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Project Overview
ALEX is an open-source Bitcoin DeFi platform built on the Stacks Blockchain. It enables users to bring Bitcoin to life by allowing them to: launch their own tokens, borrow and lend with fixed rates and terms without the risk of liquidation, access an advanced decentralized exchange, deposit tokens to earn interest, and obtain high returns through yield farming.
Hivemind Digital Group Secures $17 Million Strategic Financing Led by M&G Investments
According to an official announcement from Hivemind, its subsidiary Hivemind Digital Group has completed a $17 million strategic financing round, led by M&G Investments, with participation from CPIC Investment Management (H.K.), ZA Bank, FalconX, and Sonic Boom Ventures, among others. Alex Seddon, Head of Impact and Private Equity at M&G Investments, will join the company's board of directors.
SEC Proposes Reg Crypto, Establishing Legal Pathways for Certain Token Public Offerings and Investment Contract Exits
: Galaxy's Head of Research posted on X, stating that on August 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed the "Regulation Crypto Assets," abbreviated as Reg Crypto. The proposal aims to establish a legal pathway for certain tokens to be offered to the U.S. public and to set up a mechanism for terminating investment contracts. Its applicability is limited to crypto assets that are not themselves securities but were previously issued or sold as part of an investment contract; tokenized stocks, bonds, and arrangements bundling tokens with equity or other securities are not covered by the framework.The proposal sets out four stages: offering, disclosure, build-out, and exit. A one-time startup exemption allows issuers to raise up to $5 million over a maximum of four years; a higher-threshold exemption modeled on Regulation A permits raising $20 million or $75 million within 12 months. Such offerings must pass SEC qualification review and involve ongoing disclosure, with non-accredited investors capped at 10% of the higher of their annual income or net worth. Issuers are also required to disclose token supply and unlock schedules, minting and burning mechanisms, governance and smart contract permissions, source code, as well as project construction commitments and progress.Once an issuer completes or permanently ceases the relevant build-out obligations, makes no new construction commitments, and submits a transition report, the related investment contract will be deemed terminated, and the crypto asset will no longer be subject to securities laws under that investment contract. Issuers that did not use the above offering exemptions may also use this safe harbor. The SEC estimates that approximately 475 issuers per year would use the investment contract safe harbor, and about 130 issuers would use the two new exemptions. Offerings that qualify would not be considered restricted securities and could be resold immediately without contractual restrictions.The proposal also excludes covered initial offerings and certain secondary transactions from state registration and qualification requirements, but it does not address exchanges, brokers, dealers, or custody, nor is it a standalone innovative exemption for tokenized securities and on-chain transactions. The comment period is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda all issued statements of support. The article was written by Alex Thorn.
AI video platform Higgsfield completes $400 million funding round, reaching a valuation of $5.4 billion
Odaily News: AI video generation platform Higgsfield has completed a $400 million funding round at a valuation of $5.4 billion. Investors include DST Global, Goldman Sachs, Liberty Global, Intel, Tribe Capital, Smash Capital, Fifth Wall, Valor Capital, Mirae Asset Capital, and NTT DOCOMO Ventures. The funding will primarily be used for enterprise-grade products, security, and computing power investment.Higgsfield was founded by former Snap executive Alex Mashrabov and currently has over 30 million users across 238 countries and regions. As of August this year, its annualized revenue had reached $700 million. Previously, Higgsfield raised $80 million at a valuation of $1.3 billion. (FT)
Analysis: Strategy Capital Restructuring Alleviates Short-Term Liquidity Pressure, But Structural Risks Remain
Odaily Odaily News, Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn stated that the capital management reforms recently launched by Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) have effectively eased market concerns over its liquidity and preferred stock system pressure in the short term. However, he noted these measures are more about "buying time" rather than fundamentally resolving structural issues.Over the past few weeks, Strategy has faced pressure on its "Digital Credit" preferred stock system. Its STRC ("Stretch" preferred shares) fell below par value, hitting a low of approximately $71.25, raising market concerns about Bitcoin price declines, shrinking dollar reserves, and the company's ability to pay preferred stock dividends. Subsequently, market discussions focused on three stress scenarios: selling Bitcoin, issuing additional MSTR shares (diluting existing shareholders), or cutting/suspending preferred stock dividends.In response, Strategy announced a comprehensive capital management restructuring on Monday, introducing a "Digital Credit Capital Framework." This includes five key tools: a board-approved dollar reserve policy, an adjustment to the STRC dividend mechanism, a $1 billion preferred stock buyback authorization, a $1 billion MSTR common stock buyback authorization, and a Bitcoin monetization mechanism. Concurrently, the company increased the annualized dividend rate on STRC from 11.5% to 12%.The market reacted positively, with both MSTR and STRC seeing significant gains that day, and Bitcoin also rebounded alongside.Alex Thorn pointed out that this adjustment has improved market sentiment in the short term, extending Strategy's cash coverage cycle to approximately 17 months and enhancing its capital buffer through new financing. However, the company still faces approximately $6.7 billion in convertible bond maturities during 2027-2028, meaning long-term structural risks persist. The core issue is not whether Strategy holds enough Bitcoin (approximately 847,000 BTC), but rather that its dollar liquidity is insufficient to cover preferred stock and capital structure obligations without harming the interests of any party, leading to a squeeze between different classes of shareholders.Nonetheless, the key significance of this adjustment lies in enhancing the "optionality" of the company's capital tools. It shifts Strategy from a single-direction Bitcoin accumulation strategy towards a more proactive asset-liability management model, thereby preventing short-term liquidity issues from evolving into a systemic crisis. Although the current Bitcoin market environment is relatively weak and may not have bottomed out yet, Strategy's new framework has, to some extent, bought the company a window of time to wait for more favorable market conditions.
