a conventional conflict from becoming a full nuclear exchange and stopping one adversary from exploiting Washington while it confronts the other.
Why Bitcoin has entered the security debate The nuclear review does not formally include Bitcoin. However, the focus on China and Russia overlaps with separate US military discussions about decentralized networks, cybersecurity and digital financial infrastructure.
In April, US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo told lawmakers that the military was operating a Bitcoin node and testing the network in an operational setting, according to a statement from Rep. Lance Gooden’s office.
Paparo described Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer, zero-trust system with potential military applications. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later told Congress that classified digital-asset initiatives could give the US leverage across multiple scenarios.
Those disclosures do not mean Bitcoin forms part of US nuclear planning. They show that defense officials are assessing the network independently as a possible cybersecurity, communications or value-transfer tool as competition with China expands.
Crypto commentators have connected the NBC report with those earlier disclosures. The resulting discussion has focused on whether Bitcoin’s decentralized structure could become more valuable during sanctions, cyberattacks or disruptions to traditional payment systems.
US Bitcoin reserve adds a sovereign dimension President Donald Trump established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through a March 2025 executive order. The reserve is capitalized with BTC forfeited through criminal or civil proceedings rather than direct market purchases.
Bitcoin placed in the reserve “shall not be sold,” according to the executive order published in the Federal Register. Treasury and Commerce may also explore budget-neutral ways to acquire more BTC without imposing additional costs on taxpayers.
The White House estimated in 2025 that the federal government controlled roughly 200,000 BTC, but no complete public audit was available at the time. That makes exact current holdings difficult to confirm, particularly because seized assets may be returned to victims or transferred between agencies.
The reserve and the Pentagon’s network tests remain separate initiatives. Still, together they show that parts of the US government increasingly view Bitcoin through strategic and operational lenses, not solely as a speculative asset.
Bitcoin shows no clear reaction to the report Bitcoin traded near $64,500 on Aug. 5, within an intraday range of roughly $63,860 to $64,650. The price action showed no obvious response to the nuclear strategy report.
Any long-term market effect would likely depend on concrete policy changes, including additional congressional testimony, defense authorization language, or disclosures about how the military uses Bitcoin infrastructure.
For US investors, the report does not create a direct new demand catalyst. It instead adds to the broader case that Bitcoin is being examined as part of sovereign reserves and national-security planning. The connection remains indirect unless the Pentagon announces a formal procurement, reserve, or operational policy involving BTC.
Hack Coldcard Wallet vyvolal na síti Bitcoinu zvýšenou aktivitu: v mempoolu čeká 89 031 transakcí, nejvíc od února 2025. Počet aktivních adres dosáhl 712 000 a transakcí velryb 61 800.
The Coldcard hardware wallet hack, which began on July 30th and is still ongoing, has caused significant activity on the Bitcoin network. This event has raised concerns about the security of hardware wallets and has also led to an increase in the number of transactions in the Bitcoin transaction pool (mempool).
Bitcoin Trading Volume is Increasing According to Blockchain.com data, the number of transactions awaiting confirmation in Bitcoin’s transaction pool has reached 89,031, the highest level since February 2025. This increase has been particularly noticeable since the end of July. Other data provided by Santiment shows that the number of active addresses has reached 712,000, a three-month high, and transactions by “whales,” as they are known, have risen to 61,800, a five-month high.
Bitcoin Price and Macroeconomic Effects While increased network activity is generally thought to support Bitcoin’s value, so far the Bitcoin price has been trading in a narrow range between $62,000 and $65,000. Analysts note that the fate of the Clarity Act could be a catalyst in the short term, but the long-term effects may depend more on government bond yields. Bitfinex states that if the US 10-year Treasury yield rises above 2.5%, the positive macroeconomic scenario for Bitcoin will collapse.
These developments enhance Bitcoin’s appeal as digital gold and a store of value, while also testing the network’s transaction capacity. With the introduction of spot ETFs in early 2024, Bitcoin’s positioning as a store of value, rather than a payment network, has been further solidified.
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Strategy oznámí příspěvky na Trump Accounts pro děti zaměstnanců v USA: 250 USD ročně a jednorázově 1 000 USD po dokončení implementace ministerstvem financí USA a po zpřístupnění systému pro příspěvky zaměstnavatelů.
Strategy has announced a new employee benefit that will provide annual contributions to Trump Accounts for eligible children of its U.S. workforce. The Bitcoin treasury company said the program will begin after the U.S. Treasury issues final guidance and employer contribution systems become available.
