The Block is a leading global information services brand in the digital asset space, delivering objective, impactful, and timely information through its three pillars: news, research, and data. Founded in 2018 and now majority-owned by Foresight Ventures, the platform empowers investors, technologists, and policymakers to make smart decisions by providing deep insights into the evolving landscape of digital assets and their interaction with traditional finance.
Odaily News Tether-backed bitcoin treasury company Twenty One Capital (NYSE: XXI) has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, reporting a net loss of $413.5 million, primarily driven by a decline in the value of its bitcoin holdings.According to the financial report, approximately $401.5 million of Twenty One Capital's second-quarter loss was attributable to a decrease in the book value of its bitcoin assets. As the company uses bitcoin as its core asset allocation, fluctuations in BTC prices directly impact its financial performance.New CEO Raphael Zagury stated that Twenty One Capital can no longer exist solely as a "Bitcoin treasury" company, but needs to transform into a broader financial services platform. Zagury outlined that the company's next phase of plans will focus on three key directions, including: expanding its business footprint through mergers and acquisitions; enhancing financing capabilities through capital market instruments; and exploring bitcoin-collateralized lending businesses. (The Block)
Odaily News - Investment firm Bernstein recently released a report assigning different ratings to two major Bitcoin miners transitioning to AI infrastructure: maintaining an "Outperform" rating on CleanSpark with a price target of $24, and initiating coverage on MARA Holdings with a "Market-Perform" rating and a price target of $17.Bernstein analysts stated that the core reason for the valuation divergence between the two companies lies in their differing progress in executing AI infrastructure transitions. CleanSpark has already signed an anchor tenant agreement for an AI data center and commenced construction, while MARA is still awaiting its first commercial AI contract.Regarding CleanSpark, the company previously announced the signing of a 20-year triple-net lease agreement with a global high-investment-grade technology firm, covering 175MW of IT capacity at its Sandersville, Georgia project. The agreement also includes exclusive cooperation arrangements for CleanSpark's total 885MW asset portfolio in Texas. Bernstein believes that CleanSpark's collaboration with tenant-designated engineering and construction contractors helps mitigate risks associated with its first large-scale AI infrastructure deployment. The first data center hall is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2027.In contrast, Bernstein's assessment of MARA is more cautious. Analysts pointed out that the first commercial AI contract will serve as a key catalyst for a re-rating of MARA's stock, noting that company management previously indicated expectations of signing at least two AI lease agreements by the end of this year. (The Block)
According to The Block, data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis shows that violent robberies targeting cryptocurrency holders in the first half of 2026 have resulted in losses exceeding $30 million. If the trend continues in the second half, the full-year total will surpass the historical peak of $58 million in 2025. France has become the world's largest "Wrench Attack" hotspot, with 30 public cases recorded in the first half of 2026, while the French Minister of the Interior stated that actual cases exceed 70. Chainalysis attributes this to the 2024 French tax authority data breach—a tax official was suspected of stealing and selling the names, addresses, holdings, and tax records of high-net-worth crypto holders, causing the attack frequency to surge from a monthly average of 1.9 in 2025 to a monthly average of 4.6 in the first half of 2026. Attack methods have also deteriorated; cases targeting family members rather than the holders themselves now account for over 40% of French cases, and the proportion of home invasions rose from 14% in 2025 to 37%. Stolen funds are typically quickly moved on-chain, with some laundered through tools such as decentralized exchanges and cross-chain bridges; advanced criminal networks are even linked to cartel money laundering and terrorist financing channels.
: Bitcoin financial product platform Lombard Finance has announced the launch of the Bitcoin Onchain Credit Strategy, with global trading firm Flow Traders as the first pilot partner. Under this solution, Flow Traders can borrow stablecoins for market making without providing on-chain collateral. Its collateral security is provided by Bitcoin deposited in the Lombard Bitcoin Earn yield product, and underwriting is completed through the Cap private credit platform. (The Block)
According to The Block, Shuyao Kong, a core team member of Ethereum scaling project MegaETH, announced on July 16 the official closure of the flagship accelerator program Mega Mafia, which operated for two years across two cohorts. The project incubated approximately 20 teams in total, cumulatively helping them raise about $80 million in financing (covering Pre-Seed to Series A), but Kong admitted "the project was built on assumptions that no longer hold true," and most successfully incubated applications are no longer building on MegaETH. Among them, flagship project GTE chose to build its own public chain, Noise shifted to Base, HelloTrade shifted to Monad, and some projects such as Avon and Valhalla have closed. Notably, MegaETH did not hold equity or governance rights in any project during the incubation process. Kong stated that MegaETH will shift resources to "first-party application" development in the future, directly establishing relationships with end users, focusing on "OMEGA"-level consumer applications that can only be realized on MegaETH.
