Cryptoccino — Thursday 06 August 2026

Bitcoin stuck at $64K while global equities hit records. Bitcoin traded flat around $64,000 as major equity indices printed all-time highs, with crypto broadly failing to participate in the risk rally. Spot ETFs pulled in $211.5 million on Tuesday, providing a floor but no catalyst for a breakout. Analysts characterise the pattern as a slow-motion bottoming process driven by attrition rather than conviction. coindesk coindesk theblock

Galaxy Digital shares drop up to 12% on a Q2 net loss. Galaxy posted an $85 million net loss in the second quarter, missing revenue estimates and sending shares down sharply despite its Helios AI data centre campus beginning to generate income. Michael Novogratz used the earnings call to downplay the absence of US market structure legislation, arguing the industry has functioned without it for years. The Helios Phase I facility is expected to produce around $80 million in quarterly leasing revenue from Q3. theblock bloomberg_crypto coindesk

Circle shares slip 3% despite an earnings beat. Circle reported Q2 revenue of $701 million and profit above consensus, but the stock fell after the top-line figure disappointed relative to expectations. USDC in circulation reached $73.3 billion, and Circle simultaneously named BlackRock, Visa, DTCC and eight other institutions as validators for the Arc blockchain, which is targeting a September launch. The revenue miss reflects the squeeze on reserve income as rate-cut expectations shift. coindesk cryptobriefing

Whale accumulation in BTC, ETH and XRP signals a late-stage bear market, per CryptoQuant. CryptoQuant data shows large holders adding to positions across the three largest liquid assets even as prices remain compressed. The firm characterises the setup as consistent with prior late-stage bear markets where institutional buyers absorb retail distribution before a trend reversal. The Coldcard-driven spike in on-chain activity this week is the noisiest backdrop in which that signal has appeared so far this year. theblock

Circle names Wall Street heavyweights as Arc validators ahead of September launch. BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and DTCC are among eleven institutions confirmed as validators for Circle’s Arc blockchain, which has already processed half a billion transactions on testnet. The Coinbase USDC distribution deal has been renewed on existing terms, maintaining the revenue-share arrangement that is material to both companies. Arc’s validator set is designed to give institutional counterparties governance skin in the game before the network goes live. theblock decrypt

Binance sues RedotPay founders for $470 million, alleging deliberate user diversion. Binance affiliates filed suit against the founders of Hong Kong-based payments firm RedotPay, claiming they ran a scheme to redirect hundreds of thousands of Binance customers to a competing product. The alleged damages are close to half a billion dollars. RedotPay says it will contest the claims vigorously. bloomberg_crypto coindesk

Yellow Card raises $40 million to wire African banks into stablecoin rails. The African fintech closed a $40 million round aimed at expanding its infrastructure connecting local banks to stablecoin payment flows. The raise reflects continued investor appetite for emerging-market stablecoin plumbing despite the broader funding slowdown. Mastercard is separately piloting its Crypto Credential product with Borderless.xyz for cross-border stablecoin flows, and Visa has expanded stablecoin payouts via Zerohash on its Direct network. coindesk theblock theblock decrypt

Eliza Labs founder declares ai16z token dead after class-action settlement drains treasury. Shaw Walters confirmed the ai16z token, once valued at $2.4 billion, is being wound down after remaining project funds were used to settle a Burwick Law class-action suit. The foundation will also shut. The episode is a clean case study in what happens when a hyped AI-agent narrative meets legal liability with an underfunded treasury. theblock decrypt coindesk

Coldcard hardware wallet exploit: $120–130 million drained, AI auditing implicated. Full details in the Lead. Coinkite confirmed a software flaw went undetected by AI-assisted review tools, with losses now estimated at up to $130 million. bloomberg_crypto

NFT founder charged with $10 million fraud, funds allegedly spent on gambling and DJ equipment. Federal prosecutors charged the founder of NFT marketplace Few and Far with wire fraud, alleging investor funds meant to build a Web3 platform were diverted to personal expenses including trading losses, gambling, and hobby costs. The case adds to a growing body of post-hype NFT-era fraud prosecutions. theblock decrypt

Former LAPD officer sentenced to life plus 15 years for $350,000 Bitcoin kidnapping. Eric Halem and accomplices impersonated police, entered a Koreatown high-rise, restrained a 17-year-old, and extracted his Bitcoin hardware. The sentence, life plus 15 years, is among the harshest handed down in a crypto physical-attack case. theblock decrypt

CLARITY Act at a standstill as Senate faces days-long window before August recess. Lawmakers are trying to resolve an ethics fight and law enforcement objections in time for a procedural vote before recess begins, with failure likely pushing the bill into the 2026 election cycle. Senator Lummis is still publicly pushing for a floor vote, while Bitwise argues existing SEC and CFTC guidance would keep the industry moving without legislation. The possible outcomes range from a floor vote this week to a months-long delay. theblock cointelegraph_regulation coindesk cointelegraph_regulation

Crypto-backed Michigan incumbent loses primary despite $2 million in PAC support. Representative Shri Thanedar lost his Democratic primary in Michigan, making him a notable exception in a cycle where Fairshake-backed candidates largely prevailed, including wins in Michigan and Washington state. The industry’s broader congressional roster is still expected to expand, but the Thanedar loss shows PAC spending does not guarantee protection when other political dynamics are in play. cointelegraph_regulation theblock coindesk

Putin signs Russia’s landmark retail crypto trading law. The legislation legalises regulated retail crypto trading and permits the use of digital assets for cross-border settlements, while maintaining a blanket ban on domestic crypto payments for goods and services. The law is a significant formalisation of a market that has been operating in a grey zone, and gives exchanges a clearer compliance framework. theblock cryptobriefing

Senator Warren demands answers on UAE AI chip access following Trump crypto investments. Warren sent a letter to the Commerce Secretary questioning whether US policy on AI chip exports to the UAE is being shaped by the Trump family’s financial interests in crypto ventures operating in the region. The letter broadens an existing line of congressional inquiry into conflicts of interest at the intersection of trade policy and the administration’s crypto positions. cointelegraph_regulation

What else is grinding?

• A new Ethereum issuance proposal would taper staking rewards to zero if staked ETH reaches approximately $112 billion, with the cut phasing in over 18 months. coindesk decrypt
• Nigeria tightened virtual-asset transaction rules to combat tax evasion, adding compliance overhead for operators in one of the world’s highest-volume crypto markets. bloomberg_crypto
• Kraken’s parent Payward reversed its stance on tokenised equity voting rights, agreeing to let eligible xStocks holders submit proxy voting preferences under a new deal. theblock
• The SEC announced a dedicated Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit within its Enforcement Division, a structural signal that accounting fraud is moving back up the agency’s priority list. sec_press
• Taiwan’s financial regulator plans to apply the Travel Rule to domestic VASP transfers from October, with overseas platform coverage following by end-2027. cointelegraph_regulation
• Block’s Bitcoin gross profit fell 31% after Cash App fee cuts, though the company raised its full-year gross profit forecast to $12.51 billion on the back of record adjusted operating income. theblock

Last sip. The Coldcard wallet’s hacker address keeps accumulating public messages, and nobody yet knows whether the funds will move.