Strategy Expands Employee Benefits With Trump Accounts Strategy said it will contribute $250 each year to Trump Accounts for every eligible child under 18 of its U.S. employees. The company also plans to make a one-time $1,000 contribution that matches the U.S. government’s seed contribution for eligible children.
The company joins Coinbase, Circle, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and other firms that have pledged support for the Trump Accounts initiative. The program is designed to encourage long-term investing for children through tax-advantaged accounts linked to U.S. equity index funds.
Strategy said employer contributions will begin only after the U.S. Treasury completes its implementation process. The company noted that participation depends on the release of final guidance and the required infrastructure.
Strategy Chief Executive Officer Phong Le said, “Trump Accounts and the Invest America initiative can help build a stronger financial future for America’s children.” He added, “These accounts can encourage financial education, long term thinking, and a culture of saving and investing from an early age.”
Company Continues Bitcoin Treasury Operations The announcement came as Strategy continued making adjustments to its Bitcoin treasury. An SEC filing showed the company sold 1,638 BTC during the past week at an average price of $63,957. Following the transaction, Strategy held 842,138 BTC acquired for $63.51 billion at an average purchase price of $75,419.
On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain also reported that a wallet linked to Strategy transferred 1,030 BTC, valued at more than $66 million. Arkham data showed several transfers ranging from $6 million to $21 million, following another transfer of about 300 BTC earlier in the week. Strategy has not confirmed that the latest wallet movements represented additional Bitcoin sales.
Executive Chairman Michael Saylor addressed recent discussion surrounding the company’s Bitcoin transactions. He said, “Strategy is a public company, not my wallet.” Saylor also stated that the company has disclosed since 2020 that it “may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital,” adding, “Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.”
Trump Accounts Target Long-Term Investing Trump Accounts are individual retirement accounts created for children to encourage long-term investing. Children born between 2025 and 2028 qualify for a $1,000 contribution from the U.S. Treasury under the program.
The accounts are expected to invest in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track the S&P 500 or another index focused mainly on U.S. equities. Coingape previously reported that several financial firms have committed to supporting the initiative through employer contribution programs.
Strategy has also previously supported President Donald Trump’s political initiatives. The company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, donated $1 million to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. political action committee in January 2025, while Coinbase and Circle each contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
For cryptocurrency trading platforms, this move reflects growing participation by major corporations in investment-focused financial programs.
Neaktivní bitcoinová peněženka po sedmi měsících přesunula 16 400 BTC v hodnotě asi 1,04 miliardy dolarů do nové soukromé peněženky. Převod nešel na burzu, takže zatím nevypadá jako přímý prodej.
On August 3rd, a wallet that had been completely inactive for seven months transferred 16,400 bitcoins, nearly 1.04 billion dollars, reigniting speculation about the intentions of its holder. Indeed, this movement occurs while bitcoin is trading around 62,800 dollars, far from its all-time high of 126,198 dollars reached in October 2025. In a market where large fortunes quickly influence liquidity and investor sentiment, such an operation never goes unnoticed.
In Brief A crypto whale inactive for 7 months moved all of its 16,400 BTC, amounting to a total of 1.04 billion dollars. This movement occurs while Bitcoin oscillates around $62,800, down nearly 50% from its all-time high in October 2025. The operation represents about 0.0781% of the total Bitcoin supply and equals nearly 7% of the daily volume traded on the spot market. The funds were transferred to a brand new private wallet and not to a centralized exchange platform, dismissing the hypothesis of a direct sale deposit. A 1.04 billion dollar transfer in bitcoin While bitcoin could plunge to $40,000 according to Michael Terpin, the sending wallet is listed under the address “bc1qptc9cz269u2mc5yguun5a5d6yd5c7f7ne4qj26”. According to the data reported by the blockchain tracking platform Lookonchain, the entire accumulated reserve was moved in a single transaction to a new destination wallet. This massive transfer happens in a particularly gloomy market context, marked by limited spot trading volumes on major international exchange platforms.
To properly gauge the scale and statistical accuracy of this extraordinary operation, analysts extracted fundamental metrics characterizing this major movement. These data allow for a direct evaluation of the potential impact on the money supply in circulation as well as on overall market liquidity :
Total amount transferred : 16,400 BTC (the entire balance of the sending address) ; Estimated value at execution : approximately 1.04 billion dollars ; The bitcoin price at the time of transfer : $62,808 according to CryptoQuant (down 1.1 % over 24 hours and 3.8 % over 7 days) ; Proportion of total supply : 0.0781 % of the maximum total of 21 million BTC ; Proportion of daily spot volume: 6% to 7 % of the 15.7 billion dollars traded over 24 hours. According to the analysis firm Cypher Citadel, the operation spectacularly ranks “in the top 0.01 % of the largest crypto transactions over the past three months”.
