Cloud mining platforms gain popularity in 2026 as investors seek simpler ways to access Bitcoin, DOGE, and LTC mining without expensive hardware.

Want to participate in Bitcoin mining in 2026 but don’t want to buy expensive mining rigs? Then cloud mining platforms remain one of the simplest and most worry-free options. 

Nowadays, more and more investors are entering the market through free cloud mining platforms, easily participating in mining mainstream cryptocurrencies such as BTC, DOGE, and LTC without needing to build their own equipment or bear high electricity and maintenance costs.

However, while there are many platforms on the market, only a few are truly worth considering. A good cloud mining platform should not only have a clear and transparent profit mechanism, but also a stable data center, an automatic payment system, and a sufficiently secure operational background.

Based on the market trends and platform characteristics in 2026, SHRMiner, BitFuFu, IQMining, Binance Cloud Mining, and CCG Mining are the five platforms that deserve close attention.

1. SHR Miner: The most noteworthy cloud mining platform in 2026

For those who are looking for a service that balances security, flexibility, and beginner-friendliness, SHRMiner is a very popular choice. Launched in 2018 and headquartered in the UK, SHRMiner operates over 100 large-scale renewable energy mining farms in the US, UK, Russia, Switzerland, Iceland, Virginia, Georgia, Vancouver, Canada, and other locations, utilizing renewable energy sources such as hydropower and wind power to enhance mining efficiency.

The platform supports mining mainstream cryptocurrencies such as BTC, LTC, and DOGE. Users do not need to purchase any hardware; they only need to select a suitable contract to start. Its contract coverage is extensive, with a comprehensive range of entry-level and premium packages to suit users with different budgets.

SHRMiner Core Advantages:

Register to receive a $15 bonus and free mining experience.

• Zero learning curve: No technical skills, hardware, or complicated operations required — just click to start mining.
• Supports daily automatic settlement, with no transaction fees or maintenance costs.
• Uses advanced ASIC mining equipment, connected to green energy, improving operational efficiency.
• Provides SSL encryption and DDoS protection.
• Provides a real-time earnings dashboard, allowing users to track their earnings anytime, anywhere.
• Supports multiple contract types including BTC, LTC, and DOGE.

SHRMiner gained popularity in 2026 primarily because it was suitable for beginners to quickly get started while also supporting more advanced users for flexible configuration. Its overall performance was well-balanced, from the initial user experience to contract scalability.

2. BitFuFu: A professional platform backed by Bitmain

BitFuFu has garnered significant market attention due to its association with Bitmain. This type of platform is particularly attractive to users who value mining rig resources and hardware expertise. BitFuFu is suitable for investors seeking a more mature mining service system.

3. IQMining: A key focus for long-term contract users

IQMining has been operating for several years and is characterized by offering longer-term mining contracts. For users who prioritize long-term planning over short-term volatility, IQMining is a common choice.

4. Binance Cloud Mining: Integrated trading and mining

The biggest advantage of Binance Cloud Mining lies in its ecosystem integration. Users can manage mining and asset transfers directly within their Binance accounts, eliminating the need for frequent platform switching. This is especially convenient for existing Binance investors.

5. CCG Mining: A key platform in the European market

CCG Mining offers a comprehensive range of services, including cloud mining, mining rig sales, and hosting. It enjoys considerable brand recognition in the European market and is suitable for users looking to explore diverse mining services.

Why are more and more people choosing cloud mining in 2026?

Compared to traditional mining rigs, the biggest advantages of cloud mining are:

• No need to purchase expensive equipment
• No need to bear high electricity bills
• No need for technical maintenance knowledge
• Quick start after registration

Some platforms also offer free trials and reward mechanisms. For ordinary users, this model is obviously more convenient and more suitable for low-barrier entry into the crypto market.

Conclusion: Which cloud mining platform is worth paying attention to in 2026?

From an overall user experience perspective, SHRMiner remains one of the most competitive platforms in 2026. It excels in platform transparency, mining process, settlement efficiency, and beginner-friendly features, while supporting multiple cryptocurrencies including BTC, LTC, and DOGE, making it highly versatile.

Of course, for those who prioritize exchange integration, Binance Cloud Mining will be more convenient; for those who value long-term stable contracts, IQMining and CCG Mining are also good options.

In general, when choosing the best cloud mining platform, it is recommended to focus on the platform’s background, security mechanisms, contract flexibility, and actual user experience. For users looking to start their free cloud mining journey in 2026, prioritizing a transparent, secure platform with clear settlement is a safer bet.

