SlowMist odhalil škodlivý kód v chatovém widgetu Udesk, který na vkladových stránkách burz MGBX, Biking Exchange a BitxEX nahrazoval adresy peněženek adresami útočníků.
Blockchain security firm SlowMist reported that JavaScript connected to Udesk, a customer service chat widget embedded by many websites, was used to collect visitor login credentials and redirect crypto deposits on at least three trading platforms.
Security flaw targets crypto exchangesSlowMist stated on Tuesday that its analysts discovered the malicious code during their routine threat monitoring procedures. According to the firm, their MistEye monitoring system detected and alerted their clients to the issue, raising concerns about the scope of the compromise.
Udesk is a third-party customer service software provider frequently integrated by exchanges and online businesses to facilitate client communication. By intercepting this widely used widget, attackers were able to reach users across several platforms.
The tampered file, named udeskApi.2026-10-16.cached.js, contained a hidden short loader script appended after the legitimate widget code. The loader’s intended target was obfuscated in hexadecimal format, making it difficult to detect using standard searches for readable domains.
Once decoded, the loader extracted a second malicious script from a domain called udeskqlobal[.]com—a misspelling used specifically to evade simple domain checks. SlowMist recommended maintaining the exact spelling, with a “q”, when reviewing web logs for evidence of compromise.
Mini dictionary: Udesk, a cloud-based customer service platform, offers businesses online support solutions through live chat, tickets, and integration capabilities, making it a popular widget on e-commerce and trading sites.
Scope and method of attackSlowMist clarified that the malicious code was not confined to the three crypto exchanges originally named. The report stated that even if a website’s address did not match those targets, the script would still begin data collection and install monitoring hooks. Furthermore, using an iframe to embed the customer service widget did not shield the host website, as scripts loaded via the iframe could still interact with user sessions and collect sensitive data.
For MGBX, Biking Exchange, and BitxEX, a second module was triggered specifically on their deposit pages. The injected code reviewed these pages every 200 milliseconds, dynamically replacing displayed wallet addresses with one of six attacker-controlled addresses compatible with Bitcoin, EVM chains, Tron, Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. To further conceal its presence, the attack also altered any copied deposit address text through multiple technical routes, making it difficult for users to detect the swap even if they compared pasted text to the original page.
Exchange TargetedAttack MechanismAssets AffectedMGBXDeposit address swap every 200ms, hooks user actionsBTC, EVM Chains, Tron, Solana, Litecoin, DogecoinBiking ExchangeDeposit address swap, tracks copy-paste activityBTC, EVM Chains, Tron, Solana, Litecoin, DogecoinBitxEXDeposit address swap, clipboard rewriteBTC, EVM Chains, Tron, Solana, Litecoin, DogecoinUnclear impact and recommended actionsSlowMist did not specify how the malicious code was introduced into the Udesk script or how many companies incorporated the compromised file. The firm also did not confirm if any cryptocurrency funds were actually lost due to this incident.
In its advisory, SlowMist urged organizations still employing the compromised scripts to remove them immediately, secure any leaked credentials, and verify that deposit addresses match those listed in their trusted records and backend systems. The firm warned that simply deleting the malicious script tag is insufficient, as previously activated hooks and timers will continue to operate. Instead, SlowMist recommended closing affected pages and resetting all passwords and access tokens from a secure system.
SlowMist’s report emphasized that removing the embedded script does not deactivate malicious hooks or timers already in the system, urging businesses to conduct thorough clean-up and security reviews after exposure.
Previous incidents highlight persistent threatIncidents involving compromised third-party code continue to affect the crypto sector. In December 2023, a tampered version of Ledger’s widely used Connect Kit integration library was responsible for draining around $500,000 from users’ wallets on popular decentralized application interfaces such as SushiSwap and Zapper.
These events underscore the necessity for constant vigilance regarding the external tools and code that exchanges and crypto service providers deploy to their user base.
Third-party code risks are an ongoing challenge for the digital asset industry, with recent attacks illustrating that even widely trusted libraries and services can become a threat vector when targeted by sophisticated adversaries.
Španělská Guardia Civil vyšetřuje přesuny více než 20 000 bitcoinů z peněženek spojených se zkrachovalou společností Arbistar mezi lednem a březnem 2021 jako možné ukrývání aktiv.
TLDR Wallets tied to Arbistar moved more than 20,000 bitcoin between January and March 2021. The transfers were worth over $1.1 billion at the time and about $1.6 billion today. About 881 bitcoin was sent to outside wallets as the platform collapsed in September 2020. Arbistar affected up to 32,000 investors and promised weekly returns of about 28%. Founder Santiago Fuentes Jover was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Spanish police say digital wallets tied to the failed crypto platform Arbistar moved more than 20,000 bitcoin after the company collapsed. The transfers were worth over $1.1 billion at the time.
The findings come from a new Guardia Civil report, according to Teneriffa News. The report adds new details to Spain’s long-running case against the platform.
How the Arbistar Scheme Fell Apart Arbistar was run by its parent company, Arbicorp, from southern Tenerife. In September 2020, the firm suddenly froze investor accounts.
The company blamed a “failure” in its automated crypto trading bots. Before the freeze, it had promised investors weekly returns of around 28%.
Once the accounts were frozen, investors could no longer access their funds. Many had joined believing the bots would trade crypto for steady profits.
The scheme drew in victims across 30 Spanish provinces. It also reached investors in Mexico, Venezuela, France and Andorra.
Spanish authorities later classified Arbistar as a pyramid scheme. They said it affected up to 32,000 investors.
Early estimates put damages between $111 million and more than $220 million. In 2020, Spanish prosecutors also said roughly $1 billion in investor funds was unaccounted for.
Bitcoin Transfers Under Investigation The new Guardia Civil report shows how digital assets were moved to hide the trail of funds. Investigators found that about 881 bitcoin was sent to outside wallets as the platform collapsed in September 2020.
Much larger transfers followed months later. Between January and March 2021, wallets linked to key defendants recorded inflows and outflows totaling more than 20,000 bitcoin.
Those coins were worth more than $1.1 billion based on Bitcoin’s price on March 31, 2021. The same amount would be worth about $1.6 billion today.
Authorities said the funds went to people within the administrators’ inner circle. They said there was no legitimate business reason for the transfers, which points to an effort to hide assets.
The money tracing is running alongside criminal cases that have already reached the platform’s leaders. Founder Santiago Fuentes Jover and partner Diego Fernández Nojarova were prosecuted for aggravated fraud.
They also faced charges of document falsification and membership in a criminal organization. Both were sentenced after their initial trials.
The Appeals Chamber of Spain’s Audiencia Nacional later increased their prison terms. Fuentes received 16 years, while Fernández Nojarova received 11 years.
Several people have now been formally named in an ongoing money-laundering probe. Spanish authorities say they are still working to track the full crypto network tied to the defunct Tenerife company.
Ark Invest koupila 65 615 akcií společnosti Circle za 5,2 milionu USD a zároveň ve dvou fondech prodala podíly ve svém spotovém bitcoinovém ETF ARKB za 15,9 milionu USD.
Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest bought 65,615 Circle shares, worth $5.2 million, for its Next Generation Internet exchange-traded fund (ARKW) on Monday and offloaded $15.9 million worth of its own spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) from two of its investment funds as the foremost cryptocurrency continued its slump from its early October highs.
Ark's investment strategy involves letting no individual holding take up more than 10% of a fund's portfolio. This is to maintain diversification within its funds — meaning Ark is likely to continue rebalancing its weightings if the value of certain shares rise or fall significantly relative to the firm's other fund holdings.
As of Oct. 27, Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL) is currently the fifth-largest holding within its ARKW fund, with a weighting of 4.3%, worth around $67.8 million, according to Arl's latest disclosures. Tesla, Meta, Shopify, and Amazon make up the remainder of ARKW's top five holdings, respectively.
Circle shares fell 7.1% on Monday, closing at $79.84 and trading down 1.2% year-to-date, according to The Block's CRCL page. The stock is currently down 1.1% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, per TradingView.
CRCL/USD price chart. Image: The Block. ARKB remains top 10 allocation as bitcoin slumps The Ark Invest/21Shares ARKB Bitcoin ETF remains a top 10 allocation within Ark Invest's Next Generation Internet fund and ARK Blockchain and Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), with a weighting of 3.7% and 3.8% and valued at approximately $58.2 million and $29.1 million, respectively.
Ark's spot Bitcoin ETF has generated around $1.1 billion in net inflows since launching in January 2024, with $2.5 billion in assets under management, according to The Block's ETF Tracker page.
Spot Bitcoin ETF AUM. Image: The Block. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was trading around $79,625 on Tuesday morning, remaining below the $80,000 mark amid renewed selling pressure ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve interest rate decision. The largest cryptocurrency has now pulled back 8.7% since its October high of around $87,200.
Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, highlighted growing tensions in the Middle East, higher oil prices, and uneven institutional demand as reasons for the crypto market's recent weakness. Thin weekend trading and leveraged liquidations added to the selling pressure, Kruger told The Block, though he argued that the market decline was being driven more by macroeconomic factors than a fundamental change in the outlook for digital assets.
Meanwhile, Nick Forster, founder and CEO of crypto options platform Derive, told The Block that traders were increasingly positioning for further downside, with $80,000 becoming the most actively traded bitcoin options strike on the exchange. Put options accounted for 91% of the roughly $32 million traded at that level over the past week, reflecting growing demand for protection against further price declines.
NIP Group získala třetí várku bitcoinových těžebních zařízení výměnou za více než 247 milionů akcií. Těžební kapacita dosáhla 13,85 EH/s a společnost očekává těžbu zhruba 195 bitcoinů měsíčně.
In brief NIP Group, which owns esports team Ninjas in Pyjamas, has bought a third batch of Bitcoin miners in exchange for more than 247 million shares. The company says it now has roughly 13.85 EH/s of capacity, enough to mine around 195 Bitcoin a month, or $2.8 million at today's prices. The CEO told Decrypt the company could shift capacity to AI computing if the returns beat mining. Ninjas in Pyjamas Group, the company behind the legendary esports team, has acquired a third batch of Bitcoin miners in exchange for over 247 million Class A ordinary shares.
Hicham Chahine, the founder and CEO of NIP Group, told Decrypt that he wants to bet on Bitcoin mining while the market is "cooling," rather than when it's hot and competition is higher. He added that the facilities could be used for artificial intelligence in the future.
"Now that this tranche is closed, we're at roughly 13.85 EH/s. That puts us among the largest publicly listed miners in the world, roughly 195 Bitcoin a month," Chahine said. "That's real revenue, and it supports everything else we're building. This year we reviewed every single piece of NIP Group, not just mining. We made decisions with one goal: better margins and a clear path to profitability. Mining had to earn its place in that review, and it did."
It comes after the esports team expanded its Bitcoin operation last year as it looked to mine 160 Bitcoin a month. This most recent acquisition brings that target up by 35 Bitcoin to 195 Bitcoin a month, or $2.8 million at today's prices.
Chahine told Decrypt that NIP Group is "optimistic about where this is heading," adding that the third batch of Bitcoin miners will require "minimal ramp time."
NIP Group is a digital entertainment company known for esports and gaming ventures. It owns Ninjas in Pyjamas, which fields professional esports teams in games like Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, League of Legends, and Rocket League.
The firm's stock, NIPG, has dropped 40.7% from $6.74 to $4 since the Bitcoin announcement last week, according to Yahoo Finance data. This marks an all-time low for the stock. Bitcoin has dropped 2% to $79,820 over the same period of time, per Decrypt data.
An AI futureChahine explained that the purchased facilities could shift to focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure if the market demands.
"We look at what AI and [high-performance computing] customers will actually pay, how long they'll commit and whether that demand is sustained or temporary," Chahine told Decrypt. "When those workloads clearly beat mining on returns, consistently and not just for a week or two, that's when we may move capacity. If the numbers say shift, we shift."
Of course, any sort of future pivot would require notable legwork, as Bitcoin miners can't simply be turned into AI data centers at the flick of a switch. But, Chahine said, the infrastructure around the mining facilities is a good foundation for what AI and high-performance computing need.
"When we talk about AI, we mean using that footprint and that know-how for compute-heavy work when the economics make sense," he said. "We're a gaming and entertainment company at heart, and our fans already live on compute, bringing infrastructure and entertainment under one roof makes sense."
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The Bitcoin treasury firm Strive (ASST) just acquired $511 million worth of BTC.
The Dallas-based company bought 6,182 Bitcoin between October 16th and 23rd, stretching its total holdings to 43,000 BTC, per documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
Strive is the fourth-largest Bitcoin treasury firm in the world, and the company’s recent purchase brought it significantly closer to the second- and third-largest treasuries, Metaplanet and Twenty One Capital, which own 44,000 BTC and 43,514 BTC, respectively. Michael Saylor’s Strategy easily tops the list with 848,517 BTC, according to Bitcointreasuries.net.
Matt Cole, Strive’s chairman and chief executive, hinted in an interview on the One Chair Podcast last month that his firm could end the year with some big BTC accumulations.
[28:20] “The potential for an electric finish to Strive’s Bitcoin holdings in 2026 is there, right? I think it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Strive to end the year as the number two largest Bitcoin holder.
Some things are going to have to go right for that to happen. I wouldn’t say that’s my base case, but I would say that it’s in the possible set of cards, right?”
Strive executed its recent BTC purchase at an average price of $82,732 per Bitcoin. The top-ranked crypto asset by market cap is trading at $79,958 at time of writing.
SEC schválila burze Cboe BZX změnu pravidel umožňující kotaci šesti produktů s trojnásobnou pákou, včetně navrhovaných ETF BITH a ETHK, ty však nemohou zahájit obchodování bez účinného registračního prohlášení Form S-1.
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule change that lets Cboe BZX Exchange list six triple-leveraged exchange-traded products from Volatility Shares, including proposed 3x Bitcoin and 3x Ether ETFs, but the funds cannot trade yet.
The SEC order, filed as Release 34-106577 on October 2, 2026, covers only the exchange’s ability to list the products. Before BITH, the proposed 3x Bitcoin fund, or ETHK, the proposed 3x Ether fund, can trade, the SEC must declare their Form S-1 registration statements effective. That step has not happened, and no launch date has been announced. An S-1 is the registration statement a fund files so its shares can be offered to the public.
What the order covers The order signs off on Cboe BZX’s rule change alone. It does not authorize the funds themselves to sell shares. Reportedly the first time a US regulator has cleared crypto products with this much leverage, a characterization the SEC order itself does not spell out.
The fund filings state that BITH and ETHK aim to deliver three times the daily performance of futures-based benchmarks and do not hold spot Bitcoin or Ether. Because they reset daily, their long-term returns can diverge sharply from three times the underlying asset’s move.
Volatility Shares already runs a 2x Bitcoin ETF under the ticker BITX with over $1.2 billion in assets, so a market for leveraged crypto exposure already exists. The 3x products were made possible by registering under the Securities Act of 1933 rather than the Investment Company Act of 1940, a structure that avoids the 1940 Act’s leverage limits.
Three weeks passed between the SEC’s October 2 order and the approval’s October 25 reporting, and the agency has taken no action in that window on the funds’ registration statements.
ETF Vanguard VSS nově vykázal držbu 4,5 milionu akcií společnosti Metaplanet v hodnotě přibližně 7,5 milionu USD; jde o automatické sledování indexu, nikoli o přímou investici Vanguardu do Bitcoinu.
Vanguard’s small-cap international ETF has disclosed its first position in Metaplanet. The stake comes from index tracking and does not represent a direct Vanguard bet on Bitcoin. Metaplanet’s enterprise value sits below the market value of its Bitcoin treasury. The company is financing share buybacks with a new zero-coupon convertible bond. Vanguard’s FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap ETF (VSS) has disclosed its first position in Metaplanet, holding about 4.5 million shares worth roughly $7.5 million, according to the fund’s holdings data. The stake arrives while the Tokyo-listed company, Asia’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder with 44,000 BTC, trades below the market value of its own treasury and is spending heavily to buy back its stock. Investors barely reacted to the filing, and Metaplanet (TSE: 3350) closed Monday at ¥263 (about $1.71), down roughly 0.75%.
VSS Bought Because Its Benchmark Did VSS tracks a benchmark of small companies in developed and emerging markets outside the United States, and it buys whatever that benchmark contains in proportion to each company’s size. With about $11.34 billion in assets, the $7.5 million Metaplanet position works out to roughly 0.07% of the fund, a weighting that tells investors more about index rules than about any view Vanguard’s managers hold on Bitcoin. The disclosure also leaves open when the shares were acquired, so a newly reported holding should not be read as a purchase made on October 26.
Vanguard funds held Metaplanet well before this filing, with the Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX) building a position of 15.64 million shares and the FTSE Japan ETF (VJPN) reporting its first 704,500 shares in October 2025.
Vanguard fund Shares Value Total International Stock Index VGTSX 15.64M $53.5M FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap VSS NEW 4.5M $7.5M FTSE Japan ETF VJPN 704,500 $2.1M Combined 20.84M $63.1M Figures come from different disclosure periods.
Ramji Opened the Door Only to Rivals’ ETFs In January 2024, Vanguard blocked newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs from its brokerage platform, and the arrival of Salim Ramji, a former BlackRock executive, as chief executive in July 2024 did not immediately change that stance. The firm reversed course in December 2025 when it opened its brokerage platform to third-party crypto ETFs tied to Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana, citing the products’ operational resilience and liquidity. It also said it had no plans to issue crypto funds of its own and continued to favor assets that generate cash flows such as interest and dividends.
Owning Metaplanet through equity index funds fits within that policy, since Vanguard clients gain indirect Bitcoin exposure through a listed company while the asset manager never has to hold a single coin.
44,000 BTC Priced at 0.85x According to Metaplanet’s Bitcoin strategy tracker, the company carries an enterprise value of $3.15 billion against a Bitcoin treasury valued at $3.71 billion, a ratio of 0.85x. Enterprise value adds the company’s $699.57 million in debt and $149.26 million in preferred capital to its $2.37 billion equity market capitalization, so the figure reflects what the whole business costs to own, and a reading below 1.0x means the market prices Metaplanet at about 15% less than its Bitcoin on that basis.
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin vs. its valuation
Bitcoin treasury value
$3.71B
Enterprise value
$3.15B · 0.85x
Equity market cap $2.37B Debt $699.57M Preferred capital $149.26M Average BTC cost $103,764 The coins also sit below their purchase price, with Metaplanet paying an average of $103,764 per BTC while the tracker’s valuation implies a reference price near $84,300, a gap of roughly $783 million between acquisition cost and value. That gap has widened since Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 this week, a level at which the 44,000 BTC would be worth about $3.5 billion, roughly $1 billion less than Metaplanet paid for them. Shareholders have absorbed a one-year share-price decline of about 41.4%, and accumulation has slowed sharply, from 5,075 BTC added in the first quarter of 2026 to a net 1,000 BTC in the third.
74 Million Shares Retired in One Trade Under its capital allocation policy, Metaplanet generally avoids selling new common shares while the ratio stays below 1.0x, because issuing stock at a discount would shrink each existing shareholder’s slice of the Bitcoin pile. Buying shares back works in the opposite direction, since every share retired below asset value raises the amount of BTC attributable to the shares that remain, without the company buying any additional Bitcoin. Other treasury companies are making the same trade-off, with Bitmine recently spending more on buybacks than on new ETH while Strategy skipped Bitcoin purchases.
On October 14, Metaplanet repurchased 73,981,400 shares at ¥261 (about $1.69) each through the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s ToSTNeT-3 off-auction system, spending roughly ¥19.31 billion (about $125 million). A new authorization allows up to 200 million shares, about 14.7% of the stock, capped at ¥60 billion (about $390 million) through October 13, 2027.
The money comes partly from a ¥52 billion (about $338 million) zero-coupon euroyen convertible bond due in October 2031. Metaplanet plans to put ¥23.6 billion (about $153 million) toward repaying Bitcoin-backed loans in November and up to ¥28.3 billion (about $184 million) toward buybacks through December. Capital Research and Management, meanwhile, lifted its voting-rights stake to 11.11% as of October 16 with 143.3 million shares, a percentage boosted in part by the shrinking pool of voting shares.
Metaplanet’s capital moves, autumn 2026
Oct 13
¥52B bond and ¥60B buyback announced
Oct 14
73.98M shares bought back at ¥261
Oct 16
Capital Research reaches 11.11% of votes
Oct 26
Vanguard VSS position disclosed
Oct 29
Convertible bond issued
Nov 2026
Bitcoin-backed loan repayment due
November Loan Payoff Frees Bitcoin Collateral The bond swaps loans secured by Bitcoin for unsecured debt that does not mature until 2031, which reduces the risk that a further drop in BTC forces the company to post more collateral or sell coins. It does not cut total borrowing by much, and any conversion into common stock would add shares back, offsetting part of the buybacks, so investors will want to track BTC per fully diluted share rather than the headline BTC total.
Index mechanics can also turn against the company, because a smaller share count and lower market value can shift Metaplanet’s weight at the next benchmark rebalance, and passive funds such as VSS may then trim as easily as they added.
Bondholders can begin converting on November 12, and the same quarter should settle Metaplanet’s planned contribution of 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million to U.S.-listed Super League, a deal designed to create a U.S. Bitcoin treasury vehicle called Superplanet. Super League shareholders have approved the relevant resolutions, but closing still depends on outstanding conditions, and the final ownership structure will determine whether those coins stay on Metaplanet’s consolidated books.
Alex is a financial markets journalist and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, and he's spent close to ten years trying to answer one stubborn question: what's really driving this? It started in 2016, when Bitcoin refused to make sense to him - and rather than shrug, he stayed with it until it did. That patience became his method. He's less interested in what an asset is doing today than in the plumbing behind it: how liquidity flows, where risk hides, what a chart is quietly telling you that the headline isn't. That lens eventually stretched well past crypto into traditional markets, because the same forces - fear, leverage, incentives, timing - show up everywhere once you know how to look. Most coverage, in his view, insults the reader by stopping at the surface. Price up, price down, moving on. He'd rather leave someone genuinely understanding a move than merely informed that it happened. His path into markets ran through a Tourism degree at New Bulgarian University - proof, maybe, that curiosity beats credentials. With more than 200 deep analyses and over 10,000 articles behind him, he still walks away from most trading days having learned something he didn't know that morning.