Cambrian announced the completion of a $6 million seed funding round, co-led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital.
According to The Block, Cambrian, a blockchain data infrastructure startup, has announced the completion of a $6 million seed funding round co-led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital. Flow Traders, Selini Capital, Paper Ventures, and Nomad Capital also participated. Angel investors include Jason Mo, Avi Felman, and Alex Lee and Willy Chuang, co-founders of TrueNorth. This round was structured as a SAFE with token warrants, and Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital have secured board observer seats. With this round, Cambrian’s total funding raised reaches $11.9 million, including its previously announced $5.9 million pre-seed round led by a16z CSX.
Barclays shifts from its long-standing bullish stance, warning retail investors that the S&P 500 index could face a total correction of 6%-7%
The shift of the most steadfast bulls often represents the most noteworthy signal in the market. Alex Altmann, Barclays' global head of equity strategy, who has repeatedly called for "holding stocks steady" during market volatility and accurately timed rebounds, has recently issued a rare cautious warning.In his latest market analysis, Alex Altmann stated that due to multiple pressures from technical overbought conditions, excessive sentiment, and macroeconomic headwinds, he has turned bearish on the short-term outlook for U.S. stocks. He believes the U.S. stock market is currently in the "middle of a hill" of a structural correction, with the biggest concern being the significant disconnect between retail investor sentiment and macroeconomic reality. He drew a comparison to the speculative frenzy of 2021: during that year's market mania, real yields were negative, and cheap money flooded the market. In contrast, financing costs have now surged sharply, and real yields remain high, creating clear pressure on equity valuations.However, the frenzy among retail investors has even surpassed that of 2021. Alex Altmann bluntly stated: "When the market cannot find a single institutional bear, the return curve for the S&P 500 has often already run its course."
OpenAI has showcased Astra to VIP clients in a closed-door meeting, claiming it to be "the first model that can invent new things"
Odaily News Tech reporter Alex Heath said that OpenAI recently showcased Astra to VIP clients at a closed-door preview event.OpenAI researchers demonstrated Astra coordinating multiple agents to jointly complete mathematical proofs, operating desktop software at what Sam Altman described as "superhuman, extremely fast" speeds, and generating presentation slides (PPT), financial review reports, and analyses of messy data. Astra is designed to work continuously for days or even weeks, capable of remembering human corrections, collaborating with other agents and humans, and executing operations across multiple software tools.Sam Altman also said at the event: "I expect that Astra will be the first model that can truly invent new things in a substantive way."
Barclays: U.S. Voter Backlash Could Intensify Regulatory Pressure on AI Infrastructure, Posing Political Risks for AI Trades
Bloomberg reported that Barclays' equity strategy team stated that the ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure is sparking a bipartisan voter backlash in the U.S., and markets may be underestimating related political risks ahead of this November's midterm elections. Strategists Jenny Yang and Alex Altmann noted that voter concerns over AI build-outs could trigger stricter regulatory scrutiny, with policy pressure expected to focus primarily on the regulation of data center construction and operations. This could introduce uncertainty into the heavily favored AI investment theme.
