Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

BTCPay warns of actively exploited vulnerability that could drain funds

Quick TakeMakers of the free, open-source bitcoin payment processor BTCPay urged users to update their servers as a critical vulnerability is “being actively exploited.”　　BTCPay Server disclosed that a critical vulnerability is “being actively exploited” on Friday and urged users to update their servers to version 2.4.2, according to its official X account.　　While the team said funds may be at risk, it is unclear how many users have been exploited or how much has been lost, if any.　　“If you are unable to update right away, turn off your BTCPay Server to prevent unauthorized access until you can update,” BTC Pay said.　　Details surrounding the attack are also currently limited. The Block reached out to BTCPay Server for comment.　　BTCPay Server is a free, open-source, self-hosted bitcoin payment processor that lets individuals and businesses accept bitcoin and Lightning payments directly with no fees or intermediaries. Launched as an alternative to BitPay, it has gained particular affection among Bitcoin maximalists.　　The vulnerability comes on the heels of the Coldcard exploit affecting a popular brand of Bitcoin-only wallets that has led to at least $116 million in confirmed losses so far.　　This article is breaking and may be updated as The Block learns more.　　Disclaimer: The Block is an

08-08Industry

Bitcoin Still in Death Cross as Jobs Miss Cuts Rate-Hike Odds

In briefBitcoin trades at $64,938, up 1.06% on the day, but stuck below iboth the short-term and long-term moving averages.The U.S. economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, missing the 95,000 gain economists expected; CME FedWatch cut September hike odds to 40% from 55%.The short-term outlook remains bearish, but dwindling rate-hike odds may give investors hope.　　The U.S. labor market cracked harder than anyone expected. Employers cut 23,000 jobs in July—the first net loss since the pandemic-era recovery, and a sharp miss against the 95,000 gain economists had penciled in.　　The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% only because more people quit the labor force entirely. Junes gain was revised to 20,000 from 57,000, and May was nearly halved.　　Markets read it as a reason for the Federal Reserve to keep its hands off rates. Treasury yields fell, the dollar dropped 0.5%, and CME FedWatch showed the odds of a September rate hike sliding to 40% from 55% a day earlier.　　A softer Fed path is usually a tailwind for risk assets and crypto—but Bitcoins chart shows a market that hasnt reclaimed its trend.　　Bitcoin price: What the charts say　　Bitcoin is trading at $64,938, up 1.06% (+$683) on the session, after a green candle closed near

08-08Industry

Kalshi markets power new AI risk tool for small firms

Blanket, an independently developed AI tool, is using Kalshis regulated event-contract markets to help small businesses identify and hedge operational risks.　　Blanket matches business risks with Kalshi contracts　　Blanket is designed to evaluate the risks facing a business and identify Kalshi contracts that may provide a hedge against specific outcomes. Potential exposures include unusual weather, changes in energy costs, new tariffs, and election results that could affect revenue or operating expenses.　　A small business could provide information about its operations and the events most likely to disrupt them. Blankets AI system would then analyze those exposures and recommend available contracts connected to the relevant outcome.　　The tool does not automatically place orders, control customer accounts, or handle funds. Business owners retain responsibility for reviewing the recommendations and deciding whether to trade through Kalshi.　　This distinction also separates Blanket from Kalshi itself. Zminsky built the tool independently using markets available on Kalshis platform. Kalshi provides the underlying event contracts and regulated trading infrastructure, but Blanket is not one of its internal products.　　How event contracts can hedge operational risks　　Event contracts are derivatives whose payouts depend on whether a specified event occurs or a defined value is reached. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission cites corporate earnings, snowfall levels,

