Crypto news

The outgoing week was rich in landmark events: bitcoin pulled back to August lows, the largest mining companies are mass-selling mined coins to transition to AI infrastructure, and neural networks have finally cemented their place in the arsenal of both defenders and attackers. Plus, Moscow law enforcement struck a blow at cash crypto exchange.

Bitcoin: Return to August Lows

July's optimism has faded. On August 14, the first cryptocurrency fell below the $63,000 mark, effectively wiping out the gains of the previous seven-day period, which had closed at $65,200. Although at the start of the week CryptoQuant analysts pointed to resistance levels at $67,000 and $72,000, and BlackRock spoke of a shift in investor sentiment, the market took a different path.

Glassnode experts described the situation as "compressed": the price was stuck between the median realized price of $63,000 and the cost basis of short-term holders at $68,700. A break below the lower bound, according to their forecasts, would open the way to $58,500. In the end, bitcoin settled near $63,000, losing 3.3% over the week. Ethereum fell 2.1% to $1,880, and among major altcoins, only Hyperliquid's token was in the green (+4.7%).

Institutional demand also weakened: spot bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest weekly outflow since early July at $398.7 million. 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 shrank from $2.22 trillion to $2.17 trillion.

Miners: A New Economy or the End of an Era?

Bitcoin sales by miners have ceased to be an anti-crisis measure — this is now a growth strategy. Over the week, four companies at once directed the proceeds toward building AI data centers.

The transformation of former Bitfarms, now Keel Infrastructure, is telling: it completely decommissioned all mining capacity in the US, preparing sites for high-performance computing. Riot Platforms went through the entire cycle in a few days: signed a $9.1 billion contract with Anthropic, sold 4,300 BTC, and raised up to $573 million for an AI campus in Texas. MARA sold 23,093 BTC for $1.6 billion over six months, explaining this by financing operations and managing liquidity. Hyperscale Data also joined the list, selling 685 BTC for $43 million.

Mining economics are indeed under pressure: 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 not just a trend shift — it is a fundamental change in the business model of the entire industry.

AI on the Battlefield: Attacks and Defense

The week showed that neural networks have become a full-fledged tool of cyber warfare. Defenders of bitcoin infrastructure, including the Bitcoin Red Team, faced access restrictions to OpenAI and were forced to return to Chinese models. Meanwhile, attackers experience no such difficulties: South Korean analysts linked the Kimsuky group to the use of local AI systems against crypto companies, and Taiwan revealed details of a hack of government institutions using AI agents.

Particular attention was drawn to the situation with the Boltz service, whose founders handed the project over to a group of "bitcoin veterans" after a series of attacks using neural networks. Also telling is Anthropic's research, which identified problems with trust, lying, and collusion among groups of AI agents — model behavior changes radically during collective work.

The campaign against Coldcard hardware wallets has ended: Galaxy Research calculated that attackers stole at least 1,778.84 BTC ($112.7 million). Manufacturers also suffered reputational losses: Trezor reported a data leak of 13,689 users through a breach of a logistics partner, and SafePal reported the compromise of information on about 40,000 customers.

Regulatory Pressure: Russia and Beyond

On the evening of August 13, mass searches took place at the Gorbushka shopping center in Moscow in a case involving crypto exchangers. Pressure on cash exchange intensified amid tighter banking compliance: major Russian banks began requesting explanations from legal entities regarding USDT transactions, demanding confirmation that the counterparty is included in the Central Bank's register of exchange operators, which does not yet exist.

As experts note, the initiative comes from Rosfinmonitoring, and banks are simply hedging under Federal Law 115. However, the uncertainty is short-lived: the "On Digital Currency" law takes effect on September 1, and the State Duma is considering a bill on criminal liability for illegal crypto circulation with confiscation.

Against this backdrop, a positive signal is the statement by the head of Ukraine's NCSSM that regulation should preserve the benefits of legal operations for companies, otherwise business will move abroad.

Institutions and Legislation

Israel's largest bank announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital for trading bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Norway's sovereign wealth fund disclosed a stake in BitMine worth $81.9 million. At the same time, the bitcoin treasuries of Strategy and Metaplanet may be excluded from MSCI indices.

The legislative track in the US is stalling: Galaxy Digital estimates the probability of the Clarity Act passing at just 10%, and the Senate postponed the vote to September 15.

My comment: The mass pivot of miners toward AI is not a temporary market condition but a sign of structural transformation in the industry. Bitcoin mining is becoming less attractive for public companies, and this could lead to further centralization of hashrate in the hands of large players, which contradicts the basic principles of network decentralization. Watch how this affects mining difficulty in the coming quarters.