According to The Block, crypto liquidation platform Glacis Labs announced the completion of a $6.8 million seed funding round led by Lightspeed Faction, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Coinbase Ventures, A.GAIN (formerly IDC Ventures), Protein Capital, and Techni Ventures. The financing was completed in the form of equity with token warrants.
According to The Block, Securitize President Brett Redfearn stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew the crypto innovation exemption rules last Friday due to concerns over the voting progress of the Clarity Act. Redfearn expects the rules to be introduced following the Senate vote on September 15, likely in early October.
According to The Block, Curve founder Michael Egorov stated that regulatory pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on decentralized finance (DeFi) may prompt protocols to remove privileged access, upgrade risks, and the ability to intervene with user funds, thereby improving DeFi security and enhancing decentralization.
According to The Block, Kraken has officially launched US stock trading services for eligible users in all member states of the European Economic Area (EEA). It is reported that the service was previously quietly launched in Germany, the Netherlands, and France, and is now officially fully open to the entire European Economic Area. Kraken stated that it is currently the only crypto-native platform capable of providing European Economic Area users with trading of both spot US stocks and their tokenized versions within the same regulated account.
According to The Block, the Blockchain Association filed an amicus curiae brief on August 13 supporting Custodia Bank's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of the legality of the Federal Reserve Bank's refusal of its master account application. The Blockchain Association pointed out that this case concerns whether legitimate digital asset enterprises can compete in a fair environment, and warned that the lower court ruling provides a precedent for federal regulators "to debank unpopular industries in the future without the intervention of state regulators." Custodia Bank was founded by Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long, applied for a Fed master account in October 2020, was rejected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in January 2023 on the grounds that the crypto business model posed risks, subsequently lost twice in the district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and was denied rehearing by the full court in a 7 to 3 vote in March 2026. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City must respond to the Supreme Court application by September 11.
According to The Block, the New York City Council has launched an investigation into four prediction market platforms—Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and Gemini Titan—alleging they employed "false, deceptive, or abusive" marketing tactics targeting young users. Among them, Polymarket was accused of paying social media creators to film videos placing fake bets on counterfeit websites, an incident first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal in June this year. Additionally, prediction market platforms face insider trading allegations; New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order in April prohibiting state government employees from using confidential government information to place bets on prediction markets.
According to The Block, Anchorpoint, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank, officially launched the first phase issuance of the HKD stablecoin HKDAP on Wednesday, opening test access to institutional distributors and professional investors. Anchorpoint, established as a joint venture by Standard Chartered Bank, HKT, and Animoca Brands, received a stablecoin issuer license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in April this year, becoming one of the first licensed institutions.
Odaily News - Investment firm Bernstein recently released a report assigning different ratings to two major Bitcoin miners transitioning to AI infrastructure: maintaining an "Outperform" rating on CleanSpark with a price target of $24, and initiating coverage on MARA Holdings with a "Market-Perform" rating and a price target of $17.Bernstein analysts stated that the core reason for the valuation divergence between the two companies lies in their differing progress in executing AI infrastructure transitions. CleanSpark has already signed an anchor tenant agreement for an AI data center and commenced construction, while MARA is still awaiting its first commercial AI contract.Regarding CleanSpark, the company previously announced the signing of a 20-year triple-net lease agreement with a global high-investment-grade technology firm, covering 175MW of IT capacity at its Sandersville, Georgia project. The agreement also includes exclusive cooperation arrangements for CleanSpark's total 885MW asset portfolio in Texas. Bernstein believes that CleanSpark's collaboration with tenant-designated engineering and construction contractors helps mitigate risks associated with its first large-scale AI infrastructure deployment. The first data center hall is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2027.In contrast, Bernstein's assessment of MARA is more cautious. Analysts pointed out that the first commercial AI contract will serve as a key catalyst for a re-rating of MARA's stock, noting that company management previously indicated expectations of signing at least two AI lease agreements by the end of this year. (The Block)
Odaily Odaily News: Wall Street investment firm Bernstein has reaffirmed its "Outperform" rating on stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial, maintaining a $140 price target.Bernstein stated that Circle's second-quarter performance effectively addressed previous market concerns regarding intensifying stablecoin competition and the growth potential of reserve asset income. Analysts believe that Circle's expanding partnerships, regulatory licensing progress, and the upcoming Arc blockchain project will bring new revenue streams to the company—growth drivers that are not yet fully reflected in current market expectations.As the stablecoin market continues to expand, Circle is expected to further broaden its business model through payment infrastructure, on-chain financial services, and ecosystem collaborations, with its future growth potential still underestimated by the market. (The Block)
According to The Block, Cloudflare has announced the early launch program for programmable stablecoin wallets, designed specifically for AI agents to pay for APIs, data, and online content. The wallets are divided into two categories: Account Wallets for individuals and institutions to fund and control spending, and Virtual Wallets that operate via API keys, allowing AI agents to complete purchases autonomously. Users can set spending limits, authorized merchant lists, and per-transaction limits. The wallet will support the x402 protocol developed by Coinbase, enabling machine-to-machine micropayments without traditional accounts or subscriptions. Currently, users can claim wallet accounts in advance, with funding and payment functions going live soon.