08-08Industry

OpenAI's First Device Is a $300-Plus Doughnut-Shaped Speaker: Report

In briefOpenAIs first consumer device will be a screenless smart speaker shaped like a doughnut and roughly the size of a hockey puck, Bloomberg reported.Pricing has been discussed in the $300 to $400 range, with availability slated for 2027.Apple sued OpenAI in July over the alleged misappropriation of hardware trade secrets, and OpenAI moved to dismiss on Wednesday.　　OpenAIs first consumer device will be a screenless smart speaker shaped like a doughnut and roughly the size of a hockey puck, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the work who asked not to be identified because it is confidential.　　The battery-powered product is meant to be carried around the home in one hand and to work in different positions, whether held or set down on a surface. It will carry speaker grilles and microphones for conversation, lights to signal when it is listening, and a camera and sensors that feed information about the surroundings back to the AI.　　Parts of the circular casing will move on their own to show when the device is responding, an effort to make the object feel more alive than competing stationary smart speakers where Amazon and Google dominate the market. OpenAI is positioning it as a

08-08Industry

Coldcard bitcoin exploit exposes crypto's 'original sin' of private keys, Blockaid CEO says

Quick Take“Just having your assets sit somewhere and forgetting about them and not thinking about them is not actually the solution,” argued Ido Ben-Natan, the CEO of Blockaid.Blockaid said in its most recent report that nearly 75% of the funds lost to crypto exploits during the first half of 2026 resulted from private-key compromises.　　Blockaid CEO Ido Ben-Natan sees last weeks Coldcard exploit as exposing cryptos “original sin” of relying on private keys, which can ultimately become a single point of failure, he said during an interview with The Starting Block on Friday.　　“The fact that we govern who has access to our assets, whether thats from crypto or access to different pieces of data on the Internet, is generally derived historically by a password, and then after that, some sort of private key,” Ben-Natan said. “Its a single-use kind of access to these things. Now theres beauty in that no one else can go in and have access to these things. The hardship in that is that it is a single point of failure.”　　What made the recent Coldcard exploit particularly striking is that the Bitcoin hardware wallet is designed to keep private keys offline, shielding them from many of the risks

08-07Industry

WhiteBIT launches two automated trading bots in UK

WhiteBIT has introduced Spot Grid and Martingale DCA bots for UK users, expanding automated trading within a market where retail access to crypto derivatives remains restricted.　　WhiteBIT adds Grid and DCA bots for UK traders　　WhiteBIT has made its Spot Grid and Martingale DCA bots available to UK users, according to a company announcement carried by multiple crypto publications.　　The Spot Grid Bot places multiple buy and sell orders at fixed intervals within a chosen price range. It buys as the market moves toward the lower sections of the range and sells as the price moves higher.　　WhiteBIT designed the strategy primarily for sideways markets, where an asset repeatedly moves between established support and resistance levels. Users can choose the trading pair, investment amount, price range, and number of grids.　　The Martingale DCA Bot follows a directional strategy. It opens an initial position and places additional buy orders if the asset declines, lowering the positions average entry price. The bot then attempts to close the full position when the market recovers to a predefined profit level.　　WhiteBIT said users can adjust certain parameters while a trading cycle is active, giving them some control without requiring them to terminate the strategy and start again.　　UK derivatives ban increases

08-07Industry

Former Bitcoin miner Firmus raises $2B as Blackstone, Nvidia back AI push

Firmus, a former Bitcoin mining company that has repositioned itself as an AI infrastructure provider, has secured $2 billion in new equity funding, lifting its post-money valuation above $10.5 billion as it expands AI factory projects across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.　　According to Firmus, the strategic equity round received full investment commitments from existing backers Coatue and Nvidia, alongside new funding from funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and other Blackstone vehicles, with additional participation from global trading and technology firm Jane Street.　　The latest raise nearly doubles Firmus‘ valuation from the $5.5 billion level recorded during its April funding round. It also brings the company’s total equity raised over the past year to more than $3 billion, providing additional capital for Project Southgate, its AI factory rollout across Australia.　　Firmus funding supports Project Southgate expansion　　Under the new financing, Firmus plans to accelerate the next stage of Project Southgate while preparing for development across selected Asia-Pacific markets. The company said part of the investment will support early work on its recently announced Indonesia project, which is intended to serve AI-native customers.　　Firmus added that it has already established Australian manufacturing for its proprietary HyperCube platform. It is building AI infrastructure based on Nvidias

