Bitcoin network split, Bybit's lawsuit against North Korea, and Strategy's approach: key events of the week
The outgoing week was rich in events capable of determining the medium-term trajectory of the industry. The Bitcoin network experienced an extremely rare soft fork, the largest crypto exchange filed an unprecedented lawsuit against an entire state, and the U.S. Senate once again postponed a fateful vote. I break down each of these stories hot on the heels.
Bitcoin recovered to $65,000 on institutional demand
The start of the week was marked by a continued correction: on August 4, the leading cryptocurrency dipped below $63,000. However, the panic was short-lived. On-chain data recorded a record-long capitulation phase, which, combined with declining volatility, created an extremely nervous backdrop.
The reversal was driven by institutional money. Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $853 million over the week, and analysts noted active accumulation of BTC, ETH, and XRP by large wallets (from 10 to 10,000 BTC). In the final days of July alone, such addresses acquired more than 20,000 coins. Ethereum funds also posted their best weekly inflow since April — $244 million.
By the end of the week, Bitcoin was up 3.4% to $65,200, while Ethereum gained 3.7%. The Fear and Greed Index remains in the "fear" zone (31 points), which, in my view, points to continued upside potential — the market is far from euphoria, and institutions keep building positions. Market capitalization rose from $2.16 trillion to $2.22 trillion.
Bitcoin network split: BIP-110 soft fork triggered a rift
On August 8, at block #961,632, the leading cryptocurrency's network split. Nodes supporting BIP-110 refused to accept blocks without a signal of support for the proposal. Competing blocks were mined by AntPool (without the signal) and the Ocean pool via the Roughnecks coalition (with the signal).
The detached branch is doomed: within eight hours, it mined only two blocks versus 48 on the main network. Support for the proposal was minimal — just 2.53% of blocks in the two weeks before the soft fork, against the required 55%. Developer Kevin Loake warned of the risk of losing real BTC when selling coins from the new network, as both branches accept identical transactions.
This incident is a vivid illustration of the fragility of consensus. Even an unpopular code change can create chaos and risks for users, so any BIP must be treated with the utmost caution.
Strategy sells Bitcoin, BitMine scoops up Ethereum
Strategy sold 1,638 BTC for $104.7 million (average price $63,957) to buy back STRC shares and pay dividends. Its holdings fell to 842,138 BTC, and unrealized losses reached $10.9 billion. The sales are enshrined in a framework program: the selling limit is $5 billion. CEO Phong Le confirmed that raised capital will no longer be automatically directed into Bitcoin.
Contrasting with this is the strategy of BitMine Immersion Technologies, which bought 10,399 ETH over the week, bringing its holdings to 5.7 million coins (4.8% of the total supply). Total assets stand at $11.3 billion. A telling divergence in corporate treasury approaches.
Coldcard hack: a wave of audits and a new attack on Lightning Network
The series of attacks on Coldcard hardware wallets has escalated into a systemic crisis of trust. Losses are estimated at $100–130 million, with at least 15 attackers exploiting the vulnerability. Galaxy Research confirmed three waves of attacks, with a fourth suspected.
There was no mass sell-off: holders moved BTC to new addresses rather than to exchanges. However, the incident exposed the problem of audit quality. Kraken's Chief Security Officer noted that checks do not confirm the use of the approved randomness source by the working firmware. Ledger's CTO added that the flaw had sat in a public repository for more than five years.
The volunteer group Bitcoin Red Team launched a large-scale AI-driven review of codebases: 7,958 reports across 501 protocols, 168 of them critical. One of the discovered issues turned into a new attack — attackers drained Lightning Network nodes via a vulnerability in BTCPay. This confirms that cybersecurity is an arms race where AI is becoming the primary tool.
Bybit filed a $1.5 billion lawsuit against North Korea
The crypto exchange filed a civil lawsuit against North Korea, its intelligence agency, and the Lazarus Group over the theft of $1.5 billion in February 2025. Documents were sealed on June 18 and unsealed in August. Defendants also include 20 unidentified individuals.
The platform demands the return of the stolen funds, $1.5 billion in compensation, and treble damages. Only 5.3% of the funds ($75.5 million) could be traced — 90.2% passed through mixers and cross-chain bridges. The court allowed subpoenas for account holder data from exchanges with U.S. infrastructure.
The scale of North Korean operations turned out to be broader: a researcher found traces of hackers in 1,640 organizations across 57 countries. North Korea accounts for over 70% of global crypto asset thefts. This is no longer just cybercrime but a tool of state policy.
CLARITY Act: vote postponed to September
The Senate declined to hold a procedural vote before the August recess. Republicans (53 seats) need 60 votes and lack Democratic support. The key dispute is over ethics rules requiring the president to divest stakes in crypto businesses. This would allow Trump to defer taxes for years.
A motion to end debate has been filed, with the first vote set for September 15. Odds of passage by year-end on Polymarket rose from 14% to 21%. For now, this is more optimism than confidence.
Miners in the red, the fight for energy intensifies
MARA Holdings ended the quarter with a loss of $611.3 million, while CleanSpark posted a $239.8 million loss. The reason: a 28% year-over-year decline in Bitcoin's price. The industry has stepped up its fight for capacity: Fortitude Mining bought a site in Nebraska, MARA invested $600 million in Texas, and Hut 8 leased an AI campus for $9.8 billion.
Competition with AI developers has intensified: SpaceX and Tesla are building a chip plant for $16.8 billion, and Amazon is constructing a 7.65 GW gas station. The Texas governor suspended grid connections for data centers (1,800 applications for 474 GW). For miners with approved contracts, this is a win — the value of their assets is rising.
My verdict: the week showed that the market can recover quickly on institutional demand, but fundamental risks — from soft forks to state-sponsored attacks — have not gone away. I would also note: Bybit's lawsuit against North Korea is a precedent that could change the rules of the game in fighting hackers, while the delay of the CLARITY Act is a worrying signal for the entire industry.