据 The Block 报道,德克萨斯州州长 Greg Abbott 本周一下令要求公用事业委员会(PUCT)及电网运营商 ERCOT 对州内所有在队列中的数据中心项目展开审计,ERCOT 随即暂停了原定本月公布结果的"Batch Zero"大型用电审批流程。目前数据中心申请占 ERCOT 474GW 互联队列的约 90%。 Bernstein 分析师在周二发布的客户报告中指出,此次监管审查将抑制投机性开发、压缩新增电力容量供给,从而提升已获批电力容量的稀缺价值,利好现有比特币矿企及 AI 运营商。报告点名 Cipher Digital(CIFR)、CleanSpark(CLSK)及 Core Scientific(CORZ)受审计影响较大,因其近期扩张计划依赖德州电网接入;而 Terawulf(WULF)因电力资产分布于肯塔基、马里兰及纽约等多州,抗风险能力较强;Riot Platforms(RIOT)和 IREN 则因已在 ERCOT 拥有大规模获批运营资产而受益。
According to The Block, Bernstein analysts indicated that the likelihood of the U.S. Clarity Act passing within 2026 is declining, with the Senate left with only this week's window (before recess on August 7). Analysts noted that if the bill fails, the digital asset market may experience a negative reaction in the short term, but the SEC and CFTC will accelerate rule-making under the "Project Crypto" framework, covering token classification, DeFi, and self-custody regulatory details, while continuing to promote innovative areas such as tokenized real-world assets (RWA), perpetual contracts, and prediction markets. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig previously also warned that if Congress fails to act, regulators will be forced to "take over all rule-making". Currently, bipartisan senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego have submitted a revised ethics compromise proposal, and negotiations are still ongoing.
According to The Block, the JPMorgan analyst team (led by Managing Director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou) released a report on July 30 stating that the probability of the "Clarity Act" (Crypto Market Structure Act) passing in the US Senate within the year has dropped to a historic low. The Kalshi prediction market shows a passing probability of only 37%, while Polymarket is even lower at 26%. Analysts pointed out that disagreements on core issues such as ethical provisions, enforcement standards, stablecoin yields, decentralized finance, and illicit finance remain unresolved. Voting is expected to be difficult to complete before the Senate summer recess, and may be postponed until after senators return in mid-September.
According to The Block, open-source Bitcoin payment processor BTCPay Server disclosed a critical security vulnerability being actively exploited last Friday and urgently requested users to upgrade to version 2.4.2. The vulnerability affects all versions prior to 2.4.2; attackers can use it to steal administrator macaroon authentication credentials of LND nodes, thereby fully controlling the connected Lightning Network wallets. Users such as Foundation and Citadel21 have confirmed that their Lightning node funds were drained, but BTCPay has not publicly disclosed the total amount stolen or the number of affected nodes. Currently, the official release version 2.4.2 has fixed this vulnerability, and on-chain hot wallets are not affected. The BTCPay Server Foundation has donated 0.21 BTC each to security researcher Craig Raw and Bitcoin Red Team to commend their responsible private disclosure of the vulnerability. Meanwhile, BTCPay supporters have promised to provide a bounty incentive of "10% of recovered funds," capped at 3 BTC.
According to The Block, latest data from Immunefi shows that the crypto industry lost approximately $110 million due to hacker attacks in July 2026. During the same period, the platform paid researchers $2.32 million for confirmed vulnerability reports, and the number of confirmed and paid bug bounty reports increased by 18% month-over-month.
