Category: crypto

Bitcoin and Ether options worth a total of $10.43 billion expired on July 31, with Bitcoin at $64,000 being a key level. The expiration included 149,000 Bitcoin options worth $9.6 billion and 435,000 Ether options worth $830 million. The settlement did not lead to significant price movement in either asset.

Swan Treasury lost $625,000 after attackers exploited a leaked off-chain signer key to buy STY tokens at a discount and sell them for profit. The protocol’s security was compromised on the BNB Chain, allowing the attacker to manipulate transactions and make a significant profit. This incident highlights the ongoing risks associated with private key compromises…

Bitcoin miners are experiencing a significant decrease in difficulty, with a 19.9% decline marking one of the deepest drawdowns in the industry. Despite this, mining stocks are rising due to expectations of revenue from AI data-centers. The shift towards AI contracts is impacting the mining industry, with some miners diversifying their operations.

NEAR Protocol has introduced staking-based AI payments, converting locked NEAR tokens into monthly compute credits for AI services. Users can access all 43 AI models without a credit card, maintaining ownership of their tokens until they choose to unstake. This feature supports confidential AI inference and autonomous agents through onchain staking.

Quantum Solutions and Hyperscale Data redirected some of their crypto treasuries towards AI data centers. Quantum sold 1,000 ETH for $1.9 million, while Hyperscale monetized 100 BTC for a Bitcoin-backed credit facility. Quantum increased its sale limit to 4,375 ETH, while Hyperscale is investing in a Michigan AI data center.

Bitcoin Archive criticized the self-custody culture, stating that difficult wallet experiences can exclude less technical users from adopting Bitcoin. Research supports usability concerns, but motive claims cannot be confirmed. Wallet makers are testing different recovery models to improve usability and security, while security failures highlight ongoing challenges in self-custody.

KSNet and the Solana Foundation have partnered to test blockchain payments and AI-driven transaction systems for the South Korean financial market. The companies will conduct proof-of-concept projects focusing on Solana Pay integration and AI payments using the x402 protocol, aiming to develop a secure payment infrastructure for users in South Korea.

Bernstein maintains an Outperform rating and $160 price target on Robinhood Markets, citing the expansion of its crypto business beyond trading into tokenization and market infrastructure. Robinhood Chain has processed $12 billion in DEX volume, while Rothera has handled 3.5 billion contracts generating $17 million in revenue. Regulatory uncertainties remain.

Banca d’Italia study found that stablecoin remittances do not consistently beat traditional transfer services in terms of cost or speed. Ten USDC corridors had total costs ranging from 0.30% to nearly 9%, with some routes faster than others. The study suggests that better on-ramps may be more important than cheaper blockchains.

Circle has obtained a New York trust charter from the NYDFS for Circle New York Trust, expanding its regulatory footprint. This approval complements its recent federal trust bank authorization from the U.S. OCC. The charter strengthens oversight for its USDC business and extends its long-standing relationship with the NYDFS.