Crypto news

The outgoing week was marked by Bitcoin's return to early August lows, a strategic pivot by miners toward AI infrastructure, and increased activity from hackers armed with neural networks. Additionally, law enforcement in Moscow conducted large-scale searches, and regulatory pressure on the crypto market in Russia continues to intensify.

Correction or the start of a new decline?

July's optimism faded away. On August 14, the leading cryptocurrency broke below the $63,000 mark, erasing all the gains of the previous seven days. Notably, at the start of the week, analysts were pointing to resistance levels around $67,000–$72,000, while BlackRock spoke of a shift in investor sentiment. However, the market decided otherwise.

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 path to $58,500. In the end, Bitcoin settled right at the lower boundary, losing 3.3% over the week. Ether also slipped 2.1% to $1,880. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest weekly outflow since early July at $398.7 million, while the fear and greed index stalled in the "fear" zone at 34.

Miners: a new economy or an escape?

The key event of the week was the strategic pivot by public miners. Selling mined coins is no longer a crisis measure—it is a deliberate funding of the transition to high-performance computing and AI. Former Bitfarms, now Keel Infrastructure, fully decommissioned its U.S. capacity, preparing sites for data centers. Riot Platforms signed a 20-year contract with Anthropic worth $9.1 billion within days, sold 4,300 BTC, and raised up to $573 million for building an AI campus in Texas. MARA's scale is striking: over six months, the company sold 23,093 BTC for approximately $1.6 billion.

The reason for this pivot is obvious—mining economics are degrading. 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 diversification but a change in business model. The question is who will ensure the security of the Bitcoin network if all major players move to AI.

AI as both weapon and target

The theme of artificial intelligence took an unexpected turn this week. On one hand, infrastructure defenders faced limitations: AnchorWatch's CEO said his Bitcoin Red Team lost access to OpenAI tools and was forced to revert to Chinese models. On the other hand, attackers are actively using neural networks. South Korean analysts reported that the North Korean group Kimsuky is using local AI systems to attack crypto companies. Taiwanese government agencies also suffered hacks using AI agents.

Particularly alarming is the incident with the non-custodial service Boltz, whose founders handed the project over to "Bitcoin veterans" after a series of attacks allegedly carried out using neural networks. Meanwhile, the campaign against Coldcard hardware wallets has concluded: according to Galaxy Research estimates, hackers stole at least 1,778.84 BTC ($112.7 million), with no new cases recorded after August 6. Separately, Anthropic found that multi-agent AI systems exhibit problems with trust, lying, and collusion—model behavior changes radically when working collectively.

Russia: searches and new compliance

On the evening of August 13, mass searches took place at Moscow's Gorbushka shopping center in a case involving crypto exchangers. This coincided with stricter banking compliance: major banks began requesting explanations from legal entities regarding USDT transactions, demanding confirmation that the counterparty is included in the non-existent Central Bank registry of digital currency exchange operators. Crypto expert Viktor Pershikov links this to banks' logic of self-insurance and an initiative by Rosfinmonitoring.

The uncertainty will not last long: the law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights" takes effect on September 1, and the State Duma is already considering a bill on criminal liability for illegal crypto circulation with confiscation. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, the head of the NSSMC called for not pushing crypto businesses abroad, emphasizing the need for balanced regulation.

Institutions and legislation

Amid the sell-offs, institutional adoption continues. Israel's largest bank announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital for trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, while Norway's sovereign wealth fund disclosed a $81.9 million stake in BitMine. However, Bitcoin treasuries risk losing their place in MSCI indices, and the likelihood of the Clarity Act passing in the U.S. is estimated at only 10%.

My view: The market is in a consolidation phase before a decisive move. The mass exodus of miners into AI is not panic but pragmatic calculation, which in the long term could lead to hashrate centralization and increased network vulnerability. At the same time, the active use of AI in cyberattacks is a troubling signal for the entire industry, requiring a reassessment of security approaches at all levels.