In short, for those who are looking for a cloud mining platform that balances transparency, flexibility, and ease of use in 2026, SHRMiner is a wise choice.

For more platform information, service details, and cloud computing solutions, please visit the official platform or download the mobile application.

Crypto theft and fraud losses exceeded $1 billion in the first half of 2026, according to Blockaid’s H1 2026 security report released Tuesday. The period also featured the highest number of hacks in any six-month stretch recorded by the onchain security firm.

Ethereum and Solana accounted for the largest portions of stolen funds, with approximately $332 million and $326 million respectively. Blockaid tracked 212 security incidents during the six-month period, including a standout single exploit tied to KelpDAO, which Blockaid reported at $292 million.

Key takeaways

• Blockaid estimates total crypto losses above $1 billion in H1 2026, alongside the highest six-month hack count in its historical data.
• Ethereum led by stolen-fund impact (about $332 million), largely driven by code and application-layer exploits.
• Solana’s losses were similarly high (about $326 million) but were overwhelmingly linked to compromised keys and signing infrastructure.
• The largest single incident in the report involved KelpDAO, with losses of $292 million.
• Blockaid reports high-threshold exploit verification increased sharply in H1 2026 compared with all of 2025.

Ethereum’s losses underline application-layer risk

Blockaid said Ethereum incurred the highest losses from incidents in H1 2026, with attackers primarily focusing on vulnerabilities in applications built on the network. By count, code exploits were the dominant driver of Ethereum incidents, and Blockaid also highlighted that several major loss events involved compromised keys.

Among the notable incidents cited in the report were the Humanity Protocol and StablR attacks. CoWSwap was singled out as the only major Ethereum incident categorized as a user mistake, rather than a protocol or code vulnerability.

Blockaid described recurring techniques behind Ethereum-related breaches, including flaws in bridges and smart contracts, unauthorized access to privileged accounts, and market manipulation methods. While these categories differ in mechanics, they share a common theme: high-value Ethereum apps present a dense target surface for attackers seeking direct exploitation paths and privileged access.

The report also emphasized Ethereum’s role as a hub for major crypto primitives—restaking platforms, stablecoins, and decentralized exchanges—where substantial capital and complex integrations can concentrate both the value at risk and the probability of exploitable edge cases.

Solana’s stolen funds spiked with a shift toward key compromises

Solana’s losses in the first half of 2026 nearly matched Ethereum’s. Blockaid estimated stolen funds around $326 million for the period, a clear jump from roughly $127 million recorded in 2025.

In an observation carried in the report, Blockaid CEO Ido Ben-Natan told Cointelegraph that 2025 totaled $2.58 billion lost across 63 incidents, with activity concentrated in Q1 and with Ethereum and Arbitrum topping stolen-fund flow at the time.

However, Blockaid said Solana’s deterioration in H1 2026 did not come from a surge in smart contract exploits. Instead, compromised keys accounted for more than 98% of Solana’s losses, which Blockaid linked largely to incidents involving Drift Protocol and Step Finance. Blockaid also attributed those events to North Korea-linked cyber groups.

This matters because it reframes the operational priorities for Solana-related infrastructure. While Ethereum incidents in the report were more closely tied to vulnerabilities in protocol code, Blockaid said Solana-related losses were primarily associated with signer infrastructure and organizational security failures. In other words, the dominant threat vector in this period was not “bugs in execution,” but failures in control systems and signing operations.

Blockaid noted that only a small fraction of Solana losses were tied to code exploits—citing Raydium and Volo as examples—underscoring how heavily the report’s Solana narrative depends on key and signing security rather than on-chain contract defects alone.

What’s changed in the threat landscape

Two shifts stand out across Blockaid’s findings for H1 2026. First, Ethereum’s risk profile remained oriented around smart contract and application-layer weaknesses, where bridges, contract logic, and privileged account access can be exploited. Second, Solana’s losses, despite being comparable in size to Ethereum’s, were driven overwhelmingly by compromised keys and signing infrastructure—an operational and security governance problem rather than a pure software vulnerability issue.

Blockaid also reported that it verified 3.4 times as many high-threshold exploits in H1 2026 as it did across all of 2025. That suggests either that attackers pursued more severe, high-confidence exploitation paths during the period, or that the environment—across targets and integrations—supported higher-impact outcomes. In practice, for teams defending networks and protocols, it raises the likelihood of facing fewer “small” issues and more attacks with direct paths to material loss.