SEC Proposes Reg Crypto, Establishing Legal Pathways for Certain Token Public Offerings and Investment Contract Exits
: Galaxy's Head of Research posted on X, stating that on August 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed the "Regulation Crypto Assets," abbreviated as Reg Crypto. The proposal aims to establish a legal pathway for certain tokens to be offered to the U.S. public and to set up a mechanism for terminating investment contracts. Its applicability is limited to crypto assets that are not themselves securities but were previously issued or sold as part of an investment contract; tokenized stocks, bonds, and arrangements bundling tokens with equity or other securities are not covered by the framework.The proposal sets out four stages: offering, disclosure, build-out, and exit. A one-time startup exemption allows issuers to raise up to $5 million over a maximum of four years; a higher-threshold exemption modeled on Regulation A permits raising $20 million or $75 million within 12 months. Such offerings must pass SEC qualification review and involve ongoing disclosure, with non-accredited investors capped at 10% of the higher of their annual income or net worth. Issuers are also required to disclose token supply and unlock schedules, minting and burning mechanisms, governance and smart contract permissions, source code, as well as project construction commitments and progress.Once an issuer completes or permanently ceases the relevant build-out obligations, makes no new construction commitments, and submits a transition report, the related investment contract will be deemed terminated, and the crypto asset will no longer be subject to securities laws under that investment contract. Issuers that did not use the above offering exemptions may also use this safe harbor. The SEC estimates that approximately 475 issuers per year would use the investment contract safe harbor, and about 130 issuers would use the two new exemptions. Offerings that qualify would not be considered restricted securities and could be resold immediately without contractual restrictions.The proposal also excludes covered initial offerings and certain secondary transactions from state registration and qualification requirements, but it does not address exchanges, brokers, dealers, or custody, nor is it a standalone innovative exemption for tokenized securities and on-chain transactions. The comment period is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda all issued statements of support. The article was written by Alex Thorn.
Coldcard vulnerability investigation escalates: At least 15 attackers identified, a single victim's findings reveal 12 BTC stolen
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn stated that based on new victim reports received following the incident, the number of attackers exploiting the Coldcard vulnerability has reached at least 15.Thorn noted that information provided by victims helped the research team uncover previously unidentified attack activity. Unlike thefts from centralized exchanges, correlations between the attackers in this vulnerability exploit require confirmation through on-chain analysis and victim feedback.He added that a single victim reporting less than 1 BTC stolen helped the team discover a previously unknown attack, which siphoned approximately 12 BTC from 126 addresses.According to Galaxy Research's earlier estimates, the Coldcard vulnerability has led to at least three rounds of attacks, with losses amounting to approximately $100 million in BTC. Additionally, Galaxy has identified a suspected fourth round of attacks, which could bring total losses to approximately $130 million.Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked discussions regarding the security of Bitcoin self-custody. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that "AI security hardening costing around $2" could potentially have prevented this vulnerability, and noted that some AI models were able to rediscover related vulnerabilities within a relatively short timeframe. However, industry insiders pointed out that current claims about the speed of AI discovering vulnerabilities lack rigorous blind testing and verification.Researchers believe that as AI model capabilities improve, the costs of vulnerability discovery and attacks in the crypto industry may continue to decline, requiring wallet developers to further strengthen code audits and security protections. (Cointelegraph)
US Senators Propose Legislation to Ban Trump Media & Technology Group from Selling "Early Access" to Presidential Posts
Odaily News: U.S. Democratic Senator Alex Padilla plans to introduce new legislation that would prohibit presidents from offering paid services that provide users with early access to their public statements or social media posts. The bill targets a recently launched paid service by Trump Media & Technology Group that allows users to receive real-time alerts on posts from Trump and other figures on social platforms, some of which may involve information affecting financial markets.Alex Padilla stated that Trump's public remarks should not be sold as an "early trading advantage" to specific paid users. He believes that if market participants can gain faster notifications of presidential statements through payment, it could create an unfair information gap. As of now, Trump Media & Technology Group has not responded to the legislative proposal.
Galaxy Research Head: Coldcard attack ongoing, will update affected address count statistics
Odaily News, Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn posted on X platform, stating that the attack targeting wallet addresses with weak random numbers generated by Coldcard is still ongoing. Users who still hold funds in Coldcard single-signature wallets should immediately migrate to secure addresses. New victim addresses and attacker addresses are continuously being added to the investigation database, and Galaxy Research plans to release updated statistics on the number of affected addresses.He noted that the previously identified waves 1, 2, and 3 of the attack exhibit clear programmatic characteristics, and the stolen BTC currently remains in the attacker's addresses without any transfers. However, in recent times, smaller-scale attackers have begun exploiting the vulnerability to steal funds and move them through peeling chains, cross-chain services, and other methods. It is certain that single-signature wallet addresses generated by Coldcard after the March 2021 firmware upgrade are all potentially at risk, and users should migrate funds as soon as possible.Previously reported, Galaxy Research has disclosed that the Coldcard vulnerability attack has affected approximately 1,367.05 BTC (approximately $88.6 million), involving around 4,585 addresses.