According to The Block, data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis shows that violent robberies targeting cryptocurrency holders in the first half of 2026 have resulted in losses exceeding $30 million. If the trend continues in the second half, the full-year total will surpass the historical peak of $58 million in 2025. France has become the world's largest "Wrench Attack" hotspot, with 30 public cases recorded in the first half of 2026, while the French Minister of the Interior stated that actual cases exceed 70. Chainalysis attributes this to the 2024 French tax authority data breach—a tax official was suspected of stealing and selling the names, addresses, holdings, and tax records of high-net-worth crypto holders, causing the attack frequency to surge from a monthly average of 1.9 in 2025 to a monthly average of 4.6 in the first half of 2026. Attack methods have also deteriorated; cases targeting family members rather than the holders themselves now account for over 40% of French cases, and the proportion of home invasions rose from 14% in 2025 to 37%. Stolen funds are typically quickly moved on-chain, with some laundered through tools such as decentralized exchanges and cross-chain bridges; advanced criminal networks are even linked to cartel money laundering and terrorist financing channels.
According to The Block citing Bits Media, Russian law enforcement agencies recently raided the offices of multiple cryptocurrency exchanges in Moscow to investigate a theft case involving 144 million rubles (approximately $1.8 million). Investigators suspect the stolen funds were transferred through the exchanges and are currently reviewing whether relevant employees are involved.
According to The Block, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was hacked at approximately 17:24 UTC on July 23. Hackers posted claiming to launch "Vladhood ($VLAD)" as the "official mascot of Robinhood Chain," and attached a contract address. The Robinhood Chain blockchain explorer has labeled the token as a "potential scam," and the token has generated approximately 1,868 transactions since deployment. Robinhood officially confirmed later that the account was compromised, the relevant posts have been deleted, and the company is working with the X platform to restore account access.
According to The Block, Ledger's security research team Donjon disclosed a security vulnerability in Tangem hardware wallet cards. After obtaining the physical card, attackers can use laser fault injection equipment to bypass recovery state verification in the firmware and reset the password, thereby controlling the wallet and initiating transactions. The research states that this vulnerability affects all Tangem cards currently in circulation, and since the product does not support firmware updates, it cannot be fixed via patches.
According to The Block, Securitize President Brett Redfearn stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew the crypto innovation exemption rules last Friday due to concerns over the voting progress of the Clarity Act. Redfearn expects the rules to be introduced following the Senate vote on September 15, likely in early October.
According to The Block, Curve founder Michael Egorov stated that regulatory pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on decentralized finance (DeFi) may prompt protocols to remove privileged access, upgrade risks, and the ability to intervene with user funds, thereby improving DeFi security and enhancing decentralization.
According to The Block, Kraken has officially launched US stock trading services for eligible users in all member states of the European Economic Area (EEA). It is reported that the service was previously quietly launched in Germany, the Netherlands, and France, and is now officially fully open to the entire European Economic Area. Kraken stated that it is currently the only crypto-native platform capable of providing European Economic Area users with trading of both spot US stocks and their tokenized versions within the same regulated account.
Odaily News Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, in an interview with The Block, responded to ongoing criticism from outsiders even after KPMG U.S. completed its first full financial audit. He stated that some critics are unwilling to admit their past misjudgments about Tether, adding, "Honestly, I don't care."Ardoino noted that Tether has repeatedly demonstrated its resilience. He mentioned that in 2022, Tether processed $7 billion in redemptions within 48 hours—equivalent to roughly 10% of its reserves at the time—without pausing redemptions. He argued that many traditional financial institutions would struggle to handle withdrawals of a similar scale in such a short timeframe.He also said criticism itself is not a bad thing, as it makes Tether better and stronger. Even if some critics view the company as a "villain," he does not mind as long as Tether can continue serving the 650 million users who rely on USDT, particularly those in emerging markets.According to sources familiar with the matter, Tether, as a private company, does not publicly share audited financial statements. The company plans to conduct one full audit per year going forward while continuing to publish quarterly attestation reports. Overall, the KPMG audit marks a significant step forward for Tether in enhancing transparency, but controversies surrounding its reserves, level of disclosure, and systemic impact have not fully subsided. (The Block)
According to The Block, the Blockchain Association filed an amicus curiae brief on August 13 supporting Custodia Bank's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of the legality of the Federal Reserve Bank's refusal of its master account application. The Blockchain Association pointed out that this case concerns whether legitimate digital asset enterprises can compete in a fair environment, and warned that the lower court ruling provides a precedent for federal regulators "to debank unpopular industries in the future without the intervention of state regulators." Custodia Bank was founded by Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long, applied for a Fed master account in October 2020, was rejected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in January 2023 on the grounds that the crypto business model posed risks, subsequently lost twice in the district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and was denied rehearing by the full court in a 7 to 3 vote in March 2026. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City must respond to the Supreme Court application by September 11.