Finally, the report’s largest single exploit—KelpDAO at $292 million—fits the broader pattern of high-value targets attracting concentrated attacks. Even when overall incident counts vary, a small number of high-impact events can dominate the stolen-fund totals, which is precisely what appears in Blockaid’s H1 2026 breakdown.

Closing perspective

As H1 2026’s losses show, the most consequential threats are not uniform across chains: Ethereum-focused defenses should emphasize application and privileged access security, while Solana stakeholders should treat key management and signing infrastructure resilience as top priority. Readers should watch whether the disparity between code-driven incidents and key-driven incidents persists in the second half of 2026, and whether incident counts remain elevated alongside high-threshold exploit activity.

AmericanFortress has proposed a post-quantum security scheme designed to protect existing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana wallet addresses without requiring holders to move funds or rotate their keys.

ZK-PoSP uses wallet seeds to authorize transactions

AmericanFortress released the technical paper for Zero-Knowledge Proof of Seed Provenance, or ZK-PoSP, through the International Association for Cryptologic Research’s ePrint archive.

The scheme allows a wallet to prove that it knows the seed used to derive an address without revealing that seed. It would operate alongside existing signature systems before replacing the classical signing step if quantum computers become capable of attacking elliptic curve cryptography.

Bitcoin and Ethereum use the secp256k1 curve, while Solana commonly uses Ed25519. ZK-PoSP is designed to cover both curves and hierarchical deterministic wallet standards, including BIP32 and SLIP-10.

In a statement shared with crypto.news, AmericanFortress described the proposal as the first post-quantum approach that can preserve existing wallet addresses without forcing users to transfer assets.

Quantum protection depends on network upgrades

ZK-PoSP relies on hash functions and the soundness of its zero-knowledge proof system. Its paper says post-quantum security is “conjectured” because the underlying assumptions have not been tested against a cryptographically relevant quantum computer.

No such machine currently exists. However, sufficiently powerful quantum computers could theoretically use Shor’s algorithm to derive private keys from exposed public keys.

Google’s Quantum AI team recently estimated that breaking 256-bit elliptic curve cryptography could require fewer than 1,500 logical qubits and tens of millions of quantum gates. Those are error-corrected logical qubits, not the noisier physical qubits available in present systems. Google’s analysis therefore does not indicate that Bitcoin or other networks face an immediate attack.

AmericanFortress said blockchains could implement ZK-PoSP by adding proof verification through a node-level software upgrade. Wallet providers would also need to generate the required proofs.

Until a network adopts and enforces that verification, addresses with public keys already visible onchain would remain exposed to a future quantum attack.

AmericanFortress reports low verification costs

According to the company, generating a one-time proof to secure an address costs about $0.002 on a 16-core server, while each transaction proof costs roughly $0.00125. Its current implementation reportedly takes about 12 seconds to sign a transaction, with verification requiring between nine and 10 milliseconds.

Those figures reflect computational tests cited by AmericanFortress, not the cost or performance of a live blockchain integration. A network upgrade could introduce additional storage, bandwidth, software, and coordination requirements.

“Today’s implementation is already practical for institutional settlement, and hardware acceleration and proving-system improvements will bring signing times down further,” AmericanFortress CEO Michal “Mehow” Pospieszalski said.

The proofs use RISC Zero and do not require a trusted setup. AmericanFortress plans to license its software development kit to blockchains and other projects, meaning adoption would depend partly on commercial terms as well as independent technical review.

Bitcoin and Ethereum expand quantum research

The proposal arrives as institutional interest in post-quantum security grows. As crypto.news reported, Strategy, BlackRock, Coinbase, and six other companies recently formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium and pledged a combined $15 million over three years.

Post-quantum cryptography is the consortium’s first research focus. Its members will decide independently which developers and organizations receive funding, and the group does not control Bitcoin development or endorse individual protocol changes.

For US-based Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, custodians, and corporate treasuries, avoiding mass wallet migration could reduce operational and legal complications. However, ZK-PoSP would provide no protection unless Bitcoin developers, miners, node operators, wallet companies, and users accepted the necessary changes.

Ethereum has pursued a separate path. The Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated post-quantum team in January and is testing hash-based signatures, a minimal zero-knowledge virtual machine, and migration tools, according to its quantum-security roadmap.

AmericanFortress’s proposal now faces the same central test as other security designs: independent cryptographic review, implementation audits, and sufficient network agreement to deploy it.