Bitcoin’s historical drawdowns have narrowed, while gains from cycle lows have simultaneously declined
Odaily News: Over the past 18 years, the Bitcoin market has repeatedly seen the narrative of "this time is different," yet the structure of each cycle has largely continued. In 2014, 2017, 2020-2021, and 2024-2025, BTC’s maximum drawdowns were approximately 85%, 84%, 77%, and 53%, respectively, showing a gradual narrowing trend.Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, released a chart stating that the current BTC drawdown is significantly smaller than those of previous cycles. Analyst Willy Woo noted that as the supply shock from halvings diminishes, Bitcoin may be transitioning from a four-year cycle to a six-to-eight-year cycle, although this assessment cannot yet be confirmed.In previous cycles, gains from the low point to the next all-time high were approximately 580x, 130x, 22x, and 8x, respectively. Analyst James Check pointed out that Bitcoin’s price floor has risen each cycle, while its peak has remained relatively stable. Jesse Myers stated that BTC may have just entered a two-to-three-year bull market. (Bitcoin.com News)
Interviewing around 35 crypto and traditional finance professionals, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas will compile selected content into a book
: Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated on the X platform that his team interviewed around 35 individuals from the crypto industry and traditional finance, including some skeptics, with each interview lasting about 1 hour, and compiled selected content into a book. The interviewees include Lyn Alden, Ian Allison, John Ameriks, Michael Batnick, Jim Bianco, William Birdthistle, Doug Boneparth, Natalie Brunell, Austin Campbell, Nic Carter, Nikki Dunn, Ric Edelman, Tony Edwards, Nate Geraci, Alex Gladstein, Ben Hart, Corey Hoffstein, Matt Hougan, Tim Keefe, Elizabeth Kashner, Kathy Kriskey, Chris Kuiper, Art Laffer, Dave Nadig, Sergey Nazarov, Zach Pandl, Nathanial Popper, Cullen Roche, Anthony Scaramucci, Matt Sigel, Alex Thorn, Carolyn Weinberg, and Cathie Wood.
Galaxy Research Head: Coldcard Incident Shakes Bitcoin Community, Signaling a Turning Point in Security Philosophy
Odaily News, Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn stated on the X platform that attacks exploiting the Coldcard hardware wallet vulnerability have noticeably declined, but cumulative losses continue to rise as more victims come forward. The impact of this incident on the Bitcoin community is significant, as the victims are primarily long-term BTC holders who adhered to self-custody cold storage principles, rather than those who lost assets due to high-risk trading or DeFi activities.At a scale of $112 million, this incident ranks among the top 20 largest hacks in crypto history and is one of the most severe security breaches in the hardware wallet self-custody sector to date. Bitcoin culture may be entering a new phase—the era of relying solely on ideological advocacy and extreme self-custody promotion is coming to an end. The community needs to place greater emphasis on technical security, lower the barrier to entry for users, and avoid simply shifting the burden of security responsibility onto ordinary users. This crisis may ultimately drive the Bitcoin ecosystem to establish a more mature security framework.Galaxy Research has directly contacted 190 victims and has confirmed with high confidence that the exploit has led to the theft of 1,778.84 BTC (approximately $112.7 million) from over 8,600 addresses. This tally does not yet include certain moderately credible suspicious attack records, such as the unconfirmed "Wave 4." If these potential attack scopes are incorporated, total losses could expand to 2,417.35 BTC (approximately $153 million).Meanwhile, the incident is reshaping market perceptions of self-custody security. Galaxy noted that multisig wallets have emerged as the "winners" of this event, with no stolen transactions traced to multisig wallets so far. Multisig service providers including Casa, Unchained, Nunchuk, and Anchorwatch have all observed a notable increase in user registrations and BTC inflows.
COLDCARD hacker identified by researchers through on-chain patterns such as fixed fee rates
Odaily News: According to Bitcoin News monitoring, Alex Thorn of Galaxy Research stated that researchers initially identified the first wave of COLDCARD thefts through a distinctive on-chain pattern: thousands of automated asset transfer transactions used the same fixed fee rate and exhibited identical transaction behavior. This characteristic enabled analysts to trace attacker activity across Bitcoin UTXO history and map out multiple rounds of coordinated theft.