Although the proportion relative to theoretical supply seems modest, it is considerably more colossal when compared to actual active liquidity, a major share of bitcoins being locked long-term.
The destination of the transaction The key element to retain does not solely lie in the volume moved but primarily in the nature of the final address that received the funds. The blockchain actually reveals that the 16,400 BTC were sent to a brand-new wallet created specifically for the occasion, not to an address belonging to a centralized exchange.
Thus, Cypher Citadel specialists confirm the transaction is classified as a transfer “from unknown address to unknown address”, a type generally associated with an internal custodian reshuffle or an over-the-counter (OTC) trade rather than a deposit prior to a sale on the spot market.
The analysis company underlines that “the 4 to 48-hour window ahead is a key observation period to detect potential secondary transfers to centralized exchange platforms”, where real selling pressure is expected to be exerted. This distinction is fundamental for market structure. A direct sale would have a devastating impact, while a simple migration to a new secure environment retains immediate neutrality on the price.
A historic precedent and perspectives for investors This dynamic fits into a historic pattern already observed several times by industry experts. Last July, a wallet inactive for over eight years moved 5,907.56 BTC, equivalent to 384 million dollars, to a new intermediate address without ever funding trading platforms.
As explained by the firm Glassnode, wallet-to-wallet movements frequently reflect “custody provider changes, transitions to cold storage solutions, or internal treasury management”, while only direct deposits to platforms translate the owners’ manifest intention to liquidate their positions. This phenomenon was even more marked earlier in the year, when an 80,000 BTC reserve inactive since Satoshi Nakamoto’s era and estimated at 8 billion dollars moved without any flow immediately impacting order books.
Ultimately, unless secondary movements contradict this data in the next hours, the hypothesis of a massive sale leading to a pending crash seems to be ruled out in favor of a technical migration of assets. Investors must nevertheless maintain nuanced vigilance. While the initial transfer remains neutral for the price situated around $62,800, the potential fragmentation of this sum towards OTC brokers or secondary platforms could subtly influence liquidity in a fragile spot market. Risk management therefore requires close monitoring of the evolution of this new wallet to anticipate any future repercussions on the ecosystem.
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Luc Jose A.
Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019. Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
Tři muži z Missouri byli obviněni kvůli údajnému plánu unést držitele bitcoinu a vynutit si převod kryptoměny. Podle obžaloby měli jednat v srpnu 2024.
Three Missouri men were charged over an alleged August 2024 plot to kidnap a Bitcoin holder and steal his holdings.
Sedric Louis, John Davis and Martel Williams were allegedly hired to kidnap and force a Bitcoin holder to transfer cryptocurrency to accounts controlled by organizers, according to a Tuesday press release by the US Attorney’s Office. They traveled from St. Louis to Connecticut, where they rented vehicles and obtained air rifles to stake out the victim.
After staking out the intended target for two days, they abandoned the plan for fear of being caught on home security cameras. Shortly afterward, another crew from Florida arrived to carry out the plan.
The three were charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Louis and Davis have been detained since their arrest on June 25, 2026. Williams was released on bond. All three pleaded not guilty.
Home invasions were the most common type of physical attack targeting cryptocurrency investors in the first half of 2026, according to blockchain security company CertiK. Crypto home invasions rose to 20 reported incidents in H1, up from a single case a year earlier.
Magazine: Inside the ‘fake police raid’ that forced a $1M Bitcoin transfer
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
BIP-110 míří k prvnímu zásadnímu aktivačnímu bodu a může vyvolat rozdělení sítě. Pro většinu firemních uživatelů Bitcoinu však podle textu nepřinese téměř žádnou změnu.
BIP-110 is approaching its first consequential activation boundary. The proposal enters mandatory signaling at block 961,632, currently projected around August 9, 2026. It locks in no later than block 963,648, roughly in late August, and activates its new transaction rules at block 965,664, currently projected for early September. BIP-110 uses a 55% signaling threshold and would enforce its restrictions for 52,416 blocks, approximately one year.