Metaplanet has shifted its capital markets strategy by acquiring a U.S. company in order to issue preferred shares directly in the United States, following unsuccessful efforts to offer similar securities in Japan. The move opens access to a broader capital base, positioning Metaplanet alongside major firms such as Strategy and Strive that are actively seeking U.S. institutional investment for their digital asset and Bitcoin treasury products.
Allard Peng provided insights into Metaplanet’s motivations and offered clarity on what the U.S. launch enables for the company and its shareholders. By entering the U.S. market for preferred share offerings, Metaplanet gains exposure to the same pool of investors that supported one of the largest IPOs of 2025, brought to market through a preferred stock vehicle, STRC.
Peng stated that the U.S. capital environment is favorable for innovative treasury products, especially those with exposure to Bitcoin and digital assets. He highlighted that, despite regulatory and logistical hurdles in Japan, the company’s decision to transition to the U.S. marks a significant strategic shift aimed at long-term growth.
The listing is expected to benefit common shareholders through greater access to capital and the potential to enhance the company’s net Bitcoin per share as new funds are deployed into digital asset holdings.
Industry trends indicate increasing demand for diversified exposure to Bitcoin, with ETF inflows surpassing $1 billion over three sessions, though the cryptocurrency’s price remains below $85,000. Analysts have noted that June saw a sharp downturn in Bitcoin treasury preferred shares following the unwinding of leveraged loop strategies, impacting prices across the sector.
Notably, significant trading activity has persisted among investors holding preferred shares below par value. Market participants are closely watching when these securities may return to or exceed par, with Peng noting that factors such as fixed-income offerings and innovative product structures could spur renewed interest.
Peng clarified that, for small businesses and institutions alike, key considerations before directly acquiring Bitcoin on their balance sheets include market timing, product structure, and regulatory clarity. He emphasized that issuing a preferred share below par can still make sense under certain capital management objectives, particularly if investor appetite for variable or fixed-rate returns remains robust.
The sector has also seen new fixed-rate and variable-rate preferred products, with Strive’s 15% junior preferred series and SATA’s variable-rate offerings attracting investor attention amid fluctuating market conditions.
Meme tokens and investor behaviorAmid ongoing market volatility, technical analysis and tracking investor behavior remain vital, especially in emerging segments such as meme tokens. In these markets, price movement alone does not capture the full picture, as the timing and coin selection of active traders prove equally influential.
Recent data from Fomo App highlights a trade in the meme token “Niu Lai,” where an initial $99 stake rapidly grew to around $370,000, reflecting the explosive nature of this sector. Fomo App addresses the increasing demand for real-time token discovery and trade insights by offering consolidated features such as a social feed, investor rankings, and timely trade notifications.
In the rapidly evolving meme token market, leveraging platforms that combine analytics with community engagement enables investors to monitor not only asset performance but also the behavioral patterns driving viral trends and significant capital flows.
Investors seeking to navigate this dynamic landscape are encouraged to utilize such tools to keep up with both technological developments and broader sentiment shifts.
Metaplanet’s US subsidiary has reportedly bought 4 more Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 7 BTC. The purchase lands before the company’s much larger deal for Super League Enterprise has closed.
A small buy with a big deal looming The buyer is Metaplanet Holdings, Inc., the Florida-based arm of Japan’s Metaplanet Inc. The 4 BTC purchase means the subsidiary held three coins before this latest addition.
The purchase claim has not been independently corroborated by major financial or crypto outlets. No public records reviewed in the research confirmed a discrete 4 BTC buy by the US entity.
On August 18, 2026, Metaplanet announced that its US subsidiary would contribute 2,100 BTC along with $2.5 million in cash. In exchange, it expects to acquire approximately 95.7% of Super League Enterprise, a company listed on Nasdaq.
Once the deal closes, Super League is set to rebrand as Superplanet Inc., trading under the ticker SUPA. The company plans to keep running its existing gaming and media advertising businesses.
Where the transaction stands Super League shareholders approved the share issuance tied to the deal on October 16, 2026. That vote was one of the major hurdles standing between the announcement and the finish line.
Closing is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. It still depends on regulatory and Nasdaq approvals, so the timeline is a goal rather than a guarantee.
The structure gives Metaplanet more than just a stake. The arrangement includes control through preferred stock, plus rights to invest up to $210M.
At the time of the August announcement, Metaplanet held roughly 43,000 to 44,000 BTC in total. The 2,100 BTC earmarked for the deal works out to about 4.9% of that stash.
Background: Metaplanet’s push into US markets Metaplanet has become one of the more prominent corporate Bitcoin holders based in Japan. Its holdings in the tens of thousands of BTC put it in the conversation with the largest public treasury companies.
The Super League deal marks a clear attempt to plant a flag in US capital markets. Rather than building a listed American entity from scratch, Metaplanet chose to buy one that already trades on Nasdaq.
What this means The deal could bring enhanced liquidity and access to preferred securities. Those tools could potentially help fund future Bitcoin acquisitions or other investments, though nothing about that outcome is locked in.
The preferred stock structure also deserves attention. Control through preferred shares can concentrate decision-making power, which matters for minority holders who will own the remaining slice of the company.
As for the 7 BTC, it is best read as a footnote rather than a headline figure. Until it is confirmed through company filings or disclosures, the 4 BTC buy remains a report rather than an established fact.
The things worth watching are concrete. Look for the regulatory and Nasdaq approvals, the actual transfer of the 2,100 BTC, and the first trading day for SUPA.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Galaxy Research tvrdí, že Bitcoin dosáhl dna a přešel do akumulační fáze. BTC se pět týdnů po sobě uzavřel nad 50týdenním klouzavým průměrem na úrovni 76 540 USD.
With the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin continuing to trade near $80,000, viewers are closely watching to see if a sharp drop will occur.
While there are many different opinions on this matter, the final assessment comes from Galaxy Research.
According to The Block, Galaxy Research argues that the Bitcoin market has bottomed out and BTC has entered a new accumulation phase. Research head Alex Thorn stated that decreasing selling pressure and recovering technical indicators are giving positive signals for long-term investors.
Bitcoin Has Remained Above Critical Level for Five Weeks! According to a recent report by Galaxy Research, authored by Alex Thorn, Bitcoin closed above its 50-week moving average for five consecutive weeks, starting with the week ending October 18, after spending 44 weeks below that level.
The company stated that this technical outlook aligns with movements seen in past market cycles following bottom formations.
The report also noted that long-term investor selling slowed, and the monthly trading volume of Bitcoins, which had been inactive for at least five years, decreased from 67,000 BTC in 2024 to 47,000 BTC in 2025 and 34,000 BTC in 2026. According to Galaxy, spot Bitcoin ETFs and publicly traded companies holding BTC on their balance sheets absorbed a significant portion of long-term investor selling.
“We believe the bottom has been reached, selling pressure has eased, the devaluation scenario has strengthened, and the crowd is exiting the market. The conclusion is simple: We believe now is an attractive time to buy and hold bitcoin.”
Alex Thorn also argued that the increasing US public debt and budget deficits have strengthened the view of Bitcoin as an alternative to the devaluation of fiat currencies. At this point, Thorn stated that they believe the market has entered an accumulation phase following the low seen in June.
Finally, the analyst noted that Galaxy’s bullish outlook for BTC is not unconditional. According to the report, a weekly close below Bitcoin’s 50-week moving average of $76,540, and its inability to regain this level within a month, could weaken the positive outlook.
*This is not investment advice.
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Strategy bought no Bitcoin between October 19 and 25. A first pause after several weeks of accumulation. Michael Saylor’s company preferred to dedicate 204.9 million dollars to repurchasing its preferred STRC shares, according to its SEC filing on October 26. Its reserve remains unchanged at 848,517 BTC, while its available cash has dropped to 242.4 million dollars, compared to 447.3 million a week earlier.
In brief
Strategy halts Bitcoin purchases after several weeks of acquisitions.
The company buys back 2.07 million STRC shares for $204.9 million.
Available cash declines by nearly 46% in one week.
Strategy takes a pause in its Bitcoin purchases
Strategy’s latest weekly report contrasts with previous ones. Between October 19 and 25, the company bought no Bitcoin. It did not sell any either and made no share issuances under its At-The-Market (ATM) sales program.
A week earlier, Strategy had still purchased 267 bitcoins for $22.1 million. The company had also acquired 250 BTC the previous week, then 334 BTC at the beginning of October. This streak has now ended. The total reserve remains at 848,517 BTC, acquired for approximately $64.02 billion. The average purchase price is $75,446 per Bitcoin, fees included.
This represents a little over 4% of the 21 million bitcoins that will ever exist. But the real surprise is in the spending. While Strategy invested no dollars in new BTC during the week, it used $204.9 million to repurchase 2,068,459 STRC shares.
The amount exceeds that of previous weekly operations. Strategy has not officially abandoned its Bitcoin accumulation program. Its regulatory document only describes the operations conducted during this period.
STRC buybacks far exceed BTC purchases
STRC shares now play an important role in Strategy’s financial management. These variable-rate preferred securities, also called Stretch, pay regular dividends. Strategy notably aims to support their listing around their nominal value of $100.
The group had already doubled its buyback program in September after dedicating $176 million to STRC. The movement accelerated in October.
Over the last three weeks, amounts dedicated to STRC buybacks are:
$192.4 million from October 5 to 11.
$193.1 million from October 12 to 18.
$204.9 million from October 19 to 25.
Total: $590.4 million. During these three weeks, Strategy spent only $43.6 million to buy an additional 517 BTC. STRC buybacks thus represent 13.5 times the expenditures allocated to Bitcoin over this period.
The gap is significant. Strategy still retains $956.8 million of available authorization in its preferred shares buyback program, recently raised to $3 billion. Another $1 billion program exists for common MSTR shares. No shares in this category were repurchased during the last week.
Strategy loses nearly half of its available cash
Spending on STRC directly reduced the company’s liquidity. On October 18, Strategy had $447.3 million in USD cash. Seven days later, this amount had fallen to $242.4 million. The decline represents $204.9 million, or about 45.8%. This cash is notably used for Bitcoin purchases, securities buybacks, and other financial operations of the group.
However, Strategy has a second separate reserve. Its USD Reserve, intended for payment of preferred dividends and debt interest, remains unchanged at $4.83 billion. Combining these two compartments, the company holds approximately $5.07 billion in dollar assets.
The situation also occurs at a delicate time for its stock. On October 15, MSCI approved new rules likely to exclude some companies whose balance sheets resemble those of an investment vehicle rather than an operating company.
Strategy is among the companies potentially affected. An exclusion could force index funds to sell MSTR shares. However, it would not force Strategy to sell its bitcoins. The timeline is known: MSCI must announce its final decision on November 11, ahead of possible implementation after the close on November 30. No direct link has been established between this threat and the weekly suspension of Bitcoin purchases. For now, Michael Saylor retains his 848,517 BTC. The company mainly continues to mobilize its dollars to support its own financial instruments.
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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.
Bitcoin price traded near $80,000 on Monday, after falling about 2% earlier in the session. The price has dipped below that level several times in recent days and recovered each time.
Selling pressure has been building. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $635 million in outflows on October 22. A brief drop below $80,000 last week also triggered roughly $800 million in liquidations of long positions, or bets that prices would rise.
The next major test to look out for is the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, which ends October 28. The Fed raised its target range to 3.75% to 4% in September, and its minutes suggested another increase could come by year-end.
Most recent market odds favor the Fed holding rates steady, though those odds have shifted. Traders are watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks for signs of a December hike.
Higher interest rates typically pull money away from risky assets, including crypto. Broadly speaking, a hold could keep bitcoin price between roughly $80,000 and $88,000. A rate hike could push it toward the lower end of that range.
Bitcoin price backdrop Geopolitical tensions are also weighing on markets. Oil rose above $100 a barrel in early September as strikes between the U.S. and Iran escalated. Higher energy prices feed into inflation, which affects the Fed’s decisions.
In tech, Anthropic is reportedly preparing an initial public offering that could value the AI company near $965 billion. The timing has shifted toward the weeks before the November midterm elections, but no date has been confirmed.
U.S. stocks surged a bit Monday as investors geared up for a busy week of Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision. The Nasdaq rose 0.8%, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the Dow climbed 0.3%.
Alphabet and Microsoft report Wednesday, followed by Amazon Thursday, while markets largely expect the Fed to hold rates steady.
AI-related stocks rallied following Anthropic’s IPO filing. Tesla jumped 6%, while Meta plans to raise up to $95 billion for AI investments.
As of writing, bitcoin price trades at $80,215, down nearly $4,000 or 4.75%, on the month. Over the past month, prices have ranged from a high of $86,806.95 to a low of $79,397.76. Bitcoin price peaked above $86,000 in early October, then slid toward $80,000 in the second week of the month.
A brief rally around October 21 pushed it back near $84,000, but those gains faded within days. Trading volume over the past 24 hours reached about $18.12 billion.
Bitcoin price remains far below its all-time high of $126,277.05.
Micah Zimmerman
Micah first discovered Bitcoin in 2018 but remained a skeptic on the sidelines for too long. Since 2021, he has covered crypto and business and now works as a news reporter for Bitcoin Magazine, based in North Carolina.
Franklin Templeton chystá ETF FBEQ a FIBT, která budou dividendy reinvestovat do expozice vůči bitcoinu. Portfolia budou zpočátku tvořena přibližně z 95 % americkými akciemi a z 5 % bitcoinovou expozicí.
Asset management giant Franklin Templeton has filed a Form 8-A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to complete the Nasdaq listing registration for two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The prospectus indicates the funds will take effect on October 27, and the market widely expects them to start trading soon. The two products are the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (ticker: FBEQ) and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (ticker: FIBT). The former tracks the VettaFi US Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index, covering about 500 of the largest U.S. companies by market cap; the latter tracks the VettaFi US Innovation 100 Bitcoin DRIP Index, focusing on the 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies. Both funds adopt a passive index strategy, with an initial asset allocation of approximately 95% U.S. equities and 5% Bitcoin exposure. The core mechanism of the products is "Bitcoin Dividend Reinvestment Plan (Bitcoin DRIP)". Unlike traditional dividend reinvestment plans, these two ETFs do not reinvest ordinary and special dividends from stocks back into the equities themselves. Instead, on the opening of the day after the ex-dividend date, the dividend cash is automatically used to increase Bitcoin-related exposure. Bitcoin exposure is primarily achieved through Bitcoin exchange-traded products (including Franklin’s own spot Bitcoin ETF EZBC), futures, options, or other related instruments; the funds do not directly hold on-chain Bitcoin. To control risks, the indices have clear rebalancing rules: if the Bitcoin weight exceeds 5% during quarterly rebalancing, it will be reduced to 4.5%; if the Bitcoin weight exceeds 20% during the rebalancing interval, it must be cut back to 4.5% within two trading days. The documents show FBEQ has a management fee of 0.09%, while FIBT’s is 0.19%, with neither charging 12b-1 fees.
Distribution of bitcoin supply. (Galaxy Research)Özet
About 11.1 million bitcoin, or 55 percent of the roughly 20.1 million mined, is held in addresses that Galaxy Research cannot link to an exchange, fund, government or other known entity.The unidentified holdings suggest that individuals using self-custody may still control much of Bitcoin’s supply despite growing institutional adoption.The total may also include lost coins, unidentified institutional holdings and assets distributed across complex custody arrangements.Bitcoin BTC$84.459,46 is no longer a fringe asset but one with growing acceptance on Wall Street. Yet those tracking blockchain data still can't link most BTC to a known owner.
About 11.1 million BTC, roughly 55% of the supply, was classified as unattributed in Galaxy’s October snapshot. Those coins could belong to individuals, institutions the firm hasn’t identified or holders who can no longer access them.
Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, sees the figure as evidence that self-custody remains widespread, with people keeping control of their bitcoin keys despite the growth of exchanges, funds and institutional custodians.
"More than half of all BTC supply is sitting in addresses with no known attribution despite all the institutionalization and centralized ownership over the years, still a ton of bitcoin (maybe even most) is held by individuals in self-custody," Thorn wrote on X.
Self-custody means holding your own bitcoin keys rather than leaving coins with an exchange or a fund.
Xapo Bank, a bitcoin-focused bank, replied to Thorn's post, saying that large number of coins held in unnamed wallets is a sign that retail investors have been here for over a decade. Bitcoin is often seen as the first market that grew from the bottom up: Retail investors began trading, and institutions then embraced it.
"And why bitcoin is for the people and people 'can be their own bank' Retail have been here for over a decade. Everyone else still catching up," the bank wrote.
BTC is the native token of the Bitcoin blockchain, a public ledger that lets anyone, anywhere, send and receive money. Miners verify these transactions and add them to the ledger, earning newly issued BTC as a reward. The setup is often held up as an example a perfectly competitive market.
A bitcoin address is like a bank account number on bitcoin's public ledger. Anyone can see how many coins sit at an address, while hiding the identity of the owner. Research firms like Galaxy try to put names to addresses by tracking wallets known to belong to exchanges, funds and other big holders.
The caveatThe entire unnamed 55% stack doesn't necessarily belong to individuals holding their own coins for the long term.
It could include coins that are likely lost, sitting in wallets whose owners have forgotten their keys or have passed away.
Some were mined in bitcoin's early years by miners other than the one behind the Patoshi pattern, a set of bitcoin's earliest mined blocks that researchers link to a single miner, bitcoin's anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Some could belong to institutions Galaxy hasn't identified, such as funds, companies and OTC desks, which are brokers that arrange large bitcoin trades privately, away from exchanges. Some coins could belong to custody setups that spread coins across many addresses, making them harder to trace.
The other 45% does have names attached, and some of them are big names, including exchanges, ETFs led by BlackRock, the U.S. government and the single biggest holder, "Satoshi Nakamoto (Patoshi Pattern)," at 1,123,658 BTC. Galaxy counts those coins separately, as "the Satoshi-era miner pattern."
Still, for all the ETF headlines, the largest slice of bitcoin is the one nobody can name.
Spoluzakladatel společnosti Stacks Muneeb Ali uvedl, že Bitcoin má přibližně dva roky na zavedení kvantově odolných podpisů a další dva roky na migraci mincí.
Bitcoin has a deadline problem, and Muneeb Ali wants everyone to start counting.
Speaking at Token2049 Singapore on October 8, 2026, the Stacks co-founder said Bitcoin has roughly two years to upgrade, then about two more years to move coins before quantum computing risks intensify.
The four-year clock
Ali’s keynote split the problem into two phases.
Phase one is the upgrade itself: getting quantum-resistant signatures into Bitcoin. He put that window at approximately two years.
Phase two is migration. Once the tools exist, holders still have to move their coins into addresses protected by the new signature schemes. Ali allotted about two additional years for that step.
The timeline lines up with guidance from NIST, the US standards body. That guidance calls for phasing out vulnerable signature schemes such as ECDSA after 2030, with full retirement by 2035. ECDSA is the cryptography that currently proves Bitcoin owners control their coins.
The capacity catch
Swapping in quantum-safe signatures carries a cost.
Ali warned that adopting them could cut Bitcoin’s effective transaction capacity to roughly 10% of its current levels. The research behind the keynote describes this as pushing activity off-chain. Bitcoin’s base layer would remain the settlement anchor, while everyday transactions migrate to systems built on top.
Ali positioned Stacks as a post-quantum layer that sits on top of Bitcoin’s base settlement.
Stacks’ roadmap and the CEO return
The keynote doubled as a preview of what Stacks Labs plans to build next.
The company’s roadmap rests on three pillars: Bitcoin capital markets, institutional privacy, and post-quantum security. Stacks Labs is pursuing a two-year plan centered on privacy and post-quantum technology, with a stated goal of a 100x increase in network capacity.
Ali is set to formally return as CEO of Stacks Labs on October 15, 2026, a week after the Singapore keynote.
In September 2026, Stacks launched Genesis Bond, a self-custodial Bitcoin staking product. Self-custodial means users keep control of their own keys rather than handing coins to a third party.
Separately, Stacks deployed 500 BTC in a program called Bitcoin Bond 2, which locked 45 million STX, the network’s native token, for Bitcoin staking.
Token2049 Singapore drew approximately 25,000 attendees.
What this means
For Bitcoin holders, the most practical takeaway is the migration phase. If Ali’s timeline holds, users would eventually need to move coins into quantum-resistant addresses. Coins that never move could stay exposed under older signature schemes.
For the broader network, the 10% capacity figure is the number to watch. A sharp drop in base-layer throughput would reshape fee dynamics and push more activity onto secondary systems.
Ali takes the CEO role on October 15, 2026, and the roadmap runs two years. That is roughly the same window he says Bitcoin itself has to upgrade, so Stacks will be building its post-quantum layer while the base chain decides whether, and how, to change underneath it.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Strategy vynaložila 193 milionů USD na zpětný odkup prioritních akcií STRC, zatímco nakoupila pouze 267 bitcoinů; dividendy z prioritních akcií omezují kapitál na další nákupy.
The bitcoin market also evolves according to the financing choices of companies that accumulate it. Strategy and Strive use preferred shares to attract investors seeking regular income. However, the dividends associated with these securities create recurring expenses that limit their purchasing capacity. Between cryptocurrency acquisitions, share buybacks, and cash reserves, these companies must now find a financial balance to continue their strategy without weakening their commitments.
In brief
Strategy and Strive use preferred shares to finance their bitcoin acquisitions.
Recurring dividends increase financial costs and limit capital available to buy bitcoins.
Strategy allocated 193 million dollars to STRC share buybacks, against 267 bitcoins purchased.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs maintain their central role, with 57 billion dollars of cumulative net inflows.
Dividends weigh on Bitcoin purchases
Perpetual preferred shares open a new path for investors seeking income indirectly linked to bitcoin. Mark Palmer, analyst at StoneX, believes these products attract an audience that ETFs had not managed to reach. They notably allow yield-focused investors to access this asset class without relying solely on exchange-traded funds.
Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise, shares this analysis. According to the CoinDesk report, he nonetheless considers that ETFs will remain the main source of demand in the long term. In his view, perpetual preferred shares could complement this channel by attracting investors with different goals. Their development will thus depend as much on their ability to distribute income as on market conditions.
James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, highlights the scale of capital mobilized by these instruments. Strategy’s STRC stock, which offers a variable dividend of around 12%, raised 7.5 billion dollars between 2026 and the end of July. These funds facilitate acquisitions, but they also entail regular payments. Companies must therefore preserve sufficient resources to finance their dividends while continuing their cryptocurrency purchases.