To Richmond, the delay isn’t about regulators moving slowly, but a structural difference between U.S. and Canadian frameworks.

“It’s not necessarily just a regulatory thing; just the nature of the rules is different,” he said.

Harmonized ‘national instrument’

While there is still work to be done, Richmond is encouraged by the fact that Canadian regulators are actively listening to industry players about digital asset products and are open to creating new regulatory frameworks to support the growing industry.

One example Richmond cited as “a very good piece of legislation” is the new Stablecoin Act, which was enacted by the Canadian Federal government earlier this year, after the U.S. passed the GENIUS Act last year.

In the wake of the Stablecoin Act’s passage, Canada has already seen Tetra Trust — a company backed by heavyweights such as Wealthsimple, Shopify and National Bank of Canada — launching Canada’s first regulated financial institution-issued Canadian-dollar stablecoin CADD.

Canada has already shown that crypto companies can operate inside a regulated market. The next test is whether its rules can accommodate products that move beyond spot trading into payments, derivatives, tokenized securities and decentralized finance.

Richmond said that, rather than having companies interpret these guidelines, “codifying” the existing regulatory practices into a national framework that applies consistently across provincial securities regulators will help reduce legal uncertainties for builders. Essentially, he argued that Canada should consolidate more of its existing crypto requirements into a ‘national instrument’ — a set of harmonized securities rules adopted across provincial and territorial regulators.

Kraken is expanding its tokenized-IPO offering to retail investors with access to Jersey Mike’s upcoming public listing. The exchange says eligible US customers will be able to request allocations of Jersey Mike’s shares at the IPO price, while customers outside the US can request tokenized shares designed to be backed 1:1 by the underlying stock.

The development adds another well-known US consumer brand to the small but growing menu of tokenized equities accessible through major crypto venues. It also comes after recent friction in similar campaigns—most notably around SpaceX—highlighting that investor demand for tokenized IPO access can exceed the supply of underlying shares.

Key takeaways

• Kraken will let eligible US retail users submit interest in book-entry Jersey Mike’s shares at the IPO price, while global users can request tokenized shares backed 1:1 by the stock.
• Tokenized shares will trade 24 hours a day, five days a week on Kraken and participating xStocks Alliance platforms, while the underlying Jersey Mike’s shares will trade only during regular US market hours.
• Allocations for the IPO are determined by the underwriter and are not guaranteed.
• Kraken says the tokenized shares can be transferred across participating xStocks Alliance platforms, moved onchain, and used with compatible decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
• This marks another tokenized-IPO rollout following SpaceX’s debut, but the earlier listing faced oversubscription that led some platforms to cancel and refund.

How Kraken’s Jersey Mike’s access works

Kraken’s planned offering gives two routes depending on where a user is located. Eligible US customers can express interest in Jersey Mike’s shares in book-entry form at the IPO price. For customers outside the US, Kraken offers JMKEx, a tokenized version of the stock.

Kraken describes JMKEx as being backed 1:1 by underlying Jersey Mike’s shares held in regulated custody. In both cases, the IPO process controls outcomes: Kraken states that allocations are selected by the IPO underwriter and are not guaranteed.

The practical distinction for users is trading access. Once the IPO closes, Kraken says JMKEx will run on a near-continuous schedule—24 hours a day, five days a week—on Kraken and participating platforms in the xStocks Alliance. Meanwhile, the underlying Jersey Mike’s shares will trade according to normal US market hours.

Why tokenized IPO shares matter for investors

Tokenized equities are often discussed as a bridge between traditional capital markets and blockchain-based settlement. Kraken’s framing underscores that investors may not only buy exposure more flexibly, but also move that exposure in ways standard broker accounts typically do not allow.

Kraken says tokenized shares can be:

• Transferred across participating xStocks Alliance platforms
• Moved onchain
• Integrated with compatible DeFi applications

For market participants, that combination matters because it changes where equity-linked exposure can live. Instead of being confined to brokerage infrastructure, the tokenized wrapper is designed to be compatible with broader onchain systems—potentially improving interoperability for users who want to combine public equity exposure with onchain strategies.

At the same time, Kraken’s emphasis on underwriter-determined allocations and non-guaranteed access serves as a reminder that the tokenization layer does not remove core IPO constraints: if there are not enough underlying shares, token allocations can be limited.