Bitcoin resolves consensus changes through coordination among miners, users, and nodes (note that anyone can be any combination of these three things). Miners choose which valid chain to extend. Users decide which chain’s coins, deposits, and payments they recognize. Nodes independently choose which rules they enforce. Durable consensus emerges whenever these groups converge on the same chain.
BIP-110 restricts large data pushes, oversized output scripts, undefined witness versions, Taproot annexes, deep Taproot control blocks, OP_SUCCESS opcodes, and certain Tapscript conditionals. It grandfathers UTXOs created before activation, while standard monetary uses remain compatible with its rules.
Most corporations don’t have to do anything For most corporations, BIP-110 requires no action. Today, the typical corporate Bitcoin utility is as a store of value, as a long-duration treasury reserve asset. This use case is basically unaffected by the transaction features targeted by BIP-110.
Corporations using Bitcoin for payments also face limited direct impact. Standard on-chain payments remain compatible (see below for specifics), while ordinary Lightning payments occur off-chain. A chain split can still affect Lightning channel monitoring, force-close behavior, and the chain source that a Lightning node treats as authoritative. However, even corporations using Bitcoin for payments normally use a third party provider like Square, so all of this abstracted away to be a non-issue.
A corporation that runs its own full node has a direct choice. Every user retains the right to run the Bitcoin implementation that matches its needs. A corporation that supports BIP-110 should therefore switch over to running BIP-110. All other node-running corporations can simply do nothing.
A BIP-110 node enforces tighter rules. During mandatory signaling, it rejects blocks that fail to signal bit 4. After activation, it also rejects blocks containing transactions that violate BIP-110. A non-BIP-110 node accepts BIP-110-compliant blocks as well as blocks that remain valid under the existing rules. Among all chains valid under its own rules, a node follows the branch with the greatest accumulated proof of work.
So the key factor to be aware of is a chain split. When miners build a chain that is not compliant to the BIP, BIP-110 nodes can separate from the broader network. Non-BIP-110 nodes may continue following the higher-work branch, while BIP-110 nodes could remain on a compliant branch with less accumulated work.
Corporations dealing with chain splits Mining companies face the highest immediate economic exposure. Electricity and machine time are sunk costs. A miner should select the branch it expects other miners, nodes, and users to recognize and mine on it. A miner may also stop mining and wait for the chain split to resolve. If BIP-110 and non-BIP-110 chains develop independently, miners must track chainwork, signaling, validity under both rule sets, and their own mining pool’s stance, and the market value assigned to each branch.
Corporations operating exchanges and institutional custody should prepare for settlement uncertainty. During an extended split, the ordinary six-confirmation standard loses much of its value because each branch can show six confirmations independently. Operators should monitor both branches, raise confirmation requirements, pause large deposits or withdrawals when risk rises, and delay final settlement until one branch has decisively accumulated more work or the transaction has sufficient depth on all viable branches. Different validation rules can produce chain splits, false confirmations, and double-spend risk.
Let’s consider a chain split occurring at block height S.
Chain splits and determining overall global finality Suppose a deposit appears on Chain A at S+4 and on Chain B at S+6. Once both chains reach S+12, the deposit has substantial depth on each branch (assuming we are still using six-confirmations). Now, this number of six confirmations should change depending on the work on each branch. And it might be the case that the number of confirmations one would like to see would be different for each branch. The main point is that the operator must wait until both branches reach the requisite confirmations. The operator can at that point be confident that the transaction remains, not matter which branch becomes canonical.
If the transaction appears on only one branch, the operator should wait for that branch to win or apply chain-specific accounting. That would be the only way to ensure no double spending happens. In practice, monetary transactions should always eventually appear on both branches, since the BIP-110 chain does not prohibit monetary transactions.
Conclusion The main thing to be aware of is a chain split. If there is no split, then there is nothing that needs to be done differently. Even with a chain split, BIP-110 will not create insurmountable disruptions.
For corporations that may be impacted by a chain split, the main action to take is to lengthen confirmation times and monitor both branches. For node-running corporations that support the BIP, the main action is to start running it on their nodes, if they haven’t already.
Miners, as usual, should direct their hashrate based on their view of which branch will end up with the most accumulated proof of work. Exchanges and custodians should lengthen settlement procedures and maintain visibility into both chains, should a chain split occur. For the daily operations of most corporate Bitcoin users, BIP-110 changes very little, if it changes anything at all.
Disclaimer: This content was prepared on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations for informational purposes only. It reflects the author’s own analysis and opinion and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Nothing in this article constitutes an offer, invitation, or solicitation to purchase, sell, or subscribe for any security or financial product.