Coldcard vulnerability investigation escalates: At least 15 attackers identified, a single victim's findings reveal 12 BTC stolen
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn stated that based on new victim reports received following the incident, the number of attackers exploiting the Coldcard vulnerability has reached at least 15.Thorn noted that information provided by victims helped the research team uncover previously unidentified attack activity. Unlike thefts from centralized exchanges, correlations between the attackers in this vulnerability exploit require confirmation through on-chain analysis and victim feedback.He added that a single victim reporting less than 1 BTC stolen helped the team discover a previously unknown attack, which siphoned approximately 12 BTC from 126 addresses.According to Galaxy Research's earlier estimates, the Coldcard vulnerability has led to at least three rounds of attacks, with losses amounting to approximately $100 million in BTC. Additionally, Galaxy has identified a suspected fourth round of attacks, which could bring total losses to approximately $130 million.Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked discussions regarding the security of Bitcoin self-custody. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that "AI security hardening costing around $2" could potentially have prevented this vulnerability, and noted that some AI models were able to rediscover related vulnerabilities within a relatively short timeframe. However, industry insiders pointed out that current claims about the speed of AI discovering vulnerabilities lack rigorous blind testing and verification.Researchers believe that as AI model capabilities improve, the costs of vulnerability discovery and attacks in the crypto industry may continue to decline, requiring wallet developers to further strengthen code audits and security protections. (Cointelegraph)
Cramer Announces Liquidating Bitcoin, Crypto Community Calls It "Strongest Buy Signal of 2026"
According to CoinDesk, well-known CNBC host Jim Cramer announced this week his plan to liquidate all Bitcoin holdings, citing the rapid development of quantum computing technology as a potential threat to cryptocurrency security within the next three to four years. This statement originated from his interview on July 31 with IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, who warned that quantum computers could challenge modern cryptographic systems within that timeframe. However, the crypto community generally remains optimistic about this. Alex, a self-proclaimed Bitcoin maximalist and X user, stated bluntly: "Cramer is at it again; this is the strongest buy signal Bitcoin has received for 2026." This reaction is closely linked to Cramer's long-standing market reputation as a "contrarian indicator"—his historical prediction record is notorious: in 2017, he called Bitcoin "Monopoly money"; in 2021, BTC hit an all-time high shortly after he liquidated his holdings; in 2024, he warned of a plunge following the ETF launch, yet BTC rose to $70,000 within two months. Currently, the BTC price remains steady near $64,000, with the market showing a muted reaction to his quantum warning.
At least 1,789 BTC stolen; Coldcard hacker begins swapping for ETH via THORChain, with approximately 10% of stolen BTC moved
Odaily News – According to Bitcoin News monitoring, hackers linked to the third wave of Coldcard wallet thefts have begun moving stolen funds for the first time, converting Bitcoin into ETH via THORChain. Galaxy Research's Alex Thorn stated that approximately 10% of the stolen BTC has been moved, while the remaining 90% remains untouched. The attacker reportedly encountered difficulties during the fund conversion, with multiple THORChain transactions being returned and retried. Researchers have traced the related swap activity to a new Ethereum address, which Alex Thorn noted has been shared with relevant authorities and cryptocurrency companies. Galaxy Research indicated that the broader Coldcard exploit has resulted in losses of at least 1,789 BTC across 8,865 addresses, valued at approximately $115 million based on prices at the time of the theft.
Galaxy Research Head: Coldcard Incident Shakes Bitcoin Community, Signaling a Turning Point in Security Philosophy
Odaily News, Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn stated on the X platform that attacks exploiting the Coldcard hardware wallet vulnerability have noticeably declined, but cumulative losses continue to rise as more victims come forward. The impact of this incident on the Bitcoin community is significant, as the victims are primarily long-term BTC holders who adhered to self-custody cold storage principles, rather than those who lost assets due to high-risk trading or DeFi activities.At a scale of $112 million, this incident ranks among the top 20 largest hacks in crypto history and is one of the most severe security breaches in the hardware wallet self-custody sector to date. Bitcoin culture may be entering a new phase—the era of relying solely on ideological advocacy and extreme self-custody promotion is coming to an end. The community needs to place greater emphasis on technical security, lower the barrier to entry for users, and avoid simply shifting the burden of security responsibility onto ordinary users. This crisis may ultimately drive the Bitcoin ecosystem to establish a more mature security framework.Galaxy Research has directly contacted 190 victims and has confirmed with high confidence that the exploit has led to the theft of 1,778.84 BTC (approximately $112.7 million) from over 8,600 addresses. This tally does not yet include certain moderately credible suspicious attack records, such as the unconfirmed "Wave 4." If these potential attack scopes are incorporated, total losses could expand to 2,417.35 BTC (approximately $153 million).Meanwhile, the incident is reshaping market perceptions of self-custody security. Galaxy noted that multisig wallets have emerged as the "winners" of this event, with no stolen transactions traced to multisig wallets so far. Multisig service providers including Casa, Unchained, Nunchuk, and Anchorwatch have all observed a notable increase in user registrations and BTC inflows.
190+ Coldcard vulnerability attack victims have been in contact with Galaxy's Head of Research, with no new confirmed attacks since August 6
Odaily News: According to monitoring by Galaxy's Head of Research, since July 31, they have communicated with over 190 victims of the Coldcard vulnerability attack, and have asked victims who have not yet been in touch to reach out via direct message so they can provide tracking information and assist in reporting losses to relevant authorities. Since August 6, no new attacks have been confirmed, but this does not mean that new attacks cannot occur, and vigilance should be maintained.