08-07Industry

A part of FTX survived, and its the case for the CLARITY Act

So the protections stay what they are: at the federal level not law, but an interpretive notice sorting 16 tokens, a collateral pilot, a few no-action letters, a memorandum of understanding between two federal agencies, any of it revocable without a vote. The rest is left to the states, where investors get real protection in certain states, less elsewhere, and in some states none at all, none of it reaching a market that is national. The last great collapse already showed which protections hold and which give way.　　When FTX failed, its offshore exchange misused its customers‘ assets for years. But several entities under the FTX umbrella — including LedgerX, a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse — came through the collapse whole, their customers’ assets segregated and intact. LedgerX survived for one reason: its protections were law. Not a clever mechanism but a plain one, customer segregation a regulator required and checked, which held whether or not anyone chose to honor it once the panic set in. The unregulated part of FTX ran on promises. In one collapse, under one roof, law held and promises broke.　　FTX sat offshore for a reason. For years the United States met this industry with enforcement in

08-07Industry

OKX's Rafique doubts Clarity Act will pass, warns optimism is already priced into bitcoin

Conversely, failure to pass the legislation could trigger a sharper decline, with Rafique seeing bitcoin potentially falling toward the $55,000 level before attracting significant retail buying interest.　　“The market prices news ahead of time,” he said. “Most of the appreciation from Clarity is already reflected in current prices.”　　Intercontinental Exchange partnership expands　　Separately, Rafique outlined ambitious plans for OKXs joint venture with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), describing it as a key step in the exchanges long-term U.S. strategy.　　The partnership is initially focused on distributing ICE market data and products to OKXs global user base of roughly 150 million customers. Rafique said the companies are working with ICEs futures teams to introduce additional products, including perpetual futures and other derivatives linked to traditional assets in markets such as Europe and the United Arab Emirates.　　Longer term, the venture aims to bring issuer-backed tokenized equities, spot products and futures contracts onchain.　　Rafique said issuer-backed tokenized stocks offer a more sustainable market structure than synthetic or wrapped equity models because investors retain the same governance and shareholder rights as holders of the underlying shares.　　He added that the joint venture could eventually expand into event contracts and prediction markets as the regulatory framework evolves.　　Read more: Bernstein sees another leg lower

08-07Industry

Fierce backlash to Ethereums EIP-8363 staking proposal

Ethereum researchers just wanted to reduce staking incentives. Instead, they sparked one of the biggest debates over the networks economics since the Merge.　　Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-8363, or “Tapered Issuance Burn,” would gradually reduce staking rewards as more and more Ether is locked up to secure the network — eventually cutting new protocol issuance to zero once 50% of ETHs supply is staked.　　Its authors, including Ethereum Foundations Justin Drake and Ethereum Community Conference (ETHCC) co-founder Jerome de Tychey, argue that Ethereum has reached the point where additional staking provides diminishing security returns, while diluting holders who choose not to stake.　　In other words: Ethereum should stop paying for security it no longer needs.　　Theres just one problem, a lot of people hate the idea.　　From DeFi builders to staking providers and institutional investors, critics argue it could weaken decentralization, disrupt Ethereum‘s lending markets and undermine confidence in the network’s monetary policy. As Ether.fi founder Mike Silagadze puts it:　　“This is so disappointing on every level. [...] This is bad for decentralization, this is bad for Ethereum adoption, and this is bad for the credibility of the network.”　　Dr. Steve Berryman, Bitwises head of client partnerships for Ethereum, tells Magazine:　　“Institutional adoption requires certainty and playing with the

08-07Industry

...

4143

...

1000