Allard Peng
Research and Insights Analyst at Bitcoin for Corporations
Kanadský správce digitálních aktiv 3iQ bude spravovat část bitcoinových rezerv Bhútánu pro projekt Gelephu Mindfulness City. Zajistí i správu 10 000 BTC, investice do místních talentů a dlouhodobou fyzickou přítomnost v Gelephu.
Canadian digital asset manager 3iQ Corp. will work to manage some of the Bitcoin reserves of Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City project.
3iQ, Canada’s biggest and oldest digital asset fund manager, will not only manage the 10,000 Bitcoins pledged to build the new region, but also invest in local talent and establish a long-term physical presence in Gelephu as the region positions itself as Bhutan’s new offshore digital financial hub, according to a statement.
Bhutan last year said it would use 10,000 Bitcoins to fund a special administrative region called the Gelephu Mindfulness City. First announced in 2023, the GMC will be “a world-class economic hub in southern Bhutan.”
“From the very inception we were aligned with GMC’s vision to create a next-generation economic hub that attracts global talent while being committed to Bhutan’s cultural values and environmental principles,” 3iQ’s director and CEO, Pascal St-Jean, said in a statement.
The GMC’s Board Director, Jigdrel Singay, added: “Beyond their institutional expertise and global track record in digital asset management, what stood out to us was their genuine commitment to investing in people, transferring knowledge and building local capabilities.”
Bhutan has been buying Bitcoin for years, and the GMC project is a way of using its stack to
Bhutan started quietly mining Bitcoin in 2019. Then, in 2024, it announced it held a reserve of the digital coins before in January 2025 saying it would hold other cryptocurrencies on its balance sheet.
According to Bhutan’s government, the GMC, will be “a new economic hub in southern Bhutan designed around mindfulness, sustainability, and innovation,” and is central to Bhutan’s broader effort to diversify its economy beyond hydropower and tourism.
The plan is similar to El Salvador‘s crypto ambitions. The tiny Central American nation also announced plans in 2021 for a smart city dubbed “Bitcoin City” — a tax-free economic hub aimed at attracting the nomadic wealthy and tech entrepreneurs, funded via Bitcoin-backed tokenized bonds.
Mathew Di Salvo
Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.
ColdCard Q měl chybu ve firmwaru při generování seedu z poolu náhodnosti omezeného na 32 bajtů entropie, což ohrozilo hlavně uživatele bez passphrase. Coinkite vydal opravený firmware a doporučil vytvořit nové seed fráze.
Hardware wallets are supposed to be the gold standard of Bitcoin security. The whole pitch is simple: keep your keys offline, away from hackers, away from exchanges, away from anything that could go wrong. So when a firmware flaw undermines that promise, the community tends to notice. When someone responds by literally shooting the device, everyone notices.
That is exactly what happened when Adam, known on X as @denverbitcoin, announced plans to destroy his ColdCard Q on August 2, 2026, framing the act as a symbolic gesture on behalf of users hurt by the vulnerability.
What the flaw actually did When a ColdCard Q automatically generated a seed phrase, it drew on a pool of randomness that was limited to 32 bytes of entropy, making the seed theoretically easier to brute-force than users were led to believe.
The practical impact depended heavily on whether a user had added a passphrase, sometimes called the 25th word. A passphrase is an extra layer on top of the standard 24-word seed phrase. Users who had one were largely insulated from the problem. Users who had not were the ones left exposed.
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Coinkite, the company behind the ColdCard lineup, acknowledged the issue and released updated firmware. The company also advised affected users to generate entirely new seeds, and clarified that the hardware itself was not defective. Only the firmware’s seed generation routine was at fault.
Why Adam pulled the trigger Adam’s framing was explicitly about solidarity. He described the act as honoring users who had been effectively robbed because of the vulnerability, a pointed choice of words that places blame squarely on the firmware’s failure rather than on user error.
Criticism has also landed on influencers and educators who recommended ColdCard devices without, in the view of critics, sufficiently stress-testing the security assumptions or pushing passphrase adoption hard enough.
NVK, Coinkite’s founder, has faced direct criticism throughout the discussions on X, though engagement from mainstream crypto media has been limited. The bulk of the conversation has stayed within the platform’s Bitcoin-focused corners.
What this means for the hardware wallet market The ColdCard has long occupied a specific position in the Bitcoin hardware wallet market as the choice of the security-maximalist. That reputation made the entropy flaw particularly jarring for its core audience.