Odaily News Tether-backed bitcoin treasury company Twenty One Capital (NYSE: XXI) has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, reporting a net loss of $413.5 million, primarily driven by a decline in the value of its bitcoin holdings.According to the financial report, approximately $401.5 million of Twenty One Capital's second-quarter loss was attributable to a decrease in the book value of its bitcoin assets. As the company uses bitcoin as its core asset allocation, fluctuations in BTC prices directly impact its financial performance.New CEO Raphael Zagury stated that Twenty One Capital can no longer exist solely as a "Bitcoin treasury" company, but needs to transform into a broader financial services platform. Zagury outlined that the company's next phase of plans will focus on three key directions, including: expanding its business footprint through mergers and acquisitions; enhancing financing capabilities through capital market instruments; and exploring bitcoin-collateralized lending businesses. (The Block)
Odaily News: Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) announced that it has repurchased approximately 14 million shares of its stock over the past two weeks. The company's treasury currently holds approximately $389 million in assets.According to company disclosures, Eightco's current treasury mainly includes approximately 302 million WLD (Worldcoin) tokens, 16,278 ETH, indirect exposure to OpenAI equity worth approximately $90 million, and an equity investment in Beast Industries valued at approximately $18 million.Eightco previously stated that the company is building its asset allocation framework around three major trends: artificial intelligence, digital identity, and the creator economy. Among these, its WLD holdings represent a key component of its digital identity strategy, with the company's WLD position accounting for approximately 8% of the circulating supply, making it one of the largest publicly disclosed holdings among institutions. (The Block)
According to The Block, Securitize President Brett Redfearn stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew the crypto innovation exemption rules last Friday due to concerns over the voting progress of the Clarity Act. Redfearn expects the rules to be introduced following the Senate vote on September 15, likely in early October.
Odaily News, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan stated that the market may be significantly underestimating the scale of future blockchain trading activity. As real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and AI agents reshape financial markets, on-chain transaction volume could potentially grow 50x or even 100x in the future.In his latest investment memo, Hougan pointed out that crypto investors currently hold three major misconceptions, one of which is underestimating the future reach of blockchain applications. He believes that bringing traditional assets on-chain and AI agents participating in trading will significantly boost on-chain activity. The tokenized stock market alone could bring a 10x increase in trading volume. He noted that traditional stock markets are typically only open from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time on weekdays, offering roughly 33 trading hours per week. In contrast, tokenized stocks enable 24/7 trading, expanding available trading hours to 168 hours per week. If AI agents are later deployed to automatically execute trades on behalf of investors, trading frequency could increase even further.However, Hougan also acknowledged that increased trading hours do not necessarily translate into proportional volume growth, but AI and automated trading could become key drivers of on-chain activity expansion. Investors are currently still valuing related platforms based on the existing scale of the crypto market, overlooking the potential market expansion brought by tokenization. For instance, the decentralized exchange Uniswap could one day expand its services from crypto assets to traditional asset markets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. (The Block)
According to The Block, Curve founder Michael Egorov stated that regulatory pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on decentralized finance (DeFi) may prompt protocols to remove privileged access, upgrade risks, and the ability to intervene with user funds, thereby improving DeFi security and enhancing decentralization.
According to The Block, Kraken has officially launched US stock trading services for eligible users in all member states of the European Economic Area (EEA). It is reported that the service was previously quietly launched in Germany, the Netherlands, and France, and is now officially fully open to the entire European Economic Area. Kraken stated that it is currently the only crypto-native platform capable of providing European Economic Area users with trading of both spot US stocks and their tokenized versions within the same regulated account.
According to The Block, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest made significant purchases of multiple technology and crypto-related stocks on Monday, including approximately $15.4 million worth of Block Inc. ($XYZ) stock, approximately $1 million of Securitize ($SECZ) stock, and approximately $22.8 million of Nvidia ($NVDA) stock, with a total single-day purchase volume exceeding $38.2 million.