CoinDesk · 快讯

Bitcoin mining difficulty fell below year-earlier levels for the second time in history, currently sitting at 126.23 trillion, about 14% below this year’s high. The 19.1% drop from record highs stems from weak mining economics, capital shifts toward AI, and reduced capacity in major mining regions. Mining difficulty, which adjusts every 2,016 blocks to maintain 10-minute block times, indicates reduced network competition among remaining miners. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has fallen below its ye

(Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk) The SEC has frozen Nasdaq's approval of QBTC bitcoin options to reconsider the decision following a legal challenge from CME Group. CME argues that because bitcoin is a commodity, options tied to its value fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction, not the SEC’s. The approval remains suspended while the SEC reviews the dispute, with interested parties invited to submit comments by Aug. 24. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has paused Nasdaq's approval of cash-set

(Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk) The SEC has frozen Nasdaq's approval of QBTC bitcoin options to reconsider the decision following a legal challenge from CME Group. CME argues that because bitcoin is a commodity, options tied to its value fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction, not the SEC’s. The approval remains suspended while the SEC reviews the dispute, with interested parties invited to submit comments by Aug. 24. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has paused Nasdaq's approval of cash-set

Stock ticker (Getty Images/Torsten Asmus) Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are the largest market crypto has built, and they are quietly reversing the story everyone tells about convergence. Crypto is described as maturing toward traditional finance, adopting its discipline around revenue, buybacks and disclosure. In perps, the movement runs the other way: traditional assets are migrating onto a structure that crypto invented. The scale is easy to underestimate. Perps are the deepest and most liqu

Solana Foundation CISO Michael Coates says crypto's biggest security threats are increasingly coming from AI-powered social engineering and compromised credentials, not just smart contract exploits, as attackers shift their focus to people rather than protocols. As the industry also prepares for the eventual arrival of quantum computing, Coates says Solana is evaluating post-quantum cryptography while advocating for security systems that protect users by default, arguing crypto must "meet users

CZ urges wallet diversification after Coldcard exploit. (Nikhilesh De/Modified by CoinDesk) Crypto holders used to focus on diversifying their coins. Now, following a $70 million Coldcard exploit, they’re being told to diversify their wallets as well. On Saturday, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, asked crypto holders to split their funds across multiple wallets following a major security failure in popular Coldcard hardware devices. “Even hardware wallets can have bugs. Even old wall

XRP Ledger upgrade brings back features once pulled over critical bugs. (Kevin Ku/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk) The XRP Ledger’s upcoming xrpld 3.3.0 release will ask validators to approve five amendments, including revised versions of previously flawed Batch and Permission Delegation features. Batch would allow up to eight cross-account transactions to execute atomically, while Permission Delegation would let institutions grant narrowly scoped signing authority without exposing full control. N

Bitcoin cold wallet Coldcard. (Coldcard/Coinkite) More than 1,000 bitcoin, worth about $70 million, were drained from 1,196 Coldcard wallets in a 41-minute span on July 30, nearly double the loss first reported. Researchers say a firmware flaw in certain Coldcard hardware wallets made supposedly unguessable seed phrases computationally enumerable, allowing attackers to reconstruct private keys without ever touching the devices. Security firms warn that more wallets could be hit because owners ca

Bitcoin (BTC) price on July 31 (CoinDesk) Bitcoin is poised to end July up about 7.5% despite a series of headwinds, including rising rate-hike expectations, higher bond yields and AI sell-off. Analysts say bitcoin has held up better than equities because much of the leveraged positioning was flushed out in late June, limiting forced selling during the latest bout of volatility. Investors now await U.S. jobs data and a clearer Federal Reserve path to see if spot bitcoin ETF inflows will resume.

Tether increased its gold stockpile by 14 tons, which means it now has roughly 146.2 metric tons. (Jingming Pan/Unsplash) Tether reported $1.5 billion in net operating profit for the second quarter of 2026, even as its reserve buffer fell by about half to $4.11 billion. The stablecoin issuer increased its gold holdings to roughly 146.2 metric tons and its bitcoin stash to 98,933 BTC. Tether reported $1.5 billion in net operating profit for the second quarter of 2026, driven by returns from its U

null Talk about crypto trading with any savvy trader, and the first thing that comes up these days is perpetual futures, or “perps” — derivatives contracts that allow traders to control a much larger position than the money held in the account. Perps work like standard futures, but with one key advantage: there is no expiry. While bitcoin and ether traders can dabble in spot, futures, options, perpetual futures and even structured products, for traders of other altcoins, perps are perhaps the on

Coldcard exploit shakes faith in self custory (Coinkite) Coldcard firmware flaw led to the theft of at least $38 million in bitcoin, one of the biggest failures of Bitcoin self-custody to date. Security experts say the hack highlights growing operational risks around self-custody as cyber threats evolve. The incident may accelerate adoption of regulated custodians and spot Bitcoin ETFs, some industry observers said. Long among Bitcoin's biggest selling points has been that investors don't need t