Strategy and Strive face a delicate financial balance
Strategy’s preferred shares and the products offered by Strive, notably SATA, do not only follow variations in bitcoin prices. Alex Blume, founder and CEO of Two Prime, explains that their value also depends on company management, their financial obligations, and capital market conditions. Investors must thus consider several factors before assessing these securities.
The temporary drop of STRC around 70 dollars at the end of June illustrates the risks linked to these instruments. Strategy’s preferred share currently trades around 99.40 dollars. For issuers, increasing offerings can raise the number of bitcoins held per common share. However, this policy also raises dividend-related obligations and complicates reserve management.
Management must therefore arbitrate among several financial objectives. It seeks to strengthen its bitcoin holdings, meet its commitments to preferred shareholders, and avoid selling its digital assets. These constraints become stronger when financing conditions deteriorate. In this context, the strength of cash reserves plays an important role in maintaining payments without excessively reducing acquisitions.
Mark Palmer points out that demand for perpetual preferred shares leads to regular financial obligations. However, the ability to finance new purchases also depends on the price at which companies can issue these shares. When their price falls below their nominal value, new offerings become less attractive. Companies may then prefer to buy back their shares rather than raising additional capital.
The latest weekly update from Strategy illustrates this trade-off. According to James Butterfill, the company allocated 193 million dollars to STRC share buybacks, against only 267 bitcoins purchased. It also raised its authorization for preferred share buybacks to 3 billion dollars. These operations can reduce future dividend expenses but mobilize capital that could otherwise finance new acquisitions.
Cash reserves offer a safety margin, even if Strategy has already sold part of its bitcoins to pay preferred dividends. Meanwhile, US spot Bitcoin ETFs maintain a central role. They have attracted about 57 billion dollars of cumulative net inflows and hold nearly 106 billion dollars in assets, according to Butterfill. Unlike preferred shares, ETFs can increase their holdings without requiring funds to commit to permanent dividend payments.
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Ghiles A.
Journaliste et rédacteur web passionné par l’univers des cryptomonnaies et des technologies Web3. J’y traite les dernières tendances et actualités afin de proposer un contenu de haute qualité à un large public du secteur.
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.
Bitcoin Core bude chyby snadno odhalitelné například pomocí jednoduchého promptu pro LLM co nejdříve opravovat prostřednictvím bodových verzí pro tři podporované větve a současně zveřejní bezpečnostní upozornění.
Bitcoin Core is ending the year-long wait for security patches that a language model can find again in a single prompt. A change to the project’s security disclosure policy, merged on October 22, creates an “easily discoverable” class of vulnerability and instructs maintainers to ship a point release and a public advisory “as soon as possible” — bypassing the standard embargo that keeps a medium- or high-severity bug secret for roughly a year.
The trigger is blunt. Maintainers are fielding more reports for bugs that keep getting rediscovered, because language models have lowered the effort needed to find them. Antoine Poinsot, a Bitcoin Core contributor at Chaincode Labs, announced the change on the Bitcoin Development Mailing List the same day the pull request was merged.
“We recently experienced an increase in the number of reports for security vulnerabilities that can be easily (re-)discovered,” Poinsot wrote. “This is largely due to LLMs drastically reducing the bar to find certain classes of issues or identify covert fixes.”
Why a Year-Long Embargo Stopped Buying Anything
Bitcoin Core’s previous policy tied disclosure timing to severity. Low-severity bugs went public two weeks after the next major release shipped. Medium- and high-severity bugs stayed private until two weeks after the last affected release reached end of life — a window the policy itself describes as “approximately a year after a major version containing the fix was first released.”
That timetable existed for a reason. Bitcoin Core is the reference implementation running the majority of Bitcoin’s nodes, and node operators upgrade slowly. A long embargo was meant to give the network time to patch before details went public. The tradeoff was that fixes generally were not backported, so an operator on an older release waited for the next major version, which the project aims to ship roughly every six months.
The caution is structural rather than accidental. Consensus changes such as Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade move through a slow, conservative path precisely so operators can adopt them on their own schedule.
“Because of the nature of our project, coupled with a slow upgrade culture, our security policy favours a longer embargo period,” Poinsot wrote. “This generally means security fixes can’t be backported, and only become available with users along with the next major release.”
AI breaks that tradeoff. If a bug can be rediscovered with a trivial LLM scan, hiding it buys nothing, because the flaw is already within reach of anyone holding a chatbot. “For these issues that are easy to find, this is the wrong tradeoff. The embargo period achieves little but it delays the availability of a fixed release,” Poinsot wrote.
What the New “Easily Discoverable” Class Actually Changes
Under the revised policy, the disclosure clock now has a third setting. A vulnerability can be flagged “easily discoverable” during triage — defined as one that “can be discovered with minimal effort, such as through a simple LLM prompt.” The label is not limited to AI-found bugs: it turns on how little effort rediscovery takes, not on which tool did the finding.
For those bugs, the response changes on every axis. Instead of a single fix landing in the next major release, maintainers will backport a fix to every currently maintained major version — three branches under Bitcoin Core’s rule of supporting its latest three releases — and cut point releases as fast as they can. A security advisory publishes alongside the patched software.
The severity ladder still governs everything else. Low-severity bugs stay on the two-week schedule. Medium and high stay on the roughly one-year clock. Critical bugs — the ones that could steal coins at the protocol level, inflate the supply, or permanently split the chain — remain outside the standard policy and are handled case by case, as they always were.
That carve-out exists for good reason. In Bitcoin Core’s history, the inflation bug disclosed as CVE-2018-17144 in September 2018 was the kind of flaw that justified special handling: it could have allowed coins to be created outside the issuance schedule. The new “easily discoverable” route does not touch that tier — a critical bug will still get an ad hoc response shaped around the risk to the whole network.
Two Weeks, a Year, or “As Soon as Possible”
The change is easiest to read as a collapse in the disclosure window. A medium-severity bug fixed today would normally stay private for about 52 weeks, disclosed only two weeks after the last affected release reached end of life. The same bug, once flagged easily discoverable, ships as a point release “as soon as possible” with its advisory. That is the difference between a year and, in the maintainers’ own framing, however long it takes to write, review, and test a targeted patch.
The backport commitment is the other half. Before the change, a fix generally did not reach users on an older maintained branch; it arrived with the next major release. Now an operator on an older supported version can take a targeted point release without adopting every feature and behavior change in the newest major version. For a network where upgrades are slow and deliberate, that is a material change to how quickly a patch can actually land.
The Risk the Maintainers Themselves Flagged
The faster route has a cost, and Poinsot said it plainly in the pull request. “This is particularly important as under this policy, mitigations won’t have as much ‘bake time’ in development branches before being released to users,” he wrote. A fix that ships in days spends less time in review and testing than one that sat for months.
The discussion also split on whether disclosure should move even faster. Some contributors argued that opening a fix’s pull request can itself tip off attackers, because it is cheap to watch the repository automatically, so disclosure may need to come no later than the patch, or ahead of it with mitigation guidance. A different contributor proposed shipping fixes with a discretionary or delayed advisory. Poinsot rejected that, writing that alerting users without details could trigger a rushed migration among operators who were never affected.
The exchange matters because it shows the new policy is a deliberate middle path, not an obvious one. The merged text keeps the advisory simultaneous with the fix and keeps full details, rather than a vague warning.
When the First “Easily Discoverable” Bug Lands
No vulnerability has been placed in the new class yet, so this is a change of process, not the disclosure of a live bug. The first real test arrives when maintainers flag something “easily discoverable” during triage and ship point releases across the maintained branches with a simultaneous advisory.
The wider signal is that AI-assisted bug hunting has already forced the Bitcoin ecosystem to move. Core Lightning told node operators earlier this year to upgrade or disconnect after AI-generated vulnerability reports proved correct. Bitcoin Core’s policy change is the reference implementation making the same calculation at the protocol’s base layer: when rediscovery is cheap, secrecy buys little, and the only thing a long embargo delays is the fixed release.
For node operators, nothing changes today. The upgrade cadence stays the same. The difference arrives the next time a bug qualifies as easily discoverable, when a patch and its advisory land together with less notice than the network has ever had.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Utexo 28. listopadu 2026 veřejně spustí USDT na síti Bitcoin prostřednictvím partnerských peněženek a burz. Token bude kryt USDT0 uzamčeným na síti Arbitrum.
Utexo will launch its Bitcoin-based USDT publicly on November 28.
Exchanges, wallets and trading firms are already testing it on Bitcoin Signet.
Each token is backed by USDT0 locked on Arbitrum, not by new Tether reserves.
Lightning Network support is planned for early 2027.
Utexo, a Bitcoin infrastructure company whose seed round was co-led by Tether, will open its Bitcoin-based USDT to the public on November 28, 2026. The company set the date as it opened early access to Utexo Mint, where professional operators can now mint, transfer and redeem the token on Bitcoin’s Signet test network, The Defiant reported. The token is a bridged version of USDT rather than a new issuance by Tether, and the rollout returns the largest dollar stablecoin to the chain where it first appeared in 2014.
Only Exchanges and Trading Desks Get In Before November 28
Utexo is onboarding exchanges, wallets, market makers, OTC desks and trading firms, and retail users have no direct minting access during the test phase. Approved operators test three functions on Signet: issuing USDT on Bitcoin, sending it confidentially and redeeming it. The November release will reach users through partner wallets and exchanges, with Lightning Network support scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
The date is a company target. Utexo has not published a full list of launch partners, so the number of platforms that will be live on day one is still unknown.
Every Bitcoin USDT Unit Sits on USDT0 Locked in Arbitrum
The token works on a lock-and-mint basis. According to Utexo’s technical documentation, an operator locks USDT0, the cross-chain version of USDT, in a bridge contract on Arbitrum, and the system issues the same amount on Bitcoin. USDT sent from Ethereum, Tron, Polygon PoS or Plasma is first converted to USDT0 through LayerZero and routed to Arbitrum. Burning the Bitcoin-side tokens releases the collateral.
How USDT moves onto Bitcoin
1
Deposit
USDT from Ethereum, Tron, Polygon or Plasma is converted to USDT0 on Arbitrum
2
Lock
USDT0 is locked in the bridge contract and verified before signing
3
Mint
The same amount is issued on Bitcoin via RGB; burning it releases the collateral
This design ties Bitcoin settlement to an Ethereum layer-2 network. Holders depend on the bridge contract, the signing infrastructure and the collateral on Arbitrum. Utexo says minting runs inside Trusted Execution Environments on AWS Nitro Enclaves, isolated environments that the server operator cannot alter, and each mint is signed only after the Arbitrum deposit is final. The company also reports an audit by Oxorio, but the full report has not been published on its product page.
RGB Hides Amounts From the Public, Not From Compliance Teams
RGB anchors assets to Bitcoin but keeps most transaction data off the blockchain. Under its client-side validation model, sender and receiver store and verify the transfer data themselves, and Bitcoin records only a cryptographic commitment. Tether said in August 2025 that this model makes USDT transfers on Bitcoin faster, cheaper and more private than storing token data on-chain.
Outside observers cannot see amounts or counterparties. That does not make the system anonymous. Utexo reportedly works with Crystal Intelligence on anti-money-laundering monitoring, and co-founder Viktor Ihnatiuk has described a mechanism that blocks flagged funds from being redeemed through participating services. For OTC desks moving large blocks, the appeal is that trade sizes stay hidden from competitors while compliance controls remain in place.
From Omni in 2014 to Lightning in 2027
USDT started on Bitcoin’s Omni Layer, then moved to Ethereum and Tron as lower fees pulled activity away. Tether ended Omni support in August 2023, citing lack of demand, and two years later announced plans to return through RGB.
2014
USDT launches on Bitcoin through the Omni Layer
August 2023
Tether stops supporting USDT on Omni
August 2025
Tether announces USDT on RGB
March 2026
Utexo raises $7.5 million
October 22, 2026
Early access opens on Bitcoin Signet
November 28, 2026
Public launch through partner wallets and exchanges
Q1 2027
Planned Lightning Network integration
A 0.1% Fee and a 100 USDT Cap for Unverified Accounts
Utexo closed a $7.5 million seed round in March, co-led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings and Portal Ventures, with Franklin Templeton, Maven11 Capital, Fulgur Ventures and Flow Traders among the participants. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said at the time that Bitcoin had always been central to the company’s long-term plans for USDT.
The company sells infrastructure, not a consumer app. Exchanges and wallets connect through an API instead of building their own RGB and Lightning systems, and Utexo charges for minting. A recent update to its developer documentation lists a launch commission of 0.1% plus a 0.5 USDT base fee, before network and LayerZero costs. A $100,000 mint would cost about $100.50. Unverified accounts can mint up to 100 USDT.
450 Interested Firms, No Named Partners and Tron’s Head Start
Tron carries a large share of global USDT transfers and has years of wallet and exchange integrations.
USDT on Bitcoin (Utexo)
Backing: USDT0 locked on Arbitrum
Visibility: Confidential transfers
Stage: Testing on Signet
Exchange support: Partners not disclosed
USDT on Tron
Backing: Issued directly by Tether
Visibility: Public on-chain records
Stage: Established since 2019
Exchange support: Broad
BTC-Backed Loans and Direct Swaps Depend on Launch Liquidity
If enough USDT reaches Bitcoin, holders could swap BTC for dollars without leaving the network or using wrapped Bitcoin on Ethereum. Utexo also plans lending products that accept native BTC as collateral for USDT loans. Neither service has a published start date, rate or liquidity figure, and the company has not said how much USDT it expects to circulate on Bitcoin at launch. For exchanges, joining means handling RGB data, connecting to the mint and redemption flow and accepting exposure to the Arbitrum collateral.
Utexo is also using pricing to pull in early volume. In a post on HackerNoon, Ihnatiuk wrote that end users of partner wallets will pay no fees on USDT settlements during the launch phase as part of an incentive program. Utexo has not said how long that period will last, and what wallets charge once it ends will decide whether payment flows stay on Bitcoin or drift back to Tron.
Alex is a financial markets journalist and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, and he's spent close to ten years trying to answer one stubborn question: what's really driving this?
It started in 2016, when Bitcoin refused to make sense to him - and rather than shrug, he stayed with it until it did. That patience became his method. He's less interested in what an asset is doing today than in the plumbing behind it: how liquidity flows, where risk hides, what a chart is quietly telling you that the headline isn't. That lens eventually stretched well past crypto into traditional markets, because the same forces - fear, leverage, incentives, timing - show up everywhere once you know how to look.
Most coverage, in his view, insults the reader by stopping at the surface. Price up, price down, moving on. He'd rather leave someone genuinely understanding a move than merely informed that it happened.
His path into markets ran through a Tourism degree at New Bulgarian University - proof, maybe, that curiosity beats credentials. With more than 200 deep analyses and over 10,000 articles behind him, he still walks away from most trading days having learned something he didn't know that morning.
Sui spouští Hashi, infrastrukturu pro bitcoinové finance, s více než 500 mil. USD přislíbených prostředků od více než 20 partnerů. Tyto prostředky zatím nejsou vloženy do smart kontraktů.
Bitcoin cotiza este sábado 25 de octubre en 80.040 dólares, un 0,60% por debajo de hace 24 horas, según los datos de CoinGecko de las 09:20 UTC. La pregunta del día es directa: ¿cuál es la mejor criptomoneda para comprar hoy? La respuesta no cabe en una sola moneda, sino en dos perfiles de riesgo. Bitcoin sigue siendo el activo que el capital institucional compra en cada recorte, y Sui es la mediana capitalización con el catalizador más concreto de la semana: el despliegue por fases de Hashi, su infraestructura de finanzas de Bitcoin, que arranca con más de 500 millones de dólares en capital comprometido y con Anchorage Digital como socio de lanzamiento.
El matiz importa. El compromiso no es lo mismo que el despliegue: Sui no ha revelado cuánto de ese capital está ya depositado en los contratos de Hashi. Lo que sí está confirmado es la dirección del flujo: las instituciones con bitcoin en balance empiezan a tener un camino regulado para ponerlo a trabajar sin venderlo. Eso es lo que cambia la conversación para Sui, no el precio de una jornada.
El tablero de las grandes capitalizaciones El mercado mayor cotiza en rojo este sábado, salvo dos excepciones. Ethereum cede un 1,82% hasta 2.318 dólares; Solana baja un 1,05% hasta 100,36 dólares; BNB avanza un 0,38% hasta 735,05 dólares; y XRP suma un 0,95% hasta 1,29 dólares, según CoinGecko a las 09:20 UTC. La capitalización de bitcoin, 1,61 billones de dólares, sigue siendo el ancla de todo el tablero: equivale a más de cinco veces la de Ethereum y a más de 27 veces la de Solana.
El dato que conviene aislar es el rango de las últimas 24 horas. Bitcoin tocó un mínimo de 79.263 dólares y un máximo de 80.949, una franja estrecha que confirma que el activo se ha estabilizado en torno a los 80.000 dólares. No es un mercado que se desplome: es un mercado que espera, con el precio consolidando después de haber perforado la cota de los 80.000 dólares en las últimas jornadas.
La aritmética de un re-rating Antes de elegir una moneda conviene traducir los precios a capitalización de mercado, porque es el número que mide cuánto dinero nuevo haría falta para mover cada activo. Bitcoin vale 1,61 billones; Ethereum, 283.190 millones; BNB, 96.670 millones; XRP, 81.680 millones; y Solana, 59.190 millones.
El cálculo que la fuente no hace es el que más le importa al inversor. Sui cotiza con una capitalización de 3.725 millones de dólares y una valoración totalmente diluida de 9.045 millones, una brecha de 2,4 veces que mide el peso del suministro aún no emitido. Y el «10x» es una pregunta aritmética, no una promesa: si SUI multiplicara su capitalización por diez, alcanzaría 37.250 millones de dólares, aún por debajo de Solana. Dicho de otro modo, si Sui llegara a la capitalización actual de Solana, su precio pasaría de 0,90 a unos 14,40 dólares, una revalorización de 15,9 veces.
La referencia del billón de dólares añade otra escala. El blog de Sui estima que más de un billón de dólares en bitcoin permanece ocioso en balances institucionales. Si Hashi capturara apenas el 1% de esa cifra —10.000 millones de dólares en garantías— estaría atrayendo un volumen equivalente a 2,7 veces la capitalización actual de Sui. No es una previsión: es la magnitud del capital que la tesis exige para sostenerse.
Hashi: el bitcoin institucional deja de estar ocioso Aquí es donde la historia se vuelve concreta. Según el anuncio de la Fundación Sui del 8 de octubre, Hashi arranca su despliegue por fases este mes con más de 500 millones de dólares comprometidos por una coalición de más de 20 socios, entre ellos BitGo, Bullish, Cumberland, FalconX y Ledger. El mecanismo es el punto clave: el bitcoin depositado no abandona su red; se acuña hBTC en Sui contra ese depósito, y al salir se quema el hBTC y se libera el bitcoin original.
«Bitcoin ya se ha convertido en un activo de reserva global, y hoy la infraestructura financiera que lo rodea está alcanzándolo», declaró Adeniyi Abiodun, cofundador y director de producto de Mysten Labs. «Hashi se lanza con capital serio y una coalición de líderes de la industria porque las instituciones quieren poner a trabajar su bitcoin sin renunciar a las protecciones que exigen.»
Anchorage Digital, el primer banco cripto con carta federal de Estados Unidos, es el socio de lanzamiento más relevante. Abre dos rutas: Atlas, para instituciones que exigen custodia cualificada y liquidación tripartita, y Porto, para fondos cripto-nativos que prefieren la autocustodia. «Las empresas públicas y las instituciones tienen cantidades enormes de bitcoin, pero su capacidad de usar ese capital ha estado limitada por la tecnología disponible y las limitaciones del espacio DeFi», afirmó Nathan McCauley, consejero delegado de Anchorage Digital. «Conectar a nuestros clientes institucionales con Hashi representa una maduración de las finanzas de bitcoin.»
La capa de seguridad respalda la ambición. El colateral se asegura con una estructura multifirma 2-de-2 que exige la firma de los validadores de Hashi y de una capa guardiana, con una verificación formal de Certora y una revisión criptográfica de CommonPrefix. Y en el plano fiscal, el despacho Fenwick argumenta que el depósito y el rescate de bitcoin a través de Hashi no deberían constituir hechos imponibles en Estados Unidos, porque el tenedor no cede la propiedad del bitcoin subyacente. Es el mismo razonamiento que subyace a la visión de Michael Saylor sobre un sistema de 100 billones respaldado por bitcoin: el activo deja de ser un saldo estático y se convierte en garantía productiva.
No es un movimiento aislado. JPMorgan ya llevó sus fondos tokenizados de mercado monetario a Solana, otra señal de que los bancos empiezan a tratar a las capas 1 alternativas como infraestructura de liquidación, no solo como apuestas especulativas.
Lo que el precio de Sui aún no descuenta El contrapunto es tan importante como la tesis. SUI cae un 4,01% en 24 horas, la peor cifra entre las grandes capitalizaciones, y cotiza un 83% por debajo de su máximo histórico de 5,35 dólares de enero de 2025. Solo el 41% de los 10.000 millones de tokens está en circulación, de modo que la brecha entre capitalización y valoración diluida es un suministro que llegará al mercado con el tiempo.
Y el compromiso de 500 millones no es dinero ya desplegado. No existe un registro onchain público que muestre esa cifra dentro de los contratos de Hashi; es capital comprometido por los socios de lanzamiento, pendiente de integrarse a medida que cada custodio complete su puesta a punto. La promesa institucional es real, pero el flujo efectivo aún está por demostrarse. Mientras tanto, el bitcoin que Hashi quiere movilizar sigue atascado en torno a los 80.000 dólares, sin que los cierres diarios del último mes hayan perforado esa cota de forma sostenida. La institución ya tiene el camino; el mercado aún no ha decidido si lo recorre.
Preguntas frecuentes ¿Cuál es la mejor criptomoneda para comprar hoy? Depende del perfil de riesgo. Bitcoin (80.040 dólares) sigue siendo el activo más líquido y el ancla institucional; Sui es la apuesta de mediana capitalización con un catalizador concreto, el arranque de Hashi, su infraestructura de finanzas de Bitcoin.
¿Qué es Hashi y qué hace con el bitcoin? Hashi es la infraestructura de finanzas de Bitcoin de Sui. El bitcoin depositado permanece en la red de Bitcoin; se acuña hBTC en Sui para usarlo como garantía en préstamos, crédito y productos estructurados, y al salir se quema el hBTC y se libera el bitcoin.