Jersey Mike’s IPO details and what users should watch

Jersey Mike’s is a US sandwich chain with more than 3,300 locations. In its IPO announcement, the company said it expects to price the offering between $21 and $25 per share and to list its Class A shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker JMKE. (Source: PR Newswire IPO announcement)

Those price expectations are relevant not only for standard IPO participants but also for users planning to request tokenized shares through Kraken. Because the token product is intended to be backed 1:1 by the underlying shares, the token’s credibility depends on the custody and redemption mechanics associated with the backing shares—areas Kraken states are supported through regulated custody.

What remains uncertain for investors is allocation availability. Kraken is explicit that the IPO underwriter—not the exchange—determines allocations. That means eligible users should be prepared for the possibility that demand could outstrip supply, as occurred during other tokenized-IPO rollouts.

Lessons from the SpaceX tokenized IPO rollout

Kraken’s Jersey Mike’s plan is not happening in isolation. It follows SpaceX’s tokenized IPO access in June, which multiple crypto platforms rolled out with similar structures tied to the underlying shares.

According to earlier coverage from Cointelegraph, other platforms—including Binance, Bybit, Blockchain.com, Bitget Wallet and MEXC—also launched products connected to SpaceX’s offering. However, demand appears to have been far higher than the underlying share supply. Cointelegraph previously reported that the SpaceX IPO was more than four times oversubscribed, forcing tokenized-IPO platforms to compete for limited allocations.

In the aftermath, Cointelegraph reported that several exchanges—including Binance, Bybit, Bitget Wallet and MEXC—ultimately canceled their tokenized IPO campaigns and refunded users after they were unable to secure enough underlying SpaceX shares to meet customer allocations.

The price path for the underlying listing also reflected the typical volatility that can follow oversubscribed offerings. Cointelegraph noted that those Nasdaq-traded shares have declined from their $135 IPO price, with last trading at roughly $115 on Tuesday (as cited in the earlier report).

Kraken’s Jersey Mike’s campaign is therefore best understood as a continued test of whether tokenized-IPO distribution can scale to match real-world IPO demand. For users, the key watch item is not only whether the token product goes live, but whether allocations are successfully secured for the participating customer base.

Despite the operational challenges seen in the SpaceX rollout, growth in the broader tokenized equities market has continued. Data cited from RWA.xyz indicates the sector’s distributed value rose from well under $500 million in mid-2025 to about $1.87 billion, including a 29.4% increase over the prior 30 days (Source: RWA.xyz).

Next, investors should focus on two practical milestones: whether Kraken confirms sufficient underlying share allocations for eligible customers once Jersey Mike’s IPO closes, and how smoothly tokenized trading and transfers work across xStocks Alliance platforms once JMKEx begins its extended-hours schedule.

Decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch announced Aqua, a protocol aimed at unifying the liquidity pools of numerous markets in the decentralized finance ecosystem.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, Aqua allows liquidity providers to authorize several strategies against one wallet inventory, while the assets remain in the wallet until a trade settles, rather than depositing the funds to any particular liquidity pool. The protocol has been deployed on 13 blockchains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain and BNB Chain.

Source: 1inch

The protocol provides an integrated package including a generalized onchain registry, wallet-backed automated market making strategies, atomic settlement and consumer-facing position management. Liquidity becomes more widely available, as it does not have to be tied to any protocol in particular — but it also does not multiply, as assets can be involved only in one operation at a time.

A user providing $10,000 of liquidity can advertise $10,000 on three protocols for a total of $30,000, but only $10,000 of simultaneous trades can happen with those funds. The system resembles coordinated overbooking and may improve the utilization of liquidity capital if it is unlikely to be called for multiple operations simultaneously.

A 1inch spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Aqua can be used by resolvers holding a 1inch-issued access credential, as not all protocols are supported.

The spokesperson also explained that all positions are quoted against the market maker’s live wallet balance, so after a fill, the remaining position quotes against what is left. “If a swap would exceed the actual balance, it reverts atomically,” they said.

In a related development, pending tokenholder vote approval, the protocol will allocate 500,000 USDC (USDC) to incentives for adoption of Aqua alongside 10 million 1inch (1INCH) tokens (worth roughly $830,000 at the time of writing). “The initiative is designed to accelerate liquidity growth and swap activity across supported pairs,” according to 1inch’s announcement.

Today’s announcement follows a statement earlier this month from Anton Bukov, a co-founder of 1inch, who said that he was “fired” from 1inch in November 2025 after “push[ing] for change” in the company’s management and operations.