COLDCARD hacker identified by researchers through on-chain patterns such as fixed fee rates
Odaily News: According to Bitcoin News monitoring, Alex Thorn of Galaxy Research stated that researchers initially identified the first wave of COLDCARD thefts through a distinctive on-chain pattern: thousands of automated asset transfer transactions used the same fixed fee rate and exhibited identical transaction behavior. This characteristic enabled analysts to trace attacker activity across Bitcoin UTXO history and map out multiple rounds of coordinated theft.
Coldcard vulnerability investigation escalates: At least 15 attackers identified, a single victim's findings reveal 12 BTC stolen
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn stated that based on new victim reports received following the incident, the number of attackers exploiting the Coldcard vulnerability has reached at least 15.Thorn noted that information provided by victims helped the research team uncover previously unidentified attack activity. Unlike thefts from centralized exchanges, correlations between the attackers in this vulnerability exploit require confirmation through on-chain analysis and victim feedback.He added that a single victim reporting less than 1 BTC stolen helped the team discover a previously unknown attack, which siphoned approximately 12 BTC from 126 addresses.According to Galaxy Research's earlier estimates, the Coldcard vulnerability has led to at least three rounds of attacks, with losses amounting to approximately $100 million in BTC. Additionally, Galaxy has identified a suspected fourth round of attacks, which could bring total losses to approximately $130 million.Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked discussions regarding the security of Bitcoin self-custody. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that "AI security hardening costing around $2" could potentially have prevented this vulnerability, and noted that some AI models were able to rediscover related vulnerabilities within a relatively short timeframe. However, industry insiders pointed out that current claims about the speed of AI discovering vulnerabilities lack rigorous blind testing and verification.Researchers believe that as AI model capabilities improve, the costs of vulnerability discovery and attacks in the crypto industry may continue to decline, requiring wallet developers to further strengthen code audits and security protections. (Cointelegraph)
Losses may approach $114 million, Coldcard wallet vulnerability attack mainly impacts single-signature wallets
Odaily News: Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn analyzed that a new wave of Bitcoin sweeping attacks targeting Coldcard wallet addresses is underway, and cumulative losses from vulnerabilities related to Coldcard hardware wallets could approach $114 million. This attack primarily affects single-signature wallets, with no multi-signature wallets found to be impacted so far. No direct victim reports have been received yet; the assessment is mainly based on on-chain transaction pattern analysis, with some attack transactions still in an unconfirmed state.
Algorand Appoints Former Chainlink Executive William Herkelrath as New CEO
According to CoinDesk, the Algorand Foundation has officially appointed William Herkelrath as chief executive officer, succeeding Staci Warden, who served for nearly five years. Herkelrath previously held leadership roles at blockchain data provider Chainlink and crypto custody firm Curv, and co-founded the AI automation platform K3 Labs. He officially assumed office on August 31. The Algorand Foundation stated that the new CEO will focus on driving institutional business expansion and post-quantum security initiatives. To date, Algorand has introduced post-quantum accounts based on the Falcon-1024 lattice-based signature system through its v42 consensus upgrade, with plans to achieve full quantum resistance prior to 2028. Additionally, the foundation’s board is undergoing concurrent adjustments, with Alex Fowler joining while Rebecca Rettig and Michael Mosier depart.
Bitcoin’s historical drawdowns have narrowed, while gains from cycle lows have simultaneously declined
Odaily News: Over the past 18 years, the Bitcoin market has repeatedly seen the narrative of "this time is different," yet the structure of each cycle has largely continued. In 2014, 2017, 2020-2021, and 2024-2025, BTC’s maximum drawdowns were approximately 85%, 84%, 77%, and 53%, respectively, showing a gradual narrowing trend.Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, released a chart stating that the current BTC drawdown is significantly smaller than those of previous cycles. Analyst Willy Woo noted that as the supply shock from halvings diminishes, Bitcoin may be transitioning from a four-year cycle to a six-to-eight-year cycle, although this assessment cannot yet be confirmed.In previous cycles, gains from the low point to the next all-time high were approximately 580x, 130x, 22x, and 8x, respectively. Analyst James Check pointed out that Bitcoin’s price floor has risen each cycle, while its peak has remained relatively stable. Jesse Myers stated that BTC may have just entered a two-to-three-year bull market. (Bitcoin.com News)
SEC Proposes Reg Crypto, Establishing Legal Pathways for Certain Token Public Offerings and Investment Contract Exits
: Galaxy's Head of Research posted on X, stating that on August 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed the "Regulation Crypto Assets," abbreviated as Reg Crypto. The proposal aims to establish a legal pathway for certain tokens to be offered to the U.S. public and to set up a mechanism for terminating investment contracts. Its applicability is limited to crypto assets that are not themselves securities but were previously issued or sold as part of an investment contract; tokenized stocks, bonds, and arrangements bundling tokens with equity or other securities are not covered by the framework.The proposal sets out four stages: offering, disclosure, build-out, and exit. A one-time startup exemption allows issuers to raise up to $5 million over a maximum of four years; a higher-threshold exemption modeled on Regulation A permits raising $20 million or $75 million within 12 months. Such offerings must pass SEC qualification review and involve ongoing disclosure, with non-accredited investors capped at 10% of the higher of their annual income or net worth. Issuers are also required to disclose token supply and unlock schedules, minting and burning mechanisms, governance and smart contract permissions, source code, as well as project construction commitments and progress.Once an issuer completes or permanently ceases the relevant build-out obligations, makes no new construction commitments, and submits a transition report, the related investment contract will be deemed terminated, and the crypto asset will no longer be subject to securities laws under that investment contract. Issuers that did not use the above offering exemptions may also use this safe harbor. The SEC estimates that approximately 475 issuers per year would use the investment contract safe harbor, and about 130 issuers would use the two new exemptions. Offerings that qualify would not be considered restricted securities and could be resold immediately without contractual restrictions.The proposal also excludes covered initial offerings and certain secondary transactions from state registration and qualification requirements, but it does not address exchanges, brokers, dealers, or custody, nor is it a standalone innovative exemption for tokenized securities and on-chain transactions. The comment period is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda all issued statements of support. The article was written by Alex Thorn.