¿Los 500 millones de dólares de Hashi ya están desplegados? No. Son compromisos de capital de más de 20 socios de lanzamiento, no un saldo ya depositado. Sui no ha publicado cuánto está activo en los contratos y el acceso se abrirá de forma progresiva conforme los socios completen sus integraciones.
¿Cuánto tendría que subir Sui para igualar a Solana? Sui capitaliza 3.725 millones de dólares y Solana 59.190 millones. Alcanzar esa capitalización implicaría multiplicar el precio de SUI por 15,9, de 0,90 a unos 14,40 dólares. Es una referencia de magnitud, no una proyección.
¿Por qué cae Sui hoy si Hashi es positivo? El mercado cripto mayor cotiza en rojo este sábado y Sui retrocede un 4,01%, la mayor caída entre las grandes capitalizaciones. El catalizador de Hashi es estructural y se despliega por fases; no compensa la toma de beneficios a corto plazo de un token que aún tiene el 59% de su suministro sin emitir.
Aviso: este artículo no constituye asesoramiento de inversión. El contenido y los materiales de esta página tienen fines exclusivamente educativos.
Spoluzakladatel BitMEX Arthur Hayes uzavřel směrové pozice společnosti Maelstrom a realizoval zisky z ETH, ENA a UNI kvůli nejistému makroekonomickému a geopolitickému prostředí.
Arthur Hayes, cofundador de BitMEX, cerró el libro direccional de Maelstrom, su oficina familiar, y tomó beneficios en ether (ETH), Ethena (ENA), Uniswap (UNI) y «otras shitcoins». Lo anunció él mismo en X el 24 de octubre con una tesis tan corta como contundente: «creo que hay que bajar para subir». La decisión llega con bitcoin (BTC) defendiendo los 80.000 dólares y un mercado que liquidó unos 820 millones de dólares en posiciones apalancadas. Esto es lo que vendió, por qué y qué nivel conviene vigilar.
Qué vendió Hayes y qué dijo exactamente El mensaje original no deja margen a la interpretación. Hayes escribió: «I dumped it all. The Maelstrom directional book, took profits on $ETH, $ENA, $UNI and other shitcoins». Traducido: «Lo vendí todo. El libro direccional de Maelstrom; tomé beneficios en ETH, ENA, UNI y otras shitcoins».
Sobre el motivo fue igual de directo. «I think we gotta go down to go up», escribió, es decir, «creo que hay que bajar para subir». Y sobre el entorno que le lleva a salir: «It looks a bit dicey out there in macro and geopolitical land» — «el panorama macro y geopolítico se ve un poco delicado». Su plan a partir de ahora también es explícito: «Going to sit on the sidelines and wait for the all clear signal… Brrrrr» — «me quedo al margen y espero la señal de vía libre».
El matiz importa. Hayes no está liquidando bitcoin: su familia de fondos es históricamente larga en BTC. Lo que cerró es el libro direccional de Maelstrom, es decir, las posiciones de trading táctico en tokens como ETH, ENA y UNI, no una cartera estratégica de bitcoin. Vender «shitcoins» y esperar una caída para recomprar más abajo es exactamente la lectura de un operador que ve una limpieza de apalancamiento antes de un nuevo tramo alcista.
El contexto: 820 millones liquidados y bitcoin bajo los 80.000 El anuncio no cayó en el vacío. El 24 de octubre bitcoin tocó los 79.263 dólares, su nivel más bajo en semanas, antes de recuperar el soporte. Este sábado 25 cotiza en torno a los 80.836 dólares, con un rango de 24 horas entre 79.263 y 81.445, según datos de CoinGecko. En términos de precio, el retroceso desde el cierre del 21 de octubre (84.093 dólares) hasta el mínimo del 24 es del 5,7%.
El movimiento vino acompañado de una cascada de liquidaciones. Según CoinGlass, en 24 horas se liquidaron unos 820 millones de dólares en posiciones de futuros; solo en bitcoin fueron 239,65 millones, de los que el 93,1% (223 millones) eran posiciones largas. Ether sumó 188,21 millones en liquidaciones y solana (SOL) otros 32,88 millones. La lectura es clara: el retroceso se llevó por delante a los apalancados que compraron la subida, no a los tenedores de contado.
A ese ajuste técnico se suman dos catalizadores de fondo. Los ETF de bitcoin al contado en Estados Unidos encadenaron dos sesiones de salidas netas, y la renta variable tecnológica retrocedió mientras el petróleo subía por la tensión en Oriente Medio. Es justo el cóctel «macro y geopolítico» al que apunta Hayes.
La aritmética del retroceso: tres números que explican el miedo Pongamos cifras al movimiento para separar el ruido del dato. Primero, la caída: de 84.093 a 79.263 dólares hay un 5,7% de recorrido, pero desde el máximo de los últimos 30 días (86.530 dólares el 4 de octubre) la corrección alcanza el 6,6%. No es una capitulación, es una corrección dentro de un rango.
Segundo, la velocidad de las liquidaciones. Según datos de CoinGlass recopilados a lo largo de la semana, el total diario liquidado pasó de unos 267 millones de dólares el 21 de octubre a 418 millones el 22 y a 820 millones el 24. Es decir, la sangría apalancada se multiplicó por tres en tres sesiones. Tercero, la composición: el 93,1% de las liquidaciones de bitcoin eran largas. Cuando el 93% del dolor está en un lado, el mercado suele estar más cerca de un suelo de apalancamiento que de un techo.
Esta es la capa que el tuit de Hayes no cuantifica, pero que su decisión de vender en la parte alta del rango y esperar una caída encaja a la perfección.
Qué significa «bajar para subir» (y el contrapunto) La tesis «go down to go up» no es nueva en Hayes. En agosto argumentó que un rescate del yen respaldado por la Reserva Federal podría impulsar bitcoin y ether, y su lectura de fondo siempre ha sido alcista para BTC a medio plazo. «Bajar para subir» significa que espera una limpieza de posiciones y de expectativas antes del siguiente tramo: un suelo, no un final.
El contrapunto es obligado. Primero, Hayes vende su propio libro y comunica su propia posición; una oficina familiar —cuyo tamaño no se ha revelado— no es el mercado. Segundo, su historial de timing no es infalible: ha pronosticado caídas que no llegaron y repuntes que tardaron meses. Tercero, su salida de ETH, ENA y UNI es una decisión de trading táctico, no una sentencia sobre la viabilidad de esas redes. La limitación central de este análisis es la misma: no conocemos el tamaño real del libro que cerró, así que la señal es cualitativa, no cuantitativa.
Qué vigilar a continuación La señal operativa concreta que deja el movimiento es el nivel de los 80.000 dólares. Es un soporte con base en el mínimo del 24 de octubre y en la referencia psicológica redonda; un cierre diario por debajo de 79.263 dólares lo invalidaría y abriría la puerta al rango de los 77.000, que es el siguiente escalón de liquidez. Por arriba, la recuperación de los 84.000 volvería a poner la tesis bajista de corto plazo en cuestión.
Hay que seguir dos datos que pueden mover el mercado antes que cualquier tuit: el flujo de los ETF de bitcoin al contado (dos días de salidas seguidos que, de revertirse, quitarían presión vendedora) y la «señal de vía libre» macro a la que alude Hayes —en la práctica, una estabilización de los tipos y del petróleo. Mientras tanto, el precio de bitcoin hoy seguirá operando pegado a los 80.000, con los apalancados ya fuera y los operadores de contado observando desde el margen, igual que Hayes.
Preguntas frecuentes ¿Por qué vendió Arthur Hayes sus criptomonedas? Porque cree que el mercado debe bajar antes de subir. Cerró el libro direccional de Maelstrom y tomó beneficios en ETH, ENA y UNI citando un entorno macro y geopolítico «delicado», y anunció que esperará la «señal de vía libre» para volver a comprar.
¿Qué es el libro direccional de Maelstrom? Maelstrom es la oficina familiar de Arthur Hayes. Su libro direccional son las posiciones de trading táctico (largas y cortas) en criptoactivos como ETH, ENA y UNI, distintas de una cartera estratégica de bitcoin a largo plazo.
¿Cuánto cayó bitcoin y cuánto se liquidó? Bitcoin tocó los 79.263 dólares el 24 de octubre y cotiza en torno a los 80.836 dólares el 25, un 5,7% por debajo del cierre del 21 de octubre (84.093). En 24 horas se liquidaron unos 820 millones de dólares, de los que 239,65 millones fueron en bitcoin, según CoinGlass.
¿Es bajista Arthur Hayes sobre bitcoin? No de forma estructural. Hayes es históricamente alcista en bitcoin a medio plazo. «Bajar para subir» expresa que espera un suelo antes del siguiente tramo alcista, no el fin del ciclo. Su venta afectó a altcoins, no a una tesis de largo plazo sobre BTC.
¿Qué nivel de bitcoin hay que vigilar? El soporte de los 80.000 dólares, con base en el mínimo del 24 de octubre (79.263). Un cierre diario por debajo de ese nivel abriría los 77.000; recuperar los 84.000 pondría en duda la tesis bajista de corto plazo.
Aviso: este artículo no constituye asesoramiento de inversión. El contenido y los materiales de esta página tienen fines exclusivamente educativos.
Electrum vydal verzi 4.8.3, která opravuje závažnou chybu zneužitou škodlivými servery k přesměrování bitcoinových plateb; potvrzeny jsou dva incidenty včetně jednoho případu krádeže prostředků.
Electrum has released version 4.8.3 to fix a high-severity Bitcoin wallet vulnerability that malicious servers have exploited to redirect user payments, with developers confirming at least one case of stolen funds.
Summary
Electrum released version 4.8.3 after confirming that malicious servers were exploiting a high-severity vulnerability.
Attackers replaced pending Bitcoin payments with fraudulent transactions that users could mistakenly authorize through fee bumps.
Two users reported incidents, including one who lost Bitcoin after increasing a transaction fee.
The vulnerability affected every Electrum version before 4.8.3; developers have not disclosed total losses.
The security patch verifies signatures on unconfirmed transactions spending coins controlled by the wallet.
According to the wallet’s October 24 security advisory, attackers exploited how Electrum handled unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions, replacing legitimate outgoing payments with fraudulent ones that users could accidentally authorize while increasing transaction fees.
Electrum is a lightweight Bitcoin wallet that connects to external servers for transaction histories, broadcasting and other network information. Unlike a full Bitcoin node, the software does not independently process every aspect of blockchain activity.
New release: Electrum 4.8.3. This release fixes a critical security issue, so we urge all users to upgrade. A description of the vulnerability will be published later today. (note: Windows Defender may show a warning about ZXing.dll, ignore that, it is a false positive)
— Electrum (@ElectrumWallet) October 24, 2026
Its documentation explains that Electrum verifies confirmed transactions through Simple Payment Verification but has historically trusted its main server when displaying pending transactions.
Attackers exploited this distinction by intercepting transactions submitted through malicious servers before they reached the Bitcoin network.
After preventing a legitimate transaction from being broadcast, an attacker could send the wallet a replacement transaction that changed the receiving address to one under the attacker’s control.
Although the replacement carried invalid signatures, vulnerable Electrum versions did not check them before displaying the transaction in the wallet’s history.
The deception became dangerous when users tried to increase the transaction fee through Replace-by-Fee, or RBF, a Bitcoin feature that allows an unconfirmed payment to be replaced with another paying a higher fee.
By approving the fee adjustment, users could unknowingly sign a valid transaction paying the attacker.
Electrum confirms real-world exploitation and Bitcoin losses
Developers disclosed two privately reported incidents, establishing that the vulnerability had moved beyond a theoretical attack.
On October 11, a user identified as dannydeezy reported that a transaction displayed in Electrum’s history did not match the payment originally submitted.
A second user, Raju-K12, contacted developers on October 18 after losing funds while attempting to increase a transaction fee.
According to the advisory, both incidents involved attacker-controlled receiving addresses designed to match the final four characters of the intended recipient’s Bitcoin address.
In the second case, the fraudulent transaction carried a zero fee, which developers suspected was intended to encourage the victim to initiate a fee increase.
The first report involved a two-of-three multisignature wallet using two Trezor devices. Its legitimate transaction contained 31 inputs and one output.
Investigators found that all 62 signatures were valid for the original payment but invalid for the substituted transaction. The fake redirected nearly all the Bitcoin to a lookalike address and returned a small amount to the wallet.
The original transaction remained valid but had never reached the public Bitcoin network.
Electrum acknowledged that some servers were performing the attack in the wild. However, developers have not disclosed how many servers participated, the amount stolen or whether additional victims have been identified.
Electrum 4.8.3 blocks malicious fee-bump transactions
The fix was incorporated into version 4.8.3 on October 23, with downloadable binaries released on October 24.
Through commit 90fe308, developers introduced signature verification for unconfirmed transactions spending inputs owned by the user’s wallet.
Electrum now checks those signatures before accepting the transactions into its local history, preventing the fraudulent outgoing payments described in the advisory from appearing as legitimate transactions.
The update does not make Electrum a full Bitcoin node. Developers clarified that incoming unconfirmed transactions remain outside the new signature checks, while confirmed payments continue to undergo existing verification procedures.
Users running versions before 4.8.3 have been urged to download the update from the official Electrum website.
For anyone unable to upgrade immediately, developers recommend checking complete receiving addresses and amounts before signing transactions, including fee replacements.
According to the advisory, users connecting exclusively to trusted servers, including their own, are not exposed to this particular malicious-server attack.
Electrum’s previous attacks reveal recurring server risks
The incident follows previous attempts to exploit Electrum’s reliance on outside servers.
In December 2018, crypto.news reported that malicious servers had displayed fraudulent software-update instructions to users. Contemporary reports estimated losses approaching $1 million.
Another malicious-server campaign in 2019 used fake wallet updates and denial-of-service activity to redirect users toward compromised software.
Those attacks relied on deceptive downloads, while the newly patched vulnerability manipulated pending transaction information inside an otherwise legitimate wallet.
An interview about Electrum servers published in 2020 examined the trade-offs of lightweight wallets, including their reliance on external infrastructure for transaction histories.
Electrum’s own documentation says its client typically connects to approximately 10 servers, but selects one main server to retrieve wallet history and broadcast transactions. The documentation states that this main server is trusted regarding unconfirmed transactions.
V pátek vyprší bitcoinové opce v hodnotě 11 miliard USD, zatímco rozhodnutí Fedu, inflace měřená indexem PCE a údaje o HDP USA mohou zvýšit volatilitu.
A weekly close above $82K and the 1W 50MA would strengthen the bullish case for Bitcoin, says Ash Crypto.
The Fed is expected to hold rates at 3.75%-4%, but Warsh’s press conference could signal a December hike.
PCE inflation near 3.6% and Thursday’s US Q3 GDP print could swing sentiment for Bitcoin and risk assets.
$11B in Bitcoin options expire Friday, days before the midterms Bitcoin has historically corrected after.
The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision Wednesday, October 28, at 2 p.m. ET. Markets expect rates to hold at 3.75% to 4%. Traders will watch Warsh’s press conference for any hint of a December rate hike.
Bitcoin options worth $11 billion also expire Friday, adding pressure to a crowded calendar. Oil sits at $117 a barrel amid US-Iran tensions, which adds another layer of uncertainty.
Bitcoin Volatility Builds as the Fed, Inflation and GDP Collide
The week is packed. According to The Kobeissi Letter, new home sales arrive Tuesday. September PCE inflation and Q3 2026 GDP follow Thursday.
PCE inflation is projected near 3.6%. Microsoft and Alphabet report earnings Wednesday. Amazon and Intel report Thursday. Roughly 20% of S&P 500 companies also publish results this week, so earnings and macro data will land together.
Key Events This Week:
1. September New Home Sales data – Tuesday
2. October Fed Meeting and Rate Decision – Wednesday
3. Microsoft, $MSFT, and Alphabet, $GOOGL, Report Earnings – Wednesday
4. September PCE Inflation data – Thursday
5. US Q3 2026 GDP Data – Thursday
6.…
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 25, 2026
A hold is the expected outcome, so the real signal sits elsewhere. Warsh’s press conference could show whether policymakers lean toward a December hike. Any such hint would matter for risk assets.
Oil adds pressure. At $117 a barrel, energy costs keep inflation risk in focus while US-Iran tensions persist.
That mix tests whether AI investment can offset inflation and geopolitical risk. Bitcoin sits in the middle of that test.
Crypto analyst Ash Crypto calls it a high-volatility week for the market. The analyst says Bitcoin has shown strength despite pressure across global markets.
Confirmation is still needed. A weekly close above $82,000 and the 1-week 50-period moving average would strengthen the bullish case. That moving average tracks the longer-term trend, so reclaiming it signals buyers are in control.
The PCE and GDP prints on October 29 could swing sentiment either way. Strong GDP growth with cooling inflation could lift Bitcoin and crypto, per Ash Crypto. Hotter inflation could delay rate cuts and pressure risk assets.
CRYPTO IS HEADING INTO A HIGH-VOLATILITY WEEK
Despite the pressure across global markets, Bitcoin has shown strength. But we still need confirmation.
A weekly close above $82K and the 1W 50MA would strengthen the bullish case and signal that bulls are in control.
⚠️ Here's… pic.twitter.com/CqLGZd9Vup
— Ash Crypto (@AshCrypto) October 25, 2026
Why Bitcoin Volatility Could Spill Into Japan and the Midterms
The Fed is not the only central bank in play. On October 30, Japan reports unemployment data. The Bank of Japan is expected to hold rates steady.
A surprise hike would change that picture. It could strengthen the yen and trigger volatility across global markets. Crypto would likely feel the pressure.
Politics adds another layer. The Kobeissi Letter notes the Iran war continues to escalate. US midterm elections are only days away.
Ash Crypto adds a historical warning. Bitcoin has corrected after every midterm, the analyst says. That pattern is not a forecast, but it raises the stakes for this week’s close.
Options expiry compounds the risk. With $11 billion in Bitcoin options expiring Friday, positioning can shift quickly around the data. Expiry days can also amplify price swings as traders adjust their exposure.
Bitcoin has held up, but confirmation is missing. A weekly close above $82,000 would help bulls, while a hawkish Warsh or hot inflation could challenge that case.
President Donald Trump said the US could strike Iran as soon as Sunday, or reach a deal instead. This comes as Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $80,546 after briefly dipping below $80,000 on Saturday.
So what happens to Bitcoin if a strike does come, or if a deal lands instead? Past instances may offer a clue.
What Past Iran Headlines ShowOn October 8, Trump pledged to hold off on strikes until the November 3 midterms. Bitcoin dipped to $80,393 that day but closed at $81,754, according to TradingView data for Binance.
On October 22, a report on post-midterm US and Israeli strike plans emerged. Bitcoin fell from an October 21 high of $84,898 to $80,939, closing the day at $81,416.
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lost $635.49 million that day, a day after drawing $528.40 million.
As talk of a weekend strike built, Bitcoin fell to $79,220 on Saturday. It recovered to close the day at $80,888. Escalation headlines cut Bitcoin by 2% to 5% intraday, while the pledge brought no lasting rally.
Bitcoin price chart marking October 2026 US-Iran headlines and the $80,000 level. Source: BeInCryptoLeveraged Longs Took the Hit Near $80,000CoinGlass data shows $543.68 million in liquidations over 24 hours, with long positions accounting for $461.19 million.
Crypto Liquidations on October 25. Source: CoinglassThe $80,000 level also matters for institutional holders. Glassnode places the cost basis of ETF and treasury-company investors between $80,000 and $81,500.
According to the firm, a daily close below $80,000 would leave the average holder at a loss. It would also bring the True Market Mean near $77,600 into view.
A weekend strike could test that line quickly.
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What a Strike Could Mean When Markets ReopenBecause Bitcoin trades through the weekend, it would likely absorb the first reaction to any strike.
Past strikes offer a mixed guide. When the war began on February 28, Bitcoin fell to $63,030 but closed the day at $66,973. After the early September strikes, it dipped to $76,264, then jumped 5.08% on September 3.
Gold could also feel pressure when traditional markets reopen. Glassnode data shows Bitcoin’s correlation with gold set an eight-year record in September and remains near it.
Its dollar correlation is among its most negative, so a rush into the dollar could weigh on both.
Oil adds inflation risk, with Brent at $117.30 on Friday. A strike could push it higher before the Fed decides on October 28.
A deal could cool those worries, though the October 8 pledge showed relief can be modest. Thus, Bitcoin’s response to these headlines is the signal to watch this weekend.
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Bank of Israel odmítla plán premiéra Benjamina Netanjahua využít kryptoměny k obcházení možných sankcí s tím, že kryptoměny k tomuto účelu použít nelze.
Bitcoin changed hands at $81,542 shortly after 20:00 UTC on Saturday, essentially flat on the day. Beneath that quiet print, Israel’s prime minister and his own central bank spent the session arguing in public over whether cryptocurrency can be a shield against financial sanctions, with the Knesset election only four days away.
On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Channel 10 economic network that Israel should brace for possible banking sanctions and build an economy able to bypass them. Asked whether blockchain was the intended workaround, he called it “one of them, certainly” and said he had already ordered a plan prepared, according to The Times of Israel’s account of the interview.
The Bank of Israel answered on Saturday with a rare, direct public rebuke. “Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions,” the central bank said, and it placed the burden back on the politicians to prevent sanctions rather than route around them.
A Prime Minister Pivots to Crypto Four Days Before the Vote Netanyahu’s comments landed a day after Britain and eleven other Western countries announced sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, following a wave of settler attacks on Palestinians. The measures target the settlement economy specifically, but Israeli economists have warned for weeks that the fallout could spill into the wider economy. The prime minister framed that risk as unavoidable.
“You have to understand that there could be banking sanctions,” he said. “You need to prepare an economy that can circumvent them… and I’m working on that as well.”
Pressed on whether blockchain was the answer, he did not hedge. “One of them, certainly. And I have already requested that a plan for this should be prepared.”
He also conceded that the tens of billions of dollars in annual American defense aid “won’t keep coming,” telling viewers that “America has changed… It’s over, and it will be over. It’s just a matter of time.”
The Central Bank’s Rebuke, Verbatim The Bank of Israel’s statement, as reported by Israeli media on Saturday, was blunt: “Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions.”
It then handed the responsibility back to the government. “The right course for the Israeli economy is to maintain economic relations with our primary trading partners and to focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy. This is the responsibility of the political leadership, and it should act upon it.”