The deeper market implication is about defaults. A firmware vulnerability that only affects users without passphrases is, in one reading, a user education problem. In another reading, it is a product design problem.
What to watch now is whether Coinkite’s updated firmware and communication strategy are enough to retain its reputation among the security-conscious Bitcoin holders who made up its core customer base, or whether this incident accelerates a shift toward competing devices. Adam’s destroyed ColdCard Q is now a permanent part of the visual record.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Coldcard vyzvala uživatele, aby urgentně přesunuli prostředky po odhalení kritické chyby v kódu. Podle Galaxy Research bylo potvrzeno odcizení přes 100 milionů USD, přičemž některé zprávy mluví až o 130 milionech USD.
Some reports claimed that the stolen money is somewhere around $130 million already. And, it's still increasing.
Just a few days after admitting to a key vulnerability that left millions and millions worth of BTC in jeopardy, the team behind the self-proclaimed ‘best bitcoin hardware wallet’ published a key message urging users to migrate their funds.
Coldcard’s official X account informed customers that they should “treat this as urgent” and move their funds. The posts added that they have to follow the advisory of their models, upgrade their devices, generate a new seed, and “carefully” move their funds.
Please treat this as urgent. Migrate your funds. Follow the advisory for your model, upgrade your device, generate a new seed, and carefully move your funds.
Help spread the word, especially to people who are less online and may not see this update.
The threat is still ongoing. https://t.co/cbJxJles8x
— COLDCARD (@COLDCARDwallet) August 4, 2026
The Coldcard saga unraveled at the end of July. Some users first issued warnings online that their funds, stored on the hard wallet, had disappeared before the team admitted to a critical vulnerability in the code.
According to the latest estimations by Galaxy Research, the confirmed amount stolen is over $100 million. Some reports noted that the actual number could be around $130 million.
Market commentator Joe Consorti argued earlier that the attacker may struggle to spend a large portion of the swiped BTC since every BTC is being tracked on the public blockchain.
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About the author
Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain.
Bitcoin could challenge prevailing bearish expectations in August, as BlackRock made a significant move in the cryptocurrency market with a major Bitcoin purchase.
BlackRock’s new Bitcoin positionBlackRock, which ranks among the world’s largest asset managers, recently acquired more than $111 million worth of Bitcoin. The purchase followed a positive trading session for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, the largest exchange-traded fund dedicated to the cryptocurrency.
The new allocation comes as onchain data confirms recurring patterns: BlackRock has been alternating between buying and offloading Bitcoin in response to price swings and market sentiment.
BlackRock captured the majority of capital entering the Bitcoin ETF market during this session, as $111.43 million flowed into Bitcoin while total ETF net inflows for the day reached over $170 million.
This trend points to BlackRock’s dominance within the institutional Bitcoin investment landscape. While the firm’s activity is closely tied to price movements, its latest purchase signals growing interest among traditional financial entities.
BlackRock is a global investment company known for its expansive ETF offerings and substantial influence in the financial markets, with assets under management exceeding $10 trillion.
Mini dictionary: Onchain data, refers to analysis and data gathered directly from a blockchain, providing transparent records of asset movement, ownership, and network activity.
ETF inflows signal renewed institutional interestThe broader Bitcoin ETF market recorded a net inflow surpassing $170 million during the most recent session. BlackRock’s purchase accounted for the largest portion of this, reinforcing its leading position among ETF providers such as Fidelity and Grayscale.
ETF ProviderNet Inflow (Latest Session)BlackRock$111.43 millionAll Providers (Total)$170 million+Institutional appetite for Bitcoin appears to be rising, even as the cryptocurrency’s price remains volatile. Analysts are monitoring whether these inflows will drive further price recovery or if the current uptrend is temporary.
August outlook for BitcoinDespite recent buying activity, caution remains regarding Bitcoin’s performance in August. Historically, August has often been a difficult month for the digital asset. Since 2022, Bitcoin has posted consistent losses in August, which has fueled skepticism among investors about the likelihood of a strong rebound this month.
However, Bitcoin started the current month on a stronger note, rising 1.37% as of August 4. Market participants are now watching to see if this early momentum will continue and help Bitcoin achieve a more positive return by the end of August, potentially breaking its recent negative trend for the month.
Expectations for August remain mixed, as Bitcoin is attempting to overcome a historical pattern of poor performance during this period, with the current modest gain raising the possibility of a rare positive August finish.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