Coldcard vulnerability investigation escalates: At least 15 attackers identified, a single victim's findings reveal 12 BTC stolen
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn stated that based on new victim reports received following the incident, the number of attackers exploiting the Coldcard vulnerability has reached at least 15.Thorn noted that information provided by victims helped the research team uncover previously unidentified attack activity. Unlike thefts from centralized exchanges, correlations between the attackers in this vulnerability exploit require confirmation through on-chain analysis and victim feedback.He added that a single victim reporting less than 1 BTC stolen helped the team discover a previously unknown attack, which siphoned approximately 12 BTC from 126 addresses.According to Galaxy Research's earlier estimates, the Coldcard vulnerability has led to at least three rounds of attacks, with losses amounting to approximately $100 million in BTC. Additionally, Galaxy has identified a suspected fourth round of attacks, which could bring total losses to approximately $130 million.Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked discussions regarding the security of Bitcoin self-custody. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that "AI security hardening costing around $2" could potentially have prevented this vulnerability, and noted that some AI models were able to rediscover related vulnerabilities within a relatively short timeframe. However, industry insiders pointed out that current claims about the speed of AI discovering vulnerabilities lack rigorous blind testing and verification.Researchers believe that as AI model capabilities improve, the costs of vulnerability discovery and attacks in the crypto industry may continue to decline, requiring wallet developers to further strengthen code audits and security protections. (Cointelegraph)
US Senators Propose Legislation to Ban Trump Media & Technology Group from Selling "Early Access" to Presidential Posts
Odaily News: U.S. Democratic Senator Alex Padilla plans to introduce new legislation that would prohibit presidents from offering paid services that provide users with early access to their public statements or social media posts. The bill targets a recently launched paid service by Trump Media & Technology Group that allows users to receive real-time alerts on posts from Trump and other figures on social platforms, some of which may involve information affecting financial markets.Alex Padilla stated that Trump's public remarks should not be sold as an "early trading advantage" to specific paid users. He believes that if market participants can gain faster notifications of presidential statements through payment, it could create an unfair information gap. As of now, Trump Media & Technology Group has not responded to the legislative proposal.
Galaxy Research Head: Coldcard attack ongoing, will update affected address count statistics
Odaily News, Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn posted on X platform, stating that the attack targeting wallet addresses with weak random numbers generated by Coldcard is still ongoing. Users who still hold funds in Coldcard single-signature wallets should immediately migrate to secure addresses. New victim addresses and attacker addresses are continuously being added to the investigation database, and Galaxy Research plans to release updated statistics on the number of affected addresses.He noted that the previously identified waves 1, 2, and 3 of the attack exhibit clear programmatic characteristics, and the stolen BTC currently remains in the attacker's addresses without any transfers. However, in recent times, smaller-scale attackers have begun exploiting the vulnerability to steal funds and move them through peeling chains, cross-chain services, and other methods. It is certain that single-signature wallet addresses generated by Coldcard after the March 2021 firmware upgrade are all potentially at risk, and users should migrate funds as soon as possible.Previously reported, Galaxy Research has disclosed that the Coldcard vulnerability attack has affected approximately 1,367.05 BTC (approximately $88.6 million), involving around 4,585 addresses.
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Algorand Appoints Former Chainlink Executive William Herkelrath as New CEO
According to CoinDesk, the Algorand Foundation has officially appointed William Herkelrath as chief executive officer, succeeding Staci Warden, who served for nearly five years. Herkelrath previously held leadership roles at blockchain data provider Chainlink and crypto custody firm Curv, and co-founded the AI automation platform K3 Labs. He officially assumed office on August 31. The Algorand Foundation stated that the new CEO will focus on driving institutional business expansion and post-quantum security initiatives. To date, Algorand has introduced post-quantum accounts based on the Falcon-1024 lattice-based signature system through its v42 consensus upgrade, with plans to achieve full quantum resistance prior to 2028. Additionally, the foundation’s board is undergoing concurrent adjustments, with Alex Fowler joining while Rebecca Rettig and Michael Mosier depart.