Netanyahu answered the same evening on Channel 14. “We have other means; crypto is one of them — it is not the sole method, and it is not certain that it will actually be used,” he said. Then, pointedly: “I thank the Bank of Israel for their advice, but I do what I think is right.”
The Mechanical Flaw in a Crypto Sanctions Hedge The central bank’s objection is not ideological. It is mechanical. A state cannot settle an import bill through Bitcoin the way it settles one through correspondent banks, because the choke points sit at the edges of the crypto system, not in the middle.
Every large off-ramp that converts crypto back into dollars, euros or physical goods runs a sanctions-compliance program. The same is true of the stablecoin issuers that dominate settlement volume. A government flagged by Western sanctions lists would hit the identical wall at those rails that it hits at the banking system today. The UK’s October action against exchanges accused of helping Russia evade sanctions — detailed in our coverage of the Cryptomus, Heleket and TokenSpot designations — is the recent template for how fast those rails close.
Blockchains are also pseudonymous, not anonymous. Transaction histories are public and permanently recorded, and tracing firms have turned a decade of enforcement — from the 2016 Bitfinex theft to Tornado Cash — into a standing audit trail. A state running meaningful trade volume through public rails would be the most traceable sanctions target in the market, not the least.
Precedent is not kind to the idea. North Korea’s state-linked groups and Iran’s crypto operations have both been traced through public ledgers and sanctioned at the exchange layer, and neither economy came close to substituting crypto rails for banking access. The on-chain record does not go away just because the sender is a government.
The Market Priced It as Noise Bitcoin dipped below $80,000 earlier on Saturday on renewed Middle East worries, then climbed back to $81,542 by 20:04 UTC. That is a round trip of roughly 1.9% from the sub-$80,000 zone while the Netanyahu–central bank fight was the region’s top story.
The market’s read was that a prime minister floating crypto is a political signal, not a bid for the asset. Four days before a vote, the remark reads as an election argument about economic self-reliance, not as an order to acquire reserves. Nothing in the interview referenced a purchase, an allocation, or a treasury vehicle.
The broader setup was already risk-off. Bitcoin has tracked U.S. equities lower through the week, and the same Middle East escalation that is driving oil toward multi-month highs was the catalyst behind the October 22 slide below $82,000. Saturday’s dip below $80,000 was a continuation of that trade, not a fresh reaction to the crypto remark.
What the Election Changes — and What It Doesn’t At this stage the crypto plan is a request to advisers, not legislation, not a reserve allocation, and not a state buying program. Nothing has been enacted, and the Bank of Israel has made clear it will not treat the idea as a working policy.
The rebuke matters because it is so rare. Central banks almost never publicly contradict a sitting prime minister on economic policy, and the Bank of Israel chose to do so four days before a vote. The message is less about crypto than about drawing a line: preventing sanctions is a political job, and no ledger replaces it.
The concrete signals to watch are whether the Finance Ministry or the central bank publishes a formal assessment, whether Netanyahu’s rivals turn the crypto plan into an election issue, and whether any follow-up names a mechanism. A sovereign Bitcoin reserve would be a materially different story from a floated talking point.
For now, the data says crypto is a sanctions argument, not a sanctions tool. The market priced the distinction in less than a day.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Coinbase varuje, že pokud Bitcoin neudrží support v pásmu 80–82 tisíc USD, může kvůli inflaci, nízké likviditě a geopolitickému napětí klesnout do pásma 73–75 tisíc USD.
Coinbase is cautiously optimistic about Bitcoin’s [BTC] near-term, flagging that the macro headwind could drag the crypto asset below $80K.
In its weekly market review, Coinbase Senior Quantitative Strategist Colin Basco flagged sticky inflation and an 80% chance of a December Fed rate hike.
Basco said Bitcoin could still defend the $80K-$82K zone as support since it is a confluence of the 50-day Moving Average and ETF cost basis. At the same time, he warned,
However, if this area fails, then we view $73-75K as the next area of support.
But Bitcoin’s challenges go beyond just inflation and macro fears.
Mid-term Bitcoin challenges According to Coinbase, Bitcoin treasury demand has faded in H2 2026, leaving U.S. spot ETFs to do the heavy lifting.
Source: Coinbase But even the ETFs have seen significant fluctuations. On the 23rd of October, the complex saw $635 million in net outflows, marking one of the largest single-day outflows in H2 2026. The risk-off move rhymed with ongoing speculation that the U.S.-Iran escalations may be renewed at any time.
Similarly, crypto market liquidity, as tracked by stablecoin supply change, is down by nearly $13 billion from its May peak. The Coinbase premium has also stayed negative in October, Coinbase’s Basco warned.
In other words, crypto-native liquidity is not there, and U.S. retail investors, outside ETF buyers, are yet to come back in large numbers. Simply put, there is little buying pressure for BTC, and this was illustrated by the negative apparent demand.
Source: CryptoQuant Add the macro (next week’s Fed rate decision) and geopolitical pressure (US-Iran tensions) to the fragile setup, and the $80K level increasingly seems at risk.
Bitcoin market positioning in Q4 Besides, Coinbase noted that there was a heavy supply cluster of over 2.1M BTC sitting between $87.5K and $91.7K. This meant the zone could act as a roadblock to any reversal attempts.
In the Options market, institutions were actively hedging against downside risk scenarios. This was illustrated by the 25-Delta Skew surging from 5% to 15% for the 1-day and 1-week tenors. It meant increased demand for downside protection or put buying, with $75K and $73K as the key levels of interest.
Furthermore, there was short-term fear ahead of the Fed rate decision and renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, which dragged the BTC price near $80K as of writing.
Source: Laevitas It’s worth pointing out that in the past three months, the 25-Delta Skew only made a slight uptick from 6% to 10%. It implied a long-term calm, suggesting that institutional players viewed the macro and geopolitical fears as short-term rather than a prolonged negative impact.
Final Summary Crypto liquidity has declined by nearly $13 billion since May, and treasury firms’ demand has faded. Coinbase warned that macro headwinds and the fragile demand setup could drag BTC below $80K.
Americké spotové ETF na bitcoin zaznamenaly v pátek čistý odliv prostředků ve výši 137,9 milionu USD, zejména kvůli odlivu 110,3 milionu USD z fondu IBIT společnosti BlackRock.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States saw outflows totaling $137.9 million on Friday, October 23, according to Farside Investors. The withdrawals marked the second consecutive session of net redemptions from Bitcoin funds, with BlackRock’s IBIT recording the largest single-day loss.
Major Bitcoin ETF Redemptions Led by IBIT and FBTCBlackRock’s IBIT experienced net outflows of $110.3 million, representing the day’s largest withdrawal among Bitcoin funds. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $31.8 million in redemptions, bringing combined outflows from these two largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs to $142.1 million—exceeding the total net outflow for the day.
Morgan Stanley’s MSBT was the only U.S. Bitcoin ETF to post inflows, attracting $4.2 million in new deposits. All other major funds, including BITB, ARKB, BTCO, EZBC, BRRR, BTCW, GBTC, and BTC, registered no flows during the session, according to updated figures from Farside Investors.
Net flow figures aggregate new deposits and withdrawals across all listed ETFs. Since IBIT and FBTC hold the largest pool of spot Bitcoin ETF assets in the United States, their daily changes have a significant influence on the overall market balance. A single substantial redemption from either fund often has a larger impact than smaller inflows elsewhere, as illustrated by Friday’s data.
Weekly Trends Show Volatility Despite Net InflowsFarside’s flow records, which track movement since early October, detail sharp daily fluctuations. On October 19, Bitcoin ETFs took in $526.7 million, standing in stark contrast to the subsequent heavy outflows that persisted into October 22 and the following Friday.
Despite these sizable withdrawals, net flows for Bitcoin ETFs remained positive for the week, helped mainly by the strong inflow recorded on October 19. This pattern reflects previous trading periods when the price stabilized around $81,700 following notable ETF outflows totaling $635 million.
Technical analysis continues to play a key role for traders in volatile conditions. One analyst, Killa, compared the present setup to the trends seen in 2023, noting that Bitcoin had broken above its trading range and made a new weekly high. He suggested the market could now seek a higher low above the $74,000 level. However, he acknowledged this view is based on price action and not ETF flow data.
Killa described current market conditions as “very much bullish,” emphasizing that his perspective focuses on price structure rather than fund flows shaping the trend.
In fast-moving digital asset markets, monitoring technical patterns is as important as tracking fund flows. For meme tokens in particular, this level of attention can carry significant rewards. An example from Fomo App data showed that a trade involving the “Niu Lai” token turned a $99 investment into approximately $370,000. The app integrates token discovery and social features, making it easier to spot trending assets and follow top investor activity in this rapidly shifting segment.
Ether ETFs Steady Amid Recent VolatilitySpot Ether ETFs collectively posted net inflows of $4.4 million on Friday. Fidelity’s FETH led activity with a $3.6 million deposit, while Morgan Stanley’s MSSE registered $0.8 million. Other funds finished the session flat, with no net flows reported.
The day’s positive movement in Ether ETFs was modest relative to the sharp outflows recorded earlier in the week. Ether funds experienced withdrawals of about $110 million on October 22, with total losses reaching nearly $225 million between October 19 and 22. Friday’s smaller inflow offset only a minor part of these losses.
Analysts viewed the renewed inflow as a temporary pause rather than a full reversal of the withdrawal trend. For now, redemptions slowed, providing a brief break from recent selling pressure.
Analyst Joep Gerla indicated that Ether may sweep liquidity down toward the $2,200 level before attempting a recovery, suggesting a potential for continued short-term price volatility.
Bitcoin vzrostl z červencového minima kolem 57 850 USD do 22. října přibližně o 40 % na 81 455 USD, zatímco spotové ETF zaznamenaly odlivy ve výši 635,6 milionu USD.
Ali Martinez identified Bitcoin drawdowns of 72%, 65%, 52%, and 27% across four midterm cycles since 2010.
Bitcoin’s past election-cycle losses coincided with Mt. Gox’s fall, a Bitcoin Cash split, and FTX’s collapse.
Bitcoin recovered about 40% from its July low near $57,850 to roughly $81,455 by October 22 this year.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $635.6 million in October 22 outflows ahead of the Fed’s October 28 decision.
Bitcoin’s midterm election ‘curse’ has resurfaced ahead of November 3, after analyst Ali Martinez documented four declines surrounding U.S. votes. The comparison renewed crash concerns, although it provides no evidence that elections caused the losses.
In an October 24 post, Martinez reported drawdowns of 72% in 2010, 65% in 2014, 52% in 2018, and 27% in 2022. His figures describe declines around election cycles rather than annual returns, a distinction essential to the pattern.
BITCOIN MIDTERM ELECTION CURSE
Look at what happened to $BTC around the previous four US midterm election cycles:
Four consecutive cycles of significant downside. https://t.co/arfhewEg74 pic.twitter.com/WOIBBYz18C
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) October 24, 2026
Meanwhile, BTC entered the countdown above its July low but near support. The price analysis involves both historical returns and institutional positioning, not simply the election calendar.
Four Midterm Election Drawdowns Fuel Bitcoin Crash Fears
The BTC drawdowns span different market conditions. Binance Research calculated annual losses of 56% in 2014, 73% in 2018, and 64% in 2022. It excluded 2010 because trading liquidity was negligible.
Quarterly figures illustrate the mismatch. Bitcoin surged 391% in the final quarter of 2010, then declined 16.70% in 2014, 42.16% in 2018, and 14.75% in 2022. Consequently, BTC price analysis cannot treat drawdowns and calendar-period returns as evidence of an election effect.
Other events shaped the downturns. The 2014 bear market coincided with Mt. Gox’s collapse, while a contentious Bitcoin Cash split intensified losses in 2018. In 2022, higher interest rates weakened speculative assets, and FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, three days after voting.
Market bottoms also varied. BTC reached lows approximately 71 days after the 2014 election, 38 days after 2018’s vote, and 13 days after 2022’s. That variation limits any price analysis claiming a fixed election-driven timetable.
Bitcoin’s $80,000 Demand Zone Faces ETF Outflows and Fed Risk
This cycle differed. Bitcoin rose roughly 40% from its July 1 low near $57,850 to around $81,455 on October 22. Glassnode identified demand between $80,000 and $81,500, close to acquisition costs for U.S. spot exchange-traded funds and corporate treasuries. Its broader valuation reference stood near $77,600.
For BTC, price analysis places resistance between $85,000 and $87,500. Martinez separately identified $73,000 as a downside reference tied to short-term holders’ cost basis. Another price analysis reference, Glassnode’s short-term holder realized price, stood around $75,800.
Neither figure establishes a confirmed crash target. Institutional flows added pressure. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $635.6 million in net outflows on October 22. BTC also faces the Federal Reserve’s October 28 decision before election day.
For now, BTC price analysis centers on whether buyers defend nearby demand. The Bitcoin election pattern remains a historical comparison, while BTC price analysis cannot isolate voting as the cause of previous losses.
IRS chce daňové nedoplatky související s kryptoměnami řešit v rámci obecného programu dobrovolného oznámení, který může nabídnout nižší pokuty a splátkové kalendáře.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced plans to address cryptocurrency-related tax issues through its general voluntary disclosure program. This initiative aims to consider lower penalties and offer payment plans, indicating a potential easing of compliance burdens for U.S. cryptocurrency taxpayers. This move keeps crypto within the same disclosure process as other tax violations, rather than establishing a separate channel. While the development suggests a shift in the IRS’s approach, specifics on penalty reductions and eligibility are yet to be finalized. The market appears to view these changes as potentially easing regulatory concerns, which could influence Bitcoin’s price projections.
Key Takeaways
The IRS’s decision to use its general voluntary disclosure program for crypto suggests a shift in regulatory approach.
Market participants may perceive this as potentially reducing compliance burdens, supportive of more optimistic scenarios for Bitcoin’s price.
The lack of a crypto-specific disclosure channel indicates the IRS’s intent to streamline processes across tax issues.
What to Watch
Observers should monitor for further details from the IRS regarding penalty structures and program eligibility, as these could impact market sentiment. Additionally, any formal announcements or clarifications from the IRS could provide clearer indicators of the potential regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency in the U.S. These developments may influence Bitcoin price predictions, particularly in scenarios where regulatory clarity encourages institutional adoption.
Společnosti včetně Strategy a Strive nakoupily 135 979 BTC prostřednictvím financování z preferenčních akcií, což představuje více než 0,5 % maximální nabídky Bitcoinu.
Fidelity data shows that as of October 5, 2025, bitcoin treasury firms including Strategy and Strive have used related preferred stock financing to purchase 135,979 BTC, accounting for over 0.5% of bitcoin’s total maximum supply. The market size of this type of preferred stock is approximately $120 billion. Analysts note these firms face a balancing act between using perpetual preferred stock financing to buy bitcoin and sustaining dividend payments. Perpetual preferred stock has no fixed maturity date, easing refinancing pressure and attracting income-focused investors reluctant to hold bitcoin directly. However, as issuance scales up, dividend expenses will rise. Analysts add that sustained financing for bitcoin purchases depends on preferred stock trading at or near par value; if it trades below par, new issuances will become less attractive, and firms may lean toward buybacks. CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill points out that Strategy’s latest weekly report shows the firm spent $193 million to repurchase STRC, bought only 267 BTC in the same period, and raised its preferred stock repurchase authorization cap to $30 billion. He says buybacks can reduce future dividend costs, but also compete with current bitcoin purchases for capital. Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen forecasts that ETFs will remain a larger source of bitcoin demand in the long run, while perpetual preferred stock caters to a distinct group of income-focused investors, providing a second stream of demand support. Butterfill believes preferred stock could amplify market cycles: it supports bitcoin purchases when financing conditions are favorable, but that support weakens when market sentiment deteriorates.
Bitcoin klesl na zhruba 79 750 USD, nejnižší úroveň za devět dní, zatímco za posledních 24 hodin bylo v kryptoměnových pozicích zlikvidováno téměř 670 milionů USD.
Bitcoin dropped below 80000 dollars this Saturday, dragging the rest of the crypto market down with it. Geopolitical concerns in the Middle East accelerated a movement already driven by liquidations, the retreat of institutional investors, and weak liquidity during the weekend.
In brief
Bitcoin falls below 80000 dollars and drags main cryptos in its decline.
Tensions in the Middle East increase investor concerns and intensify pressure on the market.
Nearly 670 million dollars of crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, amplifying the drop.
Weak weekend liquidity and Bitcoin ETF outflows further weaken the market.
Bitcoin’s return above 80000 dollars remains crucial for considering a sustained rebound.
The crypto market erases its weekly rebound
Bitcoin touched about 79750 dollars, its lowest level in nine days. It had approached 85000 dollars on Wednesday before losing more than 5000 dollars in a few sessions. This new dip below 80000 dollars is the second observed within about ten days.
The main altcoins followed the move. Ether fell below 2350 dollars, while XRP extended its decline below 1.30 dollars. Solana dropped below 100 dollars for the first time since early September.
Available data at the time of the drop allows measuring the scope of the movement :
Bitcoin reached a low near 79750 dollars ;
About 670 million dollars of positions were liquidated in 24 hours ;
More than 213000 traders faced forced position closures ;
Some 220 million dollars of long positions disappeared in a few hours ;
The largest single liquidation reached nearly 12 million dollars on Binance.
Less capitalized assets recorded even heavier losses. NEAR notably gave up more than 10%, while Zcash fell about 7.5%. This difference illustrates a frequent mechanism: when investors reduce risk exposure, altcoins usually suffer more than bitcoin.
Tensions in the Middle East weigh on risky assets
The decline intensified after the announcement of new U.S. security measures in the Middle East. The State Department ordered the departure of non-essential government employees and their families in Saudi Arabia. Several other embassies in the region also reduced their staff without receiving a general evacuation order.
This decision comes after a multiplication of attacks by the Houthis, supported by Iran, against Saudi civilian and energy infrastructure. U.S. officials also mentioned Iranian plans targeting U.S. citizens, which have reached an advanced stage.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated that the Houthis intensified their attacks against civil airports and critical infrastructure. U.S. authorities now fear an extension of the conflict, which could further disrupt maritime transport and energy supply.
The Brent price thus reached about 117 dollars on Friday. A sustained rise in oil could fuel inflation and reduce the Federal Reserve’s maneuvering room. This scenario penalizes cryptocurrencies since high rates make bonds and interest-bearing investments more attractive compared to yield-free assets.
However, geopolitics alone does not explain bitcoin falling below 80000 dollars. The market was already affected by rising bond yields, a strong dollar, and capital outflows in U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. Weekend announcements mainly acted as a catalyst for an already fragile structure.
Liquidations amplify bitcoin’s drop
Leverage turned this decline into a more brutal movement. A liquidation occurs when a platform automatically closes a trader’s position whose collateral no longer covers losses. In the case of a long position, this closure causes an additional sale on an already bearish market.
Nearly 670 million dollars of crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours. Over 200 million disappeared during the fastest phase of the decline, with a clear majority of bullish bets.
The weekend period increases this risk. Volumes are often lower than on weekdays and traditional financial markets are closed. A large sell order can then cause a disproportionate variation, reach several liquidation thresholds, and trigger a chain reaction.
The 80000 dollars level is now the first zone to reconquer. A sustained return above this threshold would reduce immediate pressure, but the zone between 84000 and 85000 dollars remains significant resistance. Conversely, a new acceleration below 79000 dollars would expose the market to long positions still concentrated around 78500 dollars.
Oil price evolution, U.S. decisions in the Middle East, and ETF flows will provide the next signals. As long as these three factors remain unfavorable, a bitcoin rebound could remain fragile.
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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.
Tether’s MDK Gains Broad Industry Backing to Accelerate the Next Generation of Bitcoin Mining Automation
15 mining companies, ASIC manufacturers, and pools are adopting a shared open layer designed to make mining infrastructure interoperable and ready for the next generation of automation and AI
24 October 2026 – Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry, announced today that leading Bitcoin mining companies* have committed to working together to build and maintain integrations with its Mining Development Kit (MDK). They include mining operators, ASIC manufacturers, and mining pools. MDK is an open-source framework that makes mining infrastructure interoperable and supports the next generation of AI-driven automation. The initiative brings 15 industry participants around a common infrastructure layer, enabling developers to build applications and autonomous systems that work across different mining environments without requiring separate integrations for every manufacturer or platform.
The commitments move one of the world’s largest distributed computing industries toward a common infrastructure layer at a moment when AI and automation are beginning to change how data centers are operated. Instead of every new application having to be rebuilt for different machines and providers, MDK is designed to give developers a consistent way to interact with infrastructure across the industry.
A large mining site can have thousands of machines from different manufacturers, connected to different pools and managed through different software. Most of those systems were not built to work together, so operators end up managing them separately and developers keep rebuilding the same integrations for each one. That gets harder as a site grows, and adding new hardware or software can mean another custom integration. Tools built for one vendor often cannot be used across the rest of the fleet. It also limits how much operators can automate, especially as they start looking at AI to help manage more of the day-to-day operation.
An AI agent can monitor machines, identify problems, optimize performance, and eventually take action autonomously. But it cannot effectively manage thousands of machines if every piece of infrastructure communicates differently. Before autonomous systems can operate physical infrastructure at scale, the infrastructure itself needs a common way to be understood and controlled. MDK provides that foundation.
Each participating company will build and maintain an MDK Worker: a translation layer that connects its own hardware, mining pool, or system to MDK. The Worker translates that company’s existing interface into a common language that applications built on MDK can understand. Companies do not have to replace their technology or surrender control of their systems. They simply expose the functions they choose through the same open interface.
That distinction is central to the model. MDK is not an attempt to make every manufacturer or mining pool operate the same way. It is designed to make different systems interoperable.
Once that layer exists, developers can build an application, monitoring system, or AI agent against MDK rather than separately engineering it for every manufacturer and pool. As more companies maintain their own Workers, the same application can operate across a growing portion of the mining industry. The result is infrastructure that becomes easier to automate, easier to build on, and less dependent on any single vendor.
“We are entering a period where software will increasingly operate physical infrastructure, not simply report on it,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “That does not work at scale if every machine speaks a different language. Mining is one of the clearest examples of this problem today. MDK gives companies a way to keep control of their own technology while creating the common foundation developers and autonomous systems need to work across it.”
Tether’s QVAC mining agent is already operating directly on MDK, providing an early demonstration of the model: an AI application interacting with mining infrastructure through a common layer rather than requiring a new integration for every system it encounters. The initial 15 commitments are an early step toward a broader ecosystem. MDK remains open to any manufacturer, mining pool, operator, or developer, with additional Workers, applications, and tools expected as more of the industry builds on the shared foundation.
