Weekly roundup: Bitcoin miners are massively pivoting to AI, and neural networks are becoming hackers' weapons.
The outgoing week was eventful: bitcoin pulled back to August lows, miners are massively converting mined coins into AI infrastructure, and neural networks have firmly established themselves in the arsenal of cybercriminals. Meanwhile, Moscow law enforcement conducted large-scale searches at "Gorbushka," and institutional players continue to cautiously expand their presence in digital assets.
Bitcoin returns to the uncertainty zone
July's optimism gave way to a correction. On August 14, the leading cryptocurrency fell below the $63,000 mark, erasing all the gains of the previous week, which closed at $65,200. Notably, at the start of the week, CryptoQuant analysts pointed to resistance in the $67,000–$72,000 range, calculated based on the realized price of short-term holders, while BlackRock spoke of a shift in sentiment in favor of the asset.
However, the market found itself squeezed in a "vise": according to Glassnode estimates, the price is stuck between the median realized price of $63,000 and the cost basis of short-term investors at $68,700. A break below the lower boundary, as analysts warned, opens a direct path to $58,500. By the end of the week, bitcoin settled near $63,000, losing 3.3% over seven days. Ethereum slipped 2.1% to $1,880, and the only notable exception was Hyperliquid's HYPE token, which gained nearly 4.7%.
Institutional demand also weakened: spot bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest weekly outflow since early July at $398.7 million, while ether funds lost $2.2 million after an inflow of $244.9 million the previous week. The fear and greed index froze in the "fear" zone at 34 points, and the total market capitalization fell from $2.22 trillion to $2.17 trillion.
Miners sacrifice bitcoin for AI
The trend of the week is the deliberate shift of miners from mining to high-performance computing. This is no longer about forced sell-offs to cover operating expenses, but a strategic pivot. Former Bitfarms, now Keel Infrastructure, has fully decommissioned its mining capacity in the US, preparing sites for AI data centers.
Riot Platforms went through the entire journey in a few days: signed a 20-year capacity lease agreement with Anthropic worth $9.1 billion, sold 4,300 BTC, and raised up to $573 million to build an AI campus in Texas. MARA sold 23,093 BTC worth approximately $1.6 billion in the first half of the year, while Hyperscale Data sold 685 BTC for $43 million to fund its own data center.
The economics of mining are indeed pressing: miners' revenue from fees has fallen to a ten-year low, and the realized hashrate of public companies has dropped by 21.2% over three quarters. This is a fundamental shift that will determine the supply-demand balance in the market in the medium term.
AI in the service of cyberattacks
Neural networks have become a working tool on both sides of the barricades. Defenders, including Bitcoin Red Team, faced access restrictions to OpenAI and were forced to return to Chinese models. Attackers, on the contrary, actively use local AI systems: South Korean analysts linked the Kimsuky group to attacks on crypto companies, and Taiwan revealed details of a hack on government institutions using AI agents.
The founders of Boltz handed over the project to a group of "bitcoin veterans" after a series of attacks allegedly carried out using neural networks. Meanwhile, the July campaign against Coldcard hardware wallets has ended: according to Galaxy Research estimates, attackers stole at least 1,778.84 BTC ($112.7 million), and no new cases have been recorded since August 6. Manufacturers also suffered reputational losses: Trezor reported a data breach affecting 13,689 users, and SafePal — about 40,000.
Regulatory pressure in Russia
On the evening of August 13, mass searches were conducted at the Moscow shopping center "Gorbushka" in connection with a case involving crypto exchangers. Simultaneously, major banks began requesting explanations from legal entities regarding USDT transactions, demanding confirmation that the counterparty is included in the not-yet-existing registry of digital currency exchange operators of the Central Bank. As experts note, the initiative comes from Rosfinmonitoring, and banks are simply hedging their risks. The law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights" comes into force on September 1, which will add clarity, but the transition period will last until July 1, 2027.
Institutionals and legislation
Israel's largest bank announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital for trading bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, while Norway's sovereign wealth fund disclosed a stake in BitMine worth $81.9 million. However, bitcoin treasuries risk losing their place in MSCI indices, and the probability of the Clarity Act being passed this year is estimated at only 10%.
My conclusion: the mass exodus of miners into AI is not panic but rational diversification, which in the long term could reduce pressure on the market. But in the short term, sell-offs will continue, and the key level of $58,500 remains the main target for bears.