Bitcoin’s historical drawdowns have narrowed, while gains from cycle lows have simultaneously declined
Odaily News: Over the past 18 years, the Bitcoin market has repeatedly seen the narrative of "this time is different," yet the structure of each cycle has largely continued. In 2014, 2017, 2020-2021, and 2024-2025, BTC’s maximum drawdowns were approximately 85%, 84%, 77%, and 53%, respectively, showing a gradual narrowing trend.Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, released a chart stating that the current BTC drawdown is significantly smaller than those of previous cycles. Analyst Willy Woo noted that as the supply shock from halvings diminishes, Bitcoin may be transitioning from a four-year cycle to a six-to-eight-year cycle, although this assessment cannot yet be confirmed.In previous cycles, gains from the low point to the next all-time high were approximately 580x, 130x, 22x, and 8x, respectively. Analyst James Check pointed out that Bitcoin’s price floor has risen each cycle, while its peak has remained relatively stable. Jesse Myers stated that BTC may have just entered a two-to-three-year bull market. (Bitcoin.com News)
At least 1,789 BTC stolen; Coldcard hacker begins swapping for ETH via THORChain, with approximately 10% of stolen BTC moved
Odaily News – According to Bitcoin News monitoring, hackers linked to the third wave of Coldcard wallet thefts have begun moving stolen funds for the first time, converting Bitcoin into ETH via THORChain. Galaxy Research's Alex Thorn stated that approximately 10% of the stolen BTC has been moved, while the remaining 90% remains untouched. The attacker reportedly encountered difficulties during the fund conversion, with multiple THORChain transactions being returned and retried. Researchers have traced the related swap activity to a new Ethereum address, which Alex Thorn noted has been shared with relevant authorities and cryptocurrency companies. Galaxy Research indicated that the broader Coldcard exploit has resulted in losses of at least 1,789 BTC across 8,865 addresses, valued at approximately $115 million based on prices at the time of the theft.
Bitcoin Posts Record $14,300 Weekly Gain, Market Eyes 50-Week Moving Average as Bottom Signal
Odaily News – Bitcoin closed at $77,387, posting a weekly gain of $14,264, or 22.7%, marking the largest weekly dollar increase in the asset's trading history. Bitcoin subsequently touched $81,000, hitting a three-month high, before retreating to around $79,000. The U.S. Treasury has increased the size of its long-term liquidity support repurchase operations from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, with larger-scale repurchases scheduled to take place between September 9 and November 4.Galaxy Research noted that Bitcoin's 50-week moving average currently sits near $82,470, which could serve as a confirmation signal for the next phase of bottoming. According to the firm's data, out of 13 completed bear markets since 2011, 11 confirmed cycle bottoms when weekly closes surpassed this moving average, with only the 2021–2022 double-top cycle seeing two instances where the level failed to hold.Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, pointed out that retail buying appetite for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust spot Bitcoin ETF has reached a two-year high, during which Bitcoin briefly touched $81,257. Strive Chairman and CEO Matt Cole stated that the next Bitcoin cycle will be the strongest in history. (News, Bitcoin.com)
OpenAI has showcased Astra to VIP clients in a closed-door meeting, claiming it to be "the first model that can invent new things"
Odaily News Tech reporter Alex Heath said that OpenAI recently showcased Astra to VIP clients at a closed-door preview event.OpenAI researchers demonstrated Astra coordinating multiple agents to jointly complete mathematical proofs, operating desktop software at what Sam Altman described as "superhuman, extremely fast" speeds, and generating presentation slides (PPT), financial review reports, and analyses of messy data. Astra is designed to work continuously for days or even weeks, capable of remembering human corrections, collaborating with other agents and humans, and executing operations across multiple software tools.Sam Altman also said at the event: "I expect that Astra will be the first model that can truly invent new things in a substantive way."
Barclays: U.S. Voter Backlash Could Intensify Regulatory Pressure on AI Infrastructure, Posing Political Risks for AI Trades
Bloomberg reported that Barclays' equity strategy team stated that the ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure is sparking a bipartisan voter backlash in the U.S., and markets may be underestimating related political risks ahead of this November's midterm elections. Strategists Jenny Yang and Alex Altmann noted that voter concerns over AI build-outs could trigger stricter regulatory scrutiny, with policy pressure expected to focus primarily on the regulation of data center construction and operations. This could introduce uncertainty into the heavily favored AI investment theme.