Across Bitcoin, AI, communications, energy and financial infrastructure, Tether is focused on reducing the fragmentation that prevents technology from operating at global scale. MDK brings that approach to mining, creating an open layer on which companies can build the tools and autonomous systems that will operate the industry next.
MDK will reach version 0.11 at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano on October 23–24, with its first stable 1.0 release targeted by the end of 2026. Developers do not need to wait for 1.0. MDK is open source today, allowing manufacturers, mining pools, operators, and developers to begin testing integrations, building Workers, and developing applications through the repository and documentation.
*Note: The complete alphabetical list of participating mining companies, ASIC manufacturers, and pools follows below:
ACME Swisstech
Bitdeer
BITMAIN
Canaan Inc.
Elektron Energy
EMCD
F2Pool
Foundry Digital
Heatbit Inc.
Luxor Technology
MicroBT
OCEAN (Bitcoin Ocean, LLC)
Proto (Block, Inc.)
SpiderPool
Stratum V2
Bitcoin is approaching a make-or-break weekend. After failing to hold $83,000, the cryptocurrency is now facing a more uncomfortable level at $80,000.
Analyst Benjamin Cowen warns that a weekly close below $83,000 on October 25 would strengthen his bearish outlook for the rest of 2026. His warning comes as Bitcoin faces pressure well beyond its own price chart.
Why Bitcoin’s $80,000 Level MattersThe latest failed rally has already punished bullish traders. During one four-hour selloff, long positions accounted for $91.19 million of $95.22 million in crypto liquidations.
More concerning, Glassnode estimates that companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets paid about $80,000 per coin on average.
Falling below that level would put the average corporate treasury position into a loss. It would not automatically force companies to sell, but it could weaken confidence.
A plausible path to consider (in order).
Becomes void if Bitcoin gets and holds back above $83k
-Bitcoin weekly close below $83k (again)
-Fakeout confirmed (Oct 25)
-Fed does not raise rates (Oct 28)
-PCE comes in hot (Oct 29)
-Oil spikes over the Iran war (~$120)
-Long end…
— Benjamin Cowen (@benjamincowen) October 24, 2026 A separate BeInCrypto analysis identifies $77,876 as the next downside level if selling persists, followed by a support zone between roughly $76,700 and $72,500.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs also lost about $322 million on October 22, suggesting institutional buying has weakened.
What Happens to Bitcoin Next Week?The calendar offers little relief. The Federal Reserve meets October 27–28, with Cowen expecting interest rates to stay unchanged. September inflation data follows on October 29.
Oil adds another complication. Brent settled at $116.72 on Friday as Middle East supply fears intensified. Expensive energy could keep inflation elevated, while rising Treasury yields make speculative investments less attractive.
Bitcoin’s Extreme Volatility in OctoberHistory also gives bears ammunition. Binance Research puts Bitcoin’s average decline during previous US midterm election years at 56%. But that record covers only three Bitcoin cycles, making it a warning rather than a reliable prediction.
There is also a clear way for Bitcoin to break Cowen’s bearish scenario.
For now, the immediate test is whether buyers defend $80,000. A sustained recovery above $83,000 would weaken the bearish case.
Losing $80,000 could expose Bitcoin to another wave of selling just as November’s US midterm elections approach.
Útočník, který napadl burzu Bitget, přesunul v 52 transakcích aktiva v hodnotě 19,48 milionu USD, přičemž BTC tvořilo 19,33 milionu USD a zbytek ETH. Téměř všechny prostředky putovaly na nové neidentifikované adresy, uvádí Arkham.
The Bitget hacker has moved $19.48 million in 52 transfers, almost entirely in Bitcoin, as Arkham tracks fresh outflows from wallets linked to the exchange’s September breach.
Summary
Arkham tracked $19.48 million across 52 transfers, with Bitcoin accounting for $19.33 million. Hacker-linked wallets sent $78.01 million to new addresses between Oct. 15 and Oct. 23. Arkham valued remaining labeled holdings at $242.54 million, mostly held in Bitcoin. The latest transfers’ destinations remain unidentified, leaving potential laundering unconfirmed. Arkham put the transfers between 10:02 UTC on Oct. 21 and 02:48 UTC on Oct. 24, with Bitcoin accounting for $19.33 million and ETH making up the rest. Its thread said almost all the funds went to new addresses.
The blockchain intelligence firm framed its update as a question.
“Is the Bitget Hacker laundering the stolen funds?”
Arkham’s posts do not name an exchange, mixer, or over-the-counter desk receiving the latest transfers. The update documents money leaving labeled wallets, without establishing whether those assets were sold, cashed out, or recovered.
Bitget hacker movements total $78 million since Oct. 15 Across a longer reporting window, Arkham said the attacker had sent $78.01 million to new addresses since Oct. 15. Its daily breakdown showed $23.31 million moving on Oct. 15, followed by $8.68 million on Oct. 16 and $1.15 million on Oct. 17.
Another $10.51 million moved on Oct. 18. After no recorded movement on Oct. 19, the firm listed $15.13 million on Oct. 20, $11.74 million on Oct. 21, $184,160 on Oct. 22, and $7.3 million on Oct. 23.
The dates in Arkham’s opening post cover 64 hours and 46 minutes. A later post in the same thread described the $19.48 million as moving over “the past 48 hours,” leaving a mismatch between its shorthand description and the precise timestamps.
Using the firm’s rounded asset figures, Bitcoin represented approximately 99.2% of that $19.48 million. The implied ETH component was $150,000, although Arkham did not provide an exact token quantity in the opening post.
Arkham’s remaining balance uses a $350 million baseline In its thread, Arkham valued the hacker’s remaining labeled holdings at $242.54 million, including 2,960.01 BTC worth $241.99 million. It listed smaller balances on Ethereum, Hypercore, Solana and Tron.
The firm described that balance as 69% of a $350 million theft. Bitget’s own accounting puts the incident at approximately $387.5 million, after revising its initial $351.6 million estimate.
In its Sep. 25 recovery notice, the exchange said the revision included Zcash and TRON assets omitted from the first calculation. Bitget attributed the change to a more complete classification of the original transfers and said it did not represent further theft.
Against Bitget’s $387.5 million estimate, Arkham’s $242.54 million snapshot equals approximately 62.6%. Neither percentage establishes how much has been recovered, because the figures compare remaining labeled holdings with dollar estimates from the original incident.
Arkham data shows $239.34 million, including approximately 2,958 BTC valued at $238.79 million.
Source: Arkham Earlier tracing identified CoinJoin and cross-chain routes Fund movements linked to the attack began before October. As crypto.news previously reported, AMLBot traced roughly four BTC into CoinJoin in September, describing the activity as an apparent effort to obscure stolen funds.
AMLBot’s account followed assets from TRON into USDT, across to Ethereum through USDT0, and through ETH swaps and THORChain before they reached Bitcoin. The firm said approximately 4.59 BTC emerged from that route before the Bitcoin was split into smaller amounts.
Independent tracing by Bitquery documented other September conversions through THORChain and Chainflip. Its investigation matched 66 swaps to 126.71 BTC in payments by 14:38 UTC on Sep. 25, while identifying two swaps still waiting at that snapshot.
Those historical routes do not establish the destinations of Arkham’s latest transfers. The October screenshots contain transaction graphs but no readable transaction-level evidence connecting the new outflows to the same services.
Bitget says withdrawals have resumed while recovery continues Bitget’s incident explainer, updated Oct. 20, says its phased withdrawal restoration finished on Oct. 2 after BTC, ETH and USDT services reopened in September. The company says customer account balances remain unaffected and that it has identified no further unauthorized transfers following containment.
In the same explainer, Bitget attributed the breach to a vulnerability in a third-party security product. The company said the attacker obtained high-level internal credentials and submitted fraudulent withdrawal commands that bypassed existing risk controls. Bitget said the affected systems were isolated and the vulnerability was fixed.
Earlier coverage of the withdrawal reopening and reserves recorded CEO Gracy Chen’s statement that the Protection Fund had returned above $300 million on Sep. 30. Bitget has said the fund would absorb the financial loss from the breach.
The Sep. 25 notice names Mandiant and SlowMist as investigation partners and publishes receiving addresses across Ethereum-compatible networks, XRP Ledger, Zcash and TRON. Its recovery section says some assets had already been frozen through coordination with industry partners, but does not give an aggregate frozen amount in that notice.
The exchange’s recovery program offers separate 5% rewards for eligible voluntary actions that directly freeze or recover affected assets. Bitget excludes actions carried out under court orders, law-enforcement requests, or other legal processes, and retains discretion over eligibility and payment.
QCP upozorňuje, že Bitcoin nyní podléhá širší averzi k riziku vyvolané obavami z úvěrového rizika v souvislosti s dluhovým financováním infrastruktury AI.
In its market analysis published today, QCP argued that explaining Bitcoin’s weakness solely through developments specific to the crypto sector would be incomplete. The company stated that credit risk in institutions financing AI infrastructure with debt has spread to stocks and crypto assets.
The report highlighted the yields on CoreWeave bonds, which reached approximately 15 percent. According to QCP, this level indicates that investors are demanding a higher risk premium regarding financing costs and debt sustainability.
The company noted that CoreWeave stock fell 10 percent on October 22, indicating that concerns have spread to the broader technology sector.
QCP’s conclusion regarding Bitcoin is noteworthy: instead of appearing as an asset that moves independently of stocks in the current wave, BTC is following the general risk-aversion trend.
The report also addressed energy price pressures originating from the Middle East and financial risks in Europe. It noted that these factors simultaneously complicate growth and inflation expectations.
*This is not investment advice.
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Large speculators in CME Bitcoin futures held a net long position of 2,418 contracts for the week of October 20, 2026, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s latest Commitments of Traders report.
That is a slight pullback from the prior week’s 2,534 contracts.
The report, released October 23, also showed speculators paring bets against most US Treasury futures. Meanwhile, the euro sat deep in net short territory.
What the Bitcoin numbers show
The CFTC publishes its Commitments of Traders, or COT, data every Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Each release reflects positions as of the preceding Tuesday.
The 2,418-contract figure covers non-commercial speculators in CME Bitcoin futures. It blends standard and micro contracts under the legacy reporting format.
A standard CME Bitcoin contract represents 5 BTC, while a micro contract represents just 0.1 BTC.
For context, the week ending October 13 showed large speculators net long 2,534 contracts, with total open interest of 20,752 contracts. Open interest measures the total number of outstanding contracts that have not been closed out.
The more granular Traders in Financial Futures breakdown told a split story for that October 13 week. Leveraged funds, a category that typically includes hedge funds, were net short roughly 5,844 standard contracts.
Asset managers and institutions, by contrast, were net long 3,642 contracts.
Treasuries, equities and the euro
The broader report showed a fairly consistent theme in the bond market: speculators trimming short positions.
Speculators cut their net short in CBOT US 2-year Treasury futures by 54,796 contracts to 856,783.
Net shorts in 5-year Treasury futures fell by 6,095 contracts to 1,074,109.
Net shorts in 10-year Treasury futures dropped by 23,809 contracts to 964,293.
Net shorts in CBOT US Treasury bond futures shrank by 58,019 contracts to 68,419.
The lone exception was the long end. Speculators increased their net short in UltraBond Treasury futures by 53,564 contracts to 375,161.
Equity fund speculators trimmed their S&P 500 CME net short by 42,221 contracts to 348,674.
Equity fund managers cut their S&P 500 CME net long by 18,079 contracts to 894,464.
In currencies, the euro held a net short position of 134,524 contracts.
Why the positioning matters
The COT report has an important limitation. It tells you what traders hold, not why they hold it, and it makes no attempt to forecast prices.
A net long can reflect outright bullish conviction. It can also be one leg of a hedged trade, such as a basis trade where a fund buys spot exposure and sells futures to capture the price gap between them.
That caveat is especially relevant to the Bitcoin data. The October 13 split, with leveraged funds net short and asset managers net long, is consistent with a market where some participants are hedging rather than simply calling direction.
The next COT report is anticipated on October 30, 2026. Traders watching Bitcoin will want to see whether open interest holds near the 20,752-contract level recorded for October 13, and whether speculators keep inching back from their net long or start adding again.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
In This Article BTC USD: Why Does It Matter That Retail Left Futures?Are Bitcoin ETFs Still Buying?BTC USD Price Analysis: Will $79,800 Hold?One More Thing: Does the McRib Move Bitcoin? Bitcoin (BTC USD) is holding near $81,700 on Friday, October 23, after CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said retail traders have left Bitcoin futures markets. It’s the reverse of what his data showed at the 2025 top, after U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in about $1 billion in three days. The price has lost $3,000 since Wednesday’s high. The buyers haven’t left.
The Bitcoin price is down 0.2% in 24 hours and 0.6% in a week. So does a quieter futures market point to a bottom, and which levels matter for BTC USD now?
Retail traders are gone from BTC futures markets, the exact opposite of what we saw at the top. https://t.co/7cdtVHsVgG pic.twitter.com/3O4lmbOfSd
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) October 22, 2026
BTC USD: Why Does It Matter That Retail Left Futures? Because crowded markets tend to top. CryptoQuant’s chart sorts futures trades by average order size. Through the summer of 2025, with BTC between $110,000 and $120,000 ahead of its October record, small retail orders dominated almost every day. Retail kept leading as the price slid into January.
The picture is now reversed. Since May, no stretch has been led by retail. Large whale orders marked the July low near $58,000, and mid-sized whale orders drove the rally to $87,000 in September. October is mostly neutral, with whales still active.
That doesn’t mean the bottom is in. Retail also dominated from February to April 2026, when BTC was trading between $63,000 and $75,000, and BTC still fell to $58,000 by July. What it shows is that this market is less crowded with leveraged small traders, so there are fewer of them to liquidate on a drop.
Spot money agrees. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in about $1.07 billion from Monday to Wednesday, enough to turn October’s flows positive.
DISCOVER: Bitcoin ETFs Turn October Positive With $1 Billion in Three Days While ETH Funds Bleed $1 Billion
Are Bitcoin ETFs Still Buying?
Yes, and in size. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $526.7 million on Monday, $23.2 million on Tuesday and $524.8 million on Wednesday, about $1.07 billion in three sessions. That was enough to turn October’s flows positive.
BlackRock’s IBIT led again, with $235 million on Wednesday alone. Ethereum funds went the other way and kept bleeding money.
Put the two together, and the selling this week looks like short-term traders, not long-term money heading for the exit. ETF inflows of this size have come before past rallies.
DISCOVER: Bitcoin ETFs Turn October Positive With $1 Billion in Three Days While ETH Funds Bleed $1 Billion
BTC USD Price Analysis: Will $79,800 Hold? BTC is back inside the range it has traded in since October 10, between roughly $79,800 and $84,300. Wednesday’s push to $84,898 above the top failed within a day.
The short-term damage is a broken trendline. Thursday’s drop cut through the rising line that had held every dip since the October 15 low, and BTC is now retesting it from below near $82,000.
Update: Still alive. Bitcoin doing a little bearish retest of trendline here and we can continue down to Seppuko land. https://t.co/KaNIrsKPE8 pic.twitter.com/iIObZMGEMt
— VikingXBT (@VikingXBT) October 23, 2026
Overhead, $82,000 to $82,850 is the first wall: the trendline, the swing highs and the 4-hour moving averages. A reclaim would put $84,300 back in play.
Below, $80,876 is the 50-day EMA, and $79,800, the October 15 low, is the floor of the whole range. A quick sweep under $79,800 that reverses would be a classic shakeout and the cleanest setup for a bounce. A daily close under it would point to the 200-day EMA near $76,200.
EXPLORE: J.P. Morgan Projects 10% a Year for Bitcoin: The Bank’s Own Bear Case Points to $25,000
One More Thing: Does the McRib Move Bitcoin? Crypto Twitter has a less scientific indicator for Bitcoin. McDonald’s is bringing the McRib back “as early as 10/27,” and trader internbrah reminded more than 400,000 viewers that:
BTC historically goes up >2x after the McRib returns. Don’t fade the McRib.
The McRib is back on 10/27. BTC historically goes up >2x after the McRib returns. Don't fade the McRib.
Not financial advice. pic.twitter.com/RxBuzcVht5
— internbrah (@internbrah) October 22, 2026
We checked. Of the last seven McRib returns, BTC more than doubled within a year after two, in December 2020 and November 2023. After the November 2021 return, it topped out nine days later and lost two-thirds of its value. After the November 2025 return, it never traded higher.
McRib return BTC price Best gain within 12 months October 2019 $8,246 +49% December 2020 $19,201 +252% November 2021 $61,004 +11%, then −67% October 2022 $20,496 +68% November 2023 $35,437 +106% December 2024 $96,675 +29% November 2025 $102,997 none So the McRib is two for seven on doubling, which is about what you’d expect from a sandwich. For BTC USD, $79,800 still matters more than the menu.
EXPLORE: Best Crypto Presales With Asymmetric Upside in the Current Market
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Od 1. října vybralo 40 nových peněženek prostřednictvím Wintermute 9 458 BTC v hodnotě přibližně 771,5 milionu USD, což naznačuje akumulaci ze strany velkých držitelů.
Bitcoin is navigating a challenging economic environment as Brent crude oil maintains levels above $100 per barrel, raising concerns about persistent inflation and the availability of fresh liquidity in global markets. CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost highlighted that strong oil prices historically coincide with slower Bitcoin price momentum, though he emphasized that this pattern does not represent a confirmed causation.
Brent crude’s influence on Bitcoin and market liquidityAccording to Darkfost, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region and intensified Ukrainian operations targeting Russian refineries have pushed energy prices higher. Elevated fuel costs can impact a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, transportation and services, contributing to rising prices across the economy.
“Over the long term, periods when Brent oil trends strongly above its annual average have typically seen Bitcoin’s upward momentum slow, though distinct causal links remain unproven,” stated Darkfost of CryptoQuant.
Brent crude recently hovered near $104, compared to an average range of $60 to $70 earlier in 2026. The commodity’s 365-day moving average is now rising following an extended downtrend.
Available data since 2014 shows that when Brent trades significantly above its yearly average, Bitcoin often underperforms. Several such episodes—such as in 2018, parts of 2021 and 2022, and periods throughout 2026—demonstrate this market relationship. However, not every increase in oil prices led to a drop in Bitcoin, underscoring the complex interplay between the two markets.
Darkfost argued that broader economic conditions, rather than oil prices alone, ultimately drive investor behavior. In an inflationary environment, access to capital and appetite for higher-risk assets like cryptocurrencies can diminish. Persistently high energy prices further complicate decisions for the Federal Reserve, as officials navigate balancing inflation risks with the goal of supporting economic growth.
If inflation does not subside, the Federal Reserve may be less inclined to loosen monetary policy, creating a less favorable backdrop for new investment in digital assets. Sustained high borrowing costs and elevated yields could make allocating capital to Bitcoin less attractive for some investors.
Nevertheless, the analyst noted that Bitcoin responded positively during brief intervals of reduced macroeconomic strain, as seen in July. Oil prices subsequently rebounded, but Darkfost did not rule out the potential for further gains, cautioning instead that persistent high energy costs may limit the flow of new liquidity into cryptocurrencies.
Mini dictionary: CryptoQuant is an on-chain analytics platform specializing in blockchain data and market intelligence for digital assets.
Whale activity: over $770 million in BTC withdrawnWhile macroeconomic pressure persists, large Bitcoin holders are increasingly moving considerable sums of cryptocurrency. Blockchain analytics provider Lookonchain reported that since October 1, forty newly-created wallets have withdrawn a combined 9,458 BTC—valued at approximately $771.5 million—through Wintermute, a leading digital asset trading firm known for providing market liquidity and institutional solutions.
Mini dictionary: Wintermute is a prominent global algorithmic trading firm providing liquidity and facilitating large-scale transactions in the digital asset markets.
These large-scale withdrawals suggest some whales are accumulating Bitcoin even amid sluggish overall momentum. However, transfers from exchanges or trading firms to private wallets do not confirm whether these represent new purchases, nor do they reveal the identities of the wallet holders. It also remains unclear if the recipients are distinct institutional investors or addresses controlled by a single entity.
Lookonchain’s observation highlights ongoing interest in Bitcoin by large market participants, but the data cannot confirm broader buying activity across the market. Moving coins between wallets is not equivalent to net buying pressure, and cannot guarantee immediate impact on price direction.
MetricValueBTC Withdrawn9,458 BTCUSD Value$771.5 millionNumber of wallets40PeriodSince October 1Main partyWintermuteEven as large withdrawals signal ongoing accumulation by whales, these movements alone do not demonstrate a market-wide trend toward new investments or establish a firm timeline for Bitcoin’s potential recovery.
Both the oil market analysis and whale activity measure distinct aspects of the current environment: energy prices frame the macroeconomic backdrop and potential liquidity constraints, while wallet movements illustrate how major Bitcoin holders position themselves under these conditions.
For now, no clear correlation guarantees either immediate price gains or losses for Bitcoin. Darkfost pointed to Brent’s performance above its annual average as the metric to monitor—should oil recede below $100 and fall under its yearly benchmark, pressure on Bitcoin could ease and create room for new market momentum.
Průzkum společnosti River odhaduje, že bitcoin vlastní 49,6 milionu dospělých Američanů (18,6 %) oproti 28,8 milionu dospělých Američanů, kteří vlastní zlato (10,8 %).
Gold has been humanity’s favorite store of value for thousands of years. Bitcoin launched in January 2009. In the US, the newcomer now has more owners.
A research report released by River in July 2026 estimates that approximately 49.6 million American adults own Bitcoin. That works out to 18.6% of the adult population, compared with 28.8 million adults, or 10.8%, who report owning gold.
According to the report, this is the first time on record that Bitcoin ownership has overtaken gold.
The numbers behind the flip
The gap is wide. By River’s count, US Bitcoin owners outnumber gold owners by roughly 20.8 million people.
River’s data shows Bitcoin ownership rising from 14.3% to 18.6% of US adults in approximately six months.
The report credits much of that growth to easier access. Exchange-traded funds, mobile apps and a range of exchanges have made buying Bitcoin more accessible. River also links the trend to a broader cultural shift in how Americans view digital assets.
River isn’t the only outfit reporting this pattern. Earlier surveys from the Nakamoto Project, which collected data from late 2024 to early 2025 and published findings by mid-2025, landed in similar territory. Those surveys counted roughly 48 to 50 million Bitcoin owners, compared with about 37 million gold owners.
The two studies disagree on the gold figure. Their Bitcoin estimates sit in the same neighborhood, though, and both put Bitcoin ahead.
Beyond individual wallets
Individual ownership is only part of the US picture. American exposure to Bitcoin also runs through corporate treasuries and government vaults.
Americans are estimated to hold about 42% of the total global Bitcoin supply.
US public companies collectively hold approximately 1.24 million BTC. According to the research, that represents about 93% of corporate Bitcoin holdings worldwide.
The US government holds around 328,000 BTC, valued at over $26 billion. Most of it came from asset seizures rather than deliberate purchases.
A wrinkle in the data
Not every survey tells the same story. Gallup reported that 9% of US adults owned crypto as of June 2026. That figure was down from 14% the previous year.
That sits awkwardly next to River’s 18.6% Bitcoin figure. Bitcoin is a subset of crypto, so on paper, Bitcoin ownership shouldn’t exceed overall crypto ownership.
The likeliest explanation is that the surveys ask different questions of different samples. Some respondents may also not think of an ETF holding as “owning crypto.” The research frames the Gallup data as a sign that Bitcoin is pulling ahead of other digital currencies, even as broader crypto ownership slips.
What this means
River’s numbers suggest that among individual Americans, the default “alternative asset” may be shifting. The research suggests that could encourage institutions to allocate more toward Bitcoin, as it gains acceptance as a legitimate asset class.
The concentration figures cut both ways. The US holds about 42% of global Bitcoin supply, and US public companies account for about 93% of corporate holdings. That gives American policy decisions outsized influence over the asset, meaning regulatory moves on ETFs, corporate accounting or the handling of seized coins could ripple through the market.
What to watch next: whether the growth rate River measured holds up, and whether other pollsters converge on similar figures. The six-month climb from 14.3% to 18.6% is striking. And if Gallup’s lower crypto numbers keep diverging from Bitcoin-specific surveys, expect a debate over methodology to follow.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Parker Lewis tvrdí, že Bitcoin by mohl jednou vypořádávat globální platby; obchodníkům by přímé přijímání BTC ušetřilo 3% poplatky za karetní transakce a eliminovalo zpětná zúčtování plateb.
Parker Lewis, author of “Gradually, Then Suddenly,” has argued that Bitcoin is poised to eventually settle all global payments. In a recent interview, Lewis pointed to the increasing burdens on the credit system, citing $107 trillion in global debt, and outlined how these factors could accelerate Bitcoin adoption for payment settlement.
Bank Failures and the Payment RevolutionLewis explained that major bank closures in 2023 convinced him the payments infrastructure is Bitcoin’s most vital role, rather than custody or reserve functions. He noted that the banking instability showcased vulnerabilities in traditional finance and made decentralized alternatives more attractive to individuals and businesses alike.
Discussing merchant adoption, Lewis highlighted that businesses can bypass traditional card networks by accepting Bitcoin directly. He emphasized these advantages by stating that merchants avoid the typical 3% card processing fees and eliminate risks related to chargebacks.
Parker Lewis described the shift in payments as essential, stating that merchant adoption of Bitcoin means, “Fewer fees, no chargebacks, and a more direct payment system.”
This focus on direct payments, according to Lewis, could drive Bitcoin’s real-world usage beyond its perception as just an asset or reserve currency.
Debt, Macro Strain, and Dollar RelevanceLewis also addressed the strain in the global credit system, citing over $107 trillion in worldwide debt—up starkly from $52 trillion in 2007. He said escalating interest rates, with mortgages above 7% and corporate refinancing costs at nearly 10%, signal deeper systemic stress.
He added that traditional tools of the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury are losing efficacy, leaving large-scale money creation as one of the only remaining responses to rising financial pressures.
According to Lewis, in such an environment, the dollar price of Bitcoin gradually becomes irrelevant as the system transitions to more direct digital settlements and away from depending on fiat currency denominations.
He claimed that “over time, as more payments are made through Bitcoin, the importance of its price in dollars will diminish.”
Lewis further critiqued the alignment issues between Bitcoin treasury companies and their investors, asserting that simply holding Bitcoin does not automatically drive long-term value or innovation.
Payments Infrastructure and Technical DebatesDebating the technical side, Lewis argued that Bitcoin’s real innovation comes through closing the value transfer loop and using payment networks, such as the Lightning Network, to provide scalable, instant settlements.
He also discussed the constraints of on-chain transaction capacity versus off-chain solutions like Lightning, suggesting that the payments architecture will need to evolve dramatically to reach the projected scale.
Mini dictionary: Lightning Network, a second-layer payment protocol for Bitcoin, enables faster and lower-cost transactions by creating off-chain channels that eventually settle on the main blockchain. It is seen as a critical tool for scaling Bitcoin to handle global payment volumes.
Lewis’s viewpoint has sparked further debate about Bitcoin’s long-term utility and the future of global payment settlements.
Prototyp PISA kombinuje Payjoin a CISA a mohl by u spolupracujících bitcoinových transakcí snížit jejich velikost i poplatky o 7–26 %. Návrhy BIP 458 a 459 však zatím nejsou aktivní.
Privacy on Bitcoin has always come with a surcharge. A new prototype called PISA is trying to lower the bill.
Developers demonstrated PISA on October 23, 2026, during the Plan ₿ Week and Forum events in Lugano, Switzerland. The project combines Payjoin with Cross-Input Signature Aggregation, better known as CISA, to make collaborative Bitcoin transactions smaller and cheaper.
What PISA actually does
Start with the two ingredients. Payjoin, defined in BIP77 and BIP78, is a method for collaborative transactions with built-in privacy features.
Collaborative transactions pull in inputs from more than one source. That makes them harder for outside observers to read, which is the privacy benefit.
The catch is size. Every input in a Bitcoin transaction normally carries its own signature, and every signature takes up space.
CISA attacks that problem directly. It lets multiple signatures across different inputs be aggregated together, rather than each one sitting in the transaction separately.
PISA stitches these two ideas into a single working prototype. The goal is to keep Payjoin’s privacy while using CISA to trim the transaction’s footprint.
The numbers and the people behind them
The savings are not trivial. CISA proposals could cut transaction size and fees by approximately 7–26%, depending on the type of transaction.
The biggest wins should land on multi-input payments. Those are exactly the transactions common in tools like CoinJoin and Payjoin.
Fabian Jahr and Dan Gould are the primary developers on PISA. Both emphasized the potential for meaningful fee savings in cooperative transactions.
The project is a collaborative effort involving the Payjoin Dev Kit and Brink. Cypher Tank supported the Lugano demonstration.
The team did not keep the work behind a curtain. Developers showcased the code and specifications during the event and made them publicly available through a dedicated project website at pisa.payjoin.org.
Discussion on social media following the demo focused on user experience improvements.
Still a draft, not a deployment
Now for the fine print. The CISA proposals behind PISA remain in the research and specification phase.
The relevant draft Bitcoin Improvement Proposals, BIP 458 and BIP 459, have not been activated on the Bitcoin network. Until they are, the savings PISA demonstrates live in a prototype, not in your wallet.
Work on improving collaborative transactions has continued since the Taproot activation in 2021, with developers looking for ways to boost privacy while reducing the costs of using these newer transaction methods.
PISA is one of the more concrete outputs of that effort. It turns a set of specifications into something people can actually run and inspect.
What this means for Bitcoin users and builders
For wallet developers and infrastructure teams, PISA offers a reference point. Public code and specifications give builders something tangible to evaluate ahead of any protocol change.
For investors, the near-term picture is more modest. PISA is protocol research, and its direct impact depends on whether BIP 458 and BIP 459 move from draft to activation.
Progress on BIP 458 and BIP 459, developer feedback on the published PISA code, and any wallet teams experimenting with the prototype will signal whether this demo becomes a building block or stays a conference highlight.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Block spustil celonárodní kampaň „Bitcoin Does“, která má oslovit odhadem 60 milionů Američanů, kteří se zajímají o digitální měny, ale na trhu se dosud neangažují.
Block has introduced its first large-scale advertising campaign for Bitcoin, called “Bitcoin Does,” aiming to engage the estimated 60 million Americans with an interest in digital currency but who have not yet participated in the market.
New campaign strategy targets mass adoptionThe “Bitcoin Does” campaign marks a shift in Block’s outreach approach, focusing on demonstrating real-life uses for Bitcoin instead of delving into complex technical aspects such as mining or blockchain. The company seeks to present Bitcoin as a straightforward and practical financial solution, responding to the questions and concerns of everyday consumers.
Maria Pesce, who leads Bitcoin marketing at Block and works across its Cash App, Square, and Proto product lines, explained the rationale behind the campaign. Pesce stated that feedback from potential users highlighted a need for clearer messaging that emphasizes Bitcoin’s tangible benefits.
Pesce reported that Block’s research showed many people are seeking “more honest money” and are trying to understand how Bitcoin fits into their daily lives.
Customer insights inform campaign messagingThe concept behind the “Bitcoin Does” campaign emerged from insights gathered through conversations with Cash App users and Square merchants. Many expressed frustration with inflation, financial bailouts, and private equity practices, motivating Block to position Bitcoin as a more transparent and accessible alternative.
Pesce highlighted that messages from small business owners influenced the campaign’s narrative, with several describing Bitcoin as “more honest money.” The marketing materials focus on Bitcoin’s fixed supply, self-custody options, and why younger generations are increasingly choosing the cryptocurrency for its perceived stability and transparency.
Interactive experiences and payment innovationBlock also used experiential marketing, debuting its “Lightning Lake” activation at ComplexCon, a cultural event. At this venue, attendees engaged in interactive activities such as “fishing for Bitcoin” and making payments via the Lightning Network, a second-layer protocol that enables faster, low-fee transactions over the Bitcoin network.
Mini dictionary: The Lightning Network is a second-layer scaling solution for Bitcoin that allows for instant transactions between users and reduces congestion and fees on the main blockchain, making micro-payments practical.
Block’s design philosophy aims to make using Bitcoin as simple as sending email, underlining the company’s focus on accessibility. The company also promotes 0% Bitcoin transaction processing fees on Square, further incentivizing merchants and customers to adopt digital payments.
Block’s team emphasized that design choices and customer experience are crucial for helping new users reach “light bulb moments” where the advantages of Bitcoin become clear.
Block’s expanding role in the digital ecosystemFounded by Jack Dorsey, Block is a financial services and technology company known for its prominent brands including Cash App and Square. The company is expanding its reach in the digital asset sector, developing tools and experiences that aim to simplify and promote Bitcoin adoption.
The launch of this campaign coincides with Block’s efforts to join broader technology alliances. The company recently aligned with major firms such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and Visa in initiatives focused on developing secure artificial intelligence applications.
By prioritizing practical demonstrations and tailored messaging, Block intends to bridge the gap between curiosity and active participation among millions of prospective Bitcoin users in the United States.
CoinShares: Bitcoin podporují obnovené nákupy na spotovém trhu, jeho růst však brzdí vyšší než očekávaná inflace v USA a očekávání přísnější měnové politiky Fedu.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is fluctuating within a narrow range of $80,000-$84,000, with the anticipated major surge failing to materialize. In its latest report, CoinShares analyzed the factors limiting the rise in BTC.
According to CoinShares, Bitcoin is showing resilience to declines thanks to a recovery in spot buying and an improvement in market sentiment, while high inflation and interest rate hike expectations in the US are limiting the upside potential in the cryptocurrency market.
Spot Buying Supports Bitcoin, Suppresses Inflation and Interest Rates! According to CoinShares’ latest assessment, Bitcoin is exhibiting a relatively strong performance despite volatility in risky assets. The recovery in spot market buying, improved sentiment in equity markets, and the closing of short positions are among the key factors supporting the Bitcoin price.
In contrast, inflation data released in the US continues to be a significant risk for the cryptocurrency market. The consumer price index (CPI) exceeded expectations in September, raising concerns about inflation and interest rates.
Higher-than-expected inflation is also making it more difficult for the Fed to ease monetary policy and is reducing expectations of interest rate cuts. The possibility of interest rates remaining high for a longer period or a new increase could increase pressure on non-yielding assets like Bitcoin.
At this point, the market is also closely watching the possibility of another interest rate hike in December. The probability of rates remaining unchanged in October is priced at 90.6%, while the probability of an interest rate hike in December is priced at 68.8%.
Uncertainty Continues for Bitcoin! CoinShares concludes its assessment by stating that in the short term, spot demand, as well as inflation, interest rate expectations, and liquidity conditions, could be decisive factors in Bitcoin’s trajectory. While spot purchases support the price, concerns about tight monetary policy pose an obstacle to a sustained rise.
Therefore, the direction of Bitcoin is expected to be shaped by upcoming economic data and policy signals from the Fed.
*This is not investment advice.
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Z neznámé peněženky bylo na Coinbase Institutional převedeno 789 BTC v hodnotě přibližně 64,31 milionu USD. K převodu došlo v době čistých odlivů z amerických spotových ETF na bitcoin.
Coinbase official logo (public domain, Wikimedia Commons) — CryptoBriefing brand treatment
A large transfer of 789 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $64.31 million, was made from an unidentified wallet to Coinbase Institutional, according to Whale Alert. This transaction comes amid Bitcoin’s price in the range of $81,500 to $81,900 on October 23, 2026, following a recent decline from around $84,800. The movement of such a significant amount of Bitcoin to an institutional platform like Coinbase suggests potential institutional interest, although the exact purpose and ownership of the wallet remain unclear. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have been experiencing net outflows, adding another layer of complexity to the current market dynamics.
Key Takeaways The transfer of 789 BTC to Coinbase Institutional suggests potential institutional involvement, which could indicate interest in higher price levels. Bitcoin has been in a range between $81,500 and $81,900, with previous highs at $84,800, suggesting a cautious market environment. The recent net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs suggest mixed sentiment among institutional participants. What to Watch Any further large transfers or institutional activity could influence Bitcoin’s price direction. The impact of this transfer on the market remains to be seen, particularly if it aligns with any significant announcements or shifts in institutional strategy. Additionally, any changes in the ETF inflow/outflow patterns may indicate shifts in institutional sentiment and its effect on Bitcoin’s potential to reach higher price thresholds.
Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h October 24 2026 0.9% — — View market → October 24 2026 13% — — View market → October 24 2026 3.5% — — View market → October 24 2026 1.2% — — View market → October 24 2026 3.5% — — View market → October 24 2026 13.5% — — View market →
Společnost Franklin Templeton dokončila regulatorní krok před spuštěním ETF FBEQ a inovačního fondu, které reinvestují dividendy z amerických akcií do bitcoinu.
Franklin Templeton has taken the last regulatory step before launching two exchange-traded funds that convert stock dividends into bitcoin.
On October 22, Franklin Templeton filed a Form 8-A with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register shares of the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF for trading on the Nasdaq. A prospectus filed the same day lists an effective date of October 27.
The filings for both funds arrived in June without tickers or fees. Four months later, the details are in.
How the funds work The Equity fund, ticker FBEQ, tracks the VettaFi US Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index. The index holds the 500 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization, weighted by float-adjusted market cap.
As of September 30, it held 499 stocks ranging from $10.2 billion to $5.5 trillion in size, with a concentration in information technology.
At inception, the index allocates 95% to those stocks and 5% to bitcoin. Each dividend the companies pay, regular or special, is reinvested into bitcoin at the market open on the day after the ex-date. The bitcoin share of the portfolio grows with each payment.
A traditional dividend reinvestment plan, or DRIP, buys more shares of the company that paid the dividend. Franklin’s version routes that cash into bitcoin.
For a holder, the dividend stream from the largest companies in America becomes a recurring bitcoin purchase, with no exchange account, no wallet and no custody decisions.
The bitcoin position has limits. At each quarterly rebalance, an allocation above 5% is trimmed to 4.5%. If bitcoin exceeds 20% of the index between rebalances, it is cut back to 4.5% within two business days, and the proceeds return to stocks. The result is a stock fund with a bitcoin sleeve, not a bitcoin fund.
The ETF does not hold bitcoin on-chain. It gains exposure through bitcoin exchange-traded products, including Franklin’s own spot fund, through bitcoin futures and options, or through depositary receipts, in some cases via a Cayman Islands subsidiary.
FBEQ carries a 0.09% expense ratio with no 12b-1 fee. Franklin Advisory Services manages the fund, with Franklin Templeton Institutional as sub-advisor. Dina Ting, Hailey Harris, Joe Diederich and Basit Amin serve as portfolio managers.
The Innovation fund follows the same mechanic on the VettaFi US Innovation 100 Bitcoin DRIP Index, which draws from the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq.
A deeper bet on bitcoin Franklin Templeton filed for a spot bitcoin ETF in September 2023 and launched it as EZBC in January 2024. In April, the firm acquired 250 Digital and formed Franklin Crypto, an institutional digital asset division. Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson has argued that blockchains threaten Wall Street’s fee structure more than its technology.
The DRIP funds extend that strategy to investors who may never buy bitcoin on their own. A retiree holding an S&P 500-style fund in a brokerage account can, through FBEQ, let dividends from the companies she already owns build a bitcoin position over years.
The prospectus warns that investors can lose money, and that bitcoin’s price swings may affect the fund’s net asset value. Whether that trade-off appeals to the audience Franklin Templeton is targeting will become clear after October 27.
Micah Zimmerman
Micah first discovered Bitcoin in 2018 but remained a skeptic on the sidelines for too long. Since 2021, he has covered crypto and business and now works as a news reporter for Bitcoin Magazine, based in North Carolina.
Americké spotové bitcoinové ETF zaznamenaly 22. října čistý odliv ve výši 635 milionů USD, z toho 254 milionů USD připadlo na fond BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
US spot Bitcoin ETFs bled $635 million on October 22, according to SoSoValue data reported by Odaily. That is a sharp reversal for a product category that had spent the previous few days collecting cash.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the biggest name in the space, was the largest single source of the outflow. Investors pulled $254 million from the fund in one session.
A busy week in reverse The timing is what makes the number stand out. In the three days before October 22, these funds attracted more than $1 billion in combined inflows.
October 21 alone brought in approximately $528 million. Most of that came from the two heavyweights of the category.
IBIT took in $235 million that day. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) added $212.7 million.
Then the next day happened. IBIT’s $254 million outflow on October 22 was larger than its entire $235 million haul from the session before, which means the fund gave back a full day of gains plus about $19 million more.
With IBIT responsible for $254 million of the $635 million total, other issuers accounted for roughly $381 million in redemptions between them.
October has been choppy overall. Earlier in the month, certain stretches saw outflows reaching as high as $600 to $900 million, and mid-October brought only a modest uptick in flows before the late-week rally in demand.
The bigger picture since launch One rough day does not erase the longer trend. Cumulative net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs since their January 2024 debut have now approached $57 to $58 billion.
Total net assets held across these funds are estimated at between $100 billion and $109 billion. That puts a $635 million day into perspective: meaningful, headline-worthy, but well under 1% of the asset base.
The Bitcoin price itself held a relatively steady range of $82,000 to $85,000 around this period. The research shows minimal direct correlation between the ETF flow figures and Bitcoin’s price during these swings.
What this means for investors For anyone tracking institutional demand, the key question is whether October 22 marks a turn or a blip. Earlier October buying has been read as a sign of resilient institutional appetite amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
The fact that Bitcoin stayed within its $82,000 to $85,000 band is arguably the more important data point. If $635 million in redemptions cannot push the price out of its range, it suggests there is enough buying elsewhere in the market to absorb that selling.
Watch whether cumulative inflows keep climbing toward and past the $57 to $58 billion mark, and whether total net assets hold within or above the $100 billion to $109 billion range.
When the two largest issuers move in the same direction, as they did on the inflow side on October 21, it tends to say more about broad institutional sentiment than scattered moves among smaller funds.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin Core is changing how it handles security vulnerabilities, explaining that large language models have made certain software flaws significantly easier to discover.
In an email to the Bitcoin Development Mailing List on Thursday, Bitcoin Core developer Antoine Poinsot said that in the past, vulnerabilities were generally kept under lengthy disclosure embargoes to give users time to upgrade before details became public.
Maintaining that secrecy generally meant fixes could not be backported to older software versions, leaving users waiting until the next major release. However, Poinsot said LLMs have made some flaws so easy to rediscover that delaying fixes offers little protection.
“The embargo period achieves little but it delays the availability of a fixed release,” said Poinsot. “We are therefore updating our policy disclosure to accommodate those.”
The change comes as AI-assisted security research puts pressure on developers across Bitcoin’s software ecosystem.
Under the updated policy, vulnerabilities deemed “easily discoverable” will receive fixes as soon as possible across all maintained major versions, with security advisories published alongside the updates.
“This classification applies to vulnerabilities that can be discovered with minimal effort, such as through a simple LLM prompt,” it said.
Other vulnerabilities will continue to follow disclosure schedules based on severity, ranging from critical flaws that threaten Bitcoin’s fundamental security to lower-risk bugs with limited impact on individual nodes.
Bitcoin Core said low-severity vulnerabilities will be disclosed two weeks after the release of a major version containing the fix, while medium and high vulnerabilities will be disclosed two weeks after the last affected release hits its “End of Life,” typically a year after the fix is released in the new major version.
“Critical bugs are not considered in the standard policy, as they would most likely require an ad-hoc procedure,” it said.
“I’ve disagreed with Antoine’s approach to security in the past, but this is a good update,” said Luke de Wolf, host of the Bitcoin Infinity Show and author of “Defending Bitcoin.”
In August, the volunteer Bitcoin Red Team reported nearly 5,000 potential issues across 390 projects, although only around a fifth of its findings had been reproduced at that point.
That month, Core Lightning developers urged operators to upgrade or take their nodes offline after receiving multiple AI-generated vulnerability reports, while withholding technical details for two weeks.
Magazine: New DeepSeek ban in US, Swiss-Asia crypto ties deepen: Asia Express
Jameson Lopp varuje držitele bitcoinů, že ETF ani správci úschovy rizika neeliminují; doporučuje multisig peněženky a rozdělení klíčů mezi různá místa a dodavatele hardwaru.
Casa chief security officer Jameson Lopp has urged Bitcoin holders not to abandon self custody in favor of ETFs and third party custodians following a series of cryptocurrency wallet security incidents.
Summary
Jameson Lopp has urged Bitcoin holders not to abandon self custody despite.
Lopp warned that Bitcoin ETFs and third party custodians do not eliminate security risks but leave investors dependent on institutions to safeguard their holdings.
Recent incidents have raised questions about the safety of managing Bitcoin independently.
Lopp recommended multisig wallets and distributing private keys across different locations and hardware suppliers to reduce the risk of losing funds.
Bitcoin holders are advised to review their security arrangements and prepare for situations where they may no longer be able to access their funds.
In an October 22 open letter addressed to Casa clients and the Bitcoin community, Lopp argued that recent attacks had raised genuine concerns about managing private keys but did not justify giving up direct control of Bitcoin holdings.
Lopp pointed to recent incidents involving hackers using AI to find security flaws, compromised hardware wallet supply chains, drained cold wallets and more sophisticated scams, which have left many Bitcoin holders questioning whether they can safely manage their own funds.
According to him, many of the attacks making headlines today were already known to security professionals, although their emergence in actual incidents had made the risks more difficult for ordinary holders to ignore.
Lopp warns Bitcoin ETFs do not eliminate custody risks
Lopp took particular issue with the idea that moving Bitcoin into exchange traded funds or other managed custody arrangements offered a straightforward solution to recent security problems.
He acknowledged that investors could feel more comfortable relying on financial institutions after hearing about wallet compromises, but argued that transferring control of private keys merely placed responsibility with another party.
In his view, Bitcoin ETFs provide investors with exposure to the cryptocurrency’s price without giving them direct control over the underlying coins.
The arrangement requires investors to depend on the fund, its custodian and other parties responsible for safeguarding the assets. Lopp warned that holders could have little influence over decisions affecting their Bitcoin, including situations involving freezes or seizures by authorities.
He maintained that Bitcoin’s defining properties came from its fixed supply, publicly verifiable rules and the ability of users to access their holdings without obtaining permission from an intermediary.
Although investors could benefit financially from Bitcoin without holding private keys, Lopp argued that they would not enjoy the same degree of control available through direct ownership.
The warning followed reports that some Bitcoin holders had moved assets toward centralized platforms after recent wallet compromises.
In August, crypto.news reported record OKX inflows following the Coldcard hardware wallet exploit, with the exchange saying that customers were increasingly turning toward managed custody.
Recent Bitcoin wallet exploits have raised security concerns
The concerns outlined in Lopp’s letter followed several incidents involving weaknesses in wallet software, hardware distribution and private key generation.
One of the most significant cases involved Coldcard hardware wallets, where a firmware configuration error dating back to March 2021 caused affected devices to generate recovery seeds using a weaker source of randomness.
An August 3 report on the Coldcard security exploit detailed suspected Bitcoin thefts worth nearly $90 million at the time and calls from Kraken chief security officer Nick Percoco for independent testing of wallet seed generation.
The flaw allowed attackers to reconstruct vulnerable private keys without physically accessing the devices or obtaining their recovery phrases.
Coldcard subsequently released corrected firmware, although previously generated vulnerable seeds required users to create new wallets and transfer their holdings.
More recently, an October 13 investigation into compromised Ledger hardware wallets detailed cases involving devices distributed through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis.
Ledger confirmed that an unauthorized hardware implant had been identified in one affected device, while the investigation had not established that its own systems or direct sales channels were compromised.
Security problems involving weak recovery seeds have affected other cryptocurrency networks as well.
On October 18, Qubic disclosed a wallet security breach involving approximately 2.94 trillion QU tokens worth $1.4 million stolen from 1,404 wallets.
Developers traced the incident to insufficient randomness in certain wallet recovery seeds and subsequently corrected the affected software.
Multisig security remains central
Against this background, Lopp argued that the response to failed security controls should involve improving wallet protection instead of abandoning self custody altogether.
Drawing on more than 15 years of security incidents across the cryptocurrency industry, he said effective custody arrangements needed to account for human mistakes and the possibility that individual safeguards could fail.
His preferred approach involved multisignature wallets, which distribute transaction authorization across multiple private keys and can prevent a single compromised key from providing complete access to funds.
Lopp cautioned that multisig was not a complete solution by itself, although he maintained that carefully designed arrangements could provide stronger protection than conventional custody systems.
He encouraged Bitcoin holders to review their existing setups and distribute keys across different geographic locations and hardware supply chains to reduce their dependence on any single device or location.
The letter addressed inheritance planning as another important consideration, particularly what would happen to someone’s Bitcoin if they became unable to access or manage their holdings.
Casa, which provides assisted self custody services, positions its role around helping customers manage these arrangements without taking possession of their private keys.
Lopp closed by warning that both malicious actors and well intentioned intermediaries could ultimately gain control over someone else’s Bitcoin, leaving holders responsible for deciding how much control they were prepared to surrender.
Návrh Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 360 pouze snižuje riziko kvantových útoků tím, že omezuje expozici veřejných klíčů; plná postkvantová ochrana vyžaduje nové opkódy.
On 2nd September 2026, engineers within the Tezos ecosystem built a post-quantum previewnet, covering user keys, consensus, and randomness generation.
Though the launch was experimental, it was still further than any major chain has ever gone.
The market noticed. In fact, AMBCrypto reported that XTZ rallied by 30% after the news, hitting a four-month high on an 878% volume surge. Open Interest climbed by 44%, while derivatives volume spiked by 272%.
Tezos’s co-founder Arthur Breitman has been blunt about the stakes. Previously, he has called Bitcoiners’ quantum theories “half-baked crank theories about quantum mechanics.” However, in a recent conversation with AMBCrypto, he clarified,
The crank theories represent a small group of people, though there’s a broader group that sees no urgency, or believes Bitcoin can handle post quantum without any soft or hard fork.
Urgency comes from Google’s “9-minute problem” What exacerbated the debate on crypto and quantum computers? Well, in March 2026, Google published a research paper that compressed the timeline of the quantum threat from a “2040s problem” to a preparation window for “2030–2035.”
The paper cut the estimated physical qubits needed to break Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography by roughly 20x — From millions to fewer than 500,000.
That paper triggered a scramble in the industry. What was even more notable was the “9-minute problem.” For the uninitiated, public keys are exposed in Bitcoin’s mempool while the network confirms it.
Google’s paper also claimed a powerful enough quantum computer could potentially extract a key within approximately 9 minutes under specific assumptions. And Bitcoin’s average block time is 10 minutes.
Google puts the odds of a successful hijack at 41% — not a guarantee, but much too close for comfort.
However, Maksym Sakharov, CEO & Co-Founder of WeFi, told AMBCrypto,
I would be careful about treating the 41% figure as a prediction of what will happen in practice.
He explained,
Google’s paper models a specific attack scenario under a defined set of assumptions, including a sufficiently capable fault-tolerant quantum computer, a public key becoming available almost immediately, and conditions that can favor either the attacker or the legitimate user depending on network behavior.
According to Google’s paper, the attack doesn’t need to crack your cold wallet or steal your seed phrase. It just needs to catch your transaction in that brief window when your key is visible.
Sakharov, talking about the long-term, hypothesized,
Preparation matters more than prediction. The objective should be to ensure that migration paths, governance, and upgrade mechanisms are in place well before advances in quantum computing become an operational concern.
It’s not so easy for Bitcoin For Bitcoin, however, the problem can get even more complicated. Glassnode’s May 2026 research found that over 6 million Bitcoin, or roughly 30% of BTC’s current supply, sits in addresses where the public key is already visible on-chain. That’s roughly $500–600 billion ripe for the taking.
And yet, the contrast between the exchanges is striking. About 1.66 million BTC held on exchanges falls into the exposed category — roughly 40% of all operationally exposed Bitcoin. Coinbase has 5% exposure; Fidelity at 2%.
Binance sits at 85%. Bitfinex, Robinhood, and several others are at or near 100%.
Christopher Smith, co-founder and CEO of Quantus, elaborated on Bitcoin’s exposure problem in conversation with AMBCrypto.
It’s a solvable technical problem, but the social coordination is the difficult part. For various reasons, Bitcoin has cultivated a culture of not changing, but it really is a cultural issue more than a technical issue. If we had a post-quantum address type, then most big addresses could migrate within a few months.
He continued,
The bigger issues are that post-quantum addresses could take years to ship, and nobody has a politically viable solution for Satoshi’s coins, which are currently an $80B quantum canary.
Smith’s argument highlights one of Bitcoin’s unresolved questions. The harder decisions will involve coins that will never migrate, including Bitcoin founder Satoshi’s 1.1 million stash.
Coinbase’s Quantum Advisory Council understands these concerns as well and has thus outlined three options: freeze, burn, or do nothing and take the loss. However, each option here clashes with Bitcoin’s core principles in some way.
So, what’s the solution? For Bitcoin’s network to become quantum-proof, starting today means completion on around 2033. This would uncomfortably overlap with Google’s 2030–2035 preparation window.
One must also remember that Bitcoin’s governance is notoriously slow. It’s an open secret. SegWit took over eight years from conception to adoption, and Taproot underwent the same journey in nearly seven years.
For casual observers on the scene, Bitcoin’s BIP-360 may seem like the solution. It is the network’s quantum-resistance proposal that introduces a new address type called P2MR (Pay-to-Merkle-Root), removes Taproot’s key-path spending, and uses hash-based commitments.
However, be warned, BIP-360 is not quantum-proof. In fact, it does not answer the Bitcoin network’s concerns. As Christopher Smith told AMBCrypto,
The quantum safety of a BIP360 address is the same as a P2PKH address. To make a fully post-quantum address type, we need post-quantum op codes, which requires a decision on which post-quantum algorithm to support, and there is no official process for this.
In a nutshell, BIP-360 has critical limits that cannot be ignored.
First of all, it doesn’t replace Bitcoin’s cryptography as ECDSA and Schnorr signatures remain in use. P2MR reduces exposure by forcing spending through script paths, but it’s merely a risk-reduction measure.
Also, BIP-360 will not migrate existing coins automatically. There is a 2-step process here. To begin with, every wallet, exchange, and custodian needs to support the new quantum-proof addresses. Next, users will have to voluntarily move funds. That coordination hasn’t started yet, and there’s no timeline as to when it will.
Breitman has a word of advice though,
Offer hash-based signatures now. The chain can soft-fork very quickly in an emergency, I believe it will, and that’s a good thing. But users can be very slow moving, and they need to be given ample time, several years, to migrate.
What are the market’s altcoins doing? Altcoin networks have already started their push towards making crypto future-ready, in a sense. The most notable example is the Tezos network, whose post-quantum previewnet went live on 2nd September 2026, with tz5 accounts using ML-DSA-44 signatures.
The network also supports STARK-based consensus aggregation, a ZODA data availability layer, and TzEL private payments on testnet, making it the most comprehensive quantum-resistant network out of any major chain.
According to Breitman,
Starks have come a long way in terms of proving speed and ease of deployment, and they pair very nicely with hash-based signatures.
As far as the rest of the market is concerned, Native Falcon-1024 accounts have been live on Algorand’s mainnet since v5.0.0 in August 2026. Since then, the network has processed over 500,000+ post-quantum-signed transactions. Right now, Falcon-1024 is a NIST Level 5 standard — the highest security category.
The Quantum Resistant Ledger, also dubbed to be the “original post-quantum blockchain,” has been running XMSS since June 2018. That’s eight years of quantum-resistant operations!
The list will be incomplete without mentioning Ethereum since it has released a roadmap targeting full quantum protection by 2029. Account abstraction, also dubbed EIP-8141, will let users switch to quantum-resistant signatures before the protocol-wide migration begins.
‘Quantum-ready’ is already becoming a narrative Today, a network being ‘quantum-ready’ is more than just a talking point. For traders, the differentiator is quite simple — which chains look ready, and which are still dragging their feet?
Currently, only Tezos, Algorand, and QRL have real implementations. Though it is a start, it is concerning, as none of the major altcoin networks, with the exception of Ethereum, even have a concrete roadmap.
Bitcoin does not even have its head in the game.
The window between “we have time” and “we’re out of time” is narrowing. If the transition to post-quantum cryptography arrives sooner, the networks that began preparing early will be the victors.
Maksym Sakharov mulled,
The strongest ecosystems are already thinking about cryptographic migration as part of their long-term roadmap rather than as a future emergency. Good financial infrastructure is designed around the assumption that today’s strongest cryptography will eventually be replaced by
something stronger.
For now, the market is watching, and the chains already in the game have a head start.
For individual users, though, the takeaway is simpler: DYOR. As Sakharov put it,
Individual users cannot realistically prepare for advances in cryptography on their own. Their long-term protection will depend far more on whether the infrastructure they rely on is designed to adapt as security standards evolve.
Final Summary Quantum computers can theoretically steal exposed Bitcoin keys in nine minutes — under the 10-minute window needed for Bitcoin’s mempool. Tezos, Algorand, and QRL are already quantum-ready, while Bitcoin’s BIP-360 is just a risk-reduction measure, not a solution.
Gulf International Bank (UK) ve třetím čtvrtletí nezměnila svůj podíl 19 842 akcií společnosti Strategy v hodnotě přibližně 3,04 milionu USD, což jí poskytuje nepřímou expozici vůči Bitcoinu.
Saudi Arabia-backed Gulf International Bank (UK) reveals multimillion-dollar investment in the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder.
As per a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 13F filing, Gulf International Bank (UK), based in London, reported having 19,842 shares of Strategy at the end of September.
As of the third quarter, Gulf International Bank's shares in Strategy were worth about $3.04 million, though the current market estimates the value to be around $2.9 million.
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This is not the first investment in Bitcoin by the bank. In fact, Gulf International Bank (UK) has had a Strategy holding since 2024.
In its recent filing, Gulf International Bank (UK) states that it did not adjust its Strategy holding in the third quarter of 2026.
Gulf International Bank's previous Bitcoin exposureGulf International Bank has experienced some drastic swings in terms of its Strategy holdings over the last two years.
The first Strategy holding the bank reported was in the second quarter of 2024. At the time, the bank held 1,285 shares of MicroStrategy worth about $1.77 million.
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However, that would have been 12,850 shares after MicroStrategy's 10-for-1 stock split in August 2024.
In June 2025, Gulf International Bank (UK) owned 12,774 shares in Strategy worth about $5.16 million.
This is the highest valuation for Gulf International Bank's Strategy holding at the end of a quarter that the bank has reported so far.
By the end of 2025, Gulf International Bank had 13,249 shares of Strategy, which were worth about $2.01 million.
In the first quarter of 2026, the bank significantly increased its Strategy holdings.
The bank added 6,958 shares, bringing the total Strategy holding to 20,207 shares. This was about a 53% increase in Strategy holdings.
However, in the second quarter, the bank sold off 365 shares, resulting in a Strategy holding of 19,842 shares. These shares were worth about $1.72 million by the end of June.
And as the recent filing indicates, the Strategy holding did not change in the third quarter in terms of shares.
Saudi Arabia's indirect Bitcoin exposureGulf International Bank is closely linked to the Saudi government.
The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), owns 97.2% of
So, in essence, this is indirect Bitcoin exposure that Gulf International Bank is getting through owning shares in Strategy, not direct Bitcoin.
Strategy's Executive Chairman Michael Saylor's firm is the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.
With its latest purchase (reported on Oct. 19), the company's cryptocurrency holdings are now 848,517 BTC.
Čistý příliv kapitálu do amerických spotových ETF na bitcoin klesl mezi 19. a 20. říjnem o 95,6 % na 23,2 milionu USD, což oslabuje podporu cenové hranice 80 000 USD.
Bitcoin approaches a decisive threshold as markets await new American inflation indicators. After several positive sessions, capital inflows into spot ETFs have sharply slowed, reducing support for prices. On Friday, PMI indices and household inflation forecasts could change investor expectations before the next Federal Reserve meeting. Maintaining the 80,000 dollar level will therefore also depend on these economic signals.
In Brief
Bitcoin defends the 80,000 dollars ahead of new American inflation data.
Net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs drop 95.6% between October 19 and 20.
Glassnode estimates the average cost basis of spot ETFs around 81,500 dollars.
The 85,000 to 87,500 dollar zone concentrates significant potential selling pressure.
Inflation figures and the Fed decision could determine the next market direction.
Bitcoin Defends 80,000 Dollars Against Institutional Acquisition Costs
The price of bitcoin moves around 80,000 dollars, a level that draws institutional investors’ attention. According to the Glassnode report published on October 21, this threshold approaches the average acquisition costs of several holder categories. American spot ETFs display an estimated cost basis of 81,500 dollars. Meanwhile, treasuries of companies followed by Glassnode hold their digital assets at an average cost close to 80,200 dollars.
The massive sell-off on October 15 brought the market near this reference zone. The price closed around 80,100 dollars after briefly falling below the ETFs’ estimated cost basis. This movement tested buyers’ ability to defend their positions. However, the market recovered to a level close to institutional acquisition costs, without confirming a lasting recovery.
Binance’s order book data provide another perspective on this battle. The main cluster of spot buy orders was concentrated around 80,000 dollars before the sharp drop. Selling pressure absorbed much of it, but new orders appeared on October 20. Their volume remains lower than before the drop, which limits the scope of this support.
It is also necessary to distinguish acquisition costs from orders displayed on platforms. An ETF’s cost basis corresponds to the average cost of its assets, while a company’s reflects its past purchases. However, orders in an order book can disappear at any moment. Maintaining the price above 80,000 dollars does not guarantee that buyers will sustainably defend this zone.
Bitcoin ETF Flows Slow Before Inflation Data
Capital inflows into American spot ETFs have sharply lost momentum. According to Farside Investors data, these products recorded 526.7 million dollars in net inflows on October 19. On the following day, inflows remained positive but dropped to only 23.2 million dollars. This decrease represents a 95.6% decline in one session and highlights the recent demand slowdown.
Over these two days, ETFs still attracted 549.9 million dollars in total. Thus, it is not an entirely negative trend, as both sessions recorded net inflows. However, this development shows new inflows are no longer growing at the same pace. For bitcoin, the question is now whether institutional buyers will continue to support prices despite this loss of momentum.
Glassnode also notes a decrease in activity over a longer period. The average trading volume on spot ETFs, calculated over 30 days, now represents less than a quarter of its level observed a year earlier. Corporate purchases of government bonds since June have remained below 10% of the peak reached in November 2024. These figures reflect a broader slowdown in some institutional investment activities.
This development occurs as several American economic indicators are due for release. On Thursday, an auction of inflation-linked Treasury securities, amounting to 26 billion dollars and maturing in five years, will assess demand for these bonds. On Friday, preliminary PMI indices and final inflation forecasts from the University of Michigan will complement available data. These events could shift rate expectations and influence flows into risky assets.
American Inflation Could Change Market Expectations
Recent inflation data show that price pressures remain significant. The consumer price index rose 3.7% year-on-year in September. Moreover, the preliminary University of Michigan survey places one-year inflation expectations at 4.7%. Longer-term forecasts reach 3.5%, maintaining investors’ concerns regarding price trends.
Upcoming releases will verify whether these expectations evolve. Friday’s preliminary PMI indices, expected at 9:45 a.m., will provide indications on prices charged by companies. The final Michigan survey, scheduled at 10 a.m., will clarify household expectations. If these data exceed previous estimates, markets could anticipate more persistent inflationary pressures and reassess their monetary outlook.
The Federal Reserve’s policy is another key element in this sequence. In September, the American central bank set its target rate range between 3.75% and 4%. According to a Reuters survey, 94 out of 100 economists surveyed expect rates to hold at the October 28 meeting. Even without immediate changes, the new data could modify expectations about future decisions.
Bond yields and the dollar could then react to the releases. According to Glassnode, the two-year U.S. bond yield approached 4.8% on October 20, after rising by more than one percentage point since early 2026. High inflation numbers could intensify this pressure. Conversely, more moderate indicators could ease yields and provide a more favorable environment for risky assets.
Resistance and Support Levels Clarify Possible Scenarios
Above 80,000 dollars, several levels could slow price advances. Glassnode identifies an excess supply zone between 85,000 and 87,500 dollars. Investors who acquired their assets six to twelve months ago have an average price close to 86,700 dollars. Moreover, potential liquidations on futures markets concentrate between 85,000 and 87,000 dollars, reinforcing the importance of this zone.
With improved economic data, the market could attempt to reach this upper range. If Michigan inflation expectations remain stable or decrease and PMI price components retreat, yields could lose momentum. A drop in the two-year yield, accompanied by a stable or weakening dollar, would strengthen this scenario. Bitcoin could then test the 85,000 to 87,500 dollar zone, provided demand follows.
Crossing 87,500 dollars with higher volumes and repeated ETF inflows would be an additional signal. It would indicate buyers absorb some of the supply above institutional cost bases. However, a price increase alone would not confirm this move. Persistent inflows and bond market reactions would remain decisive factors.
Conversely, higher inflation expectations could strengthen selling pressure. If PMI prices rise, yields and the dollar increase, and bitcoin ETFs register net outflows, buyers could struggle more to defend the 80,000 dollar level. A close below this threshold would bring the liquidation zone near 79,600 dollars to the forefront. The market’s real average, estimated at 77,600 dollars, would then constitute another reference level.
The Fed Meeting Approaches Amid a Still Fragile Market
Market reactions will also depend on how economic data interrelate. A less well-received five-year TIPS auction could push real yields higher, even if inflation expectations remain stable. This is why the evolution of the five-year real yield and the equilibrium inflation rate deserve special attention. Their combination will help better understand investor reactions before Friday’s releases.
The scenario remains conditional, as some recent indicators have sent different signals. On October 15, a favorable producer price report coincided with a decline in the ten-year yield to 5.087%. The dollar also retreated after reaching an 18-month high. This episode reminds that positive economic data can quickly change expectations and influence financial conditions.
In the coming days, the market’s ability to maintain current levels will depend on several factors. More regular inflows into bitcoin ETFs, combined with lower yields, could facilitate a return to higher resistance levels. Conversely, persistent inflation and tightening financial conditions could weaken demand. The Fed meeting on October 28 will then shed new light on monetary perspectives.
Ultimately, Bitcoin remains close to the acquisition costs of several institutional investors, but this support is not enough to confirm a recovery. Friday’s inflation data will verify if demand can absorb supply between 85,000 and 87,500 dollars. If 80,000 dollars breaks, levels of 79,600 and then 77,600 dollars could regain prominence. The reaction of yields, the dollar, and ETFs will determine the next movement before the Fed decision.
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Ghiles A.
Journaliste et rédacteur web passionné par l’univers des cryptomonnaies et des technologies Web3. J’y traite les dernières tendances et actualités afin de proposer un contenu de haute qualité à